Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing

How To Use GIFs in Your Digital Marketing Strategy

use gifs to take your digital marketing strategy to the next level.
While the verdict may still be out on the correct pronunciation, GIFs are here to stay.

Is it pronounced with a “j” like the peanut butter company or with a hard G? These are the questions that keep digital marketers up at night.

via GIPHY

These animated images have taken over the internet since their inception and have transformed into a form of communication all their own. Users have found that GIFs can be utilized in a number of different ways including to express an emotion or reaction, tell a story, and draw more attention.

With so much success among our personal interactions, it is no wonder that digital marketers are trying to find the most lucrative approach to integrate GIFs into their overall marketing strategies. If you are considering giving GIFs a go, here are a few different ways they can be implemented.

Showcase Your Products or Services

While GIFs are a great way to entertain your audience, they are also a great tool for you company. Use a GIF to showcase your products or services in a unique way that easily catches the eye of new and existing customers. Show followers how your products work or give them a sneak peek of an upcoming launch or a recap of an event. GIFs are a great way to highlight what is going on behind the scenes or your brand.

via GIPHY

Add More Interest to Social Media Platforms

Static content can be a bit boring for your followers, especially if that is the only type of content you are regularly posting.  Try mixing up your social feed with some GIFS, since most of the major platforms already support them. This gives you another avenue to create connection between your content and your followers. It also makes your brand more appealing to new visitors who stumble upon one of your companies’ social media outlets, making them more likely to stick around or follow you.

via GIPHY

The Same Goes for Websites

Just because GIFs are predominately shared on social media, doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other places you can use them. Try using GIFs on your website pages to make the space more visually appealing, without effecting the loading time. A high-quality image with brief movement is a small way to make a big impact on website users right off the bat. Choose an image that accurately represents the brand, provokes an emotional connection and is unique to really wow your website visitors.

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

Increase Chances of Going Viral

GIFs go viral ALL THE TIME! If there is a trending topic, you can bet that there are already an abundance of GIFs on the subject that people are sending to their entire contact list and posting on social media or their blogs. This form of content has more potential to go viral than static content because it is more relatable, entertaining, and share-worthy. If you are looking for an engagement boost – try a GIF!

via GIPHY

Thinking of using GIFs in your digital marketing strategy? Do a little experimenting with the message and placement to see what your audience really responds to. Who knows, your next GIF just might go viral.

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Posted by on July 25, 2016

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Snapchat’s Yellow Paint Is Seeping Faster Than Ever: 5 Ways to Let Your Brand Dazzle Through This App!

“Where’s your will to be weird?”- Jim Morrison

Evan Speigel and Bobby Murphy took this quite literally while coming up with an idea for their final project at college!

And, just like that Snapchat was ideated when one of them thought that an app that doesn’t let you save photos was a great way of communication, especially between couples.

All it takes is 10 seconds for this app to have you transfixed to the platform. Ironic, isn’t it? But, when you come to think of it, this 10-second feature makes sense to our present world with the ever decreasing attention span. It’s fascinating how 10 seconds have transformed to 10 million snap-video views per day.

So, this is where we stand today- all we have are 10 seconds to make an impact!

Well, I fumbled through the nuances of the app and realized that there is much more to it than just sending ten-second snaps. For those who think, “Urgh, I still can’t get my head around Snapchat”, worry not! Let me walk you through two of the podiums’ most captivating features.

  • Explore. Dream. Discover

Discover- This is that part of the app where popular TV networks and publishing houses have managed to incorporate snippets of their daily schedule into the app. Brief jests, articles, and short videos are embedded onto the platform to further interact with their viewers and followers

  • Live it!

Live– Interesting and important events across the globe are zipped to these square gateways listed under the “Live” section. You transcend miles digitally and get to experience stories around the world! Popular events like Day In The Space, Cinco de Mayo, First Day Of College, Everest The Summit etc have seen a spot in this section.

Now that we have consumed all the yellow we can, you’re probably wondering “What has this got to do with my brand?!”

Everything [Almost]! Unless your brand has been living under a rock, it is evident that a huge percentage of influencers are active users of Snapchat. There are 26 million active users in the U.S at the moment and 58% of them would likely buy a product if a customized or personalized coupon is sent to them through Snapchat.  If this is not convincing enough, here are 5 convincing strategies to adapt to your Snapchat marketing–

  • #WIP Live it

Let your followers and consumers have a peek at your upcoming product or give them a behind-the-scenes tour for an event through the live feature. The Met Gala and Lakme Fashion Week have had successful behind-the-scene viewership through snapchat.

  • Influencer engagement

Identify your set of influencers and engage with them through snapchat. Send them exclusive product review invites or even better, let your most followed influencer take over your channel for a day. This will not only create the right kind of buzz, but will also help in generating a lot of user generated content as your influencer will most likely actively engage with their followers throughout the campaign.

  • Be as realistic as you can

Be as realistic as you can while going through this platform. There are more chances that your audience would want to relate to your brand through your realistic portrayal than those cheesy TV commercials. Provide casual Snaps of your business or brand that your followers may not normally see on a more formal platform. This can include business meetings, birthday celebrations, and day to day operations.

  • Snap it, Snapstory it!

Have a handle and share your snap details on your other social media platforms. Establish a healthy following and keep them engaged with quick, daily insights. It could either be snippets with your team, something hilarious, something witty, or it could promote an upcoming event or product launch.

  • Now is the ripe time for marketers

If the above hasn’t convinced you enough to start your snap handle, this should. Snapchat for marketers is quite new and marketers are still exploring creative ways to present their brand through this yellow app. This means there is very little or no cost at all involved in marketing your brand. Tools are still being built to showcase SnapAds, but in the meanwhile creating a handle and snapstories, generating a following and engaging with your audience call all be done for free!

All in all, Snapchat is a great platform to influence reach and engage with millennials, who remain to be your biggest influencers of today. There’s definitely nothing to lose to try it out, is there?! Discover, Live and Snapstory it and tell us your story! 🙂

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Posted by on June 17, 2016
Marketing, Social Media Marketing

Tips For Pinning After Pinterest’s Latest Algorithm Update

tips for pinning after Pinterest's latest update
If you are an avid user of Pinterest for Business then you may have heard about or even noticed a few changes to the massively-popular platform known for moms and millennials. In order to provide a more seamless experience for marketers and influencers, Pinterest is rolling out a few changes to their algorithm that may have an effect on how you pin.

These changes include the reintroduction of affiliate links, a modification to how repins are counted, and some adjustments to the pin’s description field.  While most people fear change, especially after Instagram’s announcement earlier this year to change their news feed algorithm, these updates to Pinterest are actually a good thing. Here are a few tips to how you can use the new features to your advantage!

Affiliate Links Are Back

Bloggers rejoice – affiliate links are back! In 2014, Pinterest revoked affiliate links from the entire platform because the redirects lead to users seeing low-quality pins they had no interest in, and there was an influx in broken links and spammy content.  Now that Pinterest feels they can better monitor and remove spam, affiliate links have been reinstated which is big news for powerhouse-pinners who use the platform to push their affiliate sales. Even bigger news, you can promote pins with affiliate links!

If you choose to use Pinterest as an additional outlet for your affiliate links, there are few things to keep in mind. Remember to create pins that are visually pleasing and eye catching, just because you are selling something doesn’t mean your followers can’t still connect with the image.  Also make sure you are including the proper disclaimers and don’t spam your followers. Be sure to always keep your audience in mind for every pin and you’ll be on the right track to keep followers instead of turn them away.

Summary Pins

Some Pinterest users are noticing their pins, which originally had a low number of repins, have seemed to go viral overnight. Unfortunately that isn’t necessarily the case, Pinterest is now just counting repins a bit differently. By implementing summary pins, Pinterest is showing users the total number of repins across the entire platform for that specific image and URL, instead of how many repins your account individually garnered with that pin.

There are many reasons to be excited about this new update, one of which is instead of looking at your pins on your personal boards to see only a few repins you’ll now see exactly how that pin is performing across all of Pinterest. This gives you a better idea of what works for you on Pinterest and which pins you should pay to promote.

Description Fields

As part of the algorithm updates, Pinterest was experimenting with some adjustments to the description field for each pin. Pinterest came up with an idea to require an original description each time an image is repined. By doing so this eliminated people’s personal jokes and vague descriptions from circulating around the platform.

While Pinterest ultimately decided not to go this route, it is always best practice to include an original description with your repin. By including your own message you are adding more value to the pin and you are increasing the chances the pin will be found when users search for the keywords that are in your description.

As Pinterest continues to grow at a rapid rate, users can expect more algorithm changes in the future. Pinterest remains dedicated to creating and implementing a seamless user experience, meaning these updates can only help you boost your presence on the platform. For more Pinterest tips, feel free to contact us – or follow us on Pinterest! 

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Posted by on June 6, 2016

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Social Media Marketing

3 differences in Google vs. Facebook Advertising that you can leverage

Google Facebook Advertising
Do you have a problem understanding Google vs. Facebook advertising? Here’s an analogy that can help you better comprehend the two diverse platforms –

Picture this: You’re at an airport waiting to board your next flight but there is a delay. There is a public announcement system which is announcing updates every few minutes. There is also an information kiosk that you can approach to find out the details. You decide to go to the information kiosk and inquire about the hold up.

The staff member informs you of the updated departure details and also tells you that there is a 30% off on hotels in the city that you’ll be landing in. You thank the staff member and tell them you’ll come back to find out more info about the deal.

While you are waiting in the lounge, there are several announcements being made about various flights. You listen to some of them and ignore a few. There is an announcement being made about your flight and its delayed status. You listen to it carefully. Right after that, there is an announcement sharing the 30% off deal info.

Now, the information kiosk is Google Search while the public announcement system is Facebook.

When you need information about something, you go to Google Search (in this case, the information kiosk) and inquire. And based on your inquiries, different advertisements are served to you, either on the same page or on other sites that you browse. Facebook (in this case, the public announcement system) is constantly serving various advertisements and not all of them maybe relevant to you. You engage only when you find a particular ad is relevant to you.

This analogy can help you understand a lot of things about Google and Facebook, and how you should approach advertising on these platforms. Here are a few salient points that can help you transform your advertising –

  • Intent: When you serve an ad on Google, you know your audience has already searched for something related to your brand. So they are more likely to convert. But you need to understand their search intent. A user who searches for ‘web development’ might be seeking information on various topics about the keyword – like ‘how to approach web development’ or ‘why web development is important’. But the intent of a user who searches for ‘web development company in Florida’ is clear. Similarly, audiences on Facebook have several intentions for accessing their news feed – somebody wants to check updates, somebody wants entertainment while someone just wants to see what their friends are doing. This is why you need to design your ads differently for different audience groups in order to grab their attention. Understanding your audience’s intent helps you optimize your ads more effectively on both the platforms.

 

  • Outreach: Facebook is an active advertising platform while Google Search is passive. As an advertiser on Google Search, you set your campaign based on various keywords and you have to wait until the user searches for that particular keyword in order for your ad to be served. Advertising on Facebook is different. You are constantly reaching out to audiences based on their interests, previous activity and engagement history. Understanding this difference can help you formulate the right combination of Facebook ads and Google Search ads to fulfill your brand’s objective.

 

  • Audience Size: While smaller audience sizes work on Google, Facebook advertising needs bigger audiences. Since the intent of audiences on Google is more inclined towards your ad objectives, it is easier and more beneficial to reach out to smaller groups. Whereas on Facebook, you need a bigger audience because only a few percentage of them will respond to them. It’s like the public announcement system at the airport where only a few people will pay attention to the ad. That’s why the bigger the audience size on Facebook, the better.

 

For certain brands, Facebook works best while for some others, Google Search is better. For most of your digital marketing efforts, a combination of both is recommended for optimum results. This combination can be arrived based on your industry type, audience size and A/B testing results.

If you have difficulty deciding what will work for you, pick up the phone and contact us for a free consultation now!

 3,825 total views

Posted by on May 4, 2016
Marketing, Mobile, Mobile Marketing, Uncategorized

Developing a Push Notification Strategy? Here’s What Mobile Marketers Should Know First

when it comes to developing a push notification strategy, there are a few things mobile marketers should know first
Most people have a love-hate relationship with push notifications. They HATE being bombarded with annoying messages at all hours of the day and night that offer no real value, but LOVE when those messages come with a coupon code.

According to recent research from Localytics, 52% of consumers consider push notifications to be nothing more than an “annoying distraction.” That’s not such great news for marketers.

Since push notifications are becoming harder and harder to escape, why not make them something your consumers actually want by using them to relay beneficial offers, promotions and information? It is possible to transform your push notifications from nuisances to necessities, you just have to put yourself in the shoes of your consumers. By doing so, you will build relationships with your followers while converting them into your future customers.

Here are three things mobile marketers should know before developing a push notification strategy.

Timing is Always Everything

Mobile marketers know that when it comes to performance, timing is everything. The same goes for push notifications. Avoid bothering your target audience at obvious times like holidays and late at night, and know their behaviors to determine what time garners the most response and engagement for your push. For example, if your target audience is mostly teenagers you should wait until after school hours to hit them with a push notification.

Personalization Prevails

There are a lot of different ways to personalize push notifications, and each depends on your audience. When Localytics asked survey responders what type of push they actually wanted to receive, three of the top responses all centered on the theme of personalization. To be exact, 48% of those surveyed said they would like to receive push messages that contain a special offer based on their specifications. Notifications customized to your consumers can be location-specific, relate to recent purchases or can just be slightly personalized to reflect user’s basic preferences.

Less is More

The quickest way to assure your push notifications are deemed annoying is by overloading consumers with way too many. It is hard to gauge exactly how many notifications are too many notifications, but it is best for mobile marketers to err on the side of caution by limiting how often an audience is being notified. Localytics found that by sending 2-5 push notification weekly to consumers, 46% will opt-out and disable push notifications. And by sending 6-10 messages weekly, 32% will stop using an app completely.

The exact science of push notifications is yet to be fully discovered and understood, but in a world that values being constantly connected and informed, you can bet that they are here to stay. Marketers looking to leverage the power of push notifications must do so strategically. If you have any questions or need help developing your push notification strategy, contact us today!

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Posted by on April 25, 2016

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Content Marketing, Marketing, Mobile, Web

10 Web Design And Development Trends Of 2016 You Should Keep An Eye On!

Web design and development is the digital soul of your brand. Your website is the easiest medium for consumers to reach you. While they say “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, it definitely doesn’t seem to apply in this scenario. The appearance and the build of your website are what entices the consumer at the first go.

You call the design of you website functional art which engages and retains the consumer. However, this functional art needs constant nurturing and effort to keep it in lieu with the trends of the world. If something is trending, it means that it has grabbed the attention of the consumer already. That’s half the battle won. What follows is how you incorporate these trends into your web development process.

For all those seeking inspiration to integrate 2016 trends in their web development process, here’s everything you need to know about them.

Web Design and Development Trends

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Posted by on April 22, 2016

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Mobile, Mobile Marketing

3 Helpful Tips for Using Emojis in Mobile Marketing

Emojis are becoming a popular tool for mobile marketers to reach millennials
The best way to connect with your target audience is to communicate with them on their level. For brands and mobile marketers looking to capitalize on those labeled as millennials and generation Z, this means mastering the art of speaking emoji.

mobile marketers should try integrating emojis into camigns trageted at younger audiences With the rise of smartphones, the now archaic smiley face made from an assortment of symbols on your keyboard, known as an emoticon, has graduated into a full range of sophisticated-looking emojis that seem to represent every person, place or thing on the planet. Today nearly everyone is using emojis to create more entertaining conversations and personal interactions across every mobile platform. Like every other popular trend, brands are implementing smiley faces, tacos and cats into their digital presence as much as possible – some better than others.

A recent study completed by Appboy found that the use of emojis in digital marketing campaigns has skyrocketed an unbelievable 775% in a one year period. That’s A LOT of emojis.

While some brands have stumbled with the integration of emojis in their mobile marketing initiatives, others have found a lucrative way to express their messages with a combination of concise text and fun pictographs. If you’re thinking about using emojis in mobile marketing, here’s what you need to know first.

Don’t Go Full-Emoji

Perfect for casual conversation, emojis are of often utilized to help communicate a lot of information with as few words as possible. However, this doesn’t mean forgoing words entirely and replacing them with an image is a good practice for mobile marketing. Try only incorporating a few relevant emojis that accurately convey the intended meaning at first to see how your audience responds before making the practice habitual.

Make Brand Feel More Humanif you are a mobile marketer try experimenting with emojis

Since emojis are a staple of our day to day conversation across our personal text messages and social media platforms, it is obvious why mobile marketers are using the images to make a brand or business feel more human. Brands that show off their individual personalities and voices are more likely to create lasting and trusted connections with their followers, and resonate with their audience on a more personal level.

Integrate into Push Messages

Mobile marketers rely on push notifications to get out important information about a product, promotional campaigns and upcoming sales and discounts. However, constantly sending out mediocre messages is one of the easiest ways to have your app deleted. To curb the monotony of mundane push notifications, mobile marketers have discovered a way to incorporate emojis into their messaging. Not only do these make for eye-catching notifications, it also helps provoke an emotion making it more likely to lead to a sale.

If you’re interested in reaching and resonating with a younger audience, integrating emojis into your messaging is becoming a popular practice for mobile marketers. Since it is such a new strategy, don’t be afraid of experimenting to see if emojis are an effective tool for your brand or business.

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Posted by on April 15, 2016

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