By Christina Newberry Has this ever happened to you? You’re crafting a social social media post. You’ve nailed the message you want to convey. You know that your post needs a photo to ensure maximum engagement, since photos increase Retweets by 35 percent, and Facebook posts with photos get both more Likes and more comments. In fact, you’ve already found the perfect...
By Richard Sunley Social media now informs every aspect of the buyer’s journey—from first learning about a brand right through to post-purchase. Whether we’re looking for a new car or complaining about poor customer service, we’re increasingly turning to social media to do it. Take the example of the travel industry. In 2014, over 80 percent of travellers used social networks for inspiration...
By Aleece Germano By now, we’re all familiar with headline-making stories of social success: Oreo’s dunk in the dark tweet, Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign, and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. But what’s a new brand to do when just starting out? How do start-ups fit social into their ever-evolving marketing plans? We spoke with three start-ups experiencing rapid growth and asked...
By Kendall Walters Twitter users rejoiced this month as the platform known for brevity threw its users a few more characters, allowing them to attach rich media—such as a photos, video, or GIFs—or a poll or Quote Tweet without it counting against the 140-character limit. Meanwhile, Facebook put out custom Reactions to celebrate iconic sci-fi series Star Trek’s 50th anniversary. Users had...
Written by Karla Cook It's quite simple: You can't expect to sell the merits of your agency's social media expertise if your Twitter presence is underdeveloped or inactive. How are clients supposed to trust you with their social media accounts if you can't keep up with your own? Your agency's Twitter shouldn't be a jumble of PR announcements and random links -- it...
Written by Sophia Bernazzani I recently came across the greatest dog bed in the history of dog beds -- seriously, it felt like it was made of clouds. And after asking the dog owner about it, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the same company also made regular beds. (Score.) Needless to say, I'm now the proud owner of the...
By Brad Shimp CRM software can provide a powerful lift for your small business. Used correctly, you can build highly useful contact profiles and shine a light on the contacts who need your attention right now. The true power of a CRM for a small business comes when the whole team is on board and using it every day. This is because...
Written by Ellen Bartolino Banner ads get a bad rap, and are often thought of as old-school due to their disruptive nature. But believe it or not, there's way to make inbound-y banner ads that actually drive results. However, even marketers that recognize the value of banner ads struggle to design ones that don't seem spammy, let alone ones that get desired...
By Christina Newberry With 500 million monthly active users, Instagram is second in social media popularity only to Facebook, making it the photo-and-video-sharing network of choice for consumers and brands alike. Users upload more than 95 million photos and videos every day, and those posts garner 4.2 billion daily Instagram likes. A single post—done right—can rack up tens of thousands (or...
By Emily Copp Finding the right influencers and building relationships is hugely important for your brand. It will help you reach a wider audience, target ideal customers, and create more trust between you and your social following. According to a McKinsey Study, marketing-inspired word-of-mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising and customers have a 37 percent higher retention rate....