DIGITAL - How to Achieve YouTube Growth

If you already have a YouTube channel and want to optimize it to get more subscribers, or are starting a new channel, Social Media Examiner has a podcast for you.

The podcast features Tim Schmoyer, founder of Video Creators, a YouTube channel and website that helps people grow their YouTube subscribers.

Schmoyer has over 200,000 subscribers, over 10 years of experience and millions of views.

He stresses the importance of your channel having a focus, targeting a specific group of people and delivering a very specific value.

Three mistakes people/organizations make on YouTube:

• The belief you need high-end production and equipment when viewers are actually very forgiving of a shaky camera when the content is valuable.
• Lack of attention to creating title and thumbnails when most traffic comes from suggested videos by YouTube - where viewers click when enticed by titles and thumbnails.
• Taking too long to hook viewers when you have 15 seconds maximum to make that click worthwhile.

Having a channel strategy and customizing your channel are all touched on in the podcast.

Schmoyer says most people don’t realize it, but the majority of viewers subscribe by clicking the red subscribe button underneath the header image, as opposed to the subscribe button underneath every video. So customization is key.

A channel trailer is important and it shouldn’t be your best video. The job of the trailer is to communicate your value succinctly.

Another area to focus on is the playlists beneath your trailer because these are examples for potential subscribers.

To really grow an audience, Schmoyer says you need to do four things:

• First, deliver good value to viewers.
• Second, do it consistently.
• Third, ask people to subscribe.
• And fourth, tell viewers why they should subscribe.

Listen to the entire podcast to learn all the details for a successful YouTube channel.

DIGITAL - Instagram Advertising is Growing, Take Advantage

Engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than Twitter.

So it’s not surprising Instagram is becoming a key player in online advertising.

To help companies create effective ads, AdRoll has created The Performance Advertiser’s Guide to Instagram.

The free download includes:

• Guidelines for Instagram ad formats
• 17 Essential tips for Instagram advertising success
• How to track the performance of your campaigns
• How other companies have used Instagram to grow their business.

Social Media Examiner’s podcast - Instagram Ads: What Marketers Need to Know - goes into detail about Instagram ad features and tips.

Guest Jenn Herman, a social media consultant and Instagram expert, also discusses the differences between Facebook and Instagram ads and how to run successful ad campaigns.

Instagram is a great medium to target Millennials - with over 90 percent of users younger than 35 years old.

The social media channel has shown massive growth over the past years - from 30 million users when it was purchased by Facebook in 2012, to over 500 million users today.

Instagram’s global mobile ad revenue is predicted to reach $2.81 billion in 2017.

BUSINESS - Taking & Marketing Great Photos of Animals

Nothing sells like a great photograph.

Photos show personality, evoke emotions and prompt action - like adoption or a purchase.

The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Professional  recently published a four part blog - Hit ‘Em With Your Best Shot: Taking Great Photos of Shelter Animals.

Their tips and tricks will not only help animal rescues and shelters, but can also be used by businesses who want to create photos to promote their products or services, and even by pet owners who are hoping for an amazing shot of their best friend.

Part One focuses on getting to know the animal before pulling out the camera.

Some pets are shy of people, some are shy of cameras and it’s important for them to be comfortable and relaxed.

Noises, toys and treats are all part of getting the pet’s attention, but they shouldn’t be used all at once.

Get technical in Part Two with tips about lighting, flash, background, composition and editing - don’t worry, even the most simple of cameras works wonders if the shooter knows about strong composition.

Dogs have more predictable responses to people, don’t mind a change in location and often know some basic obedience which is great for the photographer.

Cats? Not so much, which is why Part Three is all about taking photos of felines.

Patience is what working with cats is all about. Tips include the importance of forward ear positions, waiting for the perfect cat stretch, playing with toys and getting action shots.

After creating all these wonderful pictures, the next step is to post them and get lots of traffic to a website and/or social media page.

The tips in Part Four can “help get 'em from your homepage to their new home.”

Learn about what photos generate interest online, optimal sizing for different social media channels, which image works best for thumbnails and the type of information that should be included right on the photo. 

One relevant addition to the tips provided by the ASPCA: for some advertising campaigns, it's necessary to leave space in the photo for written information about the product or service. This is not usually the case when showcasing a pet for adoption.

Why are photos so important?

Hubspot’s blog post, 37 Visual Content Marketing Statistics You Should Know in 2016, touches on just how vital visuals are to any successful marketing campaign.

A few of their stats:

• Researchers found that colored visuals increase people's willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.
• When people hear information, they're likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.
• Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images.

People are influenced by visuals, adopters are moved by visuals, purchasers are motivated by visuals.

So get out that camera and start shooting - if you can't do it yourself recruit a volunteer or hire a pro - in today's digital world, it's worth it.

DIGITAL - How to Promote Your Product on Facebook

Are you looking for new ways to promote your product that also helps build trust, grow your audience and increase brand engagement?

Social Media Examiner has come up with some fresh ideas in their Five Ways to Promote Your Products On Facebook.

Ask Fans to Show Their Love

Set up a user-generated content campaign where you ask customers to share photos and videos of them using, wearing or talking about your product.

This type of campaign shows your product in an authentic way and can help you reach a wider audience as the post will be seen by all your customers’ friends.

Demonstrate Creative Ways to Use Your Product

Customers want to know and it doesn’t need to be fancy. Simple video demonstrations that you create or customer video that you share work well.

Incentivize Word-of-Mouth Referrals

Create a loyalty program where you can reward customers for referring friends to your business by sharing your page with their Facebook friends.

Build Trust With Ratings and Reviews

Facebook has a ratings tab that you just need to activate.

Make sure when you ask your fans for ratings and reviews, don’t be intrusive or offer incentives and always follow Facebook’s Community Guidelines.

Target Prospects With Facebook Ads

You can use your own company data and Facebook Insights to target audiences similar to your current buyers.

Read the entire article for all the details.

DIGITAL - Digital Trends You Need to Know About

No doubt you’ve been hearing terms like ‘customer experience is top priority’ ‘mobile is the future’ and ‘data is key’.

Econsultancy and Adobe surveyed 7,000 marketing, digital and ecommerce professionals around the world to examine these trends and see just where businesses are and should be putting their resources.

The results are now available in the free 2016 Digital Trends report.

Read the report to learn:

• The top digital priorities and investments for marketers in 2016
• How to overcome the challenges of using customer data
• Why marketers continue to struggle with their customer-centric transformation
• How mobile investment and monetization is a growing priority for engaging customers
• About the remaining challenges for full digital integration in companies

Wikibrands recently tweeted:

“67% of executives believe digital transformation is a matter of survival for their business via @PrecogDigital”

“CEO’s rank technology factors as the biggest influence on their business, ranked 6th in 2004 via @PrecogDigital”

Don’t delay your digital integration - the fast growing use of mobile and social indicate you'll regret being left behind.

DIGITAL - Important Facebook Demographics for Marketers

With over 1.13 billion active daily users, Facebook is one of the most important social media channels for marketers.

So it’s vital to understand the demographics of the Facebook user and accurately target your social marketing campaigns.

Gender

Pew Research Center’s report on social media users in the U.S. showed that 77% of female and 66% of male internet users are active on Facebook.

While some people claim Facebook users are diminishing, daily usage continues to grow along with mobile users. The switch seems to be from desktop to mobile rather than a shift away from the channel.

Age

According to the Pew study, 82% of internet users who use Facebook are 18-29 years old. 30 to 49 year olds make up 79%, 50 to 64 year olds account for 64% and 48% are over 65.

The rumours of young people leaving Facebook for platforms like Instagram and Snapchat seem to be just that. The prime target demographic for marketers of 24 to 35 years, seems to fit well with the social media channel.

Location

Facebook has more rural users than any other social media platform with 67%. But you are also likely to find them in urban areas (74%) and suburban (72%).

The geographic reach of Facebook is broader than other channels so if you want to market beyond the city and suburbs, it may be for you.

Income

78% of online users with incomes over $75,000 use Facebook.

The next step in Facebook demographics is to use the Audience Insights tool - designed to help marketers learn more about their target audiences, including aggregate information about geography, demographics, purchase behavior and more.

And you can view this information for three different groups of people:

• The general Facebook audience
• People connected to your page or event
• People in custom audiences you’ve already created.

Once you have defined an audience, you can save it and create an ad based on those target Facebook demographics.

The better you know who your audience is, the better you will be at engaging with them and developing strong customer relationships.

BUSINESS - How to Get People Talking About Your Company

Are your customers advocates for your brand or business?

In this connected, social media world, people are talking and you want them to be saying great things about you!

A recent Social Media Examiner podcast features Joey Coleman, a customer advocacy consultant and coach who has worked with Hyatt Hotels, NASA and Zappos.

Coleman believes customer advocacy happens when you reach the point where your customers are such big believers in who you are and what you do that they become your external sales force.

It is the end goal for most organizations - the customer drives new business and increases their own business with the company.

In the podcast Joey describes seven phases of the customer journey:

• Assessing - the customer assesses if he wants to do business with you
• Admitting - the customer makes a purchase
• Anxious - the customer may be second guessing his purchase
• Activating - the kickoff meeting or when the package gets delivered and opened
• Acclimating - where the customer is getting used to doing business with you
• Adopting - when the customer takes ownership of the relationship
• Advocating - when the customer becomes a raving fan.

Coleman explains that most companies fail at the acclimating phase. It’s a vital part of relationship-building since the customer is figuring out if he wants to have a long-term relationship with you.

Most marketers believe that once the product ships or the contract is signed and gets handed off to the implementation or service delivery team, they no longer have any role, responsibility, or ability to influence acclimation.

Coleman believes this is wrong and presents marketing ideas that are designed to build engagement with the customer, and thoughts around retention bonuses for staff.

Marketing is becoming more customer-centric and adopting this model can help transition customers through the phases and develop more advocates.

He also makes some very important points about when not to ask for feedback or involvement. For example: don’t ask at time of purchase, hold off until the adopting phase.

If you have wondered how to get people talking about you on social media and to their friends, customer advocacy is something you want to learn more about.

Listen to the podcast.

HR - Managing Workplace Stress

Everyone experiences stress at work at some point in their lives.

Today, stress seems to be one of the major issues plaguing society. Restructuring, downsizing, multiple projects, economic uncertainty, interruptions and demands all contribute to one’s anxiety.

A study by the American Psychological Association (APA), found that the two most common stressors among those surveyed were work and money, and the incidence of stress often results in irritability, anger, nervousness, and anxiousness

Many workers in the animal industry suffer from compassion fatigue which adds to general workplace stress.

So, what can you do about it? How can you manage work stress and not take it home with you?

While it may seem overwhelming, there are plenty of resources and ideas to help manage your stress.

A recent Harvard Business Review posting provided advice on leaving work stress at work.

Confine your work to particular times and locations.

Perhaps a challenge in today’s connected environment, it’s important to leave your work at the office. Keep folders, computers and notebooks as your desk and work from home only in exceptional circumstances.

If that’s not feasible, designate a few hours each day for home-life only - no exceptions.

Develop good mobile device habits.

An increasing amount of time is spent using mobile devices, and doing something as simple as checking email can pull you back into workplace stress.

Develop habits and rules that keep tablets and phones from tethering you to work, i.e. never check your email two hours before sleep and leave your cell phone home or in the hotel safe when you’re on holidays.

Establish a good support network.

Develop a support network of friends and mentors who can help you manage your professional stress and ensure it isn’t the burden solely of your significant other.

Forbes Magazine’s 12 Ways to Eliminate Stress at Work suggests you:

• Eliminate interruptions
• Schedule your day for energy and focus
• Change your subjective interpretation of the facts
• Prioritize your priorities
• Cool down quickly
• Act rather than react
• Take a deep breath.

Self care such as exercise, eating properly and sleeping well can all contribute to lowering stress. It’s common to reach for the sugary foods and alcohol when feeling anxious.

When managing tasks, prioritize them, break projects into smaller steps so they aren’t as overwhelming, delegate responsibility and be willing to compromise.

Stress within your comfort levels can help you stay focused and able to meet new workplace challenges.

But when stress becomes overwhelming and negatively impacts your life, it’s time to take some - or all - of the above steps.

DIGITAL - Tools to Create Awesome Social Media Images

(photo from Pexels)

Images get people’s attention and motivate them to click, like and share on social media.

They are one of the most important components of successful digital marketing.

To help you create awesome visuals, Social Media Examiner has compiled a list of free tools that give your images a professional look.

Start With High-Quality Royalty Free Images

There are now dozens of free image resources out there.

Pexels and Unsplash both offer thousands of high-resolution images for free and without the need for attribution. Unsplash focuses more on landscapes, while Pexels focuses on business and technology collections.

Find the Perfect Colour Scheme

Adobe Color CC takes the guesswork out of picking colours. It helps determine complimentary colours for your visual content.

Take Advantage of Pre-made Icons

With Flaticon, you get free access to over 144,130 (and counting) PNG icons which can be customized.

Reveal Optimal Contrasting Colour

ColorZilla is a Google Chrome plugin that allows you to see the hex, RGB code, official name, and gradients for any colour within a browser window. Use the Colour Picker function to find the best contrasting colour for a call-to-action button or to emulate a peer’s designs.

Find Perfect Font Combinations

With Femmebot, you can access 25 of the top font combinations from font experts and see how these combinations look with graphics and images, as well as formatting.

Put it all Together in a Visual Content Tool

Free visual content creation platforms like Canva, Google Drawings, and PicMonkey are great options to actually create the content after using the aforementioned tools.

Whether you’re working with videos, GIFs, infographics, slide decks, or posts, these free tools can help you boost your images along with awareness and engagement.

Read full post here.

BUSINESS - The Shift to Customer-Centric Marketing

Customer-centric marketing is a strategy with the primary goal of acquiring high-value customers and maximizing the value of every customer relationship.

It acknowledges that there is no "average" customer and that the differences among customers represent an opportunity to build more long-lasting, profitable relationships through relevant communication.

Why is there such a ‘buzz’ about customer-centric marketing?

It has been fueled by the growth in e-commerce.

With web technology enabling customers to engage with companies in a variety of ways, the mentality of mass messaging is being transformed into a dialogue between retailers and customers.

Data from loyalty cards and information gathered about individual customers through their social media activity gives the company the opportunity to tailor communications to different customer segments in a more meaningful and relevant way.

The customer becomes the focus as the company determines how to best meet their needs.

(dagency.co.uk)

In some ways, customer-centric marketing is old school - a return to a personal relationship between customer and neighbourhood retailer. It’s just being done through more electronic channels.

Product-centricity (competitive advantage through superior product design or merchandising) or channel-centric marketing (focus on achieving dominance in one or more channels), are common marketing strategies that are in contrast with customer-centricity.

IBM Marketing Cloud is offering a webinar - 5 Smart Ways to Build a Behaviour-Driven, Data-Enriched Customer Experience - on June 23rd to help you determine if you are engaging customers (and future customers) where, when and how it's most convenient to them.

They will discuss how you can build your marketing approach around customer behaviours, integrate and act on data from across channels, and deliver a more satisfying experience throughout the customer journey.

Get tips for:

• Shifting your approach to a more customer-centric model
• Identifying and capturing the critical cross-channel data you need
• Employing behaviours to drive better experiences across each buyer journey stage
• Using real-world success stories to fuel big results for your company.

Learn more.