10 Social media content marketing masterminds you need to know
Let’s get social! If you’re looking for your next #FollowFriday, #MarketingCrushMonday, or #WisdomWednesday post, look no further. Here is a full line up of our favorite social media content marketing masterminds. They are experts in their own category, so it’s no surprise that their social accounts are packed with marketing tips and digital trends that your business can’t live without. In addition to boosting your social presence, connecting with these social media content marketing masterminds will give you an inside track into the best digital marketing techniques and trends to steal right now. Neil Patel – @neilpatel: Aside from his impressive resume starting @CrazyEgg and @Kissmetrics, Neil Patel’s social media following has a near cult-like allure thanks to his pithy and user-friendly social media content marketing guides. He regularly serves up marketing tips and tools for his followers that will have you liking and sharing time and time again (think: Is your content marketing strategy in line with your competition and Twitter advertising guides?). Sandy Carter – @sandy_carter: Being a popular social powerhouse, TEDtalk veteran, #socbiz champion, and General Manager of IBM’s Social Business Evangelism team earns Sandy Carter a top spot on our list of social media content marketing masterminds. Her content is always relevant, laced with humanity and humor, and about how we use social media to change the marketing landscape. Michael Stelzner – @mike_stelzner Social Media Examiner (@SMExaminer) is one of the most popular social media content marketing blogs on the market. Whether you’re beginning your career in social media and content marketing, or a seasoned veteran, Social Media Examiner provides clear insights into the latest social media trends. Founder and owner Michael Steizner serves as a very human voice and face behind the site. As a a father, man of faith, and inspirational speaker, it’s hard not to get on board with his personal (and professional) social brand. Shama Hyder – @Shama: You know you’re an OSMG (original social media gangster) when your Twitter handle is simply your first name. Shana Hyder was ranked by Forbes as one of their top 30 under 30 after founding Social Media Marketing Zen. She recently released a new book called #Momentum, which discusses the power of digital and social marketing for today’s brands, so we expect lots of great things – and Tweets – out of Shama in the months to come. Sheryl Sandberg – @sherylsandberg: What list of social media influencers would be complete without Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg? Sheryl’s own story shows the power of content marketing and how it can transform our lives and our brands. In Sheryl’s New York Time’s bestselling novel, Lean In, she shares her personal evolution and what it takes to be a successful digital marketing and social media expert. Each day, her posts on social media remind followers how to define their own definitions of success. Melonie Dodaro – @MelonieDodaro: It’s easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamor of social media sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook; but LinkedIn remains one of the most engaged social user sites and boasts the strongest socioeconomic consumer base potential. Melonie Dadaro shares her perspective on how to harness the power of this professional platform in her book, The LinkedIn Code, as well as through her social media content marketing sites and blog. Brian Halligan – @bhalligan: Brian Halligan is, without question, THE king of inbound marketing. When he founded @HubSpot a few years ago, no one could have guessed the massive revolution he was starting. His posts give you an inside look into the vision behind his thought leadership and the wave we know as content marketing and inbound strategy. He is an expert social marketer and eager to share his knowledge. Mari Smith – @MariSmith Instagram ads, Facebook reach, and content engagement, oh my! Indeed, Mari Smith has a handle on it all. Her reputation hinges on a deep understanding of social media content marketing and Facebook content generation. She is a regular speaker and blogger, musing on everything from how to build social influence to how to write content. Leo Widrich – @LeoWid Just because we’re talking social media content marketing, doesn’t mean you can do without analytics. COO and founder of @buffer, Leo Widrich is an analytics expert who will earn and keep your attention, we promise. His straightforward assessments of how social media and digital marketing tools drive key performance metrics make analytics accessible without getting bogged down with technical jargon. Ann Smarty – @SEOSmarty Ann’s primary focus is on SEO, but her debut blog, ViralContentBuzz.com, focuses on the power of viral content marketing and how social influence can revolutionize your conversion efforts. Her social media presence is, itself, a testament to the power of shareable content and how to increase your audience through inbound marketing and true viral buzz. While you’re at it, don’t forget to connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay current with our company culture. Who knows, maybe you’ll be on our next social media masterminds list.
Grow your email marketing list like a boss with these 5 resources
We have what can only be described as a good news, bad news scenario to share with you. Let’s start with the bad news. According to HubSpot, one of our favorite inbound marketing partners, your email marketing list, loses approximately 22.5% of its subscribers every year. The good news is, email marketing is still one of the most lucrative and highly engaged consumer channels you have in your arsenal of marketing tools. Now just imagine what your ROI could be if you were growing your email marketing list at a 22.5% annual rate! To help you grow your email marketing list like a boss and turn those subscribers into qualified leads, we recommend these five tips and resources. 1. Stop losing subscribers: We’ve all heard the saying that retaining a customer is more valuable (and less expensive) than finding a new customer. The same holds true for your email marketing list. Before turning your focus toward inbound marketing tactics to grow your list, make sure your current content marketing strategy is relevant to your reader base and target audience. Great content keeps your current users engaged and makes the rest of these recommendations easier to implement and maintain. For ideas on how to energize your content marketing strategy and keep users engaged, we love Contently’s Content Strategist blog. 2. Make opting-in to your email marketing list easy: If you have great content: share it. And make it easy for your readers to come back for more. Add subscribe buttons to your employees’ email signatures, share your content with an opt-in link via social media, include a newsletter or blog subscription button on every page and in your footer. Every inbound marketing and email lead may discover your content and website through different channels, so don’t assume that your visitors know where to look to subscribe to your email list or learn more about your brand. Your opt-in buttons should be ubiquitous throughout your site along with inbound marketing efforts you have in market. Get crisp on how to unclutter your site, reduce competing CTA’s, and create a hierarchy of marketing information for your customers on Unbounce. This go-to conversion site will help you understand how to make opting-in to your email marketing list easier than ever. 3. You can’t go wrong with email marketing promotions: One of the quickest and easiest ways to build a solid email marketing list is to offer promotions or contests. Think about the last time you logged onto a retail site and traded your email for a discount code or chance to win free merchandise. The exchange is a win-win situation. The customer gets a promotion, and the brand receives your email information. Provided your content strategy is strong, this customer will keep coming back and engaging with your products as you email new promotions or share interesting content. Use CoSchedule to help you plan a content and promotional calendar that will tee up critical offers throughout the year that will be relevant to your target audience. 4. Don’t forget about social sharing: Help your current customers and advocates help you by adding social sharing to your current email campaigns (check out EmailDesignReview.com for great ideas on how to creatively place sharing buttons), and to all your inbound marketing content. As people share your content, more people will sign up for your email marketing list to get in on the action. Social sharing is one of the main reasons your content marketing needs to be strong. Good content means more shares and more email leads. 5. YOU should be sharing too: It should go without saying that you should be sharing your own content too. If you aren’t tempted to share your blog posts, emails, and promotions with friends and family or ask people to opt in your list at networking events, chances are your content marketing isn’t good enough yet. If you’re not ready to drink your own Kool-Aid, ask yourself why. And then fix it. Team up with other passionate people in your office and transform your email marketing strategy into something you are proud to promote. You should know that we’re here to help. View our email marketing service page to see how we’ve helped other brands like you balance a flawless email marketing campaign. Together, we can do more.
5 inbound marketing strategies to attract quality leads
Many marketers believe that lead generation is an expensive, laborious task. And, sure, it can be… but it doesn’t have to be. Strong inbound marketing campaigns and robust content strategies can help you and your business generate highly qualified leads without blowing all your resources in one place. Over the next quarter, pick one or two of our top five lead generation and inbound strategy tips to test with your customers. You’ll be surprised at how simple and effective these tools can be to engage new (and former) customers. 1. Personalized content and inbound marketing: Using personalized content to spur inbound marketing activity is one of the most effective ways to generate qualified leads. Personalized content is three times more likely to generate clicks and leads than non-personalized content. Whether you send emails using your customers’ first names or grab their attention or leverage retargeted display ads reminding customers of items they previously browsed, highly personalized content is a great way to keep your product top of mind and nudge customers toward the lead or purchase funnel. 2. Social media incentives: Social media is another lynchpin in a strong lead generation and inbound strategy. Turn your current customers into advocates and encourage them to share your content, invite friends to visit your homepage, and review your products online. This increases natural exposure to your site and encourages new customers to reach out and get to know your brand better. Reviews and recommendations are one of the most trusted referral sources for new customers, so don’t underestimate the power these simple social tools can have on your lead generation capabilities. 3. Clear features and benefits invite customers to your inbound marketing campaign: Content marketing strategy starts with wrapping each and every one of your product features in customer benefits. Focus on the direct business benefits or lifestyle perks your product is associated with. As customers project themselves into your brand lifestyle while reading blogs or seeing clear product benefits in a well placed Instagram campaign, they will be encouraged to do more research and seek out additional information about your brand. As they self select into your target audience, onto your landing pages, and into your social campaigns the inbound leas will roll in. 4. Email campaigns: Even though email marketing sometimes gets a bad wrap thanks to increased anti-spam laws and a deluge of, well, spammy email marketing, it can be a highly effective lead generation tool when used properly. To revitalize traditional email lead campaigns, we suggest going way outside the box. Host an event (you’ll be shocked at the number of qualified leads your ticket sales yield), partner with a local charity or institution to tag-team off their email lists, or offer crazy-shareable flash email sales that beg to be forwarded. This radical take on email campaigns will drive inbound marketing leads as customers are tempted to share, attending, and engage with your website. 5. Affiliate partnerships The saying that two heads are better than one is especially true for lead generation. Affiliate partnerships let you align your brand with another organization that shares your mission statement or vision. You can create exclusive content, deals, or experiences for your shared audience and enjoy a halo effect of positive vibes, qualified leads, and customer purchases. Affiliate partnerships are especially good for generating qualified leads and inbound marketing benefits because you can pool resources and creativity to do more with less. These five tips and tricks are so easy, you might not even think you’re generating leads, which is why inbound marketing is such a powerful tool to find customers who are pre-qualified to love your brand. Learn here how the team at BIGEYE aligns your inbound marketing strategy towards success.
4 tips to build a lead generating content marketing strategy
Chances are, the saying “content is king” has been drilled into your head by everyone from top inbound content marketing organizations such as Hubspot, to lead generation experts such as Marketo’s VP of Demand Generation Heidi Bullock, to your fresh-faced MBA intern with killer ideas to supercharge your company blog. It’s safe to say we all agree that good content results in better leads and more engaged users. The question is: how does content actually generate leads? Once you have a storehouse of shareable, interesting, and educational material, what do you do to harness it’s qualified lead generation potential? Here are four tips to help you build a strong content marketing strategy tailored to your business needs. 1. Content marketing secures leads: One of the most effective ways to secure qualified leads is through gated content. If you know your target audience will really want to read your blog post or latest tutorial, put it behind a digital gate. Before downloading or accessing the content, prospective customers will need to provide their email address or other contact information. The catch is making sure customers receive enough value from this content to outweigh their hesitation of being spammed after they provide their contact information. Ask yourself if you would give your email address away for the content before gating anything. If you have even a moment’s hesitation, it’s time to promote a new content king. Also, make sure your content marketing targets top of funnel prospects. While gating a product “how-to” PDF may get you lots of leads, chances are these leads have already signed up for a free trial and are ready to use your product. Stick with information that is tangentially related to your product, or of interest to your target audience but that doesn’t directly apply to current users. 2. Plan ahead, create a content calendar: Sharing the right content at the right time is a key ingredient when generating leads for your content marketing strategy. Freakonomics author, Steven Levitt, shares a story about a hardware company that tried to measure the ROI of their newspaper ads against their digital spend. Because the digital advertisements only ran the day before major consumer holidays (think: Black Friday and Father’s Day), whereas the newspaper ads ran every Sunday, the ROI of the digital ads looked substantially higher than the newspaper placements. It’s not that the content in the digital ads was more effective than the newspaper ads, but rather, that the content was being served at the right time for the customer. Understand your target audience’s sales cycle, when they shop, where they shop, and when promotions will most likely appeal to them. Craft content that hooks them in around these key sales triggers so you always have a few pieces of highly effective lead generation material locked and loaded throughout the year. 3. Search landing pages: Congratulations! If you – like almost every other company out there – spend any money on paid search advertisements, you are probably wasting plenty of that money when your current customers click your search ads to log into your site or access their account information. The good news is, we have a solution. We recommend a two-pronged approach to solve this problem and ensure your customers and prospects are finding the right information in the right places. First, tailor your search ads toward non-branded terms that are related to your product and spend less on your brand name itself. This way, customers who are searching for products like yours will find your landing page, but current customers who already know you, will be more likely to click an organic search page rather than a paid ad. Next, splurge on an amazing copywriter or agency to tackle your landing page. Your landing page should introduce your product, give customers enough information to tease them into wanting to learn more, and then direct them to a trial sign up, gated content, or sales funnel. 4. Blog posts and viral leads: Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget about the power of your blog posts. If you are consistently writing relevant, interesting content, people will want to keep visiting your blog. As they sign up for your newsletter or opt in to your email list, you’ll receive an influx of exceptional leads. Nurture them with email offers and right-for-me content that keeps them coming back again and again. As an added bonus, each time these followers share your content, you have the chance to gain new leads through their viral exposure. Even if you can only dedicate an hour a week to your blog, or partner with an agency to craft content on your behalf, you’ll be priming your business for a self-renewing pipeline of business leads. These four tips are simple, straightforward, and highly effective in transforming content into customers. And chances are, if you already have a content marketing strategy, these lead generation tips will easily fit into your existing plan. Here’s how the team at BIGEYE builds a solid Content Marketing Strategy.
How to build a kick ass B2B content marketing strategy
A flawless B2B content marketing strategy starts with clearly understanding that B2C customers don’t act like B2B customers. For the most part, yes, the customer is always right, and yes, your purchasers are still customers; but there are a few fundamental differences between B2B and B2C sales cycles that you need to understand in order to successfully build B2B content. Before you build your content marketing strategy, it’s important to understand these distinctions. B2B vs. B2C customers: Before we go any farther, let’s frame the key differences between B2B and B2C customers. B2B sales are usually larger, enterprise purchases Security, technical or installation requirements, and ROI are (usually) very important to B2B customers B2C purchases are often driven by emotion, whereas B2B purchases tend to be more pragmatic Legacy B2B purchase rely on longer sales cycles and deep, trusted relationships between buyers and consumers Large corporations buy differently than small or medium sized businesses While these are all generalities, remembering these five facts will help you effectively frame a content marketing strategy worthy of the most seasoned business badass — no matter how big or small your company, or your target audience’s companies are. The two no’s: no fluff and k(NO)w your audience If you take nothing else from this post, remember the two no’s. First, no fluff. Business content should clearly communicate your product’s unique value proposition or provide information that your target audience needs to do business. Business jargon and marketing fluff that boost your SEO ranking or fill up your website pages won’t be enough to close a sale for price sensitive startups or heavy hitting CEOs. … Which is why you need to k(NO)w your audience. Realize that B2B transactions are solving for a customer pain point, so it’s important to understand those needs and communicate what your product does to solve them up front. In that vein, it’s important to realize that the person who is trying or testing your product or researching possible solutions in market, may not be the ultimate decision maker or purchasing power. Provide information that will satisfy both personas so your researcher can sway the ultimate decision maker effectively. To do this, we usually recommend a balance of clear, data-driven information about your product and content marketing moments that let your brand personality shine. A kickass B2B content marketing strategy starts with thinking with the customer in mind first. And while that isn’t any different from crafting a stellar B2C content marketing strategy at all, it may inform your tone, information architecture, and help frame your features and benefits more clearly for your business user. Now, click here to see how the professionals build a kick ass content marketing strategy.
Blogging conundrum: Thought leadership vs. educational content
In our Beginner’s Guide to Blogging for Your Business post, we recommend outlining clear, measurable goals for your blog before beginning to write. One of the main reasons we suggest this is to avoid the age-old blogging conundrum: thought leadership vs. educational content. Educational posts are the cornerstone of content marketing and inbound marketing strategy. They boost SEO, help your customers onboard successfully, and provide deep brand value. Thought leadership, however, gives you a chance to expand your brand, encourage new product innovations, and express your unique opinions in a relevant and meaningful forum. Understanding the difference To determine which type of blogging content is best for you and your business, carefully consider the differences between thought leadership and educational content. Educational content: Educational content provides practice insight into your industry or product. For example, you may create a “how to” article, discuss what certain industry terms are, or how the market is performing. Typically, this content is highly rated by search engines because it is very relevant for customers searching for answers to their search queries and provides direct insight into your product or brand. Educational blogging keeps your content relevant, bolsters the chances of organic traffic and inbound marketing efforts taking hold, and helps customers with their day-to-day needs. Thought leadership content: Thought leadership, on the other hand, is more editorial and allows you to express opinions or experiment with new ideas. Blogging with thought leadership in mind encourages more freedom and creativity, and may generate more viral, shareable content. In this way, both content types have benefits, but thought leadership focuses less on search metrics and more on engagement or social share ability. Resource centers and blogging If you find yourself drawn to both types of content, consider simply segmenting your posts into two buckets. There’s no denying that educational content is extremely beneficial for customers, but the creative writer in us all secretly longs for a platform to share our ideas and innovations. The solution? Resource centers and blogs. Resource centers: Resource centers are a great place to share and store educational content. This allows you to take advantage of all the inbound marketing and SEO benefits of this type of writing, without feeling guilty about filling your blog with straightforward information and FAQ’s. Resource centers can be tagged and indexed across your site for deep organic search benefits and provide a searchable library of product information and facts. Blogging: Use blogging for your most creative thoughts and posts. Unlike educational content that has a definitive answer, your blog can be as subjective as you want. Blog posts tend to be more viral and shareable, so ensuring your posts are connected to all your social sites is crucial. For lead generation, having highly engaging and unique content is key. There’s no need to get caught up in the dry facts and figures customers expect to find in your homepage search bar and resource center. This is your opportunity to showcase your personality. Both forms of content are highly valuable in their own rights. It’s up to you to choose the balance that’s best for your business and what your individual content strategy goals are. Depending on your resources and availability to write, you may choose one over the other, or try to do a bit of both. Either way, as long as your content serves your over arches business strategy, you are on target.
A beginner’s guide to best blogging practices for your business
Blogging can be a fun, effective way to grow your content marketing strategy and flex your creative muscles. It can help you become an acclaimed industry expert, learn new things, establish credibility in your brand, and generate qualified leads. Blogging can even – dare we say – offer a relaxing outlet from the hustle and bustle of your daily grind. When considering how blogging might fit into your business strategy, don’t dive directly into the content creation and writing process. Chances are, you’ll burn out quickly or abandon the project before it gets off the ground. Instead, follow our beginner’s guide to blogging for your business to set up an effective, sustainable blog ecosystem that will delight and engage your target audience. Start with a goal before blogging: Before doing anything else, ask yourself what success looks like. If you simply want to indulge in the intersection between your academic and professional passions, your blogging goals will be substantially different than if you’re trying to generate a 25% increase in qualified marketing leads. There’s no right or wrong answer here. Content marketing blogs have tons of passive SEO and social media benefits even if your primary objective isn’t to directly target new customers. However, if that is your goal, blogging won’t disappoint. Get clear on what you want to achieve and then start thinking about how you’re going to do it. Let’s talk logistics: Next, have a realistic discussion with yourself (or your team, or content marketing agency) about logistics: where will the blog be hosted? Will you do this yourself or pay someone to manage it on your behalf? How much do you want to spend? Do you have a team who can write content in-house? How many blog posts do you want per week? Per month? Do you want your blog to be connected to your main site or on a separate domain? Do you want corresponding social media accounts? The list goes on. You get the picture. The logistics can sometimes feel overwhelming and are, without question, less fun than blogging itself, so tackle them first. If you’re feeling overwhelmed just reading this post, chances are you might want to speak with your content marketing agency to iron out the details. Trust us, we’re happy to help. If you prefer the DIY approach, at least decide how often you want to write and where you’ll post your blog entries before committing to anything else. Research and read: It may seem intuitive, but one of the best ways to start blogging is to read other blogs. Find out what other people in your industry are reading and why they like those blogs versus the thousands of other posts out there. Sign up for email lists, see what’s working, and what’s not working in the market. You may find inspiration, get a sense of what you want your blog to look or feel like, and even a few things you want to avoid. Almost every marketing site has a blog these days, so it’s important to understand what’s keeping users engaged. Since you are a user (or, at the very least, a proxy for your customer as a user), your eye is as good as any when judging what feels right in the highly subjective blogosphere. Find your niche: That said, it’s important to find your niche. Your blog shouldn’t be an exact duplicate of a wildly successful, related blog. You don’t want to go into head-to-head content marketing competition with a heavy hitter or professional content creation wizard. Instead, soak up as much inspiration as you can and tweak their success into something uniquely you. The most successful new blogs target a niche audience or subject that hasn’t been tapped out yet. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers on social media what they’d like to learn more about, take informal email polls, or ask friends and co-workers what they think would keep readers interested. Start blogging: Once you’ve decided on a niche topic, polished your target audience, and set up your shiny new blog platform, it’s time to start writing. Many new bloggers express fear over writing and posting their first entry. It doesn’t need to be perfect and it doesn’t need to capture the core essence of your blog. These things will evolve organically as you find your voice and develop a following. Just start writing. Brainstorm a list of topics you want to write about that will engage your target audience and then just go for it. You can always edit or remove your posts later. The most important thing to remember when blogging for business is to be consistent. Consistently write to stay relevant and consistently generate content that will help you reach your lead generation or engagement goals. Quality is more important than quantity, so we recommend fewer consistently great posts than tons of mediocre entries that no one wants to read. Happy blogging!
Our thoughts on Instagram video’s new, cool updates
Instagram is switching things up. The traditional photo-sharing application is attempting to encourage more Instagram video sharing. If it’s not broken, why fix it you may ask? Our best guess: perhaps in a bid to compete with emerging platforms such as SnapChat and Vine that already do this, or to give marketers the opportunity to tap into Instagram’s 400-million user-base with compelling, rich video advertisements. Is it coincidental that Instagram’s video-sharing enhancements will occur the same time they announced they will soon allow your social media marketing agency to upload their own digital advertising content directly to your customers’ feed (a process that was previously heavily restricted and cost-inhibitive to the average small- or medium-sized business)? We think not. Here are some marketing insiders’ top four questions about how these changes will impact the Instagram ecosystem and – our thoughts on each. So, what’s changing about Instagram video sharing? Users (and more importantly, digital marketing agency analysts) will soon be able to see the number of times a given video was watched. This model will mirror watch counters on YouTube and Facebook, heralding the popularity of a given video. For users, this is one additional point of validation for their own content and a natural point of alignment with their expectations of how other social media platforms work. No big deal. For marketers, this gives us the ability to gauge how impactful our advertising content really is and what content is generating more interest than others. This will allow the average content marketing agency or advertising agency to create more robust and targeted content. Knowing that cat videos are getting more hits than dog videos may not seem like the lynchpin to a successful marketing campaign, but knowing that customers prefer to see product demos versus customer testimonials or lifestyle campaigns is. Who will be impacted? Strictly speaking, this change will not dramatically impact the average Instagram user’s experience. Those who are inclined to look at the video watch counter will do so, and may be inspired to try their hand at video sharing. Beyond that, the change will feel relatively innocuous. No content will be weighted or ranked above any other based on views, so users will continue to see every post that enters their feed in the order it arrives. This is why we suspect the real benefit of this change lies in untapped marketing potential for brands and advertisers. Brands are already using Instagram video to showcase more complicated products or engage users in more meaningful ways (this works especially well for luxury or lifestyle brands such as cars, vacation destinations, restaurants, and high fashion goods). Knowing whether these efforts are working and being able to compare and contrast certain types of content with other types of content gives marketers a competitive edge. It also allows brands to spend less money on production or advertising by getting it right the first – or at least the second – time they release a video into market. And this is a good thing, right? Coincidentally, this update occurs simultaneously with Instagram’s other announcement that they will begin allowing the average advertising agency to upload ads directly to their users’ Instagram feed. Instagram has released a new API that can pull content from marketing platforms such as Salesforce so marketers can create, load, and schedule advertisements without assistance from Instagram. In the past, Instagram has enjoyed tremendous success releasing advertisements into the user experience because they have overseen the creative process from start to finish. Not a single advertisement could go to market without the Instagram seal of approval. This system kept ads in line with the authentic, artsy vibe Instagram users were creating on their own. In this way, advertisements were less intrusive or sales-oriented than traditional social media paid ads on similar platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. The main complaint about Instagram’s impending advertising API is that this new experience will break the system. The quality of ads will dramatically drop. Engagement will then drop. And Instagram will be forced to release more ads into the market to close the profits gap. As long as Instagram does not open the floodgates for every ad to enter market, it’s true that the real danger lies in the ads themselves becoming less relevant or compelling than they once were. And we doubt any Instagram-artist worth their salt will be too pleased to see that change. There’s good news though. We believe the advent of this video counter can actually serve as a tool to help marketing agencies get clearer on the type of content that works. A video counter allows your digital marketing agency to use each video as a mini focus group, for quick directional data, better decision making, and better advertisements. Instagram isn’t abandoning their principles, they’re giving your content marketing agency the tools they need to do their job better. Sure, Instagram’s team of creative experts knows how to capture the essence of your target audience’s latent needs … but you and your digital marketing agency should be able to do that on your own too. When we push aside our fear that autonomous ad posting simply means more ads, we see an opportunity for marketers to work smarter, not harder. Do Consumers Agree? It’s hard to guess how consumers will react to Instagram video’s latest changes. It is more likely that customers will notice a change in their advertisements sooner than the addition to a video counter, but their overarching reaction is impossible to estimate without a clearer picture into the types of ads that will enter the marker. We like to think of this as a challenge: let’s make your next Instagram video campaign so good that users still don’t know the difference. Problem solved.
10 reasons why Instagram’s new API is breaking the Internet
When Facebook announced Instagram’s new API and a major shift that meant everyone from the biggest corporate company to the smallest content marketing agency could create and share their advertisements on Instagram (a previously heavily gated experience curated by Instagram specialists to ensure each advertisement blended in with users’ existing content stream), the Internet exploded into discussion. Some people believe this is the best thing to happen to advertising since … well … Instagram. Others felt this was the beginning of the end of purely user-generated content and advertisement free browsing. Although the verdict is still out, these are some of the top discussions happening right now: 1. Introducing more ads … Or is it?: One of the biggest concerns users have is that their feed will suddenly be filled with ads. Because Instagram does not hide or minimize any content, there would be no way to escape a deluge of new advertisements. Instagram hasn’t clarified if the quantity of ads will increase, whether companies will have to pay for more exposure, or if they will simply diversify the types of ads users see. For now, only time will tell. 2. Quality vs. quantity: One aspect almost all users and leading digital marketing agency experts agree on is that advertisement quality is likely to suffer. In the past, Instagram has enforced strict guidelines on the advertising experience. All images were generated in-house at Instagram, all verbiage cleared by their creative team, and all targeting triple checked before going live. Instagram’s new API will allow brands to use their own assets to upload and share content (via Salesforce or other marketing tools) which could lead to a dip in quality … we sincerely hope not in tandem with an increase in quantity. 3. The road not taken: Those who oppose Instagram’s new API are upset because Instagram represented one of the last places where users could browse content created by them, not for them. Instagram was a unique experience and prided itself on not participating in the mainstream monetization of social media. When Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012, people knew it was only a matter of time. Many of the complaints around this change stem from fear that an influx in advertisements would rob users of an experience they have grown to love. 4. Hipsters, authenticity, and advertisements, oh my: If the artistic hipsters, sunset-loving celebutantes, selfie-stick-toting travelers, and millennials flee Instagram, what will the platform become? And what will replace it? For the sake of the large (somewhat demanding) user base that embraced Instagram’s unique authenticity and purity, we suspect Instagram will need to scale back on the level of freedom they grant advertisers to avoid risking user abandonment. 5. Keeping that 2.8 average: We would be remiss to remind you that Instagram has had advertisements for several years and that Insta-ads typically yield a 2.8 return on investment when compared with other social media advertisements. The reason for this return is simple: high user engagement and the flawless design strategy Instagram used to keep those ads on the cutting edge of creativity and relevance. As long as Instagram (and any participating advertising agency) can maintain the same level of engagement after their new API goes live, all this fuss might be worth it’s weight in gold. Read: see above that 2.8 average. Way above. 6. Content is still king: For Instagram to pull this off (and for your business to benefit), your digital marketing agency needs to remember that content is still king. We don’t believe that Instagram’s new API is the end of the social media ecosystem as we know it. In fact, we believe this change poses a unique challenge for all marketers and industry professionals to step up their creativity and get back to hard hitting marketing strategy, instead of churning and burning meaningless campaigns and hoping they stick. 7. Hail the new king: If Instagram encourages businesses and marketers to serve better content to their customers, Instagram may become even more relevant than it is now. Instead of abandoning the platform, new users could flock to Instagram knowing that they’ll be receiving hyper-personalized content that they actually want to see. This would make Instagram the new king of social media and possibly even Google or other search platforms in terms of pure advertising and conversion potential. 8. The future of filtering (and we don’t mean Ludwig): Another way to mitigate risk is for Instagram to introduce new filtering tools to users’ feeds. This would fundamentally change the structure of Instagram and the never-ending content flow users seem to enjoy, but may solve for the advertiser’s dilemma if Instagram’s new API starts driving users away. In the same way that users can currently tab into their followers’ activity, their photo feed, and individual profile tags, Instagram could use some form of tagging or filtering to enhance the user experience as their advertising model evolves. 9. This really could be a good thing: Love it or hate it, the only things certain in life are death and taxes. And change. Instagram, like every platform before it and every platform that will come after it, needs to evolve with current marketing trends and business needs. Even with shock and outrage from the Internet, Instagram is launching their new API. Instead of fighting it, we recommend on capitalizing on it and making the experience better for all parties involved – you as a user and your advertising agency partner. 10. Who is next?: So that leaves us with only one question left: who is next? Because we know that Instagram won’t be the last platform to radically change their marketing techniques as customers crave more tailored advertising content and highly individualized marketing experiences.
Human generated content marketing vs. computer generated content
We normally wouldn’t start out by giving you a homework assignment, but when we’re about to start talking like Orson Welles, it doesn’t hurt to frame the conversation. When’s the last time you considered how human generated content marketing would compete with computer generated content? First, read the following two sports overviews from the New York Times: Overview 1: “Things looked bleak for the Angels when they trailed by two runs in the ninth inning, but Los Angeles recovered thanks to a key single from Vladimir Guerrero to pull out a 7-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday.” Overview 2: “The University of Michigan baseball team used a four-run fifth inning to salvage the final game in its three-game weekend series with Iowa, winning 7-5 on Saturday afternoon (April 24) at the Wilpon Baseball Complex, home of historic Ray Fisher Stadium.” Human content marketing vs. computer generated content Did they sound feasible? Did anything stand out between them? And – mic drop – did you realize that one of them wasn’t written by a human? We didn’t think so. In a study conducted at Karlstad University in Sweden, most readers could not tell the difference between a computer generated article and a piece written by actual people (creepy, we think not). When compared, they indicated computer generated content was drier, but equally trustworthy and realistic. Okay, now that you’ve re-read them, let’s take a look at what this means for the future of marketing. The reality is, you’ve probably read plenty of computer generated content already, ranging from financial reports, to news articles, and press releases. News agencies, big businesses, and financial institutions are leaning on computer generated content algorithms to keep up with the media’s insatiable appetite for up-to-the-minute information. Until now, computers have not begun generating advertising content marketing or fiction (although a few attempts at poetry have debuted with reasonable success). That isn’t to say that they won’t or can’t – however. Implications for the digital marketing agency: Aside from a vague sense that this could probably be a subject for this summer’s artificial intelligence blockbuster hit, the rising emergence of computer generated content has very real implications for the traditional content marketing agency and digital marketing agency. Some scientists estimate that close to 90% of news could be created by a computer as this technology progresses. But will that make content writers obsolete? We’d like to think not (after all, we are very much enjoying writing this article). And all it takes is but one conversation with Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana to doubt that a computer could ever fully replace human vernacular. When we read Overview 1, which was written by a human, we agreed with consumer research that there was a warmth and colloquialism that set it apart from Overview 2, which was written by a computer. When tapping into content that speaks to our customers’ psyches and turns transactions into brand love affairs, we aren’t convinced that a computer can ever replace the wit and wisdom of a writer’s craft. But what if? As this technology evolves and becomes refined – or even proves us wrong – it may change how you interact with your digital marketing agency or advertising agency. Instead of working with them on editing and crafting content, you may be honing in on your SEO strategy to ensure your content ranks highest, that your keywords are the most specific to your customers, and that your content is found rather than generated. How computer generation content will impact SEO: This type of shift would also profoundly impact SEO strategy as well. If content becomes increasingly automated, it stands to reason that the act of categorizing and sorting it could also become more automated. We aren’t sure that SEO strategists would become obsolete either, banking on a new wave of competition between human generated content and computer generated content forged over nuanced distinctions between whether the searcher is seeking emotional or entertaining content versus informative or educational information. What is certain is that as computer generated content floods the internet, there will be a much greater volume of content to sort, and search engines will have to balance between simply serving facts and figures (which would logically rank highest due to their high relevance and accuracy) against information that intrigues or inspires the mind (which may deserve a spot above the fold too). Last but not least, what about consumers: Despite any knee jerk reactions we might have about artificial intelligence or a begrudging bias against computers that can write better than us, the reality of this revolution is pretty remarkable. Refined computer generated content will allow customers to find information without wading through opinions, outdated facts, and biased content. Forget Wikipedia, evolved computer generated content could create a new knowledge center that surpasses every encyclopedia and Internet source we’ve ever seen. The implications are endless for the consumer, student, healthcare provider, or curious mind. The verdict is still out, but we think the fact that most consumers aren’t aware how much computer generated content they’re already consuming shows great promise for its potential when applied with thoughtfulness and judgment. We believe that your digital marketing agency will continue to serve your customers the right content at the right time, but computer generated content will allow you to educate them even more about the benefits of your brand and services in concert with your other marketing efforts. Like most industry disrupters, the future of computer generated content is unclear, but the potential is there.
