How can you make sure that your online campaigns are achieving their highest potential when there are so many factors responsible for their success or failure?
Are you split testing your content marketing, email marketing and social media marketing campaigns?
And with U.S. digital ad spending reaching $72.09 billion in 2016 according to e-marketers, why waste money on campaigns that are under performing?
Split Testing Provides Results You Are Likely Missing Now
Split testing, or A/B testing, is a method of experimentation that places two variables against each other to measure success rates.
Split testing landing page shows big improvement in conversions (recent leadpages testing results for a marketing offer after just 3 weeks)
The basic premise of split testing involves keeping one variable constant, while changing the second variable to see if it makes the campaign perform better. As a result, marketers are left with the best way to use each variable in a campaign.
With a variety of different online marketing campaigns, from email to social media, there are a number of approaches to split testing and the variables you can test to optimize performance.
Check out these suggestions for just a few of the main online campaigns.
Split Testing Content Marketing Campaigns
As split testing is working with variables, remember that only one variable should be changed at a time. Otherwise you won’t be able to tell the cause of performance changes.
As with other online marketing campaigns, content marketing involves a number of steps to consider:
style and subject of article
type of writer
length of article
image use or not
what publisher will post the article
position on the webpage
will be a call to action and what specifically
Each of these can be considered a variable during split testing, and will need to be tested individually to see what works best for you.
For example, as a beauty brand you might test different publishers by placing the same article on a fashion website and an online travel magazine.
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From there, you can test the variable by keeping track of the number of comments, page views, how many times it’s been shared and whether the viewer scrolled to the bottom of the page to find out which publisher results in more audience engagement.
Split Testing Email Marketing Campaigns
As emails are sent directly to each individual customer, it is important to approach it in a manner that is both relatable and applicable to your target market.
Otherwise, audiences can often feel annoyed or like their privacy has been invaded. A great approach to split testing is to see what has worked in the past.
If you’ve noticed anything that definitely did not work, make sure to look into that particular variable.
Variables may include:
subject headings
in-text banners
the type of call to action
…all of these can be tracked and can have an impact on open and click-through rates.
It may be a good idea to use tools to manage the success of each variable.
InboxGuru used in tandem with Infor CRM is a great tool for implementing, managing and enhancing email campaigns.
This method, alongside split testing, can be an efficient way to maximize performance.
Split Testing Social Media Marketing Campaigns
A great social media post often means targeting a specific audience with the right image and the right copy, posted at the perfect time.
Here are important considerations for social media post testing for performance:
Images and videos use
Style and tone of copy
Subject of the post
Time of day when posted
Frequency of distribution
Networks
These are just some of the variables that should be considered in your split testing process. In order to really get the best outcome from split testing, it is important to keep an open mind and maintain an all-encompassing approach so that you get the best combination of features in your campaign.
For example, try looking at your outdoor campaigns for social campaign inspiration.
Maybe a billboard you did performed well and the same image could be used on a social post?
Try being creative and don’t be afraid to test out different things.
Making a few adjustments to your online campaigns can ensure that your time, effort and money pay off.
Try split testing your online marketing campaigns in order to figure out what works best for your brand, and to ensure it’s performing the best that it can.
This rings true for larger brands as well, but they are more established and have larger budgets to support a broader marketing mix. Smaller businesses must leverage internal resources and can’t afford any waste.
From producing content to engaging with customers, social media offers an inexpensive way to broaden your customer base and create long-lasting relationships.
When they are executed correctly, social media strategies can help brand your business and build a strong online presence for the long term.
1. Start by Choosing the Right Platform (Audience)
For your social media strategy to succeed, you have to pick the right platform for your business.
The platform should be selected based on research. Where do your types of customers hang out the most, and what are they looking for? (that you can help them with?)
Choose the right platform for your targeted audience
The social media site needs to be content friendly so that you can upload images, blog articles (LinkedIn, Medium) or white papers (Slideshare.net)
Instagram photos are 15 times more likely to be shared than Facebook photos, so a photo-rich industry may want to focus primarily on Instagram.
However, don’t forget Pinterest, they have a powerful advertising platform as well.
Meanwhile, snippets, links, blogs and articles are easier to share on Twitter and Facebook (Instant Articles).
Finally, as mentioned – consider the locations where your prospects hang out because these will be the most effective platforms to spread your message.
2. Create Your Social Media Objectives
Once you know where you will place your content and what they are looking for, you have to decide on your goals.
Lead Gen Opportunities Via Content Marketing
You need clear objectives because these goals will help you determine if your marketing plan is a success or a failure. In addition, you must determine the metrics that let you know if you have gained a return on your investment. (Web Analytics)
If your goal is to increase website traffic, your social media strategy is a failure if your traffic does not increase.
Likewise, a goal of bringing in leads is a failure if your content is widely shared, but does not draw in new clients.
Go a step beyond vanity metrics like Facebook likes or Retweets.
Instead, focus on how your website is generating leads, web referrals and conversion rates.
The ultimate goal is always to boost your profitability, so any plan should be designed with that in mind.
3. Design a Content Plan
While mentions in the media are always a plus, you need to have a content plan for long-term success. (Think content calendar)
Articles about your business, new products, events and related topics will help to draw readers to your website.
In addition, Google loves fresh content, and so do your users.
Fresh Content, More Traffic & Engagement
Ideally, you should post at least once a week. For the best results, consider implementing a daily content goal, and refer back to your content calendar.
Your content plan should include the target audience, the frequency of your posts and the types of content you plan on posting.
Likewise, you should determine who will create the content and how it will be promoted.
Once you have answered these questions, you should set up a daily or weekly plan of blogs and social media posts that you plan on releasing.
You should also consider the types of keywords that you use because the search engines will use keywords as one of the factors to determine what your content is about.
4. Building a Diverse Content Strategy
Today, people go beyond just reading books and articles to get their information.
Videos have become a crucial part of social media success because people cannot just skim the video.
In addition, look into creating blog content and images that get placed on your social media profiles.
“U.S. researchers discovered that the human brain can interpret images that the eye sees in just 13 milliseconds – the first evidence of such rapid processing speed. It was previously thought it took almost eight times longer for humans to process a picture.”
Use visual elements when it supports your story/message. Human beings process imagery faster than text.
The human mind can process visual presentations much faster than words or speech, so a picture can convey your message much faster than content.
By diversifying your content, you can ensure that your business can reach out to every type of consumer.
5. Test and Adjust Your Marketing Plan
Even with the best social media strategy, adjustments will always be needed.
Tracking things like the number of clicks from a link, visitors to the blog, leads generated and website traffic will help you determine if your social media plan needs to change.
Every business is different, so your company may need a unique blend of social media platforms or content to become successful.
To increase your relatability on Twitter, keep your tweets short but personable with words like “you,” “your” and “us.”
According to Twitter research, users follow a median of six brands on Twitter and they are looking for interesting and fun content, news and updates, and discounts and promotions. Ensure you are one of those brands by using different tweet formats.
Try a mixture of:
stories, article and blog links,
jokes,
competitions,
…and interesting facts.
Your followers should be excited and rely on the information on your Twitter.
End your tweets with a call to action or hashtag to boost engagement. Whether you request a re-tweet, comment or link to a purchase page, a CTA is a great way to reach new audiences and encourage a response.
In fact, research conducted by Twitter revealed that 60 percent of respondents said they’ve made a purchase based on something seen on Twitter.
#2 Include a Visual
Social media company Buffer sampled 100 tweets from its Twitter account to analyze the use of images.
The result?
Images received:
18 percent more click-throughs,
89 percent more favorites and
150 percent more re-tweets
And it’s no surprise.
Photos and videos stand out among the clutter of text and they implement a sense of reality.
To boost your engagement, re-tweet a picture of a customer using your product or service or upload an image of the office on a night out.
Ask your followers to tweet a picture of their favorite work night out to start a conversation. You could even create a hashtag and start a competition for the best picture.
#3 Be Cautious of Timing
Certain times of the day have more engagement than others, which can affect the effectiveness of your tweet.
Depending on the culture of your brand, the time when your audience is most engaged may be different, so take the time to pinpoint when your audience is active on Twitter.
In addition to the days of the week, major events and holidays are important to keep in mind.
Is it a holiday like Mother’s Day or Christmas?
Is an important sporting event happening?
Use these themes to make your tweets more interesting and to engage in the viral-nature of the platform to reach new audiences.
Social media is here to stay, and let’s be honest: If your company doesn’t have a Twitter presence, it’s missing out on a giant opportunity to connect with customers and prospects.
Not to mention, if you’re not tweeting, you run the risk of appearing out of touch.
Twitter branding the global way
Unfortunately, though, many companies are missing the mark on Twitter by failing to take advantage of all the the microblogging platform has to offer. Twitter plays a big role in many successful business plans. And, newsflash — even if your company is not active on Twitter, your brand likely exists. Meaning, whether you’re actively participating or not, your customers likely are — and some may even be talking about you, both good and bad.
So it’s up to you to get in on the conversations.
And with Twitter being free (besides any promoted tweets you may wish to pursue), there’s really no reason not to tweet.
Twitter boasts 310 million unique monthly visitors and is the second most popular social media platform. Suffice it to say, Twitter isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Listening is as Important as Tweeting
Twitter offers businesses a unique opportunity to not only hear customers’ thoughts, but to also have a glimpse at what’s being said about their competition and industry leaders.
This “inside” information is a great way to maintain a competitive edge.
Since Twitter is known well as a breaking-news platform, by keeping an eye on key accounts, you can have advance notice on any big announcements that are important to your company.
Not to mention that bench-marking your following and your impressions against your competitors’ is advantageous in setting goals for your own marketing campaigns.
What’s more, tweeters — now more than ever — expect to have their customer service issues addressed in real time by a company’s Twitter account.
Which means it’s crucial to have a dedicated staff member manning the social platform and ready to respond to customer service inquiries and complaints.
Follow the Crowd
While creativity is always a plus, if you’re just getting started on a Twitter strategy, there’s no need to recreate the wheel.
LifeLock, an identity theft protection company, is a great example of a company getting Twitter right.
While using relevant industry hashtags that people interested in their product would search, like #PrivacyAware and #OnlineSafety, the company makes it a priority to share the latest identity theft news, along with identity protection tips, positioning themselves as a subject-matter expert in their field.
By staying trendy and timely, these brands know the value of a good tweet, appropriate response time and catchy photos of their products.
Use the Tools
According to addthis.com, businesses should be taking advantage of the many Twitter analytics tools out there that are designed to enhance your brand.
Tools like Buffer, TweetDeck and Hootsuite allow you to schedule your tweets in advance and follow trends easily.
Furthermore, Twitter’s in-depth analytics dashboard allows you to see your top-performing tweets, as well as your mentions and followers, along with helpful tips to create more engagement.
Speak So Your Customers Listen
For lingerie-specific brands, whose customer base is predominantly women, it’s key to be immersed in women’s lifestyle topics, including fashion, beauty and wellness.
By sharing information on topics your customers care about, aside from company and product information (which can appear self-serving if that’s all you’re putting out there), you’re showing you care about and cater to your customers’ needs and interests.
And that you understand them.
And isn’t that what every customer really wants? Happy tweeting!
You have 160 characters to tell the world who you are and what you’re about. Before you sit down to craft that first tweet, follow these tips to build the perfect bio that represents your brand.
#1 – Be Original
If you’ve read one Twitter bio, you’ve read them all.
They’re hopelessly predictable and everyone writes the same thing.
Twitter Bio Generator for ideas (by https://twitter.com/joshjs)
In fact, you can even use a Twitter bio generator to create a bio so average, so plain, that no one will even realize it’s fake.
Even an inkling of originality will grab readers’ attention, so don’t follow the lemmings off the edge of the cliff.
#2 – Be Direct
You don’t have to be Ellen to write a hilarious bio, and you don’t have to be Neil deGrasse Tyson to write an inspiring bio.
Companies can say who they are and why they do what they do in one short paragraph.
The second line isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the first is quite grabbing.
It’s like saying you only have one life, and people will notice a statement like that. Your company or brand can do the same, no matter what your product or service.
#3 – Be Witty (But Only If You’re Witty)
This tip is told with caution because you can’t force funny, and it can actually backfire if that humor is not authentic.
@jimmykimmel – funny, weird, works.
We’ve all seen politicians try to act “cool” to resonate with the young voters.
Unless you’re playing saxophone on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” it’s about the most uncool thing you can do.
If humor is an authentic way you connect with an audience, then by all means use 160 characters to show off some wit.
But don’t force the concept because you think it’s what people want to read.
#4 – Don’t Sell
You will have plenty of chances to self-promote on social media; don’t make your bio one of them.
Twitter Bio Example – Bad
You can tell people what your product stands for without selling, LifeLock does this with their bio, but a good first impression should never end with a call to action.
Instead of telling people what you do or what you offer, tell them why you do it.
Apple will never tell you that it’s a company that sells phones. It will tell you it’s a company that changes lives… oh, and they just happen to sell phones to make it happen.
See the difference? Tell people why you wake up in the morning and do what you do, and they will follow you (figuratively and literally on Twitter).
#5 – Be Genuine
That last one goes without saying but it has to be said anyways—don’t be fake.
It’s not easy to trust people you meet or come across online. People can sometimes be more authentic online than offline in the way they express their personality.
Twitter is full of hacks who are out to get as many followers as possible with no real value. Quality trumps quantity any time of day.
Be genuine and true in you bio and you will not be one of those hacks.
Everyone knows the importance of getting attention online. And, the total value of being easily found and staying visible online.
Traffic is great, but if you can’t make any of it convert, then all those visitors are wasted.
Attention spans are shorter than ever and while the exact amount of time varies from one study to another, generally speaking they all agree that you have less than 10 seconds to grab a hold of a web surfer’s attention before you lose it forever.
Every single day and week you end up surfing the web, scanning magazines while waiting in line, or reading news stories that you really weren’t that interested in.
How did you get sidetracked? 🙂
The first step was almost guaranteed to be a powerful, insulting, gripping, or otherwise impossible to ignore headline. (References to linkbait / clickbait in SEO circles).
Headlines are powerful, and learning to write outstanding ones for every single article or blog post online can quickly transform your business because of the increased attention.
These 10 tools help you learn to create attention, intrigue, and everything your headline needs to go from failing to fabulous.
#1: Online Title & Headline Generators
Online title generators and online headline generators are very useful tools that can help at every stage of creating a great headline from brainstorming ideas to looking for that extra word or little adjustment that changes the entire effectiveness of those all-important first words.
https://tweakyourbiz.com/tools/title-generator/
A title generator can use a few keywords to develop a lot of great titles based on proven formats that have worked in the past, and can help with brainstorming the various options you have.
Many of these tools will have dozens if not hundreds of pre-programmed headlines that use a basic template such as:
– 10 ways (KEYWORD) can change your life
– Master (KEYWORD) or else
– (KEYWORD): What you need to know right now!
These tools won’t give you that one in a thousand headline that becomes famous due to being completely unique and different, but it can help break up writer’s block or at least create a solid title from a proven formula.
Most marketers have one or two of these tools they use as their go-to for headline creation.
Using different measurements to see how active your opening headline is, how many action words are used, and by looking at the parts that make up a great conventional title you can see how your current headline measures up.
Questions to ask:
Is it emotional?
Is it action oriented?
Is it eye-catching or tired and too vague?
This tool isn’t there to create new headlines, but it can help you tackle the full list you’ve come up with and see how they measure up against one another and what potential problems might be recurring with what you are writing.
This is good guidance for the editing process.
#3: Your Bookmarks Tab
This seems strange, perhaps.
But one of the best possible free tools that can help you learn to be an amazing headline writer is your bookmarks tab.
When you’re surfing the web and see a story that just grabs you, an advertisement that makes you click, or a sales letter that forces you to click and see what’s being sold, save that in one of your folders. (TIP: Install the evernote plugin in your bookmarks and save)
Creating a bookmark folder just for these types of headlines will give you a great resource to see what makes even seasoned marketers click through.
The longer you collect these bookmarks, the better the resource gets.
Learning to take a look at magazine covers (especially magazines like “The National Inquirer” or “Cosmo”) and see how they pitch sensationalism will also show you how to get attention with a few basic words. These folks are paid high dollars to capture your attention. Leverage that!
#4: Copywriting Courses
Copywriting courses (Awai Online for B2B) are a great way to learn this specific type of sales writing and to create the type of headlines that are necessary to create the perfect introduction to the fully formed sales letter to follow.
Every major sales letter writer and marketer understands the importance of those opening words and no serious course will skip a section about crafting effective and powerful headlines that will force readers to click through and see what else you have to offer.
Two things to remember when looking at any copywriting courses:
– All serious copywriting courses will include sections on writing the best headlines
– Look for courses by renowned & experienced sales writers (awaionline)
Obviously you can trust a course from a renowned copywriter or from someone who has made letters that have sold millions in product.
This is one of those cases where you only want to learn from those who have proven they truly know their stuff!
#5: Fiction Courses
This might be counter-intuitive, especially to people who don’t see the initial connection, but the absolute best headlines tend to be creative, use vivid language, and paint a picture.
Whether online, in a community workshop, or at a University, taking classes in fiction writing can help copywriters learn to think differently.
Using words in creative ways will open up the options when writing headlines and give these writers a leg up on writers who are stuck in a small contained box.
Learn to embrace the skills that fiction writing bring you!
#6: The Optimizely Tool
This cutely named tool focuses on optimization of the headline (or headlines) you are trying to decide between.
Reportedly Bleacher Report, NBC Universal, and Microsoft all use this tool to increase their page views and click through rates.
The tool then figures out what type of titles are working, which ones get more clicks from people who visit, and what can be done to make even more effective headlines in the future.
This is a great tool for fully optimizing all of your titles and headlines on any given page or website.
#7: Taboola Newsroom
Taboola Newsroom is a tool that’s only available to people in the Taboola network, but it’s a tool worth looking at if you have access.
This not only looks at optimizing headlines but also the recommendations, thumbnail pictures, and other important factors that can also result in higher open rates and a larger number of visitors per story.
This takes the analyzing of good established headlines to another level.
#8: Qualaroo Tool
Qualaroo is a survey tool that will help an intelligent writer take their titles to the next level.
After a person visits or takes an action, those who agree to take the survey will be able to give information about what caught their attention, why they clicked, and what would make them come back for more.
In other words, while a headline’s job is to get attention from as many potential visitors as possible, Qualaroo can answer the all important question of “Why did the headline work?”
Hear from the very mouths of your customers what is working and what isn’t.
That type of direct information can lead to some serious quality writing by building off positive traits you are 100% sure works.
#9: Copywriting & Headline Writing Cheat Sheets
Who doesn’t like the occasional great cheat sheet?
Are you going to go with a list article, a serious help article, or an article threatening scarcity?
Depending on which way you go, you’ll want a different headline and a great cheat sheet will be able to provide just that.
#10: Emotional Headline Analyzer
An emotional headline analyzer is an important tool that scans any given headline and in this case it’s looking to measure the emotional impact that your words will likely have on any interested potential readers.
Will they be happy or irritated – or does the vagueness of the headline being checked out be too much to get any type of an emotional response?
This tool can help give you an idea of what’s going right or what exactly it is that might be missing.
In Conclusion
No one said online marketing and headline writing is easy.
It’s simple, but it takes work.
We know great headlines attracts – and can lead to more visits, more clicks, better results.
By using some, or all, of the ten tools and strategies mentioned throughout this article you will be churning out the type of headlines that create impact.
Don’t settle for second rate output when these tools can help you master the art of creating winning headlines that will get the results you need every single time!
Instagram is one of the most powerful social media platforms in the world. Just check these monthly active users among Facebook, Whatsapp and Tumblr:
Leading social networks worldwide as of November 2015, ranked by number of active users (in millions)
Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass 1 billion registered accounts.
Seventh-ranked photo-sharing app Instagram had over 400 million monthly active accounts. Meanwhile, blogging service Tumblr had more than 230 million active blog users on their site.
From Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/)
It is well-regarded for its ease of use and overall quality.
Yet, there are many businesses which continue to linger behind with their Instagram account.
It is one thing to set up an account and another to ensure it is flourishing and remaining interactive.
Let’s take a glance at some of the most important tips and tricks to gain followers on Instagram in this day and age.
With these tips, growing your business will become easier.
Use Relevant #Hashtags
Ever seen businesses who seem to be flourishing on Instagram and adding hundreds of followers in minutes?
From Wikihow.com
Look at their pictures. What are all of them doing?
All of them are using hashtags and that is what continues to bring people in.
There are many followers from the millions who sign on every day that use the search function. They will look at the images under these hashtags and share them.
This is when a business is not only able to spread, but find targeted followers who will most likely convert. Who doesn’t like the possibility of this?
When choosing the hashtags being used, it is important not to overdo things and start spamming.
This is when people are going to be put off.
Choose relevant, niche-based hashtags that are going to woo prospective followers into joining up.
TIP:Try Keyhole to get historical and real-time data for hashtags.
Build ‘Like For Like’ Relationships
This is one of the best methods to use with followers because there are many people who don’t mind doing this.
The goal is simple and is one that is used by numerous businesses around the world on Instagram.
The idea is to build a ‘like for like’ relationship where two users agree to like each others photos.
Now, this can be taken a step further because it does not just have to be a swapping of likes, but it can be a swapping of ‘follows’ as well.
Yes, this is a great way to find new followers who would otherwise not be joining up.
It is important to remember, quality content is a must here as that is going to woo the person to agree.
Make sure to build a perfect Instagram profile and Instagram posts. Here’s a great infographic showing the anatomy of a perfect Instagram post:
From MadeFreshly.com
They will join up and it will not only increase numbers but add potential leads who are related to the niche in one way or another.
Don’t overlook this as an option because it will work and has worked for numerous businesses.
Swap Promotions With Other Accounts
It is tough to be the only business in a niche. This is rare and just does not happen.
Therefore, you are going to have a number of niche-related accounts on Instagram that can be worked with.
You want to build as many relationships as you can in this regard.
Of course, this does not mean you have to start dealing with your competitors. This often does not make sense and most would not want to do this anyway. Therefore, you want to look at semi-related accounts.
An example of this would be a computer company that connects with a software business.
Both are not direct competitors, but consumers who purchase from one will be interested in the other as well. The same idea is being applied here.
The goal is to find those semi-related accounts and connect with them to promote each other’s businesses to their followers.
This is a great way to build a proper brand and continue to find those new relationships that will come in handy down the road. Don’t ignore this as a possible option because it is proven to do the trick on Instagram repeatedly.
Build A Social Media Network
Instagram on its own is not going to help you reach maximum potential and it is as simple as this.
To gain as many followers as possible on Instagram, a proper social media web, and/or network has to be built from the ground up.
What does this mean?
The goal is to have accounts setup on all of the major social media giants. This would include the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to name a few.
You want to make sure this is being done as soon as possible. It is the only way to ensure all accounts are able to grow together.
If a prospective follower finds you on Facebook, they should easily be able to connect with their Instagram account as well.
This is how the web spreads and quality results are seen. Many businesses do this because it is one of the easiest ways to see consistent results.
Remain Interactive
Always remain interactive on these accounts as that is the only way to ensure followers are not leaving.
It is one thing to gain followers and another to keep them as they come in. Instagram does have a strong follower growth and you should capitalize on that.
What filter tends to attract the most users to look at your photo? It is the ‘Mayfair’ filter that has achieved this status as the best filter.
It simply attracts the eye on Instagram’s platform and is a must for businesses that are looking to optimize what they are doing.
It is a simple tweak and one that can be made in seconds. So, why not use it to gain more followers?
It works and is something that is not going to hurt the brand one bit. It is a no-brainer.
Hold Contests
The next tip would be to hold contests as these are always going to attract people.
If you don’t want to waste time on a contest, you can do something simpler in the form of a giveaway. You can give something from the business for free as long as people are signing up.
It works and you will notice how there are many people who end up staying even if they don’t win.
This is one of the most exciting parts of a change such as this and what it can do for you and the business in general.
This is not the first recommendation but is being listed because it is an option.
Instagram paid services to gain new followers is a risky option to take for a number of reasons.
It can lead to fake followers inflating numbers and it costs money.
Yet, there are certain services which are able to provide respectable followers and can be considered.
It is certainly recommended to stay away from such services and build naturally because over time there will come a point where the followers add up in a hurry.
If all other options are not working out, this is a wonderful option to consider and give a shot.
If you don’t have money to blow away continue to work through natural means as a poorly thought out purchase (with the wrong service) can hinder the business’ chances of growth.
Plus, it could also lead to concerns with Instagram. Remember, it is always smarter to go through other means. Always.
Followers on platforms such as this begin to trust the brand more and more over time. It creates an in-depth connection that leads to a long-term relationship between the customer and business.
Take these tips into consideration and devise a comprehensive plan which will ensure new followers are added every single day.
This is a must for those who are unable to see growth through other means and want something that is proven and effective.
With 27% of America’s population on this wonderful platform, the opportunities are endless.
This post is about how to generate leads using LinkedIn in a non-paid manner.
LinkedIn’s self service paid ads can seem like an easier way to generated traffic and leads, but most that go down this path lose their investment.
At least in the short term.
It is simply not feasible to tread down this path without being willing to lose money. Sure, that’s ‘business as usual’, but do you really have to start there?
Does this mean there are not other organic methods to create traffic through the LinkedIn platform?
This is a question many business owners and B2B marketers tend to have.
There are multiple methods one can employ to garner traffic as long as there is a commitment towards being meticulous and persistent.
Let’s take a look at six unique ways to generate traffic on LinkedIn, Naturally.
#1 Maximize Use Of Integrated Media On Your Profile
Let’s begin with the first unusual method which is not going to cost you a dime and will create more visibility, authority and opportunity for leads. I’ll call them “mini-apps”.
There are a number of apps from which you can choose the ones you want. On LinkedIn, you will have to go to the ‘Applications’ area in order to sift through the options on offer and pick the apps that are best suited for you and your needs. There are some fascinating apps included in the area such as being able to create simple polls, lists, and even optimizing your blog posts. There are so many things to do with these apps alone and the leads they will create are going to be astonishing at first.
There are far too many people who don’t take advantage of these apps and that is what holds them back. It is one of the easiest long-term methods to continually generate leads and make your profile exciting to read as well.
#2 Implement LinkedIn Answers Alternatives
As my social associate Donna Serdula said in this blog post, LinkedIn Answers is removed from the feature set. She recommends other tools to use now:
These are similar to the idea of ‘Yahoo Answers’, and great to get insights to questions people ask, and that you can help answer. There are a significant amount of examples with regards to people who were able to build a lot of leads in a short period of time because of their answers alone.
You can write posts on LinkedIn to answer people’s questions, or highlight a problem area that you and your firm have expertise in.
#3 Maximize Second Connections Via Target Company
Searching for people is something most users are going to do at one point or another on LinkedIn.
This is easy to do, but there are many people who don’t realize how they can maximize first connections in order to develop secondary connections.
LinkedIn has made it easy to spot the kind of connections a person has with specific companies or people.
Let’s say you are looking to generate leads in the world of accounting and are targeting specific firms in the area. You will click on their company name after putting it in the search bar. On the right-hand side, you are going to see all of the direct connections you have to the business. These are great and most people notice these. However, you want to go to the “second connections” link as that is where the real value is.
When you click on these people, you will begin to see ‘shared connections’ near the bottom of their profile.
Shared Connections – LinkedIn Profile
These are the individuals who you have to contact and provide value to. You will be surprised as to how many leads can be created when you are using this method alone.
#4 Join Outside Your ‘Circle’ Using LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups are great and hold wonderful value as long as you are using them properly.
What is the first thing most people do with regards to these groups?
They will join the ones that are present in their niche and call it a day. Does this sound like a good plan?
It might have worked in the past, but in most cases the leads are going to be saturated. Everyone and their dog will be going after these groups as they are the common sense ones to consider. What you need to do is go outside the circle, but still within your market (“shoulder-niches”).
Go outside of the niche in order to find leads. How is this possible? Let’s take a look.
Let’s say you are in the world of finance. You will want to join all finance-based groups, but you can start to move outwards as well such as “small business owners” or “investors” and other related groups. These are people who will be related to the world of finance, but not directly.
You will be able to find some of the finest leads in these groups because they will have likely have been less targeted in the past. This is where the magic lies for those who are tired of being shut down on their regular groups.
But, with all outreach and connections, “high value, no spam” is essential.
#5 Build Your Network With LinkedIn Mobile App
This next way would be one of those options that are going to yield great value in the long-term.
This is based on a more personal encounter. Imagine going to a great trade show and speaking to wonderful people only to realize you don’t have their contact information.
Sure, they might give you a business card, but is that enough? No.
You want to get and link to their LinkedIn profile as soon as you can.
With the new mobile app that has been set up by LinkedIn, you are able to download it and connect with a simple tap of two smartphones. Just put their backs together and immediately you will have the other person’s information.
Yes, it is that easy!
Getting this app downloaded is going to take a few seconds and those who are not paying attention will be the ones who are missing out. Always make sure you are paying attention to this method.
It will do the trick and you will be able to reap the rewards of the connections you had built. This is when networking is going to be worthwhile.
#6 Understand SEO On LinkedIn
SEO is not only reserved for search engines such as Google or Bing.
It can be seen with any platform that has a search bar. Yes, it is essential to maximize the search algorithm on LinkedIn in order to reap the rewards of one’s profile. There are numerous people who are missing out on this and that is the reason they are not able to generate new leads.
How can one maximize SEO to generate leads?
The sole purpose of SEO is to find keywords people are searching for on the platform and then using them on your profile. It is simple and will push your profile up the search results when the keyword is typed in.
Do your research in this regard.
What are people searching for in your niche all the time? How can you incorporate this in your profile?
An example would be changing the titles of your blog posts to include keywords. Don’t spam, but try to place essential keywords in your profile and expanded meta fields within that profile.
For example, if you were working as a social media marketing firm, you would want to have “social media marketing” in your profile at the very least.
To get your LinkedIn profile listed high in search engines, keep it fresh and include references to your profile across other platforms and websites. Content and links still rule the day in SEO.
It is all about building a platform which is going to yield results in the long-term. The fact this is still an untapped method is what makes it beautiful to incorporate. You will generally be the only person in the niche who is maximizing the use of SEO.
URLs matter in SEO and that’s the same on LinkedIn. See what the awesome Viveka Von Rosen says about that here:
CONCLUSION:
These are some of the finest methods any marketer or business owner is going to come across when aiming to generate leads in their niche on the LinkedIn platform.
Does this mean it is going to be straightforward? No, marketing requires hard work and a desire to excel which comes along with a positive mindset.
Those who have it will be able to utilize these methods written in this post and employ them with great success. Those who don’t are the ones who will generally resort back to paid ads and lose half of their budget immediately.
Don’t be one of those people and give these methods a real chance.
Social media platforms have long been regarded as the way of the future.
Marketing teams, online professionals and digital marketing agencies are going to move through these platforms quickly. Those companies who maximize findings from results and platforms will be the ones winning in their respective niches. That’s you!
Welcome to pinterest ads – create traffic and engagement
However, those who ignore them will quietly slip into the background over time.
Pinterest is one of those juggernauts growing and becoming a meaningful option as time goes on.
Pinterest is estimated to reach 47.1 million users in the U.S. in 2015 – @craigpsmith
Experts in the industry are stating Pinterest is going to be one of the most powerful marketing tools in the upcoming year. The community is vast and the ad manager is top notch with its layout and efficiency.
Before diving headfirst into the ads process, it is critical to understand how the platform works. Those who don’t take the time to understand these intricacies are going to lose out on a lot of money.
Don’t let this happen and put in the hard work that is required to first understand how things work.
APPROACH #1:
There are two specific methods for promoting pins on this platform. One is reserved for larger businesses (i.e. partners) in the form of the “reservation style promoted pin“. This is reserved for companies who are putting down a set amount from the beginning and will have their spot reserved on the system for keywords. (Read the Pinterest spend article from Adage).
The going amount for reserving spots for keywords comes in at around $1 million. For most, this budget is rather extreme and won’t be feasible at all. This is where the second approach is available.
APPROACH #2:
The second approach uses the method of auctions and bidding. You bid for a specific keyword and have your pins put up for a certain amount of time. It is a CPC (cost per click) based method and each keyword and “topic” is going to have different fees attached to them.
Competitive keywords with a lot of people bidding will go higher than others. It is the same as seen on Google Adwords.
This is often the right way to go as long as the right keywords are being targeted and focused in on as needed.
The two different campaign types are: a) engagement campaigns, and b) traffic campaigns
Engagement campaign:
Track your audience’s signals of intent. You get charged for each engagement (closeup, repin, click) on your Pin.
Traffic campaigns, traffic to your website:
Send a motivated audience to your content. You get charged for clicks to your website.
Pinterest Campaign Types
Step 1: Setup Your Business Account
Let’s move onto putting together a business account and getting those ads up to rake in the leads.
It begins by setting up the account as that is going to get the ball rolling in the right direction. You will have to go the website (business.pinterest.com) and fill out the details that are required.
It will ask you for information in relation to what is going to be advertised and personal details. It will also ask for financial information to make sure the money is going to come from a secure place (i.e. credit card).
Figure out all of this information beforehand to make the application process go through as needed. Make sure to enter all relevant and correct information on the form. They will vet the information and if there are concerns, the account is not going to be approved by the person responsible for the task.
Be patient and make sure all of the information adds up and provides the value that is required by Pinterest and their policies. Don’t overlook anything.
Step 2: Get Approval For ‘Promoted Pins’ On Pinterest
The next step is to wait after the application has been sent into Pinterest.
They are going to look through the information that has been put in the application to make sure you have not wasted their time and have put information that is truthful and correct.
They are going to generally take care of you pretty quickly as the main account has been approved.
Feel free to reach out to the account team if the process takes longer than you expected.
Step 3: Begin To Create Pins (For Your Ads)
The next step is going to take a look at creating the pin(s) that you are looking to put up in the advertising section.
You are going to want to make this as professional and aesthetic as possible because it is going to have a role to play in how many people click on it.
You don’t want to overlook these concerns as it could lead to the campaign falling apart. This happens a lot more than businesses would expect. Just putting up a pin is not going to do enough. It has to gain traction and that begins by making sure you are creating the right pins that will work.
The pin has to be made for the main board, so you have to understand it is not a ‘one and done’ type situation. The pin has to last on your account and then be put up. You can’t just customize a pin and hope to take it off afterward.
Plus, you’ll develop many different pins for engagement and contribution to your growing community.
There are certain rules you have to adhere to. These rules include what is not allowed (i.e. drugs, alcohol, porn) and no obvious call to actions (click here!) as those are against the rules of the platform.
Step 4: Select The Right Pin For Promotion Purposes
Make sure the pin that you are going to be promoting is coming from your own account and is not attached to another board. This happens a lot more than people would like to see.
Creating, managing and editing pins are keys to your success, as you build your foundation. Driving Pinterest traffic to poorly created content is “failure before you begin”.
They put the pin on the group account and that is when the entire group gets promoted rather than your page.
You want to make sure it is only on your page and then it is being promoted. This will drive all of the traffic/leads to your account as desired.
You always want to make sure you are paying attention to this moving forward.
What should you be looking to do with regards to the promotions? You have to take a look at how many people are searching up specific terms. You can and should visit others in your marketplace and do competitive research.
Step 5: Assess The Keywords And Launch The Ad
This step is key as this is where the research comes into play. You have to take a look at the search terms that you can use.
Select the location, gender, and device you want to work with. Be careful and try to spread the money in order to get data to work with.
Pinterest Ads: demographics and targeting options
This way you can optimize based on what combination works best.
The same goes for your CPC budget. Look to go to a reasonable amount. Also, be careful with regards to the URL destination. You will want it targeted to the right place or you will lose out.
Once you submit, you’ll see this notice. It may/will take longer for newer accounts.
CONCLUSION:
You are ready to go and you will be able to put up more campaigns as you proceed and continue to test. This is what matters and you will see results.
Pinterest ads can be a great way to go, and you should definitely test if your business is very image-driven. But, many businesses are using Pinterest.
Don’t end up on the wrong side of things when it comes to marketing trends that can have a big impact for your business. Pinterest and its advertising products can be maximized to ensure results are coming in.
Pay attention to the steps listed in this post and then move forward with regards to the value being provided.
When you are able to make the most of these steps, you will see the results roll in with ease. Your conversion rate will start to go up as well.
Whether you are a small business owner or an entrepreneur you must have used Facebook Ads.
…at least at some point, right?
If not – you really need to be considering FB advertising strategies and tools. Plus, the power of the pixel is here to stay. That’s true for many primary ad platforms (see upcoming posts).
It is one of the most cost-effective ways to bring laser targeted traffic to your website and offers, including apps and more.
However, we are not here to discuss the validity of Facebook advertising (but it’s obvious!).
We are here to find ways to streamline the process and make advertising quicker, easier, and more cost-effective.
Isn’t that about all we can ask out of life in general, let alone our advertising efforts?
The following are 7 Essential Tools Every Facebook Advertiser Needs To Try At Least Once.
Bonus Tool:
We really like the Facebook Video Ad Creator from Promo.com (Give it a try and start making engaging creatives that drive brand visibility and generate more clicks)
All these tools are designed to make your Facebook Ads experience more enjoyable and will help improve your overall return on investment!
1) Qwaya
Qwaya is one of the many paid tools on the market that have been designed to take your Facebook marketing campaigns to the next level.
Qwaya was developed in my neighborhood country of Sweden, and is one of the best tools on the market if you are looking to scale up your current operation and also by automating the entire A/B testing routine, and advanced boolean logic.
One of the problems many marketers have faced with using Facebook’s Power Editor is its lacking ability to split test, and with efficient reporting.
With the use of Qwaya, you have the ability to test every imaginable aspect of a campaign.
In fact, it is very easy to lose several hours playing with this tool. You can mix the creatives, targeting, and imagery to find the absolute perfect ad …all automatically.
While Qwaya is highly powerful it does come with an equally powerful price tag. For an individual account, Qwaya will set you back $149 per month.
For a business to use Qwaya with up to five user accounts it is $249 per month at time of writing. In addition, Qwaya can be further customized to fit the needs of your agency.
This platform offers a generous 2-week trial period to give the system a good workout. But, this is not for beginners.
It tries really hard to give the advertiser a good user experience that is not bogged down in trying to learn how to use the tool.
This would perhaps be my recommendation for users who are actually just starting out with Facebook Ads.
The interface and language is almost identical and it take very little time to get up and running with the tool.
With Ad Espresso’s platform, you can easily create multiple ads and see what they are going to look like in real time.
With Ad Espresso it only takes moments to have 4 separate ad groups with 64 different ads. Imagine trying to do all that manually! You would have ads floating in your head for the next week.
What makes Ad Espresso so user-friendly is its ability to give the user a full report on exactly what is working best and what elements would work better together.
By combing all this data is is very easy to create the super ad set.
Ad Espresso has a wide variety of pricing options starting at $49 and moving up to $299 per month.
This tool starts new users out with a 30-day free trial that offers full service. This can be a great place to start for you.
3) Ad Stage
Ad Stage is an excellent tool for advertisers who are looking to expand their horizons outside of Facebook. While Ad Stage offers excellent information for Facebook it can be used with multiple networks.
With just the simple inputting of accounts, you can have access to Bing Ads, Google Adwords, Twitter, and LinkedIn networks. This becomes a huge timesaver when everything you need is on one platform.
Ad Stage offers a unique feature of being able to target users by using both the “and” and “or” settings. (It’s not the only tool on the list, so read on)
For example, you can target users who follow the New York Giants and either Philadelphia Eagles or Pittsburg Steelers.
If those are not your teams, forgive the analogy! This can be a very popular tool for extreme targeting.
Ad Stage is available in three monthly plans starting at just $99 and will continue up to $399 per month.
The difference between the plans depends on the number of advertising accounts and the amount of ad spend on a monthly basis.
As with other tools, Ad Stage comes with a 14-day trial to evaluate the program.
4) Social Ads Tool
For those who run an online ad agency, Social Ads tool is one that should be investigated. This tool is designed for users who have a monthly ad spend of $10,000.
Unlike all of the other platforms on the market, Social Ads allows the user to create up to 5,000 ads in bulk quantity.
One of the best features of Social Ads is the page optimization function.
With this, a campaign is automatically created that will boost your most popular posts. This is an excellent way to make sure that your most popular content is always being shown to your audience.
While the price of Social Ads may make some individuals faint, it is important to remember that Social Ads is designed for large ad agencies who require a lot of advertising.
With that being said, service starts at $500 per month with a percentage of the advertising spend.
5) Facebook Ads Exclusion Targeting
One of the best in-house tools provided by Facebook for advertisers. This tool is designed to to help advertisers not target the same people more than once.
With this tool and functionality, you can also exclude specific audience members from new promotions in order to gain new leads.
This tool is designed to help reduce waste on ad spend and lower your cost per action or cost per click. There is no added cost to use the Facebook Ads Exclusion Targeting tool.
6) Facebook Ads Manager App & Power Editor
With the Facebook ads app, you will have the ability to revise ad budgets, edit existing ads, as well as track general ad performance.
“Power Editor is a tool designed for larger advertisers who need to create lots of ads at once and have precise control of their campaigns. To access Power Editor, you’ll need to go to www.facebook.com/ads/manage/powereditor in the Chrome browser on a desktop computer.”
One of the most powerful features of this app is the ability to create ads from previously published ads as well as photographs on your mobile device. The Power Editor is a must, but beginners should wait until comfortable with the ads manager.
7) Hootsuite Ads
One of the newer tools to the block is Hootsuite Ads which was just recently released from beta.
This tool is unique in the aspect that this tool will automatically create Facebook Ads based on your organic posts.
In addition, the tool will scan for the best amount to bid for as well as the best targeting.
This tool is designed to help beginners master the art of effectively advertising without having to do much work.
While the Facebook Power Editor is an incredible tool to get anyone started using Facebook Ads it becomes limited as you being to scale up (think big) your campaigns.
Check out a great power editor tutorial by the awesome (Twitter ID) Jon Loomer here.
The above tools are designed to help you effortlessly create more effective campaigns that are designed to increase your ROI.
