1. Understand the Assignment

Step 1

Have a crystal clear understanding of what TikTok users want. It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at TikTok- it will fall flat if it doesn’t resonate with the people of the Tok. Conduct a deep dive into customer insights annually to make sure your message is on target across media.

Step 2

Create multi-purposed content that can live across TikTok. Make your TikTok content easily searchable with hashtags and video descriptions. Once a TikTok video is developed, identify ways to activate that asset across channels: it’s a short road from TikTok to Reels, just sayin’.

Step 3

Promote organically to draw TikTok users in, instead of creating a standard ad.

Top tip: It’s not always about the product or service (yep – we really did just say that, and we mean it, too). Create fun, engaging pieces of content that inspire TikTok growth and virality. 

2. Trend-mine, build content around moments, rinse & repeat

Let’s cut to the chase: TikTok for business is important. With the right strategy, most brands are able to drive brand affinity, engagement and revenue on TikTok. Not only are TikTok ads a power revenue stream, TikTok is also the leading catalyst when it comes to social and generational trends. Viral moments may come and go but there should be a content strategy mainstay. Build a process where you continuously monitor trends and jump on them quickly to become part of a larger narrative. What’s more, the traction and views will follow. It’s not just because we’re a leading TikTok agency (or maybe it is), but we’ve defined the right posting cadence and framework for viral trends and engagement, driving traffic to:

• Website
• Physical stores
• Social media pages
• Blogs 

Client success: How a consistent organic presence boosted an outdoor brand’s engagement

In just one month, we kicked a leading outdoor recreation brand’s TikTok into gear. The formula was simple: posting multiple times a week, committing to immediate, regular audience engagement, and paying close attention to what is being talked about across industries and competitors to elevate the brand’s name in conversations. The results speak for themselves: 

• Video views: +96%
• Profile views: +794%
• +120% shares
• +950% comments 
• +82% like 

3. Make the TikTok Shop your storefront

Sync product catalogs to create a shoppable experience that is seamlessly integrated into the scrolling journey. Here’s how.

• Promote products – Tag products in organic posts and measure impact in the Store Manager. Once in the Shop tab, simply tag products to create shoppable experiences for active users. 
• Direct conversions – Convert directly within the app without the need for a landing page – a complete checkout process. You can even connect the app to your Shopify store and automatically get product data.

4. Make people stop, shop and listen

Use TikTok’s advertising program to reach your future customers in 3 ways. 

1. Content – Create quality content that is audience-specific. 
2. Promoted Posts – Reach out directly through video ads. 
3. Influencers – Partner up with influencers on the social platform. 

5. Project main-character energy with paid ads

The challenge: brands need to build relationships by becoming part of the story rather than simply telling it. Marketers that master their storytelling will experience a two-way audience-to-brand experience that no other social media platform can offer. The end result drives massive engagement and conversion. 

Let’s take a look at a SparkAds case for a leading fashion brand. Power Digital turned to Influencer Spark Ads to resonate with the brand’s target audience. This authentic, quality content resulted in Power Digital delivering a 257% increase in ROAS. The strategy leaned on restructuring the fashion brand’s account to support a Spark Ads-focused creative strategy with a strong posting cadence of 6+ new pieces of content a week. The TikTok algorithm had more to work with and, in return, drove more revenue.

Client success: Match-market testing yields delicious results for SmartSweets

A match market test (MMT) measures how incremental a marketing channel is and assesses its impact on holistic business performance. By experimenting at the Geo level across multiple channels, measuring at this level makes the data impervious to issues and limitations. The outcome is always objective because an MMT doesn’t rely on third-party data. Compared to Meta/Instagram MMT results, Power Digital’s TikTok strategy for SmartSweets drove a 287% higher incremental ROAS with a significantly lower budget. MMT results positioned TikTok as incremental to SmartSweets’ holistic business performance and offered a tangible impact on brick & mortar sales.

Following the success, SmartSweets increased their TikTok ads investment by 50%.

6. Hit different with authentic influencer relationships

The importance of brand buy-in from influencers cannot be overstated. The holy grail of TikTok is to create meaningful relationships with creators who are open to making content and driving reach.

You can’t just throw a script at a TikTok creator and expect results. Involve them early in the planning and get their input.

Equally as important – get creative. Use TikTok as an always-on platform to get any sort of longevity when it comes to building engaging content libraries through creator relationships.

Client Success: Prebuilt gaming PC company NZXT sees nearly 250% growth

NZXT, a prebuilt gaming PC company, looked to drive TikTok growth through Power Digital. Power Digital activated influencer content as Spark Ads, driving a 246% increase in account growth, and ultimately, a 12-fold return on ad spend. Within the first month of influencer activations, NZXT saw immediate results and success, generating $65k in Earned Media Value. Needless to say, the strategy paid off.

7. The conversion conundrum

Attribution explains the credit or blame for conversions or actions taken (or not) by a user. When a user converts after seeing a brand on TikTok, marketers want to know: WHY? What percentage of conversions came from an ad or other factors – such as organic discovery or word-of-mouth referrals? The problem with most attribution models is that they’re incredibly opaque. They don’t provide visibility on what happens after users leave a social media platform.

If you’re running an ad campaign where conversions happen in the first few days (or less) of viewing the content, this may not matter much. But with campaigns where purchases happen months or weeks after people have interacted with the content – what do we know about them now?

Ask:

1. Do they even remember who we are?
2. Are they still using our product/service?
3. What else may have influenced their choice?

These questions become especially important as we consider longer-form content like music videos or skits that might only be watched once, but remembered for weeks.

Strong attribution signals

The TikTok Insights tool is powerful, offering a bird’s-eye view into what works best for brands.

Attribution window time is the amount of time it takes for views or clicks to be attributed as an impression, view or click. For example, suppose your attribution window is set at one day (24 hours). In that case, all of your impressions and views will be counted on the same day they were received by users.

Say 10 people watched your TikTok video after seeing it yesterday, but they didn’t watch it today. It doesn’t count toward the total number of views for your campaign. But, if you change the setting to 7 days (168 hours), all impressions/views from this time frame now count toward your total number of impressions/views. These will however drop off in another seven days as long as there’s no more activity from the original users who first saw them.

Say a user watches one minute into a five-minute video today but doesn’t watch any further until three weeks later, when they complete the video. Both scenarios will score points for the campaign because the attribution window was set accordingly.

Impactful creative & audience signals

The Insights tool also gives visibility within each creative on the exact point a user took action – think: clicks, conversions and the associated efficiency metrics. Though not possible in the ads manager alone, Insights saves significant testing time and dollars by highlighting the most efficient areas for testing broad audiences or interests. Use these insights to optimize future campaigns around specific winning creative elements.

• Getting demographic breakdowns (like age and gender) of each individual creative can unveil where the majority of revenue is coming from.
• Gain insights into interests, demographics, geographic and technological audiences from a birds-eye view, something that isn’t possible in ads manager alone.
• Power Digital delivered a 133% increase in conversions and a 163% increase in number of clicks in the first 3 weeks for one of our top clients after incorporating learnings from their video insights page.

Grow Your Brand’s TikTok Account With Power Digital

Power Digital can help you craft the perfect TikTok strategy to maximize your visibility as efficiently as possible. Our team of experts will help you identify which type of videos best suits your brand’s goals, create an engaging and comprehensive content strategy, and use data-driven insights to target and track the progress of your campaign. 

We know that developing a successful TikTok marketing campaign is about more than just creating video content; it’s also about understanding your target audience, identifying trends in the algorithm, and knowing how to leverage influencers. We have the knowledge and resources to help you get the most out of your TikTok campaigns and ensure your content reaches its desired audience.

We understand that managing a TikTok presence can be intimidating, but with the right team and strategy, you can capitalize on this powerful platform and tap into new audiences. Let our digital marketing agency help you create a TikTok strategy that drives growth for your brand. Reach out to us today to learn more about our TikTok agency and services offered.

The post POV: 7 Paths to Growth on TikTok appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

There are active users in every age group on TikTok

TikTok is commonly associated with Gen Z users – the demographic born between 1997 and 2012. But don’t be fooled, TikTok users span all generations and age groups. According to a report by Statista, around 40 percent of the social media app’s users are between the ages of 18 and 24.¹ However, even though Gen Z makes up the majority of TikTok users, there are plenty of people from older generations who actively use the app.

In fact, TikTok seems to be gaining popularity among older age groups faster than it is with younger age groups. It’s clear that the app appeals to people of all ages, and is not just a playground for the young.

This is great news for businesses looking to tap into the world of TikTok. Despite its reputation as a platform primarily used by teenagers, businesses of all sizes and industries can still find their target audience on the platform. With its ever-growing user base, businesses have the opportunity to reach more people across different generations and increase their customer base. While TikTok is the most popular app for Gen Z (over 100 million monthly active users worldwide), one in five TikTok users are 40 – 49 years of age, and the much-coveted millennial consumers sit at around 66 million.² Translation: your customer base is there, so you need to get on their ‘For You Page’ ASAP.

TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform

TikTok has seen exponential growth over the past few years, becoming one of the most popular social media networks in the world. According to Statista, TikTok holds the spot for the most downloaded non-gaming mobile app with over 3.5 billion downloads.³

This rapid growth is due to the unique features that set it apart from other social media platforms, such as the 15-second video limit, the ability to easily create and share funny, short videos, and the convenient hashtag and music search functions. On top of that, its algorithm is designed to surface content tailored to users’ interests and preferences. This user-friendly platform makes it easy for even novice users to get started on creating content, building an audience, and engaging with other users quickly.

Businesses of all sizes can take advantage of TikTok’s tremendous growth, as more users are joining every day. Companies can use TikTok to reach a younger audience and tap into new customer segments. It’s a great platform for businesses to share their stories, showcase their products, and create connections with their target audiences. To reach the widest possible audience, businesses should also explore TikTok’s hashtag challenges, ads, and influencer collaborations.

From individual influencers to global brands, there’s something for everyone on TikTok. With its powerful features and massive user base, businesses of all sizes can benefit from this rapidly growing platform.

TikTok has something for everyone

Whether you’re into cooking, makeup tutorials, health and fitness tips, gaming, or even just the occasional meme – there is something for every TikTok user.

The range of content on the platform is huge. From fashion trends and influencers to artists and musicians, there is something for all interests. If you’re looking to broaden your reach, TikTok can be a great way to engage with potential customers who may not have previously been aware of your business.

TikTok also allows you to target specific age groups or genders, making it easier for you to find an audience that is interested in your product or service. You can create engaging short videos that are tailored towards different age groups or genders, allowing you to reach a more targeted audience.

In addition to its wide range of content, TikTok also offers plenty of opportunities for businesses to build relationships with their customers. Businesses can create engaging content such as polls and quizzes to generate conversations with their customers and get to know them better. With the use of hashtags and creative video content, businesses can create a unique presence on the platform that resonates with their target audience.

Businesses of all sizes are using TikTok

Small businesses, mid-size companies, and large corporations alike are taking advantage of the unique opportunities that TikTok has to offer. From personal brands to product-based companies, TikTok is a powerful tool for any business looking to increase their reach and engagement. Creating a strategy around TikTok for business can be a beneficial asset in also increasing brand awareness. Many brands are also leveraging influencer marketing to reach their audience.

Many of these businesses are taking full advantage of TikTok’s creative tools to create entertaining and eye-catching content. Whether they’re using lip-syncing, special effects, or comedy sketches, businesses have been able to use TikTok to capture the attention of their target audiences. Some businesses are also taking advantage of TikTok ads to reach a larger audience. By using the right tools and strategies, businesses can create content that resonates with users and stands out from the crowd.

When it comes to brand promotion and advertising, TikTok presents an extraordinary opportunity. Utilizing strategic campaigns, companies can boost their product and service visibility to potential customers. Through the use of targeted ads, companies can present their message to the appropriate viewers, and generate sales. Regardless of the size of a business, this social media giant has many options available for companies to use for success.

You can reach your target audience on TikTok

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms out there and it’s growing quickly. While it’s true that the majority of TikTok users are Gen Z, you can reach any age group on this platform. With an estimated 800 million users worldwide, it’s no wonder businesses are starting to use TikTok as a powerful marketing tool.

If you’re looking to target a specific audience, TikTok has many tools to help you do just that. You can narrow down who you want to reach by age, gender, interests, location, and more. To ensure that your content reaches the right people, you can use hashtags and keywords that are relevant to your content and the target audience you’re trying to reach.

You can also reach your target audience through TikTok influencers. Influencers have a large following and can help you promote your products or services in an organic way. Many influencers are willing to collaborate with brands and share sponsored posts, helping to increase engagement and reach with their followers.

Additionally, you can create custom audiences with your own customer data in the form of email addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information. This allows you to target ads specifically to those individuals, ensuring that your content gets in front of the right people.

Ultimately, TikTok is an incredibly powerful platform for businesses. With its extensive targeting capabilities and a rapidly growing user base, it’s an effective tool for reaching your audience and boosting engagement.

Reach Your Desired TikTok audience with Power Digital

Are you looking to leverage TikTok for your business? Look no further than Power Digital. Our team of experts can help you craft the perfect TikTok strategy to maximize your visibility and ensure your content reaches its desired audience. We have the knowledge and resources to help you get the most out of your TikTok campaigns and tap into new audiences.

From identifying which type of videos best suits your brand’s goals, to creating an engaging and comprehensive content strategy, to leveraging influencers and data-driven insights, our team can help you develop a successful TikTok agency marketing campaign.

Don’t let managing a presence on TikTok intimidate you any longer. With Power Digital, you can capture your ideal TikTok audience and drive growth for your brand. Reach out to us today to learn more about our TikTok marketing services.

Sources:

1. Published by L. Ceci, and Feb 6. “Global Tiktok User Age and Gender Distribution 2023.” Statista, 6 Feb. 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1299771/tiktok-global-user-age-distribution/
2. Ibid.
3. “Q1 2022: Store Intelligence Data Digest.” SensorTower. https://go.sensortower.com/rs/351-RWH-315/images/Sensor-Tower-Q1-2022-Data-Digest.pdf

The post Mythbusting: TikTok Is Not Just a Gen–Z Play appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

What’s more, there is less competition here compared to other platforms, which means lower costs and increased engagement and returns. Still on the fence about whether or not you should hop onto the Tok-train? Here’s the scoop on creating a TikTok for Business strategy.

TikTok attracts audiences unlike any other platform

TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular websites and apps in the world, with over a billion active users and 80 million in the US alone. Even more impressive is that the TikTok app held the top spot for most downloads worldwide, surpassing Instagram with over 3.5 billion downloads.¹As for the app’s audience, while it may seem as if Gen Z TikTok users have taken over the platform, the average user has aged up, with around 61% of them being 25 and older.² This means that Gen–Zs are no longer the only ones being influenced by the app.

It’s clear that TikTok has unique audiences that any business would benefit from tapping into. And with an algorithm based on interests and high engagement rates, brands have the potential to reach a broad spectrum of individuals with their content.

TikTok’s algorithms are tailored to individual interests

When it comes to social media platforms, one of the most important things to understand is that each platform has its own algorithms, and TikTok is no different. The algorithm on TikTok works by giving users specific video content that they are likely to engage with. It takes into account a variety of factors like age, location, interests, and more. This means that the content you see when scrolling through the app is tailored specifically to you.

The TikTok algorithm ensures that users get the most out of the social media platform, as they’re more likely to stay engaged with content that interests them. This increases the engagement rate of the platform significantly, which is why so many brands have taken advantage of it for their own benefit. This algorithm also means that brands can create content that appeals to a wide variety of users, ensuring that they get the best possible reach and engagement from their posts.

TikTok boasts an impressive level of user engagement

The TikTok demographics are not the only thing setting it apart from other social media platforms. TikTok is also well-known for its high engagement rate, with users spending an average of 52 minutes per day on the app. That’s nearly double the amount of time spent on Instagram. This high engagement rate makes TikTok an ideal platform for brands looking to reach out to potential customers and build an engaged community.

According to TikTok, more than 50 percent of TikTok users have interacted with a brand on the app and over 70 percent said they had shared content created by a brand.³ This shows that users are actively engaging with brands on the social media platform, and this presents a great opportunity for brands to connect with their audiences.

Moreover, the amount of engagement a post gets has been found to increase exponentially when it is used with appropriate hashtags. This means that users are actively searching for and engaging with content related to the hashtag, and therefore brands should use relevant hashtags to reach the right audience. User-generated content (UGC) is another way to tap into TikTok advertising. It’s one thing to create TikTok content as a business account, but sharing user-generated content can also boost engagement.

By engaging with users in creative ways and leveraging the power of hashtags, brands can take advantage of this powerful platform to gain maximum exposure and reach their desired goals.

TikTok growth projections are huge

The potential of TikTok is undeniable. According to recent reports, it is expected to reach more than 1 billion global users by the end of 2022, with revenue projections of $12 billion by the end of that year.^4,5 This would make it bigger than both Snap and Twitter combined!

Currently, TikTok is available in 150+ different countries and supports over 70 languages. With an average user spending 40 minutes per day on the app, TikTok’s engagement rate is skyrocketing. ⁶

The potential of the platform is clear, and brands should take note. In 2019, TikTok was the most downloaded app worldwide, and its popularity doesn’t seem to be waning anytime soon. According to TikTok, users are 48% more likely to discover new brands or products on the app than on any other platform.⁷

With such impressive growth projections, there is no better time than now for brands to get on board with TikTok. The combination of its engaged audience and effective algorithms provides a great opportunity for businesses to reach new customers, increase brand awareness, and build relationships with their audience.

Not only will brands benefit from the exposure that comes from having an effective TikTok for business strategy, but they can also access invaluable data about their target audience and demographic. By understanding how their target audience uses the TikTok app and what content resonates best with them, businesses can tailor their messaging accordingly.

There’s no doubt that TikTok has an incredibly bright future ahead of it, and brands should take advantage of this opportunity to reach new audiences and foster lasting relationships with their customers. If your business hasn’t yet created a TikTok strategy, now is the time to do so.

Build an Effective TikTok Strategy With Power Digital

Power Digital can help you craft the perfect TikTok strategy to maximize your visibility and make sure your content reaches its desired audience. Our team of experts will help you identify which type of videos best suits your brand’s goals, create an engaging and comprehensive content strategy, and use data-driven insights to target and track the progress of your campaign.

We know that developing a successful TikTok marketing campaign is about more than just creating video content; it’s also about understanding your audience, identifying trends in the algorithm, and knowing how to leverage influencers. We have the knowledge and resources to help you get the most out of your TikTok campaigns and ensure your content reaches its desired audience.

We understand that managing a TikTok presence can be intimidating, but with the right team and strategy, you can capitalize on this powerful platform and tap into new audiences. Let us help you create a TikTok strategy that drives growth for your brand. Reach out to us today to learn more about our TikTok agency marketing services.

Sources:

1. Admin. “Tiktok Statistics – Everything You Need to Know [Feb 2023 Update].” Wallaroo Media, 16 Feb. 2023, https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/

1. Published by L. Ceci, and Feb 6. “Global Tiktok User Age and Gender Distribution 2023.” Statista, 6 Feb. 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1299771/tiktok-global-user-age-distribution/

1. TikTok For Business. “The New Word-of-Mouth Marketplace: How Tiktok Drives Action and Satisfaction throughout the Purchase Journey: Tiktok for Business Blog.” TikTok For Business, TikTok For Business, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/new-word-of-mouth-marketplace

1. Wallaroom Media. “TikTok Statistics.” https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/

1. Stambor, Zak. “Can Tiktok Triple Its Ad Revenue This Year?” Insider Intelligence, Insider Intelligence, 15 Jan. 2022, https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/tiktok-triple-its-ad-revenue-this-year

1. Cyca, Michelle. “23 Important TikTok Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2023.” Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard, 2 Dec. 2022, https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-stats/#TikTok_usage_statistics

1. TikTok For Business. “What’s next: The Unstoppable Power of #Tiktokmademebuyit: Tiktok for Business Blog.” TikTok For Business, TikTok For Business, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/whats-next-2022-community-commerce?redirected=1

The post TikTok for Businesses: Why Brands Need a TikTok Strategy appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

Using our proprietary technology, nova, we uncovered compelling insights across swaths of advertiser data. The results? Even with increased promotions and a challenging economy, Power Digital’s clients outperformed last year’s BFCM (*mic drop*). 

Now, what about those insights? Grab a slice of panettone and strap in for the 2022 recap of BFCM findings straight from nova.

The high-level lowdown

Marketing is becoming more efficient across the board as a significant growth lever. This BFCM underscored that – take a peek at the numbers. 

• Brands spent -18% less on paid media than last BFCM so far…
• …but generated 4% more revenue than in 2021.
• Average Order Value (AOV) dropped 1.9% YoY, meaning consumers are still spending but are slightly more conservative about how much.
• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) decreased by -19% YoY.
• Marketing Effectiveness Ratio (MER), calculated by total revenue divided by total spend, was at 8.37 (+21% YoY), meaning that this year, brands got more bang for their buck.
• Cyber Monday was the softest day of this time period.

What can we learn from brands over BFCM?

Advertisers ran a tight ship this season. Zoom in on major learnings across brands and BFCM promotions had some surprising findings. Straight from our paid social team – these are the highlights.  

• Various growth brands had record revenue days.
• Scaling evergreen creatives/campaigns was key for most accounts, and in some cases, evergreen creative outperformed BFCM creatives.
• Even though some brands launched sales early this year, Friday was still the strongest day.
• Black Friday performance was strong even for brands that were NOT running promotions and focused more on exclusive drops or limited edition products.
• Less variance in the promotions per day compared to last year when there were different promos on different days.

Now for the TikTok edit

How did TikTok fare this BFCM season? The short answer: exquisitely. The channel quickly took its place in the mix, driving record revenue for Power Digital’s clients. Here’s what went down: 

• TikTok spend increased by +170% YoY, meaning that brands are starting to see the value in this channel.
• CPMs from TikTok averaged at around $10.88 (up +26% YoY), which is -53% lower than the Meta CPM seen across Power Digital’s greater client roster, meaning that TikTok ads got in front of more people at a lower cost than other platforms.
• In-platform and last-click GA ROAS during this Black Friday was higher than ever. On average, our clients scaled their daily budgets by more than 40% while ROAS increased by +54% compared to the month leading up to the Black Friday weekend.
• Creative learnings: trending content that used credit card sounds drove great engagement and ROAS, evergreen content that included a countdown sticker or a display card highlighting the discounts also saw great performance and was an easy way to iterate upon existing creative content. For some brands, warehouse or behind-the-scenes ads gained popularity as they drove great engagement and returns.

Looking for a partner to help you drive sales in the new year? Send us a quick note, and we’ll be in touch. 

The post Data Drop: Black Friday – Cyber Monday 2022 appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

Surpassing 1 billion users in September 2021, TikTok is the platform you should be using to strengthen brand awareness, increase your audience, and positively impact your brand’s overall business performance. That being said, TikTok can be the perfect platform for your brand depending on a number of factors. In this post, you’ll find key elements identifying if your brand is the right fit for TikTok. 

Based on the vertical, is TikTok the right platform for you?

Prior to leveraging TikTok as a paid advertising platform, first identify if your brand is allowed to advertise on TikTok. While there are several verticals accepted on TikTok ads, several verticals cannot advertise on TikTok due to the platform’s strong Industry Entry policy. Examples of verticals that are a great fit for TikTok include, but are not limited to, E-commerce, Clothing & Accessories, Food & Beverage, Personal Care, and Makeup & Beauty. Meanwhile, brands that don’t work or are prohibited on TikTok include Energy, Home Furnishings, Alcohol, Cannabis, and more.

It is strongly advised that, before putting valuable time and dollars into pushing TikTok ads, you identify if your brand aligns with TikTok’s policies. If unidentified, your TikTok paid ads presence could not only be rejected, but also banned from the TikTok platform.

Consider your target audience and product

With 140M users in the US, TikTok users spend an average of 85+ minutes daily in the TikTok app and open the TikTok app at an average of 19x per day. While this audience is sizable and is fans of TikTok’s immersive, engaging experience, the majority of TikTok users are between the ages of 18-24 years old, followed by the ages of 24-34 years old. With that information, ask yourself “is my product the right fit for TikTok?” and “will I reach the best audience for my brand on TikTok?”

If a brand’s target audience demographic is, for example, 50+ years old, TikTok is not the place to invest your dollars. Similarly, if your brand’s product is geared towards an older age demographic, TikTok may not be the best place to invest in your brand. Alternatively, TikTok is the platform to be on if your brand caters to a younger audience demographic. With 47% of TikTok users not on Instagram, 44% of TikTok users not on Facebook, and 69% of TikTok users not on Twitter, brands can reach audiences exclusive to the TikTok space.

Creative is the most important aspect of TikTok

Tailored to the platform’s unique characteristics, creative should lean heavily into authenticity, aligning with the native TikTok experience. Veer away from overproduced creative that looks like it was shot on a hi-definition camera and lean into creative that looks like you shot it on your iPhone that very second! If your brand needs to play a heavy hand in creative and is opposed to leveraging creative that is UGC, then TikTok may not be the right fit for you.

Organic presence strengthens credibility

An established organic presence on TikTok not only strengthens brand credibility, but also aids in building a brand’s community. An organic presence is nearly necessary to play an integral role in a brand’s overall performance on TikTok. When a brand’s organic profile is curated and utilizes creative that is in-line with TikTok best practices, credibility and trust are strengthened and brand awareness sees strong upticks in performance. 

An important detail to note is that a TikTok organic presence and paid advertising strategy complement one another. When a brand has a strong organic presence, Spark ads (a.k.a. boosted posts), can be leveraged, which, when stemming from a brand’s organic TikTok profile, a user clicks on the handle and is brought to the brand’s feed, driving increases in followers, profile visits, likes, and more. 

Now that you’re strapped with knowledge and can identify if your brand is the perfect fit for TikTok, your ideal marketing approach is a click away. Leverage the power of TikTok marketing today with our digital marketing services.

The post Should you be using TikTok Ads? appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

What are Spark Ads?

Unlike the “classic” In-Feed ad, which is a typical ad built out in your ads manager, Spark Ads is a native ad format, enabling you to leverage organic TikTok posts and their features in your advertising. Spark Ads, unlike In-Feed ads, stem from real TikTok accounts, whether that be your brand’s organic TikTok profile or a user’s organic TikTok profile. Ultimately, Spark ads are an authentic way to amplify native TikTok content.

What do Spark Ads look like?

Spark Ads appear in a user’s “For Your Page” feed, paired with a call-to-action of your choosing, the account name, as well as the typical engagement drivers (i.e. like, comment, and share). Unlike In-Feed Ads, Spark Ads have unique functionalities that allow them to appear as though it is a regular TikTok post. When served a Spark ad, users often click on the profile photo, handle, or swipe left, navigating them to the account the content stems from. More often than not, Spark ads not only drive strong conversion-focused performance than In-Feed ads, but also lead to increases in organic presence, such as increased followers and overall engagement.

Why should you use Spark Ads?

There are three key benefits to Spark ads: 

• Authenticity

  • Spark Ads are a 100% native in-feed format, featuring all the native post features, in addition to engagement features.
  • Because of their authentic feel and how they seamlessly blend in a user’s “For You Page” feed, Spark Ads provide users with an immersive TikTok experience, driving upticks in a brand’s performance, as well as strengthening trust between a brand and its audience.

• Long-Lasting Marketing Impact

  • Presenting a user with the option to explore a brand even further by simply clicking a brand’s handle, Spark Ads enable brands to strengthen their organic presence and drive traffic to their profile, which, in turn, leads to strengthened engagement, improved customer retention, and increased lead generation.

• Lift in Performance

  • More often than not, Spark ads significantly outperform other TikTok ad formats, which can be attributed to their authentic feel.
  • Across the board, Spark ads drive substantial lifts in video view metrics, engagement metrics, conversion metrics, and cost metrics.

Combining the power of paid advertising with the UGC content that dominates the TikTok realm, Spark Ads are the ultimate game-changer. Beat your competition to it and leverage the power of TikTok marketing today with our digital marketing services. 

The post TikTok Guide: Spark Ads appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

As marketers, we all knew Apple’s iOS 14 update was going to impact our advertising strategies. The new iOS 14 update is now giving Apple users the option to opt out of data sharing every time they download an app. This changes the game because advertisers have been relying on data sharing both for paid search and paid social to gather data and derive ad targeting decisions.

How to Adjust Your Campaigns to Get The Most Out of The iOS 14 Update

In this article, we will go through the impact of iOS 14 and how advertisers can shift strategies and adjust marketing efforts in response to the operating system update.

What is changing with iOS 14?

Apple’s newest changes to its privacy and sharing policies, also known as Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework, is tied to a string of numbers known as the identifier for advertisers (IDFA). Each iPhone mobile device comes with its own identifier that provides advertisers with aggregate data about the user’s behavior & preferences. 

In the past, Apple users had to go into their settings app to turn off data sharing functions. The new iOS 14 update will give iPhone or other iOS device users a pop-up message every time they download a new app (and when opening already installed apps) that asks if they want to grant the app access to track your activity across other apps and websites.

What is the impact of the iOS update?

When users decide to opt-out of the app tracking, this new operating system will not allow advertisers to easily target or exclude that user like we used to be able to. While some may agree that this new update will give users more control over their privacy, other marketers are concerned that many Apple or iOS device users will select the option of “Ask App not to Track” when the new pop up shows up, which will prohibit the application from collecting data about the things those users click on, download, or purchase within the app in order to share it with other companies/websites for advertising purposes. This change is not going to happen overnight, but with time, the adoption rate of iOS 14 is going to increase and more users will opt-out of app tracking.

Why is this such a big deal?

This is the type of data that advertisers use to personalize ads for users,so, if your business relies on ad campaigns as a part of your localized marketing strategy, this iOS update will have a major impact. The Facebook Pixel will no longer be able to store information and inform ad campaigns for users who chose to opt- out for tracking. In addition, the Facebook reporting will no longer include off-platform (website events) actions that users who chose to opt-out of tracking and will only track a smaller number of objectives due to the pixel restrictions, causing potential inaccurate reporting.

What’s next?

While this seems to be concerning, there is a new game plan. Remember, users are still out there spending just as much time on their social platforms, and you still have the ability to advertise. But, the rules changed and there are a few actions you can take to maintain efficiency. More importantly, you’d need to rethink the way you measure success to ensure your advertising efforts are continuing to drive results for your business.

Here are the steps you need to take in order to ensure your Facebook advertising effectiveness remains strong.(Please note that this may change as more updates will come from Facebook.)

• Verify your domain and prioritize the most important 8 events you’d like to track through your pixel. This was the very first requirement made by Facebook in order to keep up with iOS 14 changes.

• Enable highest value optimization. This is a way to adjust campaigns that allow advertisers on Facebook to bid for the highest valued users, who are most likely to take the desired action on your website. This may help you get a higher return on your ad spend. It’s important to note that you need to meet the Eligibility Requirements for Value Optimization. 

• Consolidate campaigns where possible due to limited signals from users who opted out for app tracking. We need to be extra cautious and strategic with how many campaigns, adsets, and ads we launch. Since we expect to get less to no signals from users who opted out for app tracking, we’d want to aggregate the results and learnings to draw better optimization decisions while adjusting campaigns on Facebook Ad Manager.

• Adjust the frequency and times of day you optimize your ad account based on Facebook platform updates and the limited attribution windows. While each advertising campaign/account has different goals. iOS updates are now causing delays in reporting and limited data, resulting in disruption to the way you optimize ad campaigns. You may notice data lags and certain data breakdowns such as dynamic creative will no longer be available due to iOS 14. This will require you to optimize based on older data. Changes can vary based on the objectives of your campaigns and the attribution window you use. For example, 1 day click attribution will use statistical modeling to account for some iOS conversions that we are unable to count directly, while 7-day click does not.

• Use additional data sources instead of just the Facebook pixel to draw optimizations and business decisions.

Since fewer reported actions are shared on all advertising platforms due to users opting out of app tracking, it is crucial to look at the bigger picture when drawing decisions and consider more data sources. 

• Tracking your overall website revenue/lead volume while considering % of spend across all advertising platforms. This can help understand the impact and trends each platform has on the entire business. A good way to start is analyzing GA and or overall revenue/growth in addition to % of ad spend.
• First Party Data, over the past few years, privacy laws and consumer regulations have started cracking down on the selling and sharing of user data to outside parties. Now with Apple’s iOS 14 rollout, we are yet again being reminded why first-party data-which keeps this information between a website and its users-has become increasingly crucial to digital marketing strategies. Learn how DataQ allows your first-party data to seamlessly connect to email service providers and digital ads platforms.

The world of advertising on social media platforms is constantly changing and one size doesn’t fit all. As an agency, our top priority is to keep up with platform changes and ensure all of our clients adjust their marketing strategies accordingly to maximize returns and maintain efficiency. We guide our clients to succeed by using the most accurate data, following the newest best practices, and refreshing ad creative. It is important to remember that the way to measure success on each paid social platform always changes and will continue to evolve, but taking the right steps quickly will allow your business to grow continuously with less/shorter disruptions.

The post Apple’s New iOS 14 Update and Its Impact On Advertising appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

Core Factor #1: iOS 14

June is the first full month post the launch of iOS 14’s major user privacy and data use update. It can take about 6-8 weeks for an update like iOS 14 to be fully integrated into the user experience as adoption happens over time. As more users start to adopt this new operating system, we can expect weaker performance across all platforms (not just Facebook.) Balancing privacy and allowing users to maintain control of their own data, while still providing them with relevant content can help mitigate some of this poor performance over time. One great way to do that is utilizing Facebook Conversions API. 

Core Factor #2: Analyzing Year Over Year Data Correctly

While it’s natural to want to compare year-over-year growth, we would recommend analyzing that data with a large grain of salt this month. Last year at this time, we saw industry-low CPM’s, whereas this year we’re seeing a rise in CPM’s across the platform. Comparing year-over-year performance will only feel more daunting with each of these shifts at play. 

Core Factor #3: Seasonality and the Impact of COVID

Other causes that have indirectly impacted performance pertain to current consumer behavior patterns. As consumers are re-emerging into society following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, they’re looking to travel, go to restaurants, and attend social events, thereby spending less time at home and next to their computers. 

June is typically a slower month year over year. And, compiled with the fact that the world is opening back up and traveling is experiencing a huge boom, consumers are excited to shop in person and it’s having a direct impact on online shopping. This year, we’re seeing an even greater year-over-year dip, an average of 20-50% less compared to last June (and that’s taking into account everyone shopping online at the same time last year.)

Additionally, inflation and slow economic growth due to COVID is also playing a role in the larger general consumer landscape. When prices go up due to inflation, price points might suffer, demand might fall due to increased prices and as a result, sales could see a decline. It’s more important than ever to maintain a distinct understanding of unique selling propositions and remembering why an investment in advertising and marketing is key to combating these tumultuous times.

Recommendations + Next Steps

Experience has taught us that while it can be tempting to overcorrect when you see performance declining it’s important not to panic and take a step back to analyze all elements of data available to you. Start with looking at whether the drop you are seeing on Facebook correlates with an overall drop in business or if it is truly a channel-specific issue. From there, you can better diagnose the large issue at hand. 

Similar to the beginning of COVID-19, now is not the time to turn off prospecting for a short-term ROAS increase. Don’t lose sight of what has always been true: you need to continue to drive new users into the funnel. Your prospecting campaigns need to be dialed with timely creative that reflects today’s environment, not one from a month ago. Gone are the days where work-from-home messaging is going to resonate. The world is opening back up so make sure your creative reflects that. If you are struggling to quickly turn around assets, leveraging timely influencer content is a quick way to get new creative out the door that fits the tone of today. 

We will continue to update this post in the coming weeks as we continue to review performance trends. 

The post Changes in the Facebook and General Consumer Landscape appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

Pinterest is a visual content heavy platform; therefore, a digital marketing company or businesses alike are attracted to the promotional opportunities — both organic and paid. Additionally, 71% of Pinterest users are females who account for 92% of all pins. Thus, Pinterest is the perfect platform for social media advertising to target affluent female millennials because they are active on the platform and more likely to purchase products from shoppable pins than men. 

Pinterest is also a full-funnel marketing channel — meaning that markets are able to attract traffic, create awareness, build advocacy, and push sales. Finally, consumers average 50% more time on Pinterest than other social channels because they’re gaining inspiration rather than checking profile updates, current events, etc. With this statistical evidence in mind, advertisers are likely to succeed and drive e-commerce sales through Pinterest advertising.

How Does Pinterest Differ from Other platforms & What Ads Can Be Run?

Pinterest is more than just mood boards and DIY ideas. It is a platform powered by discovery with an audience that has intent to buy, making it a very unique experience for advertisers in comparison to Facebook or Instagram. With Pinterest, advertisers are reaching an audience that is already on the hunt for something new. The advertisement algorithm optimizes their chances of reaching the most relevant audience to your product, making it a more comparable platform to Google as it acts as a search engine. According to research done by Pinterest Business, 77% of weekly Pinterest users have discovered a new brand or product from Pinterest, and 90% of weekly users make purchase decisions on Pinterest. This makes this platform a very powerful tool for advertisers to reach an eager audience. There are five different styles of advertisements that can be run on the Pinterest app: Standard Pins, Carousel Ads, Video Pin Ads, Shoppable Pins, and App Install Pins. This allows brands to create a variety of advertisements or any type of campaign objective that would make the most sense for their brand.

The Future of Pinterest

Moving into 2021, we see the digital arena becoming more and more competitive for advertisement space. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (while very strong platforms) are saturated and occupied mostly by users scrolling past any advertisements. However, Pinterest has proven to be different and has recently become a discovery and social shopping platform with ready-to-buy users. Pinterest has attractive ad formats that can fit the style of any brand, the keyword layering is similar to the Google search engine making it easier to find the perfect audience, and it has an averaged lower cost-per-click (CPC)  than other platforms because it isn’t as popular to other marketers yet. If your company is not already advertising on Pinterest, now is the time to leverage this social media marketing niche. 

Sources:

https://help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/05/04/pinterest-

adshttps://blogs.constantcontact.com/what-the-heck-is-pinterest-and-why-should-you-care/ 

https://nogood.io/2021/01/08/pinterest-marketing-strategy-guide/

https://business.pinterest.com/en/advertise/

The post What the Pinterest App Offers to Users appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

Think of it as Facebook for your local neighborhood.

Thanks to its hyperlocal focus, Nextdoor users rely on the platform to discover small businesses and service providers. That means Nextdoor ads are a dream come true for many SMBs.

If you’re wondering how to advertise on Nextdoor as a small business, look no further. We’ll explain how to set up your business profile, the different types of Nextdoor ads, paid Nextdoor advertising vs free Nextdoor advertising, best practices for posting content, and more.

Why Advertise on Nextdoor?

The Nextdoor platform launched in the United States in 2011 and began a global expansion in 2016.² 

As people spend more time online, the Yellow Pages have become a thing of the past, opening the door for Facebook, Yelp, and Nextdoor to vie for a spot as the best way to connect with local businesses.

In this race, Nextdoor has made strides:

• As of 2019, Nextdoor had 27 million active monthly users and 236,000 neighborhoods.³
• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the benefits of Nextdoor as neighbors used the platform to help each other get groceries and advocate for struggling local businesses.⁴ 
• Unlike larger and broader platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, Nextdoor is entirely local. Users will never see news or updates from businesses in far-flung cities or states.
• Nextdoor boasts that one in four U.S. households use their platform. On it, users have made 52 million local business recommendations.⁵

When businesses advertise on Nextdoor, they know their ads will reach local customers and users who are just a short drive away from their business. Likewise, participating in conversations in Nextdoor can help to build word-of-mouth referrals. 

Next, we’ll go over the ways a small business can set themselves apart from their competitors, especially national brands, by promoting their brand identity and core values. 

Getting Started on Nextdoor

Local business owners, casual service providers, and home service providers can all use Nextdoor. Even babysitters or dog walkers can create a page if they have the proper documentation.

To start appearing in neighborhood search results, create your business profile. This page will display all the basic information your neighbors need to know about your business or service, including:

• Location
• Website
• Hours
• History
• Services
• Any pictures you upload

When you’re logged in, you’ll be able to see recommendations for your business created by loyal customers. You can also utilize a variety of paid and free Nextdoor advertising options.⁶

Once you have one recommendation, customers will be able to find your business profile when they search for goods, services, or recommendations.

Nextdoor Advertising

Nextdoor ads differ based on the nature of your business.

• Brick and mortar stores like restaurants and casual service providers can advertise by purchasing Local Deals or posting up to twice a month for free.
• Professional home service providers like real estate agents and home renovation experts can advertise by purchasing Neighborhood Sponsorships, purchasing Local Deals, or posting up to twice a month for free.⁷

Next, we’ll explore each of the advertising channels on Nextdoor in more detail.

Local Deals

With Local Deals, businesses can share discounts and promotions directly with their neighbors. Deals appear under their own tab directly to the left of the newsfeed.

You can post a Local Deal for as little as $1, making this a great option for any budget.⁸

To post your first ad:

• Select which neighborhoods you want to reach
• Build your ad using Nextdoor’s tools
• Use the website’s Insights Dashboard to view your ad’s performance

Take advantage of Nextdoor’s analytics tools to further customize your Local Deal and improve your ROI.

Benefits of Local Deals

• Drive foot traffic
• Generate quality leads
• Increase sales
• Encourage word of mouth referrals⁹

Neighborhood Sponsorships

As noted, home service providers have a second paid advertising option: Neighborhood Sponsorships. 

This feature allows you to create ads that appear next to the Nextdoor newsfeed in targeted ZIP codes.¹⁰ 

Neighborhood Sponsorships help keep your products or services at the forefront of customers’ minds. They can take the form of:

• Messages to the community
• Promoted events
• Ads for special discounts

Effective Neighborhood Sponsorships can help you become a leading voice and trusted brand in your community.

Benefits

• Secure your position as a neighborhood expert in your field
• Communicate with future customers
• Increase brand awareness 

Free Business Posting

If you’re a newer company or your social budget is on the smaller side, take advantage of Nextdoor’s free posting for business. 

Nextdoor operates as a community message board where individuals can contribute freely. Use your business profile to create posts and join in on conversations.

Trying reaching out to your neighbors by:

• Telling your business’s story – People frequently introduce themselves to the community when they join Nextdoor. Do the same, using the opportunity to introduce your unique story and brand voice.
• Asking questions – If you’re considering adding new goods or services, running a promotion, or changing your hours, reach out to your neighbors!

Neighbors can react, reply, and direct message you.

Benefits:

• Grab the attention of potential customers
• Share important updates with your community
• Engage with your local neighborhood¹¹

Sponsored Posts by National Brands

If you own a larger regional business, you may also be interested in the Nextdoor sponsored advertising option.

• In this paid advertising program, regional and national businesses create sponsored posts that appear in users’ news feeds.
• The minimum spend commitment is $25,000/month.¹² 

Even if this is outside of your budget, understanding how your potential competition uses Nextdoor ads is extremely useful market research.

Soliciting Recommendations

While your business can only post twice per month, individual users can post freely.

Asking happy customers to recommend your business on Nextdoor is always a good idea. You could even run a promotion, letting current customers know that they’ll receive a discount for their next service after posting a favorable review.

But avoid the temptation to create or solicit any posts that violate Nextdoor’s community guidelines.

Nextdoor expects that:

• Users disclose any financial interest related to a business they recommend
• Users disclose their relationship if they recommend a friend or family’s business
• Users do not recommend a business or service if they have been paid to do so
• Users do not negatively comment on a business if they have a conflict of interest¹³

Nextdoor’s commitment to building a trustworthy and transparent community will actually help your marketing efforts. Your neighbors will be more likely to trust your product or service knowing that Nextdoor upholds such high standards.

Nextdoor Advertising Best Practices

Since businesses on Nextdoor only have two free posts a month, you’ll want to optimize these posts to reach the widest reach and generate new leads. 

The types of posts that receive the most engagement are:

• Community-focused
• Kind
• Informative

Explicitly commercial posts tend to have less engagement.

Don’t think of these posts as ads. Instead, use them as an opportunity to engage authentically with your neighborhood and develop an enduring sense of community. 

• Each time you post, share something new to keep customers engaged.
• Do your best to personalize your post by introducing yourself and your employees.
• Use photos and graphics from your social media campaigns. They bring your post to life and will attract the attention of your neighbors as they scroll through their newsfeed.

Is Nextdoor Advertising Right For Your Business?

Because of the opportunities to organically generate new leads and build community engagement, every local business should create a business profile on Nextdoor and take advantage of the two free posts per month. 

If you have the budget, Local Deals or Neighborhood Sponsorships can be a great investment. Remember, Nextdoor ads are highly targeted to your surrounding neighborhoods, so define your target audience and create a strategy for these paid social posts. 

At PDM we’re experts in Nextdoor advertising as part of a holistic marketing strategy.

While creating specific content for Nextdoor can take time and resources, we can formulate a plan for reusing content from other campaigns while tracking your ROI on Nextdoor. Get in touch today to learn more about this advertising on this growing social network as well as nextdoor advertising cost.

Sources: 

• Nextdoor. About. Nextdoor. https://about.nextdoor.com/ 
• McCabe, E. Nextdoor, The World’s Largest and Fastest Growing Social Network for Neighborhoods, Launches Across Italy & Spain. Nextdoor. https://about.nextdoor.com/nextdoor-the-worlds-largest-and-fastest-growing-social-network-for-neighborhoods-launches-across-italy-spain/#:~:text=Nextdoor%20began%20its%20global%20expansion,across%20seven%20countries%20use%20Nextdoor.&text=67%20percent%20of%20Italians%20claim,to%20have%20an%20excellent%20one 
• (2019, October 17). Nextdoor Platform: Connecting Neighbors. Digital Innovation and Transformation. https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-digit/submission/nextdoor-platform-connecting-neighbors/#:~:text=In%20eight%20years%2C%20Nextdoor%20has,236K%20neighborhoods%20defined%20%5B2%5D
• Kelly, S. M. (2020, March 18). Neighborhood social network Nextdoor is both a lifeline and a hub of anxiety. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/tech/nextdoor-coronavirus/index.html 
• Nextdoor. Nextdoor Help. Nextdoor. https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/promote-local-business-and-commerce-the-right-way?language=en_US#bos 
• Nextdoor. About advertising on Nextdoor. Nextdoor Help. https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/About-advertising-on-Nextdoor?language=en_US 
• Nextdoor. Nextdoor for Local Business Marketing & Advertising. nBusiness. https://business.nextdoor.com/advertising-with-nextdoor 
• Nextdoor. How to create a business post. Nextdoor Help. https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/How-to-post-as-a-business?language=en_US 

The post How to Advertise on Nextdoor appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

But whether you’re a digital native (or still running Windows 2000), Nextdoor provides straightforward, cost-effective marketing solutions for SMBs.

On Nextdoor, your neighbors are already asking for recommendations on where to eat or where to shop. This makes Nextdoor one of the best platforms for local businesses to invest their digital marketing efforts.¹

In this guide, we’ll break down your options for how to advertise on Nextdoor, the associated Nextdoor advertising costs, and best practices for businesses on Nextdoor.

What is Nextdoor?

Nextdoor is a local, social media advertising platform organized by your specific neighborhood. 

• This social platform sorts users based on their zip code. Users can then share posts, ask for help, find places to live, volunteer, buy and trade, share important local news, and discover local businesses.
• Nextdoor is a lot like Facebook, but instead of adding friends, users are automatically connected to all the other Nextdoor users in your area via the newsfeed.
• For 27 million active monthly users, Nextdoor is the go-to app to recommend a restaurant they love, announce the loss of a pet, or look for a carpenter.²

Another way Nextdoor differentiates itself from platforms like Facebook and Twitter is by focusing on authenticity and trust. Everyone uses their real names, and all users are verified. 

When you advertise on Nextdoor, you can reach an engaged audience of neighbors who are passionate about strengthening their community and supporting local businesses.

Nextdoor Advertising Options

The cost to advertise on Nextdoor ranges from free posting options to a $25,000/month minimum spend commitment for sponsored posts by national brands. 

There are four main advertising channels on Nextdoor:

• Free business posting
• Local Deals
• Neighborhood Sponsorships⁴
• Sponsored posts by national brands³

Ads on each of these channels come at a different price point and offer different benefits. To choose which works best for you, consider your budget and your goals for connecting with customers from the outset, then identify which of the four main channels you’d like to focus on. 

Free Business Profiles and Posts

Don’t want to devote any of your marketing spend to Nextdoor? You can still benefit from listing your business on the platform.

SMBs from babysitters to local restaurants can set up business pages and post twice a month to neighbors’ newsfeeds for free.

Update your business page with:

• Photos
• Website link
• Description of products and services
• Your story
• Contact information

Once you have one recommendation, you’ll show up in local search results. If you already have loyal customers who love your products or services, they’ll be able to spread the good word on Nextdoor, and you’ll hopefully attain new customers at no cost.

Users are likely to trust these recommendations and reviews because Nextdoor’s verification process ensures that there are almost no spam profiles or fake reviews.⁶

Beyond recommendations, use your business page to make free posts about new products, services, and team members. It can also be helpful to ask questions. Since users can comment and DM you, every post is an opportunity to engage.

Benefits:

• Grab the attention of potential customers
• Share important updates with your community
• Engage with your local neighborhood⁷

Local Deals on Nextdoor

If you’ve had success with your two free posts per month, consider upgrading your Nextdoor advertising strategy with paid posts.

Local Deals are an inexpensive option that’s perfect for businesses looking to dip their toes into the world of paid social. Each ad offers a discount or promotion, thus offering a clear CTA.

These Local Deals can be found both on the Nextdoor newsfeed and in the email bulletins that users receive.

• Unlike traditional paid social ads, on Nextdoor you don’t pay based on clicks or performance. 
• The cost of Local Deal ads is based on the demographics of your target neighborhood and the length of your campaign.
• A Local Deal ad can cost as little as $1.
• Use Nextdoor’s analytics tools to track your ad performance and decide whether to repeat or modify the campaign.

Benefits

• Drive foot traffic
• Generate quality leads
• Increase sales
• Encourage word of mouth referrals⁸

Neighborhood Sponsorships

Nextdoor reserves Local Deals for brick and mortar businesses like restaurants or dry cleaners. Real estate agents, home builders, and other service providers can use Neighborhood Sponsorships instead. 

Rather than paying per ad, neighborhood sponsors pay per month. 

How much does it cost?

• In 2020 Entrepreneur tested out the Neighborhood Sponsorships feature and found several zip codes with rates as low as $32/month. 
• In a prime zip code, the Nextdoor advertising cost for a Neighborhood Sponsorship was still only about $150/month. These prices are surprisingly modest compared to the higher paid social investments of other platforms.⁹

Nextdoor assigns each zip code or neighborhood a limited number of sponsorships for each category. While you may not always be able to sponsor the neighborhood you want, the sponsorships you invest in have great value because Nextdoor doesn’t inundate users with advertisements.

Benefits

• Secure your position as a neighborhood expert in your field
• Communicate with future customers
• Increase brand awareness¹⁰ 

Sponsored Posts by National Brands

Nextdoor has one final advertising option for larger regional or national businesses.

Unlike Neighborhood Deals and Sponsorships, sponsored posts appear directly in the newsfeed.

• The minimum spend is $25,000/month
• Directly contact Nextdoor’s ad sales department to take advantage of the opportunity.¹¹

Nextdoor Advertising Best Practices

Whether you only utilize Nextdoor’s free advertising options or you invest in Neighborhood Sponsorships or Local Deals, craft your ads to optimize their performance.

With each post:

• Focus on tone. Ads that are kind, community-focused, and informative do better than sales-y posts.
• Tell a story. Nextdoor is a community-based platform, and providing updates can foster a deeper sense of engagement. Talk from your perspective as a person, not as a business or brand.
• Use photos. Posts with graphics receive more replies. Consider reusing photos or graphics you’re already implementing on social media or in your email marketing campaigns.
• Stay engaged. When users reply to your post, reply back! If you’re speedy, it’s that much easier to keep the conversation going. Create a list of responses to frequently asked questions so that you can quickly respond to customers’ messages. You should also respond to recommendations that customers leave for you on Nextdoor.

How to Ask for Recommendations

Beyond your posts, talk to your existing customers about Nextdoor and ask for their recommendations.

Encouraging your customers to leave you recommendations is an invaluable tool to extend your organic reach. In fact, 76% of Nextdoor members say they were influenced by a recommendation they saw on Nextdoor.

• Ask your customers to share recommendations on Nextdoor by posting a sign in your storefront, emailing customers, or requesting a recommendation through social media or your website.
• Customers want to help the businesses they value, but you need to make it easy for them. Provide a link on their receipt or on a hand-out that gives them directions if they want to create a recommendation. You can add prompts to this handout so that customers write more detailed recommendations. 
• You can’t pay someone to write you a recommendation on Nextdoor, but you can offer a Local Deal or another discount that encourages customers to leave a review.

The Nextdoor Favorites Competition

Beyond recommendations, Nextdoor lets users vote on their favorite businesses.

Top businesses enjoy:

• Better search ranking
• A spot on the Nextdoor Favorites list
• One free Local Deal ad

According to Nextdoor, winners have 30 times more recommendations on their business page compared to the average. These profiles also enjoy three times the number of page views and four times the number of saves on their Local Deals. 

Make sure to encourage your customers and neighbors to vote so you have a chance to win one of these invaluable spots.¹²

How We Can Help You Become a Nextdoor Neighborhood Hero

As of September 2020, Nextdoor covered 90% of U.S. neighborhoods.¹³ With that kind of reach, the cost to advertise on Nextdoor can definitely be worth it.

Want to make the most of your campaigns?

At PDM, we see Nextdoor ads as one part of your holistic social media marketing strategy. The assets you generate for Nextdoor can also be used to create engagement on Instagram, Facebook, and the other platforms your users frequent.

Get in touch to learn more about creating a strategy for Nextdoor and maximizing your ROI as you connect with your local community.

Sources: 

1. Entrepreneur Media. (2020, September 21). Are Nextdoor Ads the Best New Way to Gain Local Customers? Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/356282 
2. (2019, October 17). Nextdoor Platform: Connecting Neighbors. Digital Innovation and Transformation. https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-digit/submission/nextdoor-platform-connecting-neighbors/#:~:text=In%20eight%20years%2C%20Nextdoor%20has,236K%20neighborhoods%20defined%20%5B2%5D
3. Nextdoor. Nextdoor for Local Business Marketing & Advertising. nBusiness. https://business.nextdoor.com/advertising-with-nextdoor 
4. Nextdoor. About advertising on Nextdoor. Nextdoor Help. https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/About-advertising-on-Nextdoor?language=en_US 
5. Nextdoor. How to create a business post. Nextdoor Help. https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/How-to-post-as-a-business?language=en_US 
6. Sehl, K. (2020, July 28). How to Use Nextdoor for Business: The Complete Guide. https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-nextdoor/ 

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Facebook Shops

Facebook has always been used to connect users with the things they love. Family, friends, a favorite sports team, maybe even a recipe account that introduced new family-favorite dishes. During times of uncertainty where social distancing is a necessity, Facebook has allowed us to stay connected. Making it easier to keep in touch with what everyone’s quarantine activities are, and giving us a laugh when we need it most. Now Facebook has introduced Facebook Shops so we can stay safe and still support our favorite brands. This new addition to the social platform makes it easy for an ecommerce brand to set up a store online that reaches their customers on Facebook. Thanks to Facebook Shops and social selling, you can shop for another pair of your go-to sweat pants while you’re lounging comfortably at home. 

These new social features are a game-changer for social shopping, making it easy for brands to set up a store and reach their customers. Facebook Shops has also allowed for a more savvy way of serving audiences exactly what they want with the catalog feature that promotes the brand’s bestsellers. Backed with e-commerce functionality that allows customers to buy on Facebook or redirect them straight to the product page, the only thing left to do is add to cart and check out. 

 Facebook Shops is here to stay and will continue to make waves in the way users shop. From companies moving to remote work positions to online learning for students, this was the natural next step in this era of advancement in technology. Instead of searching every website for the best deals and our next must-haves, online shopping now finds us. 

Instagram Shops

Like Facebook Shops, Instagram Shops is a customizable, immersive full screen storefront feature that allows businesses to build their brand story and initiate product discovery. This native shopping experience is easy and simple due to Instagram’s seamless in-app browser — allowing potential customers to explore and purchase products without ever having to leave the app. Instagram Shops allows people to purchase products from creator’s posts, Instagram Lives, business profiles and collections.

Specifically within the United States, Instagram shopping permits all eligible businesses and creators to sell their products directly on Instagram free of charge. Instagram creates storefronts for businesses based on people’s existing behaviors; therefore, it is easier to reach potential consumers. Within their business profile, brands can advertise products and launch campaigns directly on Instagram. Thus, driving consumer traffic, product discovery and sales.

With the ever-evolving updates to the e-commerce world, companies are quickly adapting and implementing social shopping to grow their businesses. According to Instagram, 70% of avid shoppers utilize the app for product discovery. Similarly, 87% of people say influencers encouraged them to make a purchase. With these statistics in mind, there is no doubt that the power of social shopping is exponential. Therefore, it is essential that brands continue to listen to their consumers and track results because social shopping is not the future — it’s the now. 

Instagram

Along with Instagram Shops, Instagram is offering further social platform sales for brands with tagged product posts — allowing users to buy a product directly from a brand’s Instagram story or feed. These innovative social features allow influencers to seamlessly connect their audience with the brands and products they are wearing or promoting, bridging the gap between potential customers and purchases. The ability to purchase products directly through photos and stories has also allowed influencers and brands alike to monetize their feeds.

Social media shopping has become easier than ever before. Consumers have the ability to browse their favorite Instagram feeds, while tagged product posts act as a catalog. This social commerce feature enables Instagram users to readily make purchases through tagged product posts, offering a simplistic shopping experience for both brands and consumers.

By transforming Instagram followers into customers, tagged product posts have an immense impact on social shopping and influencer marketing. Retail trends are shifting rapidly, as e-commerce sales are booming. Amazon’s new social shopping trends are one of the many brands taking advantage of this shift. Studies show that 90% of business decision makers believe digital commerce will become their most profitable and significant sales channel in the near future. The pandemic has accelerated this conversion into online social commerce, causing many retailers to redirect their spending and strategies to serve online shoppers. Tagged product posts facilitate the collaboration between brands and influencers by allowing influencers to directly link promoted commodities to their target audience. 

Pinterest

Pinterest, unlike other social platforms, primarily acts as a platform that generates inspiration for its users. Whether you’re looking to spice up your wardrobe, discover unique home decor (or find a step-by-step way to DIY that home decor) or even if you need help finding a wedding dress for your big day, Pinterest is the go-to platform for visual inspiration. Pinterest’s unique array of content and users makes it an excellent platform for e-commerce. Users can shop on Pinterest through product pin images that are formatted to display pricing information, availability, product titles and descriptions to let users know that products are shoppable at the click of a button. 

Similarly, shop the look Facebook ads can tag specific products within fashion-geared images so users can fill their wardrobes with the exact outfits they see in their feeds. The Pinterest Shop tab also provides a platform where users can shop product pins directly. The beauty of e-commerce through Pinterest is that shopping campaigns are integrated into user’s feeds and can serve as both a tool for visual inspiration, as well as purchasing.

Aside from the seamless design of shopping campaigns in Pinterest feeds, Pinterest has completely changed the social shopping game with the introduction of the visual search tool. Users are able to snap or upload a picture of an item they are looking for and Pinterest will generate images and shoppable pins that resemble the image. This feature caters to their diverse user base and allows pinners to solidify their vision based off of a visual. With 80% of users starting with visual search when shopping, Pinterest has taken their position as a visual inspiration platform to a completely new level with this feature and streamlined social shopping into a simple click of a camera. 

Along with the other social platforms, Pinterest has successfully continued to expand its offerings, especially with the visual search function that can recognize 2.5 billion objects across home, fashion and more. Pinterest’s advances have successfully adapted to the push for social shopping with 93% of their users specifically visiting the Pinterest site to purchase products. While social shopping has become the new norm, Pinterest has simplified this experience and continues to do what it does best —inspire us. 

The post The Rise and Stay of Social Shopping appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

With this short read, we will dive into the benefits of an integrated paid social and creative strategy and how this combination can be lethal and effective in driving solid results.

Paid Social + Cohesive Branding

With millions of businesses leveraging paid social advertising to drive awareness, conversions, and create lifetime value, it may seem like an overwhelming task to stand out. So how is YOUR business able to be differentiated from the competition? By having badass branding creative that complements paid social advertising tactics.   

Why is this important? Branding is more than just the company name, logo, and fancy fonts. Branding is all about your company voice, your imagery, who your target audience is, and how you make your customers feel. 

By having a cohesive branding strategy across all touchpoints, (awareness, consideration, and conversion), not only are we able to connect with our customers, but we are able to create recognition and a loyal customer base.

Crafting Creative That Speaks to Consumers Based on Where They are in the Buying Journey

When it comes to creative, there is no “one size fits all” option. Imagine meeting someone you are interested in. You wouldn’t ask for their number or go in for a kiss right away, no! You’ll need to nurture that relationship. Same goes for different stages of the consumer journey leveraging nurturing creatives. Consumers need to be nurtured before they turn into customers. Let’s break down how a solid creative strategy impacts each stage!

• Top Funnel (Prospecting): This stage of the funnel is the first touch point. Here, consumers are unfamiliar with your brand, company, service, or product. At this stage we want to create awareness and buzz with a mixture of education, storytelling, and entertainment. A few things to consider when leveraging creative in an integrated campaign:
  • Focus on unique benefits (unique selling propositions) Informational — who you are, what solution you offer
  • Engaging — fun creative that doesn’t require the consumer to do much work.

• Middle Funnel (Retargeting): This stage of the funnel leverages conversion-focused creative. Driving first-time purchases for users who have engaged, and are now familiar with your company, brand, or product.
  • Incentivize — perceived value of freebie or free shipping
  • Showcase product for brand recognition
  • Comparisons to similar products in the industry
  • Testimonials and reviews — built trust and generate social proof
  • Ask for the sale with a strong call to action (CTA)
  • Risk Reversals
  • Money back guarantee
  • Free trials
  • Satisfaction guarantee

• Bottom Funnel (Retention): This stage of the funnel is post-purchase. Here we want to utilize creative that is focused on generating lifetime value of our brand to our customers and drive repeat purchases as we continue to grow our customer base.
  • New product launches
  • Replenishment creatives
  • Offering subscriptions
  • Exclusive offers or special discounts

Opportunity to Test Variety of Creative Formats

Channels like TV, audio, and print are pigeonhole to one creative format that fits within the medium. Paid social presents the opportunity to use more than one media type to present the story you’d like to craft around your brand. Combining video, static, and GIFs allows your brand to showcase itself from multiple angles all on one platform. 

Beyond media types, every social media platform has a breadth of ad placement format types that can help move the needle for your bottom line if used strategically. Try testing different creative and ad placement formats for your social media campaign initiatives. You can A/B test media types against one another to understand which proves better for your brand. 

Your Consumers Can Create Content for You! 

It’s no secret that it’s pretty easy to sniff out an advertisement. Ads typically stand out in traditional media platforms, think: commercials, full-page magazine ads, pre-roll videos on YouTube. Social media platforms have presented marketers with a unique opportunity: get involved in the conversation and blend in. User Generated Content (UGC) is unique to paid social and can have a major impact for your brand. You can repurpose content as social media ads from folks who have great stuff to say about your brand while having it natively fit right into social media feeds. 

Wrapping Up

All in all, creative can have a major impact on the success of your paid social campaigns. Crafting a strategic marketing plan around how to present your overall brand story, what aspects to highlight to users depending on where they are in their consumer journey, and utilizing a variety of ad formats can alter the sentiment of your target audience. With the ever-growing competitive landscape, integrated marketing is a must. And luckily, social media channels have presented the opportunity to creatively enter the conversation, so jump right in!

The post Benefits of an Integrated Paid Social + Creative Strategy appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

As an advertiser in the paid social space, the words ‘test’ and ‘learn’ are likely always top of mind. This could not be more true in the current landscape where uncertainty is everywhere, strategies as we have known them have flipped, and the unexpected have risen to the challenge while others have fallen. It’s important to reflect on what has conspired over the course of 2020 in the paid social world, and more importantly prepare for a very interesting holiday season ahead. Let’s dive in…

Industries

Shift in Products and Consumer Interests 

During these unusual times, consumer’s lives and shopping habits have seen dramatic changes. Stay at home orders have caused many stores to close which has caused an uptick in online shopping across all generations and a change in the way marketing is used to reach a target audience. In general, people are spending more time online and less time in stores. 

With many people experiencing financial hardship, their spending habits have changed. Consumers are now more focused on value, availability, and convenience and because of this are experimenting with new brands, retailers, and products. Brand and product switching is a new norm as availability is driving consumer choices. For the most part, discretionary spend has been reduced while people focus on essentials. However, the Lipstick Effect shows that even during economic downturns, people still spend money on small luxuries in place of bigger luxury purchases. So while consumers may have cut out vacations and other expenses, they have still found other ways to treat themselves to a little bit of luxury. Covid’s “lipstick” may take the form of facemasks and self care indulgences as consumers are at home and have the time to focus on self care, hobbies and entertainment. Products that have seen a large increase during this period include workout materials, skin care products, cleaning products, and even board games. Social media ads and an increased reliance on Amazon’s quick services have contributed to this increase in spending. Even if consumers aren’t taking that vacation or buying a new car, there is still a demand for smaller discretionary items. 

What’s Changed So Far 

The landscape has shifted quite a bit over the course of 2020, both online and offline. Many brick and mortar businesses have had to close doors for long periods of time, opening mid year with the uncertainty of potentially closing again looming in the not-so-distant future.

Businesses that have historically leaned heavily into the digital marketing realm have had to adapt, for better or worse, with the changing markets. Both the online and offline sides of businesses have had to react to one common thing – shifts in consumer behavior. 

There have been a few key shifts that have taken place on social platforms specifically that have impacted advertisers around the country.

CPMs (Cost per 1000 Impressions) have decreased roughly 20% since the onset of shelter in place mandates around the country in early March 2020. This decline could be for a number of reasons but two in particular stand out; advertisers with weak business models or high COGS that cannot afford to pay the cost of sale on social falling off of the platform and opening up the auctions a bit, and more users than ever on the platform than before. Just think, more people using the platform means more real estate to capitalize on, and fewer advertisers to compete against. Generally, e-commerce businesses that have held strong through the changing landscape have benefited greatly with lower platform costs and increased ROI as a result.

Although the platform costs are lower, it is equally important if not more important now than ever to leverage a well-crafted marketing strategy. With users spending more time on the platforms, they are consuming more content than ever before. While we may not be competing with as many advertisers we are definitely competing for consumer attention. Focus on eye-catching, engaging creative that truly speaks to your audience where they are at in the consumer journey.

What we anticipate coming / gearing up for Q4

How to stay competitive with other brands 

Staying competitive during the Holiday season is crucial to your company’s success. Think of it as preparing for a football game. You watch footage from the previous game of your team. Then you watch footage of the other team and you think of a strategy (or game-plan) to bring home the W. This approach is very similar to Holiday success and how to one-up your competitors in engagement and sales.

Step 1

Holiday planning should start NOW! Don’t just focus on the actual sale during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Think about how you are gearing up for the big holiday weekend. Are you reaching new audiences? Are you testing different placements of the promotion whether it’s in ad copy, creative or even your landing page experience? 

Now is the time to start testing micro-promotions to increase traffic being sent to your site so you can build your retargeting audiences. If you do not have a large retargeting audience or audience of past purchasers – you run the risk of not engaging with users that are familiar with your brand and could lose out on revenue to your competitors who are already engaging with your target audience. 

Tips for Holiday planning now:

Look in Ads Library to see what ads your competitors are currently running! You can use their ads as ideation for your promo, creative and messaging!

Look at what promotion you ran last year, what was your spend, duration of sale, top performing audiences and creative based on your KPIs.

Lean into the top performing audiences and creative style you saw strong performance from last year and integrate into your marketing strategy this holiday season

Step 2

We highly recommend having someone keep a pulse on what promotions competitors are running at the moment as we head into the holidays. We’ve seen ‘Black Friday came early this year’ promotions which is a great way to generate interest right away and drive new users to your site, while increasing revenue. 

It’s important to do competitive analysis and check on a weekly basis with what promotions they are running to ensure your social marketers know which direction to take your paid ads in.

Start by looking at 3 of your biggest competitor on a weekly basis 

Step 3

Now that you know about micro-promotions, plan a promotional calendar to stay ahead of your competitors. Start tracking when your competitors launch campaigns, how long their campaigns are flighted, etc. Use these findings to your advantage and have a more compelling offer or extend the duration of your campaign to stay in front of these new users!

Changes in Promotional Strategies 

Having a concise paid social media marketing plan in place for Q4 this year will be pivotal to sales success. Especially given the fact that major retailers are shifting strategies for the holidays due to Covid-19. Stores like Target and Walmart have both announced that they will be closed on Thanksgiving Day – a popular trend for retailers over the years to jump-start sales after people enjoy their last slice of pumpkin pie. With a change in marketing as we know it, now is the time to focus on a new social media marketing trend that would best fit your client’s wishes. Social listening is key to understanding what the consumers are looking for now.

What We’re Expecting:

The cost to reach people will increase. With so many brands shifting their focus towards e-commerce this year, mainstream and social media advertising will be competitive and we’re expecting CPM’s to increase.  This is important to keep front of mind when forecasting sales; that brands will be reaching less people with a similar budget to previous years.

The competition will be fierce and the deals will be too. Brands need to realize that in order to combat the sales noise, they’ll need to offer competitive deals to stay relevant in the minds of consumers. We’re expecting larger than normal discounts and freebies in comparison to past Q4’s.

How Do You Combat This:

The early bird gets the worm. Knowing that CPM’s will increase, it’s important to launch campaigns earlier than normal this year. It takes time for social media ads to learn and optimize towards their goal. It’s crucial to launch your ads before this happens. That way, by the time CPM’s do increase to full effect, campaigns will have achieved the learning phase and will be fully optimized. This will allow budgets the potential to stretch further.

Run multiple promos. Having a sitewide promo will help brands stay competitive. But take that one step further. If your brand has top selling items with nice profit margins, we recommend offering even further discounts for those items. If a product is a top seller, then capitalize on that. Don’t give consumers any reason to buy a similar product from another brand.

Capture people’s attention with engaging ads. It’s easy to launch ads with an enticing promo code. But brands need to be thinking about taking their ad creatives to the next level. Combine a great deal, with a great product and then develop great creative to make social ads stand out from the crowd. It’s worth the extra time it takes and the production costs to increase overall ad potential. There’s going to be a lot of noise, we know that, and a great way to increase sales is with ads that resonate with your audience on all fronts.

Maximizing Digital Media Ad Spend to Grow Your Business 

This year advertisers need to be extremely nimble while managing digital media ad spend. To maximize success in 2020, advertisers need to react quickly to government orders and social movements affecting consumer behavior and plan strategically to best support marketing calendars. When stay-at-home orders are in place social media platform usage increases, making this the perfect time for brands to scale up ad spend to prospect new users, and nurture remarketing audiences. Advertisers should closely monitor cost-per-acquisition and return on ad spend to scale up ad spend when performance is exceeding KPIs, especially during promotional periods, and scale back spend or reallocate to a different channel when performance falls below this threshold. Since the economic downturn will expedite the rise of mega sales in Q4, it’s important to increase prospecting spend now to introduce new people to your brand and remain top of mind for self-giving and seasonal shopping through the end of the year. 

New Channels to Explore

Pinterest Ads

If you’re not already advertising on Pinterest, you should start ASAP. This visual search engine is the platform in which users are turning to to plan not just their everyday but even their holidays. That’s right, users began searching for holiday content beginning in April of this year. With the influx of users on the platform, the “looking ahead” mindset with which users are using the platform and the low cost of reach and traffic, this is more than enough reason to begin advertising. 

Pinterest’s targeting capabilities are essentially a blend between Facebook and Google – We can target interests and actalikes (lookalikes), retarget emails and website visitors, and target specific keywords. That coupled with the visual nature of the platform, we’re able to serve rich media ads to highly relevant users. With 97% of searches on Pinterest being non branded, users are constantly discovering new brands to try while they are searching for inspiration. 

TikTok Ads

Although the newest of the social media platforms, TikTok has easily become one of the most used apps in the world. They have surpassed 2 billion global downloads, with 315 million downloads in Q1 alone. More importantly, the users are highly engaged – users spend on average 81 minutes on the app per day per user.

That being said, TikTok also just released their self-serve ads platform, where ads are shown in-feed in between organic content as users scroll through the “For You” feed. With similar targeting capabilities as Facebook, as well it’s growing popularity, TikTok will easily become the next BIG advertising platform that you need to be on.

New Tactics to Explore

Instant Experience Canvas Ads 

Many clients we work with have a fantastic product range, but then suffer from having a poor site for user experience and navigation. We call this the ‘blockbuster dilemma’. Remember going to Blockbusters to rent a movie, and you’ve even decided what genre you want to watch. You’re all set! Tonight’s a sports movie night. But then the unthinkable happens, again. You’re stuck with a plethora of 100+ options of an identical front cover with identical plot lines. So what do you do? Well you do what you did last month, and you opt for that good ol’ favorite of yours you have seen 20 times because hey, now there’s no decision to be made.

Instant experience canvas ads is your way of taking this headache away from the user! Simply pull your top 5/10 performing products, or 5/10 new releases and build out an instant experience canvas ad. The user will then, upon clicking on your ad, be shown what looks like a mini landing page optimized specifically for mobile. There they can scroll through the products you want them to buy with minimal effort on their end and each product sends the user straight to the landing page of said product. It is a sure fire way to consistently drive users to your site and purchasing at a high conversion rate by putting your best foot forward and helping to guide the users purchasing decision.

Dynamic Creative Ads

30 primary text variations, 20 headline variations, 10 images and 5 videos?! Great. You’re all set to start testing. But wait? You don’t have the time, bandwidth or knowledge of when these ads should be trialled against one another. Should this be an A/B test, or an A/B/C/D test? At what point should a third best performer be swapped out for a new variation?

Thankfully Facebook have built an amazing new feature whereby you can add up to 10 creative variations (images or video), 5 headline variations and 5 primary text variations all into one ad! Mass testing may now ensue. Then simply wait for the results to come in as the algorithm continuously optimizes for the best performing combinations. At which point, you can pluck the best performing headlines, primary text and creative combinations out. Build them into dark posted ads, and post across your campaigns.

Dark Posting

Dark posting is the key to scaling your Facebook ads account. Why? Let’s look at the following example of a very basic funnel:

Prospecting Campaign:

Ad set: Lookalike audience of purchasers

Ad set: Lookalike audience of FB/IG page engagers

Ad set: Interest based audience 1

Ad set: Interest based audience 2

Retargeting Site Traffic Campaign:

Ad set: Viewed content or added to cart in the past 30 days

Ad set: Viewed content or added to cart in the past 31-180 days

Retargeting Purchasers Campaign:

Ad set: Retargeting past purchasers – excluding the past 30 days

Yes, it is important to break out these areas of the funnel to provide messaging and creative specific to the users stage in the consumer journey. However, let’s assume we were building an identical ad for these 7 ad sets. This would mean 7 totally different ad IDs, all uniquely building their own social proof elements (read: comments, likes, shares etc). Conversely, by dark posting the same ad across these ad sets, the post will generate not only 7 times more social proof, but due to the law of compounding, even greater social proof than one would expect!

Consider dark posting a few evergreen ads across ad sets to take your social media strategy to the next level, and see sky high social proof as your retargeted users build up the initial social proof on the ad and prospective customers follow suit, essentially creating a free brand ambassador or two in your campaign strategy!

Messaging Strategies for Paid Social in 2020 

As we all know, simple, catchy and engaging messaging sells in the advertising world. As Paid Social advertisers, our main goal is to connect and resonate with our current and potential clients. Messaging has always been key and is always being tested whether it is eCommerce, Lead Generation or Brand awareness. 2020 has been a wild ride, especially in the digital marketing space.

Things to consider for 2020 messaging strategies are, being mindful of how you position your brand during the Pandemic, and how your brand will look post Pandemic.

During the Pandemic, as social distancing becomes the norm, more users are spending a great deal of time online and across different social platforms. As some companies pull ad dollars, this opens the door for others to take advantage of decreased CPMs (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions) and a less cluttered feed to reconnect with current customers & connect with potential new customers. While bottom funnel conversions can still be useful and important, brands should look towards pivoting their messaging strategies and moving up the funnel to drive product discovery and increase brand awareness. This can allow brands the opportunity to play around more with messaging and not have to necessarily worry about a conversion. The aim should be building a relationship through meaningful messaging and social ads that could one day turn these engagers into loyal customers.

Messaging strategies should rely on the following when communicating to your current and potential users. Be useful, mindful, compassionate and real. 

Summing this all up, as we move further through and hopefully soon – out of the Pandemic. Utilizing these messaging strategies should help your brand or business come out the other end with new customers, appreciative current customers, and a larger audience to continue to connect with. Be engaging with your audience, but be mindful of the world around you as we all navigate through. 

The post 2020 Paid Social Trends & Gearing up for the New Reality appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

In the world of web content, video is increasingly king. Engaging, compulsively watchable content is a great way to introduce your original voice and vision. At the same time, between scripting, shooting, and editing, video content can be incredibly time consuming and even tedious to produce.

Literal days can go into producing just a few minutes of content to post online. That’s why you want to make sure you always post your video on more than one channel.

Multiple Channels 

When you’re making content with Facebook Video, it may seem like the native video creation tools want you to post it in just one place: Facebook. Did you know that there’s actually a way to embed this video on various other platforms? This not only captures a larger audience but also helps your video thrive on Facebook itself. This is your guide to stretching the value of your Facebook Videos.

Organic Benefit

Creating Facebook videos is likely a great investment of your and your company’s time. After all, it’s still the third-most visited website in the world, with more daily users than any other social network. Make no mistake, Facebook itself is among the most valuable markets to display your brand. Although it’s important to know the limits of Facebook’s reach:

• 7 in 10 American adults use Facebook—which means 3 in 10 do not. 
• Just over half of users log into Facebook daily.
• Millennials and Gen-Zers are less likely to use Facebook daily than older adults.

After you’ve gone through the effort of creating a Facebook video, you want to make sure you’re reaching your entire audience, including people who may not have Facebook, may not use Facebook daily, or may try to stay logged-off to manage their screen time.

Luckily, just like YouTube videos, public Facebook videos can be embedded and viewed off of the platform. But you may be surprised by how important this strategy is in making your content more visible on Facebook itself. Whenever and wherever someone clicks, you can roll up all the views on that video toward one big view count.

View Count Isn’t Just a Number

Anytime someone spends three or more seconds looking at your Facebook video, it goes towards the video view count.

View count is not just a vanity metric. As you probably know, Facebook moved away from a chronological newsfeed years ago: what shows up on someone’s Facebook feed is content that the site’s algorithm thinks will grab their attention.

A high view count tells the platform that a video is interesting and engaging. That piece of feedback for the Facebook algorithm can push the video a little bit further to the top of feeds, getting it in front of more users. That’s good news for you, too: it makes it more likely that users will see it, even if it’s been a few hours or days since you posted.

All Eyes on You

As you now know, even when you create a video using Facebook’s tools, you can share your video content out to the greater internet without requiring someone to be logged in or directing them to Facebook. After all, you probably want to expose the video to audiences that are potentially more engaged than just your following on Facebook and the fast-scrollers who plow through the Newsfeed like Russell Crowe plows through polite conversation.

For best results, be sure to post your video content:

• On your website or blog
• In your newsletter
• On affiliates’ sites, blogs, and newsletters

As you can see, more views can create a positive feedback loop, driving more and more traffic to your content, and from there, to your goods and services.

When and Where to Embed

Now you know why it’s important to give your Facebook video the widest possible audience. Next, we’ll look at how you can make this a reality.

Example A

When you’re marketing your products or services, you know it’s essential to give users as many ways as possible to engage with your content. One way to achieve this goal is to upload a digestible summary video of a recent blog post, and then post that on your page alongside the blog link. Then, take that video and embed it into the actual blog post to: 

• Get more mileage out of an asset you’ve already spent time producing
• Provide more value to blog visitors who didn’t make it there through Facebook
• Pump the view count on the video that’s attached to your post

Hot tip: you can install Facebook comments and a like button to promote engagement that also carries over to the platform. 

Advertising Benefit

Now, doing this isn’t all about organic play. Here’s where it gets fun: You know how you can create segmented audiences based on the percentage or duration viewed on your posted videos? The views that are racked up on your embedded video are also counted toward those audiences. 

If someone’s logged into Facebook on their browser while watching the video on your site—or anywhere else the video is embedded—you can now remarket to that person from your Facebook page. You don’t need to have the pixel installed on the site the video’s embedded on, because Facebook is already counting those views. The embed treats the video as part of the Facebook ecosystem.

That’s the beauty of using the Facebook platform: their powerful analytics do some of the work for you. No matter where you’ve posted it when your video gets views from Facebook users, there is more user data to fuel your audiences and more people being captured in your funnel. 

Example B

You’ve uploaded a cool how-to video for origami gift bags on Facebook and your website. You share the embed code to a couple of affiliates who then post the video to their own sites. You can now retarget ANY of the Facebook users who watched your video, no matter their origin. Now, you’re tapping into an even broader user base. 

Extra Technical Bonuses

When you add a video to your site as an embed (or have someone else add your video to theirs), you don’t have to upload the video directly. This effectively reduces your storage footprint, which some CMS providers place limitations on. It also helps the page load faster. 

As it stands, sites that load in five seconds (compared to one that loads in 19) keep users browsing their content for a longer amount of time. No one likes a slow page!

If you consider that a three-second difference in page load speed can mean the difference between a 9% bounce rate and a 38% bounce rate, every second counts. Anything you can do to bring that timer down is going to make your site faster and your users happier. 

The How-To Section

Now that you know where to post your video, it’s time to get down to practical matters. Here’s how you go about embedding a video from Facebook on another site or channel:

1. Post the video to a public audience.
2. Get to Facebook on a computer. You can’t really do this all through your phone—sorry!
3. Click in the top right corner and select Embed.
   
4. Copy the code that appears in the pop-up.
   
5. Paste that in the desired location.

Audience Targeting

Once you’ve mastered the art of embedding videos, you can begin to use Facebook’s tools to target segments of your audience. Users who have viewed part or all of a video—whether on Facebook or on another platform—may be more likely to click, make a purchase, or further engage with your content. Thanks to Facebook’s powerful “Audiences” tool, you can target these people directly.

If you’re the marketer from Example A, you might want to direct viewers of your How-To video to your latest blog post, introducing them to more of your unique content.

If you’re the entrepreneur from Example B and you’ve posted a video on origami gift bags, maybe your next step is to create another post for viewers of that video advertising your freshest origami paper prints.

Here’s how you can use audiences when you create a new post:

1. Navigate to the “Audience” tab in Ads Manager.
2. Click the “Create Audience” button and then select “Custom Audience” from the resulting dropdown. From there, select Engagement. Then select Video.
3. In the Engagement field, choose the viewer segment qualifier for your audience. You have the choice between viewers by the amount of times or percent of video viewed.
4. After that, click Choose Videos. In the window that appears, select Page (since you’ve posted this publicly). Then Confirm the selected videos.
5. Then, for the “In the past” field, enter the number of days you want to use as your lookback window.
   
   
6. Add a name so you can find your new audience again in the future.
7. Save.

Give that audience some time to back-fill, then once Facebook tells you the audience is “ready,” you’re good to go! 

The Power of Facebook Video

As you know, creating video content alongside your editorial content can be a time-consuming process. However, this medium is uniquely suited to capture views and to capture new users at the top of your sales funnel.

When you use Facebook Video, you’ll not only have the chance to reach new customers, but you’ll also have access to Facebook’s valuable analytic tools. The more you use the platform, the more you’ll understand what kinds of content engages and grows your audience. 

Resources:

• How to embed Facebook videos on your site https://www.facebook.com/help/1738143323068602/?helpref=hc_fnav
• How to make a remarketing audience for Facebook videos: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1099865760056389?id=2469097953376494 
• How to install Facebook comments on WordPress https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-install-and-setup-facebook-comments-in-wordpress/
• How to install Facebook page likes button on WordPress https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-add-facebook-like-button-in-wordpress/ 
• Page load speed statistics https://unbounce.com/landing-pages/7-page-speed-stats-for-marketers/

Sources: 

• Pew Research Center. 10 Facts About Americans and Facebook. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/16/facts-about-americans-and-facebook/
• Tech Crunch. Is Facebook Dead to Gen Z? https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/12/is-facebook-dead-to-gen-z/
• Unbounce. 7 Page Speed Stats Every Marketer Should Know. https://unbounce.com/landing-pages/7-page-speed-stats-for-marketers/

The post 1 Tactic to Stretch Facebook Video Value appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

But the question remains—is your business’ remarketing strategy effectively leading customers down the funnel and past the purchase finish line? 

What is Remarketing?

What is remarketing? Also known as behavioral targeting, is a way to reconnect with people who have previously interacted with your website or mobile app. It can serve two very important marketing purposes:

1. Increase brand awareness among an audience who is interested, whether tangentially or actively
2. Remind audiences who have shown active interest to make a purchase

Utilized on platforms such as Google and Facebook, remarketing tags sites and content that users visit and then creates advertisements based on their searches and views. It’s the reason why after looking up “toaster,” you suddenly have several advertisements for different brands of toasters. 

Why Remarket?

As the amount of information we intake each day increases, a personalized experience is becoming more and more important. According to Epsilon:

“The appeal for personalization is high, with 80% of respondents indicating they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences and 90% indicating that they find personalization appealing.”

But personalized experiences are not just drawing customers to businesses, but also having an impact on their spending habits. 

• Consumers who find personalized experiences appealing are ten times more likely to be a brand’s “most valuable customer,” or those who are expected to make more than 15 purchases a year. 
• They are also shopping more frequently — people who believe that companies are providing personalized experiences shop more than three times more frequently than those who do not. 

Remarketing is, at its essence, the personalization of marketing and advertising. If executed correctly, it can effectively boost your brand awareness, increase the input of audiences into the funnel, and help onboard more potential customers. 

Remarketing is an important part of the modern marketing strategy. However, not all remarketing is equally effective. 

Is Your Remarketing Working?

If you feel that your remarketing is not effective, chances are that your remarketing window is too short. In order to craft the most successful remarketing campaign, it is important to look at the average life cycle of a customer’s journey. 

50% of people who walk into a store and research a product end up buying that product in the next 2 years. 

Two years is longer than most remarketing strategy timelines. And while the purchase might not be from the source they originally saw it, 50% of those customers do end up making the purchase. This buying tendency makes in-market audiences extremely valuable. Additionally:

15% of the previously mentioned 50% will make their purchase in the next 90 days.  

These percentages can get a little bit confusing, so let’s put it in terms of people. If 200 people walk into a store to look at refrigerators, within 90 days 15 of them will have purchased a new refrigerator. Within two years, 100 of that original 200 will be bickering over whether or not bananas belong in their new refrigerator; half of the original number will own one. 

But what does this mean, exactly? See below: 

• 92.5% of your potential customers—the ones who are clicking through your site and browsing through your store—are going to be lost. 
• If you aren’t talking to your potential customers during that 90-day window, someone else is. And they’ll probably make their purchase elsewhere.

These two facts provide a few key takeaways:

1. Most of the eyes on your site and the people in your stores are not going to convert into purchases. This makes targeting your advertisements even more crucial—why spend money on eyes that won’t end up in a purchase?
2. There are two major timelines to keep track of when designing a remarketing campaign: the 90-day conversion and the two-year conversion. The approach to both should look different. 

When considering how to best remarket to your audiences, it’s important to ask yourself the difficult questions: is it worth remarketing to someone for 90 days? How do you best allocate your budget to account for different stages of customer drop-off? How do I remarket to someone effectively for 90 days?

How to Effectively Remarket To Your Audiences 

Keep your message fresh. Currently, there’s an oversaturation of messaging and advertising on various different platforms and mediums. Now that we’re experiencing extreme digitization, we all know what it’s like to be marketed to. It happens to us every day. By staying fresh, unique, and authentic, you’re better able to differentiate yourself from your competition. 

Let’s consider someone who is looking at baby carriages. It’s safe to assume that they are in the planning stages—they are actively looking for, researching, and comparing different kinds of baby carriages. 

How do you remarket to them?

Assuming that they are looking to buy in the next 90 days, you can do the following:

1. Send them a “Come back!” message
2. Remind them of your brand and product’s unique value propositions and differentiators.
3. Reach out with a final “But before we say goodbye for real, here’s a sweet discount” option. One last incentive to entice them. 

If they’re not yet ready to purchase, the strategy can look a little more like this:

1. Put the customer into the first funnel.
2. Leave them alone—exclude them from messaging.
3. After a while has passed, pop up and remind them with a revitalizing message that if they haven’t made a purchase yet, your brand and product is the one for them!

The trick here is to build relationships with your customers instead of inundating them with the same messaging over and over again. According to Mailchimp:

“One survey found that about 75% of consumers noticed that they were being retargeted. But more importantly, people respond to them. According to a personalized retargeting company, the average click-through rate for a Google search ad is 0.07%, while the average rate for retargeted ads is 0.7%. Not only that, users who click through are 70% more likely to convert and become customers.”

Although it’s more work, remarketing ultimately develops better brand and product loyalty without fatiguing your audience—in turn helping you sell more. These timelines are most effective with strong, fresh messaging. 

Who Does Remarketing Work For?

Keep in mind that remarketing isn’t for everyone. If you’re only selling one or two products or if your product/service is relatively cheap, the cost of remarketing always needs to be considered. If the cost outweighs the return or takes a bite out of your profit margin, then this tactic might not complement your business.

With that said, remarketing is a great strategy for brands who:

• Have enough variety of products to upsell and cross-sell after the first purchase. These are brands that have both a large portfolio of services/products to sell and high customer loyalty. For example, these kinds of businesses can be clothing brands, makeup sites, etc. 
• Sell high-ticket items or provide services that require a longer consideration phase. Remarketing is effective for services like wealth management, because it’s a commitment to choose a consultant, and the price tag and investment on the end of the customer are much larger. Businesses like big mattress brands also benefit from remarketing because their product is an investment.
• Sell products that require proprietary support and ancillary items that result in a long customer relationship and higher lifetime value. With companies that sell subscription-based services, building strong customer relationships is important because while the onboarding cost may be higher, each of the customers has a higher lifetime value (rather than one-off purchases)

When the lifetime value of a customer outweighs the acquisition cost, remarketing is a fantastic strategy. 

A Final Thought

Remarketing, in the beginning, requires trial and error. Crafting messages that are simultaneously broad enough to reach a wider audience and specific enough to provide a personalized experience is nothing short of an art form. Iteration after iteration, you will eventually find a purchase. And when you do, remarketing just might be one of your businesses’ secret weapons. 

When building your remarketing strategy, be sure to consider the following:

Ad frequency at each point of the funnel:

• Are the message refreshes spread far enough apart?
• At which stages in the customer’s journey are more frequent messages effective? Less effective?
• How do you craft messages that address each customer’s place in the funnel while also maintaining the integrity of the brand?

Messaging and branding that addresses the need:

• By looking at CTRs, ad scores and engagement scores, you can tell whether your messaging is effective—are you studying the metrics? 
• What does brand loyalty look like? 
• Is this boosting overall positive sentiment towards the brand? Towards the product?

With these in mind, you’re on your way to building a successful remarketing strategy that will help you optimize your funnel and drive further revenue.

Sources:

• Mail Chimp. Google Remarketing. 
• https://mailchimp.com/marketing-glossary/google-remarketing/
• Social Media Examiner. November 15 podcast: “Facebook Ads Strategy: A New Approach for a Competitive Marketplace.
• https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/shows/ 

The post Rethinking Your Remarketing Strategy appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

We all know that social media platforms are unique. They have their own rulesets and mechanics. In which case, they need to be optimized differently. But how? 

Welcome to your guide on how to optimize your organic social marketing strategy. By following these steps, you can make it easier for your audience to learn about, engage with, and deepen their relationship with your brand. 

Facebook: Optimizing the Right Way 

With over two billion users, Facebook is a necessary component of any social media marketing campaign. Below, we’ll explain a few Facebook-focused tips on how to engage your audience and hold user retention. 

#1 Optimize Your Profile Photo, Cover Photo, and Utilizing Video 

With so many users engaging with Facebook on mobile, your content needs to be optimized for smartphones. The mobile trend is increasing to the point that, by 2025, experts project 72.6% of the world’s population will only use their phones to access the internet. 

In which case, start now and format your content for mobile. This includes your:

• Profile picture
• Cover photo
• Videos

#2 Maximize Your Facebook Story

Facebook’s Story feature is a great way to push new content and provide additional opportunities for follower engagement. When using Facebook Story, you want to optimize your Facebook Story image for both preview mode and full mode.

With creativity and a clever narrative, you can use a series of Facebook Stories to keep viewers engaged. When it comes to your content, you’ll want to (tastefully) include: 

• Photos
• Product links 
• Product Images
• Testimonials

Of course, use the above only when they’re applicable. First and foremost, you need to harness your brand voice and compel your audience. But with the right positioning, this is a great place to optimize your Facebook strategy. 

#3 Use Facebook’s Tabs to Highlight Information and Direct Viewers

On your Facebook page, tabs are found right underneath the cover photo. Use this feature to organize the important information about your company—the hot stuff you want front and center. 

For example, you can add a “reviews” tab. When someone clicks on that tab, they could read through customer reviews, living vicariously through those who have experienced your brand. Additionally, you can add an “about” tab, where your flagship mission statement is spotlighted. 

Why is this important? Once optimized, all it takes is one click for your audience to gain a deeper understanding of and connection with your brand. 

Lastly, keep it clean. Cohesive. Structured. Avoid clutter by remembering to remove unused tabs. This helps draw the eye of your audience, reducing the noise and guiding them to the content you want to showcase. 

#4 Change Your Facebook Cover Photo Button to “Shop Now” 

If you’re an e-commerce company, change your cover photo button to a CTA (call to action) “Shop Now” button. That way, if someone likes a product on your Facebook page, they can make a quick and easy purchase. Additionally, tracking these Shop Now clicks can help determine how customers are responding to your content. 

A note on Facebook optimization: Is it starting to click? The goal here is to create a better user experience and help them get places quicker. Whether it’s ensuring your platform is optimized for mobile, enhancing your Facebook Story, organizing your Tabs, or putting a CTA at the forefront (thank you, Shop Now), you’re effectively guiding your reader through your roadmap, driving them to the right destination. 

Instagram: Do It For The Gram’ 

With the advent of Instagram and the rise of influencer marketing, it should be no surprise that this platform is on our list. Given the recent changes in their “like” structure and their massive push for authentic content, there’s no doubt about it—the Instagram landscape is changing. 

And what do marketers say to change? Thanks for new opportunities! 

Below are a few easy and tested methods that will help you optimize your organic social marketing strategy on Instagram:

#1 Instagram Personal to Instagram Business, Make The Switch

By switching from Instagram personal to Instagram business, you access a number of business features. These features include control over the reach of your boosted Instagram posts and accessing Instagram analytics (Instagram calls this “Instagram Insights”).

Why is this important? It helps you better understand your follower and potential customer base, all the while providing insights on your contents’ engagement metrics.  

#2 Update Your Instagram Bio and Link

After switching to a business profile, revisit your Instagram bio and link. Does your bio place your customer first? You only have a limited number of characters, so make the bio memorable, sharp, and inviting. 

With a limited character count, brevity is paramount. Yet, you don’t want to sacrifice your brand voice. Try to imagine the first word written to the last character (even if it’s an emoji) as one cohesive story. 

Think: As your reader’s eyes move from top to bottom, what have you expressed to them?

Now let’s talk about your link. Technically, Instagram only lets you list one link in your bio, but there are a few workarounds. By using third-party tools, you can generate a custom link that directs users to a page with multiple links. This way, you can share a variety of content with your users through a single click. For example, you can include links to a product page, a blog post, a different social media campaign, and your website.

These third-party tools include:

• Linktree
• Shorby
• Linkin.bio 

#3 Take Advantage of Instagram Shopping

Think of your Instagram business profile as a digital storefront. In both your organic posts and Instagram Stories, you can mark items in photos with a product tag. 

Tapping the product tag takes you to a product description page, which, according to Instagram, contains all the information about the product. This includes its:

• Image
• Description
• Price 
• Purchase portal

By utilizing the power of a product tag, should your content compel your audience, they can make a purchase right then and there. 

#4 Make Your Profile Photo Easy to Read 

While this may seem obvious, you want to keep your profile clean, consistent, and on-brand. 

If you have a logo, try making that your profile photo.  

Whatever you choose, your profile photo should immediately communicate who you are. And, as a small tip, be careful of the fine line that exists between mystery and confusion. If your photo is mysterious and engaging, people will click through. If it’s confusing, they might not opt-in. 

Pinterest: It’s Actually Not Just About Pictures

Being that Pinterest users often use the platform to influence their shopping decisions, Pinterest is created in a way that brings new customers to businesses. But how?

Below, we’ll give you a few tips on how to optimize your organic Pinterest strategy. 

#1 Use Search Terms and Keywords in Descriptions 

Each time you pin something, you can also add a brief description of the image. In this description, use the most of relevant keywords and search terms. This way, when someone searches Pinterest or Google, your pin will have a higher ranking. Image data (alt text and titles) are a fantastic place to enforce SEO best practices—Pinterest is no different. 

#2 Use Keywords in Board Names and Board Titles

Since Pinterest uses board titles and pins as a part of its ranking strategy, keep your target keywords in mind when creating them. By implementing the appropriate keywords, you have a better chance of ranking. 

#3 Customize Pinterest Board Covers

Creating custom board covers is both a branding opportunity and a way to make your Pinterest more uniform, cohesive, and attractive to the viewer. 

#4 Cross-link Your Website and Social Channels

Use your Pinterest to promote your website and other social media channels. Since Pinterest is an image-driven platform, you can pin images posted on your Facebook, Instagram, or website and drive your Pinterest viewers to your other platforms. It’s widely known that creating cohesion between all your channels is a great marketing tactic. 

Let Pinterest be your traffic controller. 

Your Website: Optimizing Your Digital Store 

With all the effort put towards your social media strategies, you can’t forget about your website. Below, we’ll discuss a few great practices on how to best optimize your organic social marketing strategy specifically for your digital storefront. 

#1 Add Sharing Buttons

Sharing buttons encourage your audience to engage with your work. It allows people to market your content for you, and it’s a direct measurement of how engaged they are. For instance, adding “share” buttons to your blogs or products would allow someone to promote your brand on their own profile—all with the click of a button. 

#2 Link Your Social Channels In Your Website Footer

Make sure your social channels are linked (and easily located) in your website’s footer. This easily directs your viewers to engage with and follow you on social media. Additionally, there’s a big difference between a website and an Instagram. Sometimes, your viewer is going to want to see how you gram’. In which case, by having it linked, they can click right through, rather than having to search for it. 

#3 Use High-Quality Imagery to Make Your Blogs Appealing to Share

Much like with Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, using high-quality imagery on your website and blogs encourage your viewers and followers to share your posts on their social channels. While the text is important, sometimes a picture alone can be the reason why people share a blog. 

Focus on Quality in Content, Followers, and Interactions

At the end of the day, your focus needs to be on the quality of your content. While you can use every strategy in the book to guide an audience towards your platform, if the content isn’t engaging, what’s going to keep them there?

With well-positioned, compelling, and engaging content, your viewers enjoy your interaction… then become your followers. 

Create Quality Content

Key tips to creating quality content:

• Use high-quality pictures and avoid blurry, confusing, or inappropriate images.
• Create logo cohesiveness but don’t spam it across every post (people will grow tired).
• Your content needs to be a balance between engagement-based and lifestyle. You can throw promotional in there, but don’t overwhelm your audience.
• Craft authentic, relatable captions for your target audience. What drives people to relate? Emotion.
• Make a content plan and post consistently. Create a flow with how you’re publishing your content, rather than leaving it to entropy.

Find Quality Followers

With the difficulty that comes with amassing a powerful following, sometimes it’s tempting to buy followers. But while it may be an immediate reward, it won’t set you up for success. The key is to put the time and effort into growing your following organically. 

In fact, the number of followers an account has doesn’t correlate with its engagement. Instead, engagement metrics are becoming more important than the size of a given following. In which cause, fake or inauthentic followers are only going to hurt your page results.  

You want quality followers. You want them to interact with your brand and decide to trust you. To bring them through the door, you need to do so organically and with authentic content. 

Initiate Quality Interactions

One of the most important facets of a social market strategy is relationship building. Here, you have a direct in. A line. You can engage with the person on the end of the keyboard or smartphone. 

Keep note of your top engagements. Use Facebook’s messenger, reply to comments, and build authentic relationships with those that are supporting your brand. It will only further their support and foster more engagement. 

By focusing on “Return on Relationship,” you’ll be able to identify where your social media campaign is succeeding. 

In a World Filled With Noise, People Crave Authenticity

By following the steps to optimize your Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and website, you’ll make it easier for your audience and followers to engage with your brand. Despite any tactic you lead with, remember that quality-content and an authentic narrative are what’s going to capture the hearts of your audience, ultimately inspiring them to act.

The action is a decision. That decision is investing in you. 

Sources:

Forbes. Should Your Instagram Profile Be A Personal Or Business Account? 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/10/05/should-your-instagram-profile-be-a-personal-or-business-account/#219b6c342e3b

Forbes. Eight Effective Tips For Marketing Through Instagram. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/08/06/eight-effective-tips-for-marketing-through-instagram/#5c3709ae1562

Entrepreneur. 5 Sart Way to Integrate Cross-Promotion With Online Marketing.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/309671

Wired. Instagram’s New Shopping Feature Makes It a Digital Mall

https://www.wired.com/story/instagram-in-app-shopping-feature/

Business News Daily. Facebook Stories vs. Instagram Stories: What’s Best for Your Business? 

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10867-facebook-stories-vs-instagram-stories.html

The post How to Optimize Your Organic Social Marketing Strategy appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.

Search Ads, The Resurgence 

In addition to the ads placed in newsfeeds, Facebook has opened access to ads that will now be visible when users search results for commercial products, such as those connected to auto, retail, or e-commerce. After initial test runs with select companies in December 2018, Facebook has deemed that ads in response to searches are beneficial to its users and brought back the search ads they removed in 2012. 

In 2016, Facebook revealed that it was nearing its ad load, or the capacity of ads it could incorporate without negatively impacting users. The news implied that this lack of space for ads could affect the company’s earnings. But, with the reintroduction of search ads, not only does this introduce another source of revenue for Facebook, but it opens another avenue for businesses to entice consumers. And after explaining how this all works, you’ll see why you should be leveraging this placement, especially in a multi-channel strategy.

Intro to Search Ad Placement 

In 2019 alone, 86.8% of marketers in the United States used Facebook marketing. Given the number of features available on the platform, marketing minds know that there are a plethora of possibilities for ad placement. To fit your objective, particular positioning may be more effective. These are the placements currently available across Facebook platforms:

• Apps and Sites – Audience Network In-Stream, Audience Network Rewarded Video, Audience Network Banner, Native, and Interstitial 
• Feeds – Facebook News Feed, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Video Feeds, Facebook Right Column, Messenger Inbox, Instagram Feed, and Instagram Explore.
• In-Article – Instant Articles on the app.
• In-Video – Before, during, or after video content in Video on Demand and some Gaming Partner Facebook live streams.
• Search – Next to relevant Marketplace and Facebook search results.
• Stories – Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger Stories.

What is Search Ad Placement

Ads using search ad placement are placed on Facebook search result pages, from both the general and Marketplace search engines. These search ads have the exact same layout as those in the Facebook News Feed, with the same flexibility of being in video, photo, collection ad, or carousel format. 

Though search ad placement will only be possible on the Facebook mobile app, 96% of users access the application via smartphone and tablet. 

How Search Ad Placement Works

Firstly, you must be running a News Feed ad to use search ad placement. It is not available as an independent option. So, to implement this feature for News Feed ads, choose “Automatic Placement.” Or, if you’re starting to build your campaign now, you can use the Ad Manager to set the placement as “Facebook Search Results.” 

Based on your chosen demographic and keywords, your ad’s target audience will be pinpointed. However, the advertiser does not have the freedom to choose the keywords their ads will show up under. Facebook is the sole wielder of this power and uses several ad features to inform their decision. Ad features that Facebook takes into consideration include title, description, category, ad text, and the product itself. 

Tip: Use keywords on your business page to better your odds of Facebook selecting them.

Why Does it Matter?

Additional placement is just another way for advertisers to make contact with their audience and get their ads in front of these users. This marketing strategy is a news-worthy decision, because, as the Facebook landscape becomes saturated with ads, opening up new placements gives advertisers more options to reach their target audience. As a result of initiating access to search ads, the platform is giving advertisers a way to target users who are actively looking for their service or product. 

Thus, an individual that’s already shopping is more likely to become a buyer than a user that might be drawn into browsing. Through search ad placement, businesses can hone in on the demographic with a higher probability of completing a sale.

How Can I Best Leverage this Placement? 

With the option to manually or automatically run advertisements on top of choosing between platforms, Facebook marketing can become overwhelming. For those that may be uncertain as to how to make the most of their Facebook ads, consider using the Power 5.

What is the Power5?

Instead of worrying about every detail yourself, Facebook has detailed five automated ad tactics for success. Most effective when employed concurrently, Facebook’s self-proclaimed “playbook for online sales excellence” has the “ability to transform ad performance and scale across the Facebook Family of App.” Focusing on automatic functions unquestionably reduces the margin for human error as well as aims to reduce the squandering of resources.

As defined by Facebook, the Power5 entails auto advanced matching, dynamic ads, account simplification, campaign budget optimization, and, most relevant to search ads, automatic placements.

Auto Advanced Matching

With automatic advanced matching, marketers don’t need to worry about doing any coding. All that users have to do is adjust the Events Manager settings. The pixel will comb through the business’s website for customer information and details about the action that took place. The data is only kept long enough to analyze how users reacted to your ad and is then readily disposed of. From this, the business will be able to trace conversions more accurately and expand the size of your audience.

Dynamic Ads

The days of manually refreshing creative are over. Facebook will find the customers for you and show them the continually updated price and availability. Dynamic ads show your products to anyone who has engaged with your company on your app, website, or anywhere on the internet. 

All you have to do is upload your product catalog and start your campaign. The dynamic ads will keep running until whenever you choose to stop them. Personalizing ads enables you to show people products relevant or similar to their interests, regardless of whether they have visited your website. And you can remind them about items they didn’t purchase to prompt them to follow through.

Account Simplification

Simplicity can be best. In the case of Facebook marketing, this especially rings true. By simplifying your account, machine learning will automatically run tests in real-time. In addition to eliminating any redundancy that could arise if done manually, it will optimize your ad placements and creative for the best results. 

Campaign Budget Optimization

Save both time and money by setting a limit across ad sets. While campaign budget optimization can be used for any objective, it is particularly useful if your campaign has numerous ad sets. With campaign budget optimization, rather than having to monitor and shift the budget yourself, the automated process removes the need to adjust ad set funds frequently throughout the day. 

Constantly running and in real-time, this feature shifts distributions to ads with better performance automatically. Moreover, if it discovers audience overlap, funds will be reallocated to another set. Overall, your total costs will be lower, and you’ll obtain the maximum value. To truly get the most out of your budget, use little to no ad set spend limits. 

Automatic Placements

The most efficient way for marketers to leverage their search ad placement is opting into Automatic Placements. Facebook even proclaims that automatic is the most cost-effective choice. The targeting places ads on every default placement, increasing your reach and getting results from the broadest possible range. 

• Search Term | Specific Product – With automatic placements, advertisers will have the ability to show their ads to people whose search terms match with a specific product. This is ideal for e-commerce clients and is supported by product sales, conversions, and traffic campaign objectives. Although Facebook doesn’t allow the advertiser to determine which terms your product shows up for, this still gives advertisers another great option that simultaneously acts as a way to reach their target audience and improve performance.
• A Higher Conversion Rate – Research conducted by Facebook showed that advertisements made visible on Instagram, Facebook, and Audience Network had eight times the conversion rate compared to those that were only seen on Facebook, suggesting that multi-platform advertisement is more memorable. Consumer perception of brand quality and favorability were not adversely affected by having to view ads on more than one platform.

Optimize Your Ad Campaigns

Presently only 24.6% of Facebook pages endeavor to go beyond the basic free tools and use paid advertising. Therefore, you should be taking advantage of this newfound access to an area of Facebook that has not yet become oversaturated with competition. Capitalize on the direct link to potential customers who are already seeking your service or product.

If your ad is eligible, you should be able to view “Facebook Search Results” as a placement option. You can visit Facebook’s Help Center if you’d like to learn more. 

Sources:

Facebook for Business. About Advanced Matching for Web. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/611774685654668?ref=power5#

Facebook for Business. About the Delivery System: Placements. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/965529646866485?id=802745156580214

Facebook for Business. Ads. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/407108559393196?id=369787570424415

Facebook for Business. Campaign Budget Optimization. https://www.facebook.com/business/m/one-sheeters/campaign-budget-optimization?ref=power5#

Facebook for Business. Dynamic Ads. https://www.facebook.com/business/ads/dynamic-ads?ref=power5#

Facebook for Business. Power5. https://www.facebook.com/business/m/power-five

Marketing Land. Facebook Opens Search Ads to All Advertisers. https://marketingland.com/facebook-opens-search-ads-to-all-advertisers-269321

Social Media Today. Facebook’s Adding Search as an Ad Placement Option, Providing New Opportunities. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebooks-adding-search-as-an-ad-placement-option-providing-new-opportuni/544132/

The post Search Ads Placement on Facebook – What Is It? appeared first on Power Digital Marketing.