When it comes to popularity, Instagram is flying somewhere north of the moon. The good news is, your brand can hop on board for the ride. More than ever, products showcased on this social platform are increasing their reach beyond conventional boundaries. There are, however, ways to extend the Instagram reach even further. One of the ways is the video …

Can there be too much of a good thing. The answer, in most cases, is a resounding ‘yes’. Generally, the same ol’ same ol’ is a discouraging force, driving people away in droves. Even in popular territory such as Facebook, running the same ads over and over consistently is counterproductive. What was electrifyingly thrilling on first or second viewing fast …

In a world of wide-open spam folders, ad emails often get nabbed from cyberspace before reaching the finish line. And even if messages land successfully, many remain unopened. If yours gets a peek, celebrate — you did something right. But don’t rest on them laurels. You also must convince readers to click where intended. (Assuming you’ve loaded click spots into …

Banner ads – love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’ll probably be around for a while. But as with everything else in the digital world, these promotions must stay relevant to remain effective. Here are several ways brand marketers can ensure this relevance and keep their banner ads in top form. Static design has worked fine for many years. But when …

Each day, wisdom galore pours into the world regarding search engine optimization. Value and prestige belong to those who rank high. A lofty position, of course, commands the highest percentage of clicks – and consequently the lion’s share of visitors. Not surprisingly, most brand marketers go all out for a choice position on search engine radar. Rank, without question, is …

Praise to Google Ads. Nothing is better at spotlighting your brand during an online search for products or services. Advertisers, however, needn’t limit themselves to the basic info –not when there’s more to be had from this powerful promotional resource. In truth, Google Ads can be revved up amazingly. How? By utilizing the search engine’s readily-available extensions. Google Ad extensions, …

They typically display on a mobile device without prior notice. Well, they’re not a complete surprise. Every push notification requires some sort of opt-in – a permission duly granted by a user to accept certain digital messages pertaining to brand, organization, or institution. The primary reason for the acceptance is a stated personal interest in the sender’s goods or services. …

Social media, the mainstay of the online conversation, has traveled a long way since launching over a decade ago. But the phenomenon is not ready to hit the pause button. Not even close. In fact, the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all the rest will be traveling down a new set of roads throughout 2018. This has been revealed …

The 2017 holiday shopping season has shown remarkable vigor, energized by a mixture of soaring consumer confidence and a new finesse at all levels of brand marketing. While online sales have been expectantly instrumental in ringing the cash register, brick and mortar establishments also grabbed a respectably healthy slice of the pie. Yes, merchants large, small, and mid-sized are having …

Considering the prevalence and power of e-commerce behemoths such as Amazon, brick and mortar businesses are slugging it out against monstrous competition–particularly during the merry holiday shopping season. There’s no question that the likes of Amazon and other digital suppliers are quick, efficient, reliable, and user-friendly. All indispensable virtues in the eyes of frantic shoppers. Still, many business-occupying spaces in …

The Story of the Harvey Wallbanger Donato “Duke” Antone invented the Harvey Wallbanger drink in 1952 at Duke’s Blackwatch Bar on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Unfortunately, it was not a hit until the 1970s when Galliano became the most popular imported liquor in the U.S. The drink was named for Manhattan Beach surfer Tony Harvey, who was a regular at …

With about two frantic weeks left in the holiday shopping season, the bulk of brand marketing has swept through consumer land. Nevertheless, marketers are still racing down the ‘holiday home stretch’ in a feverish attempt to capitalize on remaining opportunities. Sales, promotions, red-hot offers, special events, deals, and celebrations are blazing forth to lure the mass of shoppers with un-bought …

Few software developers, particularly those who launched the computer gaming industry, ever imagined there would be a ‘useful’ side to their cultural contribution. Whether puzzle, swordplay, laser blast, or leaping hedgehogs, the elements of gaming were mere digital diversions, and nothing more. Or so went the conventional and often short-sighted wisdom. But the game, so to speak, has changed dramatically …

While the lion’s share of attention is focused on Facebook these days, marketers shouldn’t ignore the impact to be made with Twitter. This lesser-used of the social media mainstays still ranks high when it comes to drawing followers. But as they do with other channels, brand marketers hoping to win over the hearts and minds of Twitter fans must build …

Once prospects reach the bottom of the marketing funnel, conversion is guaranteed, right? Well, not quite. Although these worthy folks have demonstrated solid interest in your brand, they’re still not over the hump that stands between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. They’re in a ‘maybe’ mindset – and could stay parked in this mode for quite a stretch. At this stage, prospects …

When it comes to generating results, targeted marketing wins the day hands down. The differences between this tightly-focused approach to customer acquisition and yesterday’s scattershot efforts is striking. Consider, for instance, the transformation impacting the world of email marketing. This messaging system, once the reigning champ of scattershot, hope-you-get-opened efforts is now fine-tuned and extremely well-targeted. The results speak for …

Typically, shoppers don’t ditch their carts during a grueling grocery store excursion. A different matter entirely in the e-commerce realm. In this space, shopping cart abandonment is routinely practiced – even by users primed for a purchase. Why would they leave behind the quarry they so ardently desire? The reasons for the abrupt farewell are many and varied. But most …

Any users who’ve clicked their way through pages of online content has had first-hand dealings with anchor text. These are the words in big, bold blue (or possibly other color) – the verbal link you slide your cursor over to perform the all-important CLICK. Given the significance of clicks in a wide range of online endeavors, brand marketers labor night …

So far, so good. The survey responses are pouring in. But how does an advertiser know they’ve hit the mark? Generally, the hit is verified when responses supply juicy insights that facilitate reliable decisions. These precious, high-value responses are not exactly easy to come by, however. Striking gold requires thorough, nose-to-the-grindstone planning. Questions must be arranged and structured to coax …

With brand markers preoccupied with commandeering a constant flow of output, it seems that communication is a one-way street. But before recipients of information can appreciate fully the content sent their way, important steps must be taken by senders. Among the most important of these steps is to listen carefully to what customers and prospects are saying. Basically, before launching …

If your brand is targeting the top of search engine results, crawling is mandatory. Crawling in this case is the digital mechanism used by Google to scan and index websites. Think of electronic operatives looking around and firing reports back to mission control. Websites that rate the best reports get the best ranking. And you thought it was all about …

I have been getting calls and emails for the last few weeks about all the hacks and cyber events. The central question is always, “what do I do to protect myself?” It’s actually an impossible question to answer. Why? We do not have control of our own identities and assets. They are managed and may even be owned by 3rd …

In a sense, influencer marketing has been here for as long as advertising has. Just ask the ancient Greeks. In previous times, the art of influence was practiced by important, recognizable personages promoting a specific product, service, or political stance. Typically, their message was part of a brand pitch featured in a periodical, billboard, television commercial, or other outlet. Celebrities …

The ubiquitous mobile device is now firmly entrenched as the premier B2C delivery system. Who isn’t carrying a pocketful of messaging these days? B2C marketers know it, and use it. So why hasn’t B2B caught on? Not that business-focused marketers are asleep. Many have harnessed the smartphone’s evident virtues. But as a group, they still trail their B2C counterparts when …

In many marketing scenarios, leads acquisition is a necessary first-step. Knowing who’s keen to embrace a message, product, or service enables brands to narrow down the field to manageable dimensions. Rather than a scattershot blast, marketing becomes a well-aimed effort directed squarely at receptive eyes and ears — and steered away from the hopelessly disinterested. If cards are played right, …

In a world obsessed with interest rates, video marketers should assign an equal if not higher priority to a pair of other rates: play rate and play-through rate. Both are important, and both are, though inextricably related, two distinct metrics. Play rate is what the term implies – the number of times viewers click the play button to start the …

Our quadrant of the universe abounds with metric data. Utilizing metric data effectively isn’t a piece of cake. Read more about metric data here…

If in-depth analysis characterizes your marketing video, don’t expect roaring crowds. Video viewers, demand brevity.