4 Ways to Integrate Instagram Ads Into Your Marketing

It's official: one of the fastest-growing social media networks worldwide is now offering advertising opportunities for marketers large and small. After months of testing its new ad format to a limited audience, Instagram rolled out the platform to advertisers everywhere on Sept. 30. If you're looking to integrate the ads into your social media marketing strategy, you've come to the right place! Keep reading for an in-depth guide to Instagram ads.

1. Understanding the network

Experienced digital marketers will be familiar with Instagram, the social network that has experienced a meteoric rise since its $1 billion purchase by Facebook three years ago. Today, the network boasts 400 million active users, propelling it to a high ranking behind industry giants like Facebook and its Chinese competitor, QZone.

Compared to its direct competitors, Instagram boasts a relatively young audience with 53 percent of its user base being 29 years or younger. Thanks in part to this young demographic, the network is one of the few which doesn't see college graduates as the top education demographic, though 31 percent of its users do have at least some college experience.

In other words, the network has long offered a premier opportunity for brands to expand their reach to millennials, promoting consumer-based products and services in the sub-30 age range. In fact, 32.5 percent of U.S. companies now use Instagram for marketing purposes, and eMarketer expects that number to rise to over 70 percent by 2017 -- surpassing Twitter.  

If I were a better person, I'd put money on the new ad capabilities for that induction of brands into Instagram.

2. The ad format

If you've been using Instagram since its early stages, you might think of the network as a digital photo album. And in essence, that remains true -- thanks to a layout that emphasizes pictures and the multitude of available filters, Instagram offers the perfect opportunity for brands to visualize their imagine and provide behind-the-scenes photographs of their operations. But now that the network has entered the ad landscape, it can offer so much more than that.

Currently, Instagram offers three types of ads to marketers: Image ads, video ads and carousel ads. Considering that the platform is owned by Facebook, it should come as no surprise that all three are closely related to their Facebook counterparts.

• Image ads are the equivalent of Facebook's Link Ads but with a heavier emphasis on visual. They offer brands the opportunity to add a call-to-action button to their ad, which enables them to drive web visits in addition to raising brand awareness. 
• Carousel ads are similar to image ads but offer additional functionality in the way that Facebook's carousel ads are essentially enhanced (and diversified) link ads. Instead of just one image, you add multiple images within the same ad, which enables you to showcase multiple pictures and calls to action with a single targeting option and ad copy.
• Finally, video ads do little more than drive video views -- you can add up to 30 seconds of moving images, but call-to-action buttons are not yet available for this ad type. 

While Instagram does not currently offer conversion optimization, the network has promised to add that feature in the near future.

3. Facebook integration

Here's without a doubt my favorite part of Instagram ads -- the set-up integrates seamlessly into Facebook's Power Editor, enabling marketers to take advantage of the numerous advanced targeting methods that they've come to love on the world's largest social-media platform. The new Power Editor even lets you create an integrated Instagram / Facebook marketing campaign that ensures you reach your target audience through a variety of channels.

When Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012, many users and marketers worried that it would mean the end of the picture network's independence of its larger brethren. The introduction of widely available, integrated Facebook ads have made that worry a reality -- but early on, it looks like marketers are benefiting rather than suffering from this integration.

Considering that Instagram ads became widely available less than a month ago, we don't yet have compelling statistics that show the network to be more effective than its competitors. But a variety of marketers who were able to take part in earlier tests, from Starwood to Levi's, has claimed to find significant success and favorable return on investment in their paid Instagram efforts. For what it's worth, the network itself is already showcasing a variety of success stories in promoting the new ad features.

4.Integrating Instagram into your social media marketing

Considering the early excitement around new ad features on the world's fastest-growing social media site, predict a large number of advertisers flocking to this shiny new toy. In fact, I encourage it. If only 32 percent of marketers are currently using Instagram for marketing purposes, the amount of competitive noise should be significantly less than some of the more established sites. But when moving to Instagram, it's important to integrate the new capabilities into your existing strategy rather than simply racing ahead.

Fortunately, the network has made this integration easy by working flawlessly alongside Facebook ads. But as most marketers know, that doesn't mean you should simply duplicate your efforts. Instead, you should develop ads that fit within your strategy and match the network's audience.

Business models that can provide easy visuals, from multimedia companies to fashion outlets, will find Instagram to be a great fit for their audience. Business-to-business companies, on the other hand, may not easily find footing on this consumer-based network. Put simply, Instagram ads make sense only if the network would have made sense for you even without the paid possibilities. If you haven't seen the need for an Instagram presence in the past, you should not change your mind now.

If, on the other hand, you're looking to enhance your presence on Instagram and spread awareness of your brand beyond your current followers, the new ad capabilities are huge news. They are without a doubt the new, shiny toy in social media marketing -- and I look forward to tracking just how well they perform compared to other networks.

 Source : http://bit.ly/1U0Wcwo

4 Content-Marketing Methods to Stay Above Your Competition

Promoting irrelevant content to your customer base is as useless as bringing a knife to a gunfight. The question is no longer whether targeted content is a competition worth entering, but how to bring home the gold.

With 86 percent of buyers “frequently” using mobile phones to access business-related content, it’s no wonder marketers and publishers are leaving their pay-per-click and display tactics in the closet and opting for the gold medal of all advertising methods: content marketing.

Here are some of the methods being used by winning companies:

1. Leveraging influencers

Influencer marketing is the force of nature shaking the online marketing world. There are two things to know when utilizing influencer-based marketing: it's expensive and it works. With that said, choosing the right influencer takes much more than a bit of YouTube browsing. Successful influencer marketing doesn’t end once a video goes live. It is important to follow up with comments and viewer queries across your channels, as well as the influencer’s.

2. Making it move

Digital storytelling should be as engaging and fluid as your content. Having a compelling user experience is exactly what your brand needs to draw your customer in and retain them. Content should be moving with your customer and enhancing their online customer journey. 

Interactive content is also a highly useful way for testing audiences’ online preferences, allowing for brands to elevate the content they curate. 

Recommended app: Apester allows brands to engage using personalized experiences such as quizzes and interactive content.

3. Creating for your customer

A surprising 61 percent of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that delivers personal content that is specific to their wants and needs, according to Custom Content Council. Being that content has such an impact on conversion and retention, having an awareness of trending topics and industry keywords is a great way of understanding what your customer is searching for online.

It’s crucial to remember that content should be targeted to your customer’s needs, not your own. While self promotion and PR are huge forces in marketing, giving information to your clients with no strings attached is the best way to organically reach your customer base and keep them for good. By knowing your customers' personas and breaking down their pain points, you can adapt your content to your target customer and create deeper connections.

At the same time, if you are truly creating content for your customer, it should never be a one-way street. Instead, your content should be a catalyst for a dialogue. To make your content genuinely useful, encourage your users to add their own insights. This not only enriches the content itself, but it also empowers them to become loyal users.

Recommended app: Popular sites such as EW.com use Spot.IM’s social sidebar to make such conversations easy and simple.

4. Letting the journey drive content

The competition for outstanding content begins with a keen understanding of the customer journey, so that your brand can improve it. By creating a road map for this epic, you can position your content to tell a consistent story -- one that individually addresses each action and motivation of your customer base. Much of the content story can be boiled down to smart planning and a well-devised content calendar.

Recommended app: This one I haven't tried yet, but searching through many blogs I've found DivvyHQ to be highly recommended. With it, you are able to plan and manage your calendar on one dashboard, allowing you to be ready for your customers' journeys. Remember that the customer journey isn't necessarily linear, but is constantly in flux.

Source : http://entm.ag/1Swsy0T

16 content marketing resolutions for 2016

Though some have embraced "anti-resolutions," many still make resolutions and goals about their lifestyles, habits, personal outlooks and more. 

Here are 16 resolutions to live by this year:

1. Produce higher quality content. Bad content is the nemesis of content marketing. We need to produce high quality content to capture our audience, otherwise we will lose them in an increasingly cluttered media space—especially with recent updates to Google algorithms and the rise in ad blockers.

2. Use mobile responsive email marketing. Mobile use will continue to dominate in 2016. Litmusreported that in June 2015 desktop email represented 22 percent of all email opened, webmail ranked in at 29 percent and mobile was up to 54 percent. It’s time to make sure your emails are mobile responsive in order to give your users the best possible experience. Without it, you risk losing their attention.

3. Live where your audience is. With so many channels available to us for content distribution, it’s easy to lose focus and want to be everywhere. Instead, we must concentrate on where our audience is. 

Conduct research to collect insight on which channels your target customer spent the most time using in 2015. Was is Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Snapchat? Your company blog? Maybe a combination? What about email? What are the projections for 2016? Find out where your content will gain the most traction and be there.

4. Repurpose your stuff. Strong content takes time to create, so don’t let it go to waste after one use. Much of the content your team produces is recyclable. 

Take the time to break it down into pieces that can be used across various channels and on different occasions.

5. Leave the corporate speak out of it. A jargon-filled corporate blog will hinder the development of your brand. Your audience is bombarded with messages every day, to make sure yours have the most impact, leave out the corporate speak.

6. Flex your social media muscle. Make sure you are consistent in providing your audience with interesting updates, photos, videos, quick facts, etc. Don’t forget to work on being social. 

The beauty of these social channels is that you can engage with your audience and learn more about them. This contributes to your bottom line, and builds goodwill towards your organization.

7. Create internal ambassadors. Your people are your most valuable assets. 

Actively promoting your brand and engaging employees through internal channels can be extremely effective. Your employees believe in your organization, and thanks to social media, their reach and amplification potential is greater than ever. Plus, the messages they share with their networks can be more effective than more stream-lined marketing messages.

8. Stop using content marketing buzzwords. For an emerging field, content marketing has created an embarrassing number of buzzwords. 

In a January 2015 Contently article, Joe Lazaukas predicted 10 terms that would be overused in the next year, which include “storyscaping” and “culture of content.” We could certainly add others for 2016, but in the interest of demystifying content marketing for our clients and partners, tone it down.

9. Increase content team collaboration. Effective teamwork is vital to content marketing success. 

Whether it’s brainstorming, production, or process, your content team needs to run like a machine. A good way to increase collaboration is to hold structured meetings for different purposes—creative sessions, working meetings, or administrative gatherings. Make sure all team members come prepared in order to increase efficiency.

10. Develop a content strategy. Research from the Content Marketing Institute shows that content marketers with a written strategy are more effective, but only 27 percent of B2C and 48 percent of B2B marketers have one. 

A strategy will serve to guide all of your content marketing efforts. It will also allow you to define what success looks like and determine what you need to do to achieve it.

11. Mix up your content types and formats. Look past the traditional article and experiment with video, e-books, white papers and webinars to spice up your content roster.

12. Post visual content on social. We are more attracted to posts with photos, videos and infographics because the brain processes visual content faster. Visual content also generates more engagement on social media, which leads to increased traffic and conversion rates.

13. Measure your efforts. All too often, measurement is overlooked by content marketers. This year, make it a priority to define what success looks like. 

What are your goals? How will you measure them? This will allow you to gauge the impact of your content marketing efforts on audience building, lead generation, sales and brand awareness.

14. Get a content marketing platform. You may have been putting this off because of the research it takes to find the right one for your organization, but 2016 is the year to invest in the right content marketing tool. 

A platform that fits your needs will optimize all of your content marketing efforts and save your team time and money. Here is an awesome list of tools grouped by purpose. It’s a great place to start.

15. Integrate your content marketing efforts. Great content can come from the cool things your organization is doing, many of which might stem from your other marketing and PR efforts. 

Events, ad campaigns, media pitches, fundraisers and employee engagement initiatives can all be great story opportunities. Your new content strategy (see No. 10) should be integrated with your overall communications strategy to help identify great stories derived from other tactics.

16. Contribute to a content marketing culture. Parts of your organization may not be on the content marketing bandwagon yet. Education is crucial to helping people understand what content marketing is and why it is so powerful. Make the case for content marketing in your organization; use success stories from others to back you up

Source : http://bit.ly/1ndGpw7

How to Find the Best Hashtags and Boost Your Social Media Engagement

Before we start talking about how to find the best hashtags, let’s do a little review of what exactly hashtags are — this is for those of you who aren’t exactly social media gurus; the rest of you can feel free to skip over.

A hashtag is just a way of labelling and finding social media updates. It could apply to something that’s trending, like #Movember, or it could be specific to a certain campaign, like #CureBreastCancer.

Hashtags started out on Twitter, but now they’re used across all social media. So, which ones are relevant to your niche, and which ones should you use? I’ve given advice on hashtag use and overuse elsewhere; today we’re mostly going to focus on the tags themselves.

There are a number of online tools that you can use to find the best hashtags.

Twitter is still one of the best resources for finding great hashtags, but don’t discount the usefulness of other tools. The following are three of the best — and they’re free!

WhatTheTrend

WhatTheTrend is a veritable wellspring of Twitter statistics and information. It’s owned by Hootsuite, which means that you can track hashtags as streams within Hootsuite. It lets you see trends globally, nationally, and even trends that are specific to your own city. You can track by the day, or by the month. The basic service is free, but if you want more options you can upgrade to paid service. 

Hashtags.org

This venerable service got its start in 2007 as a freebie, and the basic tracking functions are still free — you can see what’s been trending over the previous 24 hours. However, if you want to store hashtags and monitor them over longer periods of time, you will have to upgrade to the paid service.

Trendsmap

To be realistic, Trendsmap isn’t the most exciting tool visually when it comes to helping you find the best hashtags, but it does allow you to see hashtags by city, country or continent on a world map. If your main focus is local, this is a very useful, very practical tool.

Using hashtags effectively

It’s not enough to just know how to use hashtags. You need to make sure that your hashtags are relevant to your subject matter. It’s also a good idea to base your hashtags on popular keywords. Google Keyword Planner is a great resource you can use. You also want to be careful how you structure your hashtags.

After you create your hashtag, read it, read it again, and then say it out loud. Why? Because a bad hashtag can make you an object of embarrassment and ridicule…it’s happened to personalities as wonderful as singer Susan Boyle and companies as big as Research in Motion (RIM).

Measuring the competition

I often head over to Twazzup to see how people are using a certain hashtag at any time of the day. You sign in with Twitter and then enter a hashtag or keyword. You get all the latest results scrolling down your screen, as well as how influencers are using the hashtag.

This lets you see what kind of competition there will be to get eyeballs on your hastagged tweet. Twazzup will also tell you about how many times that hashtag is used in one hour. If you’re using a hashtag that is used 3,000 times per hour, you know two things:

• It’s a popular hashtag, and
• Your post will be pushed off the top of recently published posts very quickly.

Those two attributes play against one another. You want to use a hashtag that gets some use, but if it’s too popular, your tweet might get instantly buried.

To decide what to do in situations like these, you’ll have to do some testing. You can also develop long-tail hashtags and use them along with the more popular hashtags; for example #smallbusiness and #smallbusinessorlando.

Now for a final word: #goodluck!

    Source : http://bit.ly/1ZfVCZp

11 of the Best Infographic Designs of 2015

Infographics that really stand out are far more than just a smattering of pictures and charts. They might tell an engaging story -- one built around compelling data, graphics, or illustrations. Or perhaps they serve as a really helpful visual resource.

While great infographics come in a variety of forms, the common thread is that they're visually pleasing and designed in a way that makes complex topics easy to understand whether you're a novice in the subject or an expert.

Here are 11 brands from all different industries -- from education to insurance -- that totally nailed their infographics this year. Check 'em out and get inspired.

11 Great Infographic Examples of 2015 

1) Music Timeline, by Google

The best infographics communicate information in an intuitive and beautiful way. Google nailed it with their "Music Timeline" microsite, which visualizes music trends from 1950 to present, by popularity. The best part? The version on their site is interactive: When you click on one of the genres, you'll get a more detailed visualization of that genre's popularity along with a list of the most popular albums of the time in that genre.

2) The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People, by Podio

In this infographic, the folks at Podio took a simple concept and executed it fantastically. Using information from the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey, it shows the daily schedules of famous creatives broken down by time and activity. Not only is this an example of engaging data, it's also a fantastic editorial piece for a brand.

3) Men's Dress Codes Made Simple, by Samuel Windsor

The visual elements of an infographic are the most important part -- that's why you made the content into an infographic in the first place, after all. When you have a topic that's inherently visual, an infographic is a great way to go. The graphic below decoding men's formalwear reads like a cheat sheet. The design is simple and intuitive -- and the paisley design behind the title is a fun nod to the menswear industry. We also love how there's no more copy on here than there needs to be -- just a few simple titles and a handful of bullet points. 

4) 10 Dinner Table Customs From Around the World, by Wimdu

Any time you're writing about the "do" vs. "don't do" dichotomy, you might consider making an infographic out of it. You can easily put each "do" and "don't" beside one another in two columns for a great visual -- just look at the example below of dinner table customers from around the world. Each section is a different country, inside of which is one important dinner table custom that readers may not know about if they've never been to that country. Capping the number of tips per country to one keeps the content from feeling overwhelming.

5) A Guide to Who's Fighting Whom in Syria, by Slate

Mapping out the relationships between two or even three entities can be pretty simple. But what about when you have a lot of things to compare to one another? That's where putting that information into infographic form can really help you educate your readers in a way they'll understand. In Slate's case, they wanted to show the relationships among groups of people in the Middle East who are involved in the Syrian Civil War. By using a table format and familiar visuals and colors, the folks at Slate did a great job simplifying this data into a digestible format -- and the version on their website is beautifully interactive.

6) How Music Affects Your Driving, by No Nonsense Insurance

Work in a "boring" industry? Believe it or not, you can still create interesting and exciting content -- even if you're not working with a "sexy" topic such as food, travel, or culture. Want proof? An insurance company created the infographic below on how music affects your driving. Not only are the graphics fun, but there's a lot of helpful content in there, including facts and statistics paired with great visuals. Read this blog post for more tips on creating interesting content in a "boring" industry.

7) Our Dwindling Food Variety, by National Geographic

Infographics don't have to be long to be great -- it's all about how well the data is conveyed visually. The infographic below from National Geographic is short but sweet: It shows how many varieties of different kinds of fruit and vegetable seeds we had a century ago in comparison to today. Instead of using a traditional bar chart, they chose to hit the point home by designing a chart that looks like a plant.

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8) #GivingTuesday By the Numbers, by Classy

The look and feel of each infographic has a lot to do with brand personality. Here's a great example of an infographic with a design that stays true to brand. It pairs fun fonts with cute, block-color graphics. For example, check out the first set of bar charts: They use tree graphics in place of classic bars to make it more visually interesting without sacrificing clarity.

9) Cost of Living Around the World, by MoveHub

Here's another example of an infographic on an interesting topic that isn't riddled with numbers -- but this one's even simpler. There are no bells and whistles here: no introduction, simple colors, and not a lot of copy. The only thing missing is a short explanation of where the data comes from. Although they include a link to the source at the end and also offer more details about the data in their own blog post's introduction, it would have been helpful for others hoping to share the image or embed it on their site to have that information somewhere on the graphic. Still, we love the simplicity and straightforwardness of both the topic and design.

10) The Anatomy of a Perfect Checkout Page, by VWO

Here at HubSpot, we find that infographics on the "anatomy" of something typically do quite well. Here's a great example of one from VWO. It takes the reader through an example of what the "perfect" version of a checkout page would look like. The graphic breaks the page down into manageable chunks that are easy to follow. At the same time, the design is fun and attractive, combining colorful graphics with screenshots of real checkout pages for reference.

11) How to Keep Fruits & Vegetables Fresh Longer, by Full Plate Living

Who knew that some fruits and vegetables "get along" better with others in storage? I certainly didn't, and I found this infographic to be a wonderfully simple, yet comprehensive visual guide. The timelines are clear and readable, and each of the visuals is easy to skim so readers don't even have to read the names under each piece of food (unless they aren't sure what a plum look like).

Source : http://bit.ly/1O7s00l

10 TIPS FOR SETTING UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS

It can be hard to take the leap and start out on your own. Whether you’re in finance, catering, or shoe design, many women get stuck before they start because they get bogged down in the small details and complications and fail to focus on the bigger picture. If you need a push, check out these 10 tips for setting up your own business successfully:

1. Visualize success – Visualize what your future looks like and set manageable targets and goals that you can actually reach. Try to picture your products on shelves or yourself in your office. Think about the color of your chair and the feeling of accomplishment. When you have a strong view in mind you can obtain anything.
2. Know your environment – Make sure that you research as thoroughly as possible the kind of environment that your business will be operating in. Implement a PEST analysis (political, economic, social, technological) to see how a change in legislation, inflation, public opinion, or new technology could affect you. Conduct aSWOT analysis as well, to assess your potential business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Make sure you study your customers and competition and know who you’re selling to and who you’ll be competing against.
3. Know your promotional channels – With so many marketing and promotional channels at your disposal these days, you need to establish the right ones for you. Although some of them are free, you might find that they don’t work for you. Once you know your target market and the kinds of things they like, it will be easier to select your promotional channels to appeal to them.
4. Plan to reduce counterfeit losses – Fraudulent and damaged bills can cause your business a huge loss over time, so make sure that you increase efficiency and accuracy by buying a currency counter. Any business that has a POS system and receives cash should definitely have this in place.
5. Learn to delegate – It’s hard but it’s important. Learning to delegate will make getting your business off the ground far easier and make it more efficient when you’re up and running.
6. Keep track of your finances – Make sure that you know what you will need to spend and how much you calculate earning. Hire an accountant to ensure compliance with taxation requirements. And pay attention when counting money to avoid costly mistakes.
7. Keep looking for new clients – Once you establish a potential customer base, don’t stop there. Keep thinking of new markets and people to sell your product or service to. Plan for long term growth.
8. Think about your business’s safety – If you can’t afford an extensive security system and you know you’ll be dealing with cash, make sure you purchase a secure cash box to keep your hard-earned money safe.
9. Test and analyze –Test and analyze any measure or change that you implement to make sure that your customers are responding well to your products.
10. Set Limits for yourself – Finally, remember that you need to have a life too and set limits for yourself so that your business doesn’t take over. Try to turn the computer off at the same time each day and make sure you designate times for family or friends.

Source : http://bit.ly/1jYjVNB

8 Tips for Growing Your Social Media Presence

Social media has become a standard form of engaging and connecting businesses, brands and people. As of March 2015, Facebook has more than 1.44 billion users. As of 2015, Twitter has had more than 300 million monthly users. 

These statistics suggest that more and more people are using social media as a way to connect for personal and professional reasons. For the serious entrepreneur, business owner or brand builder, it's a wise decision to create a social media presence not only to reach the millions and billions of people around the world, but to also build brand awareness. 

For all you social media beginners out there, here are a few tips that will help you to grow your social media presence.

1) Know your audience. Before posting, understand who's reading and why. Once you know who's reading, you'll have a better idea of what, when, why and how to post.

Ex: If you're targeting professional men and women ages 30-45, you have to assume that between the hours of 9-5, the average person in this age bracket is at work. Finding the times they frequent social media will be crucial in your marketing success.

2) Post quality pictures, videos, blogs and texts that interest your audience. Creating a social media presence is all about keeping your audience entertained.

Ex: If your target audience is women who are interested in beauty products, you wouldn't simply post a message about what works, no... if you're smart, you'll post a video and photos to show your customer why they should invest in your products/services.

3) Be consistent. You are the news, so post daily and regularly. If you take any days off, your audience will follow the pages that don't.

Ex: Take advantage of Holidays, current events and worldly trends to tie it back into your brand.

4) Engage with your audience. If they have questions, give them answers. Customer service is the key to any successful business. Include this in your business model.

Ex: Acknowledge your fans and supporters when they post about your brand, reward them for their loyalty, and by all means, answer any questions they may have about customer service.

5) Show support. Follow other people, engage, share and promote their content on your page. The idea is to grow your audience. It's better to partner, than do it alone.

Ex: Do cross promotion for social media contests, do a special discount on your page for other people's events, host a TweetUp and promote a hashtag to raise brand awareness.

6) Promote social media contests. People are more likely to follow, like or share your page if there's something in it for them.

Ex: Collaborate with an author, coach or restaurant. With their permission, offer a selected winner from your audience their products and services in exchange for likes/follows.

7) Tell stories. No matter what you're selling, people want to know the seller. Share stories about what connects you to people and what connects you to your brand and you'll create a cult of supportive followers.

Ex: If you're a clothing designer, tell the story about how you grow up getting "hand me downs" as a kid and decided to design your own clothes out of sheets and fabrics. Your story will inspire others to support your brand simply because it touched their heart. That's BRAND power! 

8)Promote your social media presence online and offline. Brand yourself!

Source : http://huff.to/1HCsRnf