Sunday, June 19, 2016

How to Find Your Genius in a Digital World


How to Find your Genius in a Digital World


“I have to make a hard choice”.


It was a long train trip. The statement caught me by surprise. She now had my attention.


This was a moment of brutal honesty that doesn't happen often. But it made me sit up and ask “that” question.


What was that choice?


This was a random intersection of human conversation. When sharing ideas, personal experiences and acute observations with a total stranger transcend our guarded exterior.


It was one of those moments.


The pressure of family and work was taking it's toll. She was a teacher that was passionate about making learning fun.


The choice.


To take a new position that offered the opportunity to research on the topic while being paid by the organisation. It was a lifelong dream and a possible life changing choice.


Or…….take the responsible path. Accept a “job” that provided proximity to those family responsibilities in another city.


So what was it to be……….follow your dream or be responsible?


But did the choice need to be that stark?


The old way


After hundreds of years of being embedded in an industrial age and under corporate control we seem to have sometimes lost our sense of our own greatness. We often see ourselves as subservient to the organisational machine. Or we don't even know that we have compromised our soul.


Your intellectual property is often captured and contracted to “the company”.


Share your ideas and they are no longer your own but owned by another.  It is often written into employment contracts and used in “non-compete” clauses.


You work, retire and wait to die.


In the past sharing your genius and passion with the world was hard and the friction from artistic creation to being discovered was high.



  • A writer maybe managed to have an article published in a local magazine. You sent your ideas to a newspaper journalist and hoped they would share them.

  • The musician needed the agent and a record company.

  • The fashion designer hoped to ride the skirts of the retailer from obscurity to fame.


The connected and powerful, the high cost of attention and the difficulty of accessing traditional media.


These were all roadblocks to sharing your genius with a world.


A new way


But we now have a promise of artistic and creative freedom. You maybe don't know it yet. Or stumbled upon the mindset and tools.


It's the social and mobile web.


It is technology. It's easy to use platforms that provide creative portals to share with the world. They also provide publishing and marketing power that drives attention, builds trust and credibility.


Humans are creative creatures.


The rise of a digital artisan and maker is redefining innovation. We can determine and build our own world as the barriers to reaching and having a conversation with the planet fall away.


The means to individual freedom is just a few clicks away. The gatekeeper's power is falling away. The digital world has given you tools that are severing individual invisibility.


But we are scared of making that step.


To be seen as foolish.


Be wrong.


Judged.


Magic happens when….


You start distilling your research, thoughts and genius into a coherent framework. A structure. Of even making them visible and audible to the world. It goes beyond just putting them on paper in private.  Making them public.


This is where the genius starts to unfold.


An idea that is not captured. Some inspiration that is not acted on. Or a thoughtful conversation. These are a start…….but an idea needs to be acted on for its form to be revealed.


Activity alone will be the start to provide an insight into you and your ideas true power.


But there is something else.


Persistence is power


Creating once is one thing but persistent creation is another. “Genius is often persistence in disguise” – Unknown


Stepping up to the plate to hit just one home run is both improbable and foolish


So…..


 






 


Build your digital platform. It may be just a passion project art first. But it may become much more if you are prepared to dream.


So. Start researching, creating and publishing.


Persist.


Continue to share your genius…….your insights. You will start changing the world and it will speak back and change you. You may not notice it at first but it will.


We are now able to have a 2 way conversation with humanity. And be discovered.


So…….


Be willing to be vulnerable. Start creating in parallel with your day job. Get up early. Stay up late. And stop giving away your genius to the corporate masters. When you go to retire just ask yourself one thing.


Where have I left my genius?


What is you passionate purpose that needs to be recorded and shared with the world?


Don't go to the grave with your song unsung.


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Friday, June 17, 2016

#SocialSkim: Snapchat Gets Serious About Advertising, Plus 11 More Stories in This Week's Roundup

This week's all about ads, ads, and more ads as major social networks introduced new ad products and Snapchat debuted its ad API. Also: Microsoft's purchase of LinkedIn, Facebook's struggle to stop the livestreaming of crimes and acts of terror. And much more! Read the full article at MarketingProfs

#SocialSkim: Snapchat Gets Serious About Advertising, Plus 11 More Stories in This Week's Roundup

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Thursday, June 16, 2016

B2B vs. B2C Content Marketing: Stuff You Need to Know

Content marketing is one of the most effective strategies for today's marketers. But the mindset, objectives, and intentions of B2B audiences are different from those of B2C audiences. Content for those different audiences must also differ. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

B2B vs. B2C Content Marketing: Stuff You Need to Know

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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

What Is “Growth Hacking,” Really? Jeff Bullas on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]

Global digital marketing influencer, strategist, and blogger Jeff Bullas offers up the secret to “growth hacking” and explains why it's valuable for big brands and smaller businesses alike. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

What Is “Growth Hacking,” Really? Jeff Bullas on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]

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5 True Stories That Will Revolutionize Your Mobile Strategy


5 True Stories That Will Revolutionize Your Mobile Strategy


Just about everything about mobile is spontaneous and immediate, except for one thing – the strategy.


In fact, mobile marketing is not about improvising an idea and testing it out sporadically. Creating a good mobile strategy means expanding horizons, time and tools in order to achieve significant results.


A series of actions must be studied and coordinated with each other and with the overall marketing plan of the brand.


You must also put yourself in the shoes of your target: what do they search for on mobile, how can they find your brand, what can convince them to convert their interest into action?


In addition, you have to set clear goals for your strategy: convert leads, build awareness, and create engagement.


45% of marketers already have a strategy, do you?


45% for mobile strategy


Do you think it is hard to implement a mobile strategy?


Note that while you are thinking about this, 62% of the brands have increased their investment for this type of device in the past year, while 45% of marketers are working on a defined mobile strategy. And at least one of your competitors is among them.


That is why you must get to work and to help you get started, we'll give you practical ideas.


Here are 5 brands that have already implemented a successful mobile strategy.


1. How to increase conversions: Vegas.com


Vegas.com sells travel packages and tickets to the main shows taking place in Las Vegas.


Until recently, its website mobile performance was disastrous: visitors who hit the site on their smartphones were likely to abandon it after viewing only one page.


In fact, analytics data showed that mobile bounce rate was 50% higher than that of desktop and even conversions were significantly lower. This data was alarming, considering that mobile visits were growing year after year.


So the Vegas.com team decided to improve the browsing experience on mobile devices, with the goal to encourage the visitors to stay longer on their site and increase sales.


Thus a mobile version of some parts of the site was created: home, category pages and hotel room search tool. To improve mobile experience, content was simplified, with direct links to the most popular categories of the site.


At this early stage, they decided to redesign only a few pages and test them. Half of all mobile visitors were sent to the traditional homepage and the other half to the optimized site.


traditional homepage for mobile strategy


Results


After two months of testing, the redesigned pages for mobile resulted in 22% lower bounce rate, 16% more page views and 4% higher conversion rate. The Vegas.com team then extended mobile optimization to their entire site architecture.


This test experience for mobile was necessary for a targeted strategy to improve user experience, starting from the website.


The idea to follow


When optimizing a mobile site, take into account the statistics: do it before intervening, to understand which ones are the most critical, and after creating the new optimized pages, to assess whether you intervened in the right way.


Proceed step by step and test before implementing. Make good use of the results that are being monitored. Understanding user behavior is useful to determine the next steps of your mobile strategy.


2. How to increase product awareness: Virgin Media


The goal of Virgin Media was to make its TV packages related to football games more widely known.


After analyzing the target (football fans aged between 18 and 35 years old), a campaign on mobile was identified as the best strategy. The campaign was planned for three weekends during the Premier League on the mobile site of The Guardian.


Their idea was to capture the attention of the target audience during the football event, inviting them to click on an ad related to it, through two call-to-actions. One asked them to check out for more Virgin products, while the other offered an option to download the calendar for Premier League matches, which would automatically sync with the users' phone.


Results


During the season of the campaign, 100,000 new subscriptions were registered, of which 52,000 were to the sports channel.


The hundreds of downloads of the calendar of the Premier League, showed that people would willingly interact with mobile campaigns when they are offered relevant content.


The idea to follow


It is the moment that matters when it comes to mobile.


Capturing users attention during an event they are interested in and involving them (whether it is a national holiday or their birthday) significantly influence the results of a campaign.


Therefore, it is important to plan your mobile strategy taking into account the right time to communicate to your target.


3. How to increase online sales: ASDA


ASDA app for mobile strategy


ASDA, a British chain of supermarkets, wanted to simplify the purchase process of its products by promoting itself as a brand providing customer-oriented services. To do so, it created a free app that allows users to shop more quickly and conveniently.


Among many features, the customer can choose the products that interest them on the app, scan the barcode of the various items to add them to a shopping cart, and see the nearest ASDA supermarkets on the map.


But what counts even more is the fact that the app offers a broader user experience. It offers not only purchasing services, but also useful information in daily life, from recipes to real time updates on the price of gasoline.


Results


The app created by ASDA has been downloaded 2 million times. Mobile purchases accounts for 18% of all online orders with a shopping frequency that is 1.8 times higher than desktop.


The idea to follow


Think about your customers' needs, how can you simplify the purchase process of your product and offer more to them?


Mobile provides more opportunities for interaction and involvement than physical stores or desktop e-commerce.


Keep this in mind for your mobile strategy and make the best of it.


4. How to build customer loyalty: zpizza


The restaurant chain zpizza had a goal to achieve 100 high-spending clients (those who spend at least $50 per month) for each of its shops.


How to identify this target? The first step to be taken in this case is to create a database of registered users for your newsletter and loyalty programs.


So zpizza ran a data collection campaign by integrating web and offline means, email and SMS.


Promotional postcards were made and sent to the residents within 2 miles of each local zpizza restaurant. The postcards contained a code for users to send via SMS along with their email address for a chance to win $5,000 or other prizes.


Participants would then receive a reply to the email address they provided. The campaign was also announced on the website and on the brand's social channels.


postcard campaign for mobile strategy


Results


With the data provided voluntarily by customers, zpizza achieved two goals: to enrich its mobile database with new contacts for future campaigns, to get registrations to loyalty programs, which increased by 5% during the 6-month campaign, as well as to identify the high-spending target.


The idea to follow


Integrate your mobile strategy with traditional marketing tools, they are useful for involving people from several fronts, offline and online.


If you use SMS, also consider tracking the users' geographical location, you can use this data for future geolocalized campaigns which are highly effective on mobile.


5. How to create engagement: Bud Light


Mobile strategies have long been part of the marketing strategy for the American beer Bud Light.


In 2010, it ran a campaign promoting a continuous 5-day party at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The brand invited participants to register for the event's mobile program, to receive updates, prizes and special offers during the days of the party.


The result? 57% of participants at the event signed up and interacted with the brand's communications.


Recently, it launched a new interesting mobile campaign using Tinder's native videos. This app was chosen because its main target is Millenials, which coincides with that of Bud Light.


Users were invited to send a video to show their enthusiasm to participate in future events sponsored by the brand. The participants had a chance to spend a weekend partying in an unknown location.


Bud Light's video that promoted the campaign was displayed in the native flow and redirected Tinder users to their site with the rules. Those who were not interested in this content could swipe left, exactly like what they usually do on Tinder. Those who wanted to participate could go directly to the web page to upload their video.


Results


Bud Light achieved its goal: reach and engage its younger target audience who are constantly using their smartphones, thus increasing brand awareness. Among the tens of thousands of participants in the contest, over 1,000 were rewarded with an invitation to attend the weekend party.


The idea to follow


If you choose to promote a mobile campaign on a specific channel, study its dynamics and create messages in the predominant format. Only then will the promotional content be able to interest and engage users.


Which formats are more effective in general? As demonstrated also in this case study, video is definitely one of the formats that creates more engagement on social and must definitely be included in your mobile strategy.


Guest Author: Silvio Porcellana is the CEO and Founder of mob.is.it, the online tool over 1,000 agencies and professionals use to build mobile websites and native apps for customers worldwide. From his retreat in the Monferrato Hills in North West Italy, he bootstraps companies, writes about web and mobile marketing, and helps customers succeed online. Read more from Silvio at mob.is.it blog. Twitter: @silvioporcellan


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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The Top 5 Apps For Your Next Social Media Contest


The Top 5 Apps For Your Next Social Media Contest


Running a social marketing campaign is a great way to build your email list and generate more engagement with customers and fans.


A social media contest could be as simple as running a small sweepstakes, or as complex as running a photo contest that includes social sharing, Instagram entry, and voting capabilities.


The good news is that there are a number of tools available that can help your brand easily create and deploy social media contests without having to write code or do much design.


We've done the research and found that these five social contest platforms are the best to help you quickly create and run a social media contest.


Read on to check out these five tools as well as a smart checklist for your next social media contest.


The Top 5 Social Media Contest Apps


1. Heyo


Heyo for social media contest


Heyo is a smart contest tool that caters to small businesses and agencies/consultants. They offer attractive contest templates, a simple, intuitive user interface, and great support.


A distinguishing feature of Heyo is that all of their contest apps are mobile responsive so you won't miss out on any mobile leads.


Publishing Options: Facebook, Mobile, Website (Web version can also be embedded into your website)


Social Media Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn


Campaign Options: Sweepstakes, Photo Contest, Refer-a-Friend, Group Deal, Video Contest, Free Download.


Pricing: Heyo offers a 7 day free trial. After that you can choose from several paid plans that start at $30/month.


Customer Case Studies: Trind – Dedication Company – Solo Stove


Other Thoughts



  • Heyo also offers a drag-and-drop contest builder so you can build your own contest app from scratch

  • Heyo offers white labeling and high volume plans for agencies and large brands

  • Heyo run regular webinars for customers to teach them how to be successful with contests


2. WooBox


WooBox for social media contest


Woobox is another option for creating social contests that offers an extensive library of contest apps to choose from. Woobox templates are also highly configurable and might be better for a business that has very specific requirements.


Publishing Options: Facebook, Website (Web versions are viewable on mobile but not all templates are mobile responsive)


Social Media Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube


Campaign Options: Sweepstakes, Coupons, Photo Contest, Quizzes, Polls, Brackets, Video Contests, Instant Win, Pin To Win


Pricing: Woobox offers a few contest apps that you can use for free. If you want to use any app that collects entries/emails, you'll need to upgrade. Plans start at $30/month.


Customer Case Studies: Plant One – Paperchase – Fallsview Water Park


Other Thoughts



  • Woobox offers a ton of different contest apps to choose from. They have a very wide selection

  • Their platform offers a lot of options on their templates, but that also makes the interface more complicated

  • Woobox also offers an option for running Facebook Ads through their platform, which is a nice complement to running a social contest


3. Shortstack


Shortstack for social media contest


Shortstack is a drag-and-drop tool for building social contests and campaigns with oodles of features like event triggers, team plans, and deep analytics. With a wealth of available features and options, Shortstack works especially well for larger or more technical businesses.


Publishing Options: Facebook, Website (Web versions are viewable on mobile but are not fully mobile responsive)


Social Media Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest


Campaign Options: Sweepstakes, Voting, Photo Contest, Refer-a-Friend, Quizzes, Coupon


Pricing: Shortstack offers a minimal free plan that allows you to collect up to 25 entries and receive up to 5K pageviews. After that, Shortstack starts at $29/month or $13/month if you sign up for annual billing.


Customer Case Studies: Saving Abby – Cambria Inns – Madinks


Other Thoughts



  • Shortstack gives awesome price breaks when you sign up for an annual plan, typically over 50% off.

  • Because Shortstack campaigns are fully drag-and-drop they are highly editable and are better for customers who really care about the design details

  • Shortstack offers design services for customers who want to save time or have an expert run their campaign.


4. Wishpond


wishpond for social media contest


Wishpond is a platform offering multiple products like contests, landing pages, website pop-ups and email marketing. Among this broad array of services they offer a good selection of template options for running social contests. The bonus is that once your contest is live, you can use Wishpond to run ads or execute on other marketing activities like landing pages or blog pop-ups.


Publishing Options: Facebook, Website, Mobile


Social Media Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest


Campaign Options: Sweepstakes, Photo Contest, Referrals, Video Contest, Coupon


Pricing: Wishpond is one of the more expensive options out there for running contests, probably because their plans come with other services as well. They offer a free plan that allows up to 200 entries. After that it's at least $69/month to continue. However, Wishpond offers a significant discount of 36% if you opt for annual billing.


Customer Case Studies: Spring 2016 Contest Examples


Other Thoughts



  • Wishpond offers a more complete suite of marketing solutions and is best suited for a business that wants to take advantage of their whole feature set.

  • The Wishpond contest builder is very technical and requires some time to figure out. Once you do, it's pretty powerful.

  • Because they do so much, Wishpond offers a solid feature set including running ads, A/B testing, etc. If you've got the cash, then Wishpond is a powerful platform.


5. AgoraPulse


AgoraPulse for social media contest


AgoraPulse is a full service social media marketing platform that offers social contest apps as a key feature. They are a pricier option, but also come with post publishing, social media monitoring, and a smart mobile app.


Publishing Options: Facebook, Website, Mobile


Social Media Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest


Campaign Options: Sweepstakes, Photo Contest, Quiz, Instant Win, Coupon


Pricing: AgoraPulse is the priciest option we're covering, but you get what you pay for. They offer a free trial that only allows up to 20 entries. After that, you'll need to sign up for a paid plan, the cheapest of which is $99/month.


Customer Case Studies: Best Facebook Contests of 2014


Other Thoughts



  • AgoraPulse contest apps are pre-designed, allowing you to get a contest published faster.

  • They offer a $29/month pricing option but it doesn't come with contests.

  • AgoraPulse offers strong agency options like seat management, advanced analytics, and page benchmarking.


Conclusion & Checklist


Conclusion and Checklist for social media contest


Now that you've got some great options for creating social media contest apps, you're probably itching to get started. So I put together a quick checklist of next steps to help you stay focused.


Just follow these steps and you'll get a successful social media campaign running in no time.



  1. Jot down your goals. A bigger email list? Building awareness? More likes on Facebook? This will help you stay focused on achieving the right outcome.

  2. Also, jot down a few thoughts about your target customer. Is it a middle-aged woman? Do they live near your business? What is most important to them? This will help give you some ideas about your promotion.

  3. Select a prize. With a clear picture of your target customer in your mind, you want to pick something that will be relevant and compelling to them.

  4. Select a contest platform from the list above. There are many great, affordable options available. I've tried to make it easy for you, but if you don't like my suggestions, just search some other options out on your own.

  5. Build and launch your contest. This is the fun part! Create a contest page that is bright, inviting, and appeals to your target customers. If you're feeling stuck you can watch this video to get some design tips.

  6. Promote your contest. Leverage every free channel you have available. Then consider smart, paid channels if you'd like.

  7. Analyze results. Take a look at your results. If you're unhappy with how things went, analyze the outcomes piece by piece. Not enough impressions? Then you need to figure out how to get the word out. Is your conversion rate low? Consider a new design or a better prize/incentive. Remember, smart marketers test, and it might take a few tries to hit the perfect social contest for your business.


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Monday, June 13, 2016

Sprint Introduces New Pitchman with #TheSwitchIsReal


This Week in Realtime Media


Verizon Pitchman Switches to Sprint


Telecommunication companies are renowned for their endless wars against one another, but one wireless phone service carrier in particular has gained a new ally from one of its fiercest competitors.


Known for asking “Can you hear me now?” from various spots around the country, the glasses-wearing Verizon Guy (actor, Paul Marcarelli) has now teamed up with Sprint. His first new ad aired Monday night during the NBA Playoffs, sparking a firestorm of commentary on social media:



With Sprint having the top tweet around Marcarelli's move, emoji usage within the discussion was very lively. As seen below, ”</div