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With the rise of Internet sales and the eventual explosion of online reviews, a strong correlation has been formed between online restaurant ratings and business revenue. For many restaurateurs, favorable reviews translate to better revenue and a stronger bottom line. However, the seedy side of the Web has also led to fake reviews of everything from bullion to bison. Now comes word that researchers at the University of Chicago have successfully taught a neural network to write realistic fake restaurant reviews. The idea was to see if a machine could learn to create malicious negative (or glowing) reviews to either kill or inflate online ratings. The results were startling. Humans were unable to differentiate between the machine generated and human-generated reviews. With these new-age "ghost writers" now pushing commerce, one has to wonder if good taste is a thing of the past. Literally. Cartoon by Ed Hall.
More than 15 million businesses now use Instagram worldwide and over half of those businesses are creating Stories every month. Stories are an incredible way to connect with your audience in fresh and authentic ways. Who knows, maybe they’ll even become the new News Feed. But creating attractive Instagram Stories can be challenging and time-consuming. We’d love to help with that! We’ve teamed up with the team at Adobe Spark, an awesome free design tool, to share 10 Instagram Stories templates you can use to quickly create your Instagram Stories content...
According to Facebook’s statistics, at the end of 2016, over 65 million businesses had created pages on Facebook. If you thought that your market or industry was already tough, Facebook can complicate matters even more. On Facebook, you’re not only competing with your direct competitors, but you’re also competing for attention with everyone else. That’s why it’s so important to get everything right on your Facebook business page....
Whether you're setting up a brand new Facebook Page for your brand, or you just want to make the most of your existing one, it’s probably a smart move -- Facebook is home to nearly 2 billion monthly active users. It should be easy enough, right? Just slap together a photo, a couple of posts, and expect the leads and customers to roll on in, right? Wrong. If you're not creating a Facebook Page with a comprehensive strategy to get noticed, Liked, and engaged with, the chances of actually generating leads and customers from it are pretty slim. For example, you can’t just choose any picture -- you have to choose one that’s the right dimensions, high-resolution, and properly represents your brand. But it doesn’t end there -- so we compiled the tips below to make sure you're creating an engaging page that takes full advantage of everything Facebook marketing has to offer..
The primary purpose of a splash page is to enhance the user’s experience by sharing specific information, feature a promotion, or show a disclaimer.Our comprehensive guide, “What is a Splash Page?” is the perfect resource for any marketer seeking to enhance their users’ experience with a splash page.In this splash page guide, you’ll learn: - What splash pages are, how they’ve evolved over time, and how they allow you to interact with your visitors before the conversion happens - How a splash page is different from your homepage and other landing pages - What components should be used when creating an effective splash page - What your options are for creating an optimized splash page that your visitors will appreciate....
Struggling to increase Facebook engagement? You need to make a few changes! Here's 11 Facebook tips that bring BIG engagement results.
Via Brian Yanish - MarketingHits.com
With limited time and resources, creating a unique post for each social media channel can be a challenge, but it’s well-worth the effort. So what does the perfect post for each social network look like? In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of creating epic, engaging and beautifully crafted messages for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram....
When it comes to writing text for your blog and social media posts, many marketers wonder, "But what's the character limit?" It's never a simple question -- sometimes, it's answered by parameters established by certain channels. And on other occasions, it's more a question of what's ideal. For example, you probably know the character limit for a tweet is 140, but did you know that the ideal length is actually less than that? (Hold tight -- we'll explain why.) While we've written before about optimizing your actual content, we thought it would be helpful to gather the numbers of character limits -- both enforced and ideal -- for different online channels, all in one place.  Below, you'll find a more detailed guide to character limits and ideal character counts for posts on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, SnapChat, and YouTube....
The most successful inbound marketers learn skills and create habits in their first 100 days in this new role. To make sure your trajectory is set correctly, we've catalogued much of what you'll need to succeed in inbound marketing. Don't be scared by the length -- remember, this document is one to use over the course of three months. Still, it's not intended to be a complete list of every little thing you need to know -- rather, it’s a fairly comprehensive collection of the fundamentals. Your company's own plan can be tailored based on the goals you need to achieve, but this outline is a good guide to begin with....
A lot of words have been added to the dictionary over the past few decades thanks to social media, but few have become so widely used and accepted as "hashtag." For a long time, the hashtag symbol (#) was known simply as the "pound" symbol. Now, I could swear that the only time I hear it referred to as a pound symbol is when I enter my PIN number to pay my cell phone bill. While hashtags were originally made famous by Twitter, they're now used on many major social networks, including Facebook and Instagram. Let's explore what a hashtag is, why they're so great, and how they work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram....
I was going through some old files from classes I taught years ago and came across the most beautiful and wonderful content marketing case study. It is my all-time favorite because it touches so many bases and I thought I would pass this along to you for a little fun and inspiration.
First I have to explain that this case study was featured on a General Electric blog that is now defunct and I can no longer find a link or the original article. I even asked GE for help but they could not locate the story either. So, you’re just going to have to settle for my description of this case. Here we go....
On-page SEO is all about how well your website responds to Google ranking factors. And by your website, we mean exclusively your website – everything from your URL and your metadata, to your content, keywords and images. What's beautiful about good on-page SEO is that's what's good for users tend to also be really good for search engines. Before reading on, know that these aren’t magical tricks that will catapult your site to the first search positions. They’re good practices that will, in time, help your website rank high for a particular keyword, if the website is, indeed, relevant....
Trying to find the optimal times and days for your social media posts can be a difficult challenge. You have to make it an effort to post at different times each day for each social media account, while tediously recording your results.
Via Brian Yanish - MarketingHits.com, Jeff Domansky
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A METRONOME TICKS time. Not for the student, but for the teacher, who plays a short piano melody. Without missing a measure, the student follows with an improvised, yet derivative, cello run. The student plays the same run again, and then again. "I have it looping, actually, so you can hear the response over and over again," says the teacher, Jesse Engel, a computer scientist with Google Brain. "And you can hear some similarities with what I played, but it’s not doing the job of trying to replicate what I played. It’s trying to continue it in a meaningful way."The student here is an artificial intelligence algorithm; the instrument, a synthesizer. And the real lesson is teaching an audience of hundreds how computers might someday become capable of producing real works of art. Engels is onstage at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts as part of the 2017 World Science Festival, along with three likeminded experts. Each of them is there to showcase how they nurture creativity in computers....
Google Analytics excels at providing you with excellent information about who’s coming to your site, what they’re reading, and whether there were any downloads or purchases. But one of the big problems is that it tells you these facts in total or aggregate. That creates a ton of gaps in your data. Staying on top of these problem areas is the only way to get accurate, trustworthy data. Here are 5 Google Analytics loopholes you probably don’t know about. You can use them to close those gaps ASAP.
As CEO of a creative marketing and public relations firm, I’ve seen how unique marketing strategies can elevate a company’s brand awareness and drive ROI more than the traditional approaches. Executing a successful marketing campaign doesn’t require millions of dollars in funding: Small businesses and startups can market themselves on a small budget by thinking outside the box. Here are some tips to maximize your campaign efforts...
The White House press briefing has seen better days. Lately, in fact, the briefing is often not seen at all. For four days last week, representatives for President Trump skipped the usual on-camera briefing to take questions off-camera. This wasn't the first time the White House had taken this step, but this month has brought an added twist. In response to networks like CNN that decided to broadcast audio of the briefing, even without a visual to accompany, the White House barred attendees from doing that, too. Monday's briefing -- the White House termed it a "gaggle," a more informal set-up, though it took place in a format much like a briefing -- was likewise off-camera, with audio broadcasting forbidden. Even when they have done on-camera briefings, White House press secretary Sean Spicer and his occasional fill-in, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, have done their part to further marginalize the briefing, routinely responding to reporters' questions by professing ignorance.
It's one thing to write great content, but it's another thing to get it read and ranked -- which is where nailing the title comes in. Titles are what sell the content. They represent it in search engines, in email, and on social media. It's no surprise, then, that some of the most common questions we get concern crafting titles. How long should my headline be? What words should I use? What words should I avoid? Should I optimize it for search, or for social? Or both? Luckily, we've come up with a simple formula for writing catchy headlines and blog titles that you can reference from here on out. So let's just dive right in, shall we?...
When I was just a wee lass and HubSpot was first starting to make a name for itself, inbound marketing was a brand new idea. Marketers were learning that they couldn't just publish a high volume of content -- it also had to be high-quality and optimized in ways that made it as discoverable as possible through search engines. And once upon a time, that content was largely limited to the written word. Eleven years later, that's no longer the case -- a comprehensive content strategy includes written work like blogs and ebooks, as well as media like podcasts, visual assets, and videos. That last part -- video -- continues to be on the rise. According to the 2017 State of Inbound, marketers named video as a huge disruptor. "I mostly write content right now," one respondent said, "but I'm afraid it may begin to diminish more and more with video." And with the rise of other content formats comes the need to optimize them for search. One increasingly important place to do that is on YouTube, which is a video distribution website used by the masses (HubSpot included). But how does that work? What are the steps you need to take to optimize your YouTube channel for search? We've outlined some major tips below. And if you're short on time, no problem -- check out the video summary here....
In SEO, it’s often the little things that matter. After you’ve learned the basics, you can’t stop. You need to push yourself and learn more and more. You might not learn anything that will revolutionize how you look at SEO, but I guarantee that you will learn how to become a better SEO. One of my favorites? Using advanced search operators. Why are these so important? In one word: Google. Every SEO should know Google like the back of their hand. It’s by far the most important search engine to focus on, and it’s how many of your future customers will find you. I’ve met a lot of SEOs who could recite Google’s last 10 algorithm updates, but they can’t actually use Google all that well. Imagine that! By using search operators, you can slash the time you spend on Google and get better results. And the best part: It’s not difficult at all. Even if you’re not doing a lot of SEO, you owe it to yourself to learn these so you can use them in your day-to-day work....
A newer concept known as micro-influencer marketing recently joined the social media scene. It’s the same concept as influencer marketing, but on a smaller scale: Brands partner with individuals with smaller followings on social media to promote products with authentic, visual posts instead of sponsored ads. In this blog post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about micro-influencers, including what brands are using them successfully and how you can connect with these individuals to promote your brand....
In today’s blog post, I want to share with you my 16 best content marketing tools I have been using and how I think you can also use them to build up a solid content marketing strategy. Most of them are free to use so you have nothing to lose trying them, I will mention a few that might have some payment required but I’ll keep those to a minimum. Let’s get into it....
Twitter launched Website Cards, a great new option for content marketers on the social network. Twitter defines Website Cards as “a new way for advertisers to easily surface website content within a Tweet and drive relevant traffic to any page of their site, such as their home page, product page, or an important blog post.” The Website Cards allow users to preview an image, see related context and experience a clear call to action in their timelines before tapping — something that may also increase the quality of click-throughs your brand is getting.In testing, brands saw significant decreases in cost-per-click (CPC) compared to campaigns that used an image and URL to drive website traffic, as well as higher engagement rates and click-through rates. Now you know what Website Cards are, but what can you do with them? Read on, friends....
As social media marketing becomes more challenging and time-consuming, it’s time to get more organised when managing your brand’s social presence. It’s not easy handling a brand’s social presence, but its successful management can lead to great results. Social networks keep growing and they are heading into a more mature phase, which means that the challenges grow for every brand that tries to stay competent. No matter what goals you set for the new year, you still need to stay on top of your brand’s social media marketing and the right checklist may help you with all the tasks you need to do at the beginning of the year....
If you're using LinkedIn for sales correctly, you won't insert an ask into your initial invitation to connect. It's only after the prospect accepts your personalized connection request and you've diligently observed their behavior on the network that you can follow up with a meeting proposal. But just like cold sales emails, there's a right way and a wrong way to write a LinkedIn message. Whether you're sending an InMail or a good old-fashioned message, look to the following template as a guide. Let's dig into the nine components....
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Kevan Lee provides the basics with practical tips on Twitter. Nice and easy.
Pas inutile pour commencer sur Twitter...