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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 3, 2016 1:50 AM
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This timeless quote is the foundation upon which influencer marketing is built. While a business may enjoy a countless number of brand advocates, influencer marketing focuses on cherry-picking few ones who have measurable influence over significant segments of potential customers.
Once influencers are identified and targeted, the business reaches out to them to build win-win relationships and co-create successful marketing campaigns. Simply put; influencer marketing is one of the most intelligent tactics that harnesses the power of word-of-mouth marketing....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 3, 2016 1:27 AM
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Good copy can still do wonders. Yet driven by the ad popularity of Instagram and other image-driven platforms, brands are more visually oriented than ever.
In fact, Brand Networks saw ad impressions on the popular social network Instagram rise more than 13-fold from 50 million in August 2015 to 670 million in December.
The ad network expects to be delivering more than 1 billion monthly Instagram ad impressions by the end of the first quarter....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 2, 2016 1:56 AM
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So here we are – 2016, with yet another year under our belts. 2015 held some interesting developments in the digital space. We saw the launch of Instagram ads, the rise of programmatic media, Facebook and Twitter video ads and reach and frequency buying models. So the natural question to ask is, “what are we going to see in 2016”?
To be honest I think that 2016 is probably going to be more of the same but on a much larger scale. The trends that started in 2015 are going to become further entrenched this year. But specifically, what do we foresee?...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 2, 2016 1:32 AM
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That little computer in your pocket has come a long way over the years, huh?
Here are 25 incredibly useful apps that can help you run your business a whole lot smarter than ever before. And every one of them is free, at least in basic form.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 2, 2016 1:12 AM
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I really enjoy and usually agree with much of what Joshua Topolsky has to say about the world of tech and media but felt compelled to respond to his New Yorker article “The End of Twitter”
I wanted to annotate it with Genius but for whatever reason, wasn’t able to, so I’ll post sections I want to respond to here....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 1, 2016 7:04 PM
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You’ve probably seen Flat Lay designs, even if you haven’t heard the term. Flat Lay design refers to a shot of items lying flat on a table, floor or other surface, shot from above. You see these kinds of images on eCommerce sites and other websites frequently. The Flat Lay design trend is up 160 percent according to the just-released Creative Trends 2016 report by Shutterstock.
This fascinating report outlines a number of other visual and creative trends that Shutterstock predicts will be popular during 2016.
If you’re looking for design ideas for your website, social media headers, advertisements or other graphics — this is one report you need to check out....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 1, 2016 1:21 AM
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To help define your strategy and execute a social media plan, we’ve put together the following 10 questions that you should ask yourself so that you can dive in, rather than abandon ship.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 1, 2016 1:03 AM
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Marketers are constantly looking to better understand consumers and ultimately deliver an engaging experience. According to Q4 2015 research, many executives are using revenue metrics to quantify the success of customer efforts.
CMO Council looked at how marketing executives in North America quantify customer engagement success. More than a third of respondents said that revenue metrics, like customer lifetime value, revenues per customer and overall revenue increases, were the primary type of metric they used to measure consumer engagement.
Additionally, 30% of respondents said that campaign metrics, such as clicks, conversions, shares, traffic and web analytics, were the primary type of metrics they used. Fewer marketing executives said they relied on sales enablement metrics, service metrics and finance metrics to measure overall customer engagement success....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 1, 2016 12:02 AM
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In 2016, the same rule applies. Change is the only real constant in tech.In the next 13 months or so, brace yourself for tech servings you probably never thought would exist so early in the 21st century. The ingredients will come from a spicy delicacy of variety, in the multifaceted form of Internet of Things (IoT), wearable and fashionable wearables, mind-boggling networking capabilities, heart rate monitors, and virtual reality ingenuity, just to mention a few appetisers.
Already, our sources can confirm a couple of these phenomena and, for your curious pleasure, here are 36 exciting, maybe outlandish, audacious tech bites to look forward to in 2016. 2015 brought some of these, but 2016 seems to be the year they are put to real use by real users so buckle up.
This list brings you ten disruptive technologies from companies you probably never heard of, but their products are guaranteed to make you want to time travel to 2016 when the products are made available to consumers....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 11:50 PM
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Pinterest is one of the most visited sites on the Internet. In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that the platform has over 100 million active users.
What makes the platform even more interesting, is the fact that they’ve recently allowed marketers to advertise on Pinterest.
Because Pinterest is a new advertising platform, competition levels for you and me are still relatively low.
This represents a massive opportunity.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at how you can take full advantage of the advertising capabilities provided by Pinterest....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 2:22 AM
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On February 2014, LinkedIn opened up its publishing platform to the public and rolled out access to everyone in English speaking countries early this year. It will eventually roll out access to all of its members.
Last year, I did a study on how top writers were getting featured on the Pulse, including data on average post length, topics choices, best time to write and some other tips. This post ended up being popular and got over 3,000 social shares.
After that, I started experimenting with my own account. I managed to get about 1 out of 3 posts featured by an editor in a content channel resulting in hundreds of followers and email list subscribers for my blog....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 2:08 AM
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We all know storytelling is one of the key aspects of successful blogging. If you can weave a story around your words, no matter what your niche or topic, it is more likely to entertain your readers and resonate with them.
Even if you think you aren’t much of a writer or storyteller, you can still find one of these story types discussed today that will be useful and relevant for your blog – following on from Episode 80 of the ProBlogger podcast where I discuss what to say when you’ve got nothing left to say, hopefully these should give you some ideas on how to craft your words so you can stand out as a unique and interesting blogger.
In this episode I discuss these story types and how to get the best out of them (with examples!)....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 1:37 AM
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Smart-home devices are garnering the attention of consumers both young and old. And according to October 2015 research, internet users worldwide believe that they will have an effect on their lives.
GfK found that half of internet users surveyed believe that smart-home technology will have an effect on their lives. The only digital or smart technology they believe will have a greater effect on their lives is mobile payments, which is not surprising since nearly one in five smartphone users will use mobile payments this year.Internet users also believe that other technologies, like the internet of things (IoT), will affect their lives. Indeed, 29% of internet users said so....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 3, 2016 1:39 AM
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In this sea of newness, the most important thing hasn’t changed: Growing relationships matters, and that means thoughtfulness pays off. If you give journalists what they want, how they want it, and make it easier for journalists to do their jobs, your brand will earn more positive coverage.
Many other familiar guidelines still matter as well: write well, include contact info, target wisely (relevance is key to growing any online relationship), keep subject lines and headlines honest and concise, etc.
The new…But giving journalists what they want isn’t what it used to be. The most relevant, well written news release in the world won’t get you where you want to go if you simply put it on the wires as a plain-Jane, text release. The bar on releases has gotten much higher. And a creative approach to releases now pays off....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 3, 2016 12:10 AM
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There was flash sales, which, with a few exceptions, are dead as a model that can sustain a huge, profitable standalone business. There was the daily-deal phase, which is also essentially dead as a standalone business, outside of Groupon. The rise and fall of LivingSocial is a good cautionary tale.
And then there is subscription commerce: Products delivered in a box to you on a regular basis. This model has experienced a bit of a renaissance in recent years, with companies like Honest Company, JustFab and Blue Apron landing valuations of $1 billion or more. But there have been flameouts, too, and I think there is the potential for many more.
It’s been fun, but the party could be over
Together, these categories have been responsible for a significant portion of breakout commerce companies during this time. The first two categories are built on the back of impulse-driven purchases, with the help of a time-sensitive offer that seems too good to...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 2, 2016 1:38 AM
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Think about the iconic brand names you know: Apple, Target, McDonald’s, Gap. What images come to mind? For many of us, probably their logos. That’s because whether it’s an apple or big golden arches, a logo is crucial to a company’s identity. Now, new research says that logos are even more important than businesses and consumers realize. A recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that even just a basic element of logos—their shape—affects how people perceive a company and its products.
There’s already a good amount of research on how logos influence customers. For example, a 2011 study found that when a company has an incomplete logo (think IBM), people perceive the business as more innovative but less trustworthy. Another weird logo effect that researchers have found: when consumers see a complex-looking logo over and over again, they start to like the brand more. Given these past findings, Amitava Chattopadhyay and his team at INSEAD thought something as simple as a logo’s overall shape—circular or angular—might also impact people’s opinions in a significant way....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 2, 2016 1:19 AM
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Since just about everyone uses some sort of social media site on a regular basis, almost every business can find its audience on one of them.
But it’s not easy to get those users to your site. That’s where a complete social media strategy comes in.
On top of that, it’s a great idea to have a social media marketing plan. This is a 1-2 page document that outlines the most important parts of your overall strategy.
It’s a great way to make sure all your actions have a purpose behind them and to have something that will keep you consistent over time.
In this post, I’m going to show you a step-by-step process to create your own social media marketing plan....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 2, 2016 12:47 AM
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See what the design world will look like this year with Shutterstock’s latest infographic.Global TrendsThe top four trends making an impact around the world.
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Rescooped by
Jeff Domansky
from Business Improvement
February 1, 2016 6:55 PM
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Your small business website is the online face of your business. But what do you put on your site. Members of the small business community, this week, shared some helpful tips on building a better business website.
Via Daniel Watson
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 1, 2016 1:13 AM
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It wasn’t that long ago that I—and many other people I know—would have argued that Twitter was more than just another social network. I would have told you that Twitter was more like a utility, a service so fundamental that I could imagine a scenario in which it was literally underwritten. Twitter needed to exist. A stream of those hundred-and-forty-character tweets was how you found the most crucial, critical, and thought-provoking stories of the moment.
When bombs went off during the Boston Marathon, in April of 2013, users sat glued to the feed, suddenly privy to something visceral and real, somethinghappening. And Twitter provided the view, an unedited, unscripted look into the world as it changed, through police-scanner blasts, eyewitness reports, and grainy citizen-journalist photography. It was raw, but it was streamlined.
But cracks in Twitter’s façade had been showing already. Changes to the product made it hard to follow conversations or narratives. A lack of rigor in verifying reliable sources made information suspect or confusing. More troubling was the growing wave of harassment and abuse that users of the service were dealing with—a quagmire epitomized by the roving flocks of hateful, misogynistic, and well-organized “Gamergate” communities that flooded people’s feeds with hate speech and threats. The company seemed to be wholly unprepared to handle mob violence, with few tools at its disposal to moderate or quell uprisings. Even its beloved celebrity users couldn’t be protected. In August of 2014, Robin Williams’s daughter, Zelda, was driven offthe service after a series of vicious attacks....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
February 1, 2016 12:51 AM
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While 2015 was an exciting year for social media marketers, 2016 promises a host of changes and opportunities. All we need to do is leverage them to improve our social media marketing strategy.
Another year's gone and here we are standing at the beginning of 365-days of opportunity that lie ahead of us. While 2015 was an exciting year for social media marketers, 2016 promises a host of changes and opportunities. All we need to do is leverage them to improve our social media marketing strategy.
In fact, now is the perfect time to wipe the slate clean and get a leg up on your competition. Here are three social media efforts you should consider utilizing in 2016 to better connect with your audiences and create a greater impact....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 11:56 PM
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The IoT, or Internet of Things, is burgeoning. While the better known internet is made up of humans communicating with one another, the IoT all but eliminates the human element. Essentially, once it’s all set up, the machines communicate with one another. An IoT in your home, in your city, or at your workplace is actually extremely useful.
In practice, an IoT can automate a lot of tasks and processes. It can make life easier, safer, and much more convenient. There’s currently a whole lot of capital moving around the IoT tech sector, over 800 companies are working on IoT devices and platforms, and new IoT components come on the market on a regular basis
The infographic included here gives you a good visual summary of what’s happening. We made it to show you what types of technology IoT companies are focusing on, how the money is flowing, where the innovation is taking place, and more....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 11:41 PM
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5miles, the Dallas and Beijing-based challenger to Wallapop and Craiglist has secured $30 million in new investment as it celebrates its first year in business this month.
The 1-year-old 5miles mobile marketplace app has managed to attract more than 5 million users (averaging 30,000 downloads a day) and is continuously working towards becoming a major player in the local online classified advertising business that’s been long dominated by Craiglist.
Its list of investors now includes IDG, Morningside, Blue Lake, and SIG-China (part of the Susquehanna Investment Group). In addition, individuals who have worked with or have ties with e-commerce giants like eBay and Alibaba have also invested in the app....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 2:11 AM
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LinkedIn is an online professional networking site-turned publishing platform. While LinkedIn originally extended its invite to contribute articles to influencers, in 2014 they widened the publishing platform to everyone. As content rages as king and social its queen, LinkedIn harnessed the power content brings to enlighten, inform, and inspire.
Like any open publishing platform, it has its highs and lows, but in this post I will highlight the best posts of the year and why they rock...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
January 31, 2016 1:58 AM
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So in general, we want to find a way to decrease our costs to acquire customers, and for the customers that we do acquire, we want to make sure they stick around and aren’t too expensive to keep. So how do we do this?
The best way to cut down costs of a process that requires employee time is to identify where you can replace that time with content and tools. Doing this allows your teams to operate more efficiently and lets your customers learn and engage at their own pace. To understand this further, we’ll break down each step of the customer success journey and identify where we can swap employee resources for content....
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Everybody talks about outreach marketing and influencers -- but how do you actually do these things? We tell you how.