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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 30, 2016 11:10 AM
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So, what does optimized Facebook advertising actually look like? If you're looking for some great examples, you've come to the right place. In this post, we'll quickly go over the three overarching formats for Facebook Ads: right column, desktop News Feed, and mobile News Feed. Then, we'll show you eight different types of Facebook Ads, each with real-life examples -- along with some insights into why that ad is so successful. But before we get to these examples, let's discuss the four components of a good Facebook Ad (or any ad, really) regardless of its type ......
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 30, 2016 10:24 AM
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A new book, Let's Play, tasks 100 Swiss designers to play with toy blocks, then photographs the results, looking for trends. In the new book Let's Play, artistic director Christiane Nill and photographer Lionel Henriod task 100 Swiss creatives who work in three-dimensional fields like architecture, sculpture, and industrial design to play with blocks for the camera then document what they make. The parameters of Let's Play are simple. Designers are given 270 simple wooden blocks which have been custom created for the project. All blocks are visible at the beginning of each play section, and they're organized into groups of 34 different shapes. Each player has 30 minutes to construct something using any of the blocks they want, plus three picked by the previous player—those must be incorporated into thee structure. (The first player used blocks selected by the carpenter who made them.) Beyond that, anything goes....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 29, 2016 2:52 AM
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Working on too many marketing channels at once is kind of like being a jack of all trades and master of none. Placing your attention on a single channel allows you to master that channel before moving on to the next strategy. Managing multiple channels can quickly become chaotic and stressful Did you know that the average B2B content marketer creates 13 types of content? You heard it right—13!...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 29, 2016 2:15 AM
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It’s never too early to try and take a peek at the future. After all, web design will play a HUGE role in the way people connect with each other and receive information. A lot has changed since the days of crowded homepages and colorful fonts. Minimalistic design seems to be passé as well. Which makes us wonder: what’s in store for the future of web design? What elements will users favor more or expect to see? Below are the top three trends that could dominate web design by 2017. Take a look and see if you can implement them before the year is over....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 29, 2016 1:35 AM
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Colors are the heart of any advertisement that decides how successfully it will promote your brand, merchandise or services. The power of color schemes should not to be underestimated. If used creatively, even the simpliest colors can not only boost the ability to advertise but also improve the time a user spends on a website averagely. However, choosing the wrong color schemes can be disastrous to say the least and can drown any product or service, regardless of how big it is or what it brings to the table. For example, some advertisers choose flashy colors to capture the attention of their target audience. Although they may succeed in getting the heads turn in their direction, the audience will lose interest in the long haul. This eventually ends up damaging brand image and reputation of the business.In this article, we will cover which types of color schemes to avoid in online advertising. I’ve gathered a list of “NOT TOs” along with an alternative methods for you to try....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 10:09 AM
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Organizations the authors describe as “flat-earthers” look at customer experience from the rational and physical perspective — focusing on how quickly a delivery is made or how quickly a phone call is answered, or the objective quality of the product. The authors contend that more than 50% of customer experience is about how a customer feels. Here are the seven imperatives for moving to the next level of customer experience, as defined by the authors....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 2:54 AM
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Below, you’ll find a collection of innovations which are (re)defining customer expectations. These innovations – and the 5 big consumer trends they represent – show you glimpses of what your customers will want next.Understanding these trends will help you stay ahead of accelerating expectations, and lead you to actionable innovation opportunities. Readers who are serious about understanding the direction of consumerism across multiple dimensions will have already spotted that these trends don’t sit in splendid isolation. They are a handful of near-future fragments of the Bigger Picture – more on that below. But each one is also a killer opportunity to take to your team right now.So: read, think, debate. Then get going with building brands that matter, products that delight and campaigns people can't stop talking about!...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 2:18 AM
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Christmas is a month away, and whether that fills you with holiday cheer or abject terror, it’s a great time to think about ways to improve your business in the new year. Time is money, so why not automate as much as possible and focus on more important things (like hot toddies)? There are thousands of marketing tools that can help you improve efficiency and draw in more business, so how do you sort through all of them? Some are certainly superior to others, so we’ve compiled a simplified list to make your decision process easier. Save yourself time and stress this December, and check out these 10 marketing tools to buy yourself for Christmas. It’s ok to splurge a little....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 1:08 AM
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Monty Python alum John Cleese outlines 3 pillars of creativity that have helped him generate pure creativity, and content marketers should take note. Creativity comes easy to some, but when it comes to content marketing we are constantly tasked with being creative. Content Marketers must consistently come up with new ideas and concepts that will win over audiences and stand out from the noise of competitors, all while ever so subtly sharing our product information and building brand loyalty. Not so simple. At CMWorld, Monty Python alum John Cleese outlined three pillars of creativity that have helped him create, and more importantly replicate, pure creativity, and content marketers seeking new ideas should take note....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 12:43 AM
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There are 88% of B2B companies out there using content marketing, and they’re sticking with this approach because it’s been proven to work time and again. But in order to make content marketing work for you – especially in boring industries – you need to move beyond goals that only benefit you and your brand. You have to create content that’s focused on building a relationship between the customer and your brand. This type of content significantly influences customers’ purchase decisions, improves organic search results, grows more inbound links, drives qualified leads, and nurtures those leads into sales....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 27, 2016 5:20 AM
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In a move to win back users and improve the company’s image, Twitter introduced quality filters in August. They followed this move in November with an option to mute certain words.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 27, 2016 5:01 AM
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Lego has become the biggest toy company on the planet, and it’s all thanks to a genius content marketing strategy. In the first half of 2014, the company reported that its sales increased by 11 percent to $2 billion, while Mattel’s earnings floundered. The rise in sales is credited to The Lego Movie, which was released this past February and made $468 million around the globe while kids flocked to the store to grab their toys related to the film. As Pablo Smithson of The Guardian points out, The Lego Movie is the definitive content marketing device for the brand. It appeals to both children and adults; the kids want to play with the toys, while the adults connect with the universal message of the film, which is that it’s important to always have an imagination, no matter what age you are. The brand message is much more than, “Buy our stuff.” Smithson says, “It is a huge coup to persuade adults essentially to beindoctrinated with the Lego spirit of adventure.”...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 27, 2016 12:56 AM
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If you have a ton of data and you want to tell a good story, interactive infographics are a fantastic tool. They entice your audience to explore the content, whether it’s a data set or a guided storytelling experience, and they can provide far more information than a static infographic. So, what makes a good interactive infographic? Whether it’s super simple or incredibly complex, it comes down to good design, engaging interactivity, and an interesting subject. The options are pretty much endless. If you’re thinking about experimenting with interactive infographics or looking for some serious inspiration for your next project, we’ve rounded up our favorites. Scroll through the whole list (they’re listed, not ranked), and click on the images to visit the interactive infographic....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 30, 2016 10:52 AM
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We have identified six B2B content formats in our research that consistently perform better than the average. The six categories or formats are: - Practical guides and helpful content - In vogue and hot topics - Research and insights - Case studies - Infographics We have provided examples of successful B2B content in each category below....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 29, 2016 3:04 AM
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As a marketer, you are probably already aware that images are important. They're easier to digest than a bunch of words on a page and can help support your other content by telling a story in ways that words cannot. Whether in social media posts or in blog posts, images help your audience to better understand what you are talking about, plain and simple. Cinemagraphs can take things a step further. What is a cinemagraph, you ask? The artists over at Cinemagraph.com – where the cinemagraph was essentially born – describe them as "an image that contains within itself a living moment that allows a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved endlessly. "In plain English, a cinemagraph is really just a fancy GIF – a file format often used to create short, infinitely-looping animations for the web. Check out the example below....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 29, 2016 2:37 AM
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The "golden age" of TV shows might appear to be in full swing still, and it certainly is in terms of output. The industry is on pace to handily beat the 409 scripted shows released in 2015, continuing an upward trend. But there's a problem: people aren't tuning in, at least in the same numbers. For new episodes last quarter, "average viewership for the top 200 general entertainment series declined 20% year-over-year," according Pacific Crest (using the L+3 measurement, live plus three days). Networks are still pumping out shows, people just seem to have lost a bit of interest.It's even worse with kids' shows, which saw the top 500 series take a 30% viewership dive in Q3 versus last year, the analysts noted in the report....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 29, 2016 1:51 AM
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2017 is going to be the year of Facebook Marketing and Advertising. When brands think about Social Media trends the first thing that crosses their minds is Facebook, and in this article I cover things that every marketer should think about while investing in Facebook Marketing for the year 2017. Here are some stats to believe in the growth of Facebook as an Advertising platform. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, released these stats (Featured on Forbes): - Facebook crossed a 4-million advertiser mark in September 2016. - The company’s global ad revenue is expected to cross $23.21 billion in the year 2016, making Facebook the largest ad publisher after Google....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 10:45 AM
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The migration of consumers from stores to online shopping over the crucial Thanksgiving-Black Friday weekend continued dramatically this year, adding to the pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers as they seek to compete with Amazon.com. A survey released by the National Retail Federation on Sunday estimated that 108.5 million Americans shopped online over the long weekend that kicks off the holiday shopping season in earnest, well above the 99.1 million who hit stores. Last year, the numbers were about even for both avenues of shopping.It’s not a surprising finding given that Target tgt and Kohl’s mss , among others, reported record online sales on Thanksgiving. Adobe said online shopping not only eclipsed the $5 billion mark for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but told Fortune that U.S. online sales from Thursday to Saturday rose 17.3% to $7.23 billion. Many retailers, including Walmart, began their Black Friday deals online right after midnight on Thanksgiving morning....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 10:32 AM
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In October 2016, Nigeria-based BalogunMarket.ng launched an app that allows users to buy products and services via chat. The online marketplace was developed to make the goods sold at Balogun Market in Lagos more accessible by allowing customers to avoid travel and high temperatures in the city. Users can browse products and complete sales through the app, along side interacting with sellers and haggling for products through BuyChat, the in-app chat function called. Shoppers can also book flights and hotels, order food, and connect with local brands.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 2:42 AM
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It’s no secret that Pinterest is one of the biggest sources of referral traffic on the Internet. And while increased traffic can help bloggers and media companies to sell more advertising, many businesses (especially e-commerce) use Pinterest to sell their products directly. For these businesses the goal is to convert traffic into paying customers. That means making the sale. When it comes to driving purchase-ready buyers, Pinterest comes with a lot of advantages. This is partly due to the longevity of the life of a single Pin (which sticks around in the Pinterest search engine for years) and partly due to the buying mindset and affluence of Pinterest users. For example, Shopify concludes that the typical Pinterest user spends $50 per purchase. But to successfully convert Pinterest traffic to customers takes strategic planning. These tips for driving awareness and sales with Pinterest will help you out along the way....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 2:10 AM
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Below are three quick PowerPoint tip videos for upleveling your presentation template. How to Set Up a Grid System Grid systems are often used in print and online media to provide a consistent structure to visual communications. Utilizing a grid system in a presentation can allow elements to be displayed in consistent locations, facilitating the absorption of information. In addition, a grid can serve as a guide for employees creating presentations, helping them to know where to place design elements. This helps a company achieve a higher level of consistency between presentations and slides, giving an overall organization to the company’s visual communication. How to Set Up Color Chips in PowerPoint Color is a crucial part of a brand’s visual expression. A consistent treatment of your brand’s colors will help to make sure that people are able to “lock” their positive experiences to your brand’s specific visual cues. While many companies have corporate colors selected for various pieces of collateral, it is imperative that those same colors find themselves into the presentations, as often those presentations are used in key decision making engagements. Rather than simply trying to encourage people to use the right colors, update your template’s color palette so that the company’s colors are within easy access of each user by placing the colors in the presentation’s default color chips. How to Set Up Default Design Elements in PowerPoint In order for your employees to create presentation graphics that are on-brand, you need to provide them with tools which will facilitate this process. Often, when presentation templates are created, there are lots of example shapes, lines and other elements which people can use as starting points. But one easy way to help people create graphics that align with your look and feel is to set the default shapes, lines and text box formatting so that on-brand elements will be produced whenever a person generates a new shape, line or text box....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 28, 2016 1:01 AM
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Today’s website is like yesterday’s business card. It supplies a first impression of your company and is the biggest deciding factor for prospects who might want to learn more about the goods and services that you have to sell. Here’s a sobering statistic if you’re still wondering about a website’s ability to push fence sitters off the top in your direction in 2017. Research tells us 70 to 80% of people who buy products online research the company first through their website. While 96% of SMBs use social media as one of their marketing tools, not everyone understands the need to have a website as a solid foundation in place as the starting point for all your other marketing efforts to point back to. In other words, good Internet marketing is about building your house with his many floors as you want, provided you have a solid base with the website so it doesn’t just sink into the sand....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 27, 2016 4:07 PM
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The landscape of productivity apps is wide and varied. Where do you start? What’ll work best for you?
The infographic below from Conosco outlines 44 different productivity apps, with the pros and cons of each so you can figure out what’ll be the best fit for your workstyle. Start building your own productivity system today!...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 27, 2016 5:10 AM
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Inbound marketing — it’s definitely grown in popularity as a marketing buzz word in the last 5 years. But inbound, content marketing is more than just a buzz word. It’s more than blog posts, checklists, eBooks, and landing pages. Maybe it should be called Inbound Smarketing. Because when “add value first” is your strategy from marketing to sales, you can take the principles of a traditional content marketing strategy and apply it to a 1-on-1 situation between a member of your sales team and a prospect. When both marketing AND sales go “value first” the results can be hard to argue with. Prospects Don’t Want To Hear About What Your Product Does If you’re selling an SaaS product, or are in charge of SaaS marketing, your prospects actually, probably don’t care about your product. They probably don’t care about your company. (Read Ben Horowitz’s blog, or The Hard Thing About Hard Things for a better explanation on why nobody cares about your company). Prospects and would-be customers are all busy trying to solve various problems of their own. Your focus should be on providing a solution to their problem. More specifically, a set of solutions for the problems specific to your unique customer personas. Prospects are only interested in your product because they perceive it can solve one of their problems. This is why starting a conversation with a prospect about your product will have you fighting an uphill battle, too often, too early in the sales process. Your prospect did not wake up hoping to hear about your scheduling and payment product feature. But they probably woke up thinking about how to reduce client cancellations and get paid up front when clients book a spot in their Saturday morning boot camp....
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Rescooped by
Jeff Domansky
from World's Best Infographics
November 27, 2016 4:45 AM
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This interactive infographic by Ceros visualizes a study conducted by GumGum and Brand Innovators about the power of visual content.
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HubSpot shares stellar Facebook ad examples for the two different types of Facebook Ads -- and what makes them effective.