“Forging Connections: The Power of Brand Identity and Adaptability”

Brand identity plays a pivotal role in the success of both established corporations and emerging startups. It encompasses far more than mere visual elements like colors and logos, as it serves as a reflection of a business’s values and embodies an image that resonates with consumers. When customers forge connections between specific principles and your brand, it becomes influential and draws in new patrons, while simultaneously fostering loyalty and engagement among existing ones.

A robust contemporary brand acts as an influencer that comprehends the desires of its target audience. It is crucial to weave an intriguing brand narrative that captivates customers, establishing a deep bond between them and the company. However, achieving this objective is unattainable without maintaining close communication with the audience and adapting the brand to their ever-evolving preferences. Put simply, it is imperative for your brand to remain relevant, often requiring companies to make decisions between rebranding or redesigning and refreshing the brand.

Difference between a brand refresh and a total rebranding:

A brand refresh primarily concentrates on updating the visual aspects of your logo and making minor adjustments to align with current trends, rather than introducing fundamental changes. Conversely, a brand redesign entails more substantial modifications, often involving the creation of an entirely new logo and visuals. A complete rebrand goes further by seeking to transform the brand’s message and identity, typically necessitating the development and implementation of an entirely new marketing strategy.

If you desire to update and enhance the appeal of your brand for your existing audience, refreshing your brand may be necessary. It can also be a suitable solution when addressing specific market conditions or reconnecting your brand with your offerings. Refreshing may involve modifying your slogan, making slight adjustments to your logo and fonts, refining colors, and updating marketing materials. When a brand is not entirely outdated, companies often opt for a brand refresh instead of a complete rebrand. This approach allows them to maintain the integrity of the existing brand while making it more relevant and expanding its reach to a broader audience.

Rebranding necessitates thorough preparation and is a significantly more intricate process than simply altering website design or logos. Its purpose is to completely transform the image of your business. Rebranding entails devising a fresh brand narrative and philosophy. At times, it also involves shifting focus to a new target market. Companies may choose to rebrand when they observe that their current brand no longer resonates with the intended audience or when they undergo fundamental changes in their business. Rebranding becomes essential in scenarios such as mergers or when venturing into new industries. It also serves as a viable solution when an established brand lacks coherence or struggles to effectively communicate its message.

When should one decide on rebranding? 

Your brand is not exciting and it needs some spice!

In the dynamic world of branding, where capturing attention is paramount, a brand that is perceived as boring or unexciting faces significant challenges. However, by harnessing the powers of creativity and passion, a skilled branding company can revitalize such brands and make them fascinating and captivating through the art of storytelling and authenticity. 

Red Bull has built its brand around the concept of “giving you wings” and encourages people to push their limits and embrace a bold and adventurous lifestyle. They sponsor and organize various extreme sports events, such as Red Bull Cliff Diving, Red Bull Air Race, and Red Bull Rampage, which further reinforce their brand identity.

By diving deep into the brand’s story, employing creative mediums, emphasizing authenticity, and forging emotional connections, they empower brands to capture attention, stand out from the competition, and leave a lasting impression on their audience.

Your brand needs to revamp and overcome its negative image:

When a company finds itself burdened with a negative public image, rebranding emerges as a potent strategy to not only address the prevailing negative perceptions but also to convey a clear and authentic message without inadvertently creating wrong connotations. Through the art of branding, businesses can embark on a transformative journey that reshapes public opinion and propels them toward a positive future. 

McDonald’s implemented various changes to improve its brand perception. They introduced healthier menu options, such as salads and fruit, and committed to sourcing sustainable ingredients, including certified coffee and cage-free eggs. McDonald’s also revamped its restaurants with modern designs and introduced technology enhancements to improve the customer experience. Through these initiatives, McDonald’s aimed to change public perception and position itself as a brand that listens to customer concerns and takes steps to address them. Their efforts have helped shift the narrative surrounding the brand and attract consumers who value transparency and healthier choices.

With Evolution, you need to change and align the values to the new ownership:

When a change of ownership occurs within a company, rebranding becomes a crucial step in ensuring a smooth transition and aligning the brand with the new owners’ values, goals, and visions. A skilled branding company plays a pivotal role in this process by guiding the business through a comprehensive rebranding strategy that reflects the evolving ethics and morals of the organization.

Despite the change in ownership, Ben & Jerry’s has maintained its core values and continued its socially conscious approach to business. They have remained dedicated to sourcing fair-trade ingredients, supporting small-scale farmers, and advocating for various social and environmental issues. Ben & Jerry’s uses its platform to raise awareness about issues such as climate change, racial justice, and marriage equality. They have been vocal supporters of progressive causes and have used their ice cream flavours to spark conversations around important topics. They have remained dedicated to sourcing fair-trade ingredients, supporting small-scale farmers, and advocating for various social and environmental issues.

Branding needs to be appealing to the customer with its aesthetics and charm!

In the fast-paced world of branding, it is crucial to update your brand aesthetics to stay current, relevant, and appealing to your target audience. If your brand has an outdated look, incorporating new concepts and trends, such as AI elements, can breathe new life into your identity and resonate with today’s consumers.

Glossier’s marketing and advertising campaigns emphasize natural beauty and inclusivity, resonating with a wide range of customers. They have successfully built a brand image that feels approachable, authentic, and relatable to their target audience. By prioritizing aesthetics and charm in its branding, Glossier has attracted a dedicated following and established itself as a leading beauty brand, particularly among younger consumers.

Incoherence never goes well when you try to forge your brand identity: 

Cohesiveness in branding is crucial for building trust, recognition, and differentiation. To overcome this issue, businesses must undertake a strategic process of aligning their brand elements and messaging to create a cohesive and impactful brand identity. A cohesive brand identity starts with a thorough understanding of the brand’s values, purpose, and target audience. By conducting market research, analyzing competitors, and engaging in brand discovery exercises, businesses can gain insights into their unique selling propositions and identify areas where cohesiveness may be lacking. Our own agency suffered from this issue, before we rebranded our agency website during the pandemic in 2021, our site lacked a coherent sense of verbal and visual branding with a hodgepodge of incoherent imagery, colors, messaging, typography and tone of voice. 

We need to embrace and implement global impact and sustainability ever since post-pandemic: 

In the wake of the pandemic, businesses are increasingly recognizing the changing needs and priorities of consumers. Branding plays a pivotal role in driving global impact and sustainability by aligning the brand’s values and actions with the evolving demands of the global community.

Patagonia actively works to reduce its environmental footprint through various initiatives. They prioritize using recycled materials in their products, reduce energy consumption in their operations, and strive to minimize waste. Patagonia also encourages their customers to repair and reuse their products through their “Worn Wear” program, extending the lifespan of their garments.Beyond their environmental efforts, Patagonia engages in advocacy and supports grassroots environmental organizations. They donate a significant portion of their profits to environmental causes and have taken public stances on issues such as climate change and public lands protection.

Ultimately, Rebranding is the new Redirection! 

Rebranding is a powerful tool that allows businesses to redefine their direction, establish a new identity, and effectively communicate their evolved values and offerings. It serves as a strategic redirection, enabling companies to adapt to changing market dynamics and meet the evolving needs of their target audience. 

To adapt to the changing landscape of Covid-19, Airbnb underwent a rebranding and shifted its focus to local and domestic travel experiences. They launched the “Go Near” campaign, encouraging users to explore nearby destinations and enjoy unique stays closer to home. This rebranding aimed to position Airbnb as not just a platform for accommodation but also as a provider of local experiences and connections with the community. Through its rebranding efforts, Airbnb successfully repositioned itself as a platform for unique and authentic travel experiences, whether local or global. Through the expertise of a branding company, businesses can redefine their brand identity, develop compelling narratives, and strategically position themselves to meet the evolving needs of their target audience.

Your business has changed and you need to adapt its new name and identity:

Businesses often make adjustments to their business models, adding new services or products, to remain competitive and profitable. However, if these changes involve a significant shift, such as offering a new line of products or diversifying the business, it may be necessary to rebrand. Customers may only associate the business with its previous offerings, so rebranding becomes crucial to make them aware of the expanded offerings. Rebranding is also essential when the current business name no longer aligns with the company’s identity or encounters trademark conflicts. A bad or inappropriate name can hinder the business’s success and fail to communicate its true essence. By changing the name, the business undergoes a transformation, providing an excellent opportunity to thoroughly evaluate and redefine the entire brand.

When Facebook changed its name to Meta, it marked a significant rebranding effort aimed at reflecting the company’s expanded focus beyond social media. The decision to rebrand was driven by the company’s strategic direction to prioritize the development of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies.By adopting the name Meta, the company sought to communicate its commitment to building a future where people can connect and experience digital environments in a more immersive and interactive manner. This rebranding not only clarifies the company’s updated mission but also enables it to differentiate itself in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. Facebook’s rebranding to Meta signifies a strategic shift towards emphasizing virtual and augmented reality technologies. The new name reflects the company’s vision of creating a metaverse, enabling it to establish a strong presence in emerging tech markets beyond traditional social media platforms. 

Perry Labs Case Study 

Perry Laboratory was established in the 1940s by Harold Anderson who later sold the lab to Don Holbrook who ran it for several decades out of the agricultural town in Watsonville California.  Our agency was started in Santa Cruz, and because of our ties to the tech community, we were introduced and referred to the current owner Clifford Low by a graphic designer friend Cari Class who said Perry Labs needed a website redesign since the site had not been updated in over a decade.  In order to support the new brand Identity, Perry Labs also undertook a replatform and redevelopment of its website. Some of the Perry Lab rebranding goals included:  

• Modernize the website including making it mobile-friendly
• Make the content easier to read
• Pricing tables which resulted in an overhaul of their testing packages, pricing, and ordering process
• Allow customers to submit orders they are going to send through the website, instead of filling them out and sending them in with samples, this made the staff know what samples were going to come in so that they could schedule their lab work more productively

Our team developed a search-optimized mobile responsive website that is unique, modern, and designed to help visitors make informed decisions and take action. All aspects of the brand were reimagined, from the color and logo to photography and fonts.  You can check out the case study here or visit Perry Laboratory site. 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, brand identity is an essential component of any successful business, whether it’s a well-established corporation or an emerging startup. It goes beyond mere visual elements and serves as a reflection of the company’s values, creating a strong connection with consumers. By forging emotional connections and understanding the desires of the target audience, a brand becomes influential and attracts new customers while fostering loyalty among existing ones.

To maintain a thriving brand, it is crucial to engage in continuous communication with your audience and adapt to their evolving preferences. This means staying relevant in a dynamic market, where consumer tastes and trends are constantly changing. Sometimes, this may require making difficult decisions regarding rebranding or refreshing the brand to ensure it remains captivating and resonates with your target audience.

If you’re ready to take your brand to the next level, it’s time to reach out! Whether you’re seeking guidance on rebranding strategies or refreshing your brand image, our team at Vab Media is here to help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of brand identity. Together, we can create a brand that captures your target audience’s attention and drives engagement, loyalty, and long-term success. Don’t hesitate to connect with us and embark on a transformative journey to elevate your brand to new heights.

The post Is it Time to Rebrand or Refresh Your Business in 2023? first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

In the brand new limitless world of machine learning capabilities, Google is now upping the ante and giving their search engine a makeover – while continuing to push the envelope in other areas of our daily tech-infused lives as well.

Initially put on the back burner nearly a decade before, Google is revamping a project that makes using their search engine a little more personal.

Bestowed the name Project Magi, Google aims to stay ahead of its competitors – specifically ChatGPT and it’s newfound partnership with Microsoft’s Bing Search Engine which has integrated itself with ChatGPT’s AI functionality to answer search queries that are specifically tailored to individual users.

Introduced as an attempt to one-up their main competitor on February 2023,  the rollout of the new Bing with Open AI’s GPT-4  elements made waves instantaneously, with sign-ups of a million within 48 hours.

The intrigue of the search engine’s revamp lies in its ease and practicality. While ChatGPT has proven itself to be useful and convenient in a myriad of situations, from school assignments, blogs, resumes, and the like, its ability to learn off the cuff seems rather limited; with the cut-off point of its seemingly extensive knowledge lingering in purgatory – specifically 2021.

On the other hand, search engines are constantly updated with new information every day. Microsoft decided to pounce on the opportunity to provide a direct, personalized, and conversational experience with their search engine and browser.

Need to build an itinerary on the whim? Craft a new recipe from scratch instead of link-hopping? Shoot the breeze to skim some relevant info just like you would do on ChatGPT? Generate images from text like Midjourney? That can all be done on Bing or the Edge browser.

Google, which trumps its adversaries in the search engine market share has revved up its gears since the emergence of ChatGPT in November 2022, urgently materializing solutions to swerve around a “Code Red” – or bleak future as reported by the New York Times.

In response, the team that specializes in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence created “Bard”. There’s a significant difference between the two programs. Unlike it’s predecessor, Bard constantly updates its database with recent and relevant information. 

Bard has been met with quite a bit of petty comparisons between its competitors, such as the alleged inability to provide detailed recipes, provide comprehensive coverage of current events and controversial events, and the pettiest of them all: the supposed lack of poetic prowess.

Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me,  I started tinkering with Bard nearly a month after its release, and my experience was generally positive with a few hiccups. Whatever I typed into the prompt was met with sufficient answers on a variety of subjects including the aforementioned, workout routines, and itineraries. From a constructive standpoint – and I’m aware Bard’s still in its infancy stages – it could work on more comprehensive answers and provide them in a more colloquial tone.

In a diligent effort to blow its competition out of the waters, retain its over 90% market share in the industry, AND completely redefine the search engine landscape after nearly a quarter century, Google has recruited a team of 160 designers and engineers to work around the clock and kickstart this new project.

So what’s on the agenda for Project Magi?

To develop a completely AI-powered search engine and introduce it to phones and homes worldwide. Building upon Bard’s capabilities, Project Magi will revolutionalize the search engine experience by adding a new interface that provides answers to queries in a conversational tone. Sifting through irrelevant search results will likely no longer be necessary since they will be specifically tailored to your tastes and preferences.

The ambitious project also has the potential to disrupt the social commerce scene. Efficient e-commerce requires cutting out the fluff, making the checkout process smooth sailing. Project Magi will cut out the middle man, allowing you to complete transactions such as buying articles of clothing or booking flights on search ads that are influenced by your search history,  purchasing habits, and other relevant data. This allows Google to preserve and likely increase its revenue stream.

Project Magi may very well be a coder’s new best friend. Project Magi’s interface will incorporate Bard’s recently implemented coding capabilities inspired by ChatGPT. Still in its experimental phase and working out any existing kinks, users can request various codes to be written in over 20 programming languages including Python, Javascript, C++, Typescript, etc. Users can even ask Bard/Magi to debug fault codes.

Google has several more tricks up it’s sleeve. New elements will be introduced to Google while existing elements of its search engine will be upgraded.

Google Earth

Google Earth is already revolutionary in its own right and Google Earth will now use AI to help users develop a better understanding of the world around them.

Discovering Music Through Chatbot

Who doesn’t like to chat about music? This new feature will allow users to find that new catchy ear-worm inducing tune through natural language. This conversational approach will supposedly make searching for music easier.

Google Images & Gi-Fi Technology

Remember when we briefly mentioned that Google was working on it’s own AI text-to-image prompt? Well, that concept has realized its full potential and now users can generate images they’re simultaneously looking for on Google Images.

Tivoli Tutors

It is said that a new language is best learned in conversational settings and Google will allow you to do just that without the risk of embarrassing yourself in front of a native or proficient speaker.

And Finally

Blankly staring at your screen while contemplating the first draft of a business-related email or document will now be a thing of the past because AI is also finding a new home in Google’s Workspace. Workspace consists of several productivity apps including, Gmail, Drive, Docs, Slides, and more.

Tasks are streamline with auto-completed drafts for Gmail and Google Docs while auto-generated photos, videos, AND audio adds a little pizzaz to presentations in slides. Also, raw data is now translated to analytical insights on Google Sheets.

To Wrap Things Up

Project Magi is speculated to be released on May 2023 and will likely debut at Google’s annual i/O developer’s conference. This renovation is likely to be a monumental feat since Google is committed to innovation and this endeavor will improve several different facets of our lives. With its personalized results, constantly developing conversational interface, and ability to complete transactions in an unorthodox manner, Project Magi is poised to become the world’s go-to search engine for users. As AI continues to develop, it is likely that we will see even more innovative and groundbreaking features from Google and other search engines in the years to come.

The post Google’s Project Magi: The AI-Powered Search Engine of the Future first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

What is Social Listening?

Social Media has bridged the gap in the way we communicate with others within and beyond our social circles, especially when it comes to sharing important news and information at the speed of light. As we discussed in previous blog posts, social media is a tried and true tool for marketing and promotion but more importantly, it can also provide some pretty powerful insights such as an in-depth analysis of customer behaviors. This practice, known as social listening, has grown to be a critical aspect of market research and is making its way into the toolbox of most digital marketing professionals and businesses of all sizes.

Social Listening is essentially acting like a fly on the wall. You’re privy to the discussions that are being had about your product or service on different social media platforms. You take note of every comment, mention, retweet, share, specific keyword, hashtags, etc. It is a very nuanced process that uses various methods to accumulate real-time data which is then analyzed and deciphered into customer opinions, preferences, purchasing habits, and behaviors. From that point on, marketing professionals and business owners can make data-driven decisions that can augment their products, services, and marketing strategies. Moreso, social listening can help you recruit potential influencers or brand ambassadors for collaboration, keep a watchful eye on the competition, and keep up with the general landscape of digital marketing.

Social listening may look a little something like this:

Social listening doesn’t just focus on engagement on a superficial level; instead, the main components to take note of when analyzing social media engagement of this nature are sentiment, context, and tone as it will help you gain a better understanding of your customer’s motives and emotions. There are additional perks to social listening that you can use to the benefit of you or your client’s brand. Let’s get down to it, shall we?

Real-time Data

Customer opinions, feedback, testimonials, and the like can be assessed in real-time. Social listening not only allows you to instantaneously gather helpful insights with real-time data but allows you to address a question, concern, and bad or good comments with swiftness.

Customer Feedback

Social listening is a way of extending customer service through unconventional means. Not only does it look good from a PR standpoint but the advantages are quantified as well. A whopping 71% of consumers who have had positive interactions with brands on social media were eager to spread brand awareness to their inner circle. Another study shows that engagement over social media may motivate customers to spend 20% to 40% on companies.

Competitor Analysis

 Social listening allows businesses to monitor and benchmark against their competitors. By analyzing competitor conversations and on social media, businesses can gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning, which can help them develop effective strategies to outperform their competitors. This is best done by implementing and setting up monitoring social listening tools – which we will get into a bit later.

Product Development

Social Media listening can inspire creativity and ingenuity. By picking up customer needs, preferences, and pain points, you can use the information to develop or improve commodities that they deem useful and increase customer demand.

Opportunities for Collaboration

You may encounter customers with a decent or huge following advocating for your brand and you may not even know it. While it may seem that Macro-influencers may have the most pull with a following of over 100,000,  Micro-influencers with a following between 1,000 to 100,000 strong are often the loudest with their brand advocacy despite being considered small fry, and the loyalty from their following will likely be bestowed onto you since they’re are considered more genuine with product endorsements compared to larger public figures. Here’s a quick refresher about the stronghold they have on social media influencing.

Enhanced Marketing Strategies

You combine all of these perks, and what do you get? A phenomenal marketing strategy that’ll push you ahead of the curve. However, let’s get into specifics. You can’t execute without a game plan and the appropriate tools. 

So how does one leverage the power of social listening to create a flawless strategy?

Define Your Objectives

Before embarking on social listening, businesses need to define their objectives and what they hope to achieve through social listening. It could be understanding customer sentiment about their brand, tracking competitor mentions, identifying customer pain points, recruiting influencers, gathering insights for product development,or generating new leads. Defining clear objectives helps align social listening efforts with business goals and ensures a focused approach.

Choose the Right Social Media Monitoring Tools:

There are numerous social media monitoring tools available in the market that can help businesses track and analyze social media conversations effectively. It is crucial to choose the right tool that aligns with your business requirements, budget, and social media platforms that are relevant to your industry. Some popular social media monitoring tools include:

• Brandwatch
•  Hootsuite
• Sprout Social
• and Mention

Brandwatch Dashboard

Set up Relevant Keywords and Filters

To effectively listen to social media conversations, it is important to set up relevant keywords and filters that are related to your brand, products, industry, competitors, and relevant hashtags. This ensures that you capture all the relevant conversations and mentions related to your business and industry, and filter out the noise. Experiment with different variations of keywords and hashtags to capture the most relevant conversations.

Monitor Multiple Social Media Platforms

Social listening should not be limited to just one social media platform. Customers may mention your brand or share their opinions on various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, and forums.

Analyze, Identify, & Engage

Analyzing customer sentiment is rather straightforward. We can pretty much tell when someone leans towards something or is against it, right? Whether you’re checking your dashboard or manually skimming through your feed/timeline, heed the discussions that revolve around your brand including – as much as it may sting – scathing reviews or lack of engagement. Good or bad, strike while the iron is still hot; jump at the opportunity to prolong your favorable PR or extinguish the critics by quelling their concerns or complaints right on the spot. And if you can get an edge on your competitors through a little spying and find a brand ambassador in your heaps of mentions, then you are well on your way.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, social listening is a powerful market research and customer insights tool that can help businesses gain valuable insights into customer sentiments, preferences, behaviors, and market trends. Leveraging social media listening can help businesses develop effective strategies to enhance their products, services, and customer experiences and allow them make data-driven decisions that will make them stay ahead of the competition in today’s dynamic business landscape. With the right approach and utilization of social listening strategies, businesses can unlock valuable insights from social media conversations, and use them to their advantage to drive business growth and success.

The post Listen Up!: How to Use Social Listening to Gauge Brand Awareness first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

• A Brief History of Copywriting
• Make Them Take a Second Look
• Address Their Concerns
• Provide Results
• Don’t Take Yourself TOO Seriously
• Lead The Way
• In Conclusion

Let’s say you’re browsing the internet or passing by a billboard. As you scroll or drive by, the seemingly inconspicuous advertisement commands your attention, not because of the sleek and glossy graphics and imagery, but because of the message. The message has struck a chord; it may have moved you, made you chuckle, excited you, aroused your curiosity, or even angered you.

Invoking those kinds of responses from people is the hallmark trait of effective copywriting – the foundation if you will-  and effective copywriting is crucial to the success of your marketing strategy, both digital and traditional. It’s an art form, a form of persuasive writing that often incorporates ethos, pathos, and logos.

To understand the grasp that copywriting has on our consumerism culture, let’s dial it back and take a brief walk through history. 

A Brief History of Copywriting

Yes, we’re taking it all the way back.

Some of the earliest forms of copywriting weren’t in early newspapers or pamphlets but instead engraved in stone tablets from the ancient world. The example above is a cuneiform tablet that showcases a perfume recipe conjured up by the famed chemist Tapputi from ancient Mesopotamia. This artifact can be considered a historical piece of copy since it also highlights Tapputi’s expertise in perfume making. The tablet cites Tapputi as “Belatekallim” or overseer of a royal household which reinforces her status at the time. 

The evolution of copywriting has evolved significantly between the colonial era and 1800’s but has made leaps and bounds around the turn of the 20th century and forward. This is where David Ogilvy comes in. Hailed as the “Father of Advertising” Ogilvy introduced a creative spark in the advertising industry that was fueled by an unprecedented approach: market research.

Ogilvy Da OG.

The Marketer’s Bible.

Understanding consumers habits and quirks allowed marketers such as the original Mad Man (get it?) himself to produce copy and campaigns that made various products and services appealing to specific demographics. 

Essentially he learned and spoke in a language his consumers understood and other advertisers followed suit, even to this day.

Make Them Take A Second Look

Circling back to our earlier example, the headline is often the first thing a person sees when reading copy and it needs to be in your face! It should be unique and pique the consumer’s curiosity or address a problem or concern. Most brands have a “voice” that has a distinguishable tone that’s specific to their target audience. Whether it’s jovial, serious, or cheeky, a compelling headline must be imbued with personality. In the case of digital copy, especially Search Engine Marketing, effective healings should be sprinkled with relevant SEO keywords that pertain to your product or service which will improve your rankings.

And remember KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly.

Address Their Concerns

What good is the product or service you’re selling if the consumer isn’t sure how it will benefit them? You might think you’re alluring your audience with vagueness, but you may very well be turning them away from learning more about your brand. Without squeezing in a full FAQS page in your copy, indulge the consumer’s curiosity by scratching the surface of your product/service’s features and benefits.

Provide Results

Image Credit: Redel Bautista – dribble.com

People love a good success story, testimonial, or review and it’s a great idea to include it in your copywriting. Piggybacking on the previous section, it’s a surefire way of giving your audience an idea of how your brand will improve their lives. Statistical information if available does an equally effective job of demonstrating the validity of your brand as well, so be sure to include that in your copy as well.

Don’t Take Yourself TOO Seriously

From a psychological standpoint, tugging at the heartstrings through copywriting is a surefire way to galvanize consumer’s interest in your brand, however, being overly brooding or downright depressing even if you’re trying to make the public take your campaign seriously is going to produce the opposite of the results that you want.

PETA is an example of ads that is definitely polarizing, to say the least.

Instead of selling despair or controversy, sell a solution or better yet, try to include a feel-good element to it.

If your copy is already light-hearted, build upon that feel-good element, provide a little inspiration. Not to say you must sell them a fantasy that’ll never come into fruition, but a little optimism goes a long way.

If you’re trying to get a chuckle from your audience, don’t resort to using lowbrow or offensive humor in order to get a reaction. Humor copy should be witty and clever. If geared towards mature audiences, consider using sarcastic humor or  double entendres.

Lead The Way

This one applies to digital copy; display ads, search engine ads, websites, and apps specifically.  UX or User Experience design are elements included in a website that are meant to coax visitors into taking a desired action. A subset of UX, UX copywriting, which is interchangeable with UX writing, does the same thing but with persuasive language. Basically, you’re giving folks a nudge in the right direction.

UX copywriting produces Call to Actions that provide the little push needed to make a conversion. Revisiting our previous entry will give you an idea on how to create effective Call To Action prompts.

In Conclusion

Copywriting is a lot more significant than what we give it credit for; it requires psychological prowess and the mastery of your dominant language. Copywriting – with other elements of marketing and advertising of course – can make or break a brand or business since words and emotion carries a lot of power. And while the mediums in which copy is carried has changed throughout centuries the intent behind the message is always consistent. Keep this in mind as you showcase your business’s attributes to your audience.

The post Crafting a Killer Copy: 5 Strategies for Successful Business Writing first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

There’s a common misconception that content creators must pull out all of the stops in order to go viral on TikTok including the use of heavy filters, fancy cars, and houses. Even worse, TikTok dances.

I was inspired to write after watching a talk on Global Marketing Day by Semrush, “How Small Businesses Leverage Tiktok.”

Small businesses in particular feel this pressure as creating a brand story and message is integral to a company’s marketing success; the ability to resonate with its target audience.

Newsflash: the most popular TikTok content creators are rather simplistic – and somewhat formulaic – in their approach. Some creators are even innovating their creative process with the use of new technology as well.

With that said, let’s dig into how marketing content creators utilize tried and true methods without the high production value and expand their business’s presence on the platform beyond their wildest dreams.

Quality Content is Both Fun & Educational

We live in a caffeine-dominated world. Coffee has become a culture in and of itself; an art form if you will, fueled by experimentation and ingenuity. This doesn’t even need to be said since the likes of Starbucks and Tim Hortons have accumulated fandoms of their own. 

Caitlin Campbell, the specialty coffee connoisseur behind Street Brew Coffee understands the chokehold both caffeine and brief instructional videos have among internet users and decided to bank on it, sharing her passion and expertise with the world. 

Campbell started off slow, accumulating several thousand views sharing videos that incorporate coffee preparation techniques, recipes, and even interesting fun facts (sidenote: did you know there’s coffee made out of poop? Barf.)

Through sheer consistency, Caitlin managed to hit one million views within three months of debuting her account. But more importantly, she provided quality and informative content without using any of the ritz. Another thing to note is that posting regularly allows you to gauge what content sticks with your viewers.

Quality Content is Engaging (and Sometimes Niche)

Now talk about a niche. On the topic of narrowed down and unique content, Pierce Woodard, a typical teen who started on TikTok making clips of himself hanging out with friends and living his best life struck gold in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Like almost everyone else who took the opportunity to reignite their hobbies or sought out new ones, Woodard dug through a box of antique Buddha spoons and repurposed them into rings.

His new endeavor caught fire, which led to a demand for his products, which in turn began selling out fast.

His business Brand Pierre, caught the attention of influencers and public figures, including rapper Drake whom Woodward collaborated to create rings to promote his independent record label, OVO, or October’s Very Own.

Even after reaching massive success, Woodward continues to advertise his products in the zaniest ways.

This leads us to our next lesson: engaging with your viewers. Pretty much all social media platforms allow content creators to engage with their fans with likes and comments but TikTok takes this one step further and allows you to directly reply to comments with a video response.

Woodward interacts with his viewers by fulfilling their outrageous requests of creating rings from the most obscure objects including monkeys in a barrel, iPhones, bowling balls, and even Monopoly game pieces.

Quality Content Tells a Story

Small businesses don’t have to engage in viewer comments or requests to that extent but at the very least, give them some insight into your company’s mission, values, history, business practices, and production process.

The Asian fusion food brand Omsom does that well. Concocted by Vietnamese sisters, Kim and Vanessa Pham, they aim to not only share authentic and easy-to-prepare Asian flavors with the world but to also dispel misconceptions about Asian cultural and culinary practices.

As a matter of fact, the name of their brand roughly translates to rowdy and rambunctious, which describes the sisters’ energetic disposition growing up – and is exemplified in their branding and packaging. As such, they chose to reclaim the word, diminishing the quiet and submissive stereotype commonly applied to East Asian women.

The sisters successfully connect with their target audience by sharing fun and zesty recipes, and educational videos on various aspects of Asian cuisine (Sidenote: MSG actually isn’t bad for you after all), and they score big on the relatability factor with humorous homages to their Asian upbringing. Omsom’s content is a culmination of sentimental stories and anecdotes about their heritage.

Creating Quality Content Doesn’t Have to be a Chore

Now that we got that out of the way, creating social media content on a regular basis can be a strenuous task, even more so if you’re a small business owner or staff. More often than not, you’ll be doing some preparation behind the scenes rather than winging it, and that includes writing scripts.

Writing scripts is uncharted territory for a lot of content creators, but luckily there are tools that can give you an edge. In our last entry, we explained how AI text tools such as ChatGPT can help creators generate ideas and text which still need the human touch to fine-tune.

So there you have it!

Creating quality TikTok content is easier than it seems. If you have a passion or strong company backstory/mission that translates to engaging content that intrigues your viewers paired with help from AI tools to aid you in routinely producing material, you are well on your way. Happy creating!

The post  How Small Businesses Can Leverage TikTok in 2023 first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in OpenAI has put other major tech players—Amazon and Google chief among them—on notice.

And while we definitely want you to embrace AI in your content strategy, It fails to replicate the human emotion component that’s essential for marketing.

You need more than just an AI bot to handle your content strategy.

So, if you want high-quality content that drives traffic, leads, and conversions, click here to book a call with one of our growth specialists.

But first, let’s comb through the disadvantages -and even advantages – of AI Writing Tools.

It seems like in the span of a few short months, AI Tools started popping up out of the wazoo. Some that have emerged and gained traction include DALLE, Midjourney, Codex, Stable Diffusion, Email AI,  AI Browser extensions, and of course the subject of this article, ChatGPT, just to name a few.

Source: Twitter @bentossell

These tools, especially AI Writing Tools, have an appeal that makes it easy to understand why many would want to incorporate it into marketing copy, journalism, or University papers.

They function similarly in which AI Image software such as MidJourney operates; you type and enter a prompt or subject matter and the machine algorithm will sort through and compile content scattered throughout the internet to form a final product of somewhat original content.

As seemingly advanced as ChatGPT is, it’s not perfect. It lacks a human oversight and depth that lends a quality of monotony that even the most casual of readers can pick up.

Text produced by ChatGPT is similar to hearing someone speak with no distinction in tonal qualities, no facial expressions, or hand gestures – just dry and emotionless. ChatGPT has been criticized for creating content that lacks expression and meaning. This hollowness in written language is also accompanied by the lack of idioms, similies, and metaphors on which AI hasn’t developed a firm grip yet.

Anyone who frequents Reddit may have likely come across the popular subreddit, r/iamverysmart, which pokes fun at unique individuals who boast of superior intellect compared to the majority of the human population. They can usually back this up with lengthy paragraphs that incorporate big words and concepts that the rest of us feeble-minded oafs will never comprehend.

Source: Reddit u/ErwinAckerman

Sarcasm aside, AI Content Writing Tools regurgitate pieces of text that are not only fluff but provide little to no insight.

Software of this nature also has the tendency to fib. According to a cited study conducted by several University researchers, ChatGPT may provide information that’s long and detailed, even neutral and unbiased but at the expense of fabricating untruths. However, machine learning is constant and ChatGPT will attempt to reverse inconsistencies in data and information.

Source: Twitter @BarnhurstKent

Now that we have gotten the scathing criticism out of the way, we’re not telling you to forsake all AI writing tools altogether. They can certainly streamline the creative process of brainstorming content marketing material. There’s also promise in using it in the early stages of client consultation with chatbots before clients can receive more comprehensive assistance with human representatives.

If you choose to incorporate it into either your personal or marketing practices, you’ll have to train your eyes a little harder to catch and edit inconsistencies.

Not to mention effective writing whether it be articles or copywriting requires thorough research. Your workflow will be a tad smoother by compiling legitimate sources beforehand and applying them to your text as opposed to doing fact-checking after.

This is especially true in academic settings since plagiarism is prevalent and best believe teachers and professors are cracking down or at the very least learning how to adapt to this volatile technology.

ChatGPT caused upheaval in NYU’s campus, leaving the faculty in a conundrum that will take years to completely smooth out. Published by their campus newspaper, Washington Square News, NYU adrministrators have not yet come up with universal guidelines but some professors are allowing students to use ChatGPT in their assignments with certain caveats (ex. Students are required to explain how it was used or provide personal details the program wouldn’t know) while some have the liberty to reject it altogether by requiring students to complete essays in class or screen papers using anti-plagarism programs such as AI Classifier, made by ChatGPT’s Open AI.

Source: Twitter @GraceAI382236563

To sum it all up, ChatGPT and other programs of the same nature are dual and can be used for good – and not so good – depending on how it’s utilized. Not that much different from social media if you think about it; a great tool to spread information and promote as long as you use your due diligence. Despite what many skeptics may believe, ChatGPT won’t break the internet – or put people out of jobs anytime soon. 

The post Why ChatGPT isn’t your content creation savior first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

It should go without saying that your website’s homepage will make or break a visitor’s user experience. First impressions do matter, right? There’s a small window of just a few minutes -or a few seconds- to make a lasting one; showcasing the best assets of your brand or products and ensuring that navigation is concise and smooth. Understanding how the customer journey works in this scenario and applying the right strategies will not only churn out satisfied visitors or customers but more moolah as well. Here are 8 tips for upgrading the layout of your homepage for improved visibility and navigation.

Table of contents:

•  Banner Elements Stay Above the Fold
• “But wait! There’s more!” (Below the Fold Line)
• Finding Key Categories and List pages Should be a Breeze
• Sticky Menus Stay at the Top of the Page
• Make your CTA Pop
• Accessibility for All
• Play Around With Pop-Ups
• Need for Speed
• In Conclusion

Banner Elements Should Stay Above the Fold

What does “above the fold” mean? Derived from newspaper industry terminology, above the fold refers to the upper half of a newspaper or tabloid front page where the headliner usually accompanied by a large photograph is printed. In this case, the elements included in this template is a banner with an equally enticing headline and call-to-action.

Usually, it’s the first thing visitors will lay their eyes on and this is where you want to stamp your brand’s core message – unless you want them to keep scrolling down. 

If the customer has made it to your homepage from whatever origin, whether it be a referral, ad, or social media, they are likely in the interest stage of the customer journey. You have piqued their attention and you want to hold on to it for the remainder of their journey until you touchdown into the conversion stage. 

How do you craft an effective banner? 

•  Aesthetically pleasing color scheme and appropriate stock photos
• Catchy headline and concise description of what your brand offers
• A strong call-to-action 

There is no need to overthink it and pull out the works. As a matter of fact, that could be a distraction and a turnoff for first-time visitors. Follow this brief guideline, and you’re well on your way. 

“But wait! There’s more!” (Below the Fold Line)

You’ve made it this far and consistency is key in securing a conversion. You’ve wowed your visitors with the feasibility of your webpage’s upper fold and you want to follow it up with equally engaging content as they continue to scroll down. Here’s all the more reason to show a little TLC to your below-the-fold line; a study by Google claims content and ads below the fold have 44% viewability compared to 73% viewability for above the folds.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go overboard to keep eyes glued to your homepage. Which takes us to the next step.

Finding Key Categories and List Pages Should be a Breeze

Navigating a webpage should be nothing but smooth sailing, as opposed to being a strenuous and annoying task. ‘Less is more’ is an important philosophy in this component of creating an improved homepage. Just like how one may be intimidated by too many options on a restaurant menu, too many options on a webpage will likely evoke the same feeling in those interested in learning more about a service or product. To make the user experience easier on the eyes – and wrist- and boost traffic include up to no more than 6 or 7 menu items in your main navigation. Each menu item should include brief yet descriptive titles that search engines can decipher and guess what’s on that page. In the case of companies with hefty yet necessary menu options, those can be delegated to drop-down menus with no more than two levels and/or fat footers.

Sticky Menus Stay at the Top of the Page

The sticky menu is an element that remains on the page, which is convenient for easy access when you want to explore other parts of the site without scrolling back to the top of the page. 

There’s some skepticism that accompanies sticky menus as some find their constant presence bothersome. However, the pros outweigh the cons since sticky menus:

• Decrease bounce rates (the percentage of people who exit a site after viewing one page)
• Increase conversion since visitors can better explore purchase options
• Most importantly, your brand or logo is in view at all times which will be embedded in visitor’s memories

Sticky menus can be adjusted to fit at the top of the page as well as the sides, but it’s best advised to keep it at the top since it produces a cleaner-looking webpage.

Make Your CTA Pop

Call-to-action buttons moves the customer journey along, inching you closer to the coveted conversion. 

The CTA is singlehandedly the most important element to a successful homepage and it’s absolutely crucial that the naked eye can see your prompt.

Here are a few tips to boost your CTA’s visibility:

• Use strong commanding verbs – While you can use the usual “buy”, “try” or “sign up”, don’t be afraid to use other enthusiastic examples such as “Join”, “Unlock”, “Discover”, or “Learn”
• Give them a reason! – Besides the obvious FOMO, detail the benefits of investing in your brand. Include sales and promotions if you must.
• Test drive – To ensure your CTA produces the best results, give ‘em a spin with A/B tests.

Accessibility for All

Alienating certain demographics is counterproductive to the homepage traffic. 

An accessible and inclusive homepage covers all areas ranging from technical to physical. 

An all-accessible site starts with responsive web design. Responsive web design is built to allow web pages to adapt and work smoothly on various devices including computers, mobile phones, and tablets. 

Granted you’re already working with a CMS that supports website templates of this nature, you’re next step is to tailor text and images on your homepage so that it is better received by the hearing and vision impaired. 

Adjust fonts so that they are easier to read and adhere to head song structures so your text can be read seamlessly. Include descriptive Alt Text in your images. Use equally descriptive language in links as well.

Play Around With Pop Ups

Pop-ups bring you one step closer to your goal of gaining a conversion. As a matter of fact, it’s the second to last step in the marketing journey: the Consideration Stage. Pop-ups often drive companies to home base since they provide subscribers with relevant information about the business or offers, encouraging them to make a well-informed purchase.

In a study of nearly 2 million pop-ups across the web conducted by Sumo, the following findings were compiled:

• The highest-performing pop-up in the 10th percentile has an average conversion rate of 9.28%
• 3 out of 100 webpages with pop-ups have conversion rates over 11%
• 3.09% is the average conversion rates for all pop-ups

Creating an effective pop-up includes some of the same advice previously mentioned to enhance other elements of a homepage. Here’s a quick recap:

• Use attention-grabbing colors and images
• Make sure your CTA is conspicuous as possible
• Your offers are detailed and persuasive and aren’t vague or a “secret”
• It has to be accessible to all (Responsive design; able to maneuver with both mouse and keyboard; text and imagery are visible; alt text)

There are other variables that must be taken into consideration as well:

• Timing is key – A pop-up that immediately appears upon entering a website or logging in is a nuisance for many and so it’s best advised to time your pop-ups to appear between 10 and 30 seconds into their webpage experience. As an alternative, pop-ups could be set up to appear when a visitor scrolls further down the homepage or you can even implement ‘exit-intent’ pop-ups that appear when a visitor attempts to leave a webpage.
• So is frequency – Pop-ups that appear after clicking on a new page are just as frustrating. Limit your website to 2 pop-ups max.
• And finally, testing – To get a better idea of what pop-up templates your visitors find the most engaging, conduct A/B tests.

Need for Speed

Implementing all of the aforementioned strategies would be in vain if your homepage’s speed brought visitors back to the era of dial-up. Both mobile and desktop webpages take about three seconds to completely load (with the first two seconds being the most crucial) and every second after that (up to five seconds) and your chances of securing a conversion start to dwindle – by 4.42%. Slow loading times can be troubleshot or avoided by

• Using a reliable, performance-based hosting provider – You get what you pay for couldn’t be any more true. Saving a few pennies by opting for a cheaper (or shared) host will result in your homepage’s loading times being delayed by overburdened servers.
• Compressing and optimizing images – Compression and optimizing images allow you to save and store images without compromising quality. Not only does this improve webpage speeds and conversions, but it’ll also give you a boost in SEO rankings.
• Caching webpages – Caching is the process of storing webpage data, including files, multimedia, script codes, or login information on your device, making them readily available when you re-visit a site. Caching speeds up internet browsing.

Conclusion

Think of homepages as your moneymaker, and as such you want to spend time carefully curating and organizing the aforementioned elements. The general premise of this list is to make your homepage (and pop-ups) aesthetically pleasing and detailed without being distracting or inaccessible, as it’ll hinder the customer journey. That can best be achieved by prioritizing the content above and below the fold; offering a handful of menu options on the page and relocating the rest into fat footers or mega menus. And of course, fast loading speeds tie everything else together. An easily navigable homepage is a surefire way to see gains in your ROI.

The post 8 efficient ways to Optimize UX and Boost Conversions on Your Homepage first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

We’re here to say that both scenarios are far-fetched and instead, AI will completely change how you consume content and interact with audiences – for the better of course.

AI’s advent into digital marketing is rather recent but is already making waves with how it changes how companies normally engage with consumers. Let’s dive into how Artificial Intelligence and its Machine Learning Capabilities are shaking up digital marketing.

Table of Contents

• What’s The Rage Against The Machine(s)?
• Chatbots
• Target Marketing
• AI-Driven Content Marketing
• AI Email Marketing
• Automatic Ad Bidding Systems
• Are Robots The New Rembrandts?
• To Wrap It Up

What’s the rage against the machine(s)?

Actually, there is little opposition towards our new robot overlords AI from digital marketing professionals. In fact, there’s a lot of optimism and excitement about the technological advancements it will introduce to the industry. With AI, customer acquisition, leads, and conversions now require less effort and its efficiency produces more results.

Research shows that investing in AI is money well spent. According to Statista, the market value of AI in digital marketing is expected to skyrocket from $20.82 billion in 2022 to $107.54 billion by 2028.

Market value of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing worldwide from 2020 to 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Source: Statista

Impressive, right? I, for one, welcome our robot overlords technologically advanced assistants.

Chatbots

The earliest example of Artificial Intelligence intersecting with customer service is Chatbots. Chatbots are software or computer programs that process and stimulate conversation with humans through text or voice interactions. While chatbots may seem out of place since it’s not a direct digital marketing channel, excellent customer service is synonymous with effective marketing. Using chatbots can help ease customers through the marketing funnel, especially in the consideration and conversion stages.

On that note, chatbots’ are more versatile than just addressing customer questions and concerns. Chatbots can now be used to place delivery orders. Take Domino’s AI assistant Dom for example.

Also, while not used in lieu of trained and certified medical professionals, chatbots are growing in popularity in the healthcare industry. Mental health care has taken precedence in today’s society, and various apps reflect that. Youper acts as the first point of contact and allows users to document their emotional needs. Youper will then recommend human-based healthcare intervention. 

Target Marketing

Target marketing essentially channels company marketing efforts into a specific group or audience. Before that, marketing usually consisted of casting a wide net to gain exposure and potential consumers. Target marketing has since introduced nuances that segment groups by gender, age, location, occupation, and other equally important variables. That kind of information can take a while to compile manually. Since we have been graced by analytical software, humans can finally kick their feet up and allow AI to derive that same behavioral information through various channels and platforms. That information is then used to create customized ads which machine learning algorithms can then optimize. 

AI-Driven Content Marketing

Content marketing is an indispensable tool in digital marketing. Consistent quality and effort in creating relevant content are essential in forging customer relationships. Personalization is also a key component and with AI, it’s now a breeze. AI can now better understand its target audiences by gathering and analyzing data to create customer profiles. Segmentation of this data results in customized recommendations and messages that resonate with your audience.

Speaking of which, AI is slowly making its mark in copywriting. Software known as NGL or “Natural Language Generation” is extremely versatile and can create news articles, social media posts, emails, blogs, chatbots, voice assistants,  and more by taking data and numbers and converting them to text and speech.

AI Email Marketing

Read our previous entry on Email Marketing here

With AI introduced into Email Marketing, most of the guesswork that goes into segmentation, personalization, crafting subject lines that entice readers, and the times and frequency in which emails are sent are now a thing of the past. AI in Email marketing presents other benefits as well. Automated email marketing boosts efficiency while decreasing costs. Revenue may see growth along with open and click rates.

Automatic Ad Bidding Systems

Google Ads allow advertisers to take the back seat and select Automatic Bidding as a means of efficiently allocating budgets and optimizing ad campaigns. Once your campaign objective is selected, the machine learning capabilities of AI are then galvanized to determine which ad spaces on SERFs (Search Engine Result Pages), social media platforms, or blogs will yield the most clicks or conversions.

This process is also known as Smart Biddings on Google and utilizes different variables to generate informed bids in PPC (Pay Per Click) format such as the quality and relevancy of an ad, location, time and day, devices, browsers, and even operating systems. Google Ad’s AI will then use the information gathered from previous campaigns and apply it to strategize for future biddings.

Are robots the new Rembrandts?

No, not really. Programs like Dall-E-Mini and Lensa give humans the unprecedented ability to create computer-generated images in a matter of seconds, mostly for entertainment purposes. However, AI hasn’t adopted the sentience that usually accompanies and inspires various forms of arts -yet. Nonetheless, AI is still capable of creating visual content that’s appealing enough to sell a product or service.

Source: Heinz

Heinz is a great example of leveraging AI artistic capabilities and flaws to promote a brand. However, speaking of the flaws:

Source: 10 Days

In a perplexing and disturbing mock-up created by a London-based media agency 10 Days, it’s apparent that AI had quite a way to go before generating completely comprehensive imagery right out of the gate. For those who are Photoshop savvy, manipulating images like these is an easy fix.

 AI art was still in its infant stages and showed (and still shows) promise. With time and the debut of Google Imagen, AI Art has evolved beyond our wildest dreams, producing hyperrealistic images such as these:

Before visual creatives start hyperventilating, no your careers are not in imminent danger. While AI is impressive and could certainly be useful in marketing campaigns, nothing beats the human eye or heart in the creative process. 

To Wrap It Up

Some may turn their nose up at Artificial Intelligence and Automation, but technology has been essential in not only marketing brands but forging better human relationships through its efficiency and its ability to lessen the workload. With the prospects of lead generation, revenue, and -despite previous misconceptions- increased manpower needed for the growing industry, it’s safe to say that AI is here to stay.

The post 6 Amazing Ways Artificial Intelligence is Disrupting Digital Marketing first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

Table of Contents

• SEO Moats
• Backlinks Can Open Up Doors
• Freebies!
• Long-Tail SEO
• Topic Clusters
• Community-Based Marketing

SEO Moats

Moats are a concept that was ditched in the medieval ages, right? That is quite the contrary. Moats are no longer just for tall and elaborate European castles and the Monarchs that used to reside within. The concept of moats has since integrated itself into the business and tech world. American business magnate and investor, Warren Buffet has since added a new spin to the term. According to investopedia.com:

“An economic moat is a metaphor that refers to businesses being able to maintain a competitive advantage over their competitors in order to preserve market share and profits. Any method that a company uses to maintain a competitive edge can be considered an economic moat.”

Ever since Buffet popularized the economic or business moat, many major brands such as Facebook, Amazon, Uber, and Starbucks have taken advantage of this concept to strengthen and sustain their presence in the marketplace.

Like any other word in the lexicon, the term has since evolved to adapt and take on other definitions and different contexts, including SEO and Content Marketing. 

SEO, alongside Content Marketing and Paid Ads, is a Holy Trinity in digital marketing, so its advantages are well-versed. However, marketers are constantly building upon tried and true techniques, and in turn, developing the SEO moat.

As a brand, establishing an SEO moat is a way of asserting dominance in SERPs or Search Engine Result Pages. By heavily utilizing keywords in your particular niche, not only does organic traffic to landing pages increase significantly, Google also recognizes you as an authority on information relating to your brand or area of expertise. 

Airbnb is a great case study on SEO moats. The COVID-19 pandemic had shut down the travel and hospitality industry, and Airbnb sought to make up for lost revenue without spending a ton on marketing – this means almost forgoing paid ads or other forms of performance marketing. Doing so, they managed to forge a 5 million keyword SEO moat. This resulted in prominence in the top three spots in SERPs for specific keywords entered by users.

A clever strategy they also implemented alongside creating a massive SEO moat is aggregating user-created content on their landing pages – Airbnb postings that target visitors with the particular locations or amenities entered in search engines. 

As an aptly named digital marketing strategist, building SEO moats is an extremely effective line of ‘defense’ from the competition.

Backlinks Can Open Up Doors

Backlinking is another Search Engine Optimization strategy that does wonders for website traffic and SERP rankings. In layman’s terms, backlinking is attaching an external link to a site that will transport users to a different webpage.

Backlinking, or Inbound Links as it’s also known, can help you score big if a link to your site is attached to websites considered to be authoritative and reputable by Google. The co-sign from these host sites is like a stamp of approval; Google deems your content quality material, which bolsters your Search Engine presence. 

Oftentimes, publishers will come across and aggregate outside content they feel ties into the topic they plan to write or resonates with their readers. However, you don’t want to solely rely on chance to make that happen; you’ll have to apply proactive measures.

Ensuring that your content is top-notch is essential. Do you research your market and study your competitors? Do you compliment your pages with various forms of media such as images, videos, graphs, etc? If done properly, a site can establish itself as a trustworthy and informative resource on a particular topic. 

From there, you’ll want to convince other publishers of the same. This is considered outreaching. Properly networking with content creators, publishers, or marketers can help you get a link on their sites. The most effective way to outreach is to first compile a list of reputable sites you wish to work with – remember, you want that stamp of approval from Google. 

From there, make them an offer they can’t refuse. For instance, offer to write a guest blog about a subject that pertains to the publisher’s site. Or you can reach out to journalists and build content from newsworthy information and how it may affect a particular demographic or industry. Their credibility in turn makes you a credible source as well.

HARO, or Help A Reporter Out, is a collective space where content creators can seek out sources and or present themselves as one. 

The employee review website, Glassdoor is a monster with backlinks, accumulating a staggering 3 billion backlinks from over 260,000 domains since its inception in 2007, according to Foundation Inc.

How did they make this happen?

By providing journalists with data-backed research findings that they craved. A notable study that was referenced by various media outlets and politicians such as Hilary Clinton, is ‘Demystifying the Gender Pay Gap’. 

To sum it up, people love unearthing educational and informational content. Put your best foot forward by providing them with quality content they’ll want to share with the rest of the world.

Freebies!

People love freebies, that’s a fact of life. If I were to tell you that giving away free resources would help your business instead of hurt it, would you believe it?

Of course you would. Have you ever made a purchase or at least made an effort to learn more about a brand because you received a free sample?

Now, what if those freebies were extremely useful to your day-to-day and professional endeavors? In this case study, let’s delve into how Shopify managed to score 332,000 subscribers on Youtube, $41.60 billion in market capitalization; over 55 million regular visitors, and, most importantly, over a billion backlinks. 

Let’s comb through some of Shopify’s arsenal of free tools. They include:

• Calculator
• Logo Maker
• Domain Name Generator
• Paystub Generator
• Business Card Maker
• QR Code Generator
• Barcode Generator

Shopify chose to deviate from the norm of regular digital marketing, such as content marketing, and focus on creating a wide array of utilities that their consumers, mainly small business owners, will find useful. 

What is the idea behind this phenomenon? Giving away free content and tools taps into the mid and latter stages of the marketing funnel.

Think of it this way: someone comes across your brand through a paid ad, a backlink, or word of mouth. They are then led to a homepage or landing page where they are exposed to the free resources you’re offering and other products and services they can use in conjunction. There is not only an opportunity to generate leads and turn them into conversions but to turn one-time consumers into loyal customers.

Establishing yourself as a valuable asset before the consumer makes a purchase is optimizing the digital marketing funnel to its full potential.

Long-Tail SEO

As noted above, SEO is constantly evolving and many digital marketing strategists are taking advantage of techniques that were once overlooked; and Long-Tail SEO is one of them.

Long-Tail SEO typically uses three or more words – usually phrases. For example: “Best cakes in Jersey City.”

Long-Tail SEO keywords don’t receive as many searches as their shorter counterparts, so it may seem like a waste of time and effort, but fortunately, competition is not as fierce. Another plus side is that the lack of competition means higher conversion rates. 

Also, the very specific nature of these phrases narrows search intent.

Voice AI recognition devices such as Alexa, Siri, and Google Home are built to process Long-Tail SEO phrases such as “Where can I buy the best cakes in Jersey City?”

The best way to further your understanding of Long-Tail SEO and eventually implement it in your digital marketing campaigns is to type a few words that pertain to your business or profession in the Google search bar and take note of what suggestions autocomplete yields. You can then branch out to other search engines like Bing. 

From there, you can form your own strings of keywords that flow naturally and add them to your copy.

Amazon is the most notable example of a brand that has seen major success from using Long-Tail SEO. According to digital marketing maven, Neil Patel, Amazon makes a handsome 57% of its sales from Long-Tail SEO.

Those kinds of results are not fetched, not because Amazon is an e-commerce conglomerate, but because consumers are very specific when shopping for a particular product. They are just as specific when leaving in-depth reviews on said products.

Topic Clusters

Topic Cluster Models are a great way to establish yourself as a leading authority on a particular topic.

Structuring your content as a pillar – also known as a pillar page- not only makes navigating a site easy for visitors, but it also makes it easier for Google to index. 

Topic cluster models usually contain three elements: the aforementioned pillar pages, topic clusters, and internal links.

Let’s further break down pillar pages and their purpose. Pillar pages are essentially long-form content that provides an in-depth look into a specific topic. Pillar pages then branch out into comprehensive subtopics. 

In order to be ranked by Search Engines, it’s vital you write content that not only visitors are interested in but also provides answers to any questions they may have. The best way to determine that is to see if your topic cluster of your choosing has keywords that you plan to use that receive a reasonable monthly search volume.

Once you have written about your subtopics in breadth, they must all be attached by internal links (or hyperlinks) that trace back to your pillar pages.

One site is the epitome of topic clusters while also being the second most visited site in the world with over 31.3 million ranking keywords and a Moz rating of 98 in domain authority. Can you guess what site we’re referring to?

Community-Based Marketing

Consumers want to be treated as people – not a number. Many marketing strategists and companies have caught on to this sentiment and are using the ultimate tool – the World Wide Web.

We’ve seen time and time again inspirational, poignant, and even humorous circumstances on the internet that have brought people together. Why not use the power of community aside from likes, comments, shares, and user-generated content to drive sales and secure customer loyalty?

Community-based marketing is best defined as using a platform to connect and communicate with specific audiences while sharing common core values.

Establishing a marketing strategy that revolves around community is a very delicate process since building relationships with your target audience and gaining their trust takes time and commitment. However, the payoff is well worth it. There are several perks that come with community-based marketing and they include relevancy, brand authenticity, enhanced customer experience, and most importantly, buzz built by word of mouth.

Let’s take a look at Starbucks. Starbucks is pivoting from brick-and-mortar stores and social media platforms to establish ‘The Third Place’ – an online community that centers itself around coffee first and foremost but also introduces areas of creative expression that are commonplace in physical coffee houses, such as art, music, and books.

The concept of ‘The Third Place’ delves deeper. Also known as ‘Starbucks Odyssey’, Starbucks will be one of the first major companies to integrate NFTs (or Non-fungible Tokens) into their online community.

In the digital community, users are invited into an immersive world where they can participate in “journeys”, where they can play games or engage in activities that result in being rewarded with “journey stamps” or NFTs. NFTs can also be bought and sold as well.

The collectible NFTs are assigned a point value, and if enough are accumulated, members can redeem them for awesome perks and rewards, such as virtual espresso martinis-making classes, exclusive merchandise, artist collaborations, tours at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries or its designated coffee farm in Costa Rica!

Starbucks and other like-minded companies under the power community have their brand and image; uniting people over their love of a product or service and shared values and interests.

In Conclusion

Digital marketing has evolved at an exponential rate in recent years with help from the internet. While analytics play a huge part in gauging the success of marketing strategies, you want to center your efforts on not just visibility but also fostering relationships with your demographics since the ROI will be your favor.

The post 6 of the Best Foolproof Digital Marketing Strategies in Recent Years first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

Looking to boost your company’s online presence? You’ve come to the right place.

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing and advertising, being quick-witted and intuitive is imperative for leveraging upcoming trends; the most recent burgeoning on various social media platforms. Even if you aren’t the most marketing-savvy person, here is a list of 5 (trust us, that’s all you need) paid social advertising trends to watch out for and implement in your company’s social media campaigns.

 

Table of Contents

• What exactly is social advertising?
• Why social advertising?
• How is social advertising used effectively?
• Social Media is the new E-Commerce Store
• Short Video Content is King
• Live Streaming is the new QVC
• Micro-influencers are major players
• Marketing is blurring the lines of reality
• To wrap it all up

What exactly is paid social advertising?

Not to be confused with paid search, paid social advertising is a super-effective method of optimizing social media fronts in order to broaden a brand’s reach and connect with consumers. Social media content of this nature is usually tagged with keywords such as “sponsored” or “promoted”. What makes paid social advertisements so enticing is the fact that ads can individually be tailored to suit the preferences of your most relevant audience and it’s generally less expensive than traditional forms of marketing so it’s never a gamble. 

Major players in the social advertising realm include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok,  and Google Apps. Other platforms that are climbing in popularity among companies and marketing agencies alike are WhatsApp, Messenger, Pinterest, Linkedin, and yes – Reddit as well. 

 

Why social advertising?

As Earth’s population continues to expand at an exponential rate, so does the total number of social media users. Our phones, tablets, and computers are our primary sources of, well – pretty much everything nowadays, from entertainment, education, communication, and consumption. The days of being glued to television and radio are becoming obscure. What better way to adapt to our technologically advanced world than to have your product or service seen by the masses or go “viral”?

Digital marketing is an umbrella that contains various elements that make businesses’ presence more palpable. The elements that have been widely used in recent years include Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing, and Content Marketing, just to name a few. 

As part of the umbrella, Paid Social Advertising has seen quite a surge in recent years, as evidenced by recent marketing and advertising statistics. According to Statista, Ad Spending is expected to see a projected growth of $521 billion in 2021 to $876 billion in 2026. That is likely due in part to the impressive return on social media ad investments. 

 

How is paid social advertising used effectively?

A common misconception of digital marketing is that organic posts yield the most fruitful results. However, that could be further from the truth. Social media algorithms constantly shift the goal post, making business-oriented posts a nonce as content from family and friends are prioritized. Paid social advertising allows businesses to circumvent the algorithm, making it possible to get the results they want.

As a business owner or a digital marketing consultant, it is imperative to identify your goals beforehand. Do you want to achieve brand awareness? Drive traffic to your company website? Generate leads and convert them into sales? Solidify one-time customers into loyal patrons? 

Once you have your marketing goals locked down, it’s time to pinpoint your target audience and the social media platforms they engage with the most. For example, a clothing boutique may have more success advertising their business and selling their products on Instagram and Facebook, whereas a company that manufactures 3D Printers may find its target audience on Linkedin.

Once you have produced and distributed content that covers all parts of the marketing funnel, it’s time to measure the success of your social ad strategies through analytics. These analytics cover various metrics and they are known as KPI’s or Key Performance Indicator. The most prominent KPI’s in digital marketing are ROAS (Return On Ad Spend), CPC (Cost Per Click), CPA (Cost Per Action), and CPM (Cost Per Mille or Thousand Impressions).

Paid social marketing sometimes involves trial and error, so don’t be afraid to tweak your formula until you find a strategy that works for your business. 

Now that we have covered the basics of paid social advertising, let’s go over some of the trends bound to take social media and digital marketing by storm.

 

Social Media is the New E-Commerce Store

Social Media is the first or second point of contact for many prospective customers, to which then they are directed to a company’s website. Channeling your marketing strategies solely on the social media front makes it easier for business owners to engage with consumers directly. Consumer research has shown that adults between 18-24 have made up more than half of social commerce purchases in the U.S., with an expected projection of $79 billion in revenue by 2025. Within that same time frame, global social commerce will grow into a $1.2 trillion market. In another study, Sprout Social, a leading social media management and analytics company, collected data from consumers of which 68% have made purchases on social media. The study concluded with 98% of consumers planning to make a purchase through social e-commerce by the end of 2022.

Currently, Facebook is the leader in social commerce with 56 million buyers, followed by Instagram with 32 million buyers, and lastly Pinterest with 13.9 buyers. Other social media platforms also have clout in social commerce as well. Snapchat users have a whopping $4.4 trillion in global spending power, whereas Tik Tok users spent $2.3 billion on the app in 2021. The latter is likely inspired by the hashtag trend #tiktokmademebuyit.

Social commerce is poised to become a leading influence in purchasing decisions since most consumers are more inclined to buy due to product reviews, comments, and recommendations from family and friends. 

 

Short Video Content is King

The origins of online video content had humble beginnings in youtube. As social media platforms progressed in popularity and functionality, video content increased in production and decreased in duration. 

Instagram Stories and eventually Reels gave users the opportunities to not only entertain followers but to also promote their brand to a broad audience. 

The successor to Instagram, Tik Tok, is expected to see an upward tick of 1.8 billion users by the end of 2022. 75% of its audience consists of adults ranging from the ages 18-35, which means there’s a huge demand for enticing and creative content. 

Short videos are effective in digital marketing because it extend the duration in which social media users linger on an influencers for brands page. Short videos are also shared significantly more than content that only contains text and still images. 

On the analytics front, it can enhance SEO performance. According to Hubspot, 87% of marketers have seen a positive ROI from video content.

Live Streaming is the New QVC

Live streaming counts as effective video marketing despite it being longer than Tik Tok clips and Instagram reels. And it’s all for a greater purpose – to give brands face value. Live streaming is an effective way to connect with consumers whole, educating – and even entertaining them. Business owners or ambassadors can address consumer inquiries or concerns in real time. The footage can then be saved and posted on your social media accounts. Engaging regularly with your audience humanizes your brand, making it seem more trustworthy. That sentiment has proven to ring true during the pandemic, as brick-and-mortar shops were shut down and the need for human interaction climbed at an all-time high. Physical stores have since opened up again, but live shopping isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Statista predicts that live shopping will see revenue growth of $35 billion in the U.S. by 2024.

 

Micro-influencers are Major Players

Using social media influencers to vouch for your brand is known as the C2B (consumer to business) model, affiliate marketing or influencer marketing. Affiliate marketing in North America is calculated to see a revenue of $17 billion by 2022. The social media personalities chosen to be brand ambassadors usually include bloggers, celebrities, foodies, and fitness gurus. The bigger the following, the bigger the outreach. However, small business owners and e-commerce stores do not have the budget to pay big names to promote their products and services. All hope is not lost, though. Niche influencers and trend setters are just as effective at spreading brand awareness, not to mention they are more affordable; charging between $30 to $115 per post. Micro-influencers are perfect for paid social advertising since they have smaller audiences – less than 100,000- which converts to higher and more consistent engagement rates.

 

Marketing is Blurring the Lines of Reality (VR & AR)

Snapchat and Pokemon Go introduced AR or Augmented Reality into our daily lives as a form of entertainment. It eventually made its way into marketing with e-commerce giants such as Amazon and IKEA, allowing consumers to “try before they buy”; testing out digital versions of products in physical spaces. The concept has since evolved to include clothing, accessories, and cosmetics as well.

VR or Virtual Reality on the other hand, fully immerses users in a completely digital world, also known as the metaverse. While the concept of the Metaverse isn’t new, Facebook has revolutionized it, and major entities, from Fortnite to Gucci have caught on to its value in social advertising.

The AR and VR market is expected to $94.4 billion by 2023, and this technological advancement boasts a pretty impressive 40% conversion rate. It’s safe to predict that it will become commonplace in e-commerce.

 

To Wrap It All Up

These trends are all very promising and have the data to back it up. They are also likely to be more effective in some combination as opposed to utilizing each strategy individually. 

As a small business owner who wants to up their social advertising game, don’t be discouraged by the lack of funds. The world of digital marketing has evolved to be more inclusive; meaning that everyone can get their hands on a piece of the pie. At Vab Media, we can help you get your share by brainstorming an effective paid social advertising strategy that will produce significant results for your business. Check out our Protech 8 case study.

The post The Great Guide to The Best Social Media Ad Trends first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

"We work with a lot of small and medium businesses and help upgrade their digital marketing and websites so that they can attract more customers"

Vania Benavides
Cofounder of Vab Media Digital Agency

The post Our Agency has Got a New Look- the Story behind our Rebrand first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.

We’re watching entire industries transform right before our eyes: Amazon is hiring 100,000 new workers to keep up with the need for home deliveries. Universal is releasing several movies on demand the same day they’re hitting theaters. Requests for B2B remote work services has skyrocketed. For better or for worse we’re witnessing widespread disruption in real-time.

We’re Built for This (You Can Be, Too) 

Since its inception, Vab Media Digital Agency has functioned as a distributed team with the ability to work from anywhere so long as there’s a solid WiFi. Yes we work from coworking offices in NYC but we have been working from our homes and apartments a few days a week for years now so our business will be able to adapt to this crisis.  With COVID-19 continuing to impact people and countries around the world, teams and schools everywhere are moving to remote work and distance working. This practice has been widely regarded as a good move, showing a level of compassion for the concerns of the working population and assisting the efforts of governments around the world to restrict the unnecessary transmission of disease. However, even in the current digital age and with having flexible work on the agenda during the last decade, the reality is that many organizations are ill-prepared for an entirely remote workforce, while CEOs may find it difficult to adapt their working styles.  Those organizations that are set up to use virtual meeting and presentation software, enabling employees and coworkers to participate and remain engaged while supporting data-driven decisions, will feel the sting far less than those that don’t.  

How do you thrive working from home? Setup a physically separate workspace—ideally a separate office or at least a desk that’s dedicated to work.  Wirecutter has helpful post about working with your family in the home.  Use headphones, use services like Zoom, if you live with significant others try staggered work hours, use Slack or Google hangouts chat (which we use) and have enough chargers for everyone.   Even media companies such as CNBC are now having their regular contributors call in or use video conferencing software tools. 

As millions of people across the United States shift to working and learning from home this week to limit the spread of the coronavirus, they will test internet networks with one of the biggest mass behavior changes that the nation has experienced.  And as people start using work applications like video conferencing that can eat up a lot of data, accompanied by their children using bandwidth-hogging apps and games, some people may want to consider upgrading to an “enterprise grade” network hardware solution that has enterprise-grade managed wireless access points and repeaters in key locations throughout your home to ensure the highest and most reliable speeds.   If you are located in the New York City area, we recommend you check out some home A/V integration companies such as Expert Tech that can help your home speed up the networks bandwidth capacity.

Bidets Are Having a Moment

With panic shoppers hoarding toilet paper, it seems people in the U.S. might finally be ready to embrace the bidet. Welcome to the club – we have clean tushies. Other industries poised to flourish as social distancing policies are implemented: adult toys, video conferencing and streaming services.

Robinhood Needs a Moment

In a prime example of what NOT to do in a crisis, Robinhood – the commission-free investing app – had two massive outages, leaving investors locked out in the midst of a market sell-off. Twitter users speculated the outage may have been caused by flawed code that failed to account for the Leap Year. CNBC reported on it as well. Robinhood refutes this claim and published a blog post stating that their DNS was overwhelmed by traffic. Either way, this is a good reminder for companies to revisit their crisis strategies for both web traffic infrastructure and communications.

A Black Swan Moment

By now you’ve probably read the update from Sequoia Capital calling Coronavirus the “Black Swan” of 2020. This sentence really struck a chord with us:

“With greater economic and fundraising uncertainty, you might even want to consider raising the bar on ROI for marketing spend.”  

We couldn’t agree more. Every marketing dime that is spent needs to be a business driver. This is a time for accountability. If you’re not getting that from your agency, give us a call.  If your business has been shut down or severely hobbled by Coronavirus regulation or closures, We would be glad to offer a bit of local SEO/search/visibility advice on a consultation call. 

We’d love to hear from you!

Let’s talk about what Vab Media Digital Agency can do for your business.

The post COVID-19 Economic Disruption and how to work thru the crisis first appeared on Vab Media Digital Agency.