Blame The Website, Not The Advertiser

It’s no secret that people hate online ads. They cover many of the websites we visit. To deal with the problem, many have turned to ad blocking software. Ad-blocking software will cost advertisers more than $22 billion this year and that number will continue to climb as more begin utilizing such browser add-ons.

It’s obvious that ads are a problem and people really hate them. But we’re blaming the wrong party. It’s not the ads that make for a horrible website experience. It’s those running the websites we should be upset with.

Twitter Turns To HTTPS: What It Means To Marketers

Twitter Turns To HTTPS: What It Means To Marketers

Twitter has quietly announced to developers that starting on October 1st, they will be moving t.co to HTTPS for new links. Switching to HTTPS will allow Twitter to securely send visitors to the destination URL, even if the webpage they’re being directed to isn’t an HTTPS link. While this change is helpful to the security of Twitter users, here’s what marketers need to know about how it may impact them.

Agencies: Are You Sure Your Clients Are Happy?

Agencies: Are You Sure Your Clients Are Happy?

The goal of any agency should be to deliver work and results that make their clients happy (ideally, make them ecstatic). To gauge that happiness, we sometimes survey clients or simply ask. More often, we make assumptions based on the tone of our interactions with them. All of these measurements can inform of how satisfied our clients are with the work they’re getting. Knowing means we can adjust to make sure clients love the things we’re doing. Unfortunately for many, they don’t know until it’s too late.

Here’s Why Social Network Health Is More Important Than Size

For far too long, many marketers have seen social network size as one of their primary KPIs. The reasoning is that the larger the network, the more people you’re reaching with your message. Hopefully that then translates into more page views and more sales from social. While this may sound reasonable, it’s rarely true. Here’s why.

Who Should Own Your Influencer Relationship?

Adding influencers to your marketing campaigns is a wonderful way to increase the draw, authority, and success of your content. And your relationship with the influencers shouldn’t be a once and done event. Those that continue to foster and build those relationships can utilize them over and over again in ongoing campaigns and turn those influencers into true brand advocates.

Managing those relationships isn’t something that just happens. It takes time and effort to nurture, just like every other relationship you have in your life. While agencies offering influencer marketing services generally manage those relationships, here is what you need to know to decide who is best aligned to be in charge.

LinkedIn Launches New Messaging: What You Need To Know

Earlier today, LinkedIn announced a newly updated messaging platform. This change offers new opportunities to connect with your professional contacts like never before. Here’s a look at what’s new and what you need to know to make the most of it.

How To Use Schema For Social Sharing Success

How To Use Schema For Social Sharing Success

Schema is a must if you want the best from those sharing your content socially. Schema is how social sites like Facebook show great previews of the links you post. It lets you specify the headline, preview image, and description that appears. While most social sites will attempt to put together this information without it, using Schema means we can tell the site exactly how that preview should appear for best results.

While many sites have Schema setup to do its thing (the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress will automatically take care of adding the code to your webpages if you haven’t set it up already), are you sure your message is appearing how you want it to?

Get Real With Your Influencer Marketing Influencers

Influencer marketing programs have the ability to take your campaigns to new levels. The added credibility, name recognition, and distribution network that influential folks offer can spread your message far beyond the reaches of the typical ebook, blog post, or other marketing material. We want to shoot for the stars with the players we choose to bring onboard. Big name recognition that brings with it big interest in our message. Just don’t set your sights too big.