In conversations surrounding workplace diversity and inclusion, the practical benefits of a diverse workforce may sometimes get lost in the chatter. When that happens, it’s worth remembering: the 20 most diverse companies in the S&P 500 achieve higher long term profitability than their less diverse counterparts. Companies in the top quartile for diversity in leadership are more likely to outperform on profitability, have superior value creation, and have good financial performance. By 2025, advancing gender equality alone in the workplace could add $12 trillion to the global GDP. Despite these obvious benefits, 48% of businesses either aren’t on track to meet their diversity goals or have no goals at all.
How can companies who are struggling improve their diversity outcomes? The first step is to acknowledge human biases in recruiting. On average, recruiters spend 7 seconds reviewing an individual resume. In that short a time, recruiters often rely on snap judgements that could be colored by similarity bias, contrast effect, and more. While human recruiters may not have the time to review each application in more depth, they should be aware of the subjectivities human screeners bring to the hiring process.
Is software a solution? 90% of enterprises and 68% of small businesses use applicant tracking systems, but recruiting software is not immune from bias either. Using software that relies on keywords in searching resumes may reflect a candidate’s ability to write a keyword-heavy resume, but not their actual qualifications. Synonym searching resolves part of the issue, though not all. A case in point of recruiting software gone wrong is Amazon. In 2018, Amazon scrapped its state-of-the-art recruiting AI after it taught itself to penalize resumes that included the word “female” or mentioned all-female colleges. AIs don’t come programmed with human biases; they learn them by processing data and identifying patterns. If the data one is provided is biased, its results will reflect the biases back. Amazon’s AI was trained on a decade of resumes and hiring decisions. As a result, the AI picked up and exaggerated existing biases in the screening process.
What can be done to improve the situation? 81% of HR professionals admit their current practices are average or worse in the area of diversity. Many are unsure how to train an AI without bias. Some ways to un-bias the data an AI examines include collecting data from varied industries, jobs, and candidates, removing factors like age, gender, and names from initial screening, and considering how well a candidate and company fit from both perspectives. Important steps to take on the human side are setting clear, trackable improvement targets, making diversity training standard and an opportunity to learn from fellow employees, partnering strategically with outside organizations, schools, and colleges, and ensuring management and policies support diversity and inclusion at every level.
Overcoming recruiting bias can help a company thrive. And in the words of Lena Waithe, Emmy award winning writer, producer, and actress, “the only way you really see change is by helping to create it.”
The post How To Embrace Diversity in Hiring Through AI appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
Using Data To Optimize Your Health written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Marketing Podcast with Patrick Samy
In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Patrick Samy. Patrick is the CEO and Co-Founder of Span Health, a platform and coaching program for data-driven health.
Key Takeaway:
Because research and data are more and more easily available today, a lot of people are beginning to question the typical western medical practice. This ease of information has many people trying to control their own destiny when it comes to their health.
Patrick Samy was confronted with conflicting advice and a lack of support from his doctor and dietitian, he quickly realized that most medical professionals often lack crucial time to avoid using dietary guidelines as a one-size-fits-all. This most often results in medical professionals relying more on medication for long-term management. His personal journey drove his passion to find a solution to this very problem that he and many others face. And this is how Health Span was created. Health Span is data-driven health coaching platform that uses your data to help your maximize your health performance. In this episode, Patrick shares his entrepreneurial journey and the story of the inception of Health Span.
Questions I Ask Patrick Samy:
[0:49] What’s been your entrepreneurial journey to this point to co-founding Span Health?
[4:48] Was there a particular aha moment or time in your life or that made you want to tackle this idea around the topic of health or was it just personal interest?
[9:48] Is the idea of controlling your own destiny with your health versus seeking medical help a big part of what you’re trying to tap in?
[12:35] How does somebody work with a health coach at Span Health?
[19:35] What would you advise for people that don’t get up and walk around for a job?
More About Patrick Samy:
Website
Span Health Twitter
Patrick’s Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
More About The Duct Tape Consultant Network:
Check it out here.
Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!
This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Monday.com.
There are a lot of tools out there to help companies get work done. We recently switched over to a tool called Monday, and we love it. Monday is more than just a project management tool. You can use it in many ways to run your entire business, marketing, sales, task management, even recruiting, and certainly project management. Check it out yourself here.
Weekend Favs May 29 written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.
I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one that I took out there on the road.
Stripe– Use Payment Links to sell online without a website and without any code. Create a full payment page in just a few clicks and share the link with your customers.
Prowly -Prowly lets you find media contacts, create targeted media lists, pitch effectively & more. Free 7-day trial. Rated 5/5 on Capterra. Trusted by 5000 experts.
Traverse– Pulling all-nighters studying but going blank at the exam? Traverse improves your recall by 290% with a science-backed approach. You’ll ace your exams by studying smart not hard.
These are my weekend favs, I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me @ducttape
Using Gifts To Cut Through The Noise written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Marketing Podcast with John Ruhlin
In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview John Ruhlin. John is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company. He’s also the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention.
Key Takeaway:
Companies spend billions every year giving crappy stuff to their most valuable people. John Ruhlin set out to change this. If you’re going to give someone something, blow them away — so he created a done-for-you-gifting agency that helps people achieve just that.
People refer business to people who they like, trust, and who are top of mind. There’s an art to gift-giving, and in this episode, John dives into the art and science of using gifts to increase referrals and strengthen client retention.
Questions I Ask John Ruhlin:
[1:05] So you know you’re taking on a whole new category, aren’t you?
[8:16] You’re suggesting that you look at it as a marketing channel and that you would actually put X amount of revenue into gifting per client — do you have a formula for that?
[10:21] When you surprise somebody and blow somebody away, they can’t not talk about it. So what would you say that turns into?
[12:25] What’s your planned giving schedule?
[14:14] Let’s say somebody has a new product or a new book — can you tie a gift to that or does that end up being too close to the transaction?
[17:30] What’s the most impactful meaning or return on investment thing you’ve seen someone do?
[18:38] Regardless of return, what’s the most outrageous thing you’ve seen someone do?
[19:33] What’s been the one that should have worked, but actually turned into kind of an oops?
[20:51] Is there a ~ $500 personalized gift that you’ve seen impress someone?
[23:22] If somebody wanted to work with you or find out a little more about your ideas, where can they find you?
More About John Ruhlin:
His business — The GiftOlogy Group
More About The Certified Marketing Manager Program Powered by Duct Tape Marketing
Check it out here.
Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!
This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.
If you are a consultant or agency or coach, do any of these points ring true: do you have trouble getting in front of enough ideal clients? Are you constantly being forced to compete on price? Are you working too hard and not making enough money?
I’ve got a free book for you. It’s called the 7 steps to scale your practice or agency without adding overhead. If you want to grow your practice, it doesn’t have to be that hard. Download a copy for yourself here.
The Incremental Approach To Innovation written by Sara Nay read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Agency Spark Podcast with With Chris MacLeod
The Agency Spark Podcast, hosted by Sara Nay, is a collection of interviews from thought leaders in the marketing consultancy and agency space. Each episode is designed to spark ideas you can put into practice for your agency today. Check out the new Spark Lab Consulting website here!
In this episode of the Agency Spark Podcast, Sara interviews Chris MacLeod. Chris is a Senior Consultant and coach with ADAPTOVATE, a global management consulting firm, based in Sydney Australia, specializing in Agile at Scale business model transformations. As Design Thinking and human-centred-design evangelist, Chris works with large, publicly traded companies to embed Agile ways of working that support sustainable innovation and customer value delivery. Chris is also a long-time member of the Duct Tape Marketing Consulting Network and acts as the International Leader, helping grow the brand outside North America.
Questions Sara asks Chris MacLeod:
Tell me what led you to your position today at ADAPTOVATE?
What’s your core focus with your work there?
What’s your definition of a coach when you’re going into an organization?
How do you, as a coach, keep people motivated?
How has the shift towards working with larger organizations been?
Can you expand on why you think small business is the perfect space for innovation?
How do you help clients innovate and do you have a strategic process?
How does the concept of thinking smaller actually help us move forward with our innovations?
Can you share some examples of what small incremental innovation looks like?
Learn more about Chris MacLeod:
ADAPTOVATE
LinkedIn
This episode of the Agency Spark Podcast is brought to you by Airborne, a sales engagement platform. Learn more about how to set your team up for success at Airborneapp.io. Sales Engagement Platforms are fundamental to the Modern Tech Stack. Airborne delivers everything you would expect from a Sales Engagement Platform and then some. Get the most out of every interaction and make your team more effective with Airborne.
In happy times, or sad times; good times, or bad times, it’s always a good time for a drink. Finding a reason to drink has never been difficult. We drink for all kinds of things – whatever the occasion, it pairs nicely with our favorite adult beverage.
Humans love to drink, and cocktails have been with us through thick and thin. It’s interesting to note that one of the most popular classic cocktails, the Gin & Tonic, was actually created as a health tonic in the 19th century. It was created and used by Brits who were beginning to travel to India and hotter climates. Another classic cocktail, the Mai Tai, was created in 1944 and originally contained rum with lime, orgeat, orange curacao, and simple syrup. However, in 1954 the Royal Hawaiian Hotel began adding pineapple and orange juice for a sweeter flavor, and this became the Mai Tai we still love today.
In our most current (cocktail) history, the year 2020 brought us a new, unexpected (and truly unappreciated) reason to drink; the COVID pandemic. Even though bars were closed and we couldn’t spend much time with our favorite drinking buddies, alcohol consumption was still up last year by 14%, and 44% of Americans began buying their alcohol online. In fact, online alcohol purchases were up by a whopping 243%.
Along with this extra alcohol consumption, home bartending, and the best excuse for 8am drinking since the Spanish flu of 1918, COVID fueled our creativity and brought us some delicious new cocktails, known as “Quarantinis.” Some of these cocktails include the Kombucha Quarantini, a blend of gin, kombucha, and blackberries; the Kumquarantini of rye whiskey, kumquat syrup, lemon juice, saffron liquor, and egg whites; and the Charmin Quartini with vodka, cointreau, lime juice, simple syrup, and cranberry liqueur.
Another exciting cocktail trend, which increased substantially during the pandemic, is the ready-to-drink cocktail. These cocktails make drinking even better with no mixing, no mess, and no clean up. Ready-to-drink was already on the rise, but in 2020, they grew by 43% worldwide, and we don’t see them going away any time soon. Bars may be opening back up, but ready-to-drink is too convenient to let go. In fact, they’re expected to make up 20% of all alcohol e-commerce by 2024.
If the pandemic had you ready to drink, the ready-to-drink cocktail is here for you!
Press Release Wire Service is an agency that provides the core infrastructure required to distribute press releases to the media. It is also the most effective way to get out news releases to your target audiences. Press Release Distribution Services, though not all is the same; it is vital that you find a company that can provide you with the services and quality that you need. There are many different wire services to choose from including PayPerPost, GetAFreelancer, RentaCoder and more. Each one has its own benefits and drawbacks when it comes to choosing which one is the right choice for your particular situation. Moreover, Gawdo.com is one such top-notch digital media marketing platform that facilitates press release distribution within popular media outlets like New York Times, Associated Press and the rest 200+ websites. The Gawdo.com professionals will help you build up your brand name in the industry and ensure that you focus all of your efforts on a targeted audience that is most likely interested in your services.
The main benefit of using a Newswire press release wire service is the speed at which you will receive your news release. If you choose a company that is faster than others, you are likely to receive your news before others. The Newswire service you use is responsible for breaking stories and obtaining more coverage than competitors in your industry. It also includes the distribution of press releases to key news outlets. The speed of the Newswire distribution also allows you to stay in front of the competition.
Another benefit of using a Newswire distribution service to get press releases is the ability to control the amount you pay. You decide the price you want to pay for each story based on your budget. Prices start at as little as ten dollars per story and go up from there. You can set your prices to meet your budget or you can take advantage of offers that offer discounts on large amounts of content.
A basic plan for getting press releases out to multiple outlets is to submit your press release to as many news organizations as possible. This is the best way to build your business because the more outlets you contact the more opportunities you have to gain exposure. When creating your first press release distribution plan, consider how many publications you want to submit to. Some people start with one and expand later.
Most press release distribution services charge by the page. However, you will not spend as much if you choose to pay by the piece. Also, be aware of the minimum fees that some outlets charge. You may be required to pay an extra fee if you submit more than one press release.
Some Newswire companies charge by the search, while others offer a free press release distribution list. Search for sites that offer both services so you can find the one that fits your needs the best. Some of these distribution services only offer the free list, while others offer the full service.
The cost to utilize the free press release distribution list will vary depending on which outlet you choose to use. Most will allow you to submit one press release per week for free. Others require at least two per releases. The free list is helpful if you have very little space to work with or if you want to avoid additional charges. However, many news outlets that offer this service also charge per release, which can be quite expensive. Be sure to read all of the associated press releases to see what charges apply. Still struggling with how you can distribute press releases and what are the reasonable charges? Then don’t worry and repose your faith in Gawdo.com’s prompt digital marketing services.
When you have your free press release distribution list, you need to decide which sites to submit your releases to. If you can find several sites that offer similar content. This will allow you to compare the types of material that they are offering. You should also find out whether you will need a form to submit your releases or if they will handle everything for you. Most sites that offer distribution also offer forms for submission. This is one of the best ways to save time and money since you do not have to spend time submitting releases manually.
The post Gawdo.com Has a Better Solution to Streamline Your Press Release Service Distribution appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
Using Virtual Assistants To Scale Your Agency written by Sara Nay read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Agency Spark Podcast with With Amy Foley
The Agency Spark Podcast, hosted by Sara Nay, is a collection of interviews from thought leaders in the marketing consultancy and agency space. Each episode is designed to spark ideas you can put into practice for your agency today. Check out the new Spark Lab Consulting website here!
In this episode of the Agency Spark Podcast, Sara interviews Amy Foley. Amy started her entrepreneurial journey in 2011 when she left her corporate job to have more flexibility and time with her family and started a small Virtual Assistant business. The business evolved (with the help of her co-founder, Michael Reynolds) into what is now known as Inbound Back Office, which provides back-office support to marketing agencies. Amy has over 20 years of administrative experience in various industries, including manufacturing, real estate, accounting, marketing, SaaS, and more. She has a BA in Business Administration and a Masters in Information Systems. When she’s not running her business, she enjoys spending time with her family, running, traveling, speaking/coaching/writing about productivity, and optimizing her health.
Questions Sara asks Amy Foley:
Tell me a little about your story before launching your virtual assistant business back in 2011?
What are some of the most common ways you help support marketing agencies?
Do you have a process for how you help clients figure out what they should delegate for a virtual assistant?
What sort of skills should people look for in a virtual assistant?
Do you have any practices around how often you communicate with clients?
Do you have any favorite tools to help manage all the clients and people you work with?
Learn more about Amy Foley:
Inbound Back Office
LinkedIn
Podcast
This episode of the Agency Spark Podcast is brought to you by Airborne, a sales engagement platform. Learn more about how to set your team up for success at Airborneapp.io. Sales Engagement Platforms are fundamental to the Modern Tech Stack. Airborne delivers everything you would expect from a Sales Engagement Platform and then some. Get the most out of every interaction and make your team more effective with Airborne.
An Easier Way To Monetize Your Podcast written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Marketing Podcast with Agnes Kozera
In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Agnes Kozera. Agnes is the Co-Founder of Podcorn (Acquired by Audacy) and the previously Co-Founder of FameBit (Acquired by Google).
Key Takeaway:
Podcasting has been around for years but has only really become a popular medium in the last couple of years. But this medium has lacked the infrastructure for brands and podcasters to be able to collaborate directly.
Podcorn was created to solve that very problem. It’s a marketplace that takes the pain out of finding and sponsoring podcasts while empowering podcasters to monetize their voices and passions in a way that is engaging for listeners. In this episode, Agnes talks about the story of Podcorn and how podcasters and brands can effectively work together to both monetize podcaster content and collaborate on organic brand ads that resonate with listeners, driving business results for advertisers.
Questions I Ask Agnes Kozera:
[1:10] Can you share your journey as it’s not necessarily the conventional Silicon Vally journey?
[2:50] It seems like we’re still in the early days of having more organized platforms for brands and advertisers on podcasts – is that what you’re seeing as well?
[4:29] Why do you think podcasting has become such a popular medium in the last couple of years?
[6:41] There are so many things that you can do while passively listening to a podcast – do you think that for a certain audience that it actually makes it a very unique medium?
[7:46] Is there something about the fact that it is a personality if you will, that is really doing the ad that makes the ad more effective than say a broadcast show?
[8:40] If a podcaster or comes to Podcorn and says “what do you have to offer the podcaster that makes my life better,” what do you say?
[9:56] On the other hand, if I am a brand and I come to Podcorn, what do you have that makes my life easier?
[13:30] Do you have any case studies that come to mind that have come to you and all of a sudden now they’re monetizing their episodes?
[14:19] Is there a certain number of downloads that a podcaster needs to be at in order to join your platform?
[16:23] Do you have some shows on your platform that are doing a hundred, 200,000+ downloads a month, and does this make sense for them as well?
[17:17] What has been the most important channel or tactic for marketing for podcasts?
[18:48] What are the trends coming for audio, and what do you think will stick?
More About Agnes Kozera:
Her business — Podcorn
Twitter
LinkedIn
More About The Certified Marketing Manager Program Powered by Duct Tape Marketing
Check it out here.
Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!
This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.
If you are a consultant or agency or coach, do any of these points ring true: do you have trouble getting in front of enough ideal clients? Are you constantly being forced to compete on price? Are you working too hard and not making enough money?
I’ve got a free book for you. It’s called the 7 steps to scale your practice or agency without adding overhead. If you want to grow your practice, it doesn’t have to be that hard. Download a copy for yourself here.
Weekend Favs May 22 written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.
I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one that I took out there on the road.
ContextCue– ContextCue is a privacy-focused advertising network that allows advertisers and publishers to grow their business, without tracking, collecting, or storing user data.
Projector -Whether you’re building your brand solo or with a team, use Projector to craft well-designed stories that will elevate your presence and captivate any audience.
btw– Get inspired by these brilliant landing page design examples. Including screens from behind signup/paywalls! Updated daily!
These are my weekend favs, I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me @ducttape
Shalom Lamm, the New York Real Estate Investor, believes as dozens of other older CEO’s believe, that employees should go back to work rather than work from home. The logic of course is that working in the office, and rubbing shoulders with others in the office fosters more of a productive, cohesive spirit and camaraderie. But, unfortunately for Lamm and many others, conservative CEOs, the cat may be well out of the bag so to speak for the work at the home trend.
First, it should be made clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Only around 37.5 percent of the U.S. has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and around half the U.S. has been partially vaccinated. Dr. Andrew Faucci, the chief medical officer to the president, suggests it may take a minimum of 70 to 85 percent of the U.S. to be fully vaccinated for things to return to normal. And even at 70 percent, it may take until January of 2022 for the U.S. to reach those figures.
Meanwhile, even in jobs such as food service which can definitely not be done at home, companies are finding it extremely difficult to fill positions. Conservative republicans blame the difficulty of finding workers on Federal supplemental unemployment benefits which they say are too generous and encourage workers to sit at home and do nothing.
As a result of this factor, to date some 21 states have opted to end their participation in the Federal government’s additional benefits of $600 early, scheduled to last until labor day. Yet, while the Federal supplemental benefits may be ending soon, that doesn’t mean that millions will just return to go back to work as normal.
People say that one of the effects of the COVID pandemic, particularly from women with children, is they are re-evaluating the pluses and minuses of working so hard and putting their children into daycare. And it isn’t just women either. Men are evaluating their overall quality of life for a paycheck.
As a result, most companies are now being forced to add up to $2 or more per hour to attract workers to come back. Alright, but what has this to do with office workers? Well, it turns out, working at home has changed the overall working environment.
For example, according to Global Workforce Dynamics, while currently only a small fraction of the population actually works online, that by the end of 2021 when the pandemic will supposedly end, that 25 to 30 percent of all workers who could work online will do so on multiple days of the week.
Indeed, from the employer’s point of view, Global Workforce Dynamics estimates a company can save around $11,000 per year for every employee who works even half time.
Meanwhile, USA Today reports that a survey of over a thousand professionals revealed that nearly 30 percent would quit rather than be forced to return to working back at the office.
Shalom Lamm knows that while there are many good reasons for and against work at home, the cat is likely out of the bag even if some research indicates workers are more productive in the office.
The post Should Employees Continue to Work from Home After the Pandemic? appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
These days we are all now familiar with popular talent scouting shows and competitions like “The Voice,” “The Masked Singer” and “American Idol.” They have dominated the media landscape for years and have helped discover incredible talent and given them a platform to share their talents with the world. Social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and others have also in recent years played a huge role in discovering new talent. Some of the world’s top artists like Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Calvin Harris, Shawn Mendes, Halsey and many others were all discovered jamming out on their social media platforms of choice. Now one social media company, Lomotif, plans to merge the ever-popular talent search competition with the social media content creators around the world.
Lomotif is a hot new video sharing social media platform that’s introducing a new fan-based format for talent discovery called “You’ve Been Scouted.” Users on the platform are going to be able to compete in a global competition to become the platform’s top music performer. The reward for this honor? A $250,000 record label deal and album produced by Grammy Award®-winning, multi-platinum mega producer Teddy Riley. If you’re not familiar with Teddy Riley he’s a multi-platinum Grammy award winning producer with well over 1,000 producing credits to his name and has worked with some of the world’s top talent, including Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Hi-Five, and Al B. Sure, Guy, the Winans, and Joe who had the early 2001 R&B/pop hit “Stutter”. “Lomotif has one of the hottest communities of grassroots performers and artists around the world which makes this first-ever competition so exciting,” said Teddy Riley. “Together we will help create the world’s next global recording star.”
So how does it all work? The competition has no formal entry process as musicians and performers on the Lomotif platform will be able to simply make and share content and each post will automatically qualify as a performance for the competition. Users around the world can then vote for their favorite users and nominate them to be a top contestant on the platform to win the ultimate prize. In addition, content that already exists on Lomotif qualifies as well so all creators past and present will have their most talented performances recognized by the community and have a chance to win.
Paul Yang, the CEO of Lomotif, says “’You’ve Been Scouted’ is one of the most innovative talent competitions of its kind, which provides our users with a real opportunity to be the next global superstar. With over 300 million videos watched per month, we are exploding into the U.S. marketplace at the right time as we launch our most ambitious effort yet which will expand our user base domestically while driving engagement with an exclusive talent competition which will rival American Idol and The Voice.”
Lomotif has already been rapidly carving out a name for itself in the music space. This year they also partnered with LiveXLive to live stream the hit global music festival “Music Lives,” with top acts from Andra Day, Zac Brown Band, Trace Adkins, 24kGoldn, Justine Skye, Lennon Stella, Jake Owen, G Herbo and Jimmie Allen, John Mayer, Wiz Khalifa, Pitbull, Lil TJay, Nelly, Davido, PRETTYMUCH, and YBN Nahmir, and drew an audience of 37+ million this past year. Included in the lineup was also the winner from LiveXLive’s newest original competition show, Self Made.
According to Ted Farnsworth, the co-founder and creator for “You’ve Been Scouted,” this competition is just the beginning. The winner, as voted purely by fans, will not only receiving a record deal, but also will be featured on an upcoming soundtrack to a Zash produced major film. They also plan to replicate the competition for dancing, acting and other talent-based competitions. In the future.
For the opportunity to be scouted, land a coveted record label deal, and have their work produced by Teddy Riley, music artists can download the Lomotif app on the Apple Store or Google Play for Android. “You’ve Been Scouted,” will officially kick off on June 25 and last until July 30th and crown a winner exclusively chosen by Lomotif’s user-base. Everyone on the platform will be able to vote for their favorite contestant once a day for the duration of the competition.
The post Lomotif launches a new social media global talent search “You’ve Been Scouted” with Grammy award-winning producer Teddy Riley appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
from Connect Social Networks http://connectsocialnetworks.com/lomotif-launches-a-new-social-media-global-talent-search-youve-been-scouted-with-grammy-award-winning-producer-teddy-riley/
When it comes to bringing in site traffic, paid social media is an easy choice. For increasing brand awareness, maximising your engagement with customers and promoting your business with sponsored posts or listings, it’s a no-brainer.
But the problem of bots on social media is well known, and when it comes to your social media strategy, these bots could be having a serious detrimental impact.
So how do bots affect your social media efforts? And does this mean that you need to cancel your social media strategy as soon as possible?
Before you panic and pull the plug on your paid social, let’s look at the bigger picture.
How do social media bots work?
There are many different types of bots that perform a wide variety of tasks on social media. One of the most common is performing automated likes, follows or comments on posts.
Once a bot is set up with a social media profile, it can then perform these clicking actions 24/7 as required.
This kind of bot can be easily created by anyone with a fairly basic level of programming knowledge. You can even hire a developer online to create a botnet, or better still you can also hire a ready to go botnet from around $100.
When it comes to social media bots, most developers will use a huge network of fake profile bots and hire them out online.
So, how do these social media bots impact your marketing strategy?
1. Traffic on your ads
Perhaps the most obvious impact on your paid social marketing strategy is the issue of fake clicks or impressions. When you’re paying per click, you’re obviously hoping that views and clicks are genuine humans.
So for a bot to click or view your ads is essentially wasted money as this engagement has zero chance of a conversion.
These fake views occur either on the main social media platforms, or on the ad network. These may for example allow ad placements on apps and partner sites.
When you factor in these fake impressions, it has been found that around half of all engagement on paid social posts comes from non-genuine sources.
2. Not-so influential influencers
Influencer marketing is hot, and is a trend that many businesses leverage to reach a young and savvy audience. However, as we’ve seen, it’s so easy to buy likes and followers that the very validity of many influencers has been called into question.
A study by CHEQ into the economics of fake influencers found that the loss to fraud per post ranges from 20 cents for a low level influencer, all the way to over $37,000 for one of the A-listers, based on the cost for sponsorship.
The exact amounts of bots on social media varies from platform to platform. Typically, among the wall gardens (highly-used digital advertising platforms which keeps their technology, information, and user data to itself) disclose that 5% of it’s accounts are fake profiles.
Other social media platforms are all also heavily populated with bots, skewing the performance metrics of both influencers and paid social posts.
3. Retargeting fake users?
Marketers have jumped onto the trend for retargeting site visitors and those who have previously interacted with ads. After all, if they’ve already shown interest it should be easy to get them to convert, right?
But the problems with targeting bots also applies with retargeting. What if your campaign is sending retargeted ads to bots? And when you consider that around 5% of all clicks on paid ads are from bots, you could be paying out twice to these non-human engagements.
4. Cart abandonment and form filling
One in every 50 visits to a shopping cart is from a bot. Shockingly, data shows that 16% of paid social clicks on Black Friday 2020 and 28% on Cyber Monday were from bots.
If these bots click through from your social media ads, you’re facing a triple pronged problem.
First, the problem of paying for the click or impression from the ad, next from the lost revenue with that customer (or bot in this case) abandoning their purchase, and thirdly, the above mentioned retargeting problem.
The same methods used by bots to fill shopping carts can also be used to fill forms, which can be used to download information or even to apply for services such as loans. These form filling bots then waste money and time. An example of this is a personal finance company who have found that bots apply for loans on their site, only for these loans to need reversals or cancellations.
5. Skewed metrics and decision making
So your paid social campaign has had some great results? Lots of views and likes means success, right?
With many businesses looking at the headline metrics of click volumes or views, it’s easy to miss the fact that a big percentage comes from fraud. By missing the fraud factor, and only looking at the results, these campaigns might look like a success.
But what if your last successful campaign saw 20-30% of its traffic come from bots? Would you be happy to invest again in the same platform?
Bot traffic inflates the engagement, reduces the amount of genuine exposure that posts receive and even ad platforms look like they’re performing better than they are.
Understanding and blocking bots
The problem of bot traffic online is the elephant in the room for many marketers. In many instances bot traffic might seem obvious, with spam comments on your posts, or high click volume accompanied by a high bounce rate.
Abandoning your social media strategy is probably not the best option for most businesses. After all, even with those skewed metrics, the ROAS can still be solid.
The fraud prevention software industry is a growing market, with options such as CHEQ for PPC, which eliminates bots on both search and social media.This is designed to provide Customer Acquisition Security, provided to revenue ops leaders, eliminating the fast-growing problem of fake users and bots from customers’ funnels, campaigns, analytics and CRM. Including the problems on paid social.
Whatever your strategy for paid social media, make sure to look into blocking those bots.
The post 5 Ways Bots Could Be Disrupting Your Social Media Strategy appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
The early days of social networks were dominated by text: Facebook posts, status updates, and 140-character tweets. Pictures were not far behind, and videos became a crucial part of the language of social media soon after. Only in the last year or so, though, has audio started to make a serious impact on the landscape of social networking platforms — and what an impact it is.
The audio-based social app Clubhouse has gone from 600,000 weekly active users to over 10 million in just 6 months according to data compiled by SEO firm Backlinko. It’s not just new platforms either: Twitter recently announced that they would enter into the audio space through their new Spaces feature. The implication for businesses is clear: there’s a whole new way to reach potential customers, and the time to take advantage of it is now.
Navigating an entirely new medium as a company can be intimidating, but don’t worry: almost all businesses are in the same state of uncertainty as yours. Here are 4 tips that can help you stand out from the crowd:
1. Maximize audio quality.
It sounds simple, but it’s crucial all the same: if you’re hoping to connect with people via audio, you need to be sure that audio is as high quality as possible. Cheap microphones, slapdash recording studios, and unnecessary background noise can all make audio much more difficult to listen to, thus lessening the impact that your audio presence may end up having.
The fix here may seem obvious — just buy top-level equipment and create a dedicated studio that blocks out unwanted noise — but these solutions may not be financially viable for all businesses just getting started in the world of audio engagement. Expensive equipment is great for those who can squeeze it into their budget, but it’s not the only way to increase audio quality.
Significant amounts of background noise can be scrubbed using the right API commands as explained in this helpful guide from the sound quality experts at Dolby.io, and hanging a few blankets on the walls of a small space can be the foundation of an amateur but functional recording studio. It may not sound like much, but taking steps like these can go a long way in setting your company’s audio apart from that of its competitors.
2. Engage in the right spaces.
Just sending your audio files out into the void or hopping into random conversations on Clubhouse probably won’t get you very far. Just as important as the audio content itself is where you choose to deploy it. Knowing which Twitter Space to join or Clubhouse room to find yourself in is next to impossible for those just getting started, but doing so is crucial for maximizing your over social media presence.
As Hubspot notes in their step-by-step guide to getting started on Clubhouse, the first time you open the app after getting invited, you’ll be asked both to choose topics of interest and access your contacts to see what topics they’re engaging in. Do not neglect this: choosing topics related to your business’s operations is crucial for finding the right spaces to engage customers in, and any of your contacts already on the app may be a part of some spaces you’ll want to be aware of.
Once you’ve got your bearings and have some solid connections in the audio world, consider setting up your own Clubhouse club or starting a Twitter Space dedicated to a topic adjacent to your business. Not only will you already have people in your network ready to join, but you’ll be able to start pulling in the users most likely to be compelled by what you have to offer.
3. Get your leadership involved.
Of course, Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces are still exclusive services, the former reserved for those who get invitations and the latter for certain accounts designated by the company. This means that your social media team might not have immediate access to these platforms — your leadership likely has the best chance of breaking in.
It’s no surprise that Read This Twice’s list of Clubhouse’s most influential members includes names like Marc Andreesen, Ben Horowitz, Katie Stanton, and Virgil Abloh: people are more than willing to listen to what the business world’s most visionary leaders have to say. Even if your business’s C-suite does have quite that level of star power (or if your business doesn’t have a C-suite at all!), you can still leverage your collective expertise into a more meaningful presence in these spaces. Capitalize on the specialties and thought leadership of your company’s top faces — engagement will follow soon after.
4. Team up with other businesses.
When it comes to marketing and getting your business’s name out there, collaborating with your competitors may well be the last thing on your mind. All the same, it’s not easy to get off the ground on audio-based social apps. The more people you can reach with your digital presence, the better.
Think of each Clubhouse room or Twitter Space as a miniature conference on a certain topic: you’re more likely to attend conferences with substantial lineups and exciting perspectives, right? The same principle applies here. Reach out to other businesses in your space and see if they’d be willing to participate in a talk on the areas of your shared expertise. For any potential customers interested in those topics, the sight of multiple big names in one place will likely be too good to pass up. Think of these as jumping-off points for your activity on these platforms: develop an audience by teaming up with others before using the strength of that audience to start creating a presence all your own.
Audio social apps are new frontier for businesses and consumers alike. You may feel an urgency to hit the ground running with them, but be sure to make your first steps carefully. As these tips show, they can have a lasting impact on your ability to connect with others through audio.
The post How to Improve Your Company Presence on Audio Social Apps appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
Weekend Favs May 15 written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.
I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one that I took out there on the road.
Awesomic.io– Get matched with the best-fit designer on a fixed budget with no stress. Place a design task and see the first results on the next business day. Start today!
Kit -Kit is a community for recommending and finding the best products for new activities and experiences
Paco-Be more calm and productive on Slack, Paco sniffs out important asks hidden in Slack conversations and reminds you about them at an appropriate time.
These are my weekend favs, I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me @ducttape
No business in today’s world cannot survive without SEO. It can help businesses to experience greater visibility and searchability. Apart from these obvious benefits, SEO can deliver numerous other benefits to a business and help to take the brand to greater heights. While keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the biggest reasons available for business owners to focus on SEO.
SEO can boost your website traffic
Lilo Perth told us that Organic traffic will contribute a lot to the overall performance of your website. SEO will be the most effective method available for you to increase the organic traffic of your website. People who use search engines will usually click on the links that they can see on the first page of results and move forward. Hence, it is important for you to get your website ranked among these initial positions for the keywords that your prospects are using the most. If you can do it, you will be able to experience a boost in website traffic.
Imagine how much money you will have to spend out of your pocket to increase rankings. You will be able to get the same benefit without spending any money at all with the help of SEO. This is why you should focus on running comprehensive SEO campaigns. The amount you spend on SEO will be a good investment as it will be able to help you with securing free traffic.
SEO can build trust
People usually tend to trust the first few search results recommended to them by the search engines. This is another reason available for you to take a look at SEO. Along with SEO, you can easily develop a strong foundation. Along with the trust you create, you can easily secure more conversions.
When you are about to purchase something, you will go ahead and look for it on the internet. This is where you will usually prefer to purchase what you want from the very first search results that you can see. That’s because you will trust what you can get along with the links that you can see under the first few links. That’s because you have trust in the first few links that you see. You believe in the fact that you can trust those links and you will never run into any challenges by doing businesses with them. This is what you can experience with SEO. When you secure a perfect ranking on search engines, people will eventually trust you. Hence, you will be able to easily boost conversions. You can overcome most of the challenges that you have to face when you are converting the visitors who come to your website.
You can deliver a better user experience
When you are trying to secure the best rankings on search engines, you will need to keep on delivering a perfect experience to the visitors. Hence, you will eventually end up delivering the best user experience to all the visitors who come to your website. If you fail to deliver the best user experience, your bounce rates will increase, which can drop your rankings. This can also be taken as one of the most important facts that highlight how SEO will be able to benefit you in the long run as an excellent investment.
SEO can help you to increase engagement and conversions
SEO will not just help you with increasing the traffic to your website. It can also help you to increase engagement and conversions. People will find it an easy task to get all information related to the products or services you offer from your business. Along with that, you can expect people to go ahead and complete their sales. This will help you with increasing the total number of revenue generating customers you have under the business. Along with that, you can also increase your profits.
SEO can create an impact on the buying cycle
People who search for keywords related to your business are usually interested in purchasing the products and services that you offer. If you can do SEO in the right way, you can create a positive impact on the buying cycle. You can make your products and services prominent for the people who are keen to get them and increase the total number of customers you attract.
SEO is an affordable investment that delivers amazing returns
One of the best things about SEO is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on it. When you compare the cost of SEO with other online and offline marketing campaigns, you will notice how it is helping you to save lots of money down the line. The amount you spend on SEO can also provide worthy returns to you. The organic rankings you secure with SEO will keep on sending traffic to your business and generate more sales. You don’t have to pay for this traffic. Hence, it is one of the best investments you can do.
Get the help of a SEO expert
To experience all these benefits, make sure you start working with an SEO expert. It is true that SEO is something that you can work on your own. However, you will not be able to get the maximum out of it by venturing into SEO campaigns on your own. That’s why it is important for you to get the assistance of a SEO expert. For example, trends in SEO are changing fast along with time. You need to make sure that you work along with the latest SEO trends to get the maximum results. This is where you should be working along with a SEO specialist in London such as Lilo Web Design. Then you can unlock the maximum benefits that your SEO campaigns can deliver to you.
The post Why SEO is worth the investment: Advice from Lilo Web Design London appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
Troll’s, fake news, misinformation. Nowadays it is almost impossible to go an entire day without hearing or seeing those words. While those terms are commonly cited as originating from the users of social media, the real culprit are the algorithms inside the platforms. As new social media apps continue to pop-up every day, the problem has only gotten bigger and began to manifest itself in more dangerous ways. The internal architecture of social media has turned platforms such as Facebook and Instagram into a threat to truth and democracy on a global level. In short, we are in the midst of a social media crisis.
Tru Social, a new type of social media experience, is a collaboratively curated publishing space that provides a solution to the current social dilemma. Co-Founder and CEO of Tru Social, Jim Fournier created Tru.net because he saw a need for accountability on the internet that algorithms were not capable of providing. Tru is designed to help elevate truth. It offers a safe, clean, curated feed, with no ads, noise or surveillance.
“Tru was born out of an aspiration that began 20-years ago at the Planetwork conference in San Francisco. Our focus was global ecology and information technology, but the tech community realized we needed a global social network, before that was a thing,” said Fournier.
Tru is perhaps the only scalable alternative to traditional social media that doesn’t use an algorithm; instead, it creates a new model where real social groups publish and subscribe to other groups, a system where humans can hold other humans accountable. Real people control content flow, not algorithms. The key element is the TruLine, a digitally signed chain-of-custody that shows where content originates, who posts it, and who republishes it. This makes it possible to separate credible sources from disreputable actors and confused individuals promoting misinformation, propaganda and lies.
“Tru is built from the ground up to help people ‘think together’ in new ways and we feel it will help us do just that,” Fournier adds.
Five core values distinguish Tru from other platforms: Identity, privacy, reputation, provenance, and validation. In addition to providing a reliable and honest forum for publishing and communication, Tru protects people’s data. Tru is the place where people can go to network and communicate online without sacrificing their privacy. Tru offers a beautiful, safe, and civil alternative where your information is not being sold to advertising companies and a platform where you are in control of your feed and personal data. From the design of the technology to the system that supports individuals in holding each other accountable, Tru is leading the way to bring truth and trust back to the internet. Although the platform is currently in private beta testing (you can request to join here), it aims to bring on people who operate in science, journalism, and human rights, and climate activism to create a new way to connect and “think together” online.
The post Meet Tru Social: A Solution to Our Current Social Media Dilemma appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
A Complete Strategy To Help Entrepreneurs Holistically Thrive written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Marketing Podcast with Kathryn and Michael K. Redman
In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Kathryn and Michael K. Redman. They’re the co-founders of Half a Bubble Out, a marketing and business consulting firm. They’re also the co-authors of a book called: Fulfilled: The Passion & Provision Strategy for Building a Business with Profit, Purpose & Legacy.
Key Takeaway:
Running a business isn’t easy — and getting your business to a stable, successful place that makes money and allows you to sleep well at night may feel out of reach.
After years of research and honing their strategies, Kathryn and Michael Redman have developed a holistic framework and roadmap to help entrepreneurs make smart, strategic decisions and holistically thrive. In this episode, we unpack what it takes for business owners to overcome the challenges they along their journey. Through their own struggles and stumbles, Kathryn and Michael share how you can become financially successful, experience meaningful work, and lead a business you can be proud of.
Questions I Ask Kathryn and Michael K. Redman:
[0:52] I know many people would say that they could never work with their spouse, so how do you do it?
[3:00] Are healthy disagreements something that you’ve intentionally worked on?
[6:27] What does Half a Bubble Out mean?
[9:08] Can you lay out what the framework of your business looks like?
[14:54] Would you say your vision for the business came after the stumble?
[19:43] How do you get business owners to realize that understanding and being in the know of the financials is a key component of running the business?
More About Kathryn and Michael K. Redman:
Website
Their book — Fulfilled: The Passion & Provision Strategy for Building a Business with Profit, Purpose & Legacy.
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram
More About The Duct Tape Consultant Network:
Check it out here.
Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!
This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Monday.com.
There are a lot of tools out there to help companies get work done. We recently switched over to a tool called Monday, and we love it. Monday is more than just a project management tool. You can use it in many ways to run your entire business, marketing, sales, task management, even recruiting, and certainly project management. Check it out yourself here.
A creative vision and strategic know-how are what helps to set your business apart from the competition when you are trying to promote it. Marketing agencies are the go-to places for such a service and can help you with everything from rebranding your logo to social media campaigns.
If you’re new to working with a marketing agency, you might not be aware of how to get the most out of the partnership. Here are our top tips to ensure success.
Ask Some Honest Questions
You might just want a few social media images knocking up, but what if the reality is your website has been poorly designed? Nobody likes to hear criticism about their business, but if you’re going to hear it from anyone, the creative masterminds who work at a marketing agency are the best people to tell you. Not to mention help put things right!
So during your consultation, be honest about where you are at with your marketing. Tell them what’s not working, and ask their opinion about how things could be improved. They won’t hold you under any obligation to go through with their suggestions, but at least if you know this gives you some options. It could even be as simple as improving your SEO or even integrating some email marketing into your strategy.
Get To Know The Team
Just like your customers research your business online before they shop with you, be sure to do the same with your marketing agency too. Find out a full list of the services they provide, as this may prevent you from having to go elsewhere for other tasks you need to complete. Given they will already know your business inside and out, it could save you a lot of time and hassle.
Even if the service isn’t listed, it may be something they can still provide for you. Some marketing agencies will also outsource professionals for projects so that they never let their clients down. An example would be a videographer for a video marketing campaign you wish to launch. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know!
Keep An Open Mind
We’re not all natural-born creatives, and so the solutions a marketing agency comes up with might seem different from what you were expecting. It’s always worth voicing your thoughts, but remember they are the experts. They are highly educated in their field and have had years of experience in delivering campaigns for their clients, so sometimes it pays to trust their vision.
That doesn’t mean to say they won’t make changes to accommodate your preferences either, but there’s also a danger in micromanaging the process. If you go back to why you hired them, it’s because you were looking for a creative vision to promote your brand. It’s impossible to get the most out of your marketing team if their ideas are being stunted, so try where possible to be flexible and work with them rather than against them.
To Sum Up
When it comes to working with a marketing agency, you both share the same goal which is to successfully promote your business. To ensure a harmonious relationship, it’s worth getting to know the team on a personal level. Explore the full range of services they provide and engage with them regularly. By also giving them free rein to do their job, they’ll be able to maximize the potential of the brief and deliver something out of this world.
The post How To Get the Most Out of a Marketing Agency appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
Even a simple concept like
“write what you know” may not help when you have already written dozens of
articles for your blog and are faced with the issue of finding new ideas for
articles. We have collected 11 easy and free ways to find ideas for blogs on various
topics and covered how to choose the best ideas from among them.
How to find
an idea for a blog article
If you can’t come up with an
idea yourself, then the following sources will help you come up with a topic
for your next articles:
Google SERP
Google Trends
News Feeds
Competitor Monitoring
Ahrefs Content Explorer
Social Networks and Forums
Websites in Foreign Languages
Idea Generators
Let’s explore each method in
more detail.
Google SERP
Searching for topics on Google
is one of the simplest and most effective options. At the stage of creating a
blog post, you have already devised keywords and phrases that characterize your
topic, which means you can type them into the Google search bar and study the
recommendations from the search engine.
For example, you can type the query “vacation in Mexico” into Google and the system algorithms will immediately offer a dozen results:
Among these search results, you
will see various blocks, such as ads, featured snippets, articles, etc. Study
them to understand how and what others have written.
You can use the “People also ask block” as a source for ideas or you can research what other queries are suggested for your request:
In addition, we recommend that you scroll down on the page to the “Related search block”:
In this block, you can get even
more ideas if you type a suggested related search and repeat the analysis of
those search queries.
Google Trends
Google
Trends is a free service from Google that allows you to follow
trends. If you want to find relevant topics for your blog, Google Trends is the
perfect tool to find the hottest and most discussed topics.
When you go to the main page of Google Trends, it is very easy to get confused, since trending topics are scattered chaotically, but you can type your request and view suitable trends:
At the bottom of the page, you’ll see “Related Topics” and “Related Queries”. These will give you an idea of what people are looking for in your topic right now:
As with the Google SERP, you
can use Google Trends to find topics for any blogs. The service is not tailored
for a specific niche, but, of course, has a bias towards trending events.
In addition to searching for a topic in Google Trends, you can find out whether your topic is interesting to a potential current audience by looking at the charts:
Pay attention to the large
number of settings that allow you to customize your analysis. For example, if
your website is not for a US audience, you can select a different geographic
range and view detailed statistics for that range.
News Feeds
This method is not suitable for
all blogs, since information in news feeds is always somehow related to current
events. If you write exclusively on evergreen topics, this method will not be
very helpful. Nevertheless, in news feeds, you can find a lot of ideas and learn
about changes in the requirements for entering a certain country as well as how
to update your previous publications or prepare new ones.
You can monitor both specific news websites and track news in the news feed. For example, in Google, there is a separate search for news:
In the “Settings” and “Tools” section, you can more precisely specify your request and get more suitable content ideas for your blog:
Competitor
Monitoring
It is possible and even
necessary to spy on your competitors’ topics and explore those topics more
fully and expertly on your blog. This can be done by hand or using software.
Collect a list of your main
competitors (everyone has them) and regularly observe what they write about.
You can track this information manually or set the RSS readers or other
software to provide you with fresh updates.
If you have a young site with a
small number of articles, you can check not only your competitors’ new
articles, but also their old ones, since there may be a lot of useful ideas
among them as well.
If you take ideas from your
competitors, be sure that your content is better than theirs. Otherwise, why
create it? Your content must be better for both your readers and for the search
engines. For example, your material may answer a question more fully and
concisely or may contain more relevant information, and so on.
Ahrefs
Content Explorer
Ahrefs Content Explorer is an
awesome search tool that allows you to find the most popular content, which you
can use to discover new ideas as well. To find blog content ideas, you need to:
Type the query in the
search bar for the query you want to rank for.
Select a search area.
In the “Publish
Date” section, select the publication period of the analyzed content.
Select a language and word
count, then start your search
You
can sort the results by different parameters or export them for your
convenience.
The results obtained need to be
analyzed further, since there will be many ideas among them, which are
sometimes repeated or even similar to those of your website.
Social
Networks and Forums
Social networks and forums are
great places to find out what’s interesting to people. You can search Facebook
for a topic you want to learn more about or you can join large communities and
monitor them regularly.
In many groups, you will be
able to simultaneously determine what is interesting to people (based on their
questions) and discover what’s new in your niche, as moderators often share
important news and articles from other sites.
Forums are likewise a great
source of data. It’s worth starting with the Reddit community or Quora. While
not forums, these are platforms on which millions of people communicate every
day. You will discover people’s actual needs, which you can later satisfy on
your site by writing quality content.
Websites in
Foreign Languages
Most major topics are in demand
in different languages, although there are some differences between countries.
Therefore, you can look at ideas for articles on foreign websites.
The easiest way is to type a topic into a Google search in another language that you know and check what foreign websites are writing about. If you do not know other languages, then you can still easily check foreign websites with the help of Google Translate, which allows you to translate entire pages:
Please note that there are
specificities within each country. Therefore, you will have to at least adapt
your content to the needs of your audience. For example, if you have a website
about cars, some topics from other countries may not be suitable, as the car
model range may be different.
Blog Post
Idea Generators
This method is relevant, but it
is not in last place without reason. You can find many theme generators on the
net. Here are just a few of them:
The post idea generators do
work, but the efficiency is not very high. Among the proposed topics, there are
a lot of options that are not even worth writing about. However, generators can
be used as a source of inspiration.
Bonus: 3
Non-obvious methods for finding content ideas
The previous eight ideas are
used by many webmasters, but there are also less obvious sources for
inspiration:
Courses – A
lot can be learned from other people’s courses, including ideas for blog posts.
If you can’t find a topic for an article, try to find tutorials/courses on your
topic and go through them. In the process, you will come across questions that
you can later write about in your blog.
Surveys,
Research, and Statistics – There are many statistics available on the
Internet (for example, on Statista.com). You can find different studies related
to your blog and check them. Studying such polls, statistics, and research will
help you better understand your topic and find good ideas for future blog
posts.
Ads – If you
have an ad blocker installed, temporarily disable it. Advertising is an
excellent source of ideas for topics. Moreover, it is certainly a great way to
find commercial topics, since advertisers usually advertise what is in demand,
which means that, in the future, you will be able to monetize such articles.
Whichever way you choose to
find ideas for blog content, it is important to select the best topics that
make sense to write about.
How to choose
the best idea for an article
You can come up with a great
idea that will not generate traffic and income in the future. Therefore, before
writing an article, you need to study your idea in the following parameters:
How much traffic can this article generate?
What is the competition in the niche?
Do I have enough expertise to prepare quality material?
How can I monetize this page in future?
You will be surprised when you
find a topic that is interesting to you that may not be of interest to your
audience at all.
All you have to do is use Google Keywords Planner or its alternatives and check how many people are searching for your topic each month:
If the total traffic is less
than 100 people per month, you should skip this topic or write an article as
short as possible to avoid wasting a lot of time on a post with low traffic
potential. Another way is to combine several unpopular, but related topics and
create one article that includes them all.
However, the more traffic there is on a topic, the more competition there usually is. After all, everyone wants to get visitors, which they can then convert into income. Therefore, you need to analyze your competition. To do this, you can use tools like Ahrefs, Serpstat, and their alternatives. You can simply check the query in Google by typing the main queries for your article and see which pages appear in the SERP:
If there are many homepages or
the official sites of companies and highly trusted services, such as
TripAdvisor, in the search results, then consider whether your site and page
have a chance to compete for the first page. Maybe it’s better to choose a less
competitive topic. However, you can still opt to fight for higher traffic if
you make your page no worse than the one that is already at the top of the search
results.
To compete in topics with
high-potential traffic, your articles must be the best answer to a reader’s
question. Thus, it is ideal if you personally understand the topic or have an
author who can prepare high-quality material. If there is no such knowledge,
then a compilation of knowledge from other sources (written uniquely!) and a
more convenient presentation of the material may still work.
Of course, if your strategy for
attracting traffic includes mainly other traffic sources, such as social
networks, then the analysis of the topic must be built in a different way,
especially if your chosen topic already generates traffic from your existing
traffic sources. For example, if you have a large social media group for Honda
car repairs, an article about children’s toys, regardless of its high monthly
searches, is unlikely to generate a lot of traffic to your group about Honda
cars.
The last point, but no less
important, is to evaluate how you can monetize future articles. If your site
has contextual advertising, such as Google Ads or display ads, and your goal is
exclusively to generate more traffic, then even here it is better to focus on
commercial topics, as there is a higher chance of getting a more expensive
click.
By collecting people on your site
who need a certain product or service and are ready to buy, you can earn a lot
more.
For example, when writing about
how to get compensation for a delayed flight, you can earn through both
contextual advertising and the sale of law services. While writing about a solo
trip to Hawaii, by placing affiliate links, you can earn money on visitors
booking hotels or purchasing flight tickets. Affiliate links are available for
almost any topic. For example, the owners of travel sites can join the
Travelpayouts affiliate network and get access to 80+ affiliate
programs, including Booking, GetYourGuide, and others.
You can assess the commercial
potential of a topic by analyzing user intent based on the keywords he/she is
searching for. There is no one-stop service that will do this for you. Of
course, if the queries contain the words “Buy”, “Book”, etc., then the
intention of the user is obvious, but not all blog article ideas can be
tailored for such queries.
You can logically evaluate if a
person needs something or not. For example, in the article about “Reliable
suitcases for travel”, it is logical to assume that a person reading that
article is in search of a suitcase, which means the topic has the potential to
earn money from affiliate marketing, for example, through the Amazon affiliate
program.
By using all of the above
methods, you will be able to find great topics for future articles on your
blog. However, if you have tried everything and a topic idea has not yet come
to you, perhaps you need to take a temporary break from content creation or
hire an editor to help you with content production.
The post 11 Easy Ways to Find Content Ideas for Your Blog appeared first on Social Media Explorer.
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