5 SEO Tips for Non-SEOs in 2021

Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert to be a good content creator. However, it’s super-valuable to know some tips and tricks to improve your rankings on Google and user experience.

Here are five useful tips that you won’t read elsewhere. Since Google has many updates each year, you have to keep up with your SEO game in 2021.

Let’s start!

1. Look for questions people are searching on Google

In October 2020, Google improved BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) with their research in AI (artificial intelligence). BERT is language understanding systems that understand users’ written queries on Google Search, thus providing more relevant results.

This update improved Google Search in a way that now the systems can understand:

• misspelt words, thanks to the new spelling algorithm;
• the context of misspelt words.

Now it’s possible to provide a user’s requested information in under 3 milliseconds.

How is this related to questions asked on Google?

The BERT improvement allows Google to capture and understand the context of the article and page itself, making long-tail keywords more important than ever.

Let’s take the example of the keyword ‘rich media’.

The term ‘rich media’ is a short keyword with less volume and higher keyword difficulty compared to the long-tail keyword that’s also a question ‘how are rich media ads different from other ad formats?’.

This long-tail keyword provides even more significant search volume and a lower keyword difficulty level.

This particular case proves that people search more and more by typing specific questions and looking for direct answers.

But how do you find the right questions?

You should focus on checking broader terms (short keywords) when doing keyword research because the questions will appear as a suggestion.

Then check pages that rank in the first positions and answer those questions better.

Remember that this question has to be included in your article as one of the headings or titles. Keep the answer to the question sweet and straight to the point!

So how to find those top pages?

If you use Ahrefs, scroll down in the keyword explorer, and you will see them. And in this particular case, the featured snippet for the long-tail keyword ranks Setupad.

Check the answer to a particular question on the search by typing the question in a Google Search.

As you can see from the image below, this particular site includes the question in its title plus the short keyword in the description. By this Google understands that this site’s article includes the information that users are actually searching for.

Remember to focus more on long-tail phrases because your competitors might be focusing on short keywords. Also, there is less competition, leading your article to rank in the first position on Google Search.

2. Add internal and external links

Yes, internal and external links are still important for SEO in 2021.

Here are ways to use them effectively:

Internal links

1. Don’t add random links that don’t explain specific terms or add additional value for the user. For example, adding an internal link under the term ‘SEO tips’ takes the user to another article on the page ‘5 SEO Tips for Your Site’.
2. If the internal link is reasonable, your article builds up a great user experience. By having internal links, you allow the user to spend more time on your site.
3. Internal links increase the other page rankings too.
4. If the user visits more than one page on your site, it increases engagement and lowers the bounce rate.

External links

1. Add external links only if necessary.
2. Link to pages that have high domain authority scores.
3. If you have used some data, citation, or you see that this particular other site’s article will add value to your reader, link the page to it!
4. By adding external links Google and other search engines understand what your article is about.

It helps to increase your rankings if your article is linked with the most valuable external sources.

Google’s algorithm follows the content that is linked. The first thing you can do is go through your articles and check if there is a possibility to link them. If yes, then great. If no, you can find a piece that’s related to it. And add it as a related article (the title of the article).

Example:

3. Entity based SEO

Many SEO specialists now emphasize that content marketers should focus on entity based SEO.

Entity based means one word that can be captured in the whole article. It’s more like a context-based word that can define the article. The keywords within the article allow the search engine to give the best possible results for a specific entity.

For example, the user types in the word ‘ROSE’ (entity), and the search automatically provides several ideas of what the user wanted to look for –plant, actress, or song. The entity gives ideas for users to jump into the right category and find the information they were looking for easier.

Simply speaking, Google emphasizes entities over keywords, which has helped provide more precise results for users.

Keywords and entities go hand in hand. Keywords help entities to be defined. So, before conducting big keyword research, focus on finding the right entity and then do the keyword research.

4. Optimized URLs

Each year you should go through your blog articles and see if your URLs are optimized.

Shorter URLs rank better on search results, and it’s way easier for users to understand what your article is about. And this improves user experience.

Here are some useful tips on how you should optimize them.

For example, if your blog contains articles that have to be updated each year, don’t mention the year in the URL; it will make your life easier in the future. When you decide to improve or update the content, you should only change Meta Title where you include the new year, but the URL won’t change.

Example:

• Non optimized URL

example.com/blog/top-trends-2021

• Optimized URL:

example.com/blog/top-trends

Long URLs make it harder to share on social media because the entire URL cannot be visible and could feel fake or scammy for some users.

Another tip is to use hyphens instead of underscores because Google robots read the URL by hyphens.

• Hyphens: –
• Underscores : _

Example:

Hyphens: example.com/blog/top-trends

Underscores: example.com/blog/top_trends

Don’t use capital letters in the URL, because it can confuse search engines.

5. Focus on user experience

In June 2021 Google will roll out an official ranking factor update called Core Web Vitals. This update will affect sites with bad user experience, so make sure your content is easy to read and is user and mobile-friendly. Make sure you use images, videos, and infographics, maybe some animations.

Check how fast your site loads, how fast it interacts with the user, and whether it is responsive.

SEO works hand in hand with user experience; if SEO is more for search engines, UX is for your site’s users. Both of them have the same goal of providing the most relevant information for users.

Keeping an eye on UX helps searchers to find the information they are looking for, thus increasing your organic traffic.

Final thoughts

As a content creator, use the tips mentioned above to improve SEO and UX. Make sure you are on your content marketing game in 2021 and optimize your content frequently.

Guest author: Agnese Repule, I am a passionate content marketing specialist at the company Setupad, a monetization platform for publishers. I usually cover topics about programmatic advertising, monetization, SEO, and content marketing. Another passion of mine is art, so I paint whenever I have spare time.

The post 5 SEO Tips for Non-SEOs in 2021 appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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The 10 Best Instagram Bots for More Followers

With so much competition between Instagram’s 1 billion monthly active users, for years the best way to grow your Instagram follower count has been debated.

It’s possible to achieve on your own; this takes a long time, however, and before you know it, you’ve already missed out on a lot of business.

Because people are looking for speed and ease of use, Instagram bots and automation services have become popular in order to help users get more Instagram followers without lifting a finger.

While it was a popular endeavor for a while, it’s still a heavily controversial issue – do Instagram bots really still work, and can they help you get more real Instagram followers that will contribute to your overall account performance?

It’s quite a conundrum; people need cost-effective solutions to help them with their Instagram growth and finding these options is increasingly difficult. Advertising through Facebook and Instagram is too expensive for most small businesses, brands, influencers, and those just starting out, so what’s the answer?

These days, finding a bot that actually works is rare; for this reason other strategies and companies have emerged to offer people effective Instagram follower growth that won’t bring harm to your account.

It can be a confusing task to navigate all of the different services available for Instagram; for that reason, we’ve put together this article to help you make the best choice.

After reading, you’ll know:

• What an Instagram bot is
• How Instagram monitors bot use
• Whether or not Instagram bots still work
• Instagram bot alternatives
• Top Instagram bots

We’re confident that with a little guidance you can decide which tool will help grow your Instagram followers most effectively without putting your account at risk.

Let’s get started!

What is an Instagram bot?

In order to understand the whole bot phenomenon, we’ve got to start with the basics. What is an Instagram bot, and how do they work?

An Instagram bot is an automated software, service, site, or program that will generate Instagram interactions for a user automatically. This typically includes things such as likes, comments, DMs, shares, story views, and more.

Engagement and interaction is a widely accepted method for getting more exposure on Instagram and growing your follower count; doing this yourself, however, is quite time-consuming and can take away from other important elements of your profile like content creation and hashtag strategy.

Bots, then, have taken the most important parts of getting more followers and created automated services to help users get them without taking away from their workflow and other priorities.

Perfect, right? Well, unfortunately, it’s not as simple as it seems. To grasp the current bot environment on Instagram, we’ve got to go back to how it started. Bots, on the surface, seem like an amazing solution for Instagram follower growth, but it’s a bit more complicated than that, unfortunately.

History of Instagram Bots

In the early days of Instagram, the best way to grow your Instagram account was to simply buy a bunch of fake Instagram followers. Because things were just getting started, it took users as well as Instagram a while to realize what was happening.

Even famous people like Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus have bought fake Instagram followers! Well, as soon as IG realized what was happening, they effectively shut down these companies and started removing fake followers.

After this, new services that created auto-generated interactions surfaced, and this began the bot craze. Everyone was using bots on Instagram; eventually, this led to a poor user experience loaded with spam and annoying interactions, causing Instagram to take action.

Instagram has been waging war against bot services for a good 3 to 4 years now, and they have been very effective in almost completely stamping out the use of bots on their platform.

How does Instagram mitigate bot use? Let’s take a look.

How Instagram monitors bot use 

Before you sign up for a bot service that promises you the world, you should know that Instagram has very strict policies against bot use on the platform. In fact, it’s completely against the terms of use and can have very negative effects on your profile.

Not only will your profile appear spammy and attract attention from users that are irrelevant to your account and your niche, you can even get banned or suspended from Instagram.

These are a few of the ways that Instagram curbs bot use:

• Warning Messages: When you use a bot on Instagram, the system will flag you for using automation. There are a variety of ways that they can detect this; if you have been identified as using automation or bots on your profile, you will receive a warning message. They have a couple of different ones that you could receive; they may say that your account has been compromised, or that you’ve been identified as using an automation service. If you don’t stop using them, further consequences ensue. If you receive this message and have been using bots, stop immediately. 
• Daily Engagement Limits: One of the most detrimental controls that Instagram has implemented is the limit on daily engagements per account. Bots would perpetuate thousands and thousands of engagements daily because they were automated and could engage at this capacity. Instagram now has hidden and secret daily engagement limits that are set for your account; each account has a determined limit and if you surpass this limit, you will be restricted from further action on Instagram. Bots have a very hard time staying under this limit, so you’ll see that when using them you’ll get flagged and restricted, or they will perform almost no interactions at all. In either case, you won’t be getting the results that you need. This was the biggest blow to bot services and forced many of them out of business.
• Shutting Down Bot Companies: If the bot company didn’t go out of business on its own, Instagram has even forced them to do so by opening lawsuits and suing some of the top companies offering bot services. Because of this, it’s tough to find bot services to begin with, and even if you do, the likelihood that they’ll provide services for a long period of time is low.
• Instagram Bans: Finally, if Instagram flags you and warns you that you’ve been using a bot, your account can suffer the consequences. You can be banned from Instagram for weeks at a time, which is a big roadblock to any kind of success because you are basically removed from the platform and can’t engage, can’t post – anything. Instagram can even go so far as to limit the reach of your content through shadowbans, or even deactivate your account altogether if it gets very serious.

As you can see, Instagram is completely dedicated to upholding the integrity of their platform and curbing the use of bots and automation services; it’s wise to find a long-term strategy that doesn’t include automation because it is, unfortunately, not effective on Instagram as we know it today.

Do Instagram bots still work?

Well, if Instagram bots don’t work, why do companies still offer them? It’s a good question, and there are a couple different reasons.

Companies in social media growth are looking to make a profit first over everything. Even if their services don’t provide great results, bots can still operate at the lowest level possible, and they can still charge their clients. You may not see what you were hoping for, but they can just claim the fault of Instagram and continue to charge. 

So, for follower growth or automated interactions, bots don’t work. These, though, aren’t the only kind of bots. There are other types of bots that are actually effective for you, and using these bots can be beneficial contributions to your Instagram follower growth.

Front End Automation

Front end automation are the bot services that perform user-facing engagements such as likes, comments, DMs, etc. These are the engagements that are not allowed to be automated and Instagram will take action if you are caught using front-end automation.

While it seems very enticing to use these services, Instagram doesn’t allow them to work properly, ultimately bringing you more of a headache than anything.

Back End Automation

Back end automation is anything that is automated behind the scenes; users won’t know that you use these types of automation services, thus having little impact on the user experience. This is why Instagram still allows these types of services.

Some popular bot services for back end automation include Instagram schedulers, auto-posting services, hashtag generators as well as Instagram analytics. These tools can help you to have a simplified workflow and track your results better; they are safe to use, and these types of bots still work.

Instagram bot alternatives 

So, if bots don’t work, how can you get more real Instagram followers? There are companies that can still help you, and the results that you’ll get are going to help your profile get real followers that will help your overall account performance.

Let’s review these options briefly before we get to our list.

Organic Instagram Growth Services

Organic Instagram growth services work in your place to grow your real Instagram followers through interactions. These services are manual and employ an account manager to help take over your Instagram growth workflow.

The great thing about these types of services is that it’s completely natural and you have an expert engaging with the right accounts, helping to enhance your overall results. It saves a lot of time because you don’t have to do it yourself.

If you need real Instagram followers that can help you to boost engagement levels and monetize your Instagram, using an organic Instagram growth service is the best thing you can do.

Bulk Follower Packages

Alternatively, if you need a quick infusion of real followers, you could buy a bulk follower package from a reputable company. It must be from a reputable company because otherwise, you’ll do more harm than good to your profile.

Many of these companies will send a bunch of fake followers that will simply pollute your account and you’ll waste both time and money; you should only choose from a company that will send real followers.

This is a short-term solution but can be a good option if you have really specific goals or need to use it as a way to help generate real follower growth over time.

Top Instagram bots

Now that we’ve discussed the current landscape of Instagram follower growth using bots, organic follower growth, as well as bulk packages, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 companies to help you get more real Instagram followers.

There are companies from all three methods so that you have options; since bots are very rare and can put your account in some serious trouble, use with caution – consider all options before opting for an Instagram bot that can’t guarantee results or safety.

Let’s take a look at the best companies to work with when you need more Instagram followers.

1. Growthoid

Completely changing the way people get more followers on Instagram, Growthoid has worked diligently to build a service that not only delivers real followers but also keeps your account completely safe and contributes to a long-term Instagram growth strategy.

When you work with Growthoid, you’ll get a dedicated account manager who will be your Instagram follower champion. They will be the experts in charge of finding and engaging with the right accounts.

This is another benefit that an organic service has over bots – they can actually gain you more targeted results. You don’t have to worry about getting a bunch of fake, irrelevant accounts. Growthoid doesn’t use any bots nor do they send you any fake followers. It’s all real.

After signing up, you’ll provide your account manager with your targeting instructions; this means that your account manager can hand-tailor your growth specifically to your niche or business needs, making the service that much more valuable.

Growthoid plans are affordable; they have two monthly options, both with no contract. They also have a money-back guarantee and the best support teams and account managers of any Instagram growth company around.

If you want to work with a top company that promotes high-quality Instagram growth by hand, you need to check out Growthoid.

2. Growthsilo

Following in the steps of Growthoid, Growthsilo is another fully-managed Instagram growth service that has emerged helping users to engage with the right accounts. Growthsilo has some of the most advanced targeting in the industry and their account managers are definitely experts.

If you want to ensure that you get more real Instagram followers that are actually going to be interested in your content, you’ll have to work with a company that follows your targeting instructions just like Growthsilo does.

Since they care about their clients’ results and do everything by hand, you’ll be sure to get exactly the kind of followers you need – none of those fake accounts or bots that make your profile look spammy.

Your account manager will do all of your profile’s interactions by hand and you will provide them with your criteria upon signing up for the service.

All of Growthsilo’s plans are no contract, giving you the flexibility that you need to get more real Instagram followers on your terms. Awesome.

3. More Likes

We haven’t discussed engagement much up until this point, but the true measure of success on Instagram is actually engagement. Since there were so many attempts to gain more followers on Instagram, Instagram changed its algorithm to reflect the real indicator of popularity – likes and comments.

If an account has a bunch of followers, that’s great, but if none of them like your content, are you really populary? No. Instagram uses engagements such as likes to decide which content is performing well. If you want to have more natural reach and generate more interest around your profile, you need to have more likes.

It’s for this reason that More Likes has created their one-of-a-kind service to help users get more real Instagram likes on all of their content. Instagram likes help you to not only build your reputation but also to bring in more users and followers to your profile.

Likes are small, but they are mighty; you won’t be able to grow your follower count if you have hardly any likes. You need Instagram likes to support your social proof.

More Likes is the perfect service – you post a photo, More Likes detects it, and boom! You get the set number of likes on your content. More Likes has built an extensive network of users to provide their clients with real, genuine Instagram likes on all of their content.

You can even decide how quickly you want your likes to come onto your content. No matter what, More Likes is the premier service for getting more Instagram likes. You’ll wonder how you ever lived without this service.

You can also get real Instagram followers from More Like’s network as well, so check them out today.

4. Grab Likes

If you need more Instagram likes to help generate more follower growth, Grab Likes has a variety of options that can help you out. You can get more real Instagram followers, more real Instagram likes and auto-likes, and more.

Grab Likes offers one-time purchases as well as a recurring service for Instagram auto-likes. If you have a consistent number of Instagram likes you’ll be able to grow your Instagram followers through reputation and social proof, and that’s just what Grab Likes can help you do.

Much like More Likes, you’ll choose the amount of likes that you want delivered to each post and then Grab Likes will employ their network of users to like your content, getting you genuine likes without having to lift a finger.

Don’t miss out on an awesome service like Grab Likes – you’ll love the results they provide.

5. UseViral

UseViral has spent years perfecting their social media marketing services and they have built a huge network of in-house users to help provide real followers and engagements for not only Instagram but for other social media networks as well.

Building a cross-platform presence can be invaluable these days; you have to be popular on a variety of channels in order to have a real reputation. UseViral helps with social media networks like TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and more to help get you the reputation you need for perpetual follower growth.

You can buy real Instagram followers in the number that you desire and they can also help provide you with engagements. When you need a quick boost and don’t want to compromise on quality, UseViral is a top option that is easy on the wallet.

6. SidesMedia

Do you need more real Instagram followers but don’t have time to wait for a bot or organic Instagram service? When you buy Instagram followers from SidesMedia, you’ll be getting quality at excellent prices without having to lose out on quality.

SidesMedia has worked for years to expand their network of users that will follow your account and engage with their content; this is how they provide genuine Instagram followers and likes that don’t compromise your profile’s quality.

SidesMedia has a wide variety of quantities and price points available and they can also help you grow other social media accounts, making them very efficient as a one-stop-shop for social media needs.

7. Nitreo

Helping to speed up your Instagram growth through auto-generated engagements, Nitreo is one of the only bots available on the market today. They offer services for Instagram follower growth and have a pretty healthy track record.

Nitreo has two different monthly plan options and they also give you the option to pay yearly if that suits you better. They have limits to control the speed of interactions and they also offer a support team and a guarantee for their services.

Getting more real Instagram followers can be a tough endeavor and if you don’t have the help of a third party like Nitreo or others on this list, you might not reach your full potential.

8. Stellation Media

The Instagram stories feature is without a doubt the unofficial superstar of Instagram; a user adds on average 28 more minutes to their Instagram use viewing Instagram stories. It’s a huge opportunity to connect with more users and Stellation Media is taking advantage of it.

You can get a variety of different features from Stellation Media including mass story views, mass DMs, mass comments, and more. They claim to have some of the highest levels of growth of any social media service out there, so if you need high volume, they may be a good choice.

Their services are a bit more expensive than others out there, so if you don’t have a huge budget or are just looking for a support tool, this one might not be within your grasp. If you have some extra bucks to spend, check out Stellation Media and see how their newly renovated services boost your Instagram follower count.

9. Upleap 

You can’t have an Instagram bot nowadays that isn’t managed by someone; when bots are left alone to do their thing, they get you flagged. For that reason, Upleap has employed the use of bot services but with human oversight.

Upleap will follow accounts in your target audience so that you can get noticed by them and then get a follow back. They’ll also view Instagram stories as well as live broadcasts to generate even more interest in your profile.

You can choose from three different plans offered by Upleap and you have the option to pay monthly or yearly. If you need to gain some more followers and want to try a bot, Upleap may be a good choice for you.

10. Social Viral

The final spot on our list goes to Social Viral, a company that has been around for quite some time helping users to get more Instagram followers. Not only can you get Instagram followers from them but you can also get Instagram likes and views as well.

Social Viral claims state-of-the-art processes to help deliver your followers and you can buy anywhere from 50 to 5000 Instagram followers; this could be just the infusion that you need to help generate more real Instagram growth.

Social Viral offers an extensive FAQ on their website and they also define what “high-quality followers” are, saying that their followers are natural and behave in a realistic way. That means they’ll keep your account safe and last over a longer period of time.

Wrap up – Best Instagram bots

Well, there you have it – the lowdown on Instagram bots and whether or not you should use them. Don’t worry though; if you don’t trust Instagram bots and you don’t want to use them, you can always check out the other incredible services that are out there these days.

It can be hard to find real services that provide real Instagram followers and results for your growth, but they’re out there. Do your research and check out the services on this list and you’ll be sure to find something that meets your needs and helps take your Instagram to the next level!

Happy growing.

Guest author: Johnny Pulling is a serial tech entrepreneur who has been living in Serbia for the past 12 years. Passions are crypto and growth hacking to help companies succeed online.

The post The 10 Best Instagram Bots for More Followers appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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The Benefits of Social Media Advertising For Your Business

When social media platforms began to allow advertising on their digital space, it opened up opportunities for different industries. For businesses, it was a chance to explore a new medium of promotion and visibility. Nowadays, paid advertising on social media has become one of the most viable promotional tools in digital marketing.

A social media ad is promotional content strategically placed on a social media platform paid for by brands. A social media ad space can contain any type of multimedia content sourced from the brand that paid for it. Platforms also allow you to target a specific demographic of users and collect data that brands can analyze and use for future campaigns.

If your business uses social media for marketing, you’re probably aware of how crowded it is. Rolling out ad campaigns is an alternative you can go for to rise above the noise, which gives you more to gain. To learn more about them, here are the benefits of paid social media for your business.

Cost-effectiveness

Image Source: Falcon

The affordability of paying for social media ads is probably the benefit most businesses who do it enjoy. It’s also one of the reasons that make it more attractive. Social media advertising’s pay-per-click (PPC) model made advertising accessible even to smaller brands.

The PPC payment model that social media platforms employ means the advertiser only pays if users do the action they want. Unlike other forms of advertising wherein you’re locked in on a specific rate, paid social media allows you to work within your budget since you’ll only have to pay for the times a user engages with your promoted content.

Thus, even small businesses can run campaigns to enhance their online presence. Its cost-effectiveness makes advertising more accessible and competitive, which is why more and more small businesses are using social media.

Enhanced audience targeting

Another great benefit of paid social media advertising is the control you have over who sees your ad. Having that control further increases the chance of getting more people from your target audience to click on it. This feature of enhanced targeting that most social media platforms employ makes it easier to stand out and promote your brand.

Besides the basic demographic factors, social media platforms also allow advertisers to target psychological criteria such as hobbies, interests, personality types, and other details included on users’ profiles. You can also target people with specific jobs and topics related to your industry.

Platforms also allow you to retarget users who’ve visited your website. Retargeting boosts your chances of gaining high-quality traffic to your website and retaining customers.

Consumer insights

Image Source: Oberlo

As mentioned above, social media platforms collect user data, and one of its sources is paid ads. They allow advertisers to access data gathered from the ads they roll out. This data is classified into different parameters, such as age, and are shown in the native analytics of each platform.

With these insights, you can improve your targeting objectives to meet the needs of your target audience. You now have a way to understand them and know what they want from your brand. Aside from that, consumer insights can also help you determine how to edge out your competitors, like Facebook advertising, where advertisers can research their competitor’s latest activities.

Strong social presence

You can also build a strong social presence through paid promotional content on social media. The control that social media provides advertisers who see their ad and their enhanced targeting options is an optimal method for strengthening a brands’ online presence. It has all the features that’ll help your business be recognized by more consumers, which is the foundation of building an online following.

Of course, the kind of content you promote will be the determining factor on whether you’ll effectively grow your social presence. Paying for advertising only enhances your reach, but ultimately, it all boils down to how engaging your content is.

Establish credibility

Credibility follows suit once you’ve built a strong social media presence. Social media enables your business to establish credibility for what it stands for. It allows you to present your business’s identity as an authority in your industry to your followers and the world.

Promoting becomes easier when your business is branded with credibility because your social media followers will do it for you. Social media is the fastest way for word to travel nowadays, and once your business is seen as credible, the chances of generating income increase because you’ll attract more people to look at what you’ve got.

Faster brand development

With the optimized advertising options and large user population, social media platforms allow businesses to develop brands faster than other platforms. Using social media allows businesses to reach a global audience, including the small ones. Also, social media ads are cost-effective, making it easier to increase or decrease your spend on how many people you’ll promote your business to without disrupting your development.

The formula for fast brand development includes a good strategy, quality content, necessary resources, and transparency. Being open about your business and your offers on your paid social ads will speed up the process of attaining the brand you aim to establish. As long as you have a synchronized approach and target the right audience with your ads, you’ll be able to form the image you want consumers to see your business as.

Wrapping up

Paid social media advertising is perhaps the smartest option for businesses to promote themselves. It’s affordable, scalable, and super effective with its targeting options and analytics.

In addition, it’s also an easier way to develop your brand and establish credibility to help generate more income for your business. If you haven’t yet, try exploring and studying this option so you can familiarize yourself with the mechanics and gain these benefits for yourself.

Guest author: Edwin Deponte is a motivational writer who is also passionate about anything digital and social media marketing-related. On his free days, he spends his time indulging in digital and social media marketing books.

The post The Benefits of Social Media Advertising For Your Business appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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The World’s 20 Most Popular Facebook Pages

Facebook’s strengthening grip and integration with popular culture is very evident as you go through this list of the world’s top 20 most popular Facebook pages and realize between them they have over 315 million fans.

That culture reflects our movie, TV shows and music tastes including Michael  Jackson, Eminem, Lady Gaga, the Twilight Saga, The Family Guy and even Justin Bieber.

Two corporate brands made it into the top 20 with the worlds most popular soda drink (Coca Cola) and the ever growing coffee culture that has spread globally over the last 20 years made its presence felt with Starbucks coming in at No. 10.

What you will notice also is that they are all B2C brands which is where the the primary strength of social media marketing truly lies and especially Facebook.

The other surprising revelation is that the company behind some of the world’s popular social media games over the last 12 months Zygna has two Facebook pages in the top 20 with  Texas Hold’em Poker at No. 1 and Mafia Wars at No. 19.

Sports only presence in this Top 20 list is the Football Star, Cristiano Ronaldo who sneeks in at No. 20.

One surprise was YouTube but maybe that should be expected with online video such a large part of the Gen Y culture and one of the most highly shared media types.

This list also reveals that social media marketing success is becoming more integrated with traditional Mass media marketing that allows brands to permeate and leverage on the web using multiple media channels.

Tip: Jeff Bullas uses Agorapulse to switch between multiple social media accounts with the click of a button. Get your first 2 months absolutely free. 

To put some perspective on this list, not one of these pages in the top 20 has any less than 13 million fans.

1. Texas Hold’em Poker: (25,886,703 Fans)

The creator and owner of the worlds most popular knows how to spread its separate brands on social media with it holding down the number one spot. You will notice it has multiple call to actions with “PLAY NOW” with a large strong image at center stage. It also has another call to action on the left banner “CLICK HERE TO PLAY POKER”. Zygna knows that its not just about a strong brand but giving  very clear instructions what this page is about.

2. Facebook: (24,266,151 Fans)

Well, what do you say! Facebook owns this space so it should know what it is doing. You will notice it does two things at the top of the page. One, it has a very topical subject which is very newsworthy with the latest USA elections at the top and it also promoting (in a very soft way) its eco friendly side by asking to join  an “Alliance To Save Energy”

3. Michael Jackson: (22,690,496 Fans)

Again calls to action are very evident with the goal here to sell more product with the invitation to “Check out the New MJ DVD Box set coming in November”.  The use of images and branding here is not as strong as Texas Hold’em Poker but maybe you don’t need to be as it is Michael Jackson.

4. Lady Gaga: (21,646,439 Fans)

This singer is all about controversy and cutting through the noise on the WEb and mainstream media and her primary image is consistent with her brand. No call to action here!

5. Family Guy: (20,174,271 Fans)

Family Guys comedy and irreverence has made it one of the worlds most watched TV series and the call to action here is to continue to promote that with asking Fans to vote for the show at the People’s Choice Music Awards. Videos are also able to be watched here which displays what should be on all Facebook pages a lot of Video and multi media .

6. YouTube: (18,618,509 Fans)

Promoting fans is a good tactic to use on a Facebook page and YouTube does it here with the first update on the page highlighting the “Far East Movement To YouTube Fans”

7. Eminem: (18,473,414 Fans)

No missing what this page is about with his latest record front and center but call to action is not very evident. Integration to the other social media channels is is good with links to his website, Twitter and Myspace pages at the top left.

8. Vin Diesel: 17,649,964 Fans

Vin’s Facebook consultants and agency are doing something right here obviously with  this being the number one Facebook page for an actor. Good to see him being topical with a reference to Halloween as the top update. Call to action to start engaging is not strong with no videos or trailers of his movies on his main page though. Integration to other social media and web channels is not strong with one link to his website and no Twitter or Myspace links.

9. The Twilight Saga: 16,562,819 Fans

This has become a very strong brand that started with a series of book that my teenage daughter loved that became a TV series and finally a movie.  Call to action is good with the latest update asking you to engage in an online competition to promote the latest product. (A DVD series).

10. Starbucks: 16,366,438 Fans

Starbucks leads the corporate world in its use of social media to promote its brand. This page reflects strong branding and multiple calls to action as well as integration with its other social media channels. You can read more about  Starbucks use of social media at “Starbucks And The 4 Keys To Social Media Engagement”

11. Megan Fox: 16,332,727 Fans

12. South Park: 16,167,364 Fans

13. Coca-Cola: 15,863,959 Fans

14. House: 15,831,213 Fans

15. Linkin Park: 15,808,040 Fans

16. Barack Obama: 15,333,119 Fans

17. Lil Wayne: 14,578,322 Fans

18. Justin Bieber: 14,414,160 Fans

19. Mafia Wars: 14,385,963 Fans

20. Cristiano Ronaldo: 13,986,898 Fans

The source for this data is from Inside Facebook.com

Image by Svadilfari

The post The World’s 20 Most Popular Facebook Pages appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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How to Engage Your Customers with Mobile Marketing

“Mobile is the enabling centerpiece of digital convergence. Mobile is the glue for all other digital industries to use when approaching convergence, but mobile is also the digital gateway for the real world to join in this global metamorphosis of human behavior.”

– Tomi Ahonen, Consultant, and Speaker

In recent times we have seen the world is more dependent on mobile phones than any other medium of communication. And the advertising industry is making the most of it.

Who doesn’t own a mobile phone today? Well, almost everyone does. Yes, over the years it has become universal. Thus, if you want to connect with anyone all you need is their number.

Marketing heads are making the most of the universal nature of mobile phones. Simply a text message from a brand is enough to grab a user’s attention. And not just this, if you have a mobile application then your business is already ahead of many. Mobile app development teams around the world make sure to build applications that are easy to use and explore by people of any age group.

The diversity of the mobile user group makes it easier for businesses to reach the right audience at the right time. There are a few things that you need to consider if you are interested in mobile marketing for your business.

8 Easy ways to engage your customers with mobile marketing 

Mobile marketing is an easy way to reach a large audience in a small time. Here are some tips for using it to your advantage.

1. Text Messages

Some of the earliest means of communicating with an audience are text messages. Personalized messages give your audience a personal connection with the brand. Most messages that are delivered are read within 30 minutes of them being received. Thus a better chance of getting your brand noticed.

2. Push Notifications

Push notifications are an easy way to engage your audience. Tell them about the latest offers and rewards that you have to offer. It becomes much easier for loyal customers to stay engaged and make the best of the offers you have in store.

3. In-app Messaging

In-app messaging is a great way to assist your audience with the purchase process. Most apps have a smart chatbot where your audience can easily connect with the business and resolve their conflict.

In-app conversations make your audience feel heard and important to the brand.

4. Email Marketing

The first thing in the morning that most of us do is check our phones for our emails. Zomato is nailing email marketing with their customized emails. Songs, your favorite food, weather, everything you can think of are included in their texts and emails.

The best part is, email opening rates can easily be tracked which make it easier for you to see how engaging your content is.

5. Social Media Marketing

Social media is expanding its domain with people being involved in sharing what products they aim to buy or they have bought. They share this info on their profiles with loved ones and help increase your customer base.

6. Mobile Content Marketing

It is important that when you consider taking your business on mobile, you talk to your audience in a way that they feel like a part of the conversation. Gone are the days where you would simply text them the brand name and services and they would visit you. Show them how your product will add value and see the magic happen.

7. Business Apps

Most businesses lag here. You may have a responsive website that runs well on browsers on phones, but a mobile application makes it easier for buyers to make a purchase. If you decide to enter the market with a mobile app, then you need to hire a mobile app developer who understands your business objectives and goals.

8. Web Apps

Even if you have a mobile application for your business, web apps are easier to use and connect with. One simply needs to go to the website and continue as they would do in the app. It saves the effort of making an application.

That’s not all folks

Mobile marketing strategies need to be analyzed and modified from time to time. You cannot simply choose to be a part of the mobile arena with one-time efforts. It is a continuous process where you will have to consider the impact of everything that goes on. Analyze your results and see what is working for you and what is not. Expand the scope of strategies that work well for you.

Wrapping up

Mobile phones have become a basic amenity these days and if you can reach the inbox of your target audience you are sure to drive sales.

Mobile marketing is not just sending texts and video content, it is about building relationships. Keep your strategies customer-centric and watch the magic happen!

Guest author: Keith Laurance has been associated with Octal Info Solution for over a decade and has been working closely with the custom mobile app development service providers. He is a tech-geek himself and loves to be updated with the latest happenings in the world of technology and mobile applications. Although technology keeps him occupied all the time, in his breaks, she loves to read some English literature or visit the cafes nearby. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

The post How to Engage Your Customers with Mobile Marketing appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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14 of The Easiest Ways to Increase Sales on Instagram Right Now

Instagram is one of the most widely used social media platforms, and therefore an excellent marketing channel. That’s why even a casual glance at its accounts will reveal lots of big brands.

Its unique photo-sharing platform offers brands one-of-a-kind opportunities to gain visibility and engage in dialogue with their customers.

It’s highly likely you’re already doing your best to market your business through Instagram. Here are nine of the easiest (and most effective) ways to increase your sales on Instagram and optimize your content.

#1: Grow a real and engaged following

With all the buzz around about Instagram at the moment, it’s easy to get swept up in all the fanfare and neglect the basics. When you are looking to generate sales from social media, be it Instagram or any other platform, you need to come across as real and authentic. Buying followers, spamming people via direct messages, and pumping out lots of ordinary content, might increase your “followers” but none of them will know who you are, what you do, or why they would want to buy something from you.

Instead of applying spammy and low-brow tactics to grow your influence on Instagram, build a real and engaged following with smart automation and an active presence. Here are some tips for making this work without tearing your hair out:

• Plan all of your content in advance and use an Instagram scheduling tool such as Later to automatically share the content at an optimal time.
• Instead of following and unfollowing people, which Instagram is trying to ban, like, comment, and engage with relevant posts shared by people within your target market.
• Automate the above process using a growth service, such as Kicksta, so you have time and energy to be present on the social network and respond to potential customers.

Want to automate the organic growth of your followers on Instagram? Check out Growth Service Kicksta.

#2: Use hashtags

To attract customers and boost your sales, even more, you can use hashtags relevant to your services or products. When you use the right combination of hashtags, it becomes easier for your target consumers to find you. This method will increase the awareness of your brand.

Tip: Jeff uses Hashtagsforlikes to grow his reach and followers using hashtags.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds to come up with the right mix of effective hashtags. You need to invest your time and effort into extensive research. Make sure you use a balanced combination of unique and common hashtags on your Instagram posts.

Experiment with different combinations to see which works best for you. Also, if you are working with influencers, ask them to use the same mix of hashtags.

For instance, Lacroix is a sparkling water brand. In the screenshot below, you can see that the brand has used a mix of various hashtags and managed to gain more than 1600 likes.

Just like this brand, you can also research and use the correct mixture of hashtags to increase your brand’s visibility.

If you’re looking for a tool that will help you detect the best hashtags and increase your reach on Instagram, check out Hashtagsforlikes.

#3: Only post compelling images

Instagram is a visual platform. So first and foremost, you should only post high-quality images.

Ideally, your images will be creative and eye-catching, and appropriately highlight the products you wish to promote. Once your customers land on your profile, they must be able to recognize your brand immediately.

Check out some of the images posted by Taco Bell below. As you can see, they’re playful and colourful, and fit organically into their overall branding.

Ensure that every image you post on Instagram matches your overall branding and business strategy to lend them that authentic brand feeling. If your branding is sleek and minimalist, it should be sleek and minimalist on Instagram.

Pick an aesthetic and stick to it. This extends to Instagram captions. Do not switch between different tenses and tones of voice. Keep it simple. Consistency is key.

While original images are always best, sometimes stock images can help add some variety to your account. There are many different royalty-free image websites where you can source amazing high-quality photos. Better yet, web tools like Canva allow you to create custom images to promote discounts, giveaways or contests.

Remember, visual representation of your brand online may be the first experience your customers have with it, so make sure it’s great.

#4: Invest in Instagram ads

Advertising on Instagram can help you reach a new and targeted audience. It’s a worthwhile investment, especially if your brand or business is fairly new.

You can plan out your Instagram ads in such a way that you reach the customers who are most likely to be interested in your products. That’s exactly what InflowStyle did with their Instagram ads.

The fashion-forward activewear brand started an advertising campaign on Instagram that targeted women aged 25 to 34 in America. InflowStyle’s ads included lifestyle photos with light tones and a ‘Shop Now’ button that took users to a product or category page on their website.

During this campaign, InflowStyle experienced a five-fold increase in sales. Their cost per conversion also decreased by 80%, while their return on ad spend increased six-fold.

The lesson to be learnt from this is that finding a successful strategy on Instagram can be a catalyst for your business. For a long time, the issue with Instagram marketing was that you couldn’t put clickable links in your post, therefore brands had to direct their fans to the link in their bio instead – and continuously update that link.

But now, you can include links to your website in Instagram posts – if you advertise.

Instagram is also now partnering with Shopify to take things a step further and offer product tagging to provide a seamless customer checkout experience.

#5: Run Instagram retargeting campaigns

To further improve the effectiveness of your Instagram ads, use retargeting to engage people who’ve already visited your website – in other words, consumers who’ve already expressed a level of interest in what your brand provides.

Retargeting is essentially advertising that specifically targets website visitors who leave without making a purchase. It was originally rolled out on Facebook in 2015 before being added to Instagram’s ad tech arsenal in 2016.

As described by Instagram:

“Dynamic ads on Instagram let you promote the right products to the right person at the right time. When someone visits your website or mobile app, then later looks at Instagram, they’ll be served an ad featuring multiple, related products from ones they were browsing on your site or app.”

For M.Gemi, this proved to be a huge success. In fact, their Instagram campaign was considerably more successful than their campaigns on other social media platforms, despite targeting identical audiences.

Instagram yielded twice as many conversions as other channels for M.Gemi with 25% of their total sales coming from Instagram. Their cost per acquisition was also three times lower than other channels.

You can focus on one specific product when retargeting, or use its carousel format to highlight similar items to help nudge customers in the right direction.

To get started, simply download the Facebook Pixel and upload your entire product catalog into Business Manager. The ads will then be automatically triggered based on the products viewed on your site and the uploaded product images, with Facebook’s backend system determining the most relevant content based on how you’ve categorized your ads.

#6: Make friends with influencers

Influencers are Instagram personalities who already have an established audience. Their followers look to them for purchase recommendations and advice, so it should come as no surprise that increasingly brands are turning to influencers to promote their products.

As a visual platform, Instagram offers the perfect avenue to engage your target audience using the help of influencers. A good Instagram influencer marketing strategy can help you get high traffic and more engagement, which ultimately brings higher returns/conversions.

To increase the number of sales generated by influencer content, provide influencers with a discount code or promo link. If you intend to use multiple influencers to promote your products, assign each a unique code or link so you can track their individual conversions.

For example, Glossier promotes their products using beauty influencers on Instagram. As you can see in the screenshot below, micro-influencer Grace Abbott has provided a unique promo link for their products. By following the link, her followers can get 20% off on their first order from Glossier – and Glossier can see how much Grace Abbott is worth to their brand down to the last dollar.

Instagram influencer marketing is also a great way to boost your search engine ranking because it literally gets more people talking about your brand. Studies have revealed that in comparison with paid advertising, customers generated through word-of-mouth advertising have a 37% higher retention rate.

#7: Show your products in action

Although high-quality images of your products may grab people’s attention, they may not always be enough to drive sales alone.

For your Instagram content to have a real impact, showcase the experience of actually using your products. Tell a story through your Instagram content using photos and videos that show your products in action.

For example, if you’re selling a particular ingredient, you can post images of dishes that can be made with the ingredient. Include the recipe in the caption, and perhaps describe the perfect occasion in which to enjoy the dish.

Alternatively, if you’re selling clothes, you can show people wearing the clothes in different contexts. Include a caption that describes the experience of wearing the clothes or evokes the texture of the fabric.

GoPro does an excellent job of showcasing their product in action. All of their Instagram posts are photos and videos taken using their camera.

Put your products in motion by showing people the ways people love and enjoy them, and helping them understand how they too can use and take joy in them.

#8: Be subtle with influencer marketing

Consumers don’t like being overtly sold to. So even when you use an influencer to promote your product, the content shouldn’t be too ‘sales-y’. That means it should be interesting and attractive, but compatible with the influencer’s usual content.

Otherwise, the content could seem overly promotional and insincere, which could negatively impact how the influencer’s followers feel about your brand.

Before you start the influencer outreach process, make sure you’ve defined what it is you’re trying to get out of it.

Is it to:

1. communicate a specific message
2. increase exposure and awareness
3. support your content marketing activities
4. drive traffic to your website and generate more sales
5. all of the above?

Whatever your aim, the goal is never to get an influencer to post something that looks like an obvious brand push.

Engage only influencers who fit within your brand and ensure you have carefully outlined your deliverables.

In the post above, the content marketing is in line with the influencer’s usual lifestyle-focussed posts. The focus is on food, in this case, a salad. The headphones are cleverly placed nearby, with a caption that mentions how they’re excellent for blocking out noise whilst studying.

The post is about the headphones, but it isn’t immediately apparent that that’s the case. It seems like a product recommendation, not a product push.

#9: Embrace user-generated content

User-generated content is another form of word-of-mouth advertising. Your existing customers help create content that showcases your product. This in turn helps promote your product or service to the new customers or their followers.

What could be easier, right?

However, some customers may not readily share images of your product without your encouragement. To encourage them, you will need to offer a reward or incentive, such as a chance to win something if they post photos featuring your product or hashtag.

For example, you could offer a chance to be featured on your official Instagram account, or a chance to win freebies or gift cards. Make sure you encourage them to use that branded hashtag to help you track the effectiveness of your efforts.

The Melt regularly reposts photos taken by their patrons. As you can see in the screenshot below, they always appropriately credit the user in the photo, and add funny captions that their followers can relate to.

Celebrate your existing customers. Think of content from them as a kind of living social proof for prospective customers who still have doubts about buying from you.

As a bonus, featuring user-generated content is an excellent way to show your customers how much you appreciate them.

#10: Ask for honest reviews from influencers

People trust influencers because they’re like everyday consumers. So their opinions and advice seem more genuine than a random celebrity endorsing your product.

Brands who work with influencers do so mainly because they want to engage the trust of their target audience.

A good way to do this is to ask the influencer to be honest in their reviews, even if they find some negative aspects to your products. When an influencer honestly shares some of the features they don’t like, their positive feedback about other features seems markably more genuine.

Customers know that every product has some pros and cons. So invite your influencer to post ‘warts and all’ reviews to help you win the trust of your target audience.

Beauty influencer Adri regularly posts honest reviews about her experiences using certain beauty products. She talks about the results she gets from each product, as well as whether or not those results are in tune with the product claims.

In the screenshot below, she mentions that her experience using a certain product has overall been positive. But she doesn’t hesitate to mention that the product fails to live up to the claim that it reduces pores after 28 days.

Is it still a good outcome for the brand? Yes. Because she lists enough positive ‘pros’ for the product to outweigh the negative ‘cons’, and gives it an overall score of 9/10. Her honest appraisal both maintains her credibility and increases fans for the brand.

#11: Be witty and relatable

Humor goes a long way in engaging an audience. To increase sales, try to implement witty puns and relatable humor into your Instagram posts. The goal is to improve people’s perception of your brand. And you already know how much positive brand perception can affect sales!

The Honest Company engages their Instagram followers by regularly posting funny, relatable quotes for parents. You can see in the screenshot below how a lot of their fans respond to their humor, and talk about how relatable it is.

The brand also posts fan-submitted photos with witty captions.

If humorous content doesn’t fit with your brand, aim for thought-provoking and inspiring – both recipes for shareability. Instagram is the perfect platform for aspirational posts that are very, very relatable for ordinary people.

#12: Offer discounts or giveaways

Offering discounts or giveaways is one of the most effective ways to boost your sales on Instagram. It’s a cost-effective method to promote your products and increase sales.

Through this method, you can also increase the awareness of your products or services as customers share news about the offer with their friends.

This then increases your engagement rate. Once your Instagram followers engage with your content in some way, you can acknowledge them and offer them a discount.

When you offer giveaways or discounts, it naturally attracts prospects and encourages them to buy your product or services. If your customers love your products or services, they won’t hesitate to talk about your brand and promote it. To reward such loyal customers, you can give them attractive offers such as a VIP discount or a membership to the top tier of your rewards program.

For instance, FatFace, a British clothing brand, offered huge discounts on their clothing line, which they announced on Instagram. Their followers were super excited by the discounts, as the post received more than 6K views.

#13: Leverage Instagram stories

Instagram has released their Instagram Stories feature, through which you can post and share videos and images with your loyal followers. Brands can really take advantage of this feature to boost their sales.

But how can you use it effectively?

Here are a few suggestions that can help you create effective and impactful Instagram Stories. When implemented correctly, these tips can significantly boost your sales:

• If you have shaky hands, buy a tripod. A tripod will keep your smartphone or camera stable and steady when recording videos and taking photos.
• Capture and share the brand’s story or journey with your followers in your Instagram Stories.
• Use your product images to create a video and share it in your Stories. Make sure you use natural lighting.
• Capture and share the experiences of your customers using your products or services.
• Take some behind-the-scenes shots and videos, relevant to your product or services, and include them in your Stories.

#14: Don’t post pushy or salesy posts

You must keep in mind that Instagram is not a platform meant for selling and buying. People are there not to buy from brands but rather to socialize virtually. So you should post content that is not too pushy or salesy.

If you want to utilize Instagram to sell your products, you have to do it in a creative manner. This means you need to provide prospects valuable, engaging content.

To do so, you can post pictures inspired by real-life situations or share pictures of customers using your product. You can also post photos and videos with tips or recipes including your products.

For instance, My Protein is a fitness brand. Check out their posts on Instagram. They’re not too salesy, but at the same time, they encourage prospects to make a purchase because the pictures they post are from real-life situations.

The post in the screenshot below gained more than 1,000 likes in less than seven days.

You could even take it a step further and work with Instagram influencers. Influencers are known for their ability to promote products in a way that’s convincing without being pushy. So you could try finding relevant influencers in your niche who would speak on your behalf.

In conclusion

Social media is constantly evolving, and Instagram is no exception. The above tips should give you some great ideas on how to increase your sales on Instagram.

As you can see, influencers can make a huge difference to your marketing efforts, and provide even more opportunities to engage with fans and share great photos and videos.

With more than 600 million monthly active users, Instagram is giving brands some great results. It’s a place where people turn their passion into purchases.

TIP: Too busy to look for an influencer? Hire someone on Fiverr.

Which of these tips will you try first?

Guest Author: Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, product launches, sales funnels, targeted traffic, and website conversions. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post 14 of The Easiest Ways to Increase Sales on Instagram Right Now appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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