Christopher Earle: June 2017

Friday 30 June 2017

Bing Introduces Personalized Image and Video Feeds by @MattGSouthern

Bing has introduced the ability to personalize your image and video feeds based on interests and favorites.

The post Bing Introduces Personalized Image and Video Feeds by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google AdWords Editor 12 is Now Available: Here’s What’s New by @MattGSouthern

Version 12 of Google’s AdWords Editor is now available worldwide to all advertisers. In addition to a new design, new features in AdWords Editor 12 include custom rules, faster account downloads, support for bidding to maximize conversions, and more. Refreshed Design Google has updated the design of AdWords Editor to make the look and feel more consistent with the rest of Google’s products. The new material design will not change how AdWords Editor is used, the update is purely cosmetic. Custom Rules AdWords Editor 12 allows advertisers to set custom rules for ads according to the advertiser’s own best practices. […]

The post Google AdWords Editor 12 is Now Available: Here’s What’s New by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

The June 25 Google Update: What You Should Do Now by @beaupedraza

Were you impacted by the June 25 Google algorithm update? If so, take these steps to protect your website.

The post The June 25 Google Update: What You Should Do Now by @beaupedraza appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Digital Marketing News: Content Is Still King, Purchases from Email, B2B Tech Influencer Marketing

Here Are 7 Reasons Why Content is Still King in 2017 [Infographic] The way content marketing draws attention and helps build genuine relationships with the audience is what sets it apart from other marketing tactics. Smart marketers are using content marketing to approach their target audience in a more subtle way to ensure the customer needs are met while building brand credibility and trust. (Social Media Today) What Influences Consumers to Purchase From Marketing Emails? A recent survey conducted of 1,004 consumers who have received marketing emails in the past year reports how the different generations are influenced in their purchase decisions. Consumers are most influenced to make purchases from marketing emails by sales/discounts and brand reputation. (MarketingProfs) The Rise of Influencer Marketing in B2B Technology B2B marketing has definitely shifted with new challenges when it comes to influencer marketing in enterprise technology. To better understand these shifts and get actionable solutions, 10 industry experts have weighed in about implementing and scaling influencer marketing. (Traackr) Click here for the Influence 2.0 study from today's video! See How You Stack Up With Inline Competitive Metrics Six new metrics are available at the campaign, ad group and keyword levels in the main UI and Reports tab in Bing Ads. You can also access these reports via the Bing Ads API. Advertisers can now see how their campaigns, Ad groups and keywords stack up against the competition. (Bing Ads Blog) Google to Stop Using Information in Gmail to Target Personalized Ads Google announced that the enterprise version of Gmail and the consumer version will more closely align later this year. Both enterprise and consumer versions of Gmail will not be used to target personalized ads. The ads shown will be based on a user’s settings, including the option to disable personalized ads altogether. (Search Engine Journal)

New Ways to Protect Your Pinterest Account Pinterest is rolling out a two-factor authentication to everyone in the next few weeks to add security by requiring a verification code every time you log in. You can receive the code via text message, or for added security, download Twilio’s Authy app. If the two-factor authentication is enabled, it works across your entire account on all devices. (Pinterest Blog) Adobe Is Launching AI-Powered Voice Analytics Adobe is adding voice analytics to the Adobe Analytics Cloud which will help people better understand how media is consumed via voice-enabled devices. You can track voice usage by intent and add specific parameters and a brand can measure top-of-funnel metrics, as well as trends and patterns at scale over time. (AdWeek) Messenger Just Added More Fun to Your Video Chats Facebook Messenger has added new features to video chats. You can now use animated reactions, filters, masks and effects. You can also take pictures of your one-on-one and group video chats and share them with your friends. (Facebook Newsroom) What were your top digital marketing news stories this week? We'll be back next week with more top digital marketing news. For more news and expert insights, follow @toprank on Twitter!

The post Digital Marketing News: Content Is Still King, Purchases from Email, B2B Tech Influencer Marketing appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Thursday 29 June 2017

Get Early Access to Google’s Experimental Projects by @MattGSouthern

Google is giving people the opportunity to sign up for early access to experimental projects from its Area 120 incubator.

The post Get Early Access to Google’s Experimental Projects by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Posts Not Available to All Businesses… Yet by @MattGSouthern

Since the launch of Google Posts last week, it has become apparent that it's not yet available to all businesses.

The post Google Posts Not Available to All Businesses… Yet by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

6 Hacks That Will Improve Your Facebook Ads by @ashleymadhatter

These six Facebook ad hacks will help you create more engaging ads that convert like crazy.

The post 6 Hacks That Will Improve Your Facebook Ads by @ashleymadhatter appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

You Know Influencers: 5 Tips to Unlock Powerful Employee Advocacy

[Editor’s Note: I am pleased to introduce you to Will Peterson, another new contributor on TopRankBlog.com. Will is an Account Manager that services many of our B2B Enterprise clients. Welcome Will!]

Don’t look now, but you’re surrounded by influencers. You may not realize it, and they may not realize it themselves, but you and everyone you work with carry an immense amount of potential influence. Read on to discover how to uncover a powerful hidden force that can add significant value to everything from your company’s social media presence all the way down to its bottom line.

Everyone is influential about something. @leeodden
Click To Tweet

Are you in a book club? Do you share recipes with friends? Are you an avid reader and contributor of motorcycle racing forums? Anytime you’re discussing your interests with someone else, be it online or in person, you are exerting your influence on that discussion. The same goes for your employees, team members, and coworkers. Without going too much into the weeds about how to exactly define an influencer, we can safely say that your co-workers, team members, and employees each have their own sphere of influence. A look at some recent research shows that 88% of employees are personally active on at least one social media site. That means your people have people, and they are talking to them, tweeting at them, and sharing with them. So how do you encourage all that potential social influence to work for your team?

Influence the Influencers

Your employees or fellow employees are also consumers, and consumers in this day and age know how to sniff out a salesy marketing pitch. That being said, consumers trust other consumers, and according to multiple studies on trust, we know employees are seen as more credible than executives. Employee advocacy is a powerful marketing tool and encouraging your employees to speak as influencers about your company is a wonderful way to increase brand engagement. Follow these steps to capitalize on that trust and help your employees tap into their influencer power.

#1. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Everyone wants to be part of a winning team. Remind your employees that their positive comments about your company on social media make life better for everyone. With an improved online profile, your company will have an easier time recruiting top talent, earning top clients, and keeping top customers. Once your team realizes that they are only helping themselves, they will be more motivated to share!

One benefit of employees sharing their high opinions of our company has been TopRank Marketing being named one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Minnesota two years running. This has helped tremendously with hiring great people!

#2. All Social is Good Social

Not everyone has social media accounts on every channel. I barely touched my twitter account until I joined the team at TopRank Marketing. Now I regularly post about clients, company mentions in the news, and other marketing-related topics there and on my LinkedIn page as well. I don’t do much on Facebook however, because I’d rather keep it more personal and less professional. Don’t force your employees to use one channel over the other. If they’d rather sing your praises on Google Plus than Pinterest, encourage them to do so!

#3. The Right Tool for the Right Job

My dad always says you can do anything if you have the right tool for the right job. Make your employees lives easier and introduce them to Buffer, Hootsuite, or some other social media management tool. These can be incredible time savers and will increase the likelihood of your influencers getting the word out there more regularly. In just a few minutes each week, they can appear to be full-time social media mavens.

#4. Prevent Writers’ Block Before It Strikes

Some employees may fret that they “just wouldn’t know what to say” about their company. Not to fear, the Weekly Social Messaging Email is here! Send one email per week with some content ideas for your team to share. This could be anything from recent mentions in the news, client updates, relevant news stories for your industry, or even personal victories for your team members. The point is to get them comfortable with the process and help them build their voice on social channels so their spheres of influence hear it more often.

#5. To the Victors Go the Spoils

Track engagement of your company’s social mentions and let the team know who the biggest sharers (aka influencers) have been for the past week. Using a tool like Hootsuite Amplify, LinkedIn Elevate, or Dynamic Signal can create ease of use and make tracking a snap. Make it a challenge they want to win! Offer an extra drink at the company happy hour or a piece of company swag for the top dog each week! This kind of gamification is a great way to encourage participation among employees.

Practice Makes Perfect

Now that you know the benefits of tapping into the marketing influencers around you at work, and some of the ways to encourage them to get active on social media, get out there and make it happen. Your employees will feel good about this easy way to contribute to the success of their company.

What else can you do to influence your influencers?

*Disclosure: LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

The post You Know Influencers: 5 Tips to Unlock Powerful Employee Advocacy appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Wednesday 28 June 2017

Google Updates ‘Test My Site’ to Show How Many Visitors You’re Losing by @MattGSouthern

Google updated its Test My Site tool to show how many visitors you may be losing due to page speed.

The post Google Updates ‘Test My Site’ to Show How Many Visitors You’re Losing by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Canadian Courts Can Now Force Google to Remove Search Results Worldwide by @MattGSouthern

A ruling in Canada's Supreme Court will allow the country to force the removal of search results in Google.

The post Canadian Courts Can Now Force Google to Remove Search Results Worldwide by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google News Redesigned With an Emphasis on Fact Checking by @MattGSouthern

Google’s redesigned version of Google News focuses on diverse perspectives, fact checked articles, and more control for users.

The post Google News Redesigned With an Emphasis on Fact Checking by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

A Significant Google Algorithm Update Likely Occurred on June 25 by @MattGSouthern

According to data obtained from various tracking tools, a significant Google algorithm update likely occurred on June 25.

The post A Significant Google Algorithm Update Likely Occurred on June 25 by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How to Balance Free & Premium Content With SEO by @danny_taywitter

Offering content behind a paywall and worried about SEO? Learn how to provide value for your users and Google.

The post How to Balance Free & Premium Content With SEO by @danny_taywitter appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

The Perfect Fit: How to Find the Right PPC Agency by @lorenbaker

Hiring a PPC agency? Here's what you need to know to choose an agency that best suits your needs.

The post The Perfect Fit: How to Find the Right PPC Agency by @lorenbaker appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

3 Important Ways Social Media Can Boost Your SEO

Today, there’s little doubt among marketers that SEO and social media are two must-have components of any effective digital marketing strategy. After all, SEO is arguably the founding-father-tactic of digital marketing, and social media is the place on the web where our audiences gather, share and engage every day.

But over the years, there’s been some confusion on how these two tactics work together to achieve marketing results—and understandably so. Back in 2010, Google told Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan that links shared on Facebook and Twitter were used as a ranking signal. Then in 2014, Google’s Matt Cutts released a video stating Facebook and Twitter pages were “currently” treated like any other web page for search—i.e. social media was no longer a direct ranking factor.

However, regardless of whether social signals are used as a ranking factor—when done right—social media can most definitely enhance your SEO efforts. How? Below I share three reasons why, as well as some tips to make your social content more SEO friendly.

#1 – Your social media efforts can lead to quality backlinks.

While ranking science on backlinks has evolved over the years, the number of quality backlinks a website has is still an important ranking factor for search engines. As a result, link building or link earning is still a widely-used tactic among marketers—and your social media pages can be the perfect staging ground for enticing links.

The logic here is pretty simple. Social media marketing is all about sharing your best of the best content, and fostering engagement around that content. The more engaging your content, the more people will share, and the more opportunities people will have to find and link to your content.

#2 – Social media increases the visibility of your content—which is ultimately the goal of SEO.

Social media pages give your website and blog content another place to live and encourage discussion. And while your pages can be so much more than a promotional platform, one of the greatest social media benefits is the potential reach your content could get.

Of course, I asked my TopRank Marketing comrade Steve Slater, Digital Advertising & SEO Manager, to weigh in here, too. Here’s what he had to say.

“Whether or not social shares and metrics have an impact on ranking without them you are 100% at the mercy of Google organic,” he said. “Without social or paid or any promotional efforts, you are basically hitting publish and hoping for the best. You’re hoping that your content will just ‘go viral and take off.’ So, I think the question is not really, do social signals impact rankings? But rather, is anyone going to see this if I don’t promote it?”

#3 – Social media helps build brand awareness—which can carry over to users’ search queries.

Your social media pages add another digital space for your target audience to find you and engage with you, allowing you to build up your audience and your brand. Of course, when this happens people will more easily recognize you in search and be more inclined to click. In addition, that brand awareness you’ve built on social could mean more branded organic search traffic coming to your site or your other social pages (since those often rank in branded searches, too).

Quick Tips to Intertwine Social & SEO

While social media can add a nice little boost to your SEO efforts, the reverse—of course—is also true. Here are a couple quick tips for marrying social content and SEO.

Optimize your posts and profiles. Social media platforms are search engines. So, make sure craft your posts with both users and SEO in mind. In addition, optimize your social profiles with the same logic.
Leverage hashtags in the right way. Especially when it comes to Twitter and Instagram, hashtags are how people find the content they’re looking for; hashtags are their search queries. Research hashtag best practices for each platform to understand if and how to use them. In addition, make sure you understand what hashtags actually mean, so you can use them in the appropriate way for each platform. Use the native search box within social platforms, as well as tools such as Hashtagify.me or Hashtags.org.
Draft optimized social messages when you’re crafting new content. Any content you’re creating for your website or blog should have an SEO component. As you’re creating this content, create several optimized social posts to go along with it. This will help you create relevant messages that can be found in native searches.
Use mentioning and tagging to build more relevance—and signal influencers. Mentioning and tagging other pages and users in your content is one of the best ways to amplify your posts. Not only do those you tag and mention get notified when you do so, but they’ll be more compelled to engage on your post or share your post with their audience. And as mentioned above, the more shares and engagement, the better the reach and the more potential for driving quality traffic and backlinks.

Be the Best Answer for Your Audience

At TopRank Marketing, we practice what our CEO Lee Odden likes to call “The Best Answer Strategy.” For marketers, this means crafting an integrated marketing strategy that helps you be the best answer for your audience—whenever and wherever your audience is searching. And a component of that strategy is certainly leveraging social media marketing and SEO individually, and together.

For more best answer tips, continue to peruse the TopRank Marketing blog, and feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments of any post.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

The post 3 Important Ways Social Media Can Boost Your SEO appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Bing Ads Introduces In-line Competitive Metrics by @MattGSouthern

Advertisers can now add competitive metrics, also known as "share of voice" metrics, to in-line performance views.

The post Bing Ads Introduces In-line Competitive Metrics by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Fined $2.7 Billion by the EU for “Abusing Search Engine Dominance” by @MattGSouthern

Google has been fined $2.7 billion for giving an "illegal advantage" to its own services in search results.

The post Google Fined $2.7 Billion by the EU for “Abusing Search Engine Dominance” by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google’s Advice on Preparing for the Mobile-First Index by @MattGSouthern

Google's Gary Illyes recently shared some advice on how to prepare for the impending mobile-first index.

The post Google’s Advice on Preparing for the Mobile-First Index by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

7 Ways to Create Authoritative Content (Even if You’re Just Starting Out) by @WebDevEtc

Here are seven types of authoritative content that are engaging and will help you build a following.

The post 7 Ways to Create Authoritative Content (Even if You’re Just Starting Out) by @WebDevEtc appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How to Understand User Behavior With Google Analytics by @MarshWebStudio

Here are three ways you can use Google Analytics to understand what people do when they land on your website.

The post How to Understand User Behavior With Google Analytics by @MarshWebStudio appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Gmail Sponsored Promotions: 5 Tactics to Boost Performance by @Aimclear

Gmail Sponsored Promotions provide insight into email behavior while generating conversions. Here are targeting tactics to improve your next campaign.

The post Gmail Sponsored Promotions: 5 Tactics to Boost Performance by @Aimclear appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How 7 Startups Skyrocketed to Success with Content Marketing

[Editor’s Note: Please welcome me in joining Anne Leuman to TopRankBlog.com. Anne is a Copywriter that joined TopRank Marketing earlier this year and specializes in creating awesome B2B content for some of our amazing Enterprise clients.]

I’d venture to guess that you’re no stranger to content marketing. Content Marketing Institute reports that 89% of all organizations use content in their marketing efforts. But is content your main driver of growth? It might not be, and that’s okay, but we’re here to show you how successful content can be.

Take a look at startups for example. Startups are known for viral growth. To attract or keep investors, they need to grow at staggering rates. So how do they do it? A lot of them rely on content marketing. And with good reason.

There is no denying that content marketing is one of the most cost effective marketing tactics. In fact, Demand Metric reports that content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates three times the leads. Yet, 52% of companies don’t have a formal content strategy.

If you’re looking to double down on your content strategy, see how these seven startups skyrocketed to success with content:

#1 – HubSpot

It’s hard to imagine HubSpot as a startup, but back in 2006 they were a fresh-faced business. And they grew on the back of quality, innovative content. They earn our #1 spot because over 75% of their generated leads come from content.

HubSpot accomplished this by offering free white papers, case studies, eBooks, and webinars, and hiding them behind a form. In order for visitors to get the free content, they had to provide their information and become a lead. In addition, HubSpot added a call to action at the bottom of every blog post. An action that tripled the amount of leads generated by their blog, according to HubSpot CMO Mike Volpe.

#2 – Blue Apron

Blue Apron, an ingredient and recipe delivery service, grew 500% in 2015. And they attributed that success to their content marketing strategies.

Blue Apron wanted to get subscribers excited about recipes before they showed up at their door, creating a more satisfying product experience. To do this, they created educational, fun cooking content including recipe histories, cooking techniques, and kitchen timesavers. With this method, they have engaged over 1.7 million Facebook fans to date.

Beyond engaging a larger audience and creating a better experience, educational content allowed Blue Apron to form more meaningful relationships with their subscribers. They became the go-to source for anything kitchen related, building trust and loyalty among their customers.

#3 – Mint

Content put the pressure on Mint’s competitors. When Mint, a personal finance app, started in 2007, blogging wasn’t widely adopted by companies. And if they did adopt it, they weren’t blogging often. Mint created the MintLife blog and steadily produced finance tips, videos, and news roundups. This gave Mint a competitive edge and allowed them to rank on search engines ahead of market leaders—including ranking number one for personal finance.

Oh, and this all happened before the launch of their product. With this strategy, they were able to have 20,000 subscribers before releasing their application. This allowed them to drive substantial traffic to the app on launch day. By 2009, Mint would be purchased by Intuit for $170 million. An achievement partially credited to their content strategy.

#4 – Buffer

Buffer, one of the most widely used social media tools today, was launched with content. At first, they pitched their app to well-known blogs and media outlets, hoping they would write about the tool and gain a large audience. But the big players turned them down. This forced their founder, Leo Widrich, to try gaining an audience another way.

Leo started guest blogging. He wrote over 150 posts on social media and published them on numerous blogs. By creating guest blogging relationships, Buffer gained the audience of other blogs and grew to 100,000 users in just 10 months. Guest blogging was the strategy that gave them the most initial growth.

#5 – Design Pickle

Imagine if your first 1,200 customers were generated solely by content. That was the case for Design Pickle and its founder Russ Perry.

Design Pickle was created to make graphic design a more convenient and available service. They started a subscription service where subscribers could receive unlimited graphic design help for one easy, flat rate.

Perry’s launch strategy centered around employing guest blogging. Russ wrote blog posts on marketing and design and posted them on affiliate blogs. Inside each post, Russ was able to offer promotions and information about his services. With this strategy, Design Pickle was able to capture their first 1,200 customers. They have now served over 100,000 project requests.

#6 – KISSmetrics

KISSmetrics, a marketing analytics platform, is one of the most popular marketing brands today. But it was a struggle to get it off the ground in 2008. Hiten Shah, co-founder of KISSmetrics, attributes their initial success to content curation and the new (at the time) microblogging platform, Twitter.

Blogging wasn’t popular when KISSmetrics was getting started—they didn’t even have one. So how did they gain an audience? They used curated content from Twitter and hashtags to reach large audiences and gain a following. Hiten says, “Sharing other marketers’ content was the perfect way to spread goodwill, promote great content, and build our own Twitter audience.” Eventually, their website was beaming with Twitter referrals. Since then, KISSmetrics has evolved to become blogging experts, with blogs accounting for over 70% of their leads and 82% of their website traffic.

#7 – Glossier

Experts in all things beauty, Glossier started out as a beauty blog called Into The Gloss, which still exists today. But it quickly grew into something more. Known for providing great advice from real women—Into The Gloss, started by Emily Weiss—was one of the largest skincare and makeup blogs. With a passion for beauty and a captive audience, Emily decided to use her blog to launch her own beauty line.

In writing her blog, Emily already had all of the market research she needed and began producing skincare and makeup products. She then directly involved Into The Gloss’s audience in her new venture by teasing her new brand, Glossier, and documenting the process. By the time she officially launched, Glossier had 15,000 followers who didn’t even know what it was. Her stellar content and engaged audience (including 500,000 Instagram followers) allowed her blog to turn into a successful retailer.

Implementing content marketing and doing it well has the power to propel your business to success. The (former) startups above are a testament to that. Check out these 10 infographics to elevate your content marketing even further.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

The post How 7 Startups Skyrocketed to Success with Content Marketing appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Monday 26 June 2017

Google’s Uptime, an App for Watching YouTube with Friends, Now Available to Everyone by @MattGSouthern

Google's Uptime, an experimental app that enables people to watch YouTube videos with friends, is now more widely available.

The post Google’s Uptime, an App for Watching YouTube with Friends, Now Available to Everyone by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google to Stop Using Information in Gmail to Target Personalized Ads by @MattGSouthern

Later this year, Google will stop using information in Gmail to target personalized ads.

The post Google to Stop Using Information in Gmail to Target Personalized Ads by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

YouTube Reaches Milestone of 1.5 Billion Logged-In Visitors Per Month by @MattGSouthern

YouTube recently shared new statistics that show how engagement with the online video platform is rising, especially on mobile.

The post YouTube Reaches Milestone of 1.5 Billion Logged-In Visitors Per Month by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google May Now Remove Personal Medical Records From Search Results on Request by @MattGSouthern

Google has quietly updated its content removal policies with a line that states it may now remove personal medical records.

The post Google May Now Remove Personal Medical Records From Search Results on Request by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Give Your SEO a Boost With These 12 Accessibility Improvements by @tamar

If your website isn’t optimized to meet basic accessibility standards, now is the time. Here's how to do it.

The post Give Your SEO a Boost With These 12 Accessibility Improvements by @tamar appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Contagious Content Marketing: How to Give Your Content Viral Potential

For some marketers, going viral is the holy grail of content marketing. It’s easy to see why. You put out content, people organically start sharing it, and it takes off until you’ve racked up millions of views. Millions of brand impressions without a penny in paid promotion. You can’t blame marketers for chasing that particular dragon.

That said, it’s important to get one thing straight: “Going viral” is not a content marketing strategy. It’s a pleasant side effect that can happen with well-crafted content, yes. But the chance of virality is no substitute for well-researched, relevant content amplified to the most relevant audience through organic, paid, and influencer channels.

If you’re planning on going viral to get your content seen, you’re playing the lottery instead of investing in your brand’s future.

However, by happy coincidence, the attributes that give your content viral potential are also hallmarks of great content. Creating shareworthy content as part of your overall strategy is a great idea, whether or not you hit the viral jackpot.

Here are six ways to create great content that just might go viral, complete with examples to inspire you.

#1: Make Data Beautiful

The average person today has more data available to them than anyone has at any other point in history. It’s an ocean of facts, figures, and statistics, and most of us are drowning instead of surfing. If you can take information that’s relevant to a large audience and display it in a beautiful, functional form, you have a good chance at racking up the shares.

Example 1: Infant Sleeping Patterns

This example is from an individual rather than a brand, but it’s too good to leave out. Redditor Andrew Elliot tracked his newborn infant’s sleep patterns for the first four months of her life, then charted the data in a unique circular format. The circle represents a 24-hour clock, with midnight at the top and noon at the bottom. A spiraling line tracks the infant’s sleeping and waking cycles, blue for sleep and orange for awake, starting in the center. Each complete revolution represents a single day.

At a glance, you can see how the early days are chaotic, but by the latter revolutions, the daytime hours are mostly awake and nighttime is mostly asleep. Andrew’s data visualization hit the front page on Reddit, and is still the top rated post in /r/informationisbeautiful, with over 51,000 upvotes.

Example 2: The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People

For a more commercial example, project management software company Podio converted a blog post into an interactive visualization of how famous creative types spent their days.

Not only is the graphic beautiful and informative (and the interactivity is top-notch), it’s relevant to Podio’s potential audience. They help people organize time to be more productive, so someone with an interest in how famous creatives managed their time might also be interested in their solution.

Podio’s nifty visualization picked up over 45,000 shares on Facebook.

#2: Take a Stand

A recent survey of over 1,000 consumers sought to discover what makes people form an emotional connection with a brand. The top two reasons people connected with a brand were:

I feel like they care about people like me.
I feel like they are making a positive difference in the world.

If we want to make an emotional connection with our audience—and who doesn’t—it’s important to think beyond the product-pain point interaction. Content that takes a stand on an important issue covers both of the two reasons above, and definitely has viral potential.

Example 1: REI, #OptOutside

In 2015, sporting goods retailer REI created a viral marketing campaign by doing something truly unexpected: Closing its doors on the busiest retail day of the year. The brand announced that its stores would stay closed on Black Friday. Then they introduced the #optoutside campaign to encourage people to enjoy the great outdoors the day after Thanksgiving, instead of trampling people to buy a flat-screen TV.

It was a bold decision, not without backlash, and missing the day’s revenue was definitely a sacrifice for the chain. But the campaign went viral, with thousands trading the hashtag and signing up for the #optoutside movement on REI’s microsite.

REI’s stand resonated with their target audience and caught a wave of popular sentiment. The campaign is still going strong two years after the fact.

Example 2: Always, #LikeAGirl

I’ve written about this campaign before, but it deserves a mention in any discussion of viral branded content. It’s a stellar example of how far a brand can stray from their product offering and still be hyper-relevant to their target audience.

Always sells feminine hygiene products. Therefore, their audience is women. Therefore, anything that’s relevant to women is relevant to the brand.

So Always took a firm stand on the way women are subtly demeaned in society, taking the epithet “you [do something] like a girl” and turning it into empowerment:

Always’ target audience loved the message and shared it, and the video racked up more than 64 million views. And it still makes me cry.

#3: Get Silly

One of my favorite quotes about humor in marketing comes from Tim Washer: “For those of you who think comedy won’t work for your brand, ask yourself: Will it work for your customers?”

By my estimation, 99.9% of people enjoy a good laugh. It only takes a few people to like and share your hilarious content to start it on the way to full-fledged virality. Granted, humor can be tricky—there’s tone, audience, and appropriateness to consider. But when you get it right, you can create something that’s sublimely silly and still gets your message across.

Example 1: Old Spice, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”

How do you communicate through a computer monitor the way your body wash smells? Old Spice seems to have considered the problem, and opted to punt. They built a commercial around “the man your man could smell like,” a studly muscle man who travels through a rapid-fire set of wish-fulfillment scenarios, from a shower to a boat to horseback in 30 seconds.

This video was inescapable back in 2010, with over 55 million views on YouTube, and it helped launch an entirely new creative direction for Old Spice.

Example 2: Metro Trains Melbourne, “Dumb Ways to Die”

The traditional form of railway public safety ads is to introduce a smiling couple, or a cheeky kid, then have them brutally killed in a grisly railway accident. They’re not ads meant to be enjoyed; they’re meant to scare the pants off of you.

Metro Trains Melbourne decided to trade the horror for something silly and adorable instead, and “Dumb Ways to Die” was born:

The catchy tune and cartoon mayhem earned over 100 million views on YouTube, the song landed in the Top 10 Downloads chart on iTunes, and a spinoff app got over 10 million downloads. Best of all, the content actually accomplished a purpose beyond virality: Metro Trains Melbourne says the campaign helped reduce train accidents by 30%.

#4: Warm Some Hearts

Think about consumer-produced content that goes viral. Now subtract the cute animal videos and the “hilarious injury” stuff. What’s left is heartwarming human-interest stories. Think Chewbacca Mom, or the kid who loves garbage trucks, or 95% of the stuff on Upworthy.

How can brands bring a little heartwarming human interest to the mix? Here are two of my favorite examples.

Example 1: Volkswagen, “The Fast Lane”

This viral video from Volkswagen works on two levels. First, they did a real-life publicity stunt: They installed a slide on the stairs at a busy commuter train hub and encouraged people to use it. Then they filmed people’s responses and edited together an uplifting video:

There are kids delighted to see the slide, adults a little scared of the slide, and business executives in three-piece suits taking a ride, briefcases on their laps. You can sense how much fun the stunt was for everyone involved, and if the video doesn’t make you smile, your face may be on too tight.

Example 2: American Greetings, “World’s Toughest Job”

What would you say to a job with no salary, no benefits, and 24-hour on-call demands? Would your response even be printable? That’s the question American Greetings asked unsuspecting consumers in this video. The reveal: The thankless, uncompensated job is being a mother. Watch the reactions when people figure it out, and have a hankie nearby:

The message is clear from a brand standpoint. Buy a card and send it to mom. But the human interest elevates it beyond a promotional message—as more than 27 million viewers demonstrated.

Aspire to Virality – But Don’t Ditch the Strategy

I’ll say it one more time: going viral is not a valid content marketing strategy. Viral is not a go-to amplification channel. If someone asks you to create viral content, tell them as much. And if someone promises to make something go viral for you, take that with an entire shaker of salt.

Instead of counting on going viral, take lessons from widely-shared content and use them to build content that will succeed with your target audience, whether or not it hits the zeitgeist and ends up on Ellen. Telling stories with data, taking a stand, and adding humor and human interest are all fundamental building blocks of great content marketing.

Learn more about creating a stellar content experience with our new quiz.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

The post Contagious Content Marketing: How to Give Your Content Viral Potential appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.