50 million businesses are on Facebook, but only 6 million of them are using Facebook’s advertising solutions. If you’re a social media marketer with experience in Facebook Business Manager, you’ve probably enjoyed the rich spoils of this constantly developing landscape. Clickthrough rates are high, cost-per-click and CPM are outperforming paid search advertising (in places, several times over), and Facebook’s familiar aesthetic allows for compelling ad copy and images to act in concert. In
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Facebook Under Siege: A Digital Agency’s Take
It’s been an interesting several months for Facebook. The social media giant has come under fire amidst news of privacy, data usage, and its role in global society. Recently, Facebook has weathered scrutiny over its role, if any, in playing host to Russian attempts at 2016 election interference. Additionally, the announcement was made that Facebook wanted to prioritize meaningful social interaction in News Feed posts, perhaps to the detriment of brands and businesses. Even more
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6 Do’s and Don’ts of Great Community Management
In today’s world of Internet communities, perception of a brand can be shaped and changed—for better or worse—far more by its audience than through any internal effort. The concept of “viral” means less and less as the world’s audiences make conscious decisions about the images and messages they share. A brand should instead strive for “spreadable” messaging. “Spreadable” is a more appropriate paradigm because it accepts and embraces how consumers can organically circulate a
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Social Media Marketing – Is This Thing On?
Social media continues to play an integral role in attracting and engaging new customers, no matter the business size. For the skeptics among us, that value is less obvious. Arguably, it has been difficult to measure the value of a social media marketing strategy. KPI’s were often loosely based on subjective data. What is less arguable is the sheer volume of Internet users who are actively participating on social media in one form or another. Of the 3.7 billion internet users, 2.7
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Digital Marketing Solutions for Your Business: Engagement
Engagement
Engagement marketing, sometimes called experiential marketing, event marketing, live marketing or participation marketing, is a marketing strategy that directly engages consumers by inviting and encouraging consumers to participate in the evolution of a brand. - Wikipedia It’s a serviceable definition, but when it comes to social media engagement, your brand needs to takes things a little further. Social media is the new passive space of our lives—a space once dominated
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Adventures in AdWords: No More Side Ads in Search Results
Last week, Google confirmed to Search Engine Land that side ads, the collection of advertisements that appear on the right-hand side of Google search results, will be permanently removed from search engine results pages. The shakeup was dramatic; the reactions, perhaps more so. Everything from skyrocketing cost-per-click and major negatives for SEO to "the death of less intelligent advertisers" and benefits for SEO has been foretold--all with only a few simple statements from Google. With any
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The DraftKings Dilemma: A Legal Case for Responsible SEO
Have you seen a commercial for DraftKings or FanDuel? The better question might be, how long has it been since you saw a commercial for DraftKings or FanDuel? The two hottest daily fantasy sports sites spent a combined $206 million on television ads alone between January 1 and October 5, 2015. For consumers and sports fans, DraftKings and FanDuel are practically inescapable. But with a meteoric rise in renown has come increased scrutiny, shining a spotlight on the need for responsible
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Black Friday Breakdown: Google Now Tracks Foot Traffic and Offline Behavior for Advertisers
Frenzied crowds chasing "shocking" deals and a yearly spike in media spend are annualized and anticipated. The rhythm of Black Friday, the year's biggest shopping event, is starting to become old hat, but advertisers have new technology and advertising channels to learn and leverage each year. This year, a new set of data to digest comes courtesy of Google. For the first time, the search giant has released information about Black Friday shopping trends, pulled from Google Maps and anonymous
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Gruen Agency Sponsors Ideas and Innovation at Startup Weekend Messina
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Last year, nearly 530,000 new businesses were started each month, and when all was said and done, 2014 represented the biggest year-over-year increase in startups in 20 years. That doesn't mean today's entrepreneurs don't face sincere, imposing challenges. With greater volume comes greater competition in a space already hotly contested. With mentors, resources, investors, and partnerships all on the line and demanding attention, it can be difficult
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Two Ways Facebook’s ‘Dislike’ Button Could Impact Brands (And One Way It Won’t)
One of the longest-running requests for Facebook is the “Dislike” button, a hypothetical counterpoint to the iconic “Like” button that would allow users to express their disagreement or discontent with a post. For the entirety of Facebook’s mainstream history, disapproval or dissatisfaction could only be expressed in comments or as an addendum while sharing the offending post. Facebook’s reasoning has been well-intentioned: negativity looks and feels very different to the receiver than it does
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