The beginning of a new year is a prime time for year-end reviews. For many businesses, it’s the time to review annual budgets, expenditures, goals and traffic, and for good reason. There’s nothing like looking back to look forward, since it helps business owners reflect on strengths and weaknesses and figure out where to lean in or pivot for the year ahead.
Where some businesses go wrong, however, is making the start of a new year the only time they do a check-in. When it comes to their digital presence in particular, business owners would do well to make dedicated time for review sessions not once a year, but every single quarter (at a minimum). The digital space is changing ...
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Who doesn’t love getting things for free? But when brands give out freebies, they’re rarely actually free for the brand. So how do you make sure you’re getting a return on investment if you’re not getting paid? We’ve compiled a list of tips for how to do freebies right.
Give Away Something of Actual Value
Chances are that people won’t remember you if you give them a free pen with your company’s name on it. But if you host a raffle for product samples or for a free hour of your services? That’s a different story. Potential customers are more likely to become customers when they’ve received a taste of what they’re missing.
Add Urgency to Your Offer
People respond best to freebies ...
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In case you haven’t heard the buzz online, the Google core update that rolled out in August 2024 has had a major impact on page views and user traffic for more than a few websites. As per Google, the update aims to improve search results so they’re geared toward reader service and are “genuinely useful.”
Sounds vague, right? It all ties back to Google’s focus on E-E-A-T, which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. In other words, page rankings on search aren’t just about SEO, but a whole slew of factors. Now, instead of working on optimizing a page with the likes of keywords and meta text, creators need to also strongly consider things like brand reputation, site longevity ...
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If you want to know why brand voice matters to your company’s success, just remember the chicken sandwich wars.
Back in the distant social media past of 2019, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen launched a chicken sandwich. Chick-fil-A apparently took exception to this, tweeting what the New York Times called “a thinly veiled critique” of the new offering.
Thus, the first salvo of the chicken sandwich wars was fired. Within 15 minutes, Popeyes’ Twitter account returned fire with the now-immortal words “…y’all good?”
The tweet went viral, leading to such massive demand for the new Popeyes sandwich that lines formed around the block at local Popeyes restaurants and the company eventually had to concede it had simply run out of the popular offering.
While creating ...
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The end of the year is somehow fast approaching already, so if you’re in the travel industry, now is a great time to plan your content for the 2025 travel season. To help you out, we’ve compiled some emerging travel trends from around the web — and offered some thoughts on how to approach those trends creatively in your content.
Focus on Greater Health (and Less Booze)
For years now, there has been a growing trend, especially among younger people, to take better care of their bodies. A trademark example of this trend is the phenomenon of shrinking alcohol consumption, especially among the younger generations.
While many tourism destinations are rightfully proud of their microbreweries and distilleries (and there is great value ...
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As any business owner today likely knows, social media is a powerful tool. Whether that means setting up a strong Google Business Profile or managing a Facebook page, business professionals need to have a pulse on what their online presence looks like. Unsurprisingly, few platforms garner as much attention as Instagram. For business owners, the photo- and video-based platform can serve as a major asset to help promote products and services or get the word out about new offerings.
Here are a few tips to make the most of the platform:
1 | Craft strong captions with a consistent voice
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but that doesn't mean you should ignore the caption. Instead, use the caption space ...
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I’m sure you’ve heard at least one or two people talk about digital marketing, and maybe you’ve heard mention of a decision-making sales funnel too. But how are the two related and what do they mean for your business?
The sales funnel is a way of visualizing a potential customer’s decision process. At the top of the funnel, you have customers researching a vague problem and discovering potential solutions. In the middle of the funnel are customers who have defined their problem and the sort of solution they need. At the bottom are customers who are ready to make an informed purchasing decision.
Ideally, you want customers to discover your brand as a potential solution for their problem right at the ...
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A Google Business Profile is a powerful way to help your business on search — and it’s easier to manage than you think.
You know that moment when you’re searching for something on Google and you see a business profile card pop up? That’s a Google Business Profile page in action. A built-in feature on the search engine, these free profiles offer businesses the chance to develop a strong first impression online. And, since more than 83% of the global population uses Google as its primary search engine, according to Statista, chances are high that a Google Business Profile will get more than a few eyeballs on it.
So how can you set up your Google Business Profile?
1 | Google Your ...
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Having a well-designed website and an active social media presence is a great start. But if you really want to keep customers interested, you’ll need to get creative — and interactive.
Here are some tips to get you started.
1 | Get Your Name Out on TikTok
TikTok is having a major moment as the place to be for brands, but getting it right and getting noticed can be a challenge. Luckily, TikTok itself has put together a guide to success, with tips on how to come across as authentic and creative.
2 | Launch a Customer Loyalty Program
One of the simplest ways to reward loyal customers is with a points program. Let customers earn points for actions like following you on social, ...
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Internal newsletters are a great way to keep employees engaged and let them know what’s going on with the company or their co-workers. But how do you craft a compelling newsletter that employees will actually want to read?
Here are a few easy tips.
1 | Ask Your Employees
The best source of information about content is always the audience for that content. So if you’re wondering what employees would like to see in a newsletter from their company — ask them. Send out an email encouraging feedback, launch a survey with perks for completion (e.g. a drawing for a gift card) or even ask people to volunteer for a brainstorming session that represents different departments and diverse viewpoints.
2 | Choose a ...
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