Come October, we found some interesting stories doing the rounds that can just about shape up your digital marketing strategy for 2018. With just 2 months to go for a new year and new beginnings, it is a good time to think about what’s coming your way. Have a look
1. Keyword Rankings are meaningless: Learn how to grade your SEO
For the past few years, clients came to us with one goal – Page 1 ranking for select keywords. Like all SEO done at the time, we too managed to get our clients to their happy spot. But things have been seeing a small shuffle. Search intent has begun to matter. Local SEO has become super important. And to top it all, Google’s tests are showing that it is trying to individualize search results based on search location and history. Which means the results you are seeing for a keyword will be different from the results your friend is seeing a few kilometers away. This will definitely bring about a change in client goals and agency metrics. We have to wait and watch this one out closely.
The article on Forbes also suggests a keen eye for long tail keywords and their search results. The long tail is now an important part of good SEO strategy and it may just get stronger in the coming years.
2. Should you outsource your digital marketing strategy?
We often have clients coming to us in a state of a conundrum. They’ve felt that they can do their digital strategy internally but somehow need a third party expert to get in and help out.
If you specialize in selling trekking equipment, that’s your domain. We would tell you to relax and leave the complex world of digital marketing to us because that’s our domain. Just like we wouldn’t know when to pick out Nitrile gloves over regular mittens, it’ll be difficult for you to pick out the right bids for keyword optimization. So you do what you do best – provide trekking equipment and leave the rest to us. This article articulates the fine points well on why a digital marketing agency is a must for your online marketing.
Looking for a content marketing agency?
We have explained what you should keep in mind before hiring the best content writing agency in India in this blog.
3. How to create local content for local SEO
There’s a lot of talk about how effective local SEO is for small businesses. It goes well beyond stuffing the location name everywhere in your content. Small businesses have a tough task of competing with their online and offline local competitors but in addition to this, they also have to compete with national competitors online who have the same product/service. To get an edge on this competition, they can optimize themselves well locally to get better conversion rates.
One of the key points this article highlights is increasing your reputation, reach and reviews by improving your local relevance. You’ll need to create local citations around the web and also double up on your local reviews on third party websites. Read up to know the details of how these strategies can help.
4. 10 important digital marketing stats we’ve seen this month
Stats are like a lifeline for us digital marketers. We use them lavishly in the content we write and the conversations we have with our clients and the pitch presentations we make. So a stats update is a must in our monthly round up. This month, there are 10 stats that Econsultancy laid out neatly. Did you know that ad spend on videos overtook banners! A lot of stats here are relevant to the UK but there are some that you can easily extrapolate to your location. The fact that 60% specialty retailers are offering loyalty programs is a good indicator of how the marketing strategy seems to be effective and how it can be replicated for your location too.
5. Will blockchain upend Digital? The threat is real
Even as we get a hang of blockchain being shoehorned into industries where it may not be relevant, blockchain can have a far-reaching impact on digital. Did you know that ad fraud will grow into the world’s second-biggest black market by the middle of the next decade amounting to US $44B by 2022! The fact that blockchain is open and transparent can then to disrupt the industry as we know it.
Though speed is a big challenge as of today, it could just change in the coming years making blockchain an irreversible part of our digital lives.
6. What the Science of Binge Watching Can Teach Content Marketers
Have you started watching an episode of Friends on YouTube and couldn’t stop even after a few hours. So much so that you go back to watch the bloopers and viewer interpretations and spin-offs! We all have our weak points. With Netflix and Amazon giving us perfect access to our favourite shows, we can easily fall into a rabbit hole of binge watching.
The catch is not everyone feels bad about this guilty pleasure. Have access, will use is the motto. So what does this habit tell us content marketers and how can we get our users to binge on our content? That’s the interesting question answered by this article.
7. 10 amazingly creative Instagramming brands
We all want that Instagram account with a million follows. But not all of us get the strategy right. You post high quality, ultra filtered photos with the exact relevant hashtag and yet you don’t the amount of engagement you were expecting. Meanwhile, some other brands are growing like a wildfire setting all of Instagram ablaze with each post.
What are you and they doing differently?
Read on to find the gaps in your Instagramming strategies and how you can pick a few pointers that can help you ramp up your performance.
8.There are lessons everywhere for content marketers. But are you listening
One of the key qualities of a good content marketer is that of being a good listener. Are you listening to the right people and places to make your content strategy work? There are so many around you who are driving insights into your content strategy. Your company’s internal thought leaders, sales personnel, product managers. Social listeners and on ground field staff are all people who can have great insights into your content strategy. Outside your customers and competitors provide insights on what you are doing right or wrong. There’s a lot more listening to do before you set your next strategy for sure.
9. State of Content Marketing: 2017 Blogging Statistics & Data
And here we are with another stats update coming your way and you are going to love us more. Did you know that in 2017 most bloggers taken an avg of 6+ hours to write a post and an average blog post takes 3 hours and 20 minutes to write! While the length and quality of posts may have increased, stats show that those who publish more often tend to see good results on their blog. In fact, many people are now increasingly using paid services to promote their blog from what they did in 2014.
10. 5 Social Media Content Marketing Trends to Watch Heading Into 2018
Our last update of the month comes from AdWeek which happened earlier in the month. Social media plays a huge role in our content marketing strategy and it’ll continue to do so in 2018 too. In order to reap its benefits, you need to not only be mobile ready but also be strong on richer formats of content like video. There is a lot of potential on how these media will evolve with our ever-changing needs and it’ll be great to wait and watch.
Have an interesting trend story that you would like to feature in our next month’s roundup? Drop us a line. Until then, may the stats keep you going.