Common Website Speed killers

People’s attention span is getting shorter. Through the years, the noise that online apps and social media networks created kept them busy with a lot of things. A social media agency Hong Kong notes that a recent Microsoft study showed that the attention span of modern consumers has dropped to 8 seconds. So, brands and businesses are now off to a race of catching the audiences’ eyes in a matter of 3 seconds.

According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, it is also important for a brand or business website to load quickly. Otherwise, online visitors may abandon your content and page. To do so, they need to be aware of the common website killers, and what to do about them.

The Importance of Website Speed

The speed of a website page is vital to the optimization of your visibility online. It has a direct effect on conversion rates, SEO, traffic, and user experience. Who would love o stay on a page that loads forever? Who would enjoy browsing blank picture frames online? Below, let us discuss the importance of website speed further!

Page speed is the amount of time it takes for a website to load. It is typically calculated in 5 ways:

  • First Contentful Paint (FCP) or the server loading time to show the first content element in a page.
  • Load time is the amount of time it takes for all website elements to fully load.
  • Mobile-first or the measurement of the page speed among mobile devices.
  • Time to First Byte (TTFB) or the server loading time to show the first information byte on a page.
  • Time to Interactive (TTI) or the server loading time to show the interactive elements of a page.

Most people cap a good page speed at 2-second. To check the page speed of a website, you can either use Experte Bulk Page Speed Test or Google PageSpeed Insights. Alternative page speed checkers are also available online. 

The page speed of a website is very important for the following reasons:

  • It affects conversion rates. A slowly loading webpage drives website visitors away. As such, it reduces the conversion rates of brands and businesses. They can miss a possible buyer or turn a loyal customer towards a competitor site. On the other side, websites with a good speed increase conversion rate. It allows consumers to browse products and proceed to make a purchase conveniently.
  • It affects SEO. As of May 2021, Google CORE updates included page speed became a vital part of the user experience. The search engine will now give a lower rank on websites that loads slowly and put users off. In reverse, Google ranks websites with good speed higher resulting in a brand or business endorsement of the first page of any search results. 
  • It affects user experience. To provide a better user experience, the website of a brand or business should load quickly. Each page should be easy to navigate and switch. These result in users staying longer on the site and even sharing it with others. 

Common Website Speed Killers

Is your website running slow? You might need to check if it has the following common website speed killers. 

Ad Network Code

An ad network code is a unique identifier code for a brand or business on eCommerce websites. They are usually accompanied by large files like auto-play videos, GIFs, images, etc. Unfortunately, because these files are large, they slow down the speed of loading. A knowledgeable website designer can help you avoid these speed bumps. 

Analytics Tags

If you are using analytics tags to gather insights on ads and campaigns, they can also be speed killers. The scripts connected to these tags carry an enormous amount of information that may take time to load. A smart way to solve such a concern is to constantly clear a website’s cookie usage. 

Big Unoptimized Images

Visuals are a great way to drive clicks and engagement among brands and businesses. But they add extra weight to a webpage. A video marketing agency Hong Kong suggests, as much as possible, limiting the size of your images and videos. Using an image editor can help optimize the uploading of visuals on your website. As a pro-tip, JPEG or PNG images load faster than other image formats. They are a lightweight alternative to GIF and TIFF.

CSS-Poor Stylesheets

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) defines the HTML or XML display of a webpage. They contain anything from images to JavaScript to text formats. CSS is necessary for every web page, but too many of them can be website speed killers. So, it is best to combine multiple CSS and only display what is essential to prevent slowing down the speed of your website.

JavaScript-Based Functionality

These are software applications and codes used by every website. They can be website speed killers if used without caution or expertise. Most website developers recommend using Google analytics to power JavaScript. If possible, avoid embedded elements and multi-media content. It is because they take longer to load due to extensive media calculations.

Overstuffed HTML

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard tagging system for achieving a consistent graphics theme and hyperlink effects in the World Wide Web (WWB). To avoid turning them into website speed killers, use lesser HTML codes as possible. Combine similar codes and get rid of unnecessary codes.

Social Media Buttons

Most brands and businesses use social media buttons. It is because social media marketing can never be ignored. They are the most powerful platforms to reach your target audiences. Social media buttons sometimes block a page from loading properly. Brands and businesses should first assess what social media buttons they should add to their web pages. Two or three will do instead of too many. 

Unprofessional JQUERY

JQUERY is a JavaScript library that simplifies interactions between HTML and Java codes. Unfortunately, an excess in JQUERY lags can slow down a webpage. To avoid these website speed killers, optimize your HTML codes and avoid unnecessary JavaScript. 

Reference: https://blog.red-website-design.co.uk/2021/10/20/slow-website-google-ranking/

How to Deliver Meaningful Content on LinkedIn

Are you one of those who market on LinkedIn? According to a social media agency Hong Kong, the largest network of professionals is very unique when it comes to promoting products and services. Brands and businesses need to deliver meaningful content to convert prospects into customers. It is how they discover the strengths of a brand or business. By offering meaningful connections and expertise, that’s how people leverage their LinkedIn strategies.

A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong highlights that LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform among B2B marketers. With 740 million monthly active users, the platform has influenced 52% of buyers during the research process in making a product purchase. Long-form articles are one of the favorites among LinkedIn professionals. That is why brands and businesses should learn how to deliver meaningful content on LinkedIn. Here’s how!

Why Deliver Meaningful Content on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn articles are a means to reach the LinkedIn community. That is why recently, LinkedIn extended the availability of its article creation to company pages. It widens the ground for content marketing among brands and businesses. Below are some reasons why we need to deliver meaningful content on LinkedIn:

  • Meaningful content can boost LinkedIn engagements. Most professionals on LinkedIn comment, like, or share good articles.
  • Meaningful content can drive conversion and traffic to a brand or business website. A majority of LinkedIn members are decision-makers. If they find your content valuable, they will go directly to your website to make a purchase.
  • Meaningful content positions a LinkedIn company page as an expert or industry leader. They establish authority by providing educational and informative content. 

How to Deliver Meaningful Content on LinkedIn 

To deliver meaningful content on LinkedIn, the platform suggests writing articles directly on your LinkedIn profile. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

Step 1: Click the “Write Article” option on your LinkedIn’s Business Homepage.

Step 2: You can now start composing your article within the blank page. Within LinkedIn’s article composer, you can hover several elements and tools to enhance your article. The following text formatting options show on top of the blank page:

  • add headings
  • bold
  • bullet points
  • italics
  • links to your copy
  • quotes
  • underlined text

LinkedIn’s article composer also allows you to add a cover image. The cover image must be at least 2000 x 600 pixels. To add a cover image, click the “blank cover image” and upload. It also has a drag and drop option to add the photo.

Crafting an SEO-friendly headline is vital to the success of your LinkedIn article. Let people know what readers expect to gain by using keywords related to the niche or topic. Avoid using misleading headlines. The article you should write must expand information about the headline. Just a note, if you are using Grammarly or Lazarus, you may need to disable such extensions while writing an article on LinkedIn. It is because they can block the headline field. 

CTA, links, and quotes are a great way to create engagement, drive traffic, and generate leads on LinkedIn articles. As you write, think about the fewer words but more value. 

If you have a formatted article copy, you can click the small square+ icon on the body field. It allows you to embed other elements on your article such as images, slides, or videos. After embedding, you can add text to your visuals by hovering on them and aligning the hyperlink on them.

Step 3: After you are done writing the article, you can use the drop-down menu of the publishing tab to edit or view your article. A unique feature of LinkedIn’s article composer is the ability to share a preview of your draft with someone else. It can help you with a second opinion before publishing the content. Under the publishing drop-down menu, choose “share your draft” and share it to your preferred LinkedIn profile. You can wait for feedback before publishing the content by saving it as a draft. You can edit the draft once you have received the feedback.

Step 4: When you are ready to deliver your meaningful content on LinkedIn, click the blue “Publish” button to post it. LinkedIn suggests adding relevant hashtags to expand its reach. You can also choose to disable or enable comments on the post. Please note that you can also update your article once it is published.

Step 5: Integrate your meaningful content to your company pages on LinkedIn. Some pro-tips to deliver meaningful content on LinkedIn Pages are:

  • Do’s and Don’ts Guide to share your expertise about a particular niche.
  • FAQs for in-depth answers to commonly asked questions.
  • Listicle for easy skimming of valuable information. For example: “10 Quick Insights About Your Products & Services.”

Think creatively as you move forward. It can help you grow your LinkedIn community and achieve your marketing goals. 

Reference: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-linkedin-articles-for-pages/

The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Marketing

YouTube is the largest video-sharing network in the world. When it comes to video marketing, it is one of the top 3 social media platforms. With 2 billion monthly active users, brands and businesses should never underestimate their power in promoting products and services.

A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong has noted that YouTube is the 2nd most visited site globally. Its parent company, Google, topped the rank. With people watching more than a billion hours of YouTube videos daily, the platform can significantly influence buying decisions. With these facts and stats, it is therefore vital to ramp up your YouTube strategy. Here’s an ultimate guide to YouTube marketing!

Choose the Best Video Thumbnail that Accurately Represents Your Content

For most video creators, a thumbnail seems to be not an important element. But it is the static image that people see first in video content. As such, the thumbnail of a YouTube video must grab the attention of a YouTuber. A thumbnail can influence people to click and watch your video content. First, use the right video thumbnail optimized for both desktop and mobile users. YouTube recommends a thumbnail size of 1280 x 720 pixels. While the aspect ratio of its preview should be 16:9. The file size of the image should also be less than 2 MB. Using high-quality photos can act as a teaser to your video style among YouTubers. If possible, include your video title to provide extra context to your viewers.

Create a Video Playlist on Your YouTube Channel

A playlist is a collection of videos that you have already published on YouTube. It is a way to organize your uploads according to categories or topics. A video playlist makes it easier for viewers to find your video content. According to a video marketing agency Hong Kong, a video playlist is also important in YouTube marketing because of 3 main reasons. First, it makes it easier for brands and businesses to curate content. Second, it increases the viewer’s watch time because it automatically plays all the videos in the collection. Third, a video playlist can rank for keywords that your audiences commonly search for. As such, it is a good strategy for video SEO. 

Include Calls-To-Action (CTAs) in Every Video

Have you ever encountered speech bubbles when watching a YouTube video a couple of years ago? They are some forms of forcible CTAs in the video channel. Today, call-to-action in YouTube videos is very different. They can be inserted at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a video play. But the best CTAs come at the beginning of a YouTube video. This is because the viewer’s bounce-back rate gets higher as a video plays longer. Below are some of the best CTAs for YouTube marketing:

  • Add to Cart
  • Apply Now
  • Ask a Question
  • Book Today
  • Don’t Miss Out!
  • Enter to Win
  • Explore
  • Follow Us On
  • Free Trial
  • Register Now
  • See More
  • Shop Now
  • Show Me How
  • Sign-Up
  • Start Watching
  • Subscribe Now
  • Try X For Free

Keep a Consistent Channel Branding in All Your Social Media Accounts

Sharing your videos via email, Q & A sites, and social media pages is a great way to promote a brand or business. It is an easy way to provide extra insights about your video ads. It also expands your YouTube marketing reach. What is most important is to keep a consistent channel branding in all your social media accounts. Using the same logo, colors, and themes can make people easily recognize a brand or business. It can also foster customer loyalty and trust. 

Make It Easy for Others to Share Your Videos

An effective YouTube marketing strategy is to make it easy for others to share your video content. Shareable YouTube videos expand their reach to other marketing channels and social media platforms. On YouTube, adding a video from another channel is very much accepted as long as it follows community guidelines. The best way to make it easier for others to share your videos is to keep your YouTube channel public. Posting its link on blogs, social media posts, and websites can also encourage your viewers to share the content.

Optimize Your Video Title and Description for SEO 

Today, Google also includes videos in its search results. Because they are the most popular format among online users, YouTube videos need to optimize SEO. Optimizing a YouTube video for SEO is simple. Before uploading one, be sure to include a target keyword on your video file name. Use commonly searched keywords that are relevant to the video content on your description. Categorize your video based on related industries or niches. Better yet, tag them with popular keywords that are related to the topic of the video content.

Produce Videos Regularly

YouTube is a social media platform. As such, for YouTube marketing to succeed, it is important to produce video regularly. A social media agency Hong Kong recommends uploading a video on a YouTube channel once a week or once a month. If possible, keep it at a regular interval. This is to give your audience a chance to pre-empt when they could expect your next upload. You may consider doing a video series to create excitement among your viewers. What is important is you keep your channel visible to the subscriber’s eyes to ultimately succeed in YouTube marketing.

Reference: https://www.hubspot.com/youtube-marketing

How to Build an Online Community

The legendary Greek Philosopher, Aristotle once said: “Man is by nature a social animal.” It means that man cannot live alone. We, as humans, are mutually dependent on a community. Such as saying holds when it comes to the Internet. People use the Internet to connect to the world. That is why online communities are rising. It is because of our need to connect and grow as social beings.

According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong online communities work like traditional groups. Common interest binds their members together. But one key advantage of online communities is that they maximize connections through the use of technology. They are now a go-to place for people searching for answers to their queries. They are platforms where people keep themselves updated with what is happening in the world today. As they foster self-expression and a sense of belonging, online communities became more meaningful today than peer-to-peer connections. Now, the question is: how to build an online community?

WHAT IS AN ONLINE COMMUNITY?

Each of us is probably a member of an online community. It may be a Facebook page, next-door neighbors, a LinkedIn network, etc. With the power of technology, an army of strangers can also be considered an online community. This makes its concept abstract. But in general, an online community is defined as a group of individuals who have common interests and shared values. 

Today, an online community is an important part of marketing strategy. Every brand or business needs to build and manage a community of followers. It is very important to sustain their growth and operation. An online community provides insights into your target audiences’ needs and preferences. It is also an effective crowdsourcing platform. When members collaborate and discuss their problems, brands and businesses can grab the opportunity to create products and services that the members of the group desire. If members of a brand’s online community are happy, they will share it with others. It builds a positive reputation for the brand. As you nurture followers and members, an online community can promote loyalty and retention. 

HOW TO BUILD AN ONLINE COMMUNITY?

A social media agency Hong Kong highly recommends the following steps to build an online community. 

  • Select a community manager. A community manager is a dedicated team member who will be overseeing and supervising the group’s online activities. He or she will act as the chief operating officer of the online community. The community manager will work closely with the group to organize the branding of the community. In most cases, he or she will encourage community members to buy a product, buy another product, and continuously buy another product tier. In short, the community manager will also be the marketer for a brand.  
  • Define the goal and purpose. Every online community should have a purpose. This is the main core of binding online people together. Without a purpose, people will not understand why they should join an online community. For most brands and businesses, the goal and purpose of an online community answer the question: What experience do you want to give your customers? For example, you want to build a community of travelers for an airline company. The main goal of your online community may be sharing budget travel tips or cheap flights. discovery
  • Select a platform. The third step to build an online community is to find a home for the group. Depending on your niche, it can either be any of the social media networks. Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and YouTube are ideal platforms for large online communities. Instagram, Pinterest, and WhatsApp are best for small online communities sharing the same creative passions. All of these are examples of free online community platforms. If you want to build an online community that you can fully control, you can host your own website and offer exclusive membership through accounts with user names and passwords.
  • Develop norms and rules. Even if the purpose of your online community is to serve its members, it should still have norms and rules. First, who can be accepted as members of the group? Then, how can one maintain his or her membership? Develop norms and rules on how should each member connect to the group. Make it clear what they can post or cannot post within the community page. 
  • Promote your online community. Building an online community does not end in setting it up. As your online community goes live, you will also need to promote it. Like a product promotion, show people why they need to join your group. Tell them what pain points can your online community solve. You can partner with influencers to attract members. You can invite your contacts or network members to join your group. Or you may also incentivize your group members through a referral program. The key to building an online community is consistent promotion. Just like a brand’s product and services, be proud of your online community!

Reference: https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/online-communities/#4-tips-for-a-thriving-online-community

Basic Guide to Content Marketing

Have you ever wondered how Buffer and HubSpot made a name in the online world? How does Zomato acquire 1.3 million followers? And how the iconic Rolex is rocking Instagram? The single answer is “content marketing.” How is it? Let me tell you a story!

In the 1900s, brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded a tire manufacturing company in France. During that time, there were around 3000 cars in the country. So, to increase sales, they think of increasing the number of cars in the country. The brothers then created the Michelin Guide. It is a list of the best hotels and restaurants in France. It also included car mechanics, petrol stations, road maps, tire repair, and tire replacement instructions. Today, it is one of the best examples of effective content marketing material. The Michelin Guide made Michelin one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world. Among restaurants, being awarded a 3 Michelin Stars means having exceptional cuisine that is worth trying on a special journey. 

According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, content marketing is a strategic marketing approach. It creates and distributes valuable content to attract and keep a defined audience. The content relates to what one sells. In this way, one educates people to know, like, and trust a business. Ultimately, it aims to drive profit. Below is a basic guide about content marketing.

What Does Content Marketing Mean for Your Business?

Bill Gates wrote an essay in 1996 entitled “Content is king.” He published it on the Microsoft website. He said that “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting.” It’s indeed happening now. Content marketing is a necessity for the modern brand.  

Everybody’s aware that content marketing works. But here’s some statistics to prove it:

  • Around 78% of consumers prefer knowing a company through articles rather than ads.  
  • Around 80% of businesses engage in content marketing.
  • Content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing and generates 3x as many leads.
  • Content marketing increases conversion rates by 600%.
  • Seven out of ten consumers prefer articles over ads.
  • Small businesses with blogs get 126% more lead growth than small businesses without blogs.
  • Coca-Cola spends more money on content creation than on television ads. 
  • Half of the Top 200 Fortune Companies have business blogs. 
  • Leading brands, including Microsoft, Cisco, P & G, and John Deere, used content marketing.

Content Marketing Formats

According to a social media agency Hong Kong, marketers know that no single type of content appears to everyone. Especially among social media networks, a mix of content posting can make a very powerful marketing strategy. Here’s a list of content formats that Hubspot put together:

AutorespondersHow-To’sPredictions
BlogsInfographicsPress Releases
Book SummariesInterviewsQ & A Session
Cartoon/IllustrationsListsQuizzes
Case StudiesMemeQuotes
Charts/GraphsMind MapsResources
Company NewsNewslettersSlide Shares
Content CurationOnline GamesSurveys
Day in a Life Of PostOpinion PostTemplates
DictionaryOriginal ResearchTimelines
eBooksPhoto CollageTool Reviews
EmailPhotosUsers Generated Content
FAQsPinboardsVideos
GiveawaysPodcastsWebinar
GuidesPollsWhitepapers
Helpful Applications/Tools  

The Four Elements of Content Marketing Strategy

There’s a lot of content marketing strategies that exist today. It’s up to marketers to take the creative chance. Here are four elements of content marketing strategy recommended by Semrush:

Brand Positioning is crafting an impression on your target customers. It associates a specific quality to your brand. The main goal is to make it unique and consistent. The type of brand positioning depends on the market situation.

  • Competitor Smackdown means finding the market leader of a specific niche and defeating it. 
  • Focus on a Sub-Segment is aiming for a specific niche and positioning the brand accordingly.
  • To Reshape an Already Appealing Market means reframing an existing market with new benefits and features.
  • While Creating Something from Scratch is positioning on a new need in the market. It’s the I-came-first brand positioning.

Value Proposition is a promise of the value you will deliver. It’s a short sentence about your organization’s unique offering. There are three steps in creating a successful value proposition: 

  • Identify your customer’s needs
  • Link their needs to your value offering
  • Differentiate your position, making you a better option

Aim for something easy to understand and which you can read in five seconds.

A business case is a document containing the necessary information to make a decision. It answers the how, what, why, and who of a new project. It’s also a justification for resources and expenditures. It’s best to include four sections in every business case:

  • Executive Summary communicates vital information about the project.
  • Financial Appraisal identifies the financial implications of the project.
  • Project Definition describes the project goals, benefits, and limitations.
  • Project Organization outlines the roles of the team and how they made decisions.

Strategic Plan summarizes how a company plans to operate and grow over the next three to five years. It presents the decisions made by the management in three areas:

  • Strategic Goals – the targets of the business, both financial and non-financial
  • Strategic Scope – the business offerings and their target market
  • Key Success Factors – what’s needed to achieve the goals

The foremost step to creating a strategic plan is by doing an internal SWOT Analysis and creating SMART Goals to increase performance.

Today, videos have been a favorite format for consumption among online users. A video marketing agency Hong Kong recommends using video ads to promote your products and services. They are a great form of content to explain how things work and solve the customer’s pain points. In conclusion, the methods to deliver content are changing. But the core principles remain the same. 

Reference: https://www.spiralytics.com/blog/beginners-guide-content-marketing/

6 Hacks to Write SEO Blogs Faster

Content marketing is the starting line of digital marketing. Through SEO blogs, brands and businesses can drive traffic to their social media pages and websites. It is also how they educate their prospect to learn more about their products and services. As such, they were able to convert them into customers and loyal followers. 

A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong notes that the foundation of SEO blogs is quality over quantity. Yet, while quality is paramount to the success of SEO blogs, quantity matters, too. Brands and businesses need to consistently post on their social media pages to stir conversations and engagements. They should also constantly update their content to provide relevant and timely information about their offerings. 

The challenge comes from the time consumed in creating SEO blogs. Most content creators or writers spend two hours or more to create a quality article. How much more if they will create engaging visuals like banners, photos, and videos? But there is no need to worry. There are some ways you can decrease the time spent when creating content. Below are six hacks to write SEO blogs faster.

WHAT ARE SEO BLOGS?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the practice of enhancing web pages to make them rank on top of Google searches. SEO Blogs are content that contains relevant keywords that top search ranking of a specific industry or niche. By including the keywords within accurate and relevant pieces of content, Google will read a webpage as authoritative and reputable. Thus, it ranks the page on top of the search results. 

SEO Blogs are powerful tools to boost the online visibility of brands and businesses. They are also a platform to demonstrate the passion and expertise of a brand or a business. To gain the most traffic with a sustainable quantity of SEO blogs, here are some hacks!

6 HACKS TO WRITE SEO BLOGS FASTER

Bulk Keyword Research

The first hack to write SEO blogs faster is to do a bulk keyword search. It can be a perfect start when you are planning to write a batch of SEO blogs. Save relevant keywords to your industry or niche in an excel file. It can be a handy tool to work backward once you think of fun or a new topic. Start by searching general keywords, then move forward to listing keywords that are difficult to scale. Bulk keyword research can save you a significant amount of time. Thus, it can help you write SEO blogs faster. A social media agency Hong Kong suggests doing bulk keyword research monthly. It is because keyword ranking typically updates every 30 days.

Content Calendar

After doing bulk keyword research, a second hack is to use a content calendar to plan your strategy for writing SEO blogs. Plot primary and secondary keywords for each calendar date for the month. They will serve as your daily focus when writing SEO blogs. Balancing and fully filling up your content calendar makes it easier for you to start writing once your workday begins. You don’t need to spend time thinking about what to do next as you’ve got a prepared schedule. It may also help you do advanced research in case you have plenty of vacant time. 

Content Outlines

The best hack to speed up writing SEO blogs is to outline your content first. The content outline will organize the flow of thoughts that you would like to write. It should contain the following elements:

  • A headline or the main topic of your SEO blog;
  • Subheadings to segment information making it easier for the audience to grasp them; 
  • Bullet points for listings and statistics. 

The content outline will make it easier for you to dissect information from one heading to another. It will also help you avoid losing focus and walking through rabbit holes during the process of writing. 

First Draft

After creating a content outline, it is now time to write your first draft. Start on top of the outline by creating an engaging headline. You can then proceed with filling up the subheadings with words and paragraphs. Start with the introduction, then focus on the pain points and needs of your readers and how to solve them. Don’t forget to link the content with at least three relevant pages on your website. It is also recommended to use authoritative websites as your backlink or reference for any term definition, enumeration, or statistics. You will be surprised that sticking to the content outline while writing your first draft can make wonders. You might be able to possibly write a quality SEO blog in just 30 minutes.

Proofread

Once your first draft is complete, now it is time to proofread. A good hack in proofreading your draft is to read it aloud. It allows you to convert the piece of content into a conversational tone. You can also ask a colleague for some inputs on your writing. Always remember, two heads are better than one. You can also wait until the next day to do another retouch on your SEO blog. It can be a delay in time, but it is worth it. Your flow of thoughts may be different during the time of your writing and after 24-hours of writing the content. You are promoting objectivity in changing things as such. 

SEO Checklist

The final hack is to do an SEO checklist on your blog. It can be a 3rd or 4th edit on your content. Check if your headline has a good SEO score. Rephrase or reword it as needed. Keeping headlines within 5 to 8 words influences people to click your content. It is because fewer words make them straightforward. Check if your primary and secondary keywords are scattered throughout the content. Put your links on these keywords to highlight them. In the end, craft a simple meta description about your blog. Use power words to help your SEO blogs rank based on search intent. 

A video marketing agency Hong Kong also recommends a pro-tip of inserting videos instead of static images on your SEO blogs. According to search engine watch, pages with videos are 53x more likely to rank on Google.

Reference: https://www.semrush.com/blog/hacks-for-writing-seo-blog-articles/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=writing_seo_articles_fast&utm_id=en_marketing_blog

Top 3 Social Media Automation Tools

More than half of the world’s population uses social media today. According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, it may be very challenging to manage to connect and target these 4.33 billion people. As the numbers keep increasing, brands and businesses need to find ways on how to make things easier and faster. Modern technology has an answer for such needs. Social media automation tools can do the jobs for marketers. Below, let us discuss the top social media automation tools in 2021.

WHAT ARE SOCIAL MEDIA AUTOMATION TOOLS?

A social media agency Hong Kong defines social media automation tools as software that accomplish specific social media tasks without human intervention. To put it simply, it is a program that automates things like posting and sharing content among social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Twitter, etc. The key features of social media automation tools are:

Automated Analysis and Insights.  Social media automation tools are equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) that gathers analytics and insights into everything you have posted on your social media accounts. They will measure and track the performance of your campaigns. These can help brands and community building.

Automated Responses. One great feature of social media automation tools is their ability to directly interact with the customers. Using automated responses or chatbots, help keep your prospects engaged by sending immediate replies to their queries.

Content Publishing. After drafting a content or message, the tool will show you a preview of how it will look on a social media platform. Once you’ve integrated your social media account on the tool, you can then publish the content or message to multiple social media accounts all at the same time.

Easy-to-use Dashboard. Social media automation tools integrate all your social media channels in a single interface. With an easy-to-use dashboard, such investments make it easy for marketers to access all important marketing elements. 

Schedule Post. Social media automation tools allow marketers to program future posts at the time they think is best to publish content or message. This gives marketers enough time to plan their content strategy and make the most out of their social media pages. These tools let you schedule posts ahead of up to one month.  In most cases, these tools also recommend the time where most of the audience is active. They also facilitate easy content curation and reposting. 

TOP 3 SOCIAL MEDIA AUTOMATION TOOLS

Are you looking for a social media automation tool to boost productivity and save you from countless hours of content posting and scheduling? Here are the top 3 social media automation tools this 2021.

IFTTT. This abbreviation stands for IF This Then That. IFTTT is an integration platform that helps you connect with the world’s best brands. This social media automation tool is free to use. Premium IFTTT accounts start at $3.99 per month. IFTTT allows users to create applets composed of actions and triggers that one can connect to different devices. It also houses a hundred pre-made, time-saving applets that marketers can use to automate their social media tasks. You can check the list of available applets for IFTTT by clicking this link. Each applet serves as a command to enable exclusive automated tasks. Among the most popular are:

Sendible. Sendible is a full-fledged social media management tool for agencies and brands. With subscription services starting at $29 per month, their unified social media dashboard includes the following automation features:

  • Curation, scheduling, and sharing of content from RSS feeds
  • Evergreen posts recycling under repeating schedules
  • Individual or bulk scheduling of social media images, posts, and videos 
  • Keyword monitoring with automated alerts and notifications
  • Sending of regular reports to c clients and colleagues 
  • Separate scheduling of group campaigns and posts 
  • Unified inbox conversations

Sendible allows the tailoring of content using different attachments, emojis, and messages. It also allows grouping content per campaign to send them on separate queues. The tool automatically recycles posts that perform well under repeating queues. If you want to monitor specific keywords from other brands and competitors, Sendible is the perfect tool. It will send you an alert or notification via email or the Slack app every time there is a keyword match. With an in-depth reporting hub, users can automatically send customized reports to clients and team members on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Zapier. As a global remote company, Zapier is the best way to automate work. It offers a limited free plan, and a wide range of subscriptions starting at $19.99 per month. Bands and businesses can start automating their tasks through a set of Zap motions. They may either be actions or triggers like:

  • ACTION: Alert me in Slack about the new Dropbox file.
  • ACTION: Copy the attachment from Gmail to Dropbox.
  • TRIGGER: When I get a new email in Gmail.

Like IFTTT, Zapier lets users create their own Zap be it an action or trigger. It also houses hundreds of pre-made and time-saving Zaps. 

Reference: https://bloggingwizard.com/social-media-automation-tools/

How to Localize Facebook Marketing

The digital marketing landscape is more competitive than it ever was today. Ad spend continues to rise and consumers are bombarded with so many noises in the online world. A major key for brands and businesses to appeal to their target audiences is ad personalization. This can be done by filtering them through demographics like age, gender, and location, etc. One thing is for sure, local ads are gaining power right now. Last year, mobile searches for Google’s “near me” businesses increased by 250%. Thus, a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong suggests learning how to localize Facebook marketing. Being the king of social media, such a strategy can really boost awareness and conversions among brands.

A social media agency Hong Kong explains that the best way to localize marketing on Facebook is to use location pages. It has been around for a number of years helping consumers searching for directions of physical stores or shops with discounted offers near their location. Facebook location pages showed up to individual searches highlighting the closest businesses registered in their map. Facebook also features global pages. It is a page designed to help businesses with multiple global audiences and store locations in different countries. Within global pages are market pages. These are the same brand page showing on marketplaces of a particular location or region. Just like location pages, market pages show up on individual searches highlighting them as one of the closest businesses registered on their map. By understanding these concepts, we can now proceed to discuss how to localize Facebook marketing.

CREATE A BUYER PERSONA

The best strategy on how to localize Facebook marketing is to create a buyer persona. This is a fictional representation of your target audiences on Facebook. It starts with researching your current customers, your competitor’s customers, and potential clients of your industry or niche. You can also use existing data like the personal profiles of your existing followers on Facebook. The main goal of creating a buyer persona is to understand your target audiences better. It also allows brands to determine how large the market is and how much budget they will need for such a campaign. Group your information based on the following filters:

  • Demographics such as age, education level, gender, geographic location, household income, languages, marital status, occupation, parental status, race, etc.
  • Hobbies, interests, and behaviors. This is where you need to be creative and smart. You will need to dig into the users’ common activities and the pages or topics they engaged in and followed.
  • Reason for buying. This answers why the user is interested in making a purchase. Is it for his or her own use or somebody else?

After getting all the information, you can now create a buyer persona that you think is people with the highest potential to buy your products and services. This is where Facebook global pages and location pages enter. If your brand wants to offer products and services in different parts of the world, you can apply for global pages and create market pages once approved. In the meantime, while waiting for approval, you can start creating Facebook local pages for each location. This also applies to those starting small. It allows you to reach a strong market of people within your location. All you need to do is register a store location on the said page. Once you are eyeing for growth or if your global page is approved, you can just switch your local page and turn it into a market page.

CREATE LOCAL FACEBOOK GROUPS

Out of the 2.85 billion monthly active users on Facebook, 1.8 billion are members of 10 million groups on the platform. These are vibrant communities where connections and engagement happen daily. Picking up the momentum of Facebook Groups can help brands and businesses localize marketing. They can create a Facebook Group based on geographical location and stir conversations relevant to the local community. Through hyper-local settings, brands and businesses can build and grow a community of followers that can eventually be converted as customers.

TAILOR POSTING FACEBOOK ADS ACCORDING TO TIME ZONES

Another way to localize Facebook marketing is to tailor posting ads according to time zones. In the absence of global and location pages, Creator Studio allows scheduling ads based on regional time zones. As such, Facebook ads can reach the right people at the right time. With the right content, you can increase click-through rates dramatically. A pro-tip in hyper-localizing the ad is to tag particular regions in your post. It will show up in regional searches to audiences within that region.

TEST ORGANIC FACEBOOK POSTS

Facebook Creator Studio also allows brands and businesses to do A/B testing on organic posts. This can be a good way to learn which post has gathered the most engagement. As such, it builds evidence in creating the most effective ads for a locality. You can start testing one post at a time and change them every 7 days. By carefully analyzing the effects of changes on an ad, you will better understand what content resonates with the community.

Reference: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-global-pages-and-market-pages-how-to-localize-your-marketing/

Optimizing Conversion Rate After the COVID Pandemic

Think of this! You have a website and you offer great products but people are not getting on board. What do you need to do? A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong suggests that you need to find ways to optimize your conversion rate, especially after the COVID pandemic where people shifted from buying physical stores into digital shopping. There are lots of ways you can boost your sales. We’ve got you covered here!

WHAT IS A CONVERSION RATE?

A conversion rate is a measure of how good your marketing is by getting people to do what you want them to do. The higher your conversion rate is, the better your marketing strategy works. To calculate your conversion rate, you need to get the percentage of people who visited your landing page, social media pages, and website over those who got converted. A social media agency Hong Kong lists the actions of those who get converted as follow:

  • Make a purchase
  • Submit a form (contact form, lead gen, etc.)
  • Call your business
  • Engage with online chat
  • Sign up for a subscription (paid or free)
  • Register on the site
  • Download something app (eBook, mobile app, software trial, etc.)
  • Use something (upgrade feature on your app or software, use your app or software for a certain amount of time)
  • Engage with your site in some way (number of pages visited, repeat visits, time on site)

There are other conversion actions people can take on. The most important conversion is getting website visitors to purchase your products and services and become your loyal customers.

OPTIMIZING CONVERSION RATES AFTER THE COVID PANDEMIC

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of knowing what your audience needs for them to take action on your landing page, social media pages, and website. It involves A/B testing, content marketing, social media, and a lot more. The COVID pandemic has significantly boosted online shopping. To help brands and businesses in optimizing conversion rates after the COVID pandemic, here are some best practices.

Test Different Elements on Your Landing or Product Pages

Unlike SEO, conversion rate optimization means experimenting with different elements on your website’s landing and product pages. CRO relies on ideal customers. Ideal customers have varied interests and preferences. Some may like to read educational articles to get to learn about your products before buying them. Others may love to see images of the product to feel their beauty and dimensions. Others may be fond of videos to get to know the brand or product story. According to a video marketing agency Hong Kong, social videos have 1200% more conversion than images and text. 

Perform A/B Testing

Most social media pages provide a/B testing tools to optimize conversion rates. Take advantage of these tools to know which ads and campaigns work best. A/B testing means running different versions of an ad by separating your target audiences into two random groups. In this way, marketers can identify which type of ads result in higher conversions. If you have a website that invites a lot of traffic, you can also perform A/B tests on different pages. Using Google Optimize, you don’t need design skills or technical knowledge to perform this kind of test. An editor helps you create altered versions of your pages through an easy click-and-remove step. This will help you see the efficacy of each element once you add and remove them from a page.

Decide the Time Frame for your A/B Test

Brands and businesses should decide a time frame for every A/B testing. The recommended time frame on how long you should run an A/B test is around 7 to 15 days. In this way, you are giving enough time for decent traffic to see the variation of pages during your A/B test. At the same time, you can observe and learn something new about your audiences. Here’s a simple example: If you decide to remove the product price on a test page and observe that your sales have crashed, this means that your audience needs to see the product price before making a purchase. Yet, it doesn’t mean showing the price on the same spot. You can move them below the product description or higher up to increase conversion. 

Always Do an A/B Test to Optimize Conversion Rates

There is no permanent thing in this world but “change.” Marketing is continuously evolving and your target audiences’ behavior is constantly shifting. As your brand continues to grow, as you gain new prospects, and as you launch new products, A/B testing should always be your guide in making marketing decisions. This is to ensure that your content is getting the maximum conversion. 

The Bottom Line

Only 25% of businesses today are satisfied with their conversion rates. The average conversion rate among marketers is 2-5%, but this is what most businesses want. A good conversion rate is above 10%, but to achieve such a goal, you should follow the abovementioned best practices.

Reference: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/conversion-rate-optimization-in-post-covid-world/

Content Marketing on Facebook

It is true! Content is king. Content marketing is now a necessity for modern brands. It is also the number one key to success in social media marketing. Behind a great brand is a wealth of useful and valuable content. Content marketing is a creative way to tell a brand story. It helps influence conversions. It improves brand reputation. It is also a cost-effective way to bring new leads through SEO efforts. According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, 78% of consumers prefer getting to know a brand via articles rather than ads. As 93% of interaction starts with a search engine, brands and businesses posting blog content consistently have 434% more indexed pages than those who don’t publish at all. 

If content is king, then, Facebook is the king of social media. With 2.85 billion monthly active users, there is no doubt about the large reach of Facebook ads and content compared to other social media networks. For a social media agency Hong Kong, Facebook offers the most comprehensive and diverse advertising audience in this digital age. Around 65% of Facebook users view photos, 46% watch videos, and 65% share content with everyone. No wonder, 94% of marketers use Facebook as their primary marketing channel. If you are one of them, here are some tips for content marketing on Facebook that have proven to work for such a long time.

Post Different Types of Content

Content creation is the top priority for 55% of inbound marketers. The most popular technique these marketers use that has worked in the past years is keeping their content dynamic. This means experimenting with different types of Facebook posts. Videos perform better than all other types of posts, according to a video marketing agency Hong Kong. On average, there are around 8 billion video views on Facebook daily ,and they get 59% more engagement than other posts. Social media users love visuals. So, images rank next to videos as the most popular type of content on Facebook. They get 2.3x more engagements than a post without images. User-generated content (UGC) ranks third. They are very powerful in boosting conversion as 84% of Facebook users trust recommendations among other forms of advertising. 

Successful content marketing on Facebook adopts the 70-20-10 approach. Post original materials 70% of the time. Share relevant content 20% of the time. Create ads for the remaining 10%. Other types of Facebook content you can include are the following:

  • Blogs
  • Bucket list
  • Infographics
  • Memes and quotes
  • Podcasts
  • Questions
  • Quizzes
  • Tips

The most successful brands post at least 4x to 5x a day on Facebook.

Take Advantage of AR and VR Content

Content marketing on Facebook is not limited to writing blogs, FAQs, infographics, and other text content. It is more of using rich media to engage the target audiences in the platform. Today, the best way for people to connect on Facebook is through live streaming and video calls. Augmented reality (AR) allows overlapping audio and visual elements on images and videos. Virtual reality (VR) is the technology that allows users to enter a simulated environment in video content.

Facebook has been using AR & VR technology for several years now. But recently, they are implementing better AR & VR tools to help brands and businesses enhance their content. AR try-on, AR glasses, and even the upcoming smartwatches are some innovative AR & VR products that Facebook offers. Crafting AR & VR for content marketing on Facebook can be tricky. However, marketers should never ignore its power as it adds value to the buying experience of 66% of Facebook shoppers. By using AR & VR, brands and businesses can most likely increase conversions.

The best way to use AR on Facebook content is through Facebook and Instagram Stories. Around 1 billion stories are shared every day across Facebook’s family of apps. From face filters to fun animations, brands and businesses can create and share behind the scenes, limited promotions, and product highlights with these types of content. Use VR to bring users to a brand’s world. Challenge them to create UGC videos with a brand located in the background. Brands can also create VR contests and games to highlight their products and services. All the more AR & VR is a rising form of innovative content.

Use Facebook Messenger to Supplement Your Content Marketing Strategy

There are around 2.4 billion users of Facebook Messenger. There are also more than 20 billion messages exchanged between businesses and users on the said platform. These make Facebook Messenger an incredibly powerful Facebook content marketing tool. Modern consumers want immediate responses to their queries. The practice of using chatbots on Facebook Messenger addresses such a demand. Chatbots are virtual assistants that communicate with the audience in a conventional and natural humane way. Content marketers can program personalized chatbot responses to connect to their Facebook target audiences. Program an entire product catalog as a menu offering to Facebook Messenger. If they inquire for options, offer them a Catalog list based on relevant categories. Content marketers can also use Messenger chatbots to make the buying experience easier. By integrating in-app checkout, a Facebook user no longer needs to leave the app in order to make a purchase. This can greatly increase conversion.

Reference: https://revive.social/facebook-marketing-tips/