How Long Should Your Marketing Videos Be?

/ Zach Heller

Over the past few years, video has been steadily gaining dominance on social media platforms. What’s more, many social media platforms have introduced increasingly video-focused algorithms meaning that social video is fast becoming a tool that businesses can’t ignore.

Video engagement can be a tricky business when your audience’s attention span is less than that of a goldfish’s (one second less to be exact). To that end, the guys at One Productions have created an informative infographic which outlines how long your next video should be. It includes key information about the state of video engagement in 2018, as well as some great tips and tricks advising how to tailor your video’s length to each social media channel, it also outlines how analytics can be used to monitor your video’s performance and shape future video content.

/ Zach Heller/ Comment
video marketing, video length,

Zach Heller

25 Cognitive Biases Marketers Can Use to Their Advantage

/ Zach Heller

Human psychology is one of the most important factors that influence business and marketing yet it is rarely studied in business school or discussed by marketing professionals. It’s likely pushed aside because professors and marketing managers are as guilty of cognitive biases as anyone else.

In the age of digital marketing, you may feel numb to advertisements on the sites you frequently visit or sponsored posts on your social media accounts. It might surprise you how impactful the continued exposure can actually be. These advertisers are exploiting the “Mere Exposure Effect” which is when people express a fondness for things simply because they are familiar with them.

In this visual from GetVoIP you will learn about 25 cognitive biases and how they are leveraged in business and marketing:

Cognitive Biases and how they are leveraged in business

The Top 8 Hottest Social Media Marketing Trends in 2017 (Infographic)

/ Zach Heller

By now, social media has become a commonplace for many marketers today. From biggest brands to start-up ventures, most businesses today cannot deny the fact that social media marketing is one of the most indispensable tools critical to reaching a wider audience and communicate a message to its target market more effectively and efficiently.

What sets apart this tactic is that unlike traditional methods like radio, television, and print, social media enables the business to have a two-way communication with its followers. With real-time engagement at hand, a business can effectively promote its brand while at the same time providing satisfying online experience to their audience.

Moreover, with billions of active users worldwide, leveraging social media is critical in building a stronger brand image, which is almost impossible for most small businesses way back then. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn has become a platform where small players can compete on the same playing field as the bigger brands. From stronger brand image and wider audience reach, any business who choose to use social media marketing definitely gets better customer retention and bottom line.

To know the latest trends that are bound to shape the social media marketing this 2017 and beyond, check the infographic below from CJG Digital Marketing.

Why Online Reviews Matter More than You Think

/ Zach Heller

Business owners often wonder if online reviews about their business or product really matter. Well, the short answer is they do, and for a good number of reasons. But this isn’t something new. For centuries, people have used word-of-mouth to recommend good suppliers or complain about poor products and services. But where this used to be confined to friends and family, nowadays, the power of the Internet spreads this word-of-mouth far and wide and keeps it on the record forever.

Consumers are relying more and more on online reviews when buying products and services. And since so many people are reading online reviews before selecting a business, product, or service, it comes as no surprise that big corporations are paying much more attention to the subject. Like Kia, the Korean motor manufacturer, who published its intention to focus on customer reviews back in 2013; or Amazon, who has caused controversy by tightening its book review policy, deleting thousands of suspicious reviews in pursuit of accurate customer feedback?

Want to learn more about online reviews? Check out this new infographic from Website Builder.

Still not convinced? If you think you don’t need to worry about online reviews, or if you think they’re not worth the time and trouble it takes to manage them, well, you better think again. These are 3 reasons why every business owner—big or small—should welcome and encourage online reviews.

  1. Online reviews are like personal recommendations. According to Forbes, 88% of consumers consider online reviews to be trustworthy. Online reviews are trusted by the consumer just as much as if a relative, friend or colleague had recommended a service themselves. Therefore, the chances of a potential customer buying from you are higher if your online reviews are favorable.
     
  2. Reviews are indicators to your business. They highlight the benefits or problems of your business. So, for instance, instead of having steam come out from your ears because of a negative review, look at it from an objective point of view. Now that the problem was pointed out, you can work to improve it and give a better offering. And if we are talking about a positive review, now you know how to keep up the good work!
     
  3. Online reviews improve the traffic of your website. When people read positive reviews online about a product or service, they will probably want to visit the website to see what all the fuzz is about. That website could be your website! If you incite reviews online for your business—and of course work hard to get some positive feedback—this may encourage natural traffic to your website, leading to maybe having customers make use of other products or services you can provide.

Can you see it now? Online reviews do matter! Maybe you should browse a little on the internet to check out was is being said about your company. Because, whether you like it or not, people is talking about you as you’re reading these final lines. Join the conversation!