Gloria Grace Rand
It’s official. Instagram is the fastest growing social media site, with 300 million accounts. The Pew Research Internet Project says Instagram’s user base grew by 9 percent in 2014, with U.S. adults making up 26 percent.
I plan to be a lot more active on Instagram in 2015. One of the tools I’ve recently discovered to help me fine tune my presence and track Instagram analytics is Iconosquare. After using it for just a couple of days, I have to say, I LOVE IT!!!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) used to be so simple, right? Pick a few keywords, stick them on your website and in the meta tags, and you could get top ranking on Google.
That may have worked in 2010 when there were only 206 million websites, but this is 2015! The rules have changed. With over a billion websites out there, the competition is fierce. Granted, only about 75% of those websites are active, but that still means your business is likely competing with millions of websites for customers.
Keyword research, what is it good for? Ask a disillusioned blogger and the answer will likely be “absolutely nothing.” Some bloggers feel that keyword research kills their creativity. And I can understand their point. If all you do is spend time agonizing over search volume, SEO plugins, title tags, and headings — that can be a buzz kill.
But keyword research is still important, as long as you don’t stress over it! Don’t spend hours searching through the Adwords Keyword Planner for the perfect phrase. Each article you write should only focus on one or two keyword phrases anyway. If you just relax and write about a topic that appeals to your customers and prospects, the “keywords” will happen naturally.
As 2014 comes to a close, it’s a good time to review the state of social media, so you can make plans to adjust your marketing in 2015.
Some of the key findings from a new infographic put together by Didit.com include:
I recently read Digital Marketer’s blog post about their best email subject lines and was quite surprised at how low their open rates were compared to my own. Granted, they sent 1.25 million emails in 2014, and I only sent 65,000… but maybe that’s an important point. If your list gets too big, you run the risk of not being fully engaged with your audience.
Regardless of the reason, I thought it would be useful to share my own results – the best and the worst.
I researched what the common elements were to the subject lines. The majority fell under the category of Self-Interest. That makes sense because they are usually direct and speak to a specific benefit your audience will gain by opening the email.
In the spirit of the season, this week’s infographic shares …
Still looking for that last-minute holiday gift? Here are some of my favorite business books that would make a worthy present for your favorite small business owner or entrepreneur. The selections offer marketing advice, and tips on how to grow your business, make it profitable, and become financially successful.
I’ve read each one of these books, and can attest to their value. If you have any other suggestions, please add them in the comments below! Happy Holidays!
Have you launched a new Facebook Page? Are you struggling …
Do you have good writing skills? If so, you could have a leg up on the competition in your industry. Having good command of grammar, punctuation and spelling is more important than ever when it comes to content marketing. Let’s face it. It’s a safe bet that your prospects aren’t going to buy from a company that distributes poor quality blog articles, white papers and ebooks.
Have you heard about LeadPages? The company touts itself as The “Internet’s Easiest ‘Next Generation’ Lead Generation Platform.” Big talk, right? The proof is in the pudding.
1. You have enough leads already. Why use a product that lets you build an awesome looking landing page using proven high-converting sales templates? Not you! You’re already making enough money to maintain a lifestyle that makes Donald Trump envious, right?