KO Websites has updated its organization in response to changes in our marketplace to better support our clients and prospects. These changes reflect the impact the past two years of living and working with COVID-19 have had on how our business operates.
By December, Holiday marketing program are in place and running. So the strategic thoughts of most digital marketing teams have turned fully to 2022 social media trends. And the ever-changing marketing landscape marketing looks as challenging, daunting and exciting as ever. For Social Media, the center of all this rapid change is in content creation and the channels through which we share it.
Social media feeds for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn et al, may see significant changes as the companies come under continued pressure to overhaul the content curation that has up to now promoted paid content over organic SEO-focused social media work. Several changes may occur to address “personalization and privacy.”
It is hard, though, to envision what sort of regulation could be imposed to raise social media accountability and improve consumer protection, especially in minimizing harassment and negative impacts to mental health. So we will have to watch, wait and see how the Social Media channels react. We then will need to determine how we react to their actions.
Given that digital ads are the lifeblood of the social media behemoths, though, paid ads will remain a necessary tool for driving awareness and motivating deeper consumer investigation.
Marketers like KO Websites will track all trends closely to see where our tactics will need to adjust to keep our clients’ content gaining reach and motivating engagement.
The main strategic imperative in Social Media Marketing has not changed. Focus only on those channels where your desired customer is most likely to hang out. Example: Our law firm clients remain focused on LinkedIn, Twitter and (for some) Facebook. And we keep them active on the top find-a-lawyer channels like Findlaw.com and Avvo.com. But the mix changes by client. Some are consumer-focused (personal injury lawyers, say) while others are business-to-business (creditors rights and/or commercial real estate attorneys, perhaps). These two types of clients put their energies in different channels.
We have a dry-eye treatment client, on the other hand, who wishes to attract both consumers and optometrists. So we work on a few more channels for them than other clients who have a tighter focus.
All that said, spreading your energy, time and money too widely diminishes overall returns. This is an area of ongoing client education. Resisting “shiny penny” syndrome (chasing too many opportunities) is a key marketing success factor!
Where appropriate, though, newer platforms like Clubhouse and TikTok (yes it still qualifies as new!) may offer more targeted audiences. They may deserve being added to the marketing mix at some point. Content like live or recorded short-form video, or podcasts, offer new ways to creatively deliver brand messaging across the digital space. But more established players are adding TikTok-like options (YouTube Shorts, for instance) so we will see where our creative energies will need to be focused next year as the competition between channels continues to rage.
We need to relentlessly analyze whether our efforts ultimately lead to business! Some social media campaigning is designed to raise awareness, but in the end that needs to flow through to an increase in sales. Done in a coordinated fashion, the activities up and down the sales funnel will confirm and amplify each other.
Customer service will continue its migration to old and new social channels. Managing this flow is not always the purview of a digital marketing agency, but in what way can we assist a client manage that flow better? Consumers are moving seamlessly between investigating new products and services, ordering them, reviewing them and demanding customer services – all on the same channel!
Creative Influencers have more tools at their disposal to create content that may feature your stuff. This is an enhancement on the type of influencer who may interact with your product or service “in the real world” without setting up a mini-production shoot. And, key question, how do we influence the influencers who are not necessarily under our control?
Will augmented reality support the eventual rise of the metaverse? This is a niche opportunity as we approach 2022, for those with larger marketing budgets. Testing the tool to see how AR and VR work as engagement hooks bears watching. But let others take the slings and arrows first, and learn from their experiences!
Change is good, they say. We acknowledge that change is inevitable. How quickly it comes at us and demands a productive response will keep digital marketing agencies like us nimble and awake through 2022 and beyond!
How may we help you deliver that productive response?
With SEO Marketing, you get what you pay for. Grand promises with small price tags most often lead to disappointment.
SEO work is a grind that takes months to build up and dedication to keep it humming. It still yields great organic results, so is worth the investment. But any agency that promises miracles is likely a churn-and-burn shop with low performance and high turnover.
If you are looking for an SEO Agency, understand that grandiose claims like these nine rarely get cashed in by anyone but the agency: Continue reading
Long-tail keywords now attract a lot of attention from SEO specialists as voice search options stretch out the phrases people use to search online. Focusing SEO work on long-tail search phrases specific to your value propositions gives your business a couple of profitable benefits.
Small business have tight marketing budgets, so each dollar of time and money needs to be spent wisely. Long-tail keyword strategies fit that need well. Focusing onsite SEO with these hyper-targeted keyword sets can help you punch above your weight to improve SERP performance. Continue reading
Biomedical Forensics chose a WordPress website design by KO Websites to represent their engineering and applied science service. They conduct evidence-based engineering analysis of accidents and other incidents.
Stoneguard® USA, an innovative high-tech producer of protective plastic films for stone countertops, came to KO Websites for a WordPress CMS solution to significantly improve their online presence to more effectively present their product lines. They needed stronger visual impact and detailed product descriptions to better attract both consumers and professional installers as clients.
StoneGuard has developed a line of ultra-durable polyethylene films. The films are specifically designed to protect polished marble and natural stone surfaces. Most clients use the film to protect the stone countertops used in active setting like kitchens. Continue reading
When working on posts to social media channels, you always ask “when to post?” You need to time your posts to catch your prospects online and ready to engage. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn et al., will warehouse your content forever. But recency drives the algorithm bus with these social behemoths. Freshness helps the software decide whether to present your social media content in your prospects’ feeds.
So, when is the best time to post to social media? As usual: It depends! Continue reading
The last 12 months have put massive stress on businesses as they attempt to navigate the pandemic. Into that trouble has dropped another threat. An ADA lawsuit could arrive claiming your business’ website does not meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
No one argues about the need for accessibility. As part of the massive shift in social behavior driven by the pandemic, consumers have accelerated the shift of their shopping habits online. eCommerce has boomed. So, people with disabilities have increased the call to make eCommerce accessible to all. Continue reading
Last March the U.S. economy stopped, literally within two weeks, as the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic hit. But we all anticipated no more than a 2-3 month hiatus. After that, we expected to be on top of the situation and opening back up for business.
That didn’t happen, and during the extended shutdown people stopped spending. At first. Then unexpected bursts of activity flared up. Spending exploded online as people redirected their discretionary spending to home-based projects. Outdoor businesses like construction and roofing went back to work, as did AC repair services. Housing came back as rock-bottom interest rates proved too enticing for refinancers and home buyers. Take-out orders for simpler fare like pizza and BBQ, or budget gourmet home delivery offered by caterers, kept a number of our restaurants going (though hospitality is one industry that is truly struggling.)
How do you join them?
What can you do NOW to make the most of pandemic spending patterns over the rest of 2020 and into 2021? Continue reading
Hoobe ID Solutions needed a new website to significantly expand their eCommerce business. Hoobeid.com was the answer!
Hoobe ID came to KO Websites looking for a fresh, energetic new site that would attractively present their ID printing product line. Their other key goal was to obtain a content management system (CMS) that would be easy for their staff to update often and easily. WordPress CMS fit the bill with the addition of the WooCommerce plugin to add the needed eCommerce power and flexibility.