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  • Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying, Says Bombora VP

    Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying, Says Bombora VP

    “It’s really about customer experience,” says Nirosha Methananda, VP of Marketing at Bombora. “I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.”

    Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

    Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

    As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

    Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

    Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

    It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

    As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

    There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

    Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying, Says Bombora VP Nirosha Methananda
  • B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Ultimately Conversion

    B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Ultimately Conversion

    “We co-create content with (B2B Influencers) in concert with brand messaging,” says TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden. “So now instead of people just ignoring the press release we actually have storytelling happening with these different voices. You have this intersection of one or two or three or four influencers talking about this topic and those audiences intersect and cross. Your customer is hearing this credible message not only from the brand but also from people that they trust in different channels. That all adds up to yes. That all adds up to nurture and ultimately conversion.”

    Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing, discusses how B2B influencer marketing can be a highly effective force in driving leads and conversions for companies. Lee was interviewed by Tim Washer at the 2019 Content Marketing World Conference & Expo:

    Influencer Marketing Is Powerful Because Of Influence Itself

    Influencer marketing is powerful because of influence itself, not about the people. Influence has always been a factor in being persuasive and being effective as a communicator, as a marketer, and really being able to tap into the dynamics of that. The psychology and sociology of that is something that is everlasting, it’s evergreen. While there are trends in terms of tactics that come and go, there’s this consumerization of B2B. B2C influencers are misbehaving and have fake followers, etc. and some of that’s leaking over into B2B. But I think that’ll reconcile a little bit and kind of clean itself out. In the future brands are going to be looking at influence as a really key component of their holistic marketing strategy internally and externally.

    A lot of people when they think of influencer marketing they think of a Kardashian or some people think of something like Baddiewinkle, a 90-year-old woman who wears hip-hop clothes and now has her own makeup line on Sephora versus someone like Tamara McCleary interviewing an executive at Dell about the right IT infrastructure for doing edge computing. That’s really what it’s about in B2B.

    B2B Influencers Actually Have To Have The Main Expertise

    One of the big differences between B2B and B2C influencers is that in B2B you actually have to have the main expertise. You actually have to be knowledgeable and have a depth of that expertise in what it is that you’re influential about. It’s also important to have a network for distribution and a place to publish your content. It’s great to have a personality and that’s less common in B2B, where you have charisma. Well, lack of personality is a form of personality I suppose. 

    The good thing is that we’ve figured out ways to coach folks that have that domain expertise and an active following but they’re not necessarily used to being social. We are coaching them in how to activate themselves and to pull out the best of what they have to share in a way that’s very promotable. Many of them start to open up a little bit after we show them how to do it.

    B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Conversion

    In the planning stages (with a client looking to promote something) we’ll look at the topics that are important around the announcement and how it affects customers and how customers will think of that news and how it’ll affect or change their lives. Those topics are then what we want to be influential about. We’ll use those keywords or topics to search our network using influencer marketing software to find who is influential around those topics, who’s publishing content, who self-identifies around that topic, and whose audience is actually activated around that topic. We find those people who have trusted voices with an active community and we invite them to collaborate on content and give their opinion about the announcement. 

    We co-create content with them in concert with brand messaging. So now instead of people just ignoring the press release we actually have storytelling happening with these different voices. You have this intersection of one or two or three or four influencers talking about this topic and those audiences intersect and cross. They intersect across channels too. Your customer is hearing this credible message not only from the brand but also from people that they trust in different channels. That all adds up to yes. That all adds up to nurture and ultimately conversion.

    B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Conversion – TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden
  • Why Is Content Marketing So Powerful?

    Why Is Content Marketing So Powerful?

    Content marketing is a powerful digital marketing strategy that can provide many benefits for companies:

    1. Increases brand awareness: By consistently creating and distributing valuable content, companies can increase brand awareness and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.
    2. Builds trust and relationships: By providing valuable and informative content, companies can build trust with their audience and create a loyal customer base.
    3. Cost-effective: Content marketing is considered to be more cost-effective than traditional forms of advertising, as it doesn’t require large budgets for ad placements.
    4. Generates leads: By providing valuable and informative content, companies can attract and generate leads, by making it easy for potential customers to learn more about the company’s products and services.
    5. Long-term results: Content marketing can generate long-term results, as the content that is created can continue to be shared and consumed by the audience even after it’s initially published.
    6. Versatility: Content marketing can take many forms: Blog posts, infographics, videos, webinars, e-books, white papers, social media posts, and more. This allows for a variety of ways to reach and engage with the target audience.
    7. Inbound: Content marketing is an inbound marketing strategy, meaning that it helps to attract customers through valuable and informative content, rather than interrupting them with traditional forms of advertising.
    8. SEO: Content marketing can also improve search engine rankings by providing valuable and relevant information that search engines and users find useful.
    9. Measurable: Content marketing allows to track and measure the results through analytics, which helps to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and optimize it accordingly.

    In summary, content marketing is great because it helps to increase brand awareness, build trust, generate leads, and provides long-term results in a cost-effective and versatile way, aligning with the way people consume and engage with information today. It also allows for measurable results and helps to improve SEO.

  • Google Claims 60% of the Internet is Duplicate Content

    Google Claims 60% of the Internet is Duplicate Content

    For those who think the internet is an endless realm of unique information, Google’s latest report is a big disappointment.

    According to Google Product Expert Kenichi Suzuki, Google has revealed that some 60% of the internet is duplicate content.

    The revelation is sure to be unsettling to many web developers and content creators, although there were no additional details about the criteria Google uses to determine “duplicate” content.

  • Why Tech Businesses Need Content Writers

    Why Tech Businesses Need Content Writers

    More or less every modern business has a blog. A good blog does not only help attract more visitors to the website, but it also significantly helps improve traffic and revenue. An added advantage of blogs is that they also help further educate current and potential customers.

    Therefore, a high-quality blog needs to contain important information regarding not just your company and product or services it offers, but also anything that may bring additional value to your visitors. That’s why it is of the utmost importance that companies pay special attention to creating their blogs.

    Obviously, the first place to start off on this journey is hiring content writers. Since content is king in the current marketing scene, any business that wishes to achieve success needs to ensure that the content they create and put out is stellar.

    Luckily, with the help of professionals, such as those at Top Content, tech businesses can ensure that the tech content they put out matches the necessary level of quality. This not only helps them establish themselves as experts in their fields, but it also significantly aids all of their SEO efforts as well.

    Reasons Why Tech Content Writers Are in High Demand

    • They Provide High-Quality Content

    The first and arguably the most important reason tech content writers are in such high demand is the fact that they create high-quality content. The fact of the matter is that not all content creators are able to create high-quality tech content that will actually bring real value to readers.

    Therefore, in order to be able to create such a piece of content, the writer must first get familiar with the matter and understand all of the ins and outs of the subject before they can start creating. 

    Needless to say, specializing in tech content creation is not an easy task and it is definitely not the one suited for everybody. So, instead of simply looking for “Jack-of-all-trades” content creators, it’s always better to focus on the ones that specialize in a certain field – in this case tech.

    • They Know How to Engage the Audience

    Another invaluable perk of tech content writers is the fact that they know exactly how they can reach out to and engage with the readers. Since they’re so knowledgeable and well-versed about the industry and the niche they’re working in, coming up with interesting and engaging blog topics is quite easy for them.

    Needless to say, the more engaged your readers are, the more they will feel inclined to interact with your brand. And the more they do it, the greater the website traffic, exposure and – in the end – revenue you can expect to receive. 

    Additionally, the more organic traffic your website manages to attract – and needless to say, this is easily achievable with high-quality blog posts – the better the results your marketing efforts will yield. Meaning that the incoming organic traffic will signal search engines, such as Google, that your website actually provides value to your audience. 

    • They are quick to learn

    While we’ve mentioned previously that tech content writers know much about the industry and the niche they’re working in, the fact of the matter is that none of them know everything. 

    However, this is not a bad thing actually. By hiring a tech content writer for your tech business, you will get the opportunity to first teach them about the specific products or solutions your business is offering.

    That way they will get a unique perspective into your business and your offer, which will only help them further improve the quality of the content they end up creating. Even better than that, they can use the knowledge they’ve acquired and present it to your audience in a more concise way that is easier to understand even for someone who’s not extremely skillful or familiar with the industry-specific jargon.

    • They Understand How Marketing Works

    Aside from everything mentioned previously, high-quality content creators also have a deep understanding of how modern-day marketing works. This is great news for any business, as digital marketing plays a huge role in business success.

    Knowing how to say things is not the only important part of content creation. Knowing when and where to say them also has quite a bit of significance.

    What we mean to say is that not all digital marketing channels require or even favor the same type of content. That’s why it’s important to hire an expert that will create the right type of content for the specific channel you intend to use it in. 

    Final Thoughts

    Every modern business needs high-quality content to help them attract more visitors, establish themselves as the authority in the industry and generally boost their marketing efforts. That is why every business that has a goal of reaching success should look for skilled and high-quality tech content writers to help them out.

  • Why Your Content Isn’t Ranking

    Why Your Content Isn’t Ranking

    It happens all the time—you spend hours creating what you think is an amazing piece of content. You post it, and then weeks or months later, it’s still not ranking. If your content doesn’t rank, your audience doesn’t see it, and you can feel like your efforts were wasted. 

    Search engine optimization (SEO) is the main goal of content creation. You want your content to rank organically and ideally as high as possible on the first page. 

    Even well-written content doesn’t always rank, though, so why is that?

    Below we explore some of the potential reasons a piece of content may not perform well organically after you post it. 

    Understanding Content’s Ranking Potential 

    In general, the more content you publish that’s high-quality on your site, the more likely you are to rank for keywords across the entire site. Google likes to see a lot of content because then the algorithms that fuel the search engine have more context, and they’re better able to understand what your site is about. 

    Each time you publish a new piece of content, Google is getting more keywords, and that means more understanding of your brand. 

    That’s why optimizing all of your content with semantically relevant keywords in your headers, descriptions, and titles is essential. 

    That doesn’t mean you go for quantity over quality, however. Google can actually end up not only ignoring your content if it’s not high-quality—you could also be penalized. 

    Along with the words you use in your content creating ranking opportunities, you’re also able to optimize your images. The way you optimize images is going to be a major ranking factor that drives traffic. 

    So what if you’re in a situation where you know you’re creating great content that you feel is properly optimized, and you still aren’t ranking?

    We’ll cover these situations below. 

    Your Keywords Are Too Competitive

    Probably one of the biggest reasons your content isn’t ranking is that you’re targeting keywords that are too competitive. Yes, they have a lot of volumes, and that can make them a shiny target, but to rank for keywords that are extremely competitive is going to be almost impossible for a new piece of content. 

    First of all, stop with the one and two-word targeted keywords. Instead, look for long-tail, less competitive keywords. 

    You should do a keyword search on everything you’re thinking about using for your content. Under a search box, if you type your targeted keyword in, you’ll see gray text that lets you know how many results it brings up. You can also use keyword tools to figure out the competitiveness of any given word or phrase. 

    Irrelevant Content

    You might create content that you think your ideal audience wants to see, but you might be wrong here. 

    You have to think carefully about why you’re creating every piece of content before you spend time and effort on it. You also want to consider if you’re going to be able to truly add value to the lives of your readers with what you’re producing. 

    If you’re not thinking carefully about creating value, you’re going to have weak, shallow content that doesn’t get much engagement.

    The Content Is Outdated

    If you have a lot of content on your site already and you don’t think it’s ranking as well as it should be, you need to consider whether it’s outdated. You need to update your old content on a regular basis, and that can help you boost its ranking. 

    If you’re overwhelmed and have a lot of content, start with an audit. Go over your current content by performance, and then from there, look at your oldest and underperforming pieces of content to figure out if you could make changes that would help them be more relevant or updated. 

    Your Site Has Technical Problems

    If your site as a whole has technical issues, it’s going to prevent individual pieces of content from ranking. 

    Common technical SEO problems include not having an XML sitemap, broken links, coding errors, privacy concerns, or Google not indexing your site. 

    You may need to work with a developer if you think your problem stems from your technical SEO. 

    Similar to some of the technical issues already mentioned, you also need to ensure your site is fast and mobile-friendly. Google has outright said that its priority in indexing content and sites is mobile-first. You can check using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, and if your site isn’t responsive, you need to work on redesigning it. 

    Similarly, site speed is also a critical ranking factor. If your site is too slow, you may need to invest in updates such as getting better hosting service or compressing your media files. 

    Short, Thin Content

    Just like Google wants to see updated and highly relevant content that’s tailored to the needs of your audience, you also want to make sure that your content is long enough. There’s a reason this matters.

    First, when you have longer content, it gives Google more content to crawl. 

    Also, long-form content tends to provide a very in-depth view of a topic, and that’s more likely to be high in value for a reader compared to short or thin content. 

    This doesn’t mean you fill your content with meaningless fluff to try and up the word count, though. Don’t go overboard trying to have a longer article to the point that you’re no longer adding value. 

    When you have in-depth content that’s relevant and valuable, this can help reduce your bounce rate because people are going to spend additional time browsing your site. That can in and of itself be a ranking factor for Google. 

    You Don’t Have Enough Links

    Finally, Google’s algorithm analyzes your site’s relevancy and domain authority when determining how to rank your site for particular keywords and phrases. The term domain authority was initially created by Moz, and it’s a prediction of how well your site will rank on search engines, with a score that ranges from 1-to 100. 

    The number of links pointing to your site is part of this. If you don’t have a lot of backlinks to your site as a whole and also to individual pieces of content, it’s going to be tougher for you to rank. 

    You need to use link-building strategies through relationship building and creating quality content. You should also send guest blog and content pitches to sites and publications or outsource the work to a professional link-building company.

  • How AI is Influencing Digital Marketing

    How AI is Influencing Digital Marketing

    The world of digital marketing is gradually changing thanks to chatbots, virtual assistants, and other AI technologies. While some marketers continue to insist that robots cannot replace people, others stay up with the latest developments in AI and understand what changes will soon be made to digital marketing. In fact, more than 50% of marketers feel that using artificial intelligence in their data strategy is crucial.

    Platforms like Get Cash, for example, employ AI to match borrowers with approved lenders within a 24-hour period. Even if your credit is less-than-perfect, you can apply on the internet for the finest short-term loan offer ranging from $100 to $5,000. AI is to blame for the loan requests being processed more quickly than in most banks and lending institutions.

    However, let’s get back to the topic of how AI is influencing marketing. AI enables businesses to make choices that result in more creative and specialized advertising. That’s not all, though. Here are a few more ways that AI is having an impact on marketing. These are ways that businesses cannot afford to ignore. 

    Voice Search Is Growing

    It’s no surprise that many people are switching to hands-free data entry while traveling. As the world becomes more mobile, all kinds of changes to our lifestyle can be expected. According to recent research, technology has improved to the point where many algorithms can now accurately distinguish human speech about 95% of the time.

    According to the most recent research, the voice search functionality of their smart speakers will be used by up to 33.2 million US consumers this year. 

    In 2018, Nielsen found that one in every four Wi-Fi-enabled homes in America had a smart speaker. Therefore, companies will need to modify their SEO and marketing tactics in response to the growing popularity of voice search.

    Additional Applications for Augmented and Virtual Reality

    Although VR and AR have been around for quite a while, they are still seen as new. Although AR is currently more often used for video games these technologies are increasingly being employed for marketing. More and more businesses are realizing the potential of AR and VR as effective marketing tools.

    Consider the augmented reality furniture app that allows you to test furniture, acoustic panels, or other amenities in your home before purchasing it. This is a great illustration of how AR can be both practical and entertaining. Additionally, some clothing companies have joined the virtual reality revolution. They design apps that let consumers try various outfit combinations without leaving their houses.

    In order to avoid missing out on this fantastic opportunity, it is necessary to start investigating how to incorporate VR and AR into your marketing strategies immediately.

    The Use of Chatbots for Marketing Is Growing

    Chatbots facilitate marketing, which is why their acceptance is expected to increase. These AI innovations are perfect for handling the early stages of the marketing process. For instance, they are great at gathering contact information and information for a sales call, responding to typical customer service inquiries, or providing guidance on common technical issues. Up to a certain point, these chatbots assist in automating client communication before directing them to a person for assistance.

    Chatbots may significantly improve the marketing process. Because most of this process is automated, you and your team will be able to perform more marketing duties and close more business as a result.

    Chatbots on Facebook Messenger have also made great strides. Businesses can now offer an in-app shopping experience thanks to them. Customers can browse and even make purchases inside the chatbot with the right configuration. Therefore, it makes sense that more businesses are attempting to incorporate chatbots into their marketing plan.

    More Individualized Advertising

    The Facebook team started a project named Rosetta a few years ago. The initiative intends to improve the caliber of material that Facebook users see in their news feeds. Rosetta employs AI to improve user experience by determining users’ wants and maximizing their Facebook interactions.

    Fundamental changes are occurring in traditional marketing procedures. These changes range from improved engagement to greater client loyalty and strong conversions. The quantity and variety of user data available today, including usage of social networks, purchase history, and personal preferences, pave the way for effective personalization.

    However, businesses ought to do more than merely gather data; they ought to combine and analyze it in order to develop campaigns that directly cater to the needs of the people. This may be difficult, but the payoff is substantial.

    The benefits of AI in digital marketing are hard to dispute. Marketing organizations can now employ emerging technology to enhance their tactics as they become more widely accessible. 

  • An Introduction to Marketing Software

    An Introduction to Marketing Software

    Marketing is crucial for businesses. Regardless of your product’s or service’s excellence, you won’t get customers without getting the word out. Your business’s success depends on its marketing strategy, and effective marketing campaigns can even help average products sell more. Marketing is a soft skill not everyone has, but online educational platforms can help you become a better marketer.

    Technology has facilitated many business operations, such as marketing. Digital marketing campaigns are essential to getting your business a broader reach on the internet. Several software and tools allow you to market your business more efficiently and gauge the success of your marketing campaigns. Here’s all you need to know about some critical marketing tools:

    Social Media Management Software

    Social media marketing is a promising digital marketing avenue. Over 4.7 billion people use social media platforms, so businesses must use social media to reach out to wider audiences. However, social media marketing can get complicated. You must post regularly on several platforms. To reach the maximum number of individuals, you must publish the same posts on all your social platforms. Social media management software automates this mundane task for you, saving you time and effort. These tools also show you how successful a particular post is so you can adjust your digital marketing campaign accordingly. 

    Business Intelligence Tools

    A successful business requires collecting, analyzing, and responding to data by changing your business strategy when needed. Business intelligence tools help a company efficiently perform these tasks. They deliver customer behavior data and allow the marketing department to profile their target audience. Knowing the characteristics of your demographic enables you to personalize the marketing campaign according to their preferences. Marketing departments gain insight into the audience through business intelligence tools and use them to launch more effective marketing campaigns.

    Customer Relationship Management Tools

    Marketing mainly focuses on generating new leads and expanding your customer base, but retaining your old customers and ensuring they purchase from you again is also integral to your business. A customer relationship management (CRM) tool allows you to gain insights into your existing customers and effectively market to them. They capture customer information and data about purchasing history. The software also allows automated and seamless communication with current customers, improving customer experience.

    Email Marketing Tools

    Email marketing is one of the most common and straightforward types of digital marketing. You send emails advertising your services or products to new and old customers. You incentivize them to buy your products by offering vouchers and discounts. However, manually sending so many emails is an arduous task. Email marketing tools help you automate this process, and you can effectively reach out to more people through email. The software also shows you the email engagement rate. Integrate the content style of high-performing emails into future emails to increase website traffic.

    Endnote

    Efficient businesses always consider how to effectively market their products or services to potential customers. As the world goes digital, so do businesses. Your company must use software and tools to automate its workflow and analyze data. Your marketing departments can use these tools to get insights into the target audience and automate their work. Typical marketing software includes social media management software, business intelligence tools, customer relationship management tools, and email marketing tools. These tools allow you to effectively improve their marketing campaigns by generating more leads and increasing customer lifetime value.

  • TrenDemon CEO: We Connect Content Marketing to Sales

    TrenDemon CEO: We Connect Content Marketing to Sales

    The CEO of TrenDemon, Avishai Sharon, says that they created their cloud-based software solution in order to help companies prove that the marketing content they produced also achieved business goals and sales. In order to show this correlation, the TrenDemon software analyzes all of the different touchpoints the customer has had over his lifecycle and then reverse engineers those successful journeys in order to find out what content is working.

    Avishai Sharon, Co-founder & CEO of TrenDemon, discussed their software on ILTV:

    How Do You Connect Content Marketing to Sales?

    My personal background was heading a marketing agency for many years and one of my biggest struggles was how do I prove our value and our effort to our customers and how do you connect the impact of what we call content marketing to business goals and to sales? When we couldn’t find an easy way to show that correlation three and a half years ago we went ahead and founded TrenDemon to help companies do just that.

    We connect their marketing efforts, which today rely mostly on content, you want your audience to consume valuable content, as opposed to just advertising. The big challenge is how do you attribute those efforts to sales? There’s actually a prior problem, how do you actually map the customer journey? How do you track those different touch points into one picture?

    Reverse Engineering Successful Customer Journeys

    The first thing we do is look at all the different touchpoints that a customer has had over his lifecycle. We ask the question, not just where do they come from, but how deep was their engagement? Did they actually watch the video? Did they actually read the article? Then you can start reverse engineering those successful journeys and say what’s common about all of these successful journeys.

    What we found, and this is the interesting thing, we’re working with over 90 companies today worldwide and the vast majority of content the companies produce, over 90 percent, is ineffective at driving business goals. As you guys know it’s very expensive to create quality content and it takes a lot of effort.

    If People Read the Right Content They Will Covert to a Sale

    The second interesting thing is that if you do manage to find those 10 percent and you find a way to get it in front of the right people you’re actually able to improve dramatically your results. So there’s not just a correlation between what buyers did beforehand, there’s also a causation, a causal relationship, that if people read the right content at the right time they’re more likely to follow a path. We’re not probably as sophisticated as we believe that we are.

    We’re a SaaS company, a cloud-based solution. We’re working a lot in the US and one of our biggest markets and growing markets is Japan. They’re investing a lot of content and a lot on technology. Essentially, because we look at the customer journey and not necessarily specific languages we can operate in any environment which allows us to grow pretty much anywhere. As long as they have content, which means that they’re producing something other than just advertising, they want people and audiences to actually engage with what they’re producing and they do have some business outcomes that they’re looking to measure.

    About TrenDemon:

    Founded in 2013, TrenDemon is the world’s leading content marketing attribution and optimization solution, helping marketers prove and improve their content’s impact.

    TrenDemon insights can help you uncover your content marketing ROI, impact on business goals, and engagement to help guide the content strategy. Our optimization units will help you increase conversions and shorten time to convert on your owned assets.

    TrenDemon proudly serves a wide range of customers, from Fortune 500s and brands to SaaS, B2B, and financial companies and is backed by leading VCs.

  • Pixelfed: Instagram Is Threatening Us

    Pixelfed: Instagram Is Threatening Us

    Open source image sharing service Pixelfed says Instagram is threatening it with legal action.

    Pixelfed is an open source, decentralized competitor to Instagram, providing a way for people to post and share photos. Rather than being run by a single company, or all traffic routed through a single server, Pixelfed uses the same approach as Mastodon.

    Pixelfed is part of the “Fediverse.” The Fediverse is made up of numerous servers that individuals join, but each server and its users can communicate with each other. Aside from its decentralized nature, Pixelfed is similar to Instagram and users will feel largely at home.

    Instagram must see Pixelfed as a threat and is threatening legal action.

    Instagram is trying to intimidate us with threats of legal action.

    Help us bring awareness to our project by sharing this post, and consider donating if possible.

    We’re not giving up. #fediverse

    Pixelfed (@pixelfed@mastodon.social), December 29, 2022

  • Google Open Sources Its Video Blurring Tool

    Google Open Sources Its Video Blurring Tool

    Google has open sourced its video blurring tool, called Magritte, in an effort to improve user privacy.

    Google has been working to roll out additional privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). Magritte is one of those tools that the company has open sourced to help spur wider adoption.

    “Today, we are happy to announce an open-source version of an internal project, Magritte, which uses Machine Learning (ML) advances to detect objects using low computational resources, and applies a blur to those objects automatically, as soon as they appear on screen,” the company writes in a blog post. “The tool can blur arbitrary objects, like license plates, and more.

    “This code is especially useful for video journalists who want to provide increased privacy assurances. By using this open-source code, videographers can save time in blurring objects from a video, while knowing that the underlying ML algorithm can perform detection across a video with high-accuracy.”

    The company has released the source code on GitHub.

  • Hotel Marketers Are Turning to TikTok…and You Should Too

    Hotel Marketers Are Turning to TikTok…and You Should Too

    Hotel marketers are increasingly turning to TikTok in an effort to attract guests, setting an example others should follow.

    TikTok has revolutionized the social media industry with its short-form videos. Countless influencers’ careers have started on TikTok, with short-form videos that have gone viral. Hotels are now using short-form videos to show off their properties, attract guests, and tap into people’s desire for something unique.

    “TikTok is no longer considered a dance-trend app for teenagers,” Richard Hyde, managing director of Small Luxury Hotels, told Skift. “The platform is rapidly aging up. We’ve seen engagement from users of all ages on our Small Luxury Hotels of the World account.”

    “Authenticity is quickly becoming the new cultural currency,” he said, speaking of the popular “behind the scenes” approach. “Our hotels are experiential, entertaining, spontaneous, enriching, and fun – like Tik Tok. The platform doesn’t require polished content. Users will sniff out professionally made videos and they won’t perform as well. Our TikTok strategy is based on showing our beautiful hotels from a guest’s perspective.”

    As Skift points out, TikTok is an especially valuable resource for hotels and companies with limited marketing budgets. Savvy marketers can tap into existing trends and then tie in their products or services, thereby benefiting from the wealth of user-generated content.

    For example, the report highlights The Retreat Elcot Park in the English countryside, which tapped into the popularity of Netflix’s Bridgerton.

    “With the Bridgerton tag trending on TikTok, we entered that cultural conversation in an authentic way,” Hyde said. “Using a soundbite from the new series, we framed the hotel as a place that Bridgerton fans must visit.”

    “The TikTok reached an audience of 50,000 — 86 percent of whom discovered the video via the ‘For You Page’, meaning they were not following us yet,” Hyde added. “The comments were filled with friends tagging each other saying that they must visit the property.”

    “As well as discoverability, ‘saves’ are an important metric for us,” Hyde explained. “Users are now saving the destinations they would like to visit in the future.”

    TikTok has clearly evolved far beyond its roots and is now playing a major role in many companies marketing campaigns. With a little effort and even less budget, your company could benefit from this phenomenon and reap the rewards of engaging with user-created content.

  • Meta Will Charge Metaverse Content Creators a Nearly 50% Commission

    Meta Will Charge Metaverse Content Creators a Nearly 50% Commission

    Apple make receive the lion’s share of flak for charing a 30% commission for its App Store, but Meta is set to dwarf that for metaverse content creators.

    CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post that the company was looking at ways to help content creators monetize their involvement in the metaverse.

    We’re testing two new ways for creators to make money building for Horizon in the metaverse. First is in-world purchases, so creators can sell virtual items in their worlds and offer paid access to parts of the world. Second is a creator bonus program, where creators are paid for building worlds people want to explore. We’re starting these programs small and will scale over time. Here’s a video in Horizon with some creators discussing these tools and what the metaverse economy might look like.

    Unfortunately for content creators, according to Reuters, Meta plans on taking a hefty 47.5% commission. The company will charge a “30% hardware platform fee,” as well as “a further 17.5% cut as its Horizon platform fees.”

    With those hefty fees, it’s unclear how many content creators will be onboard with Meta’s plans.

  • Is TikTok Replacing Google?

    Is TikTok Replacing Google?

    Digital marketing entrepreneur Eric Siu, asks an interesting question, “Is TikTok the NEW Google?” The idea is that younger people are starting to search immersive social apps like TikTok and Instagram directly instead of searching Google.

    “Is TikTok going to replace Google? 40% of 18-24-year-olds report that they are using apps like TikTok to search for things like lunch. The engagement on Google Maps is also starting to grow down. In addition, people are now using fewer keywords to discover. They prefer immersive experiences instead.”

    “Now, things are changing quite a bit because Google is actually starting to index Instagram posts and TikTok posts. If you use Google as much as I do for my business or you do any search marketing at all, stay tuned.”

  • How to Find a Perfect Audience

    How to Find a Perfect Audience

    Focusing on your target market when trying to build your online presence can save you from wasting lots of time and money. With over 250 million Americans using social media, the internet is the best place to start when trying to build an audience, but there are strategies you can use to make this process easier. 

    Many People use Social Media in the Wrong Way

    This is especially true when they are trying to build an online presence. Oftentimes people will post the same content across every social media platform and this can prevent from gaining new followers. Every social media platform has a different audience, and this means that content needs to be uniquely crafted for that audience in order to gain traction. Sticking to only a few platforms and creating unique content for each channel can help you reach a wider audience and gain more followers.

    Once you decide the kind of content you want to create and the platforms you want to use, there are different phases that contribute to finding your perfect audience.

    Phases of Finding Your Perfect Audience

    Phase 1 is all about the environment of your content. If your content aligns with a specific trend that is happening, it’s a great time to start putting it out. Getting your foot in the door with trendy content can help to build a foundation, and then you can continue improving your content based on data. Useful data is collected over about 2 months, and this information can help you determine the demographics of the people watching your content. Demographics can help you determine certain likes and dislikes of your audience, which can help you tweak content even more to make sure you are marketing the best way to the audience you want to reach.

    Phase 2 is all about how you deliver content. Tone is very important when distributing your content. How you communicate with the content can help to build new audiences, and how audiences interpret your tone can be a deciding factor in how your content is perceived overall. The other important aspect of content delivery is the timing. Similar to releasing related content to trends, content can be more popular at certain times. You have the control when to reach a new audience based on trends or other important events. 

    The last phase of building your perfect audience involves emotions. It is important to not make knee jerk decisions based on audience responses  because this can do more damage in the long run. Use audience responses to make small improvements within your space so it is not as drastic but is still making your content better. If you are able to navigate the first two phases, it will provide some consistency within social media algorithms so that the third phase is less complicated!

    In Conclusion

    The social media landscape is integral in finding a perfect audience today. If you follow the three phases, it can be easier to learn the functionality of online habits and make reaching your perfect audience much easier. If you want to learn more about finding your perfect online audience, take a look at the infographic below:

    Finding A Perfect Audience
    Source: Bang Productions
  • 5 Digital Marketing Mistakes Beginners Keep Making

    5 Digital Marketing Mistakes Beginners Keep Making

    From the local grocery shop to conglomerates – every business needs digital marketing. And the beginning is the most difficult part.

    People new to digital marketing often find themselves stunned by its size and complexity. That is why we are going to talk about the most common digital marketing mistakes beginners make.

    Let’s jump right into it!

    1.   Not using social media

    Everyone is on social media today. In the last decade, social media has become the most influential channel for digital marketing – both for new brands and for well-established ones.

    So, why do beginners fail to utilize this powerful tool?

    The short answer is that people new to social media don’t understand the power of following through. For example, brands new to Instagram start out great. They create a nice tone of voice, followed by pleasant aesthetics. They gain some traction, and boom – radio silence for days, even weeks, making the brand lose its chance to promote itself.

    The key to preventing this from happening is planning your content upfront and posting consistently.

    2.   Overlooking cybersecurity

    Since virtually everything online is automated, we often overlook things like cybersecurity.

    Now, when it comes to digital marketing, you will probably deal with a lot of different platforms at the same time. The larger your brand is, the more work needs to be done cybersecurity-wise.

    Losing access to your accounts (e.g., Instagram or WordPress) can set you back to square one.

    But, it’s not all that bad. You just need to take a proactive stance toward cybersecurity. Here’s where you can start:

    ●          Sync your accounts whenever possible.

    ●          Use 2FA (2-factor authentication).

    ●          Get a VPN to help you browse the web safely.

    ●          Triple-check the links you open to avoid phishing and other scams.

    ●          Make sure you have a clear list of people who have access to your brand’s accounts, and keep it as short as possible.

    3.  Trying too hard

    Contrary to the not-following-through concept, we have tried-too-hard as another common mistake in digital marketing. While we can’t exactly put a definition on trying too hard, we can outline what it means in terms of digital marketing.

    Brands often try to stay relevant by using memes and writing witty copy based on current events. This may sound great at first, but it leads brands (especially new ones) into risky territory. If your brand isn’t about memes and news, you should steer clear of these methods as marketing strategies.

    One more trap beginners often fall into is posting about the product/service they’re offering exclusively. If your digital presence revolves entirely around your product, you won’t provide actual value for your followers. Add a human touch to your posts, share a story, a testimonial, or some kind of interactive content.

    4.   Failing to keep track of stats

    Reaping rewards from your ad campaigns feels great. But the real power lies in documenting both failure and success.

    Most digital marketing work revolves around trial and error and the concept of A/B testing. This means you should write down the results so you can repeat what works and avoid what doesn’t.

    You will feel the full effect of well-done documentation a few years down the line, but it will certainly be worth it.

    5.   Not taking breaks

    Lastly, we need to talk about the exhaustion and fatigue that digital marketers face all the time. As you probably know, digital marketers are the modern-day jack of all traders. Trends change almost daily, new platforms emerge every year, and all this can lead to burnout faster than you can say “conversion”.

    The cure to digital burnout is time away from your laptop and work. Plan a time of the day when you can disconnect from the world. Meditate (you can find guided meditations on YouTube or on apps like Yours App), go for a walk, cook a three-course meal, or play with your pet.

    The stress that digital marketing brings is rarely sudden. It’s rather a cumulative effect of all the small things you have to do and keep track of on a daily basis.

    It’s ok to make mistakes

    Every beginning is difficult, but there’s no need to be discouraged by possible bumps along the way.

    It’s good to talk about the most frequent mistakes beginners keep making. The world of digital marketing looks intimidating as is, and it’s expected for newbies to make mistakes. Hopefully, this article will help you prevent some of them!

    Just remember to stay safe and to take breaks. Good luck!

  • How HubSpot is Using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to Drive Sales

    How HubSpot is Using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to Drive Sales

    “There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas,” says Scott Tousley of HubSpot. “He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website.”

    Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

    Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

    There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

    For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

    We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

    What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

    But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

    Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

  • Ahrefs Launching Yep, a Content Creator and Privacy Focused Search Engine

    Ahrefs Launching Yep, a Content Creator and Privacy Focused Search Engine

    Ahrefs, the company known for making SEO tools, is getting into the search engine game with Yep, a search engine focused on privacy and content creators.

    Google is by far the most dominant search engine on the market, with Bing a distant second. Despite Google’s dominance, or perhaps because of it, alternative options are becoming increasingly popular. DuckDuckGo and Brave are two examples of search engines that protect user privacy, and Ahrefs’ Yep is about to be another.

    According to TechCrunch, Ahrefs has invested $60 million of its own capital into developing Yep. What’s more, the company is building on its years of crawling the web for its SEO business. The company says its crawler can visit 8 billion web pages per 24 hours.

    “Creators who make search results possible deserve to receive payments for their work. We saw how YouTube’s profit-sharing model made the whole video-making industry thrive. Splitting advertising profits 90/10 with content authors, we want to give a push towards treating talent fairly in the search industry,” said Ahrefs founder and CEO, Dmytro Gerasymenko. “We do save certain data on searches, but never in a personally identifiable way. For example, we will track how many times a word is searched for and the position of the link getting the most clicks. But we won’t create your profile for targeted advertising.”

    If Ahrefs is able to deliver on its promise of privacy, combined with giving content creators the lion’s share of the profits, it may well have a winner on its hands in Yep.

    In the meantime, users can try out Yep here.

  • 4 Ways to Fuel Your Content Creation Process

    4 Ways to Fuel Your Content Creation Process

    Writer’s block is no joke. Even the best content managers and editors can come up dry after a while. Add in the pressure of client demands and the ever-changing search engine optimization efforts, and it’s easy to understand.

    But the need for fresh, engaging, and effective copy doesn’t stop. In fact, content marketing is easily one of the most in-demand components of successful organizations’ growth strategies. Instead of shaking your head in disbelief that another editorial calendar is due, consider implementing new approaches to developing topics. Using a fresh strategy, you may be surprised at the angles you unearth, potentially renewing your energy and enthusiasm for the task.

    1. Batch Content Needs

    The overwhelmed feeling that sets in when looking at an empty content calendar can be paralyzing. To tackle the beast, consider using content clusters to wrangle your thoughts. Content clusters identify a core topic that feeds into more narrow topics, which maintain a common thread that links them together. In application, this process is ripe for a whiteboard, which provides a visual manifestation of the various components and the links between them.

    For example, if your team is tasked with tackling mental health services content, you’d place that in the center. Next, you’d build out narrow topics like therapy, medication, self-care, exercise, and meditation. These clusters focus on the detail level, eventually feeding the reader back to the parent topic of mental health services. Leverage SEO keywords in alignment with your content strategy, and you’ll create useful and strategic content that engages your audience.

    2. Review Social Channels and Comments for Inspiration

    One of the best and worst things about social media is that most users engage without a filter. Comments, reviews, and direct messages are ripe with inspiring — and maybe even shocking — content ideas. Customer pain points and perceptions are enough to drive action in your organization’s daily content efforts. But using this convenient sample of qualitative feedback can offer a double-whammy benefit. 

    At the onset, these feedback portals give you an indication of unmet needs. Whether it’s dissatisfaction with a product, misunderstanding of a process, or a request for a solution, such comments offer grist for the content mill. 

    Identify customer issues in full and review your ability and authority to answer them through dynamic content. If some topics are too risky, shift them to your product or legal team to bring their expertise to bear.

    3. Interview Your Customer-Facing Team for Hot-Button Issues

    Just as social media can be a window into customer realities, so can a conversation with your front-line employees. Call center representatives and account executives face the brunt of customer feedback. These daily interactions may get monotonous to them, but their insight can be invaluable when filling out an editorial calendar. 

    Use their insights to inspire curiosity among your content team. Weave real-life pain points into potential topics, ranking them in alignment with what you know is on the horizon for the company. 

    For example, if your team is releasing an enhancement soon, elevate content in support of that effort to the top. If a new product feature satisfies a persistent customer demand, be sure to tell the world. When release day arrives, your fresh, relatable content will be in high demand, potentially driving engagement in the near term.

    4. Look at Competitor Sites, Then Outdo Them

    Knowing where you stand against your competitors is essential when it comes to both products and content. But understanding where your organization can outshine them is the goal when it comes to analyzing your rivals’ content. 

    Your marketing and sales teams likely have clarity on what your company offers over others. Use that lens and internal information as you assess and review what others in your industry offer through content. Log your findings in a spreadsheet, noting links, keywords, and reach throughout the web.

    Once you’ve reviewed competitor sites, do a content analysis of your own site to see where you line up. Compare and contrast your content against theirs, identifying gaps where you can outdo their efforts. If they provide a text tutorial on ways to use their product, develop a how-to video to demonstrate yours. Track competitor content over time as a part of your regular process, and you’ll stay ahead of the game.

    Keeping Content Fresh, Even While Managing High Volume

    Fresh, relatable, and relevant content can open up a new prospect to the possibility of engaging with your organization. When teams focus on adding value through their content, the solution your product or service offers becomes the consumer’s natural choice. But achieving this is easier said than done, especially when the need for new content is unending. 

    Aim to create a cadence for developing content, setting a recurring content generation methodology that’s manageable. Log ideas that bubble up as teams write new content, identifying potential stories unearthed by the creative process. Categorize your ideas into digestible pieces and assign work in a way that accounts for your review process and delivery needs. Once you’ve established a robust content generation process, your team can focus on creating high-quality content that drives results every time. 

  • Privacy-Focused Tech Companies Call for Ban on ‘Surveillance-Based Advertising’

    Privacy-Focused Tech Companies Call for Ban on ‘Surveillance-Based Advertising’

    A group of tech companies with a history of protecting user privacy is calling for a ban on “surveillance-based advertising.”

    Mojeek, along with DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, StartPage, Fastmail, Proton Technologies and others have written a letter calling on the US, UK, EU and Australia to take action against the dominant form of online advertising. Mojeek is a UK-based search engine that has not tracked users since its inception, and holds the distinction of being the first privacy-oriented search engine. Similarly, the other companies on the list have a long history of protecting user privacy.

    The companies make the case in their open letter that surveillance advertising, commonly called “personalization,” is a threat to consumers, businesses and democracies. The companies also stand as examples that prove it’s possible to build a profitable business without exploiting consumers.

    We are a group of businesses who write to you today to show our support to this initiative. We represent small, medium and large businesses who all believe -and demonstrate on a daily basis -that it is possible to run profitable companies without exploiting the privacy of individuals.

    The companies emphasize they are not anti-advertising, they simply want the industry to use technologies and methods that don’t involve invading the privacy of users.

    Although we recognize that advertising is an important source of revenue for content creators and publishers online, this does not justify the massive commercial surveillance systems set up in attempts to “show the right ad to the right people”.

    Other forms of advertising technologies exist, which do not depend on spying on consumers, and alternative models can be implemented without significantly affecting revenue. On the contrary – and that we can attest to – businesses can thrive without privacy-invasive practices.

  • Marketing: the Fledgling Artists’ Secret Weapon

    Marketing: the Fledgling Artists’ Secret Weapon

    If you ask anybody in Hollywood, in the music industry, in the publishing world or in any economically-viable, artist-led business, what is needed to make it, they will tell you it’s a combination of talent, luck, hard work and marketing.

    It seems obvious when you see it written down, but few people understand the implications of this.

    There is little you can do about talent: you either have it or you don’t. I can take dance lessons all my life, eat healthy, sleep early and train obsessively, but if I lack the raw talent, I will never make it. It’s as simple as that.

    There is also very little you can do about luck. Actually, there is something you can do about it – more on this in a minute. Luck is being in the right place at the right time, being seen by the right person, feeling the zeitgeist before everybody else does, and expressing it through your art. You have little control on any of this.

    If this is the case (and this IS the case), then what differentiates you from the hordes of aspiring actors, singers, writers, dancers, photographers, painters… It’s hard work, surely? Well, yes, hard work is key. It’s what nourishes the seed of talent and grows it to its full potential, it’s what allows you to keep going until you are at the right place at the right time, but it’s not enough. All successful artists work hard. Extremely and obsessively hard. It’s the only way to make it. And yet it’s not enough.

    Marketing Becomes the Great Equalizer

    But when your competition is just as talented and is working just as hard just as you are, only marketing can set you apart. Well, technically there is also luck: enough luck can make up for lack of talent, hard work and marketing, but you cannot direct luck.

    Think about it: why do you think Hollywood keeps pumping out so many book adaptations, sequels, prequels and spinoffs, rather than creating original stories? Because audiences would rather pay to see something they know, something they believe to be good, rather than take their chances on a movie they know little about.

    In a world where there is an abundance of art (songs, books, photographs, music, paintings, poems…), the only way to be commercially successful is to have a loyal following. Re-read this and understand that this applies to all artists from New York Times bestselling authors to aspiring bands practicing in their garage. To all of them.

    I would argue that all aspiring artists need to dedicate a serious amount of time to creating a base to push them through (unless, that is, they have a massive amount of talent or luck – no, hard work doesn’t cover for marketing).

    Self promotion has always been possible, but it’s always been scorned – as if talking about your work meant that it had to be mediocre – and it’s incredibly distracting. It’s as far away from talent, inspiration and discipline as it possibly can be. And yet it’s the reason for so many successes.

    Based on a True Story

    The Blair Witch Project and Papillon chose to go the “it’s a true story” route. It worked and it made them hits in their time. Arrival of the Gods went a different way. They claim to be creating something new. A self described video novel, this is an audiobook with an original music score and ambient animations (not too different from lo-fi music videos). If we can agree that books are going to line our shelves for the foreseeable future, then this might represent a trend we will be seeing a lot of.

    There is a strong appeal to claiming that intriguing facts really happened, and I’m not sure that video novels are a new idea (it sounds very similar to a visual novel to me), but what Arrival of the Gods is doing right is their focus on social media and creating an audience before the actual video novel even goes live.

    Their Instagram channel is a 101 on how to launch a project when you’re nobody. They have teased, released dozens of visuals from the upcoming video novel and even published a few chapters as an ebook. There are bios about the team, videos where they explain what a video novel is and there are even a couple of teaser trailers. And they’re not only on Instagram, they’re on YouTube, Facebook and they have a full website on which a handful of influencers praise the virtues of the book.

    In Conclusion

    If there is an example to follow for fledgling artists this is it. It’s going to take work, a lot of work, and it’s going to distract you from becoming a better artist, but it’s going to be worth it. What editor, label or gallery is going to pass on an artist with a hundred thousand (real) followers on social media?