editor, Author at Mediastreet

In News

5 Content Marketing Mistakes Reducing Your Organic Traffic in 2021

June 2, 2021 No Comments

We know this – quality content that attracts lots of organic traffic takes time to write. And you don’t want to sit for hours writing a post that collects dust on your blog.

I surveyed professional content writers on LinkedIn to know how long they research and write a 1000-words blog post.

The result – 33% of writers use a staggering 6 to 8 hours.

How-Long-Does-It-Take-To-Research-And-Write-A-1000-Word-Content-Piece

Sadly, many blog posts do not get read because they fall for several content marketing mistakes. According to research by Ahrefs, 90.63% of pages get zero organic traffic from Google.

90.63-0f-Pages-No-Organic-Search-Traffic-From-Google

Your posts can be among the 9.37% of content that gets organic traffic from Google. To achieve this, you need to avoid the content marketing mistakes in this post, including those of 2012 and 2015. They are all capable of suffocating your blog posts among the millions of posts published daily.

So let’s dive in.

Content marketing mistake #1 – Targeting keywords instead of topic clusters

In the early days of Google, it was easy to grab a keyword, write a post on it, and boom, the content ranks. The story is different in 2021. Many websites are competing for Google’s top spots by targeting keywords. Rather than join the crowd, use the topic cluster model.

The topic cluster approach has been around for a while. It was introduced and first tested by HubSpot in 2015. This approach requires the creation of pillar and cluster content.

Pillar content: Pillar content is detailed posts or pages on your website. These posts contain a broad range of keywords that you want to rank. An example is this Google Tag Manager guide.

Cluster content: Cluster content is posts or web pages that thoroughly discuss topics on the pillar page.

According to Anum Hussain, a former growth marketer at HubSpot, focusing on topics rather than keywords resulted in a better organic ranking.

In-Fact-The-More-Links-To-Related-Content-We-Had-Across-Our-Site-The-Better-We-Ranked

HubSpot isn’t the only brand that benefits from adopting the topic cluster model. Ninja Outreach had a 40% increase in organic traffic a few months into an internal linking campaign similar to the topic cluster method. And yes, good ol’ Google wants you to implement this SEO strategy. According to Google Webmaster guidelines, your website should have a clear conceptual page hierarchy.

Keep the following in mind as you use the topic cluster model:

Your pillar page should link to all cluster content once
Your cluster pages should link once to the pillar page
Your cluster page could link to other cluster pages once (where the text fits naturally. Don’t force it!)
Cluster pages should cover only one subtopic in detail. Don’t discuss something else. Instead, create another cluster page
Write your cluster pages like regular blog posts while following SEO best practices

Content marketing mistake #2 – Zero voice search optimization

Voice search is on the rise. And many voice search stats show you should capitalize on this emerging trend.

Here are some of the interesting statistics:

According to a PWC survey, 50% of respondents use voice search to buy or order an item.
The average voice search query contains 29 words
Pages using Schema Markup provide 36.4% of voice search results
40.7% of voice search answers are pulled from a Featured Snippet
Voice search result pages have an average of 2,312 words

Failing to optimize your pages for voice search is a content marketing mistake capable of reducing your organic traffic. There is a claim that websites using schema markup rank an average of four positions higher in the search engines than those without schema markup. Also, less than one-third of websites use schema markup. This offers massive SEO real estate for improving your organic traffic.

So, how do you optimize your website pages for voice search:

1. Find Long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are search terms of three or more words. You can find them with keyword research tools like Answer the Public or Long-tail Pro. For instance, after typing my seed keyword (voice search) in the Answer the Public search bar, it returned 321 results.

Questions – 55
Prepositions – 43
Comparisons – 23
Alphabeticals -192
Related – 8

This data has lots of questions like:

What is voice search?
What is voice search optimization?
What is voice search app?
What is voice search SEO?

Here’s why you should care about these long-tail keywords framed as questions.

According to a voice search SEO study by Brian Dean, many voice search queries are question-based
Since 40.7% of voice search answers are from featured snippets, it means you should answer questions that your audience is asking

So, how can you effectively use the long-tail keyword data?

Use them to form headings for your posts
Use them to answer questions in your Frequently Asked Questions pages/posts
Use them to create long-form content that satisfies your audience

2. Schema markup

We have discussed how schema markup can increase your organic ranking and traffic. If you don’t have trouble with coding, you can apply schema to your posts by following the Google schema markup guidelines.

But if you are not good with code, you can use a plugin like Rankmath, assuming you use WordPress as your content management system.

This is how a recipe blog post looks after schema markup implementation.

The-Best-Vanilla-Cake-I've-Ever-Had-Sally-Baking-Addiction

It is important to note that there are different types of schema markups and you should choose the one that applies to your page.

Content marketing mistake #3 – Lack of content promotion

You’ve sat down for hours to write and edit a post. You finish and hit the publish button.

Now you are waiting, hoping, and praying that your ideal audience searches for your target keyword and finds your blog post.

My friend, that is how blog posts stay within the confines of page 2 and beyond of search engine results. They don’t attract organic traffic from Google… even though they are well-written.

Many people now know the benefits of publishing blog posts. But only a few get the desired results because they care to promote what they write. Here are two ways of avoiding this content marketing mistake and putting your posts before your audience:

1. Find broken links

Broken links are links displaying a 404 error message and they are bad for SEO. Finding broken links is an easy way of attracting quality backlinks to your content and getting organic visitors to your website. You can use a tool like screaming frog to find broken links.

After identifying a broken link in the target website, you can send an email to the website owner. Here’s a sample Backlinko email template you can model.

2. Write Guest Posts

Writing guest posts is an efficient way of proving your authority to your target audience. It also adds the benefits of getting you at least one link to your website. Take the Jeff Bullas blog as an instance. This blog has 459 articles on just the B2C website alone.

And the B2C website get a tremendous amount of organic monthly traffic – 507,469

This amount of traffic means a lot. For instance, as people read any of Jeff’s 459 guest posts, they could view his website as well. As they check his website, they could subscribe and join his email list. If they love the content they receive from his list, they could buy any of his products or subscribe to a product or service via any of his affiliate links. This and other ways of content promotion is how a post can make you money through guest posting.

Content marketing mistake #4 – Publish, forget, and don’t update

Write it, promote it, then forget it.

Here’s the result of such a dreadful SEO effort – Google will send your content to the pile of posts resting on the other side of search results where no one reads them.

What if you update them. Any benefit? Of course.

According to Pamela Vaughan, HubSpot achieved the following after refreshing its old content:

Doubled their monthly leads
Had a 106% increase in organic traffic

This is why marketers like Neil Patel update and sometimes rewrite up to 90 of his articles monthly. But don’t go on a content updating spree yet. Before updating any content, ensure it has organic traffic potential. There is no point in updating an article that won’t get you the results you want.

So, how can you update an old post?

Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to find posts with organic traffic potential

2. Read the posts you’ve identified and look out for the following:

Can the introduction be better?
Are there outdated stats and facts in the article?
Can you include videos in the article to better explain a concept and attract traffic through video optimization?
Can you change any image?
Can you tweak a section of the post to read better and sound more human?
Can you add more keywords to get found in search engines?

Once you’ve updated an article, the next step is to monitor your results with a free tool like Google Analytics.

Navigate to Behaviour >> Site Content >> All pages. This gives you an overview of your “before and after” organic traffic based on the selected timeline.

Content marketing mistake #5 – Poor user experience

Writing quality content is not good enough to attract organic traffic from Google. You need to provide users with an excellent experience on your website. From May 2021, Google will implement its page experience update.

This update will take the following into cognizance and impact your organic search rankings:

Core web vitals
Mobile-friendliness
HTTPS-security
Intrusive interstitial guidelines (aka annoying popups)

Here are some ways to avoid reducing your organic rankings due to poor user experience.

1. Check Your Website on PageSpeed Insights

PageSpeed Insights gives you a quick scoop on what you need to fix.

2. Optimize Your Images and Videos

If you use WordPress, you can use a plugin like WP Smush to reduce your image size. A better alternative is reducing the image size with an online tool before uploading them to your website. When using videos on your content, copy the video link and embed it in your post.

3. Use a CDN

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) like Cloudflare helps speed up your site and quickly deliver content to your audience.

4. Eliminate Render-blocking CSS and Enable Browser Caching

If you don’t use WordPress, you’ll have to do this manually. For WordPress users, you can use a plugin like WP Rocket. WP Rocket also has other awesome functionalities that help speed your website.

Final thoughts

Writing quality content is great. But what’s the point if no one reads it?

The first page of Google search results accommodates only ten blog posts. And that’s when ads are excluded. Many website owners want to gain page one rankings because that could translate into revenue for their brand. You could be among such website owners if you care to avoid these content marketing mistakes.

So what’s your next step – take action and start implementing.

By Precious Oboidhe

Guest author: Precious Oboidhe is a Copywriter and SEO Content Writer at Content Estate. You can learn more about Precious at contentestate.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Sourced from Jeff Bullas

In News

How to Run a Successful Virtual Brainstorm in 5 Steps

June 2, 2021 No Comments

By Soren Kaplan,

Brainstorming is an art and science. Here’s how to help your virtual team generate and prioritize the best ideas.

Over the past 25 years, I have run hundreds of brainstorming workshops for high-performing teams. My sessions are often part of larger strategy and innovation initiatives. But all sessions are focused on the same thing: generate, prioritize, and develop great ideas to create a big impact. Though I’m no longer jetting off each week to lead face-to-face sessions, I’m now sitting behind my screen leading programs with teams dispersed across home offices from around the world.

Ideas aren’t innovations in themselves. Innovation happens when ideas are implemented and add real value for customers. The problem is that most brainstorming sessions stop with a big list of ideas. The most effective teams prioritize the best ideas and create action plans that move the most powerful opportunities forward. While this critical fact has always been true, it’s even more important in a virtual world, where accountability and focus can easily cease the moment people click “end meeting” and webcams turn off.

There are many collaborative tools out there for generating ideas. I’m not going to write them here. Why? Because successful brainstorms aren’t about technology at all. Sure, you need to have tools to list, theme, and prioritize ideas. Finding an online tool is the easy part. The “hard” stuff is actually the “soft” stuff — setting the right environment and tone that gives everyone the mindset, motivation, and focus to work together in new and creative ways online.

That said, here are the success factors.

1. Get focused.

In a single sentence, describe the challenge, problem, or topic of your brainstorm. Consider statements that start out like: “How can we …,” “What if we …,” and “How do we …”

2. Define idea categories.

Identify categories for your ideas before you start. Place ideas into these categories as you go. Consider categories like: products, services, processes, business models, and customer experiences.

3. Create prioritization criteria.

Once you have a bunch of ideas, get clear on the criteria you’ll use to prioritize. Share criteria and then vote on the best ideas using it. Consider criteria like:

feasibility (easy to hard)
impact (low to high)
customer Value (low to high)
return on Investment (low to high)

4. Confirm ground rules.

Be sure everyone understands the norms for the brainstorm. Consider ground rules such as deferring judgment until it’s time to prioritize ideas, or aiming for quantity or creativity of ideas. Or you could ask that participants build on one another’s ideas when they’re shared.

5. Create implementation teams.

After you generate and select your top ideas, choose a pair-team to “own” the implementation of them. Pairing people up creates a sense of shared accountability and commitment. Set a timeline and due date for results. Provide support along the way through regular check-ins.

Ideas themselves are a dime a dozen. Ideas that get implemented are worth their weight in gold. That fact doesn’t change in a virtual world.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Soren Kaplan,

Sourced from Inc.

In News

Discover The Keys To Grow Your Ecommerce With Minimal Spending

June 2, 2021 No Comments

By Johnny Lee

When you launch an eCommerce, the first sale is as symbolic as it is necessary

When you launch an eCommerce, the first sale is as symbolic as it is necessary. It is not so much because of the income or because it is extremely complicated, but because of the optimism and tranquillity, it represents for the team. It can mean the biggest turning point in the life of the company. Obtaining that first customer will be a long and complicated battle, so in this article, we explain how to grow an eCommerce while spending the least. Keep reading!

How to grow an eCommerce with minimal expense

Without a doubt, the first sales are the most complicated and the most exasperating. Consumers won’t come to your platform by magic. Therefore, if you want to know how to grow your eCommerce investing little money, you must aggressively market your business and take advantage of the weaknesses of your competition to attract customers and traffic.

Take note of the following techniques that will help you achieve this. Keep reading!

1 # Presence in social networks

The first point on the list of how to grow an eCommerce could not be other than social networks. To start making yourself known, you must open an account. It is not about being in all of them, but about selecting the ones that will be useful to connect with your target audience, but how do you know which is the ideal one?

TWITTER

The simplicity of Twitter makes it one of the most effective ways to engage with your audience. A good way to find potential clients is to proactively find people who post questions about your field and reach out to them so they keep you in mind. The idea is not to present or mention your products but to help them answer their questions. If you do it right, users will investigate your existence and discover your business.

LINKEDIN

Second, Linkedin is the Internet office. On this platform you can find professionals and executives of all kinds, showing off their skills and connecting with others. Once you have configured your e-commerce profile, you can start doing the same.

You may not sell anything directly through Linkedin, but you will discover many opportunities with other companies, providers and related websites. There are dozens of public and private groups created for specific niches, allowing you to post questions and talk to other members.

INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK AND PINTEREST

On the other hand, social networks like Instagram, TikTok or Pinterest allow you to take a different approach if the audience is young. They are ideal platforms for original and creative content. Take photos of your products as well as videos and tell an engaging story.

FACEBOOK

And finally Facebook. This is still a very powerful social network. Take advantage of your professional profile and create a business page to interact with friends, family and acquaintances and make people talk about your brand. Get creative with status updates and engage in public groups and fan pages relevant to your niche. In addition, you can do paid campaigns.

2 # Create a blog

If you are not yet building a blog associated with your e-commerce or product, you are losing the unlimited potential of content marketing. Producing free and valuable content builds brand trust. It also offers you content to share on social networks and helps you rank in search engines.

To start, think about all those initial inquiries that the audience has about your products and your sector. Use the blog to answer those questions with individual articles. Plus, you can use it to provide lifestyle tips, tutorials, and resources around your products. If you can create regular content, you will soon start to see results thanks to social networks and search engines.

3 # Send your product to influencers

Third, the list of how to grow your eCommerce could not be without influencers. In recent years, influencers have become key pieces for marketing strategies. The Internet is full of bloggers, journalists, entrepreneurs and vloggers of all types specialized in all fields. You need to find the right ones. Many of them have a large following and a loyal following on their web pages.

Therefore, you can send a free sample of your product to those who best fit your brand. Hopefully, you will get a mention on one of their platforms, and you will also let them know that as a company you appreciate their work with a small gift.

In this sense, you can also conduct interviews with them. It is a good way to create original and different content. Interviews work because they are win-win situations. The interviewee gets more visibility and the interviewer has good content to post on the blog, for example. Take the opportunity to ask questions about their lives and careers, but also about the industry in general.

On the other hand, to collaborate with them, you can also run contests or raffles. We all love free stuff and if you’re looking to build trust, running a contest or giveaway could help you get there. This can be done with the collaboration of influencers or on your social networks.

4 # Public relations and communication strategy

If you want to know how to grow your eCommerce, make a public relations strategy. They have the same effect as when a video goes viral and can propel your brand to success. A sure fire public relations trick is to do something unusual, outrageous, funny, or important enough to merit media attention.

If it goes well, your eCommerce will benefit from many high-profile news source links, which is great for both short-term traffic and long-term SEO.

In terms of communication, many electronic businesses publish press releases to attract the attention of the media, although most of them fail. It is a less useful strategy than it used to be but still sire. The secret is to make sure your story is newsworthy, concise, and professional, without being too monotonous.

5 # Create a Mailing list

Email is one of the best channels for attracting leads, and it can even be free. You can create a mailing list of previous and potential customers and send them information, products and content. Include an email subscription form on your website. This is an effective way to convince visitors to sign up for your database.

Instead of just saying “sign up for our newsletter,” offer an incentive or some kind of added value for subscribing.

Another use that you can give is conducting surveys to your consumers, so you receive comments to improve. Customers often have no qualms about saying what their experience with the store has been like and whether something was done wrong.

6 # Experiment with Google Ads

To know how to grow an eCommerce you have to know what Google Ads is. In case you don’t know yet, Google Ads is Google’s pay-per-click advertising platform. It enables online merchants to place ads on almost all Google results pages, YouTube videos, and partner websites.

The biggest advantage of Google Ads is its speed and massive reach. In a few minutes, you can set up and launch an advertising campaign that makes your text, image or video ads appear. You can also set the option for them to be activated and displayed next to Google results when users search for predefined or similar keywords.

7 # Pay attention to web analytics

The behaviour of each user when he visits a web page from when he enters to when he leaves helps you understand why you are or are not selling. Your page statistics will show you what your customers are doing on your website, including the websites they enter, the time they spend on each one, and the route they choose to exit.

Some tools also display additional information. For example, how often a customer visits your website. In this sense, Google Analytics is a totally free tool that helps you measure traffic in many ways.

8 # Sponsor an event

To get good results sponsoring an event you have to give it the right approach. First, you will have to make sure that you select the right event and that the target audience is the same as yours. Will your potential clients be among the attendees? Would your product interest them? How many attendees will it have?

Once the data in hand, classify them according to the type of audience and sponsorship price. Once you attend, avoid typical marketing strategies like handing out flyers. You will have to be creative to establish and build relationships.

Show off some of your most interesting products to tell their story, get people talking about it, and offer immediate promotions like free coupons in exchange for email list subscriptions or social media follow-ups.

9 # Make use of affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is those actions by which you allow other people to market your products and send traffic to your website. In return, for each sale, you pay a percentage. You can track it by giving it a custom link or a unique coupon code.

The great thing about this sales strategy is that you only pay if sales are made, which makes affiliates do their best.

10 # Outperform the Competition on Price Comparison Platforms

Most consumers like to shop around before making a purchase, this includes browsing Google and sites like Amazon for the best options. The most popular platforms are Google Shopping, Yahoo Shopping, Kelkoo, idealo, etc.

To achieve notoriety, you have to follow the rules of each platform, stay competitive on pricing, and wait while you experiment to find out which platform is the best fit for you and offers the best ROI.

What did you think of this article on how to grow eCommerce? Leave your comments and share!

And if you want to set up your own e-commerce and you don’t know how to launch your project, take the Master in e-Commerce & Digital Marketing. You will learn everything related to managing electronic commerce with a comprehensive vision with the best business models and strategies. We will wait for you!

By Johnny Lee

Author Selena is a blogger and a guest contributor for a well-known brand that includes MESHEBLE, Saveucoupon & INTHEMARKET. In her leisure time, she plays tennis.

Sourced from INFLUENCIVE

In News

Why the pandemic has provided fertile ground for a renaissance in quality media

June 1, 2021 No Comments

Sourced from WNIP

It is no secret that trust in certain sections of the media are low, right at a time when the health and welfare of the globe is reliant on accuracy.

Whether cowed into submission by right-leaning politicians, or not helping themselves with ambiguous storytelling and a questionable relationship with the provable truth, the veracity of some publishers – particularly in the news sphere – is continually being questioned.

In a recent survey of more than 2,000 respondents in February 2021, only 44% of the British public trusted traditional media for news and information. The least trusted outlet was social media with just 19%.

These damning numbers would – and should – be an issue for any self-respecting media source, but during a pandemic, they are potentially fatal.

Media coverage has been shown to shape public opinion unlike any other form of mass messaging, as it moulds people’s perceptions and responses to health crises and other social issues.

Misinformation, bias and the formatting of coverage comes at a large cost, directly affecting the public’s notion of the pandemic’s dangers – or otherwise.

The Press Gazette recently spoke to leading editors around the world, as they outlined the biggest challenges for journalism in 2021. Surprise, surprise, truth and trust were top of the pile.

Gina Chua, global managing editor at Reuters, summed up the issues.

“With the rise of misinformation, the impact of social media and stark political divisions around the world, the erosion of public trust on the news industry will be a significant challenge to address in 2021. Fact-based and impartial reporting is more important than ever.”

Never underestimate the value of trust

As danced around above, the public’s perception of our media is not exactly exemplary. But there are publications witnessing growth and recognition despite these turbulent times.

New Statesman announced digital subscription growth of 75% in just one year, with subscription revenues up 77% in three years following significant investment in its journalism and the launch of new brands and associated digital services.

Registered users on its website rose by 83% to more than 200,000 from January 2020 to February 2021, and 86% of New Statesman’s circulation is now paid for.

By recognising the worth and need for fact-based independent journalism, the New Statesman shows a clear position on the use of hard data and truth-finding within its reporting is popular.

Yet, as Marty Baron, executive editor at Washington Post, told the Press Gazette: “The biggest challenge for journalism is that facts aren’t accepted as facts any longer. Societies can’t agree on a common set of facts. We can’t even agree on what constitutes a fact.

“We can certainly be more transparent, revealing more about how we go about our work.”

This could be a seismic change in journalism, and media in general. The more people understand and appreciate the processes and the raw data drawing indisputable facts, the better the trust.

Social media is not king

The elephant in the press room was brought out front and centre during Covid-19 times.

While individual social media platforms are vital for media outlets to reach all demographics in a modern world (there were 53 million social media users in the UK as of January 2021, according to DataReportal), they share this space with politicians, celebrities, non-celebrities and self-appointed spokespeople.

As an experiment, scroll through the replies to a Sky or BBC update on coronavirus cases if you want to gauge the public’s mistrust.

Accepting quality media will shape public opinion in a positive fashion is surely the best argument towards a modern-day renaissance.

New independent research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism suggests we already have a good base from which to build.

They found that ‘people are generally sceptical of information they see on social media and are broadly able to identify false or partly false information’, and suggest the use of ‘fact-checking’ labels.

Director of Reuters Institute Dr Rasmus Kleis Nielsen commented: “Most people are sceptical of information they come across online, especially on social media and other platforms, and research suggests that independent fact-checkers not only help set the record straight, but also have a disciplining effect on anyone who may be tempted to share misinformation.”

Commercially speaking…

One of the pandemic’s more positive offshoots has been to remind everyone within and outside the industry how crucial a functioning media industry is for society as a whole.

Despite the protestations of the anti-MSM cliques, it remains the first place people turn to when honest and accurate information is required.

It is for that reason media outlets have always been such a key part of the advertiser’s relationship with its customers.

After all, any renaissance’s main goal must be to reduce the general mistrust of the media, which in turn produces a ‘safe space’ for advertisers.

As Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford concludes: “Our reporting suggests that the coronavirus slump has been far kinder to the news industry than the last big downturn in 2008. Back then lasting damage was done to the media as property, jobs and car advertising disappeared from the news media never to return.

“Looking at the 16 leading news and information companies, they were worth $38bn more in April this year than they were a year earlier.

“While advertising revenue is down across the board, digital advertising is growing for everyone except local news brands. And the biggest and most positive trend to come out of the last year has been huge growth in the number of people willing to pay for news online.

“Press Gazette research shows that English language news websites now have more than 23m paying subscribers. Titles like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and The Athletic are proving that readers will pay a premium for high quality news.

“At Press Gazette we have hit record traffic numbers this year (more than 300,000 readers) but we are not focused on that number. Like many publishers we are focusing purely on serving our core market of media decision makers better, in terms that has paid off with a record quarter at the start of this year for commercial content deals.

“This has been helped by the fact that for the first time we are able to back our editorial commercial content product with Lead Monitor, a high-tech AI-driven marketing tool which helps our partners turn readers into leads.”

Phillip Othen
News Statesman Media Group

The New Statesman Media Group aims to tell stories about how the world is changing for the people delivering that change. New Statesman, the Group’s flagship title, is one of the leading progressive political and cultural magazines in the UK. The group has recently launched a number of ‘Monitor’ titles, headed by seasoned editors, covering Energy, Investment, ESG and the Technology sectors. These brands are Investment Monitor, Energy Monitor, Capital Monitor, Tech Monitor and Press Gazette. They offer content specifically created for high-value audiences, helping to attract the key players in the market and positioning clients in front of them as thought-leaders, across sectors such as luxury consumer lifestyle; public sector and government; technology; energy and infrastructure.

Sourced from WNIP

In News

Twitter ‘best’ at applying EU disinformation code

June 1, 2021 No Comments

By Nikolaj Nielsen,

Social media giant Twitter tops US tech firms applying an EU code to tackle disinformation – even if it does so only partially.

“Nobody has really fully respected the code,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, told reporters on Wednesday (26 May).

Twitter in March had suspended 149 accounts and removed 5,371 pieces of content which violated their Covid-19 misinformation policy (Photo: Tom Raftery)

“I would tell you if somebody had. But from Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and TikTok, one did better than the others.”

EUobserver was informed it was Twitter. All five had signed up to the voluntary 2018 code.

But given the overall poor results, the code is now being revamped.

The reform comes at a time when Covid-related conspiracies are pushing some against getting vaccinated, while others push bogus cures.

Speaking alongside Breton, EU commission vice-president Vera Jourova said the disinformation has put people’s lives at risk.

Twitter in March had suspended 149 unique accounts and removed 5,371 pieces of content, which violated their Covid-19 misinformation policy.

Facebook says it pulled 620,000 pieces of content on Facebook and Instagram globally, and another 52,000 in Europe, over the same period. Google removed 30,000 YouTube videos in the last quarter of 2020.

On Wednesday, Jourova announced the commission’s latest proposal for a beefed-up code of practice on disinformation.

The plan is to reach an agreement before the end of the year and then have it embedded into the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The DSA is set to come into force in 2022, allowing for greater oversight and possible sanctions for firms that do not follow the code.

“This is fundamental,” said Luca Nicotra, a campaign director at Avaaz, as US activist NGO.

“I think they are going all in on this and it’s really exciting,” he said – cautioning that the commission’s proposal could still be watered down later on.

Aside from the DSA embed, the code presented by the commission also introduces other novelties.

Among them is a completely new focus on algorithmic accountability and transparency.

The aim is not to reveal the algorithmic source code.

Platforms will instead have to prove they are making changes to prevent the spread of disinformation.

“We would like them to embed the fact-checking into their system,” said Jourova.

It means platforms will not have to decide what is disinformation or misinformation, she said.

“We are deeply convinced that there should be no one authorised to be the arbitrator of the truth,” she added.

The new code would require platforms to tackle disinformation across different languages.

It also introduces other measures as well, requiring them to provide more data for researchers, tackle political adverts and curb election manipulation.

“Disinformation is still something that sells well, so we want to engage also the advertising industry not to place the ads next to disinformation,” said Jourova.

Users will also be encouraged to flag harmful content. And anyone whose content is removed, can appeal.

The commission wants to monitor oversight, along with the EU’s foreign policy branch EEAS.

The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) and the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) would also help monitor.

The commission then plans to adapt rules in November on political advertising with an aim to stop foreign interference.

“We are working very closely with Josep Borrell [EU foreign policy chief] on this subject,” noted Breton.

Feature Image Credit: “Nobody has really fully respected the code, I would tell you if somebody had. But from Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and TikTok, one did better than the others,” said Thierry Breton (r) (Photo: European Union, 2021)

By Nikolaj Nielsen

Sourced from euobserver

In News

ANA Releases ‘KPIs That Matter,’ Finds The Most Important Ones Aren’t Always The Most Used

June 1, 2021 No Comments

By Joe Mandese,

The most important KPIs, or key performance indicators, used by advertisers to assess the value and effectiveness of their advertising and media aren’t necessarily the ones they use most often, according to the findings of a new report from the Association of National Advertisers.

The report, “Media KPIs That Matter,” is based on a survey the ANA’s Media Leadership and Digital & Social Media committees fielded among their members in January and February, and found that while returns on advertising investment, followed by brand safety, lifetime customer value, and conversions and/or sales are the most important indicators, the most common ones used are by far ones that rely on the efficiency of advertising: CPMs (cost-per-thousand), CPC (cost-per-click), unique reach and site visits.

“Marketers now demand specific and accurate indicators measuring the efficiency of their media buys,” ANA CEO Bob Liodice said in a statement released with the report, adding, “This report demonstrates they are keeping a keen eye on every aspect of their investments.”

The report identifies and ranks 39 KPIs, only five which rank among the top dozen for both most important and most used: ROI/ROAS; conversions; unique reach; site visits, and viewable impressions.

The report represents an important benchmark for the ad industry’s often subjective and illusive valuation standards, and it also provides a valuable snapshot of newer and emerging performance indicators:

Data Source Quality
ROI/ROAS
Customer Lifetime Value
Conversion
Targeting Information Quality

By Joe Mandese,

Sourced from MediaPost

In News

Great Storytelling is the Secret to Making Your Advertising Stand Out from the Crowd

May 31, 2021 No Comments

By Benton Crane,

It drives sales, profits and helps businesses thrive.

Analysts are forecasting the advertising industry is surging back this year.

Brian Wieser from GroupM predicts “In 2021, the American advertising industry is poised to regain all that it lost in 2020 and more.”

As a business owner and entrepreneur, that can be discouraging news. In a world flooded with text messages, news, advertisements and constant connection to social media apps, you already know how hard it is to cut through all the noise and connect with both your customers and potential customers.

It’s been well established that advertising — and the world in which we consume advertising — has changed in the last several decades. In the 1970s, the average person saw between 500 and 1,600 ads per day. Today, the average person is estimated to see between 6,000 and 10,000 ads every day.

Social media platforms have played a large role in that increase. Users upload at least 300 hours of video to YouTube every minute. Google processes 40,000 searches every second. Users post 46,740 new photos to Instagram every minute, and 300 million photos to Facebook every day.

So as a business owner, how do you cut through that noise? The answer lies in your ability to tell a story worth repeating.

Storybrand-style marketing has almost become a cliché in the last 10 years. And like all good clichés, it’s a cliché for a reason. It’s formulaic because it works. Great storytelling drives sales, profits and helps businesses thrive.

But it’s one thing to tell a story. It’s another to tell a story that stands out enough to trigger a response from your audience, to get them to engage and share your content.

Telling a good story is actually very nuanced. Think about how many stories you hear on a daily basis. From the stories your toddlers or teens tell you to the news you hear on your drive to work to the stories you read online, you can only remember so many. Only a few stick in your mind for very long. And only the very best end up being good enough to repeat to your friends or co-workers.

Good stories — the best stories — move people so much they want to engage with them and tell them to others.

You can break down these effective, noise-cutting storytelling into four main categories:

Controversial stories

This is the type of story or content that gets shared because it riles people up. The problem with controversy is that people know half of their audience will like the story, while the other half might be put off by it, so people think twice about sharing it.

Fear-inducing stories

Fear can also be a powerful motivator in stories, because it strikes at people’s tribal instincts to act in their best interest. They might share the content you create out of concern for others’ best interests, but it also might reveal vulnerability they aren’t ready to share.

Endearing stories

These perform well because they are heart-warming. People want to feel good, and stories that endear your brand to them give them positive feelings.

Humorous stories

People choose to share content because they want to add value to their network, and humour always does that. It’s universally about putting a smile on people’s faces. Brands can take advantage of this by providing humour that adds value to their customers — and potential customers — by incorporating humour into their stories and ads.

But how can you tell if your stories are actually effective and are resonating with your target audience?

The most basic baseline for judging effective advertising is conversions. This is especially crucial when your business is first starting out, because if your product or service isn’t selling you won’t stay alive for long.

But even after making it past the early stages of growth, many businesses and marketers fail to move past the conversion-only metric. The problem is conversion-driven storytelling can make you appear like a used car salesman, doing whatever it takes to get someone’s attention and make a quick sale. This strategy can yield short-term gains but jeopardize the longevity of your business.

You’ll need more if you truly want to cut through the noise, drive sales and engender lasting customer loyalty.

For long-term success, advertisers need to expand their metrics beyond just conversion results to examine how people are engaging with and sharing their stories. These longevity-minded marketers also take into consideration reactions, comments and shares.

You might protest that these are just vanity metrics. And they can be. But they’re also more than that. They help you know whether you’re effectively communicating with your potential customers and creating lifelong, loyal customers.

These so-called vanity metrics are the digital equivalent of a face-to-face conversation with your customer, allowing you to see if your message is resonating and making an emotional connection.

So rather than dismissing responses and engagement as mere window dressing, realize that they can hold the key to creating an emotional connection with your customers. A connection that will establish your customers as loyal brand advocates, giving you the opportunity to bring longevity and security to your business.

By Benton Crane,

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

In News

7 things you didn’t know you could do in Outlook

May 31, 2021 No Comments

By Arif Bacchus

Chances are good that you’ve used Microsoft Outlook one way or another for sending an email or scheduling a meeting. But while these are the most common tasks that you can get done in Outlook, there are some tricks that you can leverage to improve your experience.

Recalling an email is one which we’ve covered before, but there is also color-coding emails or setting different time zones. We’ve spent some time digging through the menus for you, and to show you all that plus more.

Without further ado, here are seven things you didn’t know you could do in Outlook on the desktop, and Outlook on the web.

Set two time zones

We’ll start first with time zones because time is everything! This s useful if you’re based in a different location from your job — say you’re in New York, and your job is based in Portland, Oregon. To help keep your emails on the same page, and avoid being late to meetings, you can set multiple time zones in the Outlook desktop app.

This is one of the easiest things you can configure in Outlook. All you need to do is head into your Calendar potion of the Outlook desktop app, then visit the File menu. From there, click Options and then click on Calendar. You’ll then want to look for the Time Zones option. You should see a check box for Show a Second Time zone. Click the check box, and then choose your desired second or third Time Zone. You’ll now see this across Outlook.

Set colours for emails from certain people

Want your emails to look a bit different so your inbox is fancier or easier to read? Outlook has your back with what’s known as conditional formatting. This feature is a way to make messages that meet your own defines conditions stand out in the message list by using colour, fonts, and styles. It lands at No. 2 on our list.

You can tell Outlook to change the colour of certain messages based on a sender’s name or email address; say, if you want to make all emails from your boss appear in red.

To set up a conditional formatting rule, toggle to your inbox, in the Outlook desktop app and visit the View tab. From there, select the Current View setting. Then, after that, select View Settings. You’ll then want to click in the Advanced View Settings dialog box and select Conditional Formatting. Microsoft has a list of steps you can follow here, but we’re focusing on how you can make messages from certain people appear in a certain colour.

To accomplish this, click Add and then enter in a name for the rule. Select Font, and then under Colour choose a color that you want and then click OK. After that, select Condition and choose a Condition. In the From box, type out the contact or sender name you want to see appear in a different colour in your inbox. Then, in Filter, Conditional Formatting, and Advanced View Settings dialog boxes, select OK.

Use the Outlook hotkeys

You’re probably familiar with keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+C and CTRL+V, but did you know that the Outlook desktop app also has a set of hotkeys you can use? These keys can help you save time during your busy day, by avoiding having to drag your mouse over icons and menus to do common tasks like composing, replying, or forwarding messages. We collected our favourite Outlook hotkeys for number three on our list. Keep in mind these are for Windows 10.

Keyboard Shortcut	Task
CTRL + Shift + M	Create a new message
CTRL + R	Open the reply Window
CTRL + F	Opens the Forward window
CTRL+ Shift+ R	Open the reply window, to reply to an entire group
CTRL+K	Insert hyperlinks into emails
CTRL+ Shift+ G	Flag a message
F4	Search for text in an email
CTRL+ 3	Opens the contacts list
CTRL+ 2	Opens Outlook calendar

Again, we just collected some of the most common hotkeys. Microsoft has a full list on its website, covering the Outlook shortcuts for MacOS, as well as the Web. Their list is a bit more comprehensive, covering dictation, folders, reading panes, printing, and more.

Resize your files to send large picture attachments

A common roadblock you might face when sending emails with images is that the files you might want the recipient to receive are a bit too big for the limits of the web. When this happens, you can try to resize your image attachments through the Outlook desktop app so they’re not too large.

You can resize your image attachments in a few steps. Once you composed a fresh message, you must first attempt to attach all the images you want to send. You’ll likely get an error message, but don’t worry. Just head into the File tab of that email, and then look for the error message on the top. Choose the option that says Resize large images when I send this message.

Outlook will attempt to mail out the message by compressing your images down to a smaller size. In the event that the message still doesn’t go through, then you can try Zipping your files in Windows 10 or MacOS to make them smaller and then attaching the ZIP file in an email message.

Start Teams meetings, open Sticky Notes and OneNote right from Outlook on the web

Though we’ve focused on the Outlook desktop app, Outlook on the web has some secrets, too. While you’re probably already spending time sorting through your Calendar or your emails in Outlook on the web, Microsoft did plug in some integrations with Sticky Notes, as well as OneNote there, too.

With the integration, if you sign in with the same Microsoft 365 email you use for work (or even a personal Microsoft account email) on Sticky Notes in Windows 10, or in the OneNote app, you’ll have quick access to the same things with that account Outlook on the web. This is known as the OneNote feed.

You can toggle to this at any time by heading up top and clicking the OneNote icon on the right side of the screen. This works with both personal Microsoft Accounts, as well as work Microsoft 365 accounts. So, give it a try and take notes while emailing!

We also want to note the ability to “Meet Now.” This option shows at the top of your inbox in Outlook on the web. If you click this, you’ll be able to instantly start a Teams meeting (with work accounts) or a Skype meeting (with personal accounts.) It’s a quick way to jump through some hoops and not have to go through a lot of menus to get into a meeting right away.

Get to inbox zero with conversation cleanup

If your inbox is full of messages, then you might want to try the Conversation Cleanup feature in Outlook. It is yet another feature that you might not have known exists.

As Microsoft explains, the Conversation Clean Up feature in Outlook is designed to help you reduce the number of messages in your folders. Redundant messages throughout a conversation that are cleaned up are moved to the Deleted Items folder. Just keep in mind this is for conversations in an email thread or a collection of messages.

You can use conversation cleanup by going to your Outlook inbox on your desktop and then click the Home tab. From there, you can choose the Delete group and then choose Clean up.

You can choose to Clean up the Conversation to clean up the current conversation. Then, choose to Clean up Folder to clean up an entire folder, with the redundant messages being deleted. You also can opt to Clean Up Folder & Subfolders. With this option, all conversations in the selected folder and any folder that it contains are reviewed, and redundant messages are deleted.

Set rules to move, flag, and respond to email messages automatically

While conversation clean-up is one way to get to a clean inbox, setting rules is another. You can move, flag, and respond to emails automatically if you set rules in your Outlook desktop app. These rules can even be used to play specific sounds when you get messages, too.

To set up a rule, all you need to do is right-click on a message in your inbox and select Rules From there, you can select one of the options. Outlook will automatically suggest creating a rule based on the sender and the recipients. If you want to create more rules, you can right-click it and choose Create Rule.

Follow the on-screen prompts, and in the Create Rule dialog box, select one or more of the first three checkboxes. Microsoft has a complete guide on Outlook rules here if you need further assistance.

By Arif Bacchus

Sourced from digitaltrends

In News

This is why hardly anyone buys Google’s Pixel phones

May 31, 2021 No Comments

By Adam Speight

For years now Google’s phones have been a critical success but a sales flop. What gives?

“Awesome screen, awesome camera, long-lasting battery life,” was a tune that may still ring in the ears of many who turned on a TV around the launch of the Samsung Galaxy A51 – a few months before the launch of the Google Pixel 5.

Later in the year, you were likely greeted by advertisements of the lavish colour variations on offer from the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and its pulse-raising domino-like showcase. Apple’s ad assault started strong, of course, with Ridley Scott’s iconic 1984 Mac ad, which ran for a full minute, and carried on it the same manner with dancing jelly iMac G3s, pop art silhouette iPod spots, the “there’s an app for that” campaign, and more.

This begs the question, do you remember anything from Pixel 5 adverts? In fact, when was the last time you saw a Google Pixel advertisement? At £599, Google Pixel 5 looks like one of the best value phones on the market, while the Pixel 4a is similarly inviting, providing a top contender for the best camera and software for any phone under £400.

Yet, the popularity of the Pixel range still wanes in the face of competition from more widely adopted and promoted rivals. In the US, Google phones have a lower market share than both LG and Huawei. The former recently chose to ditch its smartphone business while the latter has not sold new phones in the country for over a year. At just over two per cent, Google market share is dwarfed by the respective 25 and 54 per cents of Samsung and Apple.

One thing is clear, there is little point in the bumps in specs and performance of the Pixel 6 if Google continues to do a poor job of shouting about it.

The Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a are great phones, and, aside from a rocky time with the Pixel 4, Google’s smartphones have delivered when it comes to hardware and software. What’s not to love about the Pixel? From a camera that is praised year-on-year and great software to well-built hardware and, recently, attractive pricing, it’s a compelling package. However, the market speaks for itself and the Pixel just isn’t that popular.

An area that may go some way to explain the Pixel range’s lack of popularity, despite them being great phones, is advertising. According to Nielsen, since the start of 2016, Google has spent just over £40 million on smartphone advertising in the UK. By comparison, Apple and Samsung have spent around four and five times more than that.

If you don’t recall seeing a Pixel advert on TV, or think it’s a rarity, the breakdown of Google’s ad spend explains this. Google spent just £14 million on TV ad spend in the same period while Apple spent £75 million and Samsung shelled out a whopping £124 million. Samsung is spending more than three times as much on just its TV campaigns than Google’s entire Pixel ad spend in the UK.

Google isn’t short on resource, so this begs the question, why isn’t it spending more to get the Pixel out there? This question was being posed way back in 2016, with Wharton University publishing an article titled “Why Google’s Pixel is more about strategy than smartphones.” Professor of management David Hsu stated: “The main business of Google is enabling their advertising revenue model. Hardware is always going to pale in comparison.”

Also, in 2016, both Hsu and assistant professor of business economics and public policy Michael Sinkinson suggested the Pixel range should’ve been priced more aggressively. Since then, the “a” series of Pixels and Pixel 5 have done just that, yet not much else has changed. In the same article, Gerald Faulhauber, professor emeritus of business economics and public policy, argued Pixel would likely be around for “a couple of years and go away”. You’d forgive Faulhauber for thinking this, given Google’s track record, but the company is sticking at it.

Google’s Pixel marketing plan has demonstrated there’s plenty of room for it to invest more. But Counterpoint Research’s Neil Shah thinks Google may be stuck between a rock and a hard place. “Google is in a Catch-22 situation with its hardware strategy. Google’s DNA is cloud, software and AI – it’s not hardware. Also, building your own hardware and competing with your partners, especially Samsung or Chinese vendors, is not healthy in long run.” This argument was made before the launch of the Pixel though, whether vendors would be happy about the company behind Android making its own phone, but Google pushed on.

Shah points towards a “lack of distribution and scale” as one of the reasons the Pixel hasn’t taken off. “Investing in hardware is expensive,” he says. “But it is also lucrative once you gain scale. I see Google trying to figure out the right timing for its investments and try to be truly vertically integrated, like Apple, to reap the benefits and go [full] throttle.” This vertical integration, where the company controls absolutely everything about the Pixel phone, could be inbound, with mounting speculation that the Pixel 6 will be powered by a new Google-created chip, Whitechapel.

Whether a new chip is a catalyst for Pixel to finally make its mark will very much be up to Google. It’s the company that will determine whether it chooses to throw itself properly into the mobile phone business or continue to play around at the edges.

Aside from Google’s lacklustre ad spend in the UK, the quality of Pixel ads has also been criticised. Meanwhile, indicators of Google’s strategy for phones still seems unclear. It took the savvy step in the US of partnering with a carrier (T-Mobile). Then, on the launch of a Pixel 5a, it listed just two countries (US and Japan) as release locations.

From new partnerships and chip development, to better distribution and good old-fashioned advertising spend, Google has plenty of options to make Pixel more than a minor entrant in the mobile race. Yet for much of the above this has been the case for years.

Through no fault of the hardware, the Pixel has existed in mobile limbo since the range’s launch almost five years ago. At this rate, another half decade of underperformance doesn’t seem out of the question. Google needs to get serious about its worthwhile phones or put the Pixel out of its misery.

Feature Image Credit: Google / WIRED

By Adam Speight

Sourced from WIRED

In News

How to Use Google My Business App to Help Your Business Thrive

May 28, 2021 No Comments

By Isabel Khalili,

Optimize your Google My Business profile to make sure it works for you. Use these simple tips to get started.

With the Google My Business App, your business can stay up-to-date on Google Search and Google Maps to stand out among your competition.

This app will help you be easier to find, make it easier for customers to visit your offices, respond to reviews, messages, or questions.

Although you can’t remove listings or transfer ownership in the app, you’ll be able to see your followers and review them. Keep track of your business analytics to know your customers better. See how other features can help your business grow.

How to Set Up Google My Business

To set up the Google My Business App, you need to go to PlayStore and download it to your Android device. To add your business:

1. Enter the name of your business.

2. Choose a business category that suits your company. You can also change this later.

3. Add a location, phone number, and Website URL.

How to Verify/Claim Your Business

To verify your business on the Google My Business app, you need to click ‘Verify‘ from the app or your computer. After filling in these details, you can choose between email or postal address to receive the verification code.

The address you provide is hidden from the public if you are concerned about safety issues.

After inputting the code, you will have verified or claimed your business on Google. You can now create public posts, make edits to these posts, and respond to reviews from your customers. Your edits will only appear on Google after you verify your account.

Useful Features to Improve Your Business

Here are some useful features you can use on the Google My Business app to help your business grow.

1. Business Description

Image Gallery (2 Images)

With the Google My Business app, you can create a profile about your business and describe to your customers what you do. You can also add a logo to your profile.

Adding your logo to your online business presence will raise your visibility. Customers will be able to identify you easily from your competition. Logos are also memorable, fostering brand loyalty among potential and existing customers.

2. Photos

Image Gallery (2 Images)

Products available on Google My Business

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and with Google My Business, you can add photos to share on your listing with your customers. This is an easier way to showcase the products you have to offer.

If you want to make a great first impression online, add as many high-quality images as you like. You can upload the images directly from the Google My Business app. Your customers can also post images and videos with their reviews.

3. Reviews and Followers

Image Gallery (2 Images)

To succeed in your local SEO, you need to rank well among your competitors. Customer reviews are a critical element in your ranking, and they help customers share their experiences with your services.

Reviews positively affect your Google ranking, so it is better to have raving ones than negative ones. Reviews will also help you gain more customers via your star rating. You will have to verify your account to access your reviews and followers.

4. Services and Working Hours

Image Gallery (3 Images)

Available services on Google My Business

Special working hours on Google My Business

If customers are aware of the services you provide, they can make an informed buying decision. You can use this platform to display the services you offer or the products you sell to your customers. You can also detail the modes of payment that you accept from customers.

Google My Business also allows you to state your business’s working hours so that your customers can contact you at the right time. This kind of information also reflects positively on the fact that your business is ready to offer its services.

5. Website URL

With Google My Business, you won’t have to waste time on creating a website for your business. You get a free website to let customers see your services and products. This website also lets you advertise new products and special offers. A website is essential when launching an online business today.

Get More Visibility With Google My Business App

The Google My Business app is essential no matter if you are new to business or looking to expand. With this app, you can make sure your business shows up when customers search for it on Google or Google Maps.

This allows you to better interact with customers by responding to reviews, updating your working hours, and sharing photos of your products and services. Using the Google My Business app will help you stand out from the competition and increase revenue. Check out these features today and see your business and customer relationships grow.

By Isabel Khalili

Sourced from MUO