Tuesday, 5 July 2016

9 Social Media Marketing Trends That Could Make or Break Your Business in 2017

Social Media Marketing Trends

Social media is always evolving, so what’s next?

That’s the question I was asked in an interview recently. This kind of question can be really easy since there are so many easy candidates – IoT, VR, and just about anything to do with Facebook.

But if you don’t want to rely on the cliches of future social technology, it can be a challenge to pick out what will matter and why. I suppose this post is somewhere in the middle and I hope it helps you think about where the substance breaks away from the shiny social media objects.

The most important thing about social media marketing isn’t always the tech. It’s the people.

A lot of what draws marketers’ attention to social media is technology: new apps, networks and the latest features on major platforms. But the most important thing about social media marketing isn’t always the technology. It’s the people and how they use that technology to create, publish, share, interact and transact.

Social media is a dynamic of consumer behaviors driving new social technology development while at the same time, new technologies that affect consumer behaviors. It’s important for brands looking at what’s next in social media to understand this dynamic amongst their own customers and broader community.

With that dynamic cycle of people and technology in mind, here are a few directions for social media evolution I think are worth paying attention to:

Facebook Internet
1. The Facebook Internet

Facebook is dominating social media usage, video and advertising and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Along with WhatsApp messaging and predictions that Instagram will soon become the second biggest social network, many Facebook users don’t really need to leave, do they?

Converged Social Media
2. Converged Social

The combination of Microsoft and LinkedIn will create innovations that will benefit marketers in some interesting ways, especially if professional social profiles become accessible and integrated within Microsoft 365 apps. There’s more convergence to come and guesses are hot as to whether Facebook, Google or Apple will buy Twitter or if Twitter will go the way of Friendster and MySpace.

Social Video
3. Hot Video

Real-time video is the hot shot on the block right now with Snapchat, Facebook Live and Periscope leading the way towards social engagement with customers in ways many brands haven’t explored before. Facebook’s own Nicola Mendelsohn says in five years, Facebook will “probably” be “all video”.

Like live TV, live video presents brands some opportunities for things to go differently than planned, like Mark Zuckerberg’s inevitably comedic Q/A with Jerry Seinfeld on Facebook live that has reached over 9 million views. On the other hand, who wouldn’t trade some awkward for the reach and exposure (159m views) of a Chewbacca Mom event?

Pay to Play Social Media
4. Paying to Play Social

Social Advertising will continue to rise with even more options for advertisers. Social media advertising is projected to generate $11 billion in revenue by 2017, up from just $6.1 billion in 2013. More social networks and apps will expand their advertising offerings, just look at Snapchat now inserting ads in between users’ “Stories” and Snapchat Partners, API access that will provide access to creating custom buying and management tools.

Dark social
5. Dark Social

With 84% of global social shares dark to social media analytics, there’s a growing importance, but brands are challenged to measure its effectiveness in ways that synch with other social media measurement. There’s no shortage of recommendations on how to  measure dark social, but we all need more concrete direction on this and collaboration between apps, networks and platforms to make it meaningful.

Social Chat Bots
6. Social Chat Bots.
Again, Facebook has opened doors for a new kind of engagement and with customers’ expectation of real-time engagement, bots may be able to satisfy basic customer service and information needs for brands. Will bots be a service or communications solution for your brand? Maybe. At a minimum, brands will need to invest in more interactive social experiences for their community and what better what to that than an neural network and some AI?

Mobile Social Media
7. Mobile First

Mobile traffic now exceeds desktop traffic and 2 billion consumers worldwide are expected to own a smartphone in 2016. There’s nothing new about the importance of mobile friendliness or having apps, but the cost of ignoring mobile social media experiences for brands dragging their feet will rise dramatically.

Social Media Automation
8. Social Media Automation

“Martech Shock” extends to social media as brands look to automate and scale. The use of social media automation tools and platform features will grow to help brands with prospecting, delivering content to the right customers at the right time and engagement – all integrated with a marketing dashboard for end to end reporting of the impact social media has across the customer journey.

Social Media Participation
9. Social Content Participation

People are empowered and motivated more than ever to co-create social content with brands. If a brand makes that possible, I think consumers will be incredibly interested in co-creating content that serves mutual interests.

In a way, this kind of consumer and brand collaboration is tapping into the whole user-generated content phenomenon. There are so many ways to do it, especially because of mobile devices allowing people to participate at all times with brands on topics they’re passionate about. Content can easily become an outcome of this type of participation, whether it’s a video, image or even text.

Activating passionate people within a social network environment where they can co-create and participate is an exciting opportunity to scale reach, especially on platforms like Facebook that continue to penalize brand and publisher organic visibility in favor of content from individuals (and ads).

Here’s the thing: Sometimes social media marketing often seems doomed to become nothing more than another advertising channel, with artificial automation schemes for brands to scale the illusion of customer engagement.

While that seems a bit cynical, I also think the collective power of individuals on social networks has never been greater – for content, engagement and influence. When brands and marketers can marry the wisdom and action of the crowd with technology that actually solves a real problem, I think the future of social media is brighter than ever.


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Monday, 4 July 2016

Celebrate Your Freedom From These 4 Tired Content Marketing Tactics

4-content-marketing-tactics

Freedom is an expression that you’ll hear a lot this week as we celebrate America’s independence. Our forefathers had a vision for a country that provided citizens with certain rights and responsibilities for themselves and their neighbors.

Marketers today have a unique opportunity to sign their own declaration of independence to free themselves of tired content marketing tactics. This is a declaration that removes antiquated approaches to content marketing and instead focuses on creating value for their customers in a way that builds a better future.

Recent research has found that over 80% of marketers are creating content ,which means that the competition for customer attention is becoming increasingly difficult. Now is the time for marketers to break free of tired content tactics and begin creating more memorable interactions with customers. As continue to execute and refine your approach to content marketing, make sure that you avoid making the following mistakes. 

#1 – Self-Centered Content

In the past, many brands spent time creating content for their website that only provided detailed information about their products and services. Today, the companies that are creating content that speaks to the pain points of their customers are the ones that are winning at content marketing.

Today’s savvy and connected customers have countless options available to them which means that marketers must spend their efforts providing helpful resources that focus on solving the top pain points that customers are facing.

#2 – An Inconsistent User Experience

Imagine for a second that you wanted to buy a specific type of firework to celebrate the 4th of July with your family and friends. In order to find the best location for purchasing your fireworks, you did some research online. However, once you got to the actual fireworks stand, nothing matched what you found online. Instead of finding the fountains and rockets that your family had their heart set on, there were only snakes and poppers.

When brands fail to provide accurate information and a consistent user experience across multiple channels, it creates an unpleasant experience for their potential customers. We now understand that often times it takes multiple touch points to convert a customer which means that no matter where they are interacting with your brand online, they should be provided with accurate information in a consistent way.

#3 – Failing to Experiment

Once you get into a habit (any habit) it can be incredibly difficult to break. It can be easy for brands to get in a rut with their content marketing tactics because let’s face it, once you understand how to plan for, execute and measure a particular tactic, it becomes more comfortable each time.

Don’t let this get in your way of experimenting with different content types that may appeal to your audience. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and it’s important that your content team is experimenting and innovating in a way that keeps your customers engaged. Different content types that you may want to experiment with include:

  • Video
  • Webinars
  • Crowdsourced Content
  • Influencer Driven Content
  • Case Studies
  • White Papers
  • Infographics
  • Podcasts
  • eBooks

#4 – Content That Doesn’t Connect

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling B2C or B2B products or services, at the other end of every purchase is a person that is driven to make a buying decision. While a company’s content could very well be optimized for search engines in a way that makes them findable, that doesn’t mean that it’s optimized for their buyers.

Once a potential customer reaches your website, offsite content or social profile, you have a very limited amount of time to create an impression. If they can’t see themselves in the content, then they will quickly abandon your content in favor of a content that better suits their needs.

In order to stand out, you MUST create content that tells a compelling story in a way that moves your audience. We are visual learners so it’s also important to include visuals that help create a connection to your text content

Celebrate Your Content Freedom Each Day

You have the freedom to constantly delight your customers and innovate the way that you approach content marketing. Don’t be content with the status quo.The bar for content quality is constantly being raised so it’s incredibly important that you take every step necessary to create compelling content that connects you with your customers.

What other tired content marketing tactics would you like to see your brand (or other brands) break free from?


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Saturday, 2 July 2016

Weekend Favs July One

Weekend Favs July One written by Roxanne Doche read more at Duct Tape Marketing

My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.

I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from online source or one that I took out there on the road.

Real.

Real.

Good stuff I found this week:

Facebook Advertising Opportunity Calculator – Find out if Facebook Ads are worth your money with this quick and easy opportunity calculator.

Vanco – An easier way for patients and clients to pay for recurring professional services.

Active Campaign – Manage your marketing and grow you business with this all-in-one platform.



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Friday, 1 July 2016

5 Things to Know About Today’s SaaS Customer

Today’s SaaS customers are savvy.

Old marketing tactics don’t excite them. And features disguised as benefits are easily recognized.

As technology evolves, consumer behavior changes as well. Buyers expect quality products backed by efficient service.

This is an opportunity for your business to experiment with new strategies and cater to customers differently.

“As marketers, it’s essential to pay attention to consumer behavior and to be creative within the constraints of each marketing channel we use,” states Ash Read, content crafter at Buffer.

Start selling like it’s 2016, not 1916. Here are five things you should know about today’s customer.

1. They Research First

Adweek reports that “81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying.” With access to more information than previous generations, consumers are taking the time to do their homework.

Customers want to know if your product is actually worth their money and time. And to gain that insight, they look for reviews.

Products reviews are vital in online shopping. They offer an honest perspective from a current customer’s experience.

Take advantage of this trend. Post reviews from customers on your product pages. Consider creating case studies to showcase how customers benefited from your services.

Unbounce offers their prospective buyers a collection of case studies. Below is a snapshot from the website:

read-and-watch-case-study-unbounce

“Businesses that want to generate leads online should focus on making their websites a top destination for information with custom content. People use search engines and social channels to learn about items before purchasing, whether they’re shopping for themselves or their businesses,” states Lauren Kaye, marketing editor at Brafton Inc.

And potential buyers aren’t just interested in learning about your product. They want to learn about your whole brand.

How are you treating your SaaS employees? Do you use locally sourced suppliers? Are you donating to charities on an annual basis?

Your brand’s overall image is important to buyers. So, make your company’s information readily available.

2. They Desire Quality

Quality, results-driven products will always outweigh more features. People want reassurance that your services will do more good than harm.

Customers possess explicit and implicit performance expectations. That includes anything from specific product features to service benefits.

For example, if your software experiences an outage, will the problem be solved in a few hours? And do your offer 24/7 customer service?

slack-status-screenshot

Quality is a win-win situation. Consumers receive what they desire. And your business has the opportunity to charge customers more.

“Customers desire the best product and service quality and are willing to pay a premium for it. High reliability is assumed,” says Ken Dooley, founder of Madison Productions.

For quality to exist, your entire team must be on the same page. Inform employees on how their actions impact the customer.

“Transparency on quality measures helps create buy-in on quality management and enables employees to understand what role quality plays in how they do work, how they can impact quality, and its effects on their customers’ satisfaction. Transparency breeds accountability at the most basic level…”, writes Holly Lyke-Ho-Gland, research program manager at APQC.

Quality is dependent on the customer’s perception. Figure out what they want. Then, work with your team to create a transparent strategy.

3. They Demand Speed

SaaS customers want solutions to their problems today, not tomorrow. With next day shipping and one-click subscriptions, buyers consider speed a minimum standard.

This benchmark holds true for customer service. And buyers are accustomed to using fast communication tools.

“Today’s customers are media agnostic, having grown up using the phone, email, Web chat, IM, and social media interchangeably. They are comfortable, and may even prefer, communicating online versus face to face or over the phone,” writes Laura Bassett, director of marketing at Avaya.

Some businesses consider speed a downfall. But your customers may think differently.

Zendesk found that “69% of participants associated their good customer service experience with the quick resolution of their issue.”

what-makes-customer-support-interactions-good

To encourage speedy response times, Facebook also offers brands an opportunity to earn a page responsiveness badge. Companies that respond to 90% of their received messages within five minutes get the designation.

nordstrom-facebook-page-july-2016

But offering fast service isn’t a new strategy. Innovative businesses have always strived to perform better.

“Forward thinking companies realized how much customers hated being on hold while waiting for a service rep that they invested in technology that would automatically call a customer back when it was their turn,” states Shep Hyken, a customer service expert.

So, start responding to your customers’ questions in a timely fashion.

4. They Prefer Consistency

Trust is the foundation of all relationships. The same is true between your company and customers. Buyers want to know that your website won’t disappear after they swipe their credit cards.

Plus, consistency eliminates brand confusion. And builds upon your previous success.

“By maintaining the same branding across all your resources – both online and offline – your customers will be able to recognise you much faster and will, hopefully, start to show loyalty to your brand,” says Kelly Haggard Olson, creative content strategist at Blue Zoo Creative.

Research shows that “45% of a brand’s image can be attributed to what it says and how it says it.” Consumers prefer a consistent brand experience, whether talking to a salesperson or shopping on your website.

Beth Pop Nikolov, content strategist for Venveo, offers a good analogy:

“When you’re getting to know a person, you start to develop opinions, ideas and assumptions about them based on your interactions. If they are dressed in a business suit one day, bermuda shorts and a ratty T-shirt the next and then a scuba diving suit another time, it may be hard to nail down exactly who they are and what they are all about.”

Align your marketing and sales team to ensure the same messaging is communicated to consumers. Talk with your customer service reps to streamline quality across all channels, including live chat and email.

Give your customers the trust they deserve. Be consistent.

5. They Seek Novelty

Boring isn’t cool anymore (and it never was). SaaS consumers want one-of-a-kind experiences to share with their colleagues.

Adding novelty to your marketing mix demonstrates creativity. It sparks customers’ interests and gets them to pay closer attention to your brand.

Sid Bharath, a entrepreneur and growth hacker, states, “We all want new experiences. We want to see new places, meet new people, and use new products. So don’t stop creating something new. Create new products, create new features, create new content, and give your customers new experiences.”

Build originality directly into your company. For instance, how can you enhance your loyalty program?

Coffee maker Nespresso entices their loyal customers with personalized orders, delivery, recycling and customer-service options.

Nespresso-customer-care

“Put a smile on their face and in their heart. You can do something special for their child, their parent, their pet. Make them laugh, thank them in a showy way for a major purchase, have a contest or a drawing for something fun that they could share with family and friends,” says Sydney Biddle Barrows, New York-based business consultant.

Go the extra mile. Surprise your customers with your latest product or a free trip to your next conference. Give them an experience worth sharing with others.

Know Your Customer

Customers are smart. They aren’t fooled by false promotions or useless features.

Learn how to meet your customers’ needs. Make product information readily available. Offer quality that can’t be found elsewhere. And give them a unique experience.

Be in the now. Know your SaaS customer.

About the Author: Shayla Price lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology and social responsibility. Connect with her on Twitter @shaylaprice.



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How to Recover From Mistakes and Appease Unhappy Clients

How to Recover From Mistakes and Appease Unhappy Clients written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing

How to Recover From Mistakes and Appease Unhappy Clients - Duct Tape Marketing

photo credit Pixabay

Few things are as stressful for a business owner or customer support representative as an angry client. A bad review can harm your business’ reputation and drive off future customers, and an irate person on the phone can make it challenging to keep your emotions calm and the conversation constructive.

The way in which you handle these moments is critical to your business’ reputation, to the satisfaction of your individual clients, and to your integrity as a business owner.

Here are five strategies that will help you to navigate this challenging terrain, so you can protect your business’ image, improve your relationships with your current clients, and make yourself more attractive to potential clients:

 1. Don’t get angry and defensive.

When you’re being accused of something, and you feel like you’re under attack, it’s natural to want to protect yourself and to prove your accuser wrong.

But if you want to reconcile with your displeased client, and protect your business’ reputation, then it’s important not to treat your client as the enemy or to prioritize your pride over their needs.

Stay calm and polite, and remember that your goal is to satisfy your client, not to silence them.

2. Take responsibility for your part in creating the problem.

If there was a misunderstanding, tell them, “I can see how what I said could have come across that way. That wasn’t what I meant, and I’m sorry for the mix-up. What I was trying to say was…” and then explain your point of view. 

That allows you to explain yourself, without turning it into an argument over what you did and did not say.

Or, if you made a mistake in your product, service or scheduling, tell them, “I’m sorry for (the mistake you made). It’s very important to me that you get what you need from my service, and I want to make it up to you.”

3. Ask questions and seek understanding.

This may seem counterintuitive because when someone is saying bad things about you, it’s natural not to want to hear more. But the first step toward reconciling with another person is to understand the source of their upset and to demonstrate that their problem matters to you.

So instead of trying to silence the angry client, ask them questions, and do your best to get a complete understanding of the problem. Also, ask if there are any other problems they’ve been having with you or your product.

This shows that you’re truly committed to making sure they have a good experience with you, and it gives you a chance to expose and deal with any hidden sources of resentment that might otherwise poison your relationship and their opinion of your company.

It also gives you a chance to learn and fine-tune your practices, so you can give better service to your future clients.

4. Pay attention to what your clients say.

One mistake that I’ve seen even large companies make, over and over again, is to make it obvious that they didn’t truly listen to their clients’ questions and concerns.

Sending the same information repeatedly, giving the client a link to the exact same help page on which they were requesting clarification, and sending links to forums that address the general topic of their problem, but that don’t actually offer a workable solution, are examples of mistakes I’ve personally seen.

When you or your customer support team have a lot of incoming mail, phone calls, reviews or support tickets to respond to, it can be tempting to cut corners and just skim over the messages instead of paying attention to each one.

But that approach creates the risk of telling your clients that you don’t care about them, and of destroying their faith in your willingness and ability to provide quality service.

It can also cause you to spend MORE time on each support call or ticket than you otherwise would have, because of all the time that was spent sending incorrect or partial solutions rather than finding the right one.

In the wise words of John Wooden, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

5. Offer a concrete solution.

If you missed a call because of a misunderstanding regarding time zones, set up a system for making sure that you’re both talking about the same time zone next time.

If your product had a defect, either tell them how to fix it or send them a replacement.

If something you said offended them, suggest a way in which you can handle discussing the offending topic more courteously in the future, and ask if that would work for them. Also, ask if there are any other topics on which you need to tread lightly or any other things you said that bothered them.

Whatever the nature of the mistake or misunderstanding, by proposing a concrete, specific solution, you show that you take the problem seriously and that you’re committed to giving your clients the best experience and service possible.

Stephanie O’BrienStephanie O’Brien is a copywriter and business expert. She specializes in helping coaches to create high-selling group programs and fill them with clients, so they can help more people, make more money, and have more free time.
To learn more about her, and to discover how to attract more clients and change more lives, visit http://ift.tt/1IDCrD0.



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4 Simple Tips for Making the Most of Your Marketing Budget

As every senior marketer knows, it’s essential to squeeze every last drop of value from your marketing budget. With boardroom expectations high, you need to be able to not only get maximum results supported by data, but also by customer experiences.

Follow these actionable tips, taken from the Marketing Budgets 2016 report (Oracle Marketing Cloud, Econsultancy) to get maximum bang for your marketing buck...

1. Introduce Consumer Numbers into the Boardroom

Financial data is clearly important, but do you ever get the feeling that customer experience is being neglected at board level? If the conversation is only about financial stats, you need to make a change.

Great experiences lead to great finances. Or to put it another way: if you aren’t measuring and managing your customer experience, your financial performance is sure to suffer sooner or later.

We’re not focused on the numbers. We’re focused on the things that produce the numbers.

- Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

Senior marketers must insist on board level measurement and management of:

  • Consumer activity
  • Consumer sentiment
  • Consumer satisfaction

Remember: What gets measured, gets managed!

2. Optimise Impact, Forget Format

Guess what? Traditional marketing isn’t quite so dead after all. Despite the much-vaunted social media revolution and the move to digital, consumers are still present on non-digital platforms.

New media coexists with broadcast and even print; consumers move seamlessly across channels depending on activity, time of day and many other factors. Often they engage with both simultaneously (ever browsed Facebook while watching TV?).

Marketers should stop thinking ‘traditional vs digital’ and instead allocate marketing spend according to the purpose of the interaction and the desired impact. These will guide the formats you choose.

3. Embrace Experimentation

Marketers should be free to experiment with new formats and the way existing channels are used.

- Marketing Budgets 2016 (Oracle, Econsultancy)

Consumer behaviour is changing rapidly all the time. To have any hope of keeping up, marketers must embrace and implement a culture of innovation and experimentation.

If you fall behind your prospective or existing customers, you’re in trouble. But on the flip side, experimenting and innovating your way ahead of competitors can leave you in a stronger and more lucrative position.

How to make experimentation part of the culture:

  • Dedicate a budget for experimentation
  • Praise and reward innovation in team members
  • Demonstrate value of experimentation in improved financial performance
  • Incentivise new ways of reaching goals
  • Get the board on board—you need buy-in at all levels
4. Prioritise Validated Learning

Data removes the need to assume. It gives marketers power to extract powerful insights and apply those to assign and spend budget in the most intelligent way. Don’t roll out large, expensive programmes before they’re proven—test and measure first.

We now have the ability to get data on all our different marketing activities. You can test assumptions about your brand, products, customer understanding and consumer preferences more easily and effectively than ever before.

The resulting insights can apply beyond individual marketing campaigns. Data can feed into brand, product and even organisational developments. Knowledge is power—why not use it to improve performance on all fronts?

If the adage "what gets measured, gets managed" is true, and improving the customer experience is truly a priority throughout the company, then measuring, reporting and analysing this at the board level is a must.

- Marketing Budgets 2016 (Oracle Marketing Cloud, Econsultancy)

Main Takeaways
  • Don’t lose sight of customer experience—this needs to be measured at board level, just like financials
  • Optimise impact, forget format: choose media based on what you want to achieve, not on a ‘traditional vs new media’ split
  • Building in experimentation and innovation can be a secret weapon to get you ahead

Find out how marketing budgets are evolving, and what you need to do to get optimum results from yours. Download Marketing Budgets 2016, part of the Modern Marketing Actionable Insights Series, now.



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Online Marketing News: Best Times for Social, Pinterest Shopping Bag, Twitter’s New Dashboard

online marketing news

online marketing news The Complete Social Media Guide: How and When to Post on Social Media [Infographic] One of the biggest tenants of social marketing is to meet your audience in the right place at the right time. But that right time varies by channel, network, and a variety of other factors. What's a marketer to do? This helpful infographic spells out the when and what of social media posting. StartABlog123.com Pinterest Launches Shopping Bag, Buyable Pins for Desktop Pinterest has long been a destination for shoppers who are looking for ideas for anything from clothes to groceries. Recently, the social media platform took a big step in the way of making the journey from pin to purchase easier for users. According to Pinterest's Tim Weingarten: "With your new shopping bag, you can throw in any buyable pin that catches your eye, whether you’re shopping on your Android or the web (iOS to come!). When you’re ready to check out, everything you’ve added to your bag will be right there waiting for you." SocialTimes New ‘Dashboard’ tool from Twitter gives businesses a simple, all-in-one management suite Twitter has made 'Dashboard' available to all businesses for desktop and iOS - the streamlined solution is aimed at making adopting Twitter simple for organizations that may not be familiar with the platform. This new feature reduces the need for third party platforms for scheduling Tweets and more extensive searches, and even gives users tips and suggested topics to Tweet about. Marketing Land Facebook Is Changing Its News Feed Algorithm to Focus Less on Publishers' Content In one of many blows to media publishers the platform has landed lately, Facebook is changing its New Feed algorithm again to focus less on publisher content and more on content from a user's friends and family. Given that more referral traffic to news sites and publisher sites comes from Facebook than from Google, this change could negatively impact media publishers in terms of traffic and potentially subscriptions and other revenue sources. So what can be done? Publishing content that is readily and easily shared is key to retaining that traffic -- the platform will continue to show posts that are frequently shared and with which users are engaging. AdWeek users prefer branded videos on youtube Survey: Amazon beats Google as starting point for product search A new survey has shown that more shoppers (38%) are starting their product search on Amazon than on Google (35%). Some of the key reasons cited for this preference are Amazon's reviews, product selection, free shipping, deals and pricing. Search Engine Land Content Marketing 2016: Top 100 Influencers and Brands Onalytica named their top 100 content marketing influencers and brands this week, and there are some big names on the list. In a digital ecosystem where content marketing is becoming increasingly engrained in everything from influencer marketing to SEO, these lists give marketers a list of people to look to for the latest and greatest in content marketing though leadership that can be applied throughout their digital strategy. Full disclosure, both TopRank and our CEO Lee Odden made the list, as did well known industry experts, and a mix of agencies and brands. Onalytica Nearly One-Third of the World Will Use Social Networks Regularly This Year Yes, you read that correctly. 2.34 billion people will access social networks on a frequent basis, worldwide, this year. According to a new eMarkteter report, the rise of Snapchat and Instagram, along with other major players entering the market, have largely contributed to this growth. eMarketer What were your top online marketing news stories this week? I'll be back next week with my co-pilot Josh and more online marketing news for your watching and reading pleasure. Have something to add? Tweet me @Tiffani_Allen or @toprank!

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