Industry Focus for Friday, November 11, 2022
It’s 11/11, and that means it’s time to tell the universe your greatest desire. If that’s for a digital ad agency who will partner with you to help you achieve measurable business outcomes, then we hope you’re sitting down – because your wish just came true.
iFocus Marketing, serving clients nationwide, but located in Overland Park, Kansas, is primed to help our clients get a handle on their digital marketing efforts. One big way we make sure we’re up to date on the latest in our industry is by discussing developments together. This week, our team was excited to talk about social media (especially with Elon’s Twitter acquisition still in the news), content, search engine optimization, and growing digital out-of-home ads.
Here are five of our favorite articles we shared.
“YouTube Shorts Now Available on TV,” by Brian Frederick in Search Engine Journal
Do you have an Android or Google TV? Big news: you can now watch short-form videos via the YouTube app. Vertical videos play back in landscape orientation in a layout that also includes information about the video, including the title, audio format, creator, and the like and dislike icons. YouTube brought the mobile-first experience “to the big screen” so that families and friend groups can watch videos together. It’s also likely a response to TikTok’s functionality – and in today’s world, social media platforms have to change for the better to stay relevant.
-Submitted by Amie Veach, Digital Marketing Strategist
“12 Ultimate Tools and Tactics for Effective Content Strategies In 2023,” from Semrush in Search Engine Journal
Seventy-eight percent of marketers whose content marketing worked well had a documented content strategy, according to Semrush’s State of Content Marketing 2022 Report. If your business doesn’t have a strategy, this handy checklist can help you craft a meaningful one. But if you still aren’t sure, partnering with a digital marketing agency that specializes in producing engaging web content is a smart move.
-Submitted by Kelsey Whittle, Digital Marketing Strategist
“Out-of-Home Ads Making a Comeback in the US,” by Ross Benes in eMarketer Insider Intelligence
Social media is credited with helping out-of-home ads rebound in the United States, with social media users overwhelmingly reporting seeing them in their feeds at least 80 percent of the time. Big brands are investing in these formats in-person as well, with in-store signage, digital marquees, and more. Traditional out-of-home ads, like billboards, currently account for about 75 percent of total ad spending, but digital formats are on the rise, expected to hit 41.3 percent of ad spend by 2026. Get in on digital out-of-home at the ground level by working with iFocus Marketing.
-Submitted by Jessie Smith, Creative Director of Design
“Meta Ads Automation: An Advertiser’s Guide,” by Sean Johnston in Search Engine Journal
Facebook and Instagram’s Meta Advantage and Advantage+ helps advertisers drive their campaign performance. Automation in Meta campaigns isn’t new, but the social media giant repackaged and rebranded their tools under the Advantage and Advantage+ names earlier this year. When you turn your social media advertising tactics over to the algorithm, you can use such tools as Advantage detailed targeting (formerly called detailed targeting expansion); Advantage lookalike (formerly lookalike expansion); Advantage campaign budget (formerly campaign budget optimization); Advantage+ placements (formerly automatic placements); and Advantage+ creative (formerly dynamic experiences), among other tools. But should you turn your ad campaigns over to yet another robot algorithm? Yes and no. Your campaigns still need a human touch – and a more strategic mind – to ensure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck. That’s where a data-driven ad agency like iFocus Marketing comes in.
-Submitted by Marilee Davila, Social Media Manager
“Learn More About the Basics of Link Building,” in Designer Daily
Do you manage your business’s website? Are you looking for some tips on search engine optimization? Then this blog is the perfect quick read for your Friday afternoon. Link building is the act of building various hyperlinks from other websites back to yours. It’s one way that Google determines whether your website is reliable for certain keyword searches. Without it, your SEO will suffer. But you don’t just want any backlink. You’ll want valuable ones from reputable websites with well-written and engaging blog posts. Our search engine optimization team can help you.
-Submitted by Joyce Wong, Project Manager
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