All posts by Catalin

The Importance of Professional Social Media Management

The perpetual growth of social media has changed the online landscape entirely, especially for business. Companies of all sizes and sectors are embracing the power of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others to solidify their place in the public’s daily lives. Specific online communities may fade as other trends come to the spotlight, but one fact will remain true—social media, as a cultural staple, is here to stay. Posting content daily, interacting with followers and involvement as a whole varies from company to company. If executed properly, social media efforts can draw enormous returns in the form of more e-mail subscribers, increased website traffic, lead generation, online sales and more significant brand presence world-wide, essentially rendering traditional PPC and print advertising obsolete. Conversely, a poorly-managed social media plan can result in a universal loss of brand interest, appear half-hearted and be an unfruitful use of labor resources.

Allowing a professional agency to handle your company’s social media strategy is a highly-effective way to increase your social reach, build audiences and generate new interest and excitement in your business, services and products. Professional social media management means trained experts are in control of your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, FourSquare as well as industry-specific and local online communities as well. Using proven research and current trends, their consultants work with you to establish the path and “voice” of your company. From there, they publish fresh, interactive content every day for your readers to enjoy, engage and share. This ensures a constant stream of quality social interactions and buzz without you or your employees having to lift a finger. It’s a smart choice to make when weighing the seemingly endless benefits of social media with your staggering usage of internal resources. This way, you get the best of both worlds.

Social media isn’t going anywhere. Regardless of your company’s current online efforts, hiring a professional social media management service is your best chance at turning followers, friends and fans into loyal customers for life.

The Importance of Infographics in the Content Marketing Mix

Infographics have existed for decades, even centuries. However, the somewhat recent proliferation of social media has launched this complex medium into a whole new level of popularity. Infographics provide a visual representation of information & research using color graphics, branding and typography in a way that can be easily understood. Humans are, by nature, visual learners. Seeing data illustrated can not only assist in the reader’s general comprehension of the topic, but significantly increase the overall impact as well. Online communities such as Facebook, Twitter and Reddit have introduced the ability to discover and share Infographics with like-minded people. The extremely viral quality of these images has proven to be a highly-effective marketing tool for their publishers.

Creating an infographic from conception to completion is a grandiose task, to say the least. Between countless hours of research, planning, illustrator management and distribution, the project’s burden can often outweigh its benefit. Services like visual.ly have made it simple, efficient and affordable to join the ranks of infographic publishers with their expert marketplace of specialty talent.

People want information quickly, hence the enormous success of Google. The algorithm of search engines is constantly evolving and a website’s ranking can fluctuate significantly as these changes are released. One constant that a webmaster can always depend on is backlinks. It’s how Google, Bing and Yahoo determine how important a particular website is. Infographics are perhaps one of the most effective ways to collect backlinks from other websites and social media. There’s a reason it’s called link bait! If an infographic is interesting enough for people to pass on, share and distribute, the result will surely be plenty of inbound links to its original source.

Infographics have come a long way over the past few years and their popularity as an educational medium of interest continues to soar. This tool should be a part of any company’s web marketing strategy. It attracts a massive new audience, pleases the Google Gods and sends a unique message across the Internet.

The Importance of Content Marketing for SEO

content marketingRecent changes in Google’s algorithm have shifted how marketers strategize their online efforts. Gone are the days of publishing half-hearted, keyword-rich text to attractive massive droves of organic traffic. Google, along with other major search engines, are now holding authors to higher standards, in the best interest of readers. Their belief is that visitors aren’t browsing for the websites that use the best traditional SEO tactics, but the websites that are known authorities on a given topic or considered to be a quality publisher in general. Content Marketing is a somewhat qualitative sector of Search Engine Optimization that may very well continue to evolve over time with one singular commonality in place—quality matters.

Web users are searching for value. Websites and blogs that deliver well-written, accurate, up-to-date and sharable content will thrive in Google, Bing and Yahoo. Conversely, those who continue to publish less valuable resources and information will surely be pushed down in the rankings. How does a search engine know the quality of your posts? A complex symphony of social shares via Facebook, Twitter and Google+, backlinks, bookmarks, visit duration, RSS subscriptions, tasteful keyword injection and overall organic clicks. In order to achieve these benchmarks, one must offer exceptional content.

This isn’t a setback for internet marketers. In fact, it’s an opportunity. A priceless chance to enrich the web while contributing to its legitimate quality as a whole. Additionally, unlike most modes of online advertising, content marketing creates a lasting, long-term presence, driving organic traffic to your website for years, decades and beyond. Over time, your online presence will grow exponentially with each and every new post. And as we know, on the web, size counts. If you adhere to the basic fundamentals of content marketing, your efforts will be well worth it, to both you and your readers.