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Promoting Your Content to Target Audience using Facebook

As we all know content marketing will be effective only if the content you developed has reached your target audience. The most website owners publish their content in high ranking authority sites or submit their blogs/articles in high quality directories. These traditional ways won’t produce the results as you desired and you need a better platform to carry out your content targeting goals. Popular social media site Facebook can fulfill your needs as it now provides many options for targeting your audience.

Using the services provided by Facebook, you can define your own audiences and promote your content to them directly. Mainly there are two ways in which you can achieve this- custom audiences and lookalike audiences. Using these methods, you can push your content to a wider audience, in a much targeted way. Even though you have to pay to advertise your content, it is a great way of boosting your content marketing efforts.

Custom Audiences – How it’s Going to Help You

In the Facebook Ads, you can find an ad targeting option named Custom Audience which lets marketers and advertisers to find their existing audiences/customers among whom is on Facebook. This feature allows you to promote your content to an audience that is already somewhat engaged with your brand and will be more likely to be interested in it. The social networking site provides you a number of ways to define your custom audience and they are:

• Data File Custom Audience – You need to upload a CSV file that contains records of about at least 100 people whom which you want to target. Once uploaded, Facebook will process it and find matches with people who are already on the social media site. Facebook match the list using details such as email addresses, Facebook user id, phone number and mobile advertiser id. After processing, you will see that the audience you have just created will be available to advertise when you create a new ad. 

• MailChimp Custom Audience – If you want to target a particular group of customers for showing your genuine and use full content, you can use the MailChimp. If you connect to your MailChimp account and target your customer email list, you could drive more traffic to your Facebook page.

• Custom Audience from Your Mobile App – This is a very effective strategy in which you can record user interactions by integrating your mobile app with the Facebook SDK for Android or iOS. In addition, you can select contain users who take certain actions into a custom audience.

• Custom Audience from Your Website – This Custom Audience feature allows you to monitor visitors to your website using a Facebook Remarketing pixel. Once you install the pixel, the social media site will start building a list of visitors to your webpage who are also logged into Facebook and the site will push these people into a custom audience.

Using ‘Lookalike Audience’ Feature

This feature lets you reach new people who are likely to be interested in your brand because they are similar to a list of customers you already got. When you use a Custom Audience feature, you can opt to create a lookalike audience that focuses people who are similar to your Custom Audience list. Lookalike Audience feature helps you reach people who are similar to your current customers for site registration, fan acquisition, coupon claims, brand awareness and off-Facebook purchases. Currently, Facebook only include from one country at a time and if you are targeting audiences of different countries, then you need to prepare a list of audiences for each country. The Lookalike Audience feature allows you to create your based on your email list or based on visitors based on your content. You can visit the Facebook ads page for more details on using both Custom Audience and Lookalike Audience features for your content promotional campaigns.

Need for Content is Vital in Social Media Platforms

Normally, we implement content, promotional campaigns in search engines, but it is highly effective when we execute those campaigns in social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. If you develop a fresh and interesting content with visuals such as images or videos. If you want help in preparing a good quality, you can always get help from qualified and experienced professionals.

How to Beat Your “No New Content Ideas” Dilemma

We know that, for developing fresh and quality content, you need to know the exact requirements and objectives of your client’s website and you will get some ideas for writing content after an intense search effort on the web. For targeting keywords and boosting up their rankings, you need to come up with refreshing and interesting content and of course, it takes some time. It is normal and understandable that every content developer, including you run out of ideas as you constantly write about a given topic from time to time. You need not to worry as there a number of things you can do to get out of this dilemma. Here are a few tips you use during those days when you are in a “writer’s block” like situation.

• Subscribing to Newsletters and using social channels – If you are out of new content ideas, here are a few tactics that will help you to get some. When it comes to developing industry-related content, you can subscribe to industry newsletters through email or you can services provided by SmartBrief, which curates articles from numerous sources and from various sectors such as tech, finance, construction, retail and more. LinkedIn is also a wonderful source for getting new ideas as it contains articles you are looking for. By clicking on the “Interest” link on the navigation bar of the social media site and clicking the “Pulse”, you will be taken to a page that consists of posts that LinkedIn thinks you like. 

• Discussions with Real People, Forums, Q&A sites and Groups – If you are exhausted of racking your brain for new content ideas, then it’s time to meet people and talk to them so that they can come up with something for you. You can generate discussions with your co-workers by sending out a department or company-wide email and tell your colleagues that you are open to ideas. Also, you can get some insights by interacting with your customers by asking them if there are topics that they would like to see on your site. Or, do they require help in understanding a particular issue. You can visit various Q&A sites, forums and LinkedIn groups which are worth exploring. You can start asking questions on these sites which can in turn spark discussions and provide you insights into what your target customers actually wants read about. 

• Staying in front of Your Computer won’t do any Good – Staying in front of your computer for browsing articles and social media posts won’t fully ensure that you can get something new. Instead of relying on tweets and Facebook updates, attend live events and meet people face-to-face rather than chatting or email. You can get new and exciting info by experimenting with products and ideas. 

• Recycling Your Old and Used Ideas – It’s not illegal for using your old and used ideas for developing new content. When it comes to content creation, you can use ideas from your old blog post you did back in 2010 because not everybody have seen it and if they did, they won’t probably remember it now. Also, people like to revisit the same blog topics again and again. This does not mean you copy-paste your old content, but you can come up with fresh angles about the same topics. 

• You Need to Relax – As with any job, content writing also becomes stressful sometimes. As pressure builds up, it is normal that you can think of new ideas and that’s why it is best to just relax for a while. Take a deep breath and stay away from your computer for a few minutes and do some relaxing activity such as listening to music, taking a walk or talk to friends. 

You Can Get New Ideas Only if You Try

Sometimes content development can be really stressful and if utilized the above said tactics, you may overcome the “no new ideas” syndrome and you will be start developing keyword rich and informative web content, which in turns opens up a greater possibility of gaining more readers for your content and get more rankings in leading search engines.

The SEO realm is currently witnessing a fragmentation in service, expertise and work skills. Web developers and online marketing experts often take over SEO responsibilities. The demarcation line between web developer and SEO expert has gone very thin these days. 

A good SEO company can cover all the aspects of search engine optimization. They will have web developers, great copywriters and web marketing experts on their team who can make a difference in positioning the business website in the first SERP.

Beginner and advanced-level professionals

A simplified way to depict and assess expertise for a search engine optimization service is by dividing professionals into beginner and advanced-level of experience.

• Beginner SEOs focus on the keyword research and copywriting aspects of the optimization process. They are well trained professionals who work hard to satisfy clients’ needs and requests. No SEO team can do without them.
• Intermediate and advanced SEO professionals have acquired additional skills such as coding and programming besides copywriting expertise. These are usually the experts in charge of the SEO services available to clients.

Other developers and usability pros

Design-focused coders

Web development often brings companies in contact with lots of other professionals who are incredibly capable of designing websites, yet fail to understand the notion of search-friendly web design. They do not take the user experience into consideration and therefore they do not worry about the issue of website usability.

SEO generalists

They are the SEO specialists that look at the bigger picture and actually understand it. They have a wide variety of skills and a deep understanding of the search process. However, the complex professionals in this category are a rare bird.

Collaborative approaches

• Internet Marketing companies are now trained to improve collaboration between various specialists. Technical IT staff should understand the search process and support the efforts of the non-technical staff so as to deliver websites that meet search engine goals, business goals and user goals.
• Understanding the various roles in search engine optimization would make the SEO process smoother and more effective.

Misleading notions

Notions like SEO specialists, SEO experts and SEO generalists can be misleading. The average marketer in need of a SEO service can be easily confused by terminology. The name is less important, the relevance resides in what a certain professional can do for your business website.

Lots of marketers now prefer to work with professional search optimization agencies that can cover for all the aspects of the search engine optimization process. Competition is tough; “what can you do for my company?” represents the most important question that the marketer will need an answer for. And the expert’s answer should include:

• Keyword research and competition analysis;
• On page coding;
• Web design;
• Content copywriting;
• Social media promotion;
• Email marketing campaigns;
• Link building and guest posting;
• Web performance monitoring;
• Analytical reports, etc.

A SEO professional with a complex skill set is a lot more valuable than a dedicated professional who lacks the sense of the big picture. Online marketing performance is so complex and tricky that this capacity – obtained through experience and extensive training – to understand website usability for visitors and search engines is a critical attribute in today’s SEO world.

Although business efficiency does not depend necessarily on popularity on social media channels, SEO still depends on the positive signals from social media activity. Websites that include social sharing modules perform better in web searches and enjoy higher levels of relevant traffic.

Businesses now display social share buttons in a highly customized way to reach SEO objectives and thus efficiently develop their business through content sharing. Web masters now have a wide number of extensions available for maximum of customization with variations of color, language, alignment, show/hide, type and lots more.

How are social media modules effective?

Open source content management platforms like PHP-based Drupal, Joomla, Magento, WordPress and the like can help you integrate social media profiles successfully. This approach to content marketing enables the SEO provider to support business websites on social networks by:

• Centralizing the information from social media channels profiles via share and follow buttons;
• The creation of an easy-to-configure user interface by means of Widgets modules;
• The use of platforms that have widgets (LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Twitter) included as a default feature etc.

A professional SEO service provider usually covers all the CMP aspects of a business website with monitoring of both on page and social media activity. Expert SEO assistance makes a difference in the indexation that search engines perform on content.

Social sharing – a SEO content marketing strategy

Content marketing depends on high-quality information disseminated across the web for the purpose of reaching out to the targeted audience and thus supporting business efforts.

• Interesting, engaging articles that are useful for readers get easily shared on social media.
• Content that is optimized around well researched keywords meets web users’ needs.
• Informative articles encourage readers to leave feedback and even return to your site for more content.

The presence of social sharing modules on the website pages encourages visitors to spread the word about your “news” in their circle. You can thus activate a far-reaching cycle of friends (through “likes”, “tweets” etc.), which on the long run translates into actions relevant for your business.

Customization of sharing buttons

Social sharing modules usually include standard buttons as well as the possibility to create new buttons. The customization process may be complex or really simple depending on choice:

• CSS code can be used to customize SVG sharing icons for animations, height & width, border radius changes, effects etc.;
• Menu Styler tools enable the choice of colors for the sharing menu;
• CSS can further be used for fine-tuning the style;
• JavaScript API may serve for even more advanced customization…

… and the list of options goes on!

Since most of the content management platforms are open source, the contribution to their development is a continuous process. More and more efficient solutions are available, assisting SEOs to improve web performance of the websites they manage.

Quality content remains the only “invariable” of the World Wide Web: whatever we do, the basis always stays the same. The growth of the online environment may go in different directions, taking web masters in unexplored areas. For the moment, we know that content sharing on social media is the main stream. It remains to see where it is headed!

While 10 years ago the placement and proportion of the keywords mattered most for successful online marketing, the focus is now on a regular publishing of fresh content. Companies have lots of options for disseminating content on the web: blogging, newsletters, case studies, reports or events features on their websites.

Marketers want their audience to become actively involved in their business, and they use blogs for triggering this shift from passive content reader to actively engage the customer. Blogs serve for numerous purposes, and the right approach is that which best satisfies business needs.

Publishing product/service-related content

Companies use blogs to keep their products and services at the front of customers’ mind. However, blog posts do not necessarily encourage people to buy. In fact, content that is too obviously sale-oriented is less successful in engaging customers. People don’t like being sold something all the time – they may take advantage of a discount or coupon, but they mostly value information.

The content published on blogs may include:

• Comments or an outline of the latest news in your industry;
• Things that are going on in your company (like preparing for a special company event);
• Specific information on products and services with the purpose of maximizing customers’ usage experience;
• Answers to customers’ questions;
• How-to guides or step-by-step instructions etc.

Industry news shared on blogs show the marketer’s interest in keeping up-to-date with the latest events in the domain. The eagerness to share info with readers and customers is a major plus for the way clients perceive your business on the market.

Informative blog posts also show the level of professionalism and the fact that you know your product/service and believe in it.

Customer service enhancement

Many businesses fear negative feedback and therefore they often fail to use blogging for effectively enhancing customer service. However, it is nonetheless true that people judge a business by the way they treat the comments and the way they respond to negative and positive reviews. Why are these reviews important?

• They allow the marketer to identify the possible weakness in the product or in customer service;
• They provide valuable information about market perceptions;
• Comments on blogs have the power to foster a community of consumers. What would be the point of writing blog posts if nobody comments?
• Blogging builds customers’ trust.

Blog relevance in search engines

Search engines favor the blogosphere as one of the largest sources of fresh, quality content on the Internet. Marketers can’t afford to neglect the numerous benefits deriving from using blogs for improving main website performance in search engines.

Moreover, blog activity is also directly related to social media channels, via links and shared content. A like or a share represents a vote that search engine algorithms interpret as a recommendation for the quality of the website.

Blogging remains one of the most popular and powerful propulsion methods for a business targeting an audience online. The blog, just like the main website, could be the starting point and the destination for far-reaching marketing plans. Publishing information-rich shareable content in the form of blog posts represents a cheap way to achieve great business exposure.

Photos and videos get more clicks than links and text in social media. Businesses have come up with a diversity of strategies to amplify this preference for visual content and turn it to their benefit in the form of higher brand awareness and bigger sales.

In the near future, instead of reading an article we may be watching it. Rapid growth of visual content predominance in social media is confirmed by all statistics. And it’s happening at such an accelerated pace because of people’s pressing need to satisfy their information and entertainment “craves”.

The advantages of visual content stand out to any marketer:

• Visuals convey meaning more quickly.
• They decrease the dominance of info-heavy articles.
• The user gets as much valuable information as possible within a very short time interval.
• Brand awareness becomes easier to achieve.
• Clear, detailed images convey superior product information.
• Quality business pictures/videos are easy to achieve thanks to the numerous editing tools available.

Convincing data on current trends!

• Videos are shared 12 times more often on Facebook than texts and links, and photos get twice as many likes as text updates.
• More traffic is referred to outside websites by Pinterest than by Twitter.
• Instagram’s growth speed has left behind Facebook’s.

Thanks to videos on social media channels, companies live in their brand. Talking about the brand is one thing, but showing how things happen is a lot more engaging and appealing to customers and prospects. This is where the big revolution of visuals lies within the evolution of social media.

Increase viewers’ time on site!

People are naturally attracted to images and videos than to text. In fact, the brain’s absorption rate is much higher when exposed to visual stimuli. Thus, good video marketing strategies could make a huge difference in sales if properly used in social media.

A well done video goes viral and no other form of content can help you achieve the massive exposure that videos can. Videos are shareable; if you engage viewers they will spend more time on your website, and eventually share the video material with others. Moreover, this gives companies the huge benefit of encouraging viewers to interact with their brand.

Viewers have the freedom to decide!

Advertisements could be a real nuisance on social networks, on mobile apps and even in online searches. By visual means, businesses can lower the spammy, negative look of their ads. You promote your business by using inspirational videos and pictures, without pushing the prospect. The web user can thus decide on whether to act or not. This is promoting and persuading without pushing anything down the throat of the audience.

To sum it up, the preponderance of visual content on social media is a rising trend. Small and large businesses have learned what it means to go video-viral, and marketing efforts converge in this direction. The evolution from text to visuals is clear in social media marketing, however, the ‘show’ will continue to unfold in its complexity over the years to come. The potential of visual content for social media marketing has been widely acknowledged but we are still far from grasping its true extent and potential.

For brand promotional activities, it is normal to seek assistance from an established SEO service provider that has a dedicated team of professionals who can offer you solutions based on the specifications provided by you. For ensuring SEO success, you need to maintain healthy or good relationship with your service provider and the communication between you and the team of specialists assigned to do the task must be kept in a positive way. Here are few suggestions made by some top SEO experts on how to increase or maintain good brand-service relationship for ensuring high ROI.

• Join forces for combined SEO effort – You must not forget the fact that you hired a SEO company for only for one reason and it is how much can depend on the firm. There are some SEO firms which think that they know everything but actually the complete SEO success depends on their client’s experience, direction and connections. You must view your partnership as a mutual effort that maximizes the fortune of a given SEO firm. So, sincerity and collaboration are important when it comes to maintaining a good bond with your service provider. 

• Give respect to Your SEO Team – There are some clients who don’t give respect to the individuals working on their brand promotional campaigns and this kind of behavior doesn’t go anywhere as expected. In many established SEO firms, the project manager and his/her team genuinely care about their client and the client’s business venture. If it happens, creativity and passion will happen naturally and your promotional campaigns will achieve maximum results. Your project manager will more likely to push his/her team, squeeze them and force them to spend more of their time for their clients they like to collaborate with. 

• Taking Calculated Risks – When it comes to investing in any kind of activity, taking calculated risks is an effective solution. When it comes to online marketing, you may have to experiment on new ideas and sometimes the results won’t be as expected. You must see these failures as opportunities to learn and improve, and you can come up with new and effective ideas. You cannot guarantee success without testing strategies again and again. 

To get results as you desired, you need to interact with the team assigned to do your SEO project and monitor the progress of each and every step. After achieving one SEO success due to the combined effort undertaken by you and your service provider, you can continue work with the company for future brand promotional campaigns. With changing trends in the SEO field, as a client you must also update your SEO knowledge so that you clearly express your ideas or views to your marketing team during the development of a suitable solution for your campaign. Most SEO service provider provides solutions that completely satisfy their client’s SEO demands and are complaint to the client’s budget expectations.