Squarespace Is Launching An Email Marketing Platform

In an email received by Griffin & Co. Marketing (we’re a frequent Squarespace user), Squarespace announced they will be entering the email marketing industry, competing directly with Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Drip, etc.:

We’re excited to give this new platform a try, and will certainly update you once we receive early access.

-Griffin & Co. Marketing, LLC

Viral vs. Valuable Marketing

Seth Godin, known to many as the “Marketing Guru,” defines viral marketing as, “an idea that spreads–and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause (Godin, 2008).”

In television and movies, viral marketing is often portrayed as any advertising done on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. However, this is not viral marketing, only online marketing. Dictionary.com defines viral as, “pertaining to or involving the spreading of information and opinions about a product or service from person to person, especially on the Internet or in e-mails” as well as “becoming very popular by circulating quickly from person to person, especially through the Internet (Dictionary.com, 2018).”

The main purpose of viral marketing is to push a message out so unique and clever that people want to spread it. Many times the way in which this is achieved is by doing a commercial where the brand is not highlighted as much as the story or message. An example can be found in one my all time favorite commercials, Kmart’s ship my pants. While some may consider the humor crude, the commercial was entertaining enough to receive oh-so-many retweets on Twitter, over 16 million YouTube views, and even media attention. USA Today reported, “Some social media users deemed the commercial, created by ad agency Draftfcb Chicago, ‘gross’ and ‘vulgar,’ while many gave kudos to Kmart for having an edgy sense of humor (Petrecca, 2013).”

The Kmart commercial went viral, but did it earn Kmart extra business? Those numbers are harder to track and as Seth Godin also points out, “Something being viral is not, in an of itself, viral marketing. Who cares that 32,000,000 people saw your stupid video? It didn’t market you or your business in a tangible, useful way (Godin, 2008).”

In the current year of 2018, there are so many social media sites it can be difficult to navigate through them, but businesses have found different ways to utilize and harness this power. People are talking on these social media sites, so why not have them talk about a brand? The trick is to find a way to convey a business message or brand through a creative way that makes it seem like it’s not a commercial. If done correctly, people will want to share what they have seen on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

As Dave Kerpen, author of Likeable Social Media, once stated, “Videos that ‘go viral’ are more often than not accidental! Creating a video with the intent of it going viral is bound to fail. Rather than having a goal of ‘going viral’ you should have a goal of ‘being valuable.’ Create content that is valuable, entertaining, and informative (Kerpen, 2012).”

References:

Godin, S. (2008). What is viral marketing?. Seth’s Blog. Retrieved from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/12/what-is-viral-m.html

Kerpen, D. (2012). How to: Make a viral video. Likeable Media. Retrieved from http://www.likeable.com/blog/2012/07/how-to-make-a-viral-video/

Petrecca, L. (2013). Kmart’s ‘ship my pants’ ad causes shockwaves and smiles. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/04/15/kmart-ship-my-pants-commercial-ad/2084131/

Viral. (2018). Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/viral?s=t

SEO: 3 Marketing Stats to Keep In Mind When It Comes to Search

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a daunting task. Data is always changing, as are people’s search patterns. Google, the number 1 search engine, processes over 3.5 billion searches per day, so what can your business do to stay competitive?

Obviously, the goal is always to be on the first page of the SERP (search engine results page). In fact, almost 92% of people do not even click on the second page, according to to Chitika statistics.

Despite the astronomical odds, there are still some positive things to consider. For one, search results are generally location based, so people searching for your services in your area usually won’t see results from another area first. In addition, not everyone uses search to find products or services - word of mouth and social media can go a long way! When creating content for your website, you should also remember that the blog you’re writing, the recommendation you posted or the product photos are pieces of information that can be shared elsewhere such as social media and email marketing.

Still, we want to create the best and most searchable website we can, right? With all that in mind, let’s look at 3 (of many!) statistics to take into consideration when updating your site.

Statistic #1: The average content length of a Google first page result is 1,890 words. (Backlinko)

What You Can Do: If you’re writing a blog, be thorough on the subject. Give examples, images, infographics, etc. BONUS: You can use the infographics for your social media pages. Research shows that infographics are “liked” and shared an average of 3 times more on social media than other any other type of content.

Statistic #2: HTTPS, rather than HTTP, generally ranks higher. Of the one million most visited websites, 51.2% of use HTTPS. (via WeLiveSecurity)

What You Can Do: Make your site secure! HTTPS stands for “HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure” and is the secure version of HTTP. This all has to do with how data is sent between a browser and a website. Basically, a 'secure' website means all of the exchanges of information between the browser and the site are encrypted. Google basically announced that all sites which are not HTTPS will not only rank poorer, but the user visiting the unsecured site will get a warning saying it isn’t safe. Read Google’s statement here. Wordpress, Squarespace, Weebly and more offer HTTPS sites, so you can look into one of those if your website needs a refresh.

Statistic #3: In the last year, 60% of people have started using voice search (via MindMeld)

What You Can Do: Try incorporating long tail keywords which can better match people’s natural way of talking. While a keyword is usually 1 word, a “long tail keyword” is a search phrase that contains 3 or more specific words.

• Keyword example (head term): Superhero

• Long tail keyword example: Superhero action figure, Superhero kid costumes, Superhero movies this summer

There are so many ways you can improve your online presence and search ranking. Be sure to stay in touch for future tips!

4 Reasons Why Blogging Can Help Your SEO

A large majority of bloggers publish content to help with their Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which can be a tricky thing. For starters, search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com, AOL, DuckDuckGo and more are constantly changing their algorithms - and those algorithms are what match people's queries to your content. 

In addition, it seems like everyone is blogging and yours will just get lost in the mix. It can be overwhelming - in fact, some blogs tell you not to even try. Visit sites like Worldometers and you can see that over 4.5 millions blogs are published daily worldwide. Here's the catch, though, how many of those blogs are geared toward your target audience? How many of those articles have to do with what you are selling? Are they even in the same location as your business?

The answer: a fraction.

Blogging and creating content can serve different purposes. Here are 4 short reasons why:

1) It is a way to answer questions and concerns your past, current and prospective customers have. In addition to your FAQ page, try expanding on the question to answer in detail and address the sub-questions. Not only will this help a prospective customer, it will also help with SEO if you are using the right keywords.

2) It is unique and original content for you. Even if someone else has already written about the subject, this will be YOUR content associated with YOUR brand on YOUR website - a key to successful SEO. 

3) It provides branded shareable content. Many companies share major news stories and information on their social media sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. However, sharing content - original content tailored to your business - that drives people to your website (instead of another news-site or blog) is absolutely more effective, especially if you close your blog post with a call-to-action (example: To learn more or to ask us any other questions about this subject, send us a message here).

4) You become a thought leader. A thought leader is the go-to person of the industry for people seeking advice. Having multiple, good articles about a particular industry means you become the expert on the matter and build your social currency. Research shows that people feel more comfortable buying from companies who show their experience and knowledge because it builds trust with the brand.

There are many, many more factors when it comes to successful SEO, but that's where Griffin & Co. Marketing comes in. If you have some questions, give us a shout. For now, though, think of starting that blog as your new year's resolution.