Traditionally in media relations, journalists interview experts and quote them in articles. Contributed content is a longstanding method to bridge a gap between expert sources and media outlets. It allows the journalist to be omitted from the equation. 

Instead, experts write the stories themselves, without an interviewer, and outlet editors review and publish the content directly. This process both frees time for interviewers to conduct conversations elsewhere, and it enables publications to fill needed written space with insight for readers. 

While contributed content is nothing new, outlet interviewers – like journalists, reporters, staff writers – are spread thinner today than ever and are wearing multiple hats. Why? Publications are no exception to staffing shortages and resignations; I spoke with one just weeks ago who has a staff photographer helping write articles. Picture that. Outlets simply can’t afford to have fewer written stories today despite these challenges. 

As a PR rep who pitches media, for more than a year, I was wondering why I kept hearing “You write the story. I don’t have time.” 

Also, while attempting to research new reporters, I kept finding more and more authors were actually contributors. At first, I didn’t know why. According to HubSpot’s January 2022 “The State of Contributed Content,” 86% of surveyed editors were planning to increase the amount of contributed content on their sites. This has noticeably taken effect since then. 

Contributed content provides expert sources the chance to gain public awareness by sharing thought leadership via media exposure. Brand executives, tradespeople and academic professionals – experts of all kinds – can become published authors via contributed content, increasing leadership standing, SEO authority and public image. This valuable content can often be reshared thereafter in newsletters, social posts and “in the news” on websites. 

Contributed content is a win-win

The payoff of having published contributed content is worth experts’ time: They conduct research to select the right publication, choose the right-fit section within and contact the relevant editor (or staff member who oversees contributions otherwise).

Thereafter, the next step entails pitching the unique know-how, and – if deemed interesting by the outlet – adhering to set guidelines when crafting the comprehensive draft. These include not being promotional in nature and not duplicating content to multiple, potential landing spots.   

The payoff is worth media outlets’ time, too. 

As I mentioned, publication staff members need to fill space both online and in print, and it’s more precious than ever due to staffing shortages. Influxes of contributed content submissions enable outlets to avoid having to sit and wait, hoping relevant expert sources contact them. When experts provide right-fit articles that adhere to guidelines, media outlet staff do not need to spend precious time deflecting and disregarding promotional and off-topic submissions. 

Often, the process to receive worthy contributed content is not only like finding a diamond in the ruff, but also it lends to unpredictable quantities at any given time.   

(Image credit: cottonbro studio / Pexels)

https://contently.com/2022/06/14/7-steps-to-take-if-your-search-rankings-drop/

7 Steps to Take If Your Search Rankings Drop

It’s a situation you have probably faced as a content marketer: You publish a piece of content—perhaps a blog post—on your website. After a while it hits Page One in the SERP. It drives traffic and all is going according to plan.

And then, possibly out of nowhere, that ranking drops dramatically—and with it, your site traffic begins to fall. While this can be disappointing, know that the solution may involve simple fixes or updates that could benefit your content (and your business) in the long run.

Why organic search matters when publishing content

The importance of SEO to a content strategy cannot be overstated. In today’s world, consumers and businesses turn to search engines like Google for quick-and-easy answers to whatever questions or problems they have.

For content strategists across industries, SEO can attract potential customers—whether consumers or businesses—to your website. It’s possible that SEO may even be the primary driver of visitors to your blog or site.

Data has also shown that organic search drives significantly more traffic than paid search. In addition, search engine users tend to trust organic results more than ads, which speaks to the importance of creating quality content that Google naturally finds worthy of ranking near the top of Page One.

Your page’s organic SEO ranking dropped. Now what?

Don’t panic if your search rankings suddenly or gradually dive because there’s probably something you can do to resolve the issue. So take a deep breath and follow this action plan, developed from conversations with three SEO experts.

1. Verify that your search rankings truly fell (and by how much)

There are several reasons why this may happen. Before you take action, benchmark the webpage’s new position from its last-known ranking to confirm that your ranking truly fell.

To confirm a search ranking drop of any degree, you can use rank tracker tools on standard SEO tools (think Moz or Semrush). Also, find additional information on Google Search Console, which automatically tracks your average search rankings over time.

Assuming you know what the ranking was before the drop, you can also search for a relevant query on your web browser using Incognito Mode (which doesn’t track your search history) and see where your ranking now sits. Remember: Google can personalize search results based on your search history, web history, or location, so using Incognito Mode is especially important here.

A drop in page traffic can also signal that a search ranking has taken a dive.

2. Wait two weeks

While an SEO ranking drop (especially on a page that drives a lot of traffic) can be disappointing, the first step Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko, recommends is taken after confirming the drop is to wait two weeks.

“I wouldn’t make any changes right away if you see a rankings drop because, a lot of times, rankings will drop as an update from Google is being rolled out,” says Dean, who’s also the co-founder of the site Exploding Topics.

If the drop was rapid and dramatic, you might be able to trace it back to a major Google update or a technical issue with your website, Dean says. So wait two weeks before jumping to any conclusions. Then, check whether your ranking returns to its original spot or close to it. The change may very well have been temporary. But if that’s not the case, continue to Step 3.

3. Assess the urgency of correcting the issue

If the ranking drop seems legitimate, ask yourself (or your colleagues) how this drop in ranking might impact your business and whether it might eventually correlate with a decrease in sales or profit or negatively affect another KPI.

Start by analyzing the extent of the situation by taking a page-by-page approach: Did a few blog posts on your site receive 10 percent less traffic year-over-year? Or is it a bigger issue, like traffic to your homepage falling 80 percent from last month?

Having as clear a picture as possible of what’s at stake will help you determine the urgency behind correcting it and how much time, energy, and funding you should invest in taking action.

4. Identify the cause(s) of the ranking drop

There are many SEO tools to help you identify the cause of a ranking drop. However, there may be various factors causing the slide, and they are not always immediately apparent.

A big change or update to Google’s algorithm for determining search rankings could be the culprit, so start there. These changes happen regularly. And while the powers that be often announce more significant updates, that’s not always the case for more minor updates, says Eric Enge, who runs Pilot Holding, a digital marketing and SEO consultancy and co-author of the book The Art of SEO.

You can also ask your colleagues whether any major changes were recently made to your company’s website that may have contributed to a sudden or gradual ranking drop. Plus, you can check on Google Search Console whether Google is having any trouble crawling a page or if you’re facing a Google penalty.

If none of those applies, start checking out your competition for the relevant search queries. Did your SEO competitors make any noticeable changes that may have bumped up their ranking to overtake yours?

“If you don’t have some direct problem causing the drop, then you get to a point where maybe you need to improve the content and invest in making it better,” says Enge, who was previously founder at Stone Temple Consulting.

5. Take action and correct the issues

Once you know what’s causing the problem, you can correct the issue. What you do can vary among web pages, so it’s essential to take a page-by-page approach to remedy a search ranking drop in the first place.

While some resolutions may be more technical in nature, the content often simply needs to be improved and updated, says Bruce Jones, an SEO consultant who also runs 1on1seotraining.com. These improvements can take many forms, like getting more backlinks, adding more list items to a blog post, or upping the word count. “Sometimes it might just be little tweaks that might move the needle,” Jones says.

At this step, you may also want to check on SEO in alt text for images, or you might need to address a keyword density issue. Regardless of the steps you take, remember to keep users’ search intent front of mind. What do the highest-ranked pages for a query provide that you don’t? How can you better meet your audience’s needs?

6. Make additional updates to your content as needed

You can also use this opportunity to improve your content and make it stronger, whether for SEO, user experience, timeliness, or overall quality. Dean says this may involve updating out-of-date statistics, adding more internal links, or updating the writing style to better align with your brand’s voice.

7. Keep a close eye on the data

Remember that it could take some time for Google to re-index your page after making changes. “Once you’re done with the last change, set the calendar for a month,” Dean suggests. Then, go back and check whether your ranking improved.

Continuously monitoring your page rankings on Google Search Console or other rank trackers can also be worthwhile. “(The ranking is) probably not going to go straight up,” Dean explains. “But as long as it’s trending up, that’s a good sign that what you did is working. And you might want to already scale that out to other pages that aren’t even affected yet to get ahead of perhaps the next update.”

https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2022/06/social-marketing-how-to-reach-your-audience?utm_source=brief

(Image credit: Pixabay)

Know your audience then shape your social strategy to reach them on the appropriate platform. This is the wisdom of the ages, as long as I have been involved in social media marketing, which is about 15 years! Yet, marketers or businesses continue to under utilize the correct platform based on their audience. Do you know how different generations are using social platforms and what their expectations from brands may be? The answers are the keys to effective social marketing. To help everybody out, Emplifi just released a decent survery providing new details on how to choose platforms based on age demographic.

A new report from Emplifi, with research conducted by Harris Interactive, offers some insights to help marketers shape their social strategies. 

“Social continues to pull away as the consumers’ choice, and the companies that will succeed are those who follow their customers’ lead and embrace social as well,” said Emplifi’s Shellie Vornhagen in a press release. 

The report answers several key questions for marketers:

Which social platforms do each generation prefer?

Generation X can be found on Facebook, while TikTok and Instagram are favored by Generation Z. YouTube and Twitter have similar engagement across all age groups. 

All age groups prefer to communicate with brands via social media rather than any other channel. 

How are consumers using social during the purchasing journey?

More than 40% of Americans already use social media to interact with brands during the purchase process, and 68% either use or would like to use social media to ask questions before buying a product. 

Some 64% use social media or would like to use it to make purchases and 59% say the same about post-purchase communications. 

Facebook is the top platform for providing purchase inspiration to Gen X and millennials, but YouTube is top for Gen Z, although it also ranked highly across other age groups. TikTok also is a significant purchase driver for Gen Z. 

What do consumers expect from brands on social?

Sixty-two percent of consumers don’t think they receive an excellent customer experience when making purchases on social media, rising to 70% among Gen Z. 

And 52% expect brands to answer their queries within an hour, while 32% expect a reply within 30 minutes. 

The research exposes a gap between customer expectations and reality as 39% typically end up waiting at least two hours for a response, while 20% are left waiting for 24 hours. 

What this means for marketers

The report shows that consumers are already using social to drive purchase decisions and offers insights to help marketers target customers on the right social platforms. 

Perhaps the most significant finding is that all respondents, but particularly Gen Z, want better customer experiences from brands on social media, especially when it comes to response times. 

“Brands need to adopt an ‘always on’ approach when it comes to social media interactions,” the report advises.

We already know Gen Z consumers have a high expectation of brands in terms of personalization and that they want to see inclusive content from brands that involves communities and creators. 

Marketers who combine those strategies with fast social response times could help their brand to become a favorite among the younger generation.

Our lives seem to be an endless cycle of repeat questions at times.

• What is your social security number?
• What year were you born?
• What is your address?

It feels like Wash, Rinse, Repeat. This may be how most business owners and leaders feel when they contact a PR firm or a marketing agency.

The standard set of questions start:

• Who is your target market?
• What is your budget for marketing efforts?
• What goals are you trying to achieve through PR?
• What are the markers of success you monitor to determine your whether your efforts are working?
• What PR or marketing tactics do you use consistently?

However, your marketing and bespoke tailoring may not be so different from each other in several areas.

• Marketing is a custom fit not a one-size-fits-all.
• Marketing requires specific tactics and tools. Bespoke clothiers work with only the best fabrics, seamstresses and tailor.
• Marketing just like bespoke clothing comes in a wide array of budgets. Depending on the level of customization, the budget for marketing increases.

Let’s see what happens when you begin to think of your marketing department, supporting marketing agency or even fractional CMO as a haute couture specialist or a bespoke tailor. Remember, they are trying to determine absolute best fit.

How to Create Custom Fit Marketing and PR

ME: Who is your target market?

You: I just told you. We serve _____.  Why are you asking this again?

ME: I know you told me ______, but after you explained your current business model, product/service, and clients, my guess is that your business may attract _____.  Do you want to attract the target market you mentioned, or are you just telling me what you decided years ago when you started your business?

ME: What goals are you trying to achieve through marketing?

You: I want to make more money!

ME: Are there product lines that are under-producing? Are we attempting to drive traffic to those product lines to determine if they should continue? Or are we just growing your largest profit center even higher? What goals did you set as a company? My guess is that your goals are pretty specific. Just making more money is more generic. I am sure you need certain profit centers to make more money.  What are they? Who uses thoseservices/products? What kind of marketing have you done specific to those services/products?

ME: What marketing tactics do you use consistently?

You: Nothing. That is why we are here! If we could consistently handle our marketing, we wouldn’t need you.

ME: I understand. However, there are probably things you do well. Do you ask for referrals? Does your staff share your Google Review Link? Do you network with certain groups regularly? Do you send out a marketing email monthly? Just because you aren’t doing everything you would like to do doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing something well. We need to know what those things are so that we can build on those and grow your exposure.

ME: What is your most productive marketing tactic?

You: I don’t know. We don’t track that stuff.

ME: Even if you don’t track those numbers, you can make a best guess. How do clients/customers report they found you? Google? Social media? Someone told them about you? They drove by and saw your sign? This will give us a starting point of how current new business is finding you.

ME: What is your budget for marketing efforts?

You: As little as possible with as much reach as possible.

In determining the answers to these questions, we can come up with a custom marketing plan for your business. We can provide custom media placements and spend an alloted amount of time, based on your budget. So next time, you pitch a client, make it a custom approach to win the business.

Susan Nefzger is the owner of a S Nefzger PR, in operation for more than 18 years specializing, in public relations, marketing, writing and executive coaching.

The Instagram Algorithm in 2022

Just an FYI, but there are multiple algorithms at play across the app – with each one tailored to deliver content that it believes will be of high-interest to users.

Keeping this in mind, once you understand how the algorithms actually work, you can tailor your content strategy to work alongside it.

Regardless of whether you have a personal, creator, or business account, it won’t make any difference to how the Instagram algorithm ranks your content.

That said, switching to an Instagram business account does come with its own set of perks — including the ability to Auto Publish your posts with Later. You can add a story or schedule it on Later.

PRO TIP: If you want to improve your ranking with the Instagram algorithm, the best thing you can do is drive as many interactions (likes, comments, saves, and clicks) as possible.

*And by building momentum with your existing community, you’ll soon find your content surfaced to new audiences.*

Here are six ways to improve your algorithmic ranking and reach new audiences:

#1: Consistently Share Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels may be over 12 months old now, but they're still being heavily promoted by Instagram across the entire app experience.

Plus, Reels get twice as much real-estate in the Instagram Explore page – making them a major tactic for discovery and growth.

#2: Encourage More Interactions with Instagram Stories Stickers

Instagram Stories stickers are a great way to encourage audience engagement — and the more engagement your posts get, the higher they’ll be boosted by the Instagram algorithm.

There are lots of Instagram stickers, but the best ones for driving engagement are the poll, emoji slider, and question stickers.

Poll and emoji slider stickers are a quick and easy engagement win, and can work for almost any business or brand.

Question stickers may not be as quick to take part in, but they can be just as good at driving genuine engagement with your audience, which is highly valuable for the Instagram algorithm.

TIP: Include a sticker on your first story for an added boost!

#3: Drive Conversations with Engaging Captions and Comments

Instagram has confirmed comments and likes are important when it comes to feed ranking — so it’s a great idea to encourage as many as possible for your posts.

One of the best ways to do this? Write good captions that drive engagement.

As entrepreneur Elise Darma mentions in our free How to Write Engaging Instagram Captions workshop, including a call-to-action in your Instagram caption can help drive more interactions.

This could be as simple as asking your followers to share their thoughts, double-tap if they agree, tag a friend in the comments, or click the link in your bio.

Want to write more conversational captions? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Writing Good Instagram Captions.

#4: Optimize Your Hashtag Strategy

Adding hashtags to your posts is an effective way to reach more people on Instagram, which means more “views” for the Instagram algorithm to take into account.

And with a good hashtag strategy, you won’t just reach more people — you’ll reach people who are relevant to your business, and most likely to engage with your content.

In a recent Later study, we discovered that feed posts with 30 hashtags get the highest level of engagement on average.

30 hashtags may feel like a lot, but one way to discover new hashtags for your brand is by using Later’s Hashtag Suggestions feature.

Hashtag Suggestions works by automatically finding relevant hashtags for your posts based on other hashtags you use.

All you have to do is know one relevant hashtag, put it into Hashtag Suggestions, hit “Suggest,” and the feature will immediately generate 30 other hashtags, sorted by relevance.

More about Instagram on my next blog for business users.

Feel free to contact me at snefzgerpr@gmail.com for more info.

Twitter Tests Spaces Audio Clips to Maximize Content Creation and Sharing from Audio Broadcasts

As you can see in these example screens, the new clipping tool enables you to create audio clips from a recorded Space, which can then be shared via tweet, with a link back to the full recording.

That provides another way to generate more content from Spaces, and boost interest in your broadcasts. Even though, Twitter is still lagging behind Clubhouse. Clubhouse added the same feature back in September.

Functionally, it’s not a huge leap forward for the format, but as with all social audio elements, the advantage that Twitter has is scale, and the capacity to reach a wider audience with its audio tools.

More people now seem to be using Twitter Spaces instead, and the more that Twitter can build out its Spaces offerings, the less it will receive criticism and/or be dismissed as a Clubhouse clone.

Again, it was Clubhouse that sparked the original audio social trend amid the COVID lockdowns, providing a fresh take on social interaction and engagement. But a lot of that, was also seemingly built on exclusivity, with Clubhouse only available via invite-only initially. Users were turned off due to the irrelevant junk build up, from larger numbers.

Spaces suffers from the same. Tap over to the Spaces tab and you’ll see a heap of crypto and Web3 focused rooms, which, if you’re into those things, could be great. But if you’re not, it’s not the most enticing experience.

Ideally, Twitter would be able to better highlight the most relevant broadcasts to each user in real time, based on what it already knows about their interests due to their engagement in the app, but thus far, it hasn’t perfected its matching. That could still happen, and Twitter should hold an advantage over Clubhouse in this respect, but I’m yet to see Twitter create a great, functional algorithm to highlight the most relevant content in my own experience (see also: Topics, accounts to follow, trends).

As for Clubhouse, it’s still growing in some regions, particularly India, while it recently saw an uptick in use in Russia, where it’s avoided government censorship. I mean, growth is growth, I guess, though not the ideal expansion - but there is still potential for Clubhouse to broaden its footprint by facilitating audio connection, especially in regions where many languages are spoken, and not everyone can write each as fluently as they can comprehend it.

But then again, a lot of its growth does also seem reliant on it not being censored by governments, because it’s not yet big enough to be a concern. Russian officials have tried to control what’s being shared on Twitter and Facebook, as has the Indian Government at different times. If either casts its eye Clubhouse’s way, that could become a problem for the app.

Shopping on social networks such as Facebook, TikTok and WeChat is going to grow three times faster than sales from traditional channels over the next three years, according to a study released by Accenture. 

Social commerce, defined as transactions that take place entirely within the context of a social-media platform, will reach $1.2 trillion by 2025, up from $492 billion in 2021, the consulting company said in the report. The trend is being driven primarily by Gen Z and Millennial consumers, who are expected to account for 62% of the spending. 

The most popular products sold via social networks include clothing, consumer electronics and home decor. Beauty and personal care is also seeing growth, with online influencers playing a significant role.

The trend offers good news for mom-and-pop shops: More than half of so-called social buyers surveyed said they are likely to support small businesses over larger retailers and would likely buy from them again. This may allow new brands to build loyalty and gain traction.

Accenture also found that around 3.5 billion people used social media in 2021, spending on average two and a half hours engaged with it per day. The market for social commerce is far less saturated in the U.S. and the U.K. than in China, where 80% of social media users make social-commerce purchases, according to Accenture.

China is expected to remain the most advanced market for social commerce in size and maturity, Accenture said, with the highest growth being posted in developing markets such as India and Brazil. 

The study is based on an online study of 10,053 social-media users in China, India, Brazil, the U.S. and the U.K. conducted from Aug. 12 to Sept. 3. It also carried out in-depth interviews in those markets earlier during 2021. 

Stay up to date

Businesses are increasingly using social media to advertise, including current offers, events, and opening hours. During the holiday season, many businesses open and close at different times.

Update Christmas opening hours on your profile’s ‘About’ page, and since Twitter and Instagram have tiny bios, consider changing links to point to a blog post that documents the new hours. Share this on all platforms with the times listed so people don’t miss out on it.

Schedule Posts

Over the Christmas holiday, everyone wants a little time off, even if only for a few hours: this includes those who run social media accounts. But nobody wants ‘dead air’ on their feeds, either. Scheduling content can help with this. There are a number of apps and services online that can help you do this effectively and efficiently.

The run-up to Christmas can also present challenges, as many businesses are busier than usual, resulting in feeds being neglected and followers becoming bored. Keep the accounts active by scheduling a few posts a week. This will provide customers with the content they enjoy.

Christmas Competitions

Competitions can generate a great deal of engagement and interest through social media. The rest of your social content could even convert those who simply follow to join in. This is why you should hold a couple of Christmas-themed competitions.

A caption contest is an easy way to engage your followers. Simply upload a Christmas-themed photo to your feed, and the best caption from your followers wins a prize. Obviously, make it a seasonal prize. You could also host a competition in honor of the 12 days of Christmas. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to avoid seeing any ‘12 Days’ competitions at this time of year.

Hashtags for the Holidays

Locowise has always emphasized the importance of hashtags. Particularly if you run a business, it can be difficult to stand out on a social media page. During the holiday season, hashtags are even more important.

Don’t forget to do it right, though. Focus on hashtags that have a lot of traction online, so that you can be part of the momentum. Watch out for trending hashtags that get a lot of engagement. And make sure you develop your own hashtags that your audiences can get behind.

The Look

You can make sure your social media accounts look impressive to make effective use of social media. During the festive season, update your profile and cover photos. People will be more inclined to follow you during the festive season if you have a look and feel that gets them in the mood.

Give audiences an offer

We mentioned discounts and offers in one of the other tips as a way to get your brand noticed while reaching out to your followers and converting them into consumers.

Offers can be shared via a simple post or, for a more intense impact, their details can be revealed exclusively via your ‘stories’ on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram. In order to monitor conversions on each network, tailor your discount codes according to the platform.

Support charities

Christmas is not only the time to receive gifts, but it is also the time to give gifts as well. There is something very special about Christmas, when people remember to give to those who perhaps will not be enjoying large amounts of food and fun at the time.

What this means for brands is that you need to highlight the efforts you are making to help others at Christmas through featuring the charities you are working with. This way, not only are you doing good at a time of year when people really need help, but you are also showing the human side to your brand, which helps to strengthen the relationship you have with your audiences.

The above areas will help you to build out a seasonal social media approach that will keep audiences happy over the festive period, as well as continue to build your brand.