Having a large audience is great but that’s not all that is important on social media. Engagement with your followers will measure more success than just the number of people that follow you. What does engagement from your followers look like? It’s shares, comments, saves, likes, mentions and even branded hashtag usage. Here are a few quick ways to increase your engagement on your social media channels.
How to Develop Good KPI’s for Ad Campaigns
Measuring your ad campaign metrics are crucial for your campaigns in order to see what is working and what may need to be adjusted. There is no one size fits all to determine what KPI’s your brand should be using. It will depend on the overall goals of the brand and what the goal is for the campaign. Here are some steps to take when determining what KPI’s to use for your campaign efforts.
Email Marketing Stats 2022
We recently did an article on The Power of Email Marketing. We thought it only fitting to follow up with some recent statistics for 2022 to back it up. We like to talk the talk and walk the walk. Here is a list of some of what we consider to be most important.
Friday Feature 10/14/22
This week we’re going in a different direction and showcasing a content creator that is obsessed with books! We love to read here at Locomotive so we wanted to feature someone who shares that love. Heather Yates worked with us a while back when we sourced a great video of kids having a water balloon fight in their back yard for one of our campaigns. Although she’s a mother of 4, her Instagram now focuses on all the romance novels that she recommends. So, if you ever need some reading material ideas give her page a look because there is no shortage of them there.
Tips for Writing a Good Blog
There are so many different types of blogs out there from how-to guides, news article reviews, interviews, explanatory and even personal. If you’re a vet or just getting started there are a few things to consider when trying to write a great blog. Here are some of our tips to writing something that grabs your audience’s attention and keeps it.
Small Business Advantage
In our world today, we likely think of big conglomerates owning markets. However, in the U.S., small businesses comprise of 99.9% of all firms according to the SBA. Strategies between large and small brands are going to be different, due to their specific marketing niches. While larger companies can offer more to a wider variety of consumers, small businesses do have their advantages. As a small business ourselves we pride ourselves on these unique traits that make us stand out in our area of expertise. Here are some ways that small businesses have an upper hand from large firms.
Key Performance Indicators
What is a KPI and why do they matter? We keep seeing this thrown around the advertising and marketing world so we thought it would be good to touch base on what they are exactly and why they are important. KPI’s are quantifiable measures of performance in order to gauge progress and insights in particular areas of your business. KPI’s are target that should be tracked because they support the overall goals of the brand through keeping the team aligned, checks on the organization to spot problems, helps allot for adjustments that need to be made if something isn’t working by analyzing patterns and it will hold the whole company accountable. KPI’s are found in every area of a business from finance to advertising campaigns. There are literally so many to list we couldn’t do it all in one article. However, we will list a few for example that pertain to marketing.
Developing a Solid Business Strategy
Friday Feature
This is our first Friday content creator feature. We thought it about time to switch it up a bit from our Friday fun favorite campaigns. If you loved it, don’t worry. It’s not gone. Just taking a break for a while. This week’s creator shout out goes to Vibe Salon in Atlanta. We recently worked with them on one of our campaigns helping source content for an Oreo spot. If you live in the Atlanta area you should check them out! It was a pleasure working with them and it seems they do amazing things with hair! Have a great weekend all!
Social Media Mistakes to Avoid
We’ve all posted that low quality video that got very little love and immediately regretted it. Maybe even taken it down shortly after the fact. We know we’ve done this. There are a few major pitfalls to avoid when attempting to optimize your social media channels. We’re only going to focus on Instagram for the purpose of this article.
Optimizing Your Google Position
Employee Engagement
What is employee engagement? Well, it can be defined as a measure of an employee’s sense of purpose at the workplace, involvement, commitment to the brand, their effectiveness in communicating and lastly, having a collaborative attitude that’s dedicated to quality performance. Engagement of employees is about motivation behind their work and not job satisfaction. It’s surprising to note that only 36% of workers in the United States are highly engaged, according to HubSpot. Employees are the gears that turn the machine within a business. Their engagement is necessary to its success. When the gears are well oiled, the machine runs smoothly and efficiently. Think of it like this. It’s just as within the human body. When one part isn’t working well, the entire thing sees a downturn and it’s like a domino effect. One thing ultimately, affects the whole. Therefore, fostering a good culture in the workplace is crucial. Let’s look at some stats. Gallup studies show that having good employee engagement:
1. Lowers absenteeism by 81%
2. Lowers turnover rates by 18%
3. Lowers defects in quality by 41%
4. Increases productivity by 18%
5. Increases customer loyalty and engagement by 10%
6. Increases profitability by 23%
It is obvious why employee engagement is important looking at these numbers, but how do you foster it within the workplace for your brand? There are 3 key components to doing so. 1.) Leadership. 2.) Rewards and Recognition. 3.) Personal Growth. Within the leadership role, managers and CEO’s must communicate clear expectations for their employees so they understand their tasks, goals and day to day responsibilities. To this, they must also provide the proper tools and knowledge that they need to carry out these tasks while giving them the space to show your trust of them. Autonomy shows them that they are valued. Recognition programs are a great way to show employees they’re valued as well. Reward them with bonuses, gift cards, gift baskets, etc. for their successes. Lastly, there must always be room for growth and a clear path of how to get there. This can help create a sense of purpose with employees. They start at the bottom and work their way up towards a goal.
Now that you have all the tools you need to engage your employees; how do you measure the effectiveness you are having with it? The first is obvious, seek their feedback. Make it anonymous so they don’t feel put on the spot or you can have private, individual conversations. Or both. Survey Monkey is a great survey creator you can use to do this. Next, make sure to keep an eye on your turnover rates and employee absenteeism regularly. If these numbers are up, then unfortunately, engagement is down. Another way to get feedback would be to conduct exit interviews to see what areas can truly be improved. People tend to be more candid when they won’t be working there anymore.
In summary, employee engagement keeps your business running smoothly. Happy employees’ equal happy customers equal thriving businesses. It’s important to keep the gears of your business machine well-oiled in order to run well.
Content Creation
We’re a content agency. We love good, quality content. This is a given. We’ve written about content creation in the past but directed it toward the creators. This article will focus on why quality content is important for brands. First, if the content is helpful and insightful, customers will trust you and begin to view you as an expert in your field, according to Forbes. Second, ROI is very high for quality content. 88% of marketers are happy with their return on investment of content. Third, SEO will increase with the right key words to promote your brands website. Lastly, it helps your brand get new leads, especially if the content has a CTA placement. We could go on with a million reasons why good content marketing helps your business grow but we know you get the point by now. Let’s look at how your brand can go about having a good content marketing strategy.
All the same rules for creators apply for brands, except now you have a specific audience to keep in mind. This is where creating a buyer persona comes in handy. A buyer persona is created through research to make a clear picture of the person you want to market to. Think of them as a created character for a story that represents your whole group of target market audience. Here’s a handy tool to help you get started from HubSpot if you’re unsure of where to start with this. Second, your strategy should include goal setting. Use the SMART method to determine them. Now, you have to keep the buyer’s journey in mind. Where are they in their buying process? Is it awareness of the problem? Are they considering a solution (the consideration stage)? Or… are they in the decision-making stage where they’re aware of the solution and ready to solve? You want to make sure that you have content for each stage of your buyer’s journey. The format of the content must also be considered. Is it easy for your audience to view, read, etc.? This brings us to the last topic: the different types of content.
There are many different types of content to consider when creating. There’s content just like the one you are reading: a blog. There are social media posts and stories. Infographics with short bursts of information or GIF’s. Video content is king in today’s world but podcasts are also on the rise. Lastly, there are webinars/seminars for your viewers as well. Which type of content you choose will be brand specific. While all brands will benefit from social media posts and stories, it may not make sense for them to conduct webinars. The type of content that your brand chooses will also determine the style. Blogs and podcasts tend to be conversational whereas webinars and seminars are in more formal setting.
Whatever way you shake it, a quality content creation marketing strategy is key for your brand. Honestly, creating content is super fun, so with the right creative minds behind the work you cannot fail. Collaboration within your company when creating content will ensure its success. Having multiple sets of creative eyes and minds on each piece will make sure that what your team comes up with will be the absolute best through great communication and teamwork.
Evergreen Content
We just wrote about topical content, which touched on evergreen content slightly. So, what is evergreen content? If topical content is on current events or things that are trending, then evergreen content is just the opposite. It’s really stated in the name, evergreen. Like the evergreen trees, evergreen content lives over the long periods of time and is not time sensitive. If topical to evergreen content creation ratio is 1:4, then what are some key reasons to create so much more evergreen content over topical content?
Topical Content
There are so many types of content out there nowadays so, what in the world is topical content? Topical content is relevant to current events or timely topics. Think about things that are currently trending. Writing, vlogging, news stories, videos or even advertisements can be done on trending topics. These would all be considered topical content pieces since they focus on current news/trends. So, let’s talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages of writing topical content.
Going Viral
We’ve licensed more videos than we can count that were considered to be “viral.” Think back... Pizza Rat, David at the Dentist, Charlie Bit My Finger are just a few that quickly come to mind. America’s Funniest Home Videos was one of the first viral user generated content video shows out there back when VHS was still a thing. Viral videos are any video that blow up quickly and are considered to have gone “viral” when they hit between 5-8 million views or more. But what is it about certain video content that makes them go viral?
First Impressions
Have you ever met someone and they give you a limp handshake? Yea, we have too. It’s awkward and doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth about that person. What about someone who refuses to look you in the eye when they speak or when you speak? Yep, been there too! Don’t let some of these poor practices hold you back if you’re looking to do an interview for a new position or starting a new one somewhere. There are definitely some rules for do’s and don’ts when making first impressions.
Tips for Taking Great iPhone Photos
Nowadays anyone can be a photographer. It’s become much easier to take great shots with that little device in your pocket. Since we deal with content creators a lot, we thought we would write up a little tip guide for taking great photos on your phone. Here is a list of top practices for those captured moments.
Friday Favorite 9/23/2022
This week’s favorite is a tribute to Serena Williams and her recent retirement. She is a role model for women and athletes all over the world! She leaves behind a legacy of a changed world because she refused to become the status quo. She remained true to herself despite all of the odds. The Nike ad coined with the tagline, “She didn’t change who she was-and that changed everything, for all of us,” was created by advertising company, Wieden+Kennedy Portland.
Avoiding Click Fraud
Paying for your advertisements only when their clicked on seems like a pretty good deal right? You don’t have to pay someone unless people actually view and click on it. Although it seems like a good deal, there are now bots on the web to consider. If these bots are clicking on your ads then you end up paying for clicks that aren’t real people. Aka. No real views. Basically, you’re wasting your money if “click fraud” happens to you! 36% of display ads are fraudulent clicks (Lunio, 2021).
