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Social Fresh 2016 Conference Trends Round-Up

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The Motherhood is thrilled to have been able to attend the Social Fresh 2016 Conference in Orlando! We heard from an amazing lineup of speakers who shared valuable insights on everything from creating authentic brand content, to running social ads, to providing SEO predictions for the future — just to name a few topics. We especially loved learning that more than half of the conference speakers were female, the most they’ve had in any of the 18 Social Fresh conferences to date! All of the speakers were incredible. Thank you to the presenters and Social Fresh team who made this conference a must-attend event.

Here are some of the trends, ideas and insights that grabbed our attention at Social Fresh 2016:

1. Human-first, good-quality content is still key.

The Social Fresh 2016 team presented this stat: “creating content is the most time-intensive task for social media teams, taking up 18.5 percent of their days!” As any content creator knows, it can be difficult coming up with creative and relatable content; however, when done correctly, it pays off:

  • 67 percent of followers will share your content if it is good. – Heather Taylor
  • 78 percent of followers believe that companies that provide good content want to build a relationship with them. – Melanie Deziel
  • Videos that show people in the first several seconds receive twice the amount of engagement. – Stacy Minero

It’s no surprise to us that authentic content equals the best content. Conference speakers, like author Sally Hogshead and Cory Vasquez of RE/MAX, drove home the fact that people want to see relatable, empathetic content from brands and influencers. Real, honest posts will cut through the crowded social space. 

Hogshead encouraged the room to stop looking at what will make their brand better, but to look at what makes them different, and capitalize on that. Being different can be your brand’s advantage. In her words, “The goal isn’t to create the same message to blast to your following. The goal is to create the right messages that break through and stand out.”

Having “human-first” content was another prevalent theme. Vasquez shared a checklist of characteristics that make her brand’s content “human-first”: timely, engaging, honest, relatable, good quality and empathetic. Twitter’s Stacy Minero also encouraged the audience of marketers to highlight human stories, saying, “People are drawn to people.”

Screen Shot 2016-08-23 at 9.01.34 AM

Takeaways for creating human-first, branded content:

  • “People can tell when you’re trying to go viral, so be authentic.” – Jeremy Goldman
  • Expert content creator Sarah Evans encouraged the audience to ask themselves, “Will this make people care, share or swear? If none of those, it’s boring content.”
  • “Woo them, don’t sell them…. Lay off the sales pitch!” – Heather Taylor

2. Video (especially Live Video) continues to become more and more important!

Jeremy Goldman of the Firebrand Group shared an eye-opening session on the future of video in marketing. The Firebrand Group found in a recent survey that the majority of marketers (75 percent) are turning to Facebook for videos, rather than YouTube or other platforms, due to higher engagement. YouTube video comments don’t hold as much value as a like, comment or share on Facebook.

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Their study also showed that 85 percent of marketers see positive ROI from video marketing. Goldman predicted this video trend to rise, saying, “As video grows in popularity, the demand for good–quality videos is skyrocketing.”

This is a trend our own network of influencers has also been predicting, calling video the #1 trend in blogging and social media in 2016.

Takeaways for creating compelling videos:

  • 80 percent of people mute ads, so make sure your ads make sense without audio, or use text and captioning within the video content.
  • Always think, “How can I make this video social and interactive?”
  • Pay to promote your Live videos after they are broadcast Live.

3. Twitter is becoming more interactive.

Minero shared ways of getting your followers’ attention in their feed. She reported that Twitter is moving away from broad impressions and toward participation — from viewing to doing. With attention spans as short as eight seconds, attention is the new currency in brand advertising, according to Minero.

In order to “stop people in their feed,” companies are working with Twitter to create customized branded emojis and stickers. Minero used the #TacoEmojiGenerator as a great example of this, which was a hit with the Social Fresh audience.

 Minero’s tips for creating hashtags on Twitter:

  • Keep in mind that the most utilized hashtags are usually the less branded ones.
  • Let your hashtag provide a way for people to express themselves and their motivations (see REI’s campaign for #OptOutside as a great example of this!).

Were you at the Social Fresh 2016 Conference? We’d love to hear your top takeaways from the event or your feedback on our takeaways!

 

#MeasurementMonday: How to Measure SEO Success of a Blog Post

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A staggering 89 percent of consumers begin their purchase process with a search engine, which leaves no doubt that search engine optimization (SEO) in influencer marketing campaigns plays a huge factor in generating long-term value and results for brands.

To best understand how important good SEO can be for a campaign, consider this: The first page of Google Search Results receives more than 91 percent of all search clicks, with the top three results in the list nabbing 61 percent of all clicks. Not only can strategic SEO help influencer content rise to the top of search results, but it can also boost your own company website’s ranking: Blog posts are sources of authoritative inbound links which factor into your own site’s search ranking success.

In today’s Measurement Monday post, we are taking a close look at how to structure campaigns for SEO success, as well as how to measure that success practically and accurately.

measure see success of blog post

In one of our previous posts, we touched on why influencer-generated evergreen content is so powerful. Blog posts that are “evergreen” offer brands long-term results, as they help content rise to the top of search rankings and provide potential customers with readily available resources as they are searching for information related to the brand or product.

Before launching an influencer marketing campaign, be sure to do some keyword research and craft a strategy that leverages specific keywords in the blogger-generated content. The words and phrases you use should offer a balance of the most commonly searched terms (those that currently rank the highest) and those that have lower competition and are more “ownable” to your brand. These keywords should appear not only in the headings of blog posts but also regularly throughout the body content and in image descriptions.

It’s important to remember that you can use SEO strategy in social media posts by utilizing keywords, especially since Facebook and Twitter posts are treated like any other web page by Google’s rankings. Studies have shown that engagement of social media posts have a direct correlation to higher search rankings, furthering the value of engagement in influencer campaigns. You can apply SEO on Pinterest by focusing on image relevancy and using strategic keywords in pin titles and descriptions. Social signals increase search rankings by signaling search engines you are relevant and by increasing domain authority.

When correctly executed, influencer-generated blog posts can become significant traffic sources for a brand website over time. For example, in one of The Motherhood’s recent campaigns for a healthcare client, blog posts from our team of influencers served as one of the top drivers of traffic to the client’s website and contributed to significant conversion. Many of the influencers’ blog posts have generated hundreds and even thousands of monthly visits to the company’s site.

As you can see in the graph below, the top-performing blog post increased in popularity over time, generating a high level of traffic from Pinterest and organic search and continuing to drive high levels of visits to the company’s site, even 10 months after being posted.

evergreen traffic increase over time

A study by Halverson Group found that the lifespan of a blog post is almost 24 times as long as the standard 30 days reporting metric, indicating that the current measurement metrics are undervaluing blog post performance by failing to measure any results over time. The takeaway? It is important that our measurement methods account for this long-term value.

Metrics that can be monitored to track the SEO success of a blog post include search engine rankings, views after a certain period of time, and social media engagement. It is important that these factors are tracked consistently across blog posts if there are multiple posts resulting from a given campaign.

Three ways to measure the SEO success of a blog post:

  1. Record the page views at time increments, such as after one week of posting, three months and six months after. Be sure that these numbers are being recorded from a consistent measurement source across all posts.
  2. Do a search for your keywords and pay attention to how the post ranks on search engines. This includes images that appear in search!
  3. Monitor engagement on Pinterest (and other social platforms). While this activity may not always immediately convert to page views, it will over time, and it indicates intent and boosts search rankings. Engagement on other platforms should also be measured, as social signals increase the off-page SEO results.

SEO, along with effective measurement of long-term campaign success, are important strategic factors in influencer marketing. Using the three methods mentioned above, the long-term value of search engine optimized influencer marketing can be better reported and included in the measurement of overall campaign success.

Interested in learning more? Read all of our #MeasurementMonday series posts HERE.

Campaigns with The Motherhood’s bloggers have seen program content rise to the top of search rankings. We’d love to work with you in developing easy-to-find, evergreen blog posts that will live on for potential consumers to find when they’re searching for more information online prior to purchase. If you’re interested in working with us, email [email protected].

Round-up of the Top 10 Social Marketing Predictions for 2016

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It has been a memorable year in social media, with many new platform functions and trends, but the best may be yet to come. We can’t help but be excited for all of the 2016 marketing predictions we’ve seen floating around and what’s in store for social media in the coming year.

Not enough time to read the heavy influx of marketing predictions for 2016? No problem! The Motherhood has skimmed the most newsworthy pieces and summarized the top trends.

Marketing Predictions for 2016

Here are the social media trends you need to know for the upcoming year:

1. Ad Blocking shifts eyes to organic and social

2. Shift from automated to authentic

  • Because online consumers have developed the keen skills to identify and ignore ads and automated sponsored content, authentic, personal content will rise as marketers realize its value in connecting with online audiences.
  • Simply searching for influencers in your space and asking them to push out stale messages will become less effective; greater strategy will be needed to engage key influencers.
  • Marketing that is less disruptive and more focused on fostering relationships will be conductive to building a loyal customer base.

3. Creativity will thrive

4. Experience = shared value 

  • Content will continue to fuel the customer experience.
  • More and more consumers turn to third parties, such as online influencers, as trusted sources of information on brands/products.
  • Brands will recognize more that linking an experience or story with a brand/product better resonates with consumers than facts and figures.
  • Humanizing your brand helps to create shared trust through personal experience.

5. Engagement > Reach 

  • Marketers will place a greater focus on identifying meaningful measurement metrics of engagement with sponsored content.
  • By evaluating engagement of online campaigns, marketers can gain better insights from, and connection with, targeted audiences.
  • We’ve already seen many of our clients begin to look at engagement metrics rather than impressions in our programs, as they recognize the value in targeted engagement.

6. Data and insights

  • Analytics and social insights will become more readily available, leading to a jump in automated data analysis and implementation of big data insights to create better social messaging.
  • Rather than trying to do it all, marketers will focus on key performance indicators and creating more valuable insights aligned with those indicators.
  • Using data to develop more personalized experiences for consumers will create more value for both businesses and customers.

7. Instant Gratification AND Snapchat

  • In-the-moment posts will dominate with the rise in popularity of Periscope and the addition of Facebook Live Streaming.
  • While reaching consumers organically via SnapChat is not a cost-effective option, SnapChat will become the “New TV.”
  • As this Ad Age article perfectly states, “Think appointment-watching, awareness and buying eyeballs.”

8. Video, video, video

  • 70 percent of companies now say video is the most effective tool in their online marketing belts, and two out of three businesses expect it to dominate their strategy going forward.
  • Google now includes video content in search results, and Facebook and Bing have started offering video options for advertisers.
  • Using video to tell stories can be used as an advantage by marketers to effectively convey a brand message.
  • Social video is rapidly rising, and videos need to be tailored for each platform and target audience.

9. Social messaging and messaging apps

  • Messaging apps have seen explosive growth and have already evolved as a customer service feature.
  • While messaging apps are still a mystery, big brands are testing them out as marketing channels.
  • Messaging apps are the most-used of all category apps, meaning there is a largely untapped potential for advertising in this space.

10. Social isn’t free

  • The exponential growth of brands on social has led to less organic reach, so increases in social marketing spending will continue to increase.
  • Simply promoting posts or getting your message incorporated in authentic content from key influencers will increase in order to maintain a share of voice.
  • Online influencers know their value and demand for them as key content creators continues to increase, so navigating these relationships will become trickier.

 

The recurring theme we found throughout the plethora of predictions is that the customer will be heard in 2016, and as a result, marketers will be using more data and insight in their campaigns, and will need to implement authentic, personalized content programs.

Which predictions do you think are most accurate?

What Your Influencer Marketing Might Be Missing: Evergreen

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Get the most out of your influencer marketing campaigns by leveraging the power of evergreen content.

During a recent call with a potential new client, The Motherhood’s leadership team outlined a variety of social media marketing services and shared a few case studies to demonstrate clients’ successes with past campaigns. When the presentation ended, the potential client made an interesting comment. “We can see the power of what you’re doing,” he said. “We’d be foolish not to take advantage of it.”

More and more brands and organizations have come to the same conclusion. As traditional online advertising loses potency due to the rise of ad blockers, more of them are turning to influencer marketing and sponsored content campaigns to share information about their products and services with target audiences.

However, with the online space becoming saturated, it’s more important than ever to find ways for brands to get the most out of their campaigns: While traditional influencer marketing tactics focus on the “now” (sales, impressions, link clicks, etc.), there is unlocked potential in “evergreen” influencer-driven content that serves as a digital bookshelf for brands over a long period of time.

What makes content evergreen? Evergreen content lives on in searches and continually generates traffic to your site. It provides information that is not tied to one particularly timely “hook” or event and is not likely to change in the near future, meaning it can continue to provide value to the reader over time.

In a recent study distributed by The Motherhood, bloggers repeatedly mentioned that both their blogs and the brands they work with get more value from content that is authentic and evergreen. We see brands starting to catch onto this theme, and we believe that evergreen content will become even more prevalent as its value is realized.

Why is influencer-driven evergreen content powerful? It offers brands:

  1. Long-term Results: Content grows in popularity over time, continually drives traffic to your site and increases brand awareness.
  2. Search Engine Optimization: It helps achieve search rankings for industry terms as well as improving SEO results for the brand through link building.
  3. Credible Voice: Influencer content can serve as a landing page for a brand other than its official website, building the brand’s reputation and providing increased value for users.
  4. Resources for Customers When They Need It: It is always available and is sought after by potential customers when they are further along the path to purchase.

With easy access to online resources and others’ opinions, consumers no longer put all of their trust in brand advertising and marketing without also doing their own independent research. In fact, based on a recent survey by The Motherhood, consumers trust family, friends and customer reviews 44% more than retailer and company websites.

Brands can create and publish their own evergreen content, but influencer-created content – shared by someone their readers feel they know and can trust – adds an extra layer of authenticity and often gives consumers the confidence they need to take the next step to purchase the product or service. When brands find an influencer who genuinely loves their products or services and can share that information with her readers, it’s a relationship that provides a natural avenue brands can tap to build trust with consumers.

Bloggers in The Motherhood’s network know the power of evergreen; here are some real-world examples!

Example #1: Bloggers Become Top Traffic-Drivers

Blog posts from an influencer marketing campaign served as one of the top drivers of traffic to a healthcare client’s website. Many of the influencers’ blog posts have generated hundreds and even thousands of monthly visits to the company’s site.

evergreen traffic increase over time

Here are some key learnings from the blog post that performed best over the long term:

  • It contained practical tips on the general topic with a naturally flowing product link at the very end
  • One year after the blog post went live, it was still generating an average of 400 daily views
  • The highest source of traffic to the blog post was Pinterest

Because of these evergreen blog posts, the client has continued to see a high level of referral traffic to the site long after the original campaign ended, and the client has become an industry leader in online conversations. Through The Motherhood, the client has also maintained a working relationship with key influencers to repurpose content and collaborate on additional campaigns.

Tip: Focus on authentic conversations that can be optimized for search and authentically share product information.

Example #2: Annual Holidays and Events Generate Recurring Traffic

The Motherhood’s blog received a boost in traffic this October from a Halloween-themed blog post published back in 2011! With primary traffic to the post coming from organic search and Pinterest, the post generated an 88% increase in page views from September to October 2015. Each year around Halloween, this blog post generates a higher number of page views.

increased site traffic analytics

Furthermore, a 2010 blog post written by The Motherhood on Halloween safety tips, sponsored by Energizer, was picked up this year by a municipality and sent to all residents in that area, generating a huge spike in traffic to the post.

Tip: Take advantage of reoccurring events such as holidays, rather than one-time events or occurrences.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can engage influencers to write evergreen content for your brand:

  1. Share Stats and Data
  2. Invite Product Reviews / Consumer Insights
  3. Provide Expert How-to Guides or Tips
  4. Offer Strategies for Common Problems
  5. Storytelling through Personal Anecdotes

Before initiating a campaign focused on generating evergreen content, be sure to keep the following points in mind:

  1. Be authentic. Pinpoint influencers who are a good fit for your brand and focus on quality of their content and professionalism of their work rather than simply looking at their numbers.
  2. Fully identify goals such as search rankings and keywords. This is probably the hardest step, but it is extremely important to have in place before moving forward. These terms must be effectively communicated to the bloggers so that they can seamlessly work them into content during the writing process.
  3. Add value. Bloggers and influencers have an interest in creating quality content and bringing traffic to their blog and your content. Be sure that the content you are asking influencers to create will provide value to readers and presents information and insight other than what is provided in traditional marketing practices.
  4. Use a blogger network/agency. Consider leveraging the expertise of an agency, which has existing relationships with influencers in your space, along with experience crafting campaigns focused on authentic long-term content.

Most importantly, remember that patience is a virtue. Evergreen success does not happen overnight; you have to allow time to reap the rewards!

The Motherhood is a social media marketing firm and blogger network with extensive experience in the space of influencer marketing, and has continually been a leader in innovation within the industry. To work with The Motherhood’s network in creating branded evergreen content that will live on in users’ search results, you can reach us at [email protected].

The Motherhood Blogger Network: Why Work with Us

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Ten years ago, public relations veterans Cooper Munroe and Emily McKhann recognized the power and marketing potential of the communities growing online, particularly around parenting and families. At a time when the term “blog” was just beginning to enter the national conversation, Facebook was in its infancy and most social platforms didn’t yet exist, they founded The Motherhood and began building a dynamic network of PR-friendly mom blogs to apply that marketing potential.

A decade later, their vision is flourishing as brands, agencies and nonprofit organizations search for ways to join and contribute to the conversation online – and for good reason.

According to Nielsen (as reported in She-conomy), by May 2012, about one in three U.S. moms were bloggers. Research compiled by The Next Web outlines a number of compelling reasons to put your product, service or cause in front of moms online:

  • Women drive 70-80 percent of all consumer purchasing through their buying power and influence.
  • More than three-quarters of women in the U.S. use the Internet for product information before making a purchase.
  • Nearly two-thirds of moms ask other mothers for advice before they purchase a new product.
  • 90 percent of moms are online, and nearly 20 million Internet users who are moms read blogs at least once a month.

Many companies use blogger networks like The Motherhood to help them connect these dots: With the right blogger influencers sharing information, stories, reviews and positive word of mouth, they can build awareness and drive purchases.

As a parent blogger network and social media marketing agency, The Motherhood functions as an experienced partner in helping companies identify and approach highly targeted bloggers for both small and large-scale coordinated online marketing campaigns.

Here are a few of the benefits of working with blogger networks in general and The Motherhood in particular:

  • We can pinpoint your most influential consumers. The Motherhood’s proprietary database includes thousands of bloggers we’ve personally worked with over the years. We make it our business to know what’s important to the influencers in our network, and we can quickly identify and mobilize a team according to the specific criteria most important to you. Our approach to blogger engagement is personal, resulting in a team of influencers who are advocates of your brand and deeply invested in the program’s success.
  • We work with influencers to create rich, dynamic content. Working closely with you, and always with your overarching brand objectives in mind, we create opportunities for trusted blogger ambassadors to develop compelling, shareable content online. That content lives indefinitely and contributes to great SEO and search results for your company or client.
  • We know social. We partner with bloggers on a daily basis and live on social media, and we’ve done it for years. We can help you find exactly the people you want to engage in short-term blog campaigns, long-term ambassador programs, Twitter parties, virtual focus groups and more to spread the word about your product, service or cause. 
  • We’re experienced in PR. The Motherhood team comes from the world’s top PR agencies. We provide you with powerful ideas based on insight and years of experience in the industry, and we can move at your pace – fast.
  • We guarantee coverage. We identify influencers who fit your objectives and target audience and love your brand, so it’s a win for everyone – and we guarantee coverage and engagement. Every step of the way, we provide detailed results reporting, insights and analysis.

Brands, PR/ad agencies, nonprofit organizations and other companies: To learn more about our online campaign options to reach influencers or inquire about partnering with The Motherhood to supplement your integrated marketing efforts, email [email protected].

Mom 2.0 Highlights: The Importance of Storytelling

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Once Upon a Time: Team members from The Motherhood joined several hundred bloggers and a number of brands gathered in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the 2015 Mom 2.0 Summit. The theme of the conference, thanks in large part to title sponsor Dove (a client of The Motherhood’s), was the power of storytelling.

The Mom 2.0 Summit Guide made the point, echoed by speakers and sessions during the three-day conference, that “this community is shaping conversations on everything from modern parenting, to marketing trends, to racial equality.” That influence can be parlayed into business success, a means to support your family and opportunities to use your voice and platforms to impact issues close to your own heart.

Set the Stage for Your Success

In the business of blogging, a good media kit is an important tool in telling your story: Your influence and audience, topics and themes you cover on your blog, personal details like your location and kids’ ages, information about what you deliver and expect from sponsored posts – everything that will tell a brand representative why you’re a good fit for a campaign and why he or she should hire you.

Media Kit Mom 2.0

Speaker Stacie Connerty of Divine Lifestyle recommended hiring someone to create a media kit for you if you’re uncertain about the format, design and information to include. And if you’re uncomfortable writing about yourself and your blog’s attributes, consider swapping with a friend to draft each other’s bio and introduction.

Brands Recognize the Power of Blog Authenticity and Anecdotes

During a panel discussion, brand representatives from Kia Motors, Best Buy, SmartyPants Vitamins and Abbott (which creates Similac and PediaSure) offered confirmation of what we at The Motherhood already know:

Blogger program success Mom 2.0

Companies are increasingly approaching bloggers and using social media in their marketing strategies because it works. One example: When the Kia Motors team created a blog campaign around an auto show appearance instead of hosting their usual press conference for traditional media, they saw a greater number of impressions and engagement.

While brands say that reach does matter, another thing they look for in bloggers when they consider a partnership is authentic blog and social content that demonstrates a passion and affinity for their brand or product category. In other words, share stories from the heart about the things you love, and it could help you land partnerships with your favorite companies.

In fact, Mom 2.0 is a great place to network with those companies – one of the things we like most about the conference is the number and variety of sponsors. This year, we particularly enjoyed talking with representatives from Breyers ice cream (who organized a delicious toppings bar at the welcome party) and the Juice Products Association (who created a fascinating, information-packed booth in the Sponsor Marketplace).

Visual Storytelling is Increasingly Important

While authenticity is key, this year, it’s the ability to share your story through beautiful photos and nicely edited video that will give you the real advantage. Brands are becoming more and more interested in sharing their own stories through visual mediums like Pinterest, Instagram and video platforms (such as YouTube, Vine and Instagram again).

What's next Mom 2.0

For example, Mom 2.0 Summit title sponsor Dove is currently running a #BeautyStory campaign inspired by a letter identifying Dove as the beauty secret of four generations of women in one family. The brand chose to share this family’s story in a video to illustrate the campaign. (The Motherhood is currently working on a creative campaign for Dove #BeautyStory with a group of wonderful bloggers, so keep an eye out for their posts, too!)

To give companies like Dove an opportunity to work with you through more visual platforms like Instagram, Ilana of Mommy Shorts recommends sharing diverse photos (your kids, landscapes, pets, interior shots, etc.), so brands can see where they could fit seamlessly.

The “Happily Ever After”

Beyond working with brands and sharing stories to foster a sense of community, gathering followers and gaining influence online gives us all an opportunity to make a difference in the world around us, create awareness around issues that matter and use our voices for good. Together, we can make 2015 the year of raising all boats.

The Mom 2.0 2016 location and dates were announced during the conference, too – let us know if you’ll be in beautiful Laguna Niguel, Calif., from April 27-29 next year! Keep an eye on the website; tickets will go on sale in a few months.