SEO

If you’ve been in the SEO game for a while, it may feel frustrating to see traffic drop (or never take off) when you’ve been producing great written content, expanding web pages, and other common tactics. However, if you’re neglecting web design, you may be leaving potential optimization and great results behind. A few major tips: optimizing image sizes and tags, ensuring permalinks are search friendly, and regularly updating your website are all steps that can help you start to see major results faster. Get more tips here.

PPC

Got a lot to say? Same.  Google’s got your back with a new test doubling the number of characters you can use in text ad descriptions. With two 80-character limit lines, you’ll be able to get wordier and share more with your audience. While initial tests have seen a slightly lower click through, optimization and testing may be the best way for you to see if this option will be good for your brand. Testing new features whether it be with Google, Facebook and others often shows strong initial results. Don’t wait to explore.

Design

While much of design is about aesthetics and creativity, for most marketing visual design it’s imperative that the person interacting with it understands it and can use it to achieve the goals set out by the content. This can be trickier than it appears because combining new and exciting visuals with usability is complicated. If you’re testing the design, it’s important to start with understanding the objectives of the design and ensuring that you’re relying on the design to pass, not grading participants. Want more tips on ensuring your design is functional? Check this piece out.

Social Media

Stuck on your social media strategy? No worries. We’ve all been there. If you’re feeling more like a mindless twitter bot, spewing out industry news than a curated, impactful though leader, we get it. It’s easy to get caught up with frequency or the famous 80/20 rule, but storytelling on social media is one of the main ways to grow your audience and enrich your followers experience with your content and brand. Want some simple tips to help you get started on this endeavor? No problem. Here are a collection of storytelling formulas that will help you take your brand to the next level.

Content Marketing

How many words is a video worth? From a social and content perspective, a lot. Whether you’ve started producing videos already or are just getting the ball rolling, understanding the impact and best distribution method for video is critical for brands wanting to reach the optimal number of viewers in the right places. For instance, should you be creating vertical video to fit with the new mobile landscape or stick with traditional horizontal video? Another important thing to remember is that video is a great way to establish trust and brand affinity. Reaching out to your audience on an emotional and relatable level is crucial for success. Want more tips on understanding how video can help your brand? Check out these ideas.

Culture

If you’re struggling to keep employees engaged and excited about new opportunities, consider upping your employee appreciation. From inter-team relationships to flexibility and constructive feedback, team members want to feel valued and important to the team. If you have an employee who seems checked out and disengaged, have a frank conversation. If they feel under-appreciated and haven’t gotten the attention they deserve due to quick growth, new priorities, or any other shift it’s important to get ahead of the issue. Often, an employee relationship can be repaired with the right care. Want more proof? This piece spells it out.

Productivity

I’m always on the hunt to find the best system to achieve my goals, whether they’re hitting client KPIs or learning to speak a new language. I wanted to find a system that let me manage my responsibilities while giving me space to be creative and form effective habits. I’d been hearing the hype about Bullet Journals for a while, but had written them off because I’m no calligraphy expert, however, upon further inspection I learned that I could, in fact, create a functional, creative bullet journal without getting caught up in the Instagram-glorified layouts. So far, so good. I feel more in control, and love the freedom this planner gives compared to overly structured or more restrictive options. Want to try it yourself? Here’s an explainer that lays it all out.