Are your brand influencers giving you the desired share of voice on social media? Here’s how you can utilize the power of influencer mapping to maximize the returns on your marketing investments. Today we are witnessing a substantial rise in influencer marketing, where social media is the kingdom and influencers are the gracious kings and queens that the followers look up to. These influencers are not limited to the premium category of celebrities anymore – an influencer can be anyone from a biker with 100K followers to a local gardener with 10K followers. This is precisely why you need an eff ..read more

Influencer marketing has officially become a mainstream modality that is hotter than ever, with many industries set to increase their influencer budgets yet again in 2016. If you do influencer marketing correctly, it works. The results can achieve massive brand awareness, amplified sales, gigantic growth spurts for brand social media accounts, and so much more. Influencer marketing is effective because the social powerhouses that are leveraged to communicate your company’s message to their legions of devout followers possess massive audiences who are certain they will not be led astray. I ..read more

Over the past several years, influencer marketing has been building momentum and has transformed into an epic advertising force, thanks to out-of-touch marketing messages and social superstars who have built enormous followings. Since 2014, the term “influencer marketing” has doubled in the number search queries year over year. The modality has officially become mainstream and everyone wants in. This year, nearly 60% of marketers will be increasing ad budgets for influencer marketing. Brands from every niche are tripping over themselves to get into the game and put forth an infl ..read more

In the tech space, if Google wants in on the action, you’re in the right modality. With its recent acquisition of FameBit, a platform which helps connect brands and social media stars, influencer marketing is officially on the digital map. Despite the recent buyout, influencer marketing has been quite the controversial topic among marketers in recent years with some swearing off the practice completely and others hailing it as almighty. No matter how you look at it, influencer marketing has made some serious waves and deserves to be explored. On October 19th, our very own Mark Fidelm ..read more

As technology becomes more sophisticated with each passing year, it continues to alter the landscape of how humans communicate, learn, and shop. These same advancements have pushed marketing forward into a new era where it too evolves at an incredible pace. The momentum of transformation has birthed a variety of modalities for reaching consumers in effective ways in a time when people are tuning out traditional advertising avenues and more antiquated digital practices. As 2016 draws to a close, it is time to look back on some of the most meaningful marketing trends for the year. Remember ..read more

YouTube is the second largest search engine on the web. It’s a behemoth. The go-to video destination. And it’s only getting bigger. Influencers, social authorities, and brands are using the platform to build their clout while driving a variety of different goals. Everything from generating revenue to building awareness and loyalty can be achieved with content on YouTube. There are literally hundreds of ideas that brands can implement to get started creating YouTube videos today. But before you can do anything, however, you need to understand your goals for using the video portal. In an effort ..read more

“In a world in which we have little external control over the brand narrative, communications professionals must influence, not wrangle, the way the narrative spreads through social and other digital channels.” ― Erin Estep, Director of Strategic Communications at SiriusDecisions Most are fully aware that traditional avenues of advertising are in serious decline right alongside consumer trust in advertising. What many may not be privy to is that many digital tactics are also becoming antiquated and ineffective. Banner ads and similar adverts are all but dead. This is largely due to t ..read more

With articles touting the massive “gold rush” in influencer marketing, is it any surprise that everyone and their grandmother is looking to cash in? We understand that influencer marketing is a hot button item right now, and with good reason; influencer campaigns provide insane results when managed properly. “When managed properly” are the key words in that sentence. Right now there are scads of agencies materializing out of thin air that claim to “specialize” in this practice. Or, worse yet, they simply tack it on to their existing services and figure they can “wing it,” more o ..read more

“The secret to social media success is to think and act like a member first, and a marketer second.” – Mari Smith, Facebook Marketing Expert Great advice, Mari – but does Facebook really follow the formula of “think and act like a member first and a marketer second?” The platform has become such a vital marketing tool that Facebook is actually managing to capture a portion of Google’s ad revenue. This is not only because 47% of people leverage ad blocking technology, but because Facebook touts such a diverse spread of ad experiences for brands to leverage. Free Video Bonus:&nbs ..read more

B2B marketers have had a notoriously tough time with successfully integrating social media strategies into their digital blueprint; especially when it comes to influencer marketing. Instagram influencer posts don’t seem to provide the same impact as they do for B2C organizations, Snapchat takeovers see minimal results, and visibility on places like Facebook and Twitter continues to decrease. This has been a big problem for B2B companies as social media is one of the most vital marketing destinations available and influencers continue to suck up more of marketer’s budgets. Mark Fidelm ..read more