What Is Earned Media Value? From the moment that marketers began using social media to promote products and services they’ve been tasked with showing the value of those efforts. One mechanism for this has been to use Earned Media Value, or EMV. In general, EMV is defined as the amount of money that an organization would have had to spend through paid channels in order to achieve results comparable to those generated through organic marketing and PR efforts. How is it Calculated? There is no standardized way to calculate Earned Media Value. Historically, SocialToaster relied on individual eng ..read more

Between rising ad costs and an increase in the number of ad blockers (roughly 25.8% of US internet users), marketers are under increasing pressure to get more clicks for their proverbial bucks.  Times are changing, and what tactics and strategies that worked in 2010 aren’t guaranteed to work in 2022. If you’re searching for opportunities to up-level your paid advertising efforts, start by taking a look at your other marketing initiatives. Whether your overarching marketing strategy includes an aggressive PR strategy, inbound marketing support, or (in the case of this blog post) an advocac ..read more

Grab your board shorts, don your romper, and load up on that SPF-protection – summer is here! In just a few short weeks, men and women all across this great country will be enjoying those long summer days. Which means that if it’s been a “hot minute” since you’ve mixed up your advocacy marketing program (see what we did there), now is the perfect time to revise and retool your advocacy marketing strategy for the summer. 2022 summer is going to be one for the records! Customers are excited to get back to their pre-COVID summertime habits. As such, we’ve updated this list with the top 4 7 summer ..read more

Customers are great. But do you know what’s better? Superfans. Superfans are not only top-tier customers, purchasing from you regularly. They’re evangelists, publicly praising your brand to their friends and family. In this blog post, we’re going to share some tips and tactics for turning your average customers into an army of Superfans.  What Is a Superfan?  Superfans are your brand’s top-tier customer base. They are a true fan of your brand. Sure, they love what you do, but it’s more than that. They love HOW you do it. More importantly, they are invested in your success. They want ..read more

Getting new customers is expensive. Between the investment in marketing, conversion experience, and servicing an initial engagement, a brand’s cost per customer acquisition can have a significant impact on its profit margin. Which is why it boggles our mind that brands spend boatloads of money on winning over new customers, but don’t realize it’s equally important to invest in retaining current customers to decrease your churn rate. Today’s post explores four ways that you can use advocacy marketing to strengthen your customer retention strategies. Since 2019 when we originally wrote this post ..read more

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 novel Coronavirus, many of us are under mandatory social distancing and are working from home. Stepping away from our normal in-the-public lives once again brings the importance of social media to the forefront. People around the world are using social media to stay informed, stay connected, and stay sane. It is in these moments of upheaval that we realize that our need to stay intertwined makes social media more relevant than ever. Distributing Critical & Timely Information The Coronavirus outbreak is an unprecedented event and one that we as a country an ..read more

Attracting in a discount-fueled marketplace can be tricky. Retaining and increasing customer loyalty can be even more difficult. The process can become complicated when you don’t want to undervalue your product or services. In the article, “7 Tips for Building Brand Loyalty in a Discount Obsessed market,” Forbes.com suggests the best way to build brand loyalty is to keep your quality level high. “Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.” – Jeffery Gitomer This applies to not just your product, but also every aspect of how you do business with your customers inclu ..read more

In social media, the chief concern faced by marketers and brands continues to be the decline of organic reach. From 2015-2018, organic reach declined 78% on Facebook (the largest social network), and other networks are similarly reducing the amount of free views you get as a brand or organization. Unless you love spending thousands promoting your content, your business needs to be actively engaged in finding a solution to increase the visibility of your content without increasing paid support. Enter advocacy marketing. What Makes Advocacy Marketing So Powerful Anyway? Before we share how ..read more