What to prefer: SEO or social networks? Are videos still influencing consumer decision-making in 2021? New types of TikTok’s advertising videos, new Reddit’s project, and much more from the world of digital marketing in our new episode of the RGray Weekly Marketing Insights and News Digest.
- CXL company surveyed 15+ digital marketers to find out what plays a bigger role: SEO or Social Media? Check out the digest to read the expert’s takeaways.
- TikTok is launching more opportunities for advertising. Read more in our digest about what types of videos will be introduced.
- The audio format that gained a big share on the media recently will be soon available on Reddit. Find out more in our digest.
- Videos are still a powerful type of content in marketing. How do they influence consumers? Check the infographic we have prepared to get the answers.
Social media vs SEO: The content battle
When creating content, you must always make a choice.
For example, create content to boost social media engagement or drive organic traffic through SEO?
Agnes Gaddis of CXL surveyed 18 marketers for their thoughts on the matter. But, before that, we outlined the advantages and disadvantages of optimizing content for ranking and reposts.
Shared content optimization:
- Pros: When people repost your content, it means that it is valuable to them. Moreover, the more of them share it, the higher the chance of becoming “viral”.
- Cons: Organic reach for reposts is decreasing, social media posts are time-dependent and reposts are not always a good indicator.
SEO:
- Pros: A reliable option with a definite return over time.
- Cons: Ranking high with a new website is not easy, and changing algorithms is always a problem.
Takeaways from experts
- “We love it when a blog post ranks well in search and sees a good amount of traffic. But having social shares, and seeing reader comments, is often a better indicator that we are reaching our intended recipient.” – Erika Heald, Erika Heald Marketing Consulting.
- “I’d lean towards rank, but getting shares early and often generates links, that in the end, improve the ranking.” – CXL’s very own content lead, Bud Hennekes.
- Performance marketers will love this one: “You should focus on leads or revenue. You can’t bank shares or rankings.” – Eric Schwartzman, Ericschwartzman(.)com.
- “Different types of content will require different metrics. But the main ones are: where your content is placed and how useful your audience feels your content is.” – Vanhishikha Bhargava, Founder, Contensify.
- “If a post ranks high, it will have longevity. While shares will dwindle and so does the traffic.” – Aaron Orendorff, VP of marketing, Common Thread Collective.
To find out other expert takeaways, read the full CXL’s post.
Shoot TikToks’, don’t shoot ads
Matt Navarra stated on Twitter that it will soon be possible to create several more types of TikTok’s, somewhat called new advertising opportunities. They will appear in platform presentations and will most likely be released this year:
- Collection ads: Just like the YouTube overlay ad, it will appear at the bottom of every video. When people click on it, they will navigate to your site.
- Dynamic product ads: Here we will draw an analogy with Facebook dynamic ads, which will allow you to retarget people based on their past behavior.
- Promo tiles: This type of advertisement will be displayed at the bottom of the video and can be used for different types of promotions. You can also specify a promotional code directly in the advertisement.
- Showcase tiles: This one will also be displayed in the lower right corner of the video. Instead of one image, you can upload several to promote multiple products on a single video.
Reddit’s secret project (actually not)
At the moment, Reddit is considered to be the fastest-growing social network. Even though only 18% of the US adult population is using it, these figures still indicate its rapid growth. And, given this growth, this platform is worth your attention because they are going to launch new features, which we will tell more about below.
Reddit – the last social network that is rumored to be working on its own feature for audio in the style of the Clubhouse we all know.
How it will work: According to Mashable, so-called audio rooms can be included in Reddit’s “power up” program, which we learned about in August 2020. This program allows you to pay a monthly fee to gain access to various premium features.
Why it matters: These audio rooms are becoming an important format for social media content. Two weeks ago, Discord launched its Stage Channels, and Spotify even bought an audio app.
Live audio is the modern “gold rush”. And, now, everyone is going to get at least a fraction of that success.
How Video is Influencing Consumer Decision-Making in 2021 [Infographic]
In 2021, video still remains a powerful tool for interacting with the audience, but with everything going online and brands settling on the Internet, consumer habits are changing.
So where are consumers currently viewing video content and does video influence their buying decisions?
To gain more insights, the Animoto team surveyed 580 consumers.
Here are some of the key points:
- 93% of consumers believe videos are useful when shopping.
- Consumers said videos are their favorite type of content from brands.
- Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are the main platforms where consumers prefer to search for information about new products and services.
- While learning about a new product, consumers prefer watching videos, reading about the product, and viewing photos.
Check out the infographic below for more trends and tips.
