ECommerce Platforms: WooCommerce vs Shopify vs Magento

For most businesses, an eCommerce platform is one of the best things you can do for your brand. After all, the move to the digital sphere is happening rapidly, particularly in recent years. Maintaining an online presence is the best way to have a global reach.

However, many small businesses looking to start their eCommerce store might find this step a little confusing, not to mention intimidating. Just look at it — there are so many options out there! How would anyone know which is the best option for their brand?

The eCommerce platforms available may seem a little daunting at first, but get to know them a bit more, and you’ll realise how straightforward everything is. WooCommerce, Shopify and Magento are the three most prominent platforms in the eCommerce industry, holding more than 50% of the market share combined. In this article, we’ve broken down the pros and cons of these three major eCommerce platforms to help you decide which you should use.

  • WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that brands can use if they have a registered domain for a WordPress website. WordPress is a standard content management system that many brands use. WooCommerce is a popular choice due to its ease of use. The best part is, it’s free!

With roughly 25% of the market share, WooCommerce is used by nearly 3 million sites to date. Although domain name and hosting are not included, this eCommerce platform allows brands to have an unlimited store size and unlimited orders and sales. If you want your own domain name, however, additional investment is required.

Additionally, brands would need to obtain their own Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, a global standard security technology that enables encrypted information between a web browser and a web server. This decreases the risk of sensitive information being stolen or hacked. WooCommerce supports SSL but does not provide an individual certificate for brands.

There are plenty of extensions and themes you can choose from when using WooCommerce. This allows you some flexibility in your online shop, most of which would be required if you want a functioning store. Of course, keep in mind that some of these extensions and themes are premium and might require payment.

The good thing about WooCommerce is that it has integrated Google Analytics. This means that you’ll keep track of the popular items, which are being dropped, bounce rates, clickthrough rates, and more. Since it is free, WooCommerce is perfect for businesses who are tight with their budget or are just dipping their toes into eCommerce.

  • Shopify

Easily described as the upgraded version of WooCommerce, Shopify offers a few functions and features that are comparable to, if not better, than WooCommerce. However, the downside to Shopify is that it is not free.

The monthly subscription starts from $29 onwards, which allows you a free myshopify.com domain. Alternatively, you can also use your custom domain name. Even though Shopify runs on a monthly subscription, it has over nearly a million users and takes up 20% of the market share.

With Shopify’s high quality hosting services, you do not have to worry about finding a hosting provider or installing any other software since it is all included. This includes unlimited bandwidth, automatic site backups, and more. They also help update and maintain the underlying software for businesses, whereas both WooCommerce and Magento do not.

Since Shopify is a hosted solution, brands would not be able to access the underlying software, unlike when using WooCommerce or Magento. This means that you would most likely not be able to customise your server the way you want it to.

As with WooCommerce, Shopify does some free extensions, although most of them are premium. Additionally, all themes are also premium, so keep that in mind if you want to change your shop interface. Last but not least, Shopify comes with an SSL certificate which is included in their plans.

Shopify is used by the likes of Sephora, Budweiser, Nestle, Tesla, and more. If you want an uncomplicated setup process but desire premium support, this would be an excellent option for you. Even without much technical knowledge, one can easily handle and learn how to get their online store up and run with Shopify.

  • Magento

Magento is adopted by 250,000 websites worldwide and holds a 10% share in the market as a corporate-level eCommerce platform. Although it seems like a minor player out of the three, do not underestimate this eCommerce platform! Just because it is a niche does not mean it is not as valuable.

In fact, with both free and premium options, Magento offers plenty of support for businesses wanting to start an enterprise-level online store. While the free community version requires you to get a domain name and hosting on your own, the premium version does not.

Again, there are limited extensions and themes that Magento offers for free. Most of the better ones are premium, which means you would need to fork out some money to obtain them. However, Magento has advanced security and updates.

Since it is the most advanced version of the three, it is only natural to wonder what other features they offer. For one, their inventory management system allows them to sync the warehouse stock with the online shop. They also support multiple languages and currencies, which comes in handy for a global business. For a complete list of Magento functions that they offer, visit this link.

With an in-built SEO package and analytic system, Magento is undoubtedly a high-end eCommerce platform highly recommended for established brands or brands looking to branch out. Magento is used by the likes of Nike, Ford, and Christian Louboutin. Remember that there is a steep learning curve for this, as it is more geared towards developers and web development professionals!

All in all, WooCommerce is beginner-friendly and wallet-friendly, whilst Shopify is great for those who want to relinquish control. On the other hand, Magento is perfect for large brands that have the following to back them up. Ultimately, it would be best if you determined which eCommerce platform is best for your business. After all, you know your brand best!

3 Instagram Tools

Ecommerce has been on the rise, and we can blame Covid-19 for that, but this trend has been around since even before the pandemic. Brands and businesses have all turned to list their products online to reach a wider group of consumers that traditional sales would not be able to.

With the advent of social media, these platforms have found a way to capitalise on their influence. Having a designated area where businesses can directly sell their products benefits the brands themselves and makes it more convenient for consumers to find what they want.

Indeed, eCommerce is taking over everywhere — including social media, and it’s time we took a look at just how vital this wave is.

Speaking of social media, of course, one of the most popular and most used platforms is Instagram itself. In fact, they are amongst the top 5 most used social media apps in January 2020, based on the number of active users. There is no doubt that Instagram has, in recent years, devised ways to help brands boost their visibility on their platform. This includes the addition of eCommerce functions, which we will be explaining in detail below.

  • Instagram Checkout

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One of Instagram’s special functions is its shoppable posts or purchasable messages, where you could put a link to a product on a platform outside of Instagram. Users will then be directed to an eCommerce site where they can place their orders.

Instagram Checkout, on the other hand, takes that experience to another level. Instead of redirecting visitors to an external platform, Instagram now has a new function where users can make payment directly from the social media app itself. This may very well appeal to users who want to stay on Instagram and make a hassle-free payment.

  • Instagram Live Shopping

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Like Instagram Checkout, Instagram Live Shopping allows users to purchase products directly from the app itself, but in a live stream situation. At the bottom of a live Instagram feed, owners can add a small CTA to nudge viewers to the products. This is great for when you want to or will advertise a said product in your live stream.

Viewers who click on the CTA can have two options — either to add the product to the cart for later so they can continue watching your stream or head to pay immediately. From there on, viewers can use Instagram Checkout to buy your products directly on Instagram itself. This way, you don’t have to be worried that you’ll be losing viewers unnecessarily.

  • Facebook Stores

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You might be thinking, what do Facebook stores have to do with Instagram? Well, keep in mind that Facebook owns Instagram, and therefore many of its features are interlinked. Although Facebook launched Facebook Store for Facebook, it can be used for Instagram as well.

Your Instagram followers no need to create a Facebook account to interact with your Facebook store. This means that you can link your Facebook business page to other social media, including Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger — all of Facebook’s owned apps.

Once a store is created on Facebook, business owners can go to their Instagram profile and directly link their Facebook store. Visitors can browse products on Instagram without ever having to leave the app or create a Facebook account!

Facebook Store is an advantageous option for small businesses who can’t build an entire eCommerce website from scratch. This may be due to a lack of workforce, time, finances, or bandwidth. Instead of doing so, these businesses can turn to Facebook Stores to create eCommerce options on various social media platforms. Oberlo has a guide as to how one can set up an Instagram shop. If you do want to start an eCommerce store, Shopify or Magento is an excellent first step.

Shopping is a compelling feature on Instagram for brands, and it is likely to be even more developed in the future. Over 60% of users say they discover new products on Instagram, and more than 200 million people visit at least one business profile on Instagram daily.

Indeed, Instagram Shopping can offer so many benefits for businesses. Not only does it help to promote your products and increase sales rates, but the shopping experience for users is now more personalised as well.

The kind of products that are suggested to users on Instagram is often customised to suit each person based on what they have searched for and their other interactions on the app. This means that these products are most likely what the user would be interested in or care about. Users can even save a product and come back to it later by tapping the Label icon on a product page or a product list.

Overall, as more than 90% of Instagram accounts follow at least one other business account, Instagram is a great place to start marketing your brand. Not to mention that one-third of the most viewed Instagram stories come from businesses themselves! With more than 1 billion active users on the app, these numbers do hold some serious weight. So why not start putting these Instagram shopping tools to fair use?

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    How to Update and Refresh Your Website

    How to Update and Refresh Your Website

    Technology and information are being transmitted at such high speeds nowadays due to how accessible the internet is. Consumers are all flocking to the online sphere to learn the latest updates and news on their interest topics. What you know today may be outdated tomorrow.

    This is why it is important to update your website with the latest technology and information continuously. As online presence is becoming a necessity for most brands, businesses need to change their market.

    Consumers turn to the internet, social media, and search engines to search for things they need. As a business, developing your website is a significant part of reaching out to these consumers. It makes your business look more professional and reliable to consumers and helps to create more brand awareness.

    So how can you effectively create a useful website that’s both informative and credible? Here are some tips you can follow to refresh your website — something you should do at least once every year.

    Develop and review your content

    Of any brand, website, or industry, the most important (and necessary) thing is content. Without content, your brand is essentially just a blank sheet of paper.

    While content is necessary for all websites, it doesn’t mean that any random piece of content will get you what you want. High-quality content is what will distinguish you from the rest. Remember, in this day and age, information is continuously changing and evolving. To keep your content useful and engaging, you need to stay on top of the times.

    Anyone can put content out there, but your content must be valuable for your brand to stand out. One way to add value to your audience is not only to update it regularly but also to optimise your SEO. Better yet, you can add a content management system to help you keep track of all your content.

    Google’s search engine will only detect and put forth the websites with the most relevant information to its users. This is a surefire way to increase consumer engagement, increase your rankings on a search engine, and boost your website’s traffic. Without fresh and informative content, your website will likely fall behind your competitors and be forgotten.

    Optimise your website for mobile devices

    While we’re on the topic of creating content for your website, don’t forget that an increasing number of people are surfing the net from their mobile devices. Therefore, it’s crucial to optimise your content for mobile devices as well.

    Google has also updated its search engine to focus on websites that have also developed a mobile-friendly version. Make sure to check how your website looks on different browsers and different devices to ensure the best functioning version.

    Improve user experience

    User experience is one very huge factor in how your website does. A user-friendly website will keep its homepage tidy and its menu organised for easy navigation. With a clean webpage, visitors are more likely to stay on your site longer to browse.

    You also want to adapt to the times and avoid chasing visitors away. Just as technology and information are changing rapidly, so are we. Such fast-paced lifestyles have become the norm for us city folks where efficiency is everything. Enhancing load time is one of the best ways you can ensure that visitors would want to browse your website again.

    As unique as your website is, if the load time is slow, most people probably will not bother to wait around to find out just what you have to offer — even if your content is excellent. Avoid losing potential customers by testing the load time on your website and improving your interface!

    There are plenty of companies that can provide you with services to update and improve your website. What you want to do is find one that understands your needs the most — as a brand and in your industry.

    MIU, of course, offers this service as well, but don’t just take our word for it! Check out IT’s blog post on 11 of the best design agencies to help you figure out your webpage needs, and see the numerous projects we’ve worked on for our clients to get a sense of our style.

    7 Content Writing Tips for Your Marketing Strategy

    7 Content Writing Tips for Your Marketing Strategy

    A huge part of any digital marketing strategy is to first create content for it. However, to create good content that will do well, especially in the online sphere, isn’t easy. There’s already a sea of content out there — so how do you make yours stand out?

    To start off with, there are in fact plenty of things you can do to boost your content. In all content marketing strategy, these are necessary steps to take if you want your content to perform well. There is no doubt that your competitors are already engaging these in their strategy — so make sure you don’t fall behind!

    1. Do keyword research

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    Keyword research is an important step in creating all content. In fact, it’s the first step you should take. Before you even begin writing a single word, start checking what are the hot and trending topics on Google.

    By doing a quick search, you will be able to know what are the most relevant keywords you should adopt in your content. Not only that, but you will be able to tell what keywords perform the best on different search engines — which is the key to getting your content out there.

    However, keep in mind not to overuse your keywords as this will actually affect your page ranking. Google’s algorithm is smart enough to recognise that a webpage with too many of the same words may mean a potential spam website — and therefore it would not place it at the top rankings or recommend it to its visitors.

    Similarly, visitors to your webpage would not like the excessive and unnatural use of too many a specific keyword and will bounce quickly. Over time, this will translate and search engines will mark down your domain.

    2. Incorporate a powerful CTA

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    When creating your content, keep in mind the call-to-action (CTA) you want your readers to take at the end of it. Think about how you can get your readers to take that action. Want your readers to purchase something? Sign up for your newsletter? Or just to share your content on their social media? Either way, give them a reason to take these actions.

    Perhaps you could offer something of value to them. Give them a 20% discount off your product with a unique link, if your goal is to get them to buy your product. Offer information and resources to get them to subscribe to your newsletter. Or even provide a free e-book for sharing around your content and getting others to click on it!

    A CTA is one of the most vital aspects of any content marketing strategy. It is how you link content writing to marketing goals, ROIs, and KPIs.

    3. Engage your readers with your choice of words

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    One great way to make your content interesting and engaging is to use the active voice instead of the passive voice. Generally, the subject is the one performing the action when you use the active voice. In the passive voice, the subject becomes the one the action is being performed on.

    For instance, compare “The brave knight rescued the princess from the dragon.” with “The princess was rescued from the dragon by the brave knight.” The first sentence sounds a lot more exciting as it emphasises the action that is happening.

    Similarly, you can also make your content sound more interesting with your choice of diction. Instead of “sales increased”, you can use “sales rocketed”. See the difference? By adopting more interesting verbs, you can highlight important actions while still making it engaging for the reader.

    4. Keep sentences short and paragraphs brief

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    Keep in mind that attention spans online are a lot shorter. Not only that, but minimising your paragraphs helps you to optimise your content for mobile. With more readers consuming content from their mobile devices these days, it is ever so important to take this aspect into consideration as well.

    Your sentences and paragraphs need to be optimised for both mobile devices and the short attention spans that people have online. So, keep their attention locked onto you by making bite-sized content and paragraphs!

    5. Always hyperlink

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    Hyperlinks sound counterintuitive since you’re potentially sending your visitors to another website, but they can actually help you get backlinks! More often than not, the sites that you reference will reciprocate with a nod to you via a mention or a link. Win-win!

    If you’re still concerned about sending your web traffic to another site, you can always set your page up to open links in a new tab or a new window. This will effectively keep your traffic on your page while still allowing you to practise good internet etiquette by hyperlinking your sources.

    Linking to other pages also helps to boost SEO on your site and increase page view over time. It also makes your content more credible and gives your readers useful information.

    6. Provide added value

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    One of the best ways to keep your readers coming back is to leave them with a parting gift. It can be a free digital guidebook, a link to a webinar, or some collated statistics in a Google sheet. Either way, it doesn’t have to cost a thing.

    Not only will your readers appreciate this, but they might recommend it to their contacts too! This word-of-mouth marketing will lead to higher search engine rankings as well as some repeat traffic. Now you’ll be sure your content marketing will see a huge leap in improvement!

    7. Keep your old posts updated

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    The last step of any content marketing strategy is to keep your content updated. As time passes and events unfold, content — no matter what it’s about — ages. Information goes out of date as the market changes.

    A good strategy is to keep your content constantly updated and relevant. By doing so, your content will gain value over time. This means that even an old post could very well keep traffic coming in, as pages continue to link to your content and social media accounts continue sharing it.

    Speaking of, it is a good idea to also update your old content with new and fresh links. For example, if your post is talking about a good digital marketing strategy for 2020, you can update it for 2021 — and improve on it by giving recent statistics! This not only boosts your search results but keeps your content useful and relevant to any visitors passing by.

    Remember, a great marketing strategy will know how to maximise the most value out of its content possible. Be it using relevant keywords, links, or CTA, all these tiny steps go a long way in boosting your content. So start optimising your content by implementing these tips into your marketing strategy today!

    How Long Should Your Video Content Be?

    How Long Should Your Video Content Be?

    Video length on different platforms

    Videos are increasingly becoming the more popular choice when it comes to digital marketing. After all, videos perform better than images on almost every social media platform.

    Consumers generally remember the content in videos better than in images. This is as videos are a lot more dynamic, and engage both our sight and hearing. Images, on the other hand, are static and only engage one sense: sight.

    Many marketers believe in the myth that videos are expensive and time-consuming, and not at all worth the slight advantage they hold over images. Furthermore, plenty of consumers may leave a video halfway, which would reduce the effectiveness of using such a medium.

    However, video marketing isn’t as disposable as you might think it is. 81% of businesses that use videos in their marketing strategy agree that it helps to engage your audience, deliver clear messages, and promote your brand, amongst other benefits. 95% of video marketers also noted that videos have helped increase understanding of their product or service.

    First off, videos definitely provide a significant advantage over images. Imagine if you were to convey a large amount of information via images. Your audience will most likely lose interest upon seeing such a lengthy wall of text.

    Meanwhile, videos are able to keep things concise while still answering the basic questions to help consumers make an informed choice. 64% of consumers tend to reach a purchasing decision only after watching a branded video.

    Not only that, but videos are far more engaging as well. Videos attract three times more engagement on Instagram than sponsored ads. They help to create a space for you to build connections with your audience, making your brand more personalised for them.

    So how long should your videos be?

    Be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, every platform has its knicks and knacks. In order to make sure your video does the best it possibly can, you need to understand not only the features each platform offers but the type of audience they cater to.

    Take for example the users on TikTok or Snapchat. They are often used to watching short clips on these platforms and would probably not appreciate it if they were suddenly forced to watch a long video. On the other hand, YouTube users are more accustomed to watching lengthier videos and therefore it is more acceptable to show them longer content. Different platforms are able to hold attention for different amounts of time, so keep that in mind.

    • Facebook

    Facebook insights have discovered that videos “get shown organically to more people when they’re at least 3 minutes long.” Keep in mind that an organic Facebook video is one that is posted and gains exposure without any advertising spend.

    At the same time, Facebook’s algorithm rewards engagement over duration, so it is not guaranteed that your video will get more exposure just because it is 3 minutes long. Therefore, make sure to focus not just on your video length, but your video message as well. By encouraging engagement such as likes, shares, and comments, your video is more likely to get a boost in their algorithm.

    The same can not be said for Facebook Video Ads.

    Marketers can also fork out a sum of money in order to get more views for their videos. For every person that watches your video for longer than 3 seconds, Facebook will charge you for a view.

    Therefore, if you’re paying to promote a video ad, you need to get your main point across as quickly as possible. The viewers that Facebook push out your ad to might not necessarily be familiar with your brand or your content, so they might lose interest easily. If that’s the case, retention is the most important target — so cut to the chase and keep it short.

    One additional tip that we recommend marketers to keep in mind is to optimise their videos to still be understandable even with the sound off. 85% of users on Facebook actually watch plenty of videos without the sound — perhaps they are in a public place — therefore, in order not to ostracise this crowd, the message of your video should be clear even while its muted.

    • Instagram

    On Instagram, there are two types of videos you can post: IGTV as well as Stories and Reels.

    The latter has restrictions on the length of your video which means that your videos generally cannot be longer than a minute. If you wish to post a video longer than 60 seconds, you would need to post it as an IGTV.

    However, HubSpot has found that videos that receive the most comments on Instagram are on average 26 seconds long. It would be best to keep videos on Instagram shorter than a minute.

    This is because people are often used to scrolling quickly through their feed on Instagram, and pausing to watch a long video actually goes against their muscle memory. As such, their attention span for videos on Instagram generally does not last as long.

    Furthermore, it is not possible to rewind these short videos on Instagram, which means that people would most likely skip or move on if they miss a part of the video and are unable to understand the point of it.

    • Twitter

    Twitter’s previous video duration limit was only a mere 30 seconds. Now, they have started allowing users to upload videos up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds long on their app, matching the character limit that they set for their tweets. However, this does not necessarily mean that you should post videos of that length.

    In fact, Twitter users are also often scrolling through their feed quickly on that very same app, which means that they would be more accustomed to shorter content. Therefore, it is still recommended to keep video content under 30 seconds long.

    If you want to get people to watch your long-form content on Twitter, you can create short teaser videos and link people out from there — be it to another social media platform such as Facebook or YouTube.

    • YouTube

    The main difference between YouTube and other social media platforms is that on YouTube, users are actively seeking out videos to watch. Instead of having a curated feed for them to scroll through, users are browsing through video content with the mental preparation to watch them.

    It is also significant to note that unlike Facebook’s algorithm, YouTube’s algorithm actually rewards videos that have more watch time by pushing them up in search results as well as users’ recommendations.

    Therefore, longer videos do have the potential to do better on YouTube — as long as viewers are engaged and actually stick around to watch your lengthy video content. YouTubers are, in fact, recording longer videos, which has been observed to rank higher in search results.

    Planning out a video marketing strategy may sound complicated, but break it down and you will see that it is easier than you think. Why not ask MIU if you have any further questions on video marketing? It is, after all, the marketing tool to look out for in 2021.

    How to Update Your Digital Marketing Strategy

    How to Update Your Digital Marketing Strategy

    Spring cleaning is a necessary job in any household, but it’s also a necessary job for your digital marketing strategy. Your digital marketing strategy should be checked, measured, and revitalized a few times per year, and the end of the first quarter is the perfect time to take the first steps.

    Logo And Design

    The first thing to look at is the design aspects of your digital presence. You should check that your logo and designs work across all platforms. Make sure that it’s still relevant and that your customers and potential customers have a positive reaction to your design. You may need to update your logo to give it a fresh look or change any design elements that are outdated and no longer relevant. 

    In some cases, you may need to completely redesign your logo. You should also make sure that any changes are also updated on any physical promotional materials as well. Try a free logo app like Logo Creator to come up with some concepts for your business.

    Goals

    Your digital marketing strategy should have set out goals for your business. You need to look at whether these goals have been achieved. Use your key metrics to analyze what strategies worked well, and which didn’t. You should also assess your previous goals to make sure that they were achievable in the first place.

    Set New Goals

    When you set your new marketing goals, make sure that they are realistic, specific and achievable. You may also want to consider breaking wide goals down into smaller, more specific steps. Lastly, you should also set a realistic timeline for when you expect these goals to be met. You should have a master calendar for your digital marketing strategy, but you may want to have specific calendars for your social media campaigns, blog posts and email campaigns as well. Doing this means you can make sure that all posts and materials are going out on time.

    Social Media Accounts

    Social media is constantly evolving and changing with new sites and trends emerging all the time. It’s important that you keep your social media presence updated, relevant, on-trend, and consistent with your brand. This may mean updating profiles, creating new accounts, looking at which posts had the most reach and engagement, and updating your response policies. There are plenty of ways you can boost your social media shares to gain more exposure — check our article here for more details. If customers are reaching out to your business on social media, you need to make sure that responses are timely and appropriate.

    SEO

    Search engine optimization should be seen as a vital task. It’s incredibly important to keep up to date with SEO practices. These practices can evolve as the way people use search engines change. Check your page speeds, meta descriptions, content, images, readability and headers. Optimize every page. We’ve curated a list of SEO tools here that are not only free but perfect for beginners.

    Keywords

    Re-examine your keywords. Remove any keywords that are no longer relevant, or have a low or no impression. Create a new list of targeted keywords. This will help you create a much more efficient strategy.

    Content

    Look at your existing content and see which has the most engagement. Revamp lower performing content with fresh links and keywords. Make sure that the information in older posts is still relevant, or update it to include more recent data. 

    You can also plan out new content. Make a calendar of when each content should be posted. When you’re planning topics or posts, make sure that it is specific and readable. Large topics should be broken into a series of posts.

    Advertisements

    You should also check how your advertisements are performing. Look at your paid search ads. Examine which keywords are being used and if these need to be extended upon. You should also check the ad copy. Make sure that the copy is free of errors and that it is still relevant. For the best results, read up on our ultimate guide to advertising.

    6 Content Marketing Trends in 2021

    6 Content Marketing Trends in 2021

    Content is more often than not the first step in any marketing strategy. Whether you’re dealing with traditional marketing, digital marketing, social media marketing, or SEO, it is a known fact that content can’t be overlooked. In fact, it is a huge part of what drives brand awareness and exposure.

    With 2020 throwing all of us into a whirlwind (not literally), content marketing has seen some swift and sudden changes — all in a bid to adapt to the volatile industry. It would not be a surprise if these changes continued their way to 2021. Brands should therefore remain vigilant and adaptable in order to stay relevant.

    To help you, here are some content marketing trends we’ve picked out that could surface this coming year.

    1. Content relevancy will replace keyword research

    I know, I know. Content marketing articles everywhere have drilled into your heads (even ours) that keyword research is of the utmost importance when it comes to SEO.

    Want more exposure for your article? Use the most popular keywords. Need a more captivating caption? Throw in the most-searched-for keywords.

    Keyword research has driven so much of content marketing thus far, it might feel a little strange to deviate from it. However, Google will soon introduce a new system that ranks your content based on the depth of expertise, rather than other factors such as link building. It is no longer good enough to be able to create content centralised around a certain keyword — but rather, how the content fits into your website.

    Backlinking may have been one of the most significant resources when it comes to optimising your SEO strategy. As Google’s machine-learning algorithm becomes smarter about semantics, this might no longer be the case. Instead, link relevancy may become obsolete.

    That being said, we are certainly not encouraging you to disregard link building. Keep in mind that this is just one of many possible trends that may arise in 2021. Whether it has yet to prove its worth remains to be seen. Until then, get ready to adapt.

    2. Value-driven content will stand out

    In an environment where content is everywhere, consumers will not hesitate to drop mediocre content and go for the highly-valued ones. With limited time and attention span, it is up to the brands to showcase their value immediately and keep their consumers engaged.

    In this sense, content marketing is often the best way to retain consumers’ attention and provide meaningful content. Currently, plenty of brands are using the tactic of giving out average content for email addresses, in hopes that these will later help in converting the visitors.

    Not anymore — 2021 has decided content marketing will be the main strategy in converting potential consumers. If you want your visitors to convert, show them how your product can help address their needs, not just what it can do.

    3. Original research will rise in popularity

    Sure, the online sphere is already swarming with information with its archive of research content. It would be easy and convenient to push out your own content based on the existing research out there.

    However, with the overflow of information, it can be difficult to determine what content is actually relevant and useful in an ever-changing landscape. Coming up with your own studies can actually give you insights into what is relevant to you which may help you more than you realise.

    Not to mention, original content that is applicable to your brand may interest your consumers more than over-gargled information. You can even reach out to your consumers to engage them as thought-leaders to create such content!

    This informative content can be even repurposed into bite-sized content. Be it in the form of an infographic, video, or charts, having shareable content that allows you to post on your social media platforms can help you garner even more exposure.

    4. Increased use of AI

    A trend that has been on the rise — be it marketing or otherwise — is that more and more robots are taking over human jobs. In the realm of digital marketing, this often refers to automation.

    As technology continues improving, content creation by artificial intelligence (AI) could very well become a thing. Of course, at this level, such content may not necessarily be considered high-quality, but it is a great way for brands to push out consistent content and even increase their content production.

    According to participants in a McKinsey study, 20% or more of earnings from brands of different industries are attributed to AI. Indeed, AI and machine learning will no doubt change the way companies produce content. Just as Google is evolving to prioritise content relevancy rather than keyword research, AI will become a significant part of content creation in the years to come. After all, AI is already currently being used in aspects such as content analysis, optimisation and A/B testing.

    5. User experience will take on more significance

    As the biggest search engine, Google has been the focus of most marketers’ efforts. Therefore to determine what trend would lead 2021, it makes sense to observe Google’s future plans. And they are looking more than ever to cater to their users.

    Beyond switching their focus to content relevancy, Google is also beginning to focus more on user experience. This means factors like UI/UX design, the site load time, as well as the delivery of content (for our case, in particular) would also be heavily considered when it comes to search ranking.

    Therefore, it is important to focus on the smaller details including your site’s optimisation for mobile devices, image positions and sizes, as well as personalised content. In fact, personalisation more often than not has a positive impact on user experience. So if you want to stay ahead of the game, keep your web design in mind.

    6. Advent of content atomation

    Content atomation basically refers to the breaking down of long-form content into smaller pieces. With many businesses still struggling to get their content out there particularly in the post-Covid era, this might just be the solution they seek.

    By repurposing your primary form of content and giving it a new angle, you can keep it fun and engaging for your audience while still pushing out valuable information.

    Breaking down your long-form content doesn’t necessarily have to mean that your audience will see less content than usual. In fact, it is the opposite. Your audience not only gets to sieve out the content they feel is the most interesting, they are also able to absorb the same information in a shorter amount of time — so you’re still providing value to them.

    Overall, there is much for us to learn in 2021. Whichever trends arise, the most important trait is for brands to stay adaptable. For now, keep creating high-quality, value-adding content for your audience and your hard work will equally be rewarded.

    7 Tips to Boost Your Social Media Shares

    7 Tips to Boost Your Social Media Shares

    Having a social media strategy is a must when it comes to digital marketing. Just take a look at how much social media has influenced the way we market and communicate!

    However, we can all agree that the right social media strategy will bring you the best returns. Not all methods built equally, which is the difference between a good strategy and a bad strategy.

    One area to focus on in your social media strategy is the number of shares you accumulate. After all, part of what makes social platforms so powerful is the ability to expand your reach and gain enormous amounts of exposure — only by word-of-mouth. Going “viral” is a thing — and it’s not always bad.

    Social shares do precisely that. However, to get the maximum amount of social media shares, there are steps to follow. Results don’t come by easy — they need the effort to achieve it. Here’s what we think can help you get the shares you need.

     

    1. Prioritise the most shareable content format

     

    This might go without saying, but a lot of times, marketers make the mistake of sharing all forms of content without considering what sort of content they are.

    Research has shown that visual content is the most shared on social media, as they are quick to read and easy to digest. TikTok is one such proof that visual content is all the rage right now — look at how rapidly it has grown within the past few years. Sprout Social Index found that of all content that has been shared on social media, 68% of them are images, and 50% are videos.

    Use the functions that are already available in these social media platforms to your advantage. For instance, Twitter allowed you to pin one tweet that your followers would see above all else, and Instagram has the Highlights section where your audience can click in to discover more about your brand. So prioritise putting videos and images in these areas for maximum shares.

     

    2. Use in-built features to generate responses & increase engagement

     

    When we talk about the function, social media platforms are now rolling out many features to cater to the increasing number of brands that use their site. Twitter has an in-built poll feature, as does Instagram. Besides that, Instagram also has a question-and-answer feature for their Stories. Get your audience responding and boost your brand awareness with such features!

    LinkedIn also just released a new update where users can add links to their stories as well, to redirect viewers to their site. There are plenty of inbuilt features that you can play around to increase engagement on your social media platforms, so don’t hesitate to try it out!

     

    3. Ride the wave on trending topics

     

    This is the formula for getting viral — which, as mentioned, is not always bad. Want to score more shares? Find out what are the hot topics and capitalise on that. Better yet, use a popular meme to capture your audience’s attention. Not only does this personalise and humanise your brand, but your audience is also more likely to want to share it around. When you project your brand to be more than just a business-oriented figure, your consumers would be able to relate with you more.

     

    4. Craft engaging captions

     

    Captions are another essential part of what gets your post noticed. Without a good caption, you would probably lose half your audience. Depending on the platform, you need to adjust your captions accordingly — for example, people go onto Instagram for the pictures, and hence they are more unlikely to want to read a lengthy caption. However, those scrolling on Facebook and LinkedIn would be more open to reading and taking in an enormous amount of text and information.

    Whether your caption is long or short, make sure that it includes the keywords that you want to highlight about the post. Furthermore, always remember to put a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of every post to make it more engaging. Whether it is to ask your audience to follow your brand, purchase something, or click a link, we cannot stress enough the importance of having a CTA. Just remember not to overdo it and stick to only one CTA instead of having multiple — that will confuse your audience and result in them not wanting to take any action at all.

     

    5. Come up with a strong hashtag strategy

     

    Captions aren’t the only things that can help boost your post. Hashtags are just as important when it comes to building up your social media strategy. Using the right hashtags would bring your brand not just more exposure, but the right kind of exposure. An excellent first step is to use your own branded hashtag so that new followers can find your content easily.

    Additionally, you can engage in tools to help you find the best hashtags. Our previous blog post talks about some of the best free SEO tools beginners can use so that you can start there. Some helpful tools include All Hashtag’s free hashtag generator and Influencer Marketing Hub’s hashtag generator tool. Others like Sistrix, Kicksta, and HashtagsForLikes are all free as well.

    Since Instagram only allows a maximum of 30 hashtags, All Hashtag will give you up to 30 relevant hashtags based on one single keyword. The site also has an analytical tool to help you get useful information about your hashtags for your marketing strategy. And if you’re not sure where to start, they can offer you insights into the top trending hashtags on Instagram. So start exploring and experimenting with some of the incredible free tools out there!

     

    6. Make your posts mobile-friendly

     

    Let’s face it — most consumers nowadays are scrolling through social media on their phones. More than 80% of shares from social media visits come from mobile devices. To reach them properly, it is exceptionally vital to make sure your social media posts are crafted not just for the desktop version but also for mobile versions.

    Take into consideration each platform’s image previews so that the main point comes across in a single glance. Check those graphics are legible (even on a small screen) and zoomable so that your message is readable by your audience — otherwise your words will be for nought.

     

    7. Find out when the best times to post are

     

    Although this sounds like common sense, you may be surprised to find out how many marketers don’t consider this when planning their marketing strategy. Knowing which days and times your audience are the most active on social media is a crucial step to getting your post noticed.

    Sprout Social has an in-depth guide to helping you find out which are the best times to post, depending on the platform you’re using. Of course, this differs based on the industry you’re in and from company to company, so it is best to track your analytics to decide what works for you.

    Do also keep in mind that Covid-19 has changed the way consumers use social media and how they engage with brands. For your marketing strategy to work effectively, it is best to adjust your brand behaviour to adapt to such changes. Why not check in with MIU to find out how you can further optimise your marketing strategy? We offer free consultation services for anyone who’s looking to up their marketing game!

    Ad Review: Coronavirus Vaccine Confidence Campaign

    Ad Review: Coronavirus Vaccine Confidence Campaign

    “Because of This” campaign

    With the Covid-19 vaccine finally perfected, the next important step for healthcare alliances is to encourage the public to get vaccinated. After all, this would help all individuals alike by reducing the number of Covid cases and improving herd immunity, hopefully eliminating it from existence. Watch as these healthcare alliances take to using touching stories to move us into getting a vaccine.

    These public service announcements (PSA) come from Pfizer, BioNTech, as well as other alliances and are aimed to push the American public to get vaccinated. By using an interesting question-and-answer format, the video really highlights how Covid has really done a number on us.

    Here’s the twist — the question-and-answer format is done in a reverse manner to drive home our longing for human connection. The question, which is revealed afterwards, then highlights how the vaccine can help make our desires possible.

    Sharing clips from the lives of everyday humans adds on to the impact we really feel from these videos. We understand how wonderful it feels to be able to hug someone and see them face-to-face, something that has been restricted a lot since the beginning of the quarantine.

    With plenty of groups weighing in on the decision to take the vaccine (particularly on social media), many Americans are on the fence on doing so. This makes the task for the healthcare alliances all the more difficult, but they aren’t giving up. By using four PSAs to emphasise on daily family interactions — ones that we wouldn’t have given a second thought about if it wasn’t for Covid — these alliances are aiming for our hearts in this leg of the campaign.

    All PSAs end with the line “Science can make it possible. Only you can make it real.” before directing viewers to websites and links where they can get vaccinated. Here’s another video from part of the same campaign, titled “Hug”, in case you didn’t get how much we have missed living in a pre-Covid era where we took physical connection for granted.

    The Privacy Debate: Apple vs Facebook

    The Privacy Debate: Apple vs Facebook

    In 2020, Apple announced its new product and policy changes at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The announcement happened back in June last year. However, you might not be familiar with it as Apple later decided to push back the changes until early 2021.

    Well, 2021 has begun, and the tech giant has decided that it is now the right time to roll out its new software update, which will be available in iOS 14. Known as the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), the latest update will require apps to obtain permissions from users before tracking their online activity. IDFA is a unique, random and resettable device identifier (ID) assigned to iOS users.

    Privacy is one of Apple’s most well-known core values, and its products include features with innovative privacy techniques. The privacy policy is to minimize and prevent the amount of information accessed by anyone other than the user. After all, their website claims that they believe privacy is “a fundamental human right”.

    Apple has incorporated plenty of privacy technologies and functions into many of its in-built apps. These include (but are not limited to):

    • Safari
    • Maps
    • Photos
    • Siri
    • iMessage
    • Wallet & Apple Pay

    Listing what privacy technology each app has would take too long and be too much to digest for our short article, so we’ve taken the liberty of linking you to Apple’s website here where they explain in detail how each of their apps protects your privacy.

    So what’s the big hoo-ha over Apple’s latest update?

    Facebook’s stance

    In response to the upcoming iOS update, Facebook ran a few full-page newspaper advertisements attacking Apple’s plans for IDFA and data sharing in December 2020. Claiming to speak on behalf of small businesses, Facebook continued its protests further by publishing a few blog posts and even set up a new website — all in a bid to pressure Apple to retract its pending update as well as to inform everyone of the consequences this might have.

    Facebook full page newspaper ad

    In December 16th 2020, specifically, Facebook listed 5 points that will be limited by the new update from iOS 14, which are:

    1. Effectively deliver ads to people based on their engagement with your business
    2. Measure and report conversions from specific customers
    3. Ensure your ads shown to the most relevant audiences at the right frequency
    4. Accurately attribute apps install to people using iOS 14 and later
    5. Predict and optimize cost per action over time and efficiently allocate budgets for ads

    According to Facebook, such an update will ultimately benefit Apple as small businesses rely on their ability to run personalized ads to survive. Small businesses could see a cut of up to 60% of their website sales from ads since general ads would be less effective than personalized ones. These businesses would turn to charging consumers for subscription fees or adding more in-app purchases to make ends meet.

    Therefore, Apple stands to gain from this as it collects commissions from its app store, as per its policy. Furthermore, Apple’s personalized ad platform excluded from its new software update, which only benefits Apple themselves. Not to mention, a subscription-based internet would reduce the quality of free-content and make the internet more expensive.

    Facebook has also hosted three webinars to help web and app advertisers prepare for this change, which anyone could sign up for:

    “We disagree with Apple’s approach and solution, yet we have no choice but to show Apple’s prompt. If we don’t, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the businesses and users that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses who use our platform to grow.”

    – Facebook

    Apple’s stance

    Apple denounced Facebook’s protests in a statement by claiming that the App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising. It merely requires them to give users a choice.

    Interesting enough, users have always been able to opt-out of IDFA tracking, though it is not a well-known fact as the process to do so is rather complicated and difficult to find. With the new update, IDFA will become opt-in rather than opt-out by prompting users to allow tracking. An example of such a prompt can be seen below where users will tell exactly what information an app wishes to tap into.

    IDFA tracking

    This kind of consent interface is not new, particularly for iOS users. It is also replicated for other permissions such as when an app requests access to your photos, camera, microphone or location. Adding third-party tracking to that list helps protect users from abuse by allowing them to control what each app they use can and should access. AppTrackingTransparency preferences can be set for each app individually or for all apps, depending on the user.

    Facebook’s attempt to call Apple out for uprooting small businesses can be seen as hypocritical by some. The media giant has recently faced backlash over the lack of support for small businesses regarding their Facebook Help Centre. Of course, with 10 million advertisers on Facebook, it is inevitable for them to turn to automation to answer the many questions it receives a day.

    Additionally, Covid-19 has reduced its regular staff capacity when more businesses than ever are turning to the platform for their promotional efforts. While this may not necessarily be Facebook’s fault, its stance against Apple’s IDFA has many raising questions on how much the media giant actually cares about small businesses.

    Top that with the fact that Facebook has a poor track record of anti-competitive behaviour and privacy issues and you might start to side with Apple on their pro-privacy policy changes.

    Conclusion

    While Apple’s new software changes might seem to be a radical leap, it may not necessarily result in negative consequences in the long run — even for small businesses. After all, the advertising industry has long promoted the notion that personalized and targeted ads are better.

    However, several studies have shown that most of the money made from targeted advertising does not in fact reach the creators of the content, including the app developers. More often than not, the profits end up in the pockets of data brokers — companies that collect or buy your personal information to sell it to others.

    In reality, small businesses cannot compete with large ad distribution networks, the ones who really get to control the ad industry. Since targeted advertising is seen as superior to other methods of reaching customers, anything else will inherently command less value on ad markets.

    This not only means that ads have a lower ad value if they aren’t targeting users, but it also drives the flow of money away from innovation that could otherwise bring us different advertising methods that don’t involve invasive profiling and targeting.

    As an example, non-targeted ads such as “contextual” ads could be a good alternative — if only more research and development were done to optimize it. These are ads based not on your personal information but only on the content of the webpage you are visiting at the time.

    Of course, there could just as well be a short-term solution to all this — personalized advertising and privacy do not have to be at odds with each other. Small businesses who are worried about the immediate effects such an update might have on them can only hold on to the hope that both Apple and Facebook can find a middle ground for all of this.