The topic of virtual reality seems to be getting more exciting by the day. It started becoming a popular topic in mainstream media over the last couple of years, with phone companies and video games implementing these advancements into their technology. The term “virtual reality” was first used in the 80’s by Jaron Lanier, the…
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How the digital media industry should react to Ad Blocking
With the recent announcements of Google's new ad filtering and Apple disabling cookies, the topic of ad blocking and the effect on the digital marketing and advertising industry has revved back up. However, the fact that consumers rather not see ads has been proven over time. Ad blocking itself dates back to the 1950’s with…
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8 Best Practices for B2B Landing Pages
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Manager What is a landing page? The term is thrown out a lot, but do all marketers know the meaning and purpose behind it? A landing page is a standalone webpage — separate from an organization’s main site. A landing page has a focused objective that leads the visitor to…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7]Using Facebook for B2B Lead Generations [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/facebook-b2b-lead-generation/309368/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7]37% of Consumers say Ads Placed Next to Offensive Content Impact Brand Perception [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/37-consumers-say-ads-placed-next-offensive-content-impact-brand-perception-217504" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Twitter Gives…
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Swipe and Scroll: 4 Ways Mobile is Shaping Advertising
By: Claire Wilcox These days mobile devices seem to be an extension of the human body. A millennial without a phone is like a baby without a pacifier. No wonder marketers are pushing themselves to take on the challenge and opportunity of reaching audiences on the go. It is determined that by 2021, 81% of…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook’s lead ads just received a major improvement: offline conversion data. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/facebook-offline-conversion-solution-lead-ads-214133" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Pinterest’s object-recognizing Lens feature now also scans QR codes. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/pinterests-object-recognizing-lens-feature-now-scans-qr-codes-214164" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1]…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] YouTube pauses search ads to implement brand safety measures. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/youtube-pause-search-ads-brand-safety-implementation-213976" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Snapchat debuts a self-serve tool to buy ads on the mobile app, called Snapchat Ad Manager. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/snapchat-rolls-self-serve-platform-vertical-video-ads-213501" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"]…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] YouTube unveils new rules to vet channels who advertise in order to protect brands from appearing next to questionable content [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/pewdiepie-declares-adpocalypse-youtube-makes-rules/308591/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook gives agencies more transparency following metrics blunders [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-moves-offer-agencies-transparency/308578/" style="default" size="normal"…
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4 Best Practices for B2B Direct Marketing
By Claire Wilcox, Account Support Intern "Whether it's B2C or B2B, you're still talking about stories," said John Osborne, president/CEO of BBDO New York, Ad Age’s 2017 B2B Agency of the Year. BBDO revealed how compelling marketing for businesses is just as important (if not more) as connecting to consumers with creative and resonating storytelling.…
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Admirable Series: Killing Two Brands with One Ad
By: Claire Wilcox, Account Support Intern In a rising digital age, millennials don’t want more stuff, they want more experience. And brands will pay the price if they don’t adapt. Not only does Gen Y favor a trip (including lots of selfies) over a new car or wardrobe, it favors existential ads that connect with…
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7 Steps to Take When Executing a Paid Social Campaign
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Manager and Social Media Manager In 2016, 40% of marketers reported social media has become more challenging — with changes in search algorithms, emerging trends, and a decline in organic traffic. Organic traffic has especially become difficult for marketers. A Facebook page with over a million likes averages a 2.27% engagement…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Pinterest Launches “Propel”, a Hands-On Support Program for New Advertisers [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/pinterest-launches-propel-hands-support-program-new-advertisers-210598" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Mobile Now Accounts for Nearly 70% of Digital Media Time [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/mobile-now-accounts-nearly-70-digital-media-time-comscore-210094" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1]…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Google Ramps Up Header Bidding Alternative as Pressure Mounts From Facebook. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/google-ramps-header-bidding-alternative-ebda/308434/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook Unveils a New Ad Format, Called “Collections”, Meant to Drive Product Awareness and Sales for Brands. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/facebooks-shoppable-collection-ad-latest-iad-like-format-209886" style="default" size="normal"…
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Industry Insights
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] xAd Reveals a New Location-Based Ad Model Where Brands Only Pay for an Ad When Customers Walk Through the Door [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/cost-per-visit-xad-brings-search-like-performance-mobile-advertising-209306" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Others Are Facing Pressure to Allow 3rd Party Audits of Their…
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ADmirable Series: Vans “Off The Wall”
By Luke Suggs, Account Intern Image Source For nearly 60 years, the Vans slogan “Off The Wall” was thought to be a skateboarding term because Vans has historically been a skateboarding brand. However, in recent years, Vans has transitioned from an exclusive skateboarding brand to a broader lifestyle brand. And after all these years, Vans…
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7 Best Practices for B2B Social Media Marketing
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator & Social Media Manager Generally people consider B2C companies when thinking about brands on social media. But social media also provides a huge opportunity for B2B brands that should not be overlooked. According to Salesforce, “Social media accounts for a third of all time spent online.” And while B2B brands…
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What Is A Website Audit, and Why Do I Need One?
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager [caption id="attachment_9093" align="aligncenter" width="630"] The Historic Biltmore Village Website, developed and designed by The Goss Agency[/caption] The internet is a busy place. To say that it’s a “saturated marketplace” is a bit of an understatement. As of September 2014, the internet clocked in at 1 billion websites (website here refers…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Much to the Delight of Brands, Facebook Videos Will Now Play With the Sound on by Default [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-videos-play-sound-default/307983/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Report: Facebook Engagement Down Across the Board, but Influencer Marketing Continues to Perform Strongly for Brands [button text="See…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Competitors Leave Twitter in the Dust [button text="See Full Article" link="https://www.statista.com/chart/5358/twitters-user-growth-in-perspective/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook Opens Itself to Ad Measurement Audit, Giving Brands More Control Over Video Ad Buys [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/facebook-opens-measurement-audit-gives-brands-control-video-ad-buys-206387" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1]…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Pinterest Begins Testing Search Ads on the Social Media Platform [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/pinterest-doubles-search-advertising-biz/307771/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1486581732?utm_visit=1984901" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook is Refining its Ad Measurement Offerings to Give Markets More Information About Their Campaigns [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-marketers-data-tools-compare-tv/307767/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1486489455?utm_visit=1984901" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"]…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook updates News Feed algorithm to focus on video completion rates [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/facebook-video-completion-rates-204788" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Inmoji allows brands to create sendable, emoji-like stickers that they refer to as “Interactive Emojis” [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/inmoji-launches-first-self-service-platform-interactive-emoji-like-icons-stickers-204638" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline"…
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Brand Engagement Grows as Fans Use Social Media During The Super Bowl
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator & Social Media Manager It’s hard to believe that the Super Bowl is this week. And like most advertising aficionados, we are getting pumped and excited the way anyone in the entertainment industry would the week of the Oscars. And now, as a majority of Americans are on social media,…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Pinterest to expand their advertising services by rolling out ad group functionality to paid campaigns in about a month. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/pinterest-ad-groups-203882" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Instagram accounted for 70% of GQ’s social revenue last year, bolstering the site’s credibility and value…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Google appears to be introducing a simple website creation tool for small businesses. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/google-taking-another-run-simple-website-creation-small-businesses-203468" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook’s extended Ad Network now serves ads to over one billion people. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-serving-ads-washington-post-rolling-stone/307486/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"]…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook to expand their “Dynamic Ad” service, allowing brands to retarget users who have viewed products on other brands’ sites or apps as well as their Facebook followers. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/facebooks-retargeted-ads-broadened-include-rivals-site-page-audiences-203045" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook plans to add mid-roll video ads…
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DigiKnow?
[row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Digital marketing continues to grow, with marketers spending a record-breaking $17.6 billion in the third quarter of 2016, a 20% year-over-year increase. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://thegossagency.com/2017/01/05/iab-advertising-report-finds-marketers-cant-stop-spending-on-digital/" style="default" size="normal" target="_self" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Google will now actively work to pair brands with YouTube creators to produce…
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Chuck Archerd Digital Case History
Recently, The Goss Agency had the pleasure of working with Chuck Archerd on his race to become Chairman of the Buncombe County Commission. Over the course of the campaign, we leveraged Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, targeting users based on geography and political affiliation to achieve a whopping 642,000 impressions in only 8 weeks with…
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Study: 55 percent of mobile dollars wasted
More than 70 percent of mobile ads fail to create a positive user experience. Greg Sterling on December 21, 2016 at 9:55 am A recent study (reg. req’d) from Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Celtra, argues that $0.55 of every dollar spent on mobile advertising is wasted. Beyond this, negative mobile ad experiences are hurting brand…
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Google Links Brands With YouTube Creators: Are Agencies and Influencer Networks Threatened?
By Jack Neff. Published on January 03, 2017. [row] [span8] [/span8] [/row] YouTube video bloggers and other independent producers have been a growing part of marketing content creation for brands, sometimes in deals brokered by third parties. Now Google itself is getting in on the action, linking YouTube video production talent with brands and their…
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IAB Advertising Report Finds Marketers Can’t Stop Spending On Digital
By George Slefo. Published on December 28, 2016. [row] [span8] Digital advertising is on a relentless path toward gobbling up more ad dollars, with marketers spending a record-breaking $17.6 billion on digital in the third quarter of 2016. That represents a 20% year-over-year increase, according to a report released Wednesday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.…
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The Death of the Click: The Impact of Voice Search
By Simon Schnieders Posted in Search on 4 January 2017, 08:00, 0 Comments It wasn’t too long ago that search engines were the jewel in the crown for marketers. Long before social media, digital channels and mobile apps, search engines ignited the digital revolution for marketing campaigns. However, every now and then a new technology…
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Google launches a new look for recipes in the mobile search results
Google launched a new way to find new recipes for your New Years feast. The new recipe results are seen on mobile search. Barry Schwartz on December 29, 2016 at 9:17 am Google has launched a new look and feel for the recipe search results done over a smartphone device. Alex Chitu first noticed the…
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Google now showing product schema rich snippets in image search results
Google Image Search now supports product schema markup in the mobile image search results. Barry Schwartz on December 14, 2016 at 8:45 am Google is now displaying rich snippets via product schema markup in the Google Image Search results. If you do a Google image search on a smartphone and click on a result that…
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Retailers testing Google Maps mobile Promoted Places ads include MAC Cosmetics, Starbucks, Walgreens
The promoted pins in Google Maps are being tested on Android devices. Ginny Marvin on December 15, 2016 at 3:00 pm Google is continuing to test its new promoted pin ads — now formally dubbed Promoted Places — in Google Maps with a small group of retailers. The pilot is running in the Google Maps…
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Facebook’s latest measurement error undercounted Instant Articles traffic
For those keeping count, this is the fourth time Facebook has disclosed measurement errors in as many months. Tim Peterson on December 16, 2016 at 11:00 am It’s happened again. For the fourth time since September and the second time this month, Facebook has disclosed a measurement error. Facebook had been undercounting iPhone traffic for…
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Salesforce moves beyond first-party data with Krux integration
The CRM/marketing giant unveils several new features for its Marketing Cloud that incorporate its recently purchased data management platform. Barry Levine on December 16, 2016 at 10:46 am In October, Salesforce announced it was buying data management platform (DMP) Krux. This week, the CRM/marketing giant unveiled the addition of three new features to its Marketing…
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Reserve with Google: Deeper booking integration through search and Maps
Online booking is becoming mainstream, with the principal points of entry being Google, Facebook and Yelp. Greg Sterling on December 15, 2016 at 11:32 am Local search is becoming much more transactional. Google previously worked with a range of third-party providers to bring online reservations to the Knowledge Graph. Now the company has gone much…
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Advertisers are cooling on Snapchat Live Stories
With viewership for Snapchat’s Live Stories stagnating, the feature is not a priority for media buyers. In addition to Discover, Live Stories is one of two media-driven features inside the Snapchat app. Available alongside Discover on the Stories and Discover pages, Live Stories provides content curated around different events and topics — everything from a…
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Google brings campaign-level audience targeting to all AdWords advertisers
The new feature will be a big time-saver. Ginny Marvin on December 8, 2016 at 2:46 pm The wait is over. Advertisers can finally add audience lists at the campaign level in AdWords. No more having to waste oodles of time adding audiences to every ad group in a campaign and having to manage audience…
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Report: 91 percent would use abandoned apps again if disliked issues addressed
Survey also finds users have average of 35 apps, half used at least weekly. Greg Sterling on December 7, 2016 at 8:18 pm Mobile apps command about 60 percent of digital media time, according to comScore’s 2016 Mobile App Report. However, that time is concentrated in a relatively small number of top apps that people…
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New wave of referrer spam wrecking Google Analytics data
If you're seeing a lot of referral traffic in your Google Analytics data, you're not alone. Contributor Jonathan Hochman explains how referral spam happens, lays out methods to combat it and suggests potential solutions for Google's consideration. Jonathan Hochman on December 8, 2016 at 11:13 am A new surge of referrer spam is damaging Google…
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Instagram Story links get 15–25% swipe-through rates for brands, publishers
Vox Media’s Curbed, MeUndies, Outside and Whisper discuss their early strategies and success with linking to their sites from Instagram Stories. Tim Peterson on December 8, 2016 at 9:00 am Instagram may have arrived late as a traffic source for brands and publishers, but it’s already showing early signs of success, driving new visitors to…
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New features may be coming to AdWords Responsive Ads
Some accounts are now requiring a square image. Ginny Marvin on December 1, 2016 at 2:27 pm It seems Google may be getting ready to test some new features for responsive ads in AdWords. Spotted by Jonah Pessin at HeBS Digital, Google is requiring two image sizes in some accounts. In addition to the landscape…
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What Businesses Should Know About Local SEO
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Coordinator Of course businesses want to draw visitors from across the state, country, and even the other side of the world. But what about the local visitor? Businesses should optimize their local search ranking and provide content to encourage traffic from their local geographic region as well. According to…
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5 Marketing Predictions for 2017
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator Ready or not, 2017 will be here before we know it! Here is a compiled list of predicted trends that will help you adjust, prep and optimize your advertising and marketing plan for the new year: [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] An increased focus on analytics — including the use of…
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ADmirable Series: H&M “Come Together”
By Luke Suggs, Account Intern Nobody likes delays, especially on Christmas! In H&M’s new holiday ad, “Come Together,” passengers on a train are informed there is a delay and will be missing Christmas with their families. The train operator sets his efforts to ensure that a young boy gets a Christmas even if it’s with…
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3 next-level Yelp tricks for business owners
Struggling with Yelp reviews? Columnist Brian Patterson shares his tactics for understanding and improving your review score. Brian Patterson on November 21, 2016 at 9:24 am I’m always on the lookout for interesting tips, tricks and strategies that marketing managers and business owners can use to improve their Yelp pages. From dissecting Yelp’s own videos…
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Google is testing images in Sitelink extensions
Spotted on mobile, the extensions display in a swipeable carousel. Ginny Marvin on November 22, 2016 at 11:31 am Image extensions have come and gone and come again. Google tested them in 2013, but they never got off the ground. Bing Ads brought its own version of image extensions out of beta just over…
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Snapchat Video Ads Average Less Than 3 Seconds a View
Automated video ads, new Play inventory and in-app purchase audience modeling are now available. By Garett Sloane. Published on November 28, 2016. [row] [caption id="attachment_10733" align="aligncenter" width="642"] Snapchat ads don't get to play for long on average, but two-thirds play with sound on. Credit: Snapchat via YouTube[/caption] [/row] Snapchat ads are averaging less than 3…
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Snapchat shuts down Story Explorer feature in Live Stories
Snapchat has removed its Story Explorer feature that allowed people to view specific moments of a Live Story from different perspectives. Tim Peterson on November 30, 2016 at 11:00 am A year after introducing Story Explorer as a way for people to view the events documented in Live Stories from many different angles, Snapchat is…
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Pinterest launches Showcase to give brands a way to shape their stories
Pinterest has launched a showcase feature to give brands the ability to present their best selves. Tamar Weinberg on December 1, 2016 at 3:35 pm Pinterest has given brands an edge with a new update on its user interface. Announced today, the platform has launched a new feature it calls Showcase, allowing visitors who interact…
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IAB Proposes First Major Update to In-App Advertising Since 2013
George Slefo on on November 30, 2016 Consumers and advertisers have been rushing to mobile apps from desktop computing at a breakneck pace, but standards for the ads haven't been keeping up. Now the Interactive Advertising Bureau has proposed its first major update to in-app ad guidelines since 2013, touching on areas including viewability, location…
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Advertising is Crucial for Mobile App Developers
Report: Most users will need multiple exposures to an app before they download TUNE study based on a mix of consumer survey and app download data. Greg Sterling on November 11, 2016 at 2:14 pm How does brand impact app installs? That’s a question TUNE sought to answer with a number of related consumer and…
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Brands Will Soon Have an Analytics Tool for Their Facebook Messenger Bots
Facebook has created its own analytics tool for Messenger bots Facebook's free Messenger bot analytics tool will cross-reference Messenger interactions with Facebook user data and can tie into mobile app, web analytics. Tim Peterson on November 15, 2016 at 2:12 pm With more than 34,000 Messenger bots on the market since their April 2016 debut,…
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The Power of Online Reviews (and How You Can Improve Yours)
70% of consumers will leave a review for a business when asked Want to get inside the minds of potential customers for your local business? Columnist Sherry Bonelli shares insights from BrightLocal's annual Local Consumer Review Survey. Sherry Bonelli on November 14, 2016 at 10:03 am A business’s online reputation is more important than ever.…
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Pinterest Testing the Waters With Autoplay Ads
Pinterest queues up autoplay video ads for new Explore tab American Express, The Home Depot, Macy’s and Sony Pictures are among the first brands to test Pinterest’s autoplay video ads. Tim Peterson on November 15, 2016 at 2:12 pm A few months after introducing click-to-play video ads, Pinterest is catching up with the times —…
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Facebook Attempts to Restore Trust With Advertisers
In major measurement update, Facebook overhauls metrics, makes corrections, adds viewability Facebook is also adding more third-party verification and forming a Measurement Council to stay in step with evolving products and metrics. Ginny Marvin on November 16, 2016 at 9:00 am In a sort of course correction, Facebook made several announcements Wednesday pertaining to audience…
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New Creative: Alliance AutoGas
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Our client, Alliance AutoGas, proudly offers fleet managers across America the ability to convert their fleets to propane autogas, one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels known to man. In creating this digital direct piece, we aimed to create an emotionally compelling advertisement that highlighted this product benefit, contrasted it…
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7 Ways to Improve Your Search Rank Using Social Media
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager & Digital Director Social media is like a multi-tool; use it to engage with customers, sell products, market new products, for PR. But did you know that social media can also help your SEO? That’s right! And while its effect on your search results is indirect, it goes a long…
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Branding Process Kicks Off For Elizabeth City, NC
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Two weeks ago, The Goss Agency had the pleasure of visiting one of its clients, Elizabeth City, to present the results from our branding process. Located on the Pasquotank River in Eastern North Carolina, Elizabeth City truly is a gem of Southern charm and culture. The branding process uncovered Elizabeth…
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ADmirable: Dell and Intel’s “The New Experts”
Many brands use back-to-school ads to showcase flashy clothes and products that’ll appeal to students and parents. But this year, Dell went a step further. Rather than focusing on products, Dell tells the inspiring story of its “New Expert,” 22-year-old physicist Taylor Wilson. At the age of 14, Wilson was the youngest person to produce…
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5 SEO Mistakes You’re Making
In the early days of SEO, the mindset for most specialists was, "How do we trick Google into giving us better search results?" Well, if Google has ever been accused of something, it wasn't stupidity, which is why they've since begun penalizing SEO specialists who try to game the system. Nowadays, good SEO isn't achieved…
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Classic Creative – Haywood County
Haywood County, after our branding workshop filtering and prioritizing all the features and visitor experiences, determined that the authentic Appalachian culture and clean natural environment were the assets that rose to the top. Thus, “Haywood County, Authentic Appalachian, pure and simple” was born. A new logo was created by illustrating the landscape in a turn-of-the-century…
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How Brands are Getting Millennials to Flex their Voting Muscles
By Rachel Hornay, Copy Writer Intern It has become that time of the year when political campaigns are everywhere in the media. This election year there is a huge number of millennials who are able to vote. According to ABC News, millennials have edged out baby boomers as the largest living generation in U.S. history…
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4 Reasons Why Your Brand Should Use Instagram Stories
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Manager Was Instagram being a copycat of Snapchat when it rolled out its new feature, Instagram Stories? Of course. Should brands still use and be aware of this new feature? Most definitely. Just like Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories are available to be seen by all followers of a user…
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ARE YOU FOR REAL?
By Rachel Hornay, Copywriter Intern Technology is always developing but the recent craze of virtual reality invites brands to explore a whole new platform. Virtual reality (VR) is defined as a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way by a person using special electronic…
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ADmirable Series: Dove’s #MyBeautyMySay Campaign
By: Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator & Social Media Manager It is admirable when a brand takes hold of a deeper message and a cause that goes beyond their product and penetrates the emotion and feelings of their target. Rather than just advertising soap and shampoo, Dove has been able to successfully take a stand for…
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Four Tips on How to Use Instagram to Reach Millennials
By Travis LeJune, Account Intern Who is using Instagram? Right now, about 46% of millennials have Instagram, and by 2019, it’s predicted that nearly two-thirds of millennials will be using Instagram. It is one of the most consistently and quickly growing social media platforms; but most importantly, it is one with the highest engagement, especially…
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4 Ways To Attract Millennials To Your Destination
By: Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Millennials are armed to be the driving force behind the travel industry. They use travel to go on adventures, learn other languages and study. Why are they so eager to travel? This generation was jaded by the recession and now places less importance on saving for retirement and instead values…
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“Webrooming” is Shaking Up the Retail World
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager/Digital Director For brick-and-mortar retailers, the internet has been a mixed bag. Sure, it allows them to reach a much wider audience than a street corner ever will, but it also begs the question: “Why have a brick-and-mortar location at all”? With costly overhead and property taxes, it can seem as…
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Q+A: HOW TO OPTIMIZE PINTEREST FOR YOUR DESTINATION
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator and Social Media Manager 1. Why is Pinterest important for travel destinations? You may ask: Isn’t Pinterest just a website where stay-at-home moms find cool recipes and quirky DIY crafts? While there may be some truth in that, there is so much more to Pinterest that your destination can benefit…
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Some Web Design Trends in 2016
Photo Credit: UXPin By Eddie Maiale, Design Intern Web design trends are consistent in one aspect - They are always changing. You could say it is a living beast on its own. Tackling the beast this year is no different. Trends this year include: moving toward a more minimalist design versus the 3D look, adding…
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Why You Need to be Focusing on Native Advertising
By: Ryan Laffler, Account Manager & Digital Director Display ads, the advertisements that you see on the top and sidebars of almost every webpage nowadays, are in decline. One part of the problem is that they are rarely relevant to the user. While this has changed somewhat with Google Adsense’s targeting algorithm, it started to…
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Pin It! – The 3 Most Important Tips to Optimize Your Pinterest
By Travis LeJune, Account Intern Do you have a Pinterest yet? If you are a shopper, you should definitely get one. If you are a seller, you MUST have one! Sure, it is still a fairly young social media platform, but it has been churning up some extremely surprising statistics we think you should know…
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Pokémon Go – The Future Virtual Reality Marketing World
By Travis LeJune, Account Intern It’s July 2016, and I am doing the same thing I was doing in July 1999. I would be questioning myself if it weren’t for the fact that everyone else is doing the same thing. Pokémon is back! Who hasn’t heard? The Pokémon Company and Niantic have teamed up to…
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Should Your Business Use Snapchat?
By Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Snapchat has existed for under 5 years, yet has achieved incredible numbers such as 100 million daily users and 10 billion daily views, making it an acknowledged rival of Facebook. Most businesses have created their own pages on Facebook for posting original and curated content, and many have joined Facebook-owned…
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Use These 21 LinkedIn SlideShare Tips and Facts to Supercharge Your Content Marketing
By Chloe Ayres, Senior Designer B2B Marketing is not thought of as one of the “sexiest” forms of marketing. According to June 2016 research by marketing intelligence firm Ascend2 that looks into the most important goals for a content marketing strategy, 58% mentioned lead generation, while another 55% named customer engagement. “Lead generation” and “customer…
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ADmirable: Chipotle’s New Campaign
Fast food giant Chipotle recently came out with an animated short about two kids who grow up locked in competition with each other. The heartwarming video works because it captures Chipotle’s brand distinction in an entertaining way that resonates with others. Memorable brands don’t just offer great products or services, they connect with their audience…
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Top 5 Mobile Advertising Trends in 2016
By Ryan Laffler, Digital Director, and Rachel Hornay, Art Direction/Copywriting Intern 1. FORGET YOUR WALLET Mobile wallets have become the new way to pay. Once companies proved that mobile wallet transactions were properly encrypted and secure, mobile wallets began to take off. Many top brands such as Apple, MasterCard and Android now offer mobile payment.…
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Digital Advertising Statistics You Need to Know (Infographic)
Ever since the turn of the century, Digital Advertising has been changing the ways brands communicate with their audience. The number of tools and techniques that have surfaced over this time can be a little overwhelming, but with the right strategy and agency behind you, digital advertising can produce tremendous returns for you and your…
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UX Design: What Can It Do For You?
By Eddie Maiale (UX = user experience) In web design, one of the first and most important topics is user experience design. What is user experience design? A designer's job is to make sure the user is satisfied and considered when developing a website, application or product. This is where user experience comes into play…
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YOUR EMOJI SAYS IT ALL
By Rachel Hornay, Art/Copy Intern They say that a picture is worth a thousands words, especially with today’s language evolving with the usage of emoji characters. Emojis are intended to illustrate, or in some cases replace altogether, the words we send each other digitally, whether in a text message, email, or tweet. Instagram calls emoji…
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What is Material Design? (Part 3 of 3)
By Eddie Maiale, Design Intern Welcome back! We are reaching the end of this series on material design, and the information in the last sections of material design is not to be ignored as it is just as important as something like style and color. Today we will be going through some guidelines for a…
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Sustain Your Brand using Instagram and Food
By Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Brands are constantly looking for ways to engage with consumers on social media. However, one challenge is noticing the trends occurring on various platforms and capitalizing on them successfully before the competition. One such trend that is growing in popularity centers around food. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t…
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What is Material Design? (Part 2 of 3)
By Eddie Maiale, Graphic Design Intern And we are back for round two! For those of us who have not read the previous post, following this link will bring you to part one in this three-part series covering Google’s material design. Previously, we covered what material design actually is, what Google means by the word…
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Vine on the Decline
By: Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Vine has had a rough year. The popular social media app that allows users to string together a series of videos up to six seconds long in all is quickly losing market share in the digital advertising industry. Competitors like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are all moving to capitalize…
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7 Digital Marketing Takeaways from the Digital Summit 2016
By: Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Earlier this month, I was privileged to represent The Goss Agency while attending The 2016 Digital Summit Conference in Charlotte. I was able to gain knowledge from industry leaders during those two days. I almost felt a tad nostalgic of college lectures as I quickly scribbled down note after…
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6 Tips To Succeed In Real-Time Marketing
By Dari Mullins, Senior Account Manager As the capacity of digital devices continues to increase and the craving for new, current, engaging content from consumers rises – Brands have to act quickly to stay ahead of the emerging trends. Real-time adverting has been around for several years, but it’s popularity continues to grow on Social…
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Instagram, Twitter to Expand Video Advertising Opportunities
Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Instagram and Twitter are finally beginning to embrace video advertising. What’s the big deal? Video ads cost more on average to make than banner ads, and they also take more time for a viewer to digest. Are they even worth it? Absolutely. A 2014 study by Millennial Media showed that engagement…
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YouTube Introduces a New Ad Package
By Brady Rothschild, Intern YouTube is introducing a new ad package for companies looking to advertise through them. Last Tuesday (on April, 26, 2016) they announced the start of bumper ads. Bumper ads are 6-second ads that you can’t skip, rather than the traditional 30-second YouTube ad that you can skip after five…
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How Facebook’s Big Conference will Impact Businesses
By Brady Rothschild, Account Support Facebook Developer Conference The Facebook Development Conference (F8) took place in California this week. Facebook laid out their strategy for the next ten years and many of the announcements will make a direct impact on businesses. This shows how they are going to keep people as well as businesses connected…
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How Instagram’s New Algorithm Affects Your Business
by Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Photo from Bufferapp.com Algorithms are everywhere. On your smartphone, at the ATM machine, while waiting at a stoplight, I literally mean everywhere. And that’s a good thing! At their core, an algorithm is a formula or a set of processes to solve a problem. They’re especially useful when dealing with…
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5 Takeaways from Social Media is a Behavioral Shift
Today on Social Media Today, Andrew Hutchinson discussed how we have to stop talking about the individual social platforms so much and start talking about what audience trends the usage of these social networks reveals about these audiences. Here are 5 key takeaways from his analysis.
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How to Leverage Hashtags for Business on Different Social Media Platforms
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock Hashtags have become a common way for millennials and individuals to express themselves on social media and reach out to the world around them. They can join in on conversations revolving around a certain topic and spurt their opinions to everyone interested in that topic. But while hashtags are popular for individuals,…
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The Six Components of Mobile SEO in 2016
By: Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Photo by Marketingland.com Most businesses understand the importance of SEO, but what about mobile SEO? How is it different? How is the landscape changing moving forward? We tracked down six fundamental components to a successful mobile SEO strategy in 2016. Bryson Meunier, the SEO Director at Vivid Seats, broke down…
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Anchor: The Next Big Social Media Platform?
By Brady Rothschild, Account Services From iTunes What is Anchor? Anchor is an app that allows one to create content in real time and share it with one’s friends, followers and others who are just browsing the Internet. It works very similarly to Twitter, or Instagram, but instead of text or pictures, talk is used to engage…
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4 Ways to Use Facebook Advertising
Social advertising is here to stay, and you can take advantage of these low-cost, low barriers to entry social ads on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Linkedin. Here are 4 easy ways to dip your toes into Facebook advertising for your business page. All your advertising options on Facebook Boost Your Posts This is one of…
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3 Ways Social Media Revolutionized Marketing in the Music Industry
Social media and music. With the invention of MySpace in 2003, musicians suddenly could develop their brand and interact with their fans in a whole new way.
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Are You Providing Enough Value with Your Content Marketing?
Content marketing basically encompasses anything that you distribute with the intention of your audience consuming it. Blogs, tweets, Facebook posts, whitepapers, emails, newsletters...most of these pieces of content are all what social media expert Gary Vaynerchuk would call "jabs." Vaynerchuk recently said, "I’ve done 185 episodes of a show answering questions people ask me on…
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Treat Each Social Media Channel Differently
We constantly hear about how overwhelmed people are by social media and it usually stems from people failing to treat each social media channel differently. Typically, this anxiety happens when organizations don't do one or all of the following...
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Google Rankings for Cultural Tourism
While the term “cultural tourism” has been in use for several years, we still have a ways to go until it becomes a household term. Just do a Google search for “Cultural Tourism” and you’ll see that only two destinations make the first page of results--Cherokee Preservation Foundation and Europe. These results show that savvy…
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Allstate’s Mayhem Campaign Makes a Mark
Already iconic, The Allstate Mayhem commercials bumped them up a level for 2016. The successful multi-year Mayhem campaign needed some new life, and Allstate delivered in a myriad of ways. The Mayhem campaign kicked off during the Allstate Sugar Bowl with a call for real life DIY mishaps. The company posted a number of them…
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Social Media Predictions for 2016
by Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Manager Businesses continue to seek out different ways to reach their consumers and increase brand awareness using social media. More and more brands are joining the social media band-wagon, and the need for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors is critical. As we begin this New Year, here is a list of social…
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Understanding Content Marketing for 2016
2015 marked some big developments in content marketing. Periscope launched in March 2015. Other livestreaming apps Meerkat and Blab also joined the fray. Snapchat became more mainstream, hitting over 100 million active users.
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5 Emerging Trends in Online Marketing You Need to Know
As 2015 comes to a close, it's time to look ahead and brush up on the emerging trends that will affect your online marketing. Mobile Will Trounce Desktop It was only a matter of time: in 2015, mobile traffic on Google finally surpassed desktop traffic. In response, Google released an algorithm designed to crush a…
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2016 Marketing and Advertising Trends Roundup
2016 is right around the corner, so we’ve rounded up 10 pieces of the top advice about marketing and advertising trends to help your business reach new heights next year. Share this with everyone you work with, then schedule a brainstorming session so January 1, 2016 can’t sneak up on you. Forbes “Video ads will start…
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Snapchat Explores Audience-Targeted Advertising
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Four years ago, Snapchat burst onto the social media scene with a novel idea: an app that lets users share photos and videos that are only viewable for a limited amount of time (as of today, the range is from 1 to 10 seconds). The idea started out as a…
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Most Viral Ads of 2015
Adweek recently released a list of the 20 most viral ads released in 2015, so we analyzed the winners and created a list of five patterns for why these ads went viral. Even if you don’t have a huge advertising budget, you can always be inspired by the content, messaging and tactics behind ads by…
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Best Email Marketing Results Yet
As an agency, we win when our clients win. We get just as much or more of a thrill when our efforts on behalf of our clients net great results, like with this best ever email marketing campaign sent last week. As Entrepreneur recently shared: The average person gets 121 [emails] a day. The human race…
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Best Travel Brands on Social Media
Travel brands showcase the power of pictures, real-time content, and useful information on social media, and these are lessons that all businesses can learn from and incorporate into your social media efforts. We take a look at posts from 5 travel brands and show how they ‘get’ social media. We utilize the recent eValue Analytics…
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Email Marketing Works!
Today's marketing landscape is more fractured than ever. People are hit with TV and radio commercials, digital ads, email marketing, social media...it's a lot to take in, and a lot for businesses to keep up with. Thankfully, we know that email marketing is not dead and can still deliver solid results. Entrepreneur recently released, "7…
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REI Stays True to Their Brand Values with New #OptOutside Black Friday Campaign
I have always found it ironic that the biggest shopping event of the year, Black Friday, occurs right after a holiday where we are supposed to gather around a table with loved ones to celebrate what we are thankful for...
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Berger’s Six ‘STEPPS’ for Creating Viral Marketing Content
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Support While it seems like a successful viral marketing campaign relies mainly on luck and timing, creative content plays a critical role in what makes things go viral. In the book Contagious, Professor Jonah Berger explored this idea and discovered six characteristics of viral marketing content. The acronym for these six…
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New Display Ad
Who doesn't love a home-cooked meal? This creative encourages healthy eating, prioritizing quality family time, and the ease of using propane cooktops and ranges. The bright colors of the ingredients in the skillet are eye-catching and look delicious, too! The logo at the bottom completes this display ad.
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Why Twitter Still Matters
Some businesses have ignored being consistent on Twitter because they don't understand it or think there is no way to stand out with millions of tweets streaming every hour...
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More Awesome Email Marketing Results
The old saying, "Success breeds success" is certainly true when it comes to email marketing. For our client Blossman Gas, we capitalized on the success of last week's E-Direct Ad and tweaked the targeting to get even more people to open and click through the content. The result? The open rate increase 3% from…
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Email Blast Nets Big Jump in Website Traffic
We sent this Direct Email out for Blossman Gas: And generated this excellent website traffic for our client: The graph above shows how one direct email campaign with a 2% clickthrough and 11% open rate to over 430,00 targeted single family homes spiked website traffic from 1500 views per day to 4500 per day within 24…
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Pinterest Tips for Business Success
Pinterest recently hit a huge milestone--100 million users! This news means even more when put into the context of predictions that it would only reach 47 million users by 2015, and 59 million users by 2019...
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Pinterest Promoted Pins
For our client, Brandzaffair, we decided to experiment with the new Pinterest promoted pins opportunity. Before we share our results, we thought we’d round up a few expert opinions and information about the advertising tool. According to Quick Marketing, “These advertising options give businesses the opportunity to pay and feature selected [Pinterest promoted] Pins…
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Facebook Overtakes Google as Top Website Traffic Driver to News Sites: What It Means For Your Business
Google has long been the king of driving traffic to websites. For years, businesses have worked to make Google happy by being conscientious of certain key website factors: search engine optimization, keywords, meta-tagging, including images, posting new content frequently...the list goes on. Yet, Parse.ly has revealed that Facebook has now overtaken the web search giant…
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1 Message, 7 Digital Advertising and Print Advertising Uses
The idea behind this message for our client Alliance Autogas was to highlight the safety and ease of use of the Stäubli Nozzle (which is the technology that you use to fill up your tank with propane), and the result is a consistent digital advertising message optimized for 7 different uses. 1. Display Ad 2. E-Direct…
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5 Things You’ll Learn From a Digital Audit
The rapid pace of social media means that sometimes, businesses fail to take the time to assess if what they're doing aligns with best practices and you're hitting your goals. Hopefully, you're already doing monthly reports to see growth and impressions for each of the channels you are utilizing, but this report is only showing you a piece…
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5 Tools to Get More Out of Instagram
Instagram can net some powerful results for businesses thanks to its quick and easy ways for your customers to engage with just a tap on the screen, and its scroll-ability keeps people glued to their feeds. An image posted to Instagram can easily gain tens or hundreds of likes or comments, whereas a Facebook or Twitter…
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9+ Ways to Improve Your Video Marketing
Video is fast becoming an essential part of any businesses’ marketing mix. Here are some video marketing tips for creating better content and how to get more eyeballs on the videos you create. 2 Minutes or less Data shows that “more than 80% of viewers watched one that was 30 seconds or shorter, while less…
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Branding with Periscope
Social media is one of the most powerful tools a business has in its arsenal. Need to respond to hundreds of customer inquiries from multiple countries before lunchtime tomorrow? No problem...
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New Digital Marketing Statistics 2015
This article from Adweek, "7 Digital Marketing Stats That Caught Our Eye in the Last Week," rounds up some of the interesting digital marketing statistics that have come out in the past week...
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Promoting Your Social Media Channels
All too often, we see clients and potential clients fail to promote their social media presence. It’s important to use your website, newsletters, blogs, and other visible places to promote the fact your company is on social media...
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5 Quick Fixes for Your Facebook Page
We spend a lot of time on Facebook for clients, for our agency and for ourselves, and we see some mistakes over and over that can be quickly fixed to up your Facebook game immediately. These updates will make your brand look more professional online and could help generate new leads or new stories to be…
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New Website for Haywood County
We were tasked with creating a new website for Haywood County that highlighted specific elements of the North Carolina Smokies experience into a visually stunning, user-friendly website that shows off all the great assets the county has for both locals and visitors to enjoy during their time in Haywood County.View the Haywood County website at visitncsmokies.com.…
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Asheville Wordcamp Review: A WordPress Conference
Over the weekend of July 25-26, I was fortunate enough to attend Asheville’s Wordcamp 2015. Wordcamp is a nationwide series of conferences detailing the finer points of Wordpress...
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10 Reasons Your Brand Should Utilize Video Marketing
In the one minute it takes you to read this text, 100 hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube. That’s 250 days of video every hour, 16.4 years of video every day, and six millennia of video every year! As the world’s largest repository of moving images, YouTube is the 3rd most visited website…
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A Numbers Game: A PPC Case Study Update
By Scott Zeller, SEO & SEM Specialist, The Goss Agency Sudoku, a popular numbers game, is a logic-based puzzle that requires you plug in numbers from 1-9 in the right combination to solve it and win the game. It starts with a few numbers and a partially completed 9x9 grid, and relies on you, the…
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Social Media Marketing Resources
To finish our social media blog series, we've rounded up a few resources we trust to give us up-to-the-minute, useful ideas for our clients and our own social media. Find which expert or website appeals to you the most, then sign up for their newsletter or follow them on Facebook to stay informed. 1. Convince and Convert At…
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3 Possible Agency Roles for Your Social Media: Management, Guidance, or Training
Social media changes on a monthly--sometimes daily--basis, so it’s important that you evaluate your company’s digital presence frequently as well as taking the time to keep your social media knowledge up-to-date...
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Social Media: One Is (Always) Greater Than Zero
This month, we’re talking about social media on the blog. To start, we’ll look to Gary Vaynerchuk, one of the leading experts and authors in the field whose company, VaynerMedia, just won the...
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Apple Set to Shake Things Up in the Search Engine Market
David Bowie wrote those words in 1971. Almost 45 years later, this song is stuck in my head as I read that Apple may be partnering with Microsoft later this year, attempting to take on Google in the world of search engine marketing...
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Iterative Website Development: Build Your House on a Solid Foundation
We often get inquiries from clients about building them a new website. Many of them have websites already - websites that they hate for one reason or another. The content management system is too hard to use. The design is outdated. The site doesn't work on mobile. Regardless of the reason, the client's answer to…
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SEO: A Daily Workout
Exercise. We know we need it, but it can be intimidating when deciding how, when and where to get started. Is it fun? Not at first, but over time, it can be. With the right discipline, the right program...
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Don’t Let Google Downgrade Your Website
My last two posts asked those in the travel/tourism industry and private business to step back and take an open-minded look at your brand image and your competitor’s brand image...
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Haywood County TDA Campaign
"We have the best views, by miles." Why visit Haywood County? One of the best reasons is this view. Blue Ridge Parkway, which cuts through the county as it winds its way through North Carolina and up through Virginia, is considered one of the most scenic drives in the country. This piece shows that the beauty…
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Is That For Here, or To-Go? Tourism Marketing in a Mobile World
We stand in the middle of an ever-evolving digital revolution, my friends, and that revolution is being delivered via emerging mobile technologies, apps, smart phones, and tablets...
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Effective Social Media Tools: TweetDeck
There are many tools you can use to monitor Twitter, but my personal favorite is TweetDeck. With it's super-organizable column structure, you can follow lists, search terms, activity, notifications, and more...
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