No More Flash-Based Ads or Websites on Google

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For years, I have been telling clients that Flash-based websites like Wix.com are TERRIBLE for your search engine marketing efforts and they should stop using them immediately.

Recently, Google has announced that it won’t be accepting flash-based ads after the end of June 2016. Going forward, all ads will have to be coded in HTML5. Flash is now widely regarded as a performance-hampering safety hazard and more and more companies are turning their back on what was once the industry standard.

Citing security concerns, Mozilla recently disabled the Flash plugin in its Firefox browser by default; Amazon has banned it from its advertising network and other companies are following suite. In January 2016, just 18 percent of websites in the Alexa Top 10,000 used Flash, down from almost 50 percent four years earlier.

Percentage of Flash Websites Chart:

Infographic: Bye Bye Flash! | Statista

Report generated by Statista.com 

If you need help re-designing your website, please send me an email at contact@jamesbetterson.com

My company, WAM Strategies, has helped a bunch of entrepreneurs convert their Flash-based website into an HTML5 or another popular CMS system for a very reasonable price.

Great Example of a Low-Cost Print Campaign

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Summit Hills Property Management Silver Spring

Here’s a quick marketing story for you.
Today is Wednesday, June 15th, 2016 and its currently around 82 degrees in DC.

I’m riding home from my office on the metro and as soon as I get off, I’m greeted by two people, Alberto & Giselle, who are passing out cold water bottles by the Silver Spring metro exit.

Now I usually don’t stop to talk to brand ambassadors, but something was different with these two.

  1. They were both well-dressed.
  2. They had great energy and friendly body language.
  3. They were speaking to every metro rider professionally.

So I decided I would take them up on their offer and grab a water bottle to drink on my short walk to the parking garage. When I looked at the water bottle, I saw the name of the property they worked for on a sticker. Twin Towers Apartment Homes. 

I was impressed that this property took the time to put together a strategic low-cost print campaign (Using Black & White Stickers) and for deciding to offer a product that their target audience would find VALUABLE.  (Cold Water on a Hot Summer Day During Peak Metro Traffic)

It’s obvious that Twin Towers has a competitive edge against their competitors, which is being located so close to the Silver Spring metro station. (Only One block away)

Why is this valuable? Because now potential renters know that their friends or family members can visit them easily by just getting off the Silver Spring Red Line Metro stop. No parking hassles which equals Peace of Mind.

If I had to change or add anything, I would add another low-cost print medium (Like a Promo card) with a strong call-to-action that would entice people who are currently looking for an apartment to stop by before Sunday night. (Maybe its discount  or a chance to win a raffle contest?)

I would also try to take some selfie images with people who are smiling and received a water bottle and post them all  on social media using hashtags for the property. (Especially on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)

Overall, this is a great example of a low-cost print campaign, mixed with strategic guerrilla marketing.

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Twin Towers: Leasing Professional Business Card

My apartment lease isn’t up for another 6 months, but when I do decide to move somewhere I will definitely remember my interaction with Giselle & Alberto from Southern Management Apartments.

~JB

 

Guess Who is the Most Followed Celebrity on Instagram?

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Top Celebrities Using Instagram

Let’s play a game.
Here is a list of the Top 20 celebrities in 2016 who use social media on a regular basis. If you had to guess who would be the most followed person on Instagram, who would you choose?

Possible Celebrities:

  1. Kanye West
  2. Beyonce
  3. Lebron James
  4. Taylor Swift
  5. Justin Bieber
  6. Kim Kardashian
  7. DJ Khaled
  8. Kevin Hart
  9. Connoc Mcgregor
  10. Donald Trump
  11. Selena Gomez
  12. Cristiano Ronaldo
  13. Kendall Jenner
  14. Nicki Minaj
  15. Drake
  16. Ariana Grande
  17. Kylie Jenner
  18. Khloe Kardashian
  19. Kendrick Lamar
  20. Rihanna

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Sprint Recruits Old Verizon Spokesman

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James Betterson Marketing Professional

Sprint has thoroughly impressed me with their new advertising campaign.

I watched the new commercial last night during the Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers NBA finals game and I immediately wanted to share it with my network. The strategy behind the campaign is very creative!

I’m interested to see if the marketing campaign connects with potential customers. We’ll just have to wait and see if Sprint sales go up for the month of June and July later this summer.

I will definitely post an update once that information is released.

Sprint Commercial 2016 Paul Marcarelli Switched:

Twitter has officially changed their 140 character limit

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Twitter has finally answered many marketing professionals prayers by editing their 140 character limit restriction on their messaging service. The company will no longer count pictures, videos or links as part of the message.

(Currently links, images and videos take up 23 characters from the 140 characters)

This will allow users to create a stronger message that will hopefully connect with their followers.

Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey, said that the company will release the new changes in the next couple of weeks and that the new change is, “a step in a larger plan to give users more flexibility on the site.”

Bloomberg Video – Twitter New Character Limit Change:

Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/twitter-to-stop-counting-photos-and-links-in-140-character-limit

Documentary: We Live In Public

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must-see-doc-we-live-in-public

Meet Josh Harris.  According to director Ondi Timoner, Josh Harris is “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of,” a point she skilfully executes in her Sundance award-winning documentary WE LIVE IN PUBLIC.

One of my friends told me about this documentary when we were discussing Reality TV. We specifically were discussing the poor quality of content media networks are serving their users in order to increase their viewership and ratings for advertising purposes.

So I decided to watch the documentary on YouTube and it was definitely one of the best business documentaries I’ve seen this year.

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MARKETING REPORT: TOP 25 BRANDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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Shareablee, a social marketing company that specializes in data, today released its brand rankings for the companies that created the best engagement via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram during the third quarter. It’s filled with sports players like the NFL, NBA, MLB and Bleacher Report, as well as a pseudo-sports marketer in WWE.

But National Geographic continues to flex its social media muscle, as it has for months shown a predilection for offering viewers visually stunning photos and videos from around the world. According to Shareablee, it is currently the No. 1 brand for social engagement. It has 34 million followers on Instagram alone.

What’s more, National Geographic Travel is No. 13 on the data company’s Q3 ratings. So it seems abundantly clear that the Washington, D.C.-based publisher has quietly assembled an all-star team of social marketers.

Check out the full rankings:   

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Examples of Social Proof Used In Marketing

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Written by Graham Charlton

Examples-of-social-proof-used-in-marketing

Social Proof is the marketing tactic for influencing the minds of worried customers to purchase your product or service.

With the power of the internet at their fingertips, customers can know an immense amount of information about your business before ever speaking with a salesperson.

Check out these two statistics revealed by consumer research around American consumers:

  1. Over 70% of Americans say they look at product reviews before making a purchase. [source]
  2. Nearly 63% of consumers indicate they are more likely to purchase from a site if it has product ratings and reviews. [source]

Needless to say, it’s in your best interest to effectively utilize social proof.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ MORE ABOUT SOCIAL PROOF

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Google Has A New Logo

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GOOGLE published a new logo today on Google.com.

The new logomark is the company’s first major branding update in 16 years. It will preserve the famous blue-red-yellow-blue-green-red color sequence of the original one (the green letter was thrown in to purposefully break up the primary color pattern, because Google isn’t your ordinary tech company), but will lose the old-style serif typeface.

The new logo is simpler, younger, friendlier, and—dare we say—more visually in line with Alphabet, Google’s new holding company.

It’s created with a font called Product Sans, a riff on schoolbook lettering style. But the overhaul doesn’t end with the word “Google.” There’s a microphone icon designed to make clear how voice interaction is working, and a four-color “G” logo for mobile that a few smart people have pointed out may be a lot of people’s primary association with Google going forward.

Designers are predictably mixed on the change, so far. But the overarching message is clear: this is about Google growing outward, and designing a brand that can expand with it.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE A VIDEO OF GOOGLE’S LOGO EVOLUTION:

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