Customer Behavior , Digital Marketing
January 3, 2021
Exciting Trends in Mobile App Development for 2021
Mobile apps are changing every year, and the rapid improvement in mobile technology is constantly opening up new opportunities. With that in mind, brands that fail to keep up with the latest developments will quickly fall behind the competition. In this article, we’ll take a look at three of the most notable mobile app development trends for marketers and other stakeholders to keep in mind throughout 2021. Don’t hesitate to check out our website for more information if you want to learn more about professional iPhone app development. Wearable Technology Wearable tech is growing even more rapidly than the broader mobile market, including everything from fitness tools to smartwatches and a variety of other items. While some of these trends will fizzle out over time, others are here to stay for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, apps for wearable devices are no longer a tiny subset of the mobile app market. Companies in more and more industries can now benefit from dedicating development resources to wearable tech. These items will likely become even more commonplace over the next several years. Mobile E-commerce Sales
Content Marketing , Digital Marketing , Integrated Marketing , Social Media
December 31, 2020
Five Martech Tools to Help Boost Collaboration for Distributed Teams
In today’s martech landscape, there are just over 5000 marketing technology companies, dubbed the ‘Martech 5000.’ The categories of martech revolve around five major themes: Advertising & Promotions Content & User Experience Social & Relationships Commerce & Sales Data & Management Industry professionals often refer to the programs used to perform daily business activities as a “stack.” This buzzword was first coined by tech companies to indicate a group of programs used to create a single web or mobile application, and the term “stack” is now used more broadly to indicate a group of programs or services that help a business unit achieve its goals. With the seemingly daunting number of options available, it can be difficult for businesses to decide which stacks are right for their business needs, especially now with teams working remotely. If your distributed teams are having a hard time collaborating effectively, it might mean that your business needs to take a look at its current marketing technology. The first step toward finding a solution may be to take inventory of what tech is working and not working for your teams, and try to categorize them into one of the five buckets. If you’re not quite […]
Uncategorized
December 29, 2020
2020
Note: If you received an actual card from me hopefully you weren’t offended by my greeting this year. Sometimes the only way to express oneself is through bad grammar and profanity. Personally, I find the combination quite soothing. I’m pretty sure for most of us 2020’s live dragon was COVID and of course, he was everywhere. Fortunately, I’ve remained healthy and that’s the biggest gift I could receive. I wish I could say the same for many of my friends (and/or their loved ones) who have caught the virus, some of whom are still struggling. I pray for them every day and for the people who have lost their lives. Unfortunately, I count some friends among that number as well. At the beginning of this year, I made a conscious decision to reduce my client base at Wax Marketing and focus on the work that felt most meaningful for me which included mainly healthcare clients. As you probably know, communications became a critical task as COVID hit which meant that this spring and most of the summer I was working more hours than I have in years. This is not a complaint, in fact, I am grateful to have projects […]
A great SEO strategy isn’t just a guiding light to follow — it’s a lantern that draws other people to you as well.
News , Young Voices
September 28, 2020
Media Sensationalism in a Not-So-Sensational Time
-with Ayanna Mehta Now that the media has shape shifted into a constant, chaotic news cycle, consumers have to constantly alter their methods for seeking out accurate news and information. Ever evolving to remain relevant (profitable) media organizations continue to adapt and redefine new ways to get revenue – and media sensationalism is typically at the top of the list. It’s important to understand how headlines drive media sensationalism that in turns motivates our ADD-induced eyeball action. The more clicks an online news organization gets, the higher its traffic numbers, and the more they can charge for ads. That’s the revenue-generation principle of almost every news online site today, whether it’s a traditional publication or primarily a digital one. The better” the headline, the greater the trigger for us – and the greater the number of clicks. It’s also a breeding ground for reporting on news that originates in conspiracy theory. (We’re not discussing QAnon here, but the media does need to take responsibility for that.) This past April in a piece on coronavirus conspiracy theories, New York Times’ Max Fisher wrote “..The belief that one is privy to forbidden knowledge offers feelings of certainty and control amid a crisis […]
Nonprofit
July 31, 2020
7 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Chatbots
A chatbot is a computer program simulating and processing human interaction and conversation. The main purpose of chatbots is to help businesses get closer to their audience. Chatbots have become increasingly popular in recent years, and more and more businesses use them in order to provide support to their clients and improve customer service. According to Blue Meta, digital marketing agency in Vancouver, 80% of all businesses in 2020 want to have their own chatbots, and over 60% of young people use them on a regular basis. 7 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Chatbots Answering FAQs Many nonprofits use chatbots to answer FAQs directly and quickly. Responding manually to the same questions from donors over and over again is a drain on resources. In this case, a chatbot is very helpful. It can provide links and information that will help to resolve up to 80% of user problems. It will make the visitors of the organization’s website feel at home by providing them answers to their questions instantly. If there is a question that needs a human response, a chatbot can always send a user to an agent. Stating the organization’s history
After the last presidential election the internet went wild, creating a polarity that damaged friendships, split families, and even destroyed marriages. For many people it was disturbing but for people like me, someone that worked in social media all day long, it was nothing short of traumatic. Every day I had to sift through the growing stream of virtual sound bites to find good curation sources. Every day I saw both sides of the argument get stronger and stronger, and frankly it drained me. Three months after the election I had to go entirely off the grid for four days. I realized my mind had become polluted. I was chronically tired, angry, sad, stressed and experiencing a lot of other emotions at the same time. I had to come up with a way to manage my time online that didn’t damage my energy and my emotional wellbeing. Literally, I had to find a way to clear the fog in my head. As we protect ourselves against the virus, many friends are home spending a lot more time in social media – and their minds are becoming polluted as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or left – the techniques used […]
Public Relations
April 16, 2020
Introducing The PR Method
Throwing a shout out to my friend and PR guru Julia Angelen Joy for her new PR Method Guide. A lot of small businesses can’t afford PR retainers right now, and really need marketing assistance so this is really helpful. (And affordable at just $59.) Here’s the scoop: The PR Method Guide is an affordable public relations guide for small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches and creatives so they can create an easy-to-build plan for authentic promotion for personal brands, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. The NEW Work It Out Pages will help: Organize PR goals, branding and other visual assets Plan paid, earned, shared and owned media Create a social media channel strategy Draft a content calendar Create effective HARO responses Purchase and download The PR Method Guide here.
Content Marketing , Customer Behavior
March 18, 2020
Brand Management – Pandemic Edition
Rapidly changing conditions and recommendations are dramatically impacting the direction of many companies right now and many businesses are still in crisis communications mode. Many businesses, however, are moving past crisis mode and are closed or have rapidly reduced their operation. The question now becomes – If you’ve already adapted to the “new normal” where your business is concerned there is a lot you can do to strengthen your brand and your reputation. Here are some tips to help you navigate these uncharted waters. First and foremost, focus on the greater good. Aside from messages about your business that your customers require you should focus on creating content that is helpful in some way. This is not the time for sales messages. What aspects of your business can be helpful to everyone, not just your customers? Brainstorm creative, easy ways you can contribute through relevant, non-promotional content. For example: Restaurants providing daily recipes from their menu that are easy to make at home. Dermatologists offering remedies for chapped hands. An improv consultant creating short videos on using improv tools to reduce stress. Engage, engage, engage. Now is the time to engage one-on-one with you customers and the world at large. Get […]
Customer Behavior , Social Media
March 12, 2020
99 Words That Evoke Comfort
For many of us, the impact of the coronavirus here in the U.S. right now is more emotional than physical. Although that ratio of concern will change dramatically over the next few days as many more of us become ill, there are tools in marketing that can help us alleviate some of the issues around mental health many of us are experiencing. Feelings of panic (translated into buying massive amounts of toilet paper), anxiety, fear and all the other emotions are causing us lost sleep at a minimum. Words are an important component of everyone’s toolkit that can be used for good. This is a no-brainer for carefully constructed messages from organizations and leaders, and people like me are employed to review these messages to the nth degree. But what about when we talk to each other? Or post on social media? We can all do our part to help calm each other by using words that invoke comfort – rather than fear. It seems small, but it can really help convert anxiety into action. (If you’re looking for more on that transformation here’s a great blog post from GoodTherapy.org.) Before I get to the actual words, those of us […]
