As we step into 2025, let’s reflect on the trends we predicted last year. Out of five forecasts, four materialized and remain relevant, while one proved overly ambitious. Here’s what we saw unfold: 1. Programmatic Sustainability Supply Path Optimization (SPO) has been a buzzword for years, but in 2024, we saw it evolve. The focus…
Read MoreMindgruveMacarta Stood Out at Adweek LATAM 2024
Adweek LATAM has solidified itself as one of the region’s most significant events for marketing, advertising, and media. The 2024 edition was held at Papalote Museo del Niño in Mexico City, serving as a meeting point for brands, agencies, and industry professionals across Latin America. The event offered a dynamic platform for conversation and learning…
Read MoreMindgruveMacarta Celebrates Two 2024 MarCom Awards
MindgruveMacarta has been honored with two prestigious 2024 MarCom Awards, recognizing our team’s dedication to innovative, results-driven digital marketing. Organized by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), the MarCom Awards spotlight exceptional work in creativity, strategy, and execution across marketing and communications. MindgruveMacarta is named alongside world-class brands like PepsiCo, IBM, Turkish Airlines,…
Read MoreHow to Increase Sales on Amazon during Thanksgiving
What was once known as Amazon’s Turkey 5—the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—has evolved into Turkey 12 (T12), a 12-day sales event that starts before Thanksgiving. And shoppers can’t wait to take advantage. According to Amazon, 71% of shoppers plan to shop online for Black Friday, and 70% proactively check for deals during…
Read MoreAmazon UnBoxed 2024: Insights, Innovation & Global Growth With MindgruveMacarta
MindgruveMacarta had the privilege of attending Amazon UnBoxed 2024, an event where Amazon’s latest tools and strategies for brands, agencies, and advertisers took center stage. This year, Amazon emphasized a commitment to making its tools Simple, Scalable, and Inspiring—ensuring that powerful data and insights are now accessible to stakeholders at all types and sizes of…
Read MoreGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO) Part 2: How to Optimize for Generative Search Engines
Optimizing for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is fast becoming a necessity as AI-driven search engines like SearchGPT and Google’s AI Overviews become more advanced. GEO calls for a different strategy than conventional SEO, which focuses on getting your content to rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs). Read on for a few of our…
Read MoreModern Marketing Insights from the Digital Summit Conference
MindgruveMacarta sent three team members to Digital Summit Atlanta 2024. We delved into insightful sessions focused on navigating the evolving marketing landscape in an AI-driven world. With industry experts sharing their knowledge on everything from content strategy to SEO optimization, the conference offered valuable perspectives on how to engage today’s consumers effectively. We’ve compiled the…
Read More5 Holiday Shopping Trends for Performance Marketers
When it comes to retail and eCommerce, the holiday season seemingly gets longer every year. But a few key factors make this year unique. Fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas make the holiday shopping window shorter. It’s also an election year, which will disrupt the media landscape across all channels. Aligning holiday advertising with the…
Read MoreKey Takeaways from Digiday Retail Strategies in New York
Last month, MindgruveMacarta had the opportunity to attend Digiday’s Retail Strategies conference in New York, where industry leaders gathered to discuss the latest innovations and trends in retail media and digital marketing. The event offered invaluable insights into how brands are shaping their media strategies to succeed in an increasingly complex retail environment. Below are…
Read MoreMediaPost Data & Programmatic Insider Summit: Key Takeaways from MindgruveMacarta
Last month, MindgruveMacarta attended the MediaPost Data & Programmatic Insider Summit in Lake Tahoe. The summit brought together industry leaders and experts to explore the latest trends and challenges in programmatic advertising. Here are our key takeaways from the event: From Iztapalapa to the World: My Experience at the Lake Tahoe Summit Attending this summit…
Read MoreAmazon Accelerate: Key Takeaways from MindgruveMacarta
Last month, MindgruveMacarta traveled to Seattle to attend Amazon Accelerate, Amazon’s premier annual seller conference. This event brought together sellers, advertisers, and industry leaders to explore the latest innovations and strategies designed to drive success on the platform. From cutting-edge fulfillment solutions to AI-driven advertising tools, the conference offered a glimpse into Amazon’s evolving ecosystem….
Read MoreBoost Retail Media Profits by Overcoming Key Challenges
With eCommerce continuing to grow exponentially, and even previously hesitant brick-and-mortar brands starting to participate, Retail Media finds itself at a time of unprecedented potential. With so much consumer attention directed toward the industry, getting brands properly positioned in the digital advertising space has never been more critical. But in this ever-evolving landscape, brands face…
Read MoreGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO) Part 1: The Next Evolution in Search
Digital marketing is constantly evolving. Just when you think you have a handle on SEO, a new player steps onto the field. Enter Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): the latest evolution that promises to change the way we think about search. But what exactly is GEO, and why should it matter to you? Let’s break it…
Read MorePrime Big Deal Days 2024 Strategy
What began as a one-day event called Prime Day in July 2015 has transformed into multiple events throughout the year. Today, we’re walking through our strategy and approach to these major Amazon shopping events, so you can apply our learnings to the next one — Prime Big Deal Days — to be held October 8-9….
Read MoreGoogle Monopoly, What it Means & The Future of Search
Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that Google violated antitrust laws in a landmark case that the Department of Justice brought against the tech giant. Today we are going to explore what this means for advertisers. Any company that spends money on Google Ads should look into some of the details of the case,…
Read MoreNavigating the Narrow Straits of Retail Media Creative
Navigating the Narrow Straits of Retail Media Creative Imagine this: A vibrant, innovative skincare brand known for its quirky, bold advertising campaigns finds itself at the threshold of a major retail media platform. Eager to make a splash in a new market, the brand prepares to unleash its latest campaign, filled with the same humor…
Read MoreMercado Libre’s 25th Anniversary: Celebrating LATAM’s Go-to Marketplace
On August 2nd, MindgruveMacarta will be celebrating the anniversary of Mercado Libre, a retail media and ecommerce giant in Latin America that has shaped how we buy, sell, and do business. Founded in Argentina in 1999, Mercado Libre has grown to operate in 18 countries, emerging as one of Latin America’s leading ecommerce platforms. Originally…
Read MoreWhat is Amazon Inspire and How Can Sellers Utilize It?
Amazon Inspire, the e-comm giant’s answer to the lure of social shopping, offers consumers a personalized feed of shoppable videos and photos. Designed to make Amazon a go-to destination for recreational shopping and discovery, Inspire offers customers an immersive, personalized feed of shoppable videos and photos tailored to their interests. Amazon has embraced this trend…
Read MoreRetail Media: Rapidly Growing, and the Path to Consolidation
It’s no surprise that Retail Media is growing faster than almost any other form of ad spend, with a growth of 22% this last year alone. The adoption of retail media has gained extra momentum in the past few years by the continuing deprecation of third-party cookie tracking, and more stringent privacy frameworks. Since first-party…
Read MorePrime Day 2024: Marketing Strategy Tips for Retailers
It’s finally summer, which means Prime Day is right around the corner, and suspense-loving Amazon has finally released the official dates: Amazon Prime Day 2024 will take place on July 16th & 17th. As the global leader in e-commerce, Amazon holds immense influence over consumer trends and industry standards. Amazon Prime Day (and the Prime…
Read MoreDigiday Programmatic Summit: Key Takeaways from MindgruveMacarta Attendees
MindgruveMacarta attended Digiday’s Programmatic Summit in Palm Springs last month. Here’s a rundown of our key takeaways: 1. Navigating the Cookieless Future Cookie deprecation being pushed out by Google doesn’t make cookieless strategies and pivots less urgent. We already see major data loss in ad servers that rely on cookies for attribution and from channels that…
Read MoreFinancial Services Marketing Series Part 2: Finding Your Best Customers With Google Ads
Part 2: Building Out Your First Set of Google Financial Marketing Campaigns In Part 1 of our series, we discussed how financial institutions can identify their best customers and products, and established how to measure their success on Google Ads. Now let’s get more granular about how to build a paid search campaign. We’ll discuss…
Read MoreHow to Get Ready for Amazon Prime Day, Walmart Plus Week & Target Circle Week in 2024
The biggest weeks of online sales are fast approaching, and it’s time to get prepared. We’re talking about Prime Day, Walmart Plus Week, and Target Circle Week — all happening simultaneously this summer. While most deadlines for deal submissions have already passed, there’s still time to refine your strategy and ensure you’re ready to make…
Read MoreNavigating the Cookie Crumble: A Guide for DSP Users
In the digital world, ‘cookies’ refers to a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user’s computer. Cookies are made to be a reliable mechanism for websites to remember useful information and record the user’s browsing activity. In the past, advertisers utilizing Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) relied heavily on cookies to…
Read MoreFinancial Services Marketing Series Part 1: Finding Your Best Customers With Google Ads
Part 1: Setting the Foundation for Success in Marketing Financial Products & Services on Google To pay or not to pay for marketing traffic — that is the question. Will customers find you if you don’t pay for traffic from Google? Will you lose customers to larger competitors? Worse, will you lose them to an…
Read MoreUnveiling CTV Trends, Challenges, and Future Outlooks
Step into the world of Connected TV (CTV), where innovation meets entertainment in an ever-evolving digital landscape. CTV stands at the forefront of growth and opportunity as streaming services continue to reshape the way we consume media, presenting a myriad of trends, challenges, and exciting future prospects. In this blog we will peer into the…
Read More5 Updated Google Ads Rules for Finance Companies
When you help the public with their hard-earned money, there are a special set of rules to follow. You have an internal compliance team responsible for ensuring that all marketing materials accurately portray the products and services you offer. When it comes to Google Ads and search platforms, it’s important to understand how to apply…
Read MoreFour Social Media Best Practices for Retail Brands in 2024
Mastering social for retail to win more sales As the social space continues to evolve, retailers stand to gain the most from social media marketing where social followers represent potential business for brands of all shapes and sizes. Social media for retail is largely centered around the customer journey and ensuring customers feel seen and…
Read MoreUnlocking Success in Programmatic Marketing: Key Insights from Digiday Summit
Mindgruve attended Digiday’s recent Programmatic Marketing Summit in New Orleans, which served as a melting pot for industry leaders, igniting discussions on industry readiness, Google’s role, challenges beyond cookies, novel uses of AI, the complexities of retail media networks, and the surprising prominence of the creator economy. In this comprehensive recap, we explore key insights,…
Read MoreNavigating the Future: A 2024 Retail Media Forecast
The retail landscape is ever-evolving, shaped by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and the continuous quest for innovation. As we step into 2024, the retail industry finds itself at the forefront of a digital revolution, with Retail Media emerging as a key player in the game. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the trends…
Read MoreAI & Google: Which Industries Will Win & Which Should Worry
Thanks to ChatGPT, AI – both its benefits and controversies – have been in the news for the past year. We discussed how Microsoft Ads is leveraging AI, and touched on Google’s Bard. In today’s post, we’ll discuss where you can leverage AI immediately within Google’s environment, and when you should be cautious with AI. …
Read MoreWhat is Supply Path Optimization?
Supply Path Optimization, or SPO, is supply chain management for media buying. It’s a crucial part of running a successful business, but it can have detrimental effects on our environment. The Issue with the Supply Chain Did you know that serving only one thousand impressions can use the same amount of energy as running a…
Read MoreRetail Media Networks: The Rising Star of Digital Advertising
In the dynamic world of digital advertising, there’s a powerful player quietly reshaping the landscape: retail media networks. Once overshadowed by colossal platforms like Google and Facebook, today’s major retailers are stepping into the limelight. As consumers increasingly turn to e-commerce for their shopping needs, they are often met with tailored ads right at their…
Read More6 Insights Leading PR Team Discussions
2023 has been a wild ride. We’ve seen newsrooms continue to shrink, the rise of the AI revolution, big companies struggling with a new remote workforce, and a culture that values transparency now more than ever. Things are changing at a rapid pace, and the top PR firms are forced to adapt quickly. Here are…
Read More3 Ways to Leverage GenAI as a Social Media Marketer
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, social media marketers must navigate a vast amount of data, ever-changing trends, and complex user behaviors. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is a phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. Tools like ChatGPT are great for a quick brainstorming session or gut-check. Embracing GenAI is no longer an option though,…
Read MoreRetail Holiday Trends & Predictions for 2023
The holidays often bring a lot of noise in the advertising world. Markets are oversaturated, costs are higher, and inventory is snatched up faster. But when it comes to holiday shopping, the recent shifts in consumer mindset and behavior are particularly interesting. Brands will often keep doing what has worked for them historically, but not…
Read More5 Reasons Why SEO Drives Business Performance
SEO isn’t always the top priority of many marketing strategies. The value it can bring to the business is commonly misunderstood by those less familiar with SEO. It’s an honest mistake. The return on investment isn’t as clear-cut when compared to marketing channels like paid search or social media, but the value is undeniable with…
Read MoreGrow Your Business with LinkedIn Newsletters
LinkedIn newsletters have emerged as a powerful tool for those aiming to bolster their online presence and connect with their audience effectively. In this article, we cover everything you need to know, including how to create one. What are LinkedIn Newsletters? LinkedIn newsletters are periodic publications that provide updates on relevant news. They consist of…
Read More2023 Audio Landscape for Marketers
Audio Time Spent Growth By next year, a fifth of all time spent with interactive digital media in the US will go to digital audio. Spotify will take up almost an hour per day this year, and Pandora will take 48 minutes. Over half of digital audio listeners are tuning in to podcasts at least…
Read MoreNavigating the Amazon Customer Journey
The concept of the “Customer Journey” is fundamental in the world of ecommerce. Understanding how potential customers progress from recognizing their need for a product, to ultimately choosing yours is pivotal, especially in an environment where numerous brands vie for attention. Traditionally, the marketing funnel is built on three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. However,…
Read MoreMeta Introduces Threads
Threads is Meta’s newest social product. It was built by Instagram and is a text-sharing app and Twitter competitor. Threads offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. Just like on Instagram, Threads users can follow and connect with friends, creators, and brands. Threads is the name for both the app as…
Read MoreBuilding Your Brand: 5 Best Online SEO Tools
When developing your brand’s website, one of the most vital components to ensure success is a thoughtful plan to engage your target audience. If you want to accomplish this, and stay competitive, you need to consider SEO. Whether you choose to work with an agency or develop a plan with your in-house team, SEO tools…
Read MoreUnraveling Meta’s Conversions API
Facebook Conversions API has become the new solution to tracking data since Apple’s iOS 14 privacy update was rolled out in April 2021. This made it mandatory for users to opt in or out of allowing Facebook to track their behavior across websites and apps owned by different businesses. If someone decides to opt out…
Read MoreSocial Media Marketing for Ecommerce: 12 Tips to Drive Sales and Revenue
Ecommerce has been growing rapidly in recent years, and it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to have a strong online presence. While there are many ways to drive traffic to your ecommerce store, one of the most effective and cost-efficient methods is through organic social media. Social media is responsible for driving 32% of online…
Read More5 Questions to Ask When Building Out Your Crisis Communication Plan
In the age of social media and instant news updates, companies need to be prepared to respond to crises quickly and effectively. The results of a new study found that less than half of surveyed U.S. companies have a formal crisis communication plan in place. This lack of preparation can lead to disastrous consequences—for both…
Read MoreHow Long Until CPG Ad Spend Pays Back?
Paid advertising is an important piece of the marketing strategy for many companies that sell CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) such as food, household items, personal care products, and more. It can be used to create awareness of the product, increase engagement with the brand, and drive sales. Typically, the ultimate goal is a positive return…
Read MoreA Look Back at 2022 Automation Updates In Google Ads
Last year, Google Ads made buzzworthy pushes that focused heavily on automation and AI. While this certainly proves the realm of paid search and digital marketing is advancing, advertisers are wary of the changes – and for good reason as machine learning should not fully be entrusted to do the entirety of the job. Additionally,…
Read MoreWhat to Include in your SEO Audit Checklist
Should you use a checklist for SEO audits? Yes, but in order to get the most out of a site audit that relies on a checklist, it’s a good idea to customize the list to fit the needs of your website, the platform, and the type of business. Since search engine optimization is a long-game…
Read MoreThe Rundown on Instagram Guide Features
Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic with the intention of spreading helpful information on wellness topics, Instagram Guides curates related posts into a condensed blog-like model. Guides can be formatted to highlight collections of posts, products, or places for followers to explore on the app. This easy-to-navigate feature is located under its own tab on any…
Read MoreSocial Media Trends to Capitalize On
Every new year brings with it a refreshed opportunity for success. That chance for growth is no different on the social frontier. In an always evolving digital world, creators and brands aspire to keep their fingers on the pulse of social platforms to move their respective goals forward. Here are three social media trends to…
Read More2023 Marketing Trends: What to Expect in Digital Marketing
Recapping 2022 Before laying out our expectations for digital marketing this year, let’s first take a journey back to see how digital marketing predictions for 2022 fared. We were optimistic about digital spend, which was proven correct. eMarketer projected +12% and we saw +12.5% driven by paid search and display (including rich media, video, and…
Read MoreThe Trade Desk Lookalikes: Why Advertisers Can’t Get Enough
Lookalike (LAL) data can be used in a variety of paid media, like social media and search. However, it can also be utilized in the programmatic space for advertisers to access via self-serve or managed platforms. The world of programmatic media can be an intimidating topic to tackle, but it’s also a goldmine of untapped…
Read MoreThe 2023 Paid Search Forecast
Paid search, whether Google or Microsoft Ads, is a channel that powers many businesses. The ability to target individuals by the keywords they are searching, layering on geo targets, demographics, type of device, and more offers a powerful tool for the marketer. Both Microsoft and Google Ad platforms have continued to evolve in the race…
Read MoreConvergent TV: What It Is and Where It’s Going
Mindgruve attended AdWeek’s Convergent TV Summit West in October to explore all the ways TV is changing and what lies ahead. Convergent strategies that include both linear and CTV/OTT are giving brands the opportunity to increase audience reach and overall performance goals. Leaders at the forefront of the industry discussed the various ways they’re leveraging…
Read MoreAffiliate Marketing: A ROAS Goldmine
Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective way for brands, both big and small, to promote their products and services. But what exactly is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where publishers earn a commission by promoting a product or service made by another retailer (or advertiser) using an affiliate link. The affiliate…
Read MoreDigiday Media Buying Summit Recap: Harnessing Tech to Reach a Changed Consumer
Mindgruve attended Digiday’s 2022 Media Buying Summit in October. The conference focused on expected challenges from looming changes to our economy, changes in consumer behavior post-pandemic, and changes to privacy (and therefore identity) in the face of potential browser policies or regulatory legislation affecting our industry. Over three days, we convened with fellow industry experts…
Read MoreThe Importance of Diagrams in Email Marketing
A workflow diagram is an important component of building successful email campaigns. What are Diagrams? A diagram is a tool that organizations need to understand the connections and flows in their email marketing campaigns. Diagrams can be complex — involving hundreds of connections to external systems — or they can be simple, running on automations…
Read MoreOptimize Your Blog: 5 Writing Tips for SEO
As modern trends continuously shift across all industries, it’s important to stay ahead of your competition. One of the most prominent ways to outperform your competitors can be through your business’ blog posts. Keeping SEO top-of-mind from the start of your content outline makes Google SERP boosting efforts easier down the line. Below are five…
Read More2022 Holiday Shopping Trends
The growth of ecommerce sales coming out of the 2020 pandemic contributed to the fastest retail spend growth rate in 20 years, reaching upwards of 16% in 2021. This increase in spend was shown most profitable during the 2021 holiday season, with Black Friday sales growing 3% to hit $10.9 billion, and Thanksgiving sales growing…
Read MoreHow to Leverage Access on Youtube and CTV
The cord cutting movement has been on the rise since the day videos became available on the internet. Now audiences can watch any of their favorite shows on platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime and Peacock. For advertisers, that means shifting with the audience from traditional TV buys to CTV and OTT. Whenever there is a…
Read More5 Tactics to Create a Winning Holiday Marketing Strategy
It’s never too early to get a headstart on your holiday marketing plan. Last year, 31% of shoppers began searching for products as early as June. As an advertiser, your plan should align with the trend of holiday shoppers starting earlier year after year. Shoppers have also become increasingly aware of global supply chain issues…
Read More11 Ways to Measure SEO Success
What exactly is going on in your SEO department? That question is one of the most common—and most challenging—questions to answer since “it depends.” A variety of factors impact rankings. For a single webpage, you may use several tools with dozens of metrics each, depending on the area of search engine optimization you would like to…
Read MoreThe Pros of Advertising on Pinterest
Pinterest differs from other social media platforms in that its users aren’t updating their peers about changes in their lives. Instead, they’re sharing new ideas and interests through ‘pinning’ videos, photos, and lifestyle inspiration visuals to their pages. Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media platforms, allowing marketers to leverage a large market…
Read More9 Tips for Creating Responsive Search Ads
The era of Expanded Text Ads ends June 30th, 2022. Advertisers will no longer be able to create or edit this existing ad type, and instead must utilize Responsive Search Ads (RSAs). RSAs have been available for some time now, and most advertisers have probably already begun testing and adopting them. That said, a refresher…
Read MoreAre QR Codes Making a Comeback?
In 2010, QR codes were popular among consumers, but since mobile technology wasn’t as advanced then, they fell out of use. Since the beginning of the pandemic, however, the popularity of QR codes has surged, in large part because businesses have been relying on them to streamline processes and maintain contactless interaction with customers. In…
Read MoreYou Should be Using Social Listening to Inform Your Overall Strategy. Here’s the Breakdown.
Social listening is an effective tool for marketers to understand conversations surrounding a brand and competitors in a given vertical. Uncovering the attitude and feelings people have about your brand on social media, also known as social sentiment, allows you to make sense of online noise and keep track of key conversations, evaluate tone, and…
Read MoreInstagram Hashtag Best Practices
The concept of hashtags was first introduced to Twitter back in 2007. Their purpose was to index keywords or topics, which still holds true to this day. This strategy was so well received that other social networks have adopted it, and it plays a key role in any social media marketing strategy. Although the use…
Read MoreA Guide to Advertising on Reddit
Reddit is a discussion-focused forum where users can talk about almost anything. Users on Reddit – unlike on other social media platforms – are anonymous by default and have the choice of sharing their identifying information. The platform gives its users the opportunity to browse millions of “subreddits”, which are topics of interest that range…
Read MoreNavigating a Cookieless World Part III: Postponement and Another Alternative
After postponing to remove 3rd party tracking cookies from Chrome in 2022 to 2023, it took Google less than a year to drop FLoC after much negative industry feedback (privacy concerns, lack of attribution, it’s a black box, along with other worries), and announced their new replacement, Topics API in January of this year. What…
Read MoreStop Buying Instagram Followers. Use This Plan Instead.
Stop Buying Instagram Followers. Use This Plan Instead. Some say it’s part of human nature to be impatient. We see it often in diets — people want quick and easy ways to get the results they want. They’re not willing to put in the work. Unfortunately, the truth is you have to make small consistent…
Read MoreNavigating the Metaverse
Not sure what the Metaverse even is? Don’t worry, we weren’t totally sure either once Mark Zuckerberg released Meta (formerly known as Facebook) and created an entire universe online. With an emphasis on social connection, this could be the newest way our real world and digital spaces intertwine. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, launched Meta…
Read MoreMindgruve Lands in the Top 3% of Agencies on Google
Mindgruve has some exciting news to share! We are now in the top 3% of agencies to receive the Google Premier Partner status. Becoming a Google Partner means that we’re now recognized for maximizing campaign success for clients, driving client growth by maintaining client campaigns, and demonstrating Google Ads skills and expertise with certifications. As…
Read MoreHow to Handle Negative Comments on Social Media
Social media plays an integral part in your company’s overall marketing and communication strategy. Having a social media presence helps you build brand awareness and acts as a gateway of communication that portrays your organization’s message. As your company grows its online presence, social engagement increases, and criticism and negative comments tend to be inevitable….
Read More2022 SEO Trends: All About the Content
2022 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for SEO and passage indexing, as Google is putting more emphasis on user intent and the changes in mobile scrolling. In order to rank ahead of the competition with these new changes, it’s crucial to focus on your website content. If you want to outrank competitors,…
Read MoreThe Rise of Retail Media Networks
For years, retailers have advertised by buying ad placements across the web to promote their overall brand, products, and deals. However, in the past few years, retailers like Lowe’s and Best Buy are jumping on to a trend that we only expect to see increase throughout 2022: the rise of retailer media networks. Now, instead…
Read More2022 Marketing Trends: What to Expect in Digital Marketing
What can marketers expect in 2022? We expect to get more comfortable with our new normal in 2022, with many returning to pre-pandemic activities, despite Omicron’s spread. It’s to be determined what this will mean in future months, but marketing trends, at least, are optimistic. eMarketer projects total media ad spend in the US will…
Read MoreThe Future of Youtube Advertising
As Youtube continues to grow in size and value, the Google-owned company is consistently testing new ways to help brands reach their target audience through advertising. Youtube advertising has become one of the largest centers for digital ads right after Facebook and Amazon, with reported ad revenue of $20 billion last year alone. In order…
Read MoreBoost Holiday Sales with Stronger Emails
We’re almost to December, and all across the country people are breaking out their holiday decor. Preparing for the holiday season can spark a wealth of different emotions, ranging from bliss to dread — and that’s not even factoring in the pandemic burnout many may still be dealing with. So how can you market to…
Read MoreIs Nextdoor The Next Big Ad Platform?
What is Nextdoor? Nextdoor is a social media platform that offers exclusive, local neighborhood updates where users exchange helpful information, goods and services. Nextdoor is unique from other social media platforms through its verification process; all Nextdoor users have to verify their address before joining to ensure that they receive content related to their specific…
Read MoreUsing Youtube to Grow Your Brand
Although we may think of Youtube as the prime destination for funny cat videos, in recent years it has grown to be an effective way to advertise and reach your target audience. Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world, with over 1 billion registered subscribers. The odds are, your audience is on…
Read MoreeCommerce Holiday Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2021 Ecomm Tips Encourage and collect as many customer reviews as possible. Shoppers that thoroughly research products before making a purchase will be less likely to buy your products if you lack truthful customer reviews. BF and CM (Black Friday and Cyber Monday) sales have increased consecutively over the…
Read MoreTips for Building a Community Around Your Brand on Social Media
How to Improve Social Media Presence From a brand’s perspective, utilizing social media can be a very powerful tool. It’s a great way to connect with current customers as well as reach potential new ones. But the world of social media is much more complex than simply having a social presence across networks and publishing…
Read MoreProject Management Best Practices
Communication at the Core of Project Management Project Management is a bit like a dance – knowing when to lead, when to follow, when to focus on budgets, timelines and details, and when to connect with others on a personal level. It’s an artform that a few will come by naturally, others will develop and…
Read MoreThe Benefits to Advertising on Snapchat
We may know Snapchat as a messaging platform between friends, but it also offers an array of advertising opportunities that are perfect to hit your target audience. You can approach the platform for high-level awareness tactics, build up trust within the community and establish your brand as #1, and track purchases if you are an…
Read MoreBoosting 101 – Everything You Need to Know About Boosting Facebook Posts
Facebook Boosted Posts and How They Differ From Paid Ads Facebook boosted posts offer businesses a way to ensure that their organic social media content is seen by more users. Boosting posts differs from paid ads in that all of the engagement metrics happen on a post on the brand’s profile. Additionally, paid ad campaigns…
Read MoreSEO – A Game of Patience
When working with companies, the same question comes up time and time again: “How long does SEO take?” To see noticeable results, it usually takes about three months, but it can take even longer. For a lot of people, SEO can seem like a bit of a mystery. This past June, Google’s John Mueller tried…
Read MoreHow to Optimize a Press Release – 12 Steps to Get Coverage
According to PR Newswire, 800 press releases are sent out via their service every day in the United States. WIth all of the noise, it’s hard to make your press release stand out. Here are 12 press release tips that will ensure your press release gets the most coverage. Press Release Dos Create a click-worthy…
Read More[First Look] Google’s Core Web Vitals
In May 2020 Google introduced a new ranking factor for search engines: Page Experience. While “mobile first” indexing (beginning in 2017 and finally completing in May 2021) was the first move toward using page experience as a factor in search engine ranking, the Page Experience rollout seeks to improve search results for users by providing…
Read MoreThe Future of Ecommerce: How COVID-19 is Impacting Ecommerce in 2021
The pandemic – and its associated lockdowns and stay-at-home orders – have caused ecommerce to rise to an all time high. And with the increase in direct-to-consumer sales comes a strain on shippers and retailers to meet the growing expectations of consumers who want their orders fast, cheap, and environmentally friendly. Yet, even as communities…
Read MoreMarketing on Clubhouse – is it worth it?
What is Clubhouse? Clubhouse is an invite-only, audio-only social media application that allows users to create, host and join chat rooms. The application has been compared to a virtual conference, with thousands of rooms and presentations that listeners can duck their head into to listen or raise their hand to participate in the discussion. At…
Read MoreResponsive Search Ads Are Now the Default
Google recently announced that its responsive search ads (RSA), which debuted just a few years ago, will now serve as the default format in Google Ads. Moving forward, advertisers can expect prompts to create them first instead of the longstanding expanded text ads (ETA). On the surface this seems to be an innocuous Google Ads…
Read MoreSEO is Going Mobile
The rapid increase of mobile device usage in recent years has dramatically shifted search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. According to Google, more than half of all website traffic occurs via smartphones and tablets. eCommerce businesses, in other words, must now account for the fact that half of all online visitors are on their mobile…
Read MoreTikTok Transitions Into eCommerce
To better compete in the social atmosphere, the fast-growing app TikTok has been making strides towards increasing their eCommerce options. As users have increased their daily TikTok usage since the app launched in 2016, brands and small businesses have profited largely from viral trends. According to an annual report of 2020 taken by App Annie,…
Read MoreImprove Mobile Marketing Lead Generation
Balancing the quality of leads versus quantity. Preventing abandonment. Keeping up with optimizations. When it comes to lead generation, the list of challenges goes on and on. Especially in the mobile marketing space, which has lagged behind desktop for years. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn are attempting to change course by creating a new type of…
Read MoreNavigating a Cookieless World Part II: The Latest from Google
Recently, we took a look into the near future at a Cookieless world and explored what cookieless tracking could mean for brands and their customers. In part two of this blog series, we break down Google’s recent announcement that solidified its approach. What did we already know? Google will be phasing out third-party Cookies on…
Read MoreWhy Endemic Advertising Should Be Part of Your Media Mix
Also known as vertical advertising, endemic advertising refers to ad placements that are contextually relevant to the markets and websites they’re running on. While this might seem like a no-brainer, in the world of modern media endemic partners rarely come up when fleshing out a strategic media plan. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is…
Read MoreLooking Into the Future of Television
2020 drastically shifted the baselines of TV viewership. What did we learn and what’s to come with next-generation TV experiences? The adoption of in-home lifestyle across work, fitness and entertainment is here to stay. In 2020, the TV industry saw several years of disruption and innovation compressed into just a few short months. “COVID has…
Read MoreFacebook & the Apple iOS 14 Update
Apple’s iOS 14 policy update started rolling out globally in January 2021. It’s meant to protect customer data from being used without permission. While this is a step in the right direction for consumer privacy, citing its disagreement, Facebook announced its intention to move forward with the Apple Limit Ad Tracking (LAT) prompt associated with…
Read MoreDigiday Brand Summit Recap: A Consumer First Evolution
Mindgruve joined Digiday’s 2021 Brand Summit in January, which focused on marketing industry evolutions. The biggest marketing themes, more specifically, were bracing for change and putting the consumer first. After 2020, the industry won’t return to a pre-Covid normalcy. Brands will need to adapt, while staying true to who they are. Theme 1: Listen to…
Read MoreThe (Near) Future of Paid Social
2021, much like last year, will be filled with uncertainty for marketers. As much as we all would like to believe 2020 is far behind us, it has had a major and lasting impact on nearly every industry. Businesses of all types have pivoted their paid social strategies, which will influence consumer behavior. There are…
Read MoreWhat Can Search Marketers Expect This Year?
2020 was a wild year for search marketers. Some had to adapt to never-before-seen scenarios and realign their search campaigns accordingly. Others paused efforts altogether as industries collapsed under the weight of the pandemic. And still others doubled and tripled down on spend to capitalize on new search marketing opportunities. Needless to say, the search…
Read MoreHow SEO & Email Will Evolve in 2021
Earned media is showing no signs of slowing down. Below are some of the most prominent trends in SEO and email we’ll likely see over the course of the year. SEO Trends Core Web Vitals – Google rolled out core web vitals in 2020, which will begin to factor into its ranking algorithm in the…
Read More2021 Marketing Trends
What can marketers expect in 2021? We won’t ring in the New Year and step into a new world of marketing, although there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Especially when the bar has been set so low the past 12 months. eMarketer projects total media ad spend in the US will be down…
Read MoreHow to Rank on Google & Increase Market Share
“Do we outrank our competitors on Google?” It’s a question that’s often asked internally by brands, but not so easily answered for both SEM novices and veterans alike. Certainly, it’s more complicated than “Yes” or “No.” This blog post attempts to shed some light on the subject with crucial resources, strategy and tips. When implemented…
Read MorePodcast Advertising: Basics You Need to Know
2020 could be considered the Year of the Podcast. With lockdowns affecting millions across the US, people have been turning to alternative forms of entertainment. This is especially true of podcasts, both listening and launching their own. According to eMarketer, listenership is estimated to double by the end of 2020 to 105.6 million and grow…
Read MoreThe Impact of the Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) – Proposition 24
Californians recently had the chance to vote on Proposition 24, also known as the Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Broadly speaking, it’s meant to expand the preexisting California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and give consumers more control over how companies use their data. It also eliminates the ability of those companies to fix violations before…
Read More5 Paid Social Tips for the Holiday Season
Historically, the cost of digital advertising increases at the end of each year due to retailers capitalizing on gift-giving holidays and major retail sales events such as Black Friday. Adding the effects of the pandemic to the mix in 2020, the cost may be higher than anything the industry has experienced. In the past six…
Read MoreData, Privacy & The Marketer’s Dilemma
Data, Privacy & The Marketer’s Dilemma Privacy concerns are growing due to continuous hacks and misuse of personal data. The Great Hack on Netflix is an eye-opening example of this practice and the shift in public perception. Governments around the world are responding with new regulations such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)…
Read MoreHow to Monitor Technical SEO Efforts | Part 3
After covering how to monitor on- and off-page SEO efforts in the first two posts,“How to Monitor Technical SEO Efforts” is the last of a three-part series that emphasizes the importance of maximizing the ROI of these critical tactics. What is Technical SEO? Technical SEO covers the specialized steps taken to help Google’s algorithm effectively…
Read MoreHow to Monitor Off-Page SEO Efforts | Part 2
In part one of this series we covered on-page SEO, which is the sum of all actions taken directly on your website to improve its ranking in the SERPs. Conversely, off-page SEO is the practice of optimizing components outside of your website, connecting with other businesses and media outlets to improve its ranking in the…
Read MoreGoogle Ad Extensions – Increase The Footprint of Your Ad
The Google ecosystem exists to present the most relevant information to a user. One of the most effective ways is Google Ad extensions. These unique ad formats are about one thing: providing additional information, which empowers a user to self-select where on an advertiser’s website they would like to land. Since their introduction, Google has…
Read MoreHow to Monitor On-Page SEO Efforts | Part 1
SEO monitoring is crucial to optimizing your website, measuring the effectiveness of your efforts and identifying and fixing errors quickly. “How to Monitor On-Page SEO Efforts” is the first of a three-part series in which we will outline how to maximize the ROI of this critical tactic. What is On-Page SEO? On-page SEO is the…
Read MoreEffective Strategies for Retail Brands on Amazon
Amazon accounts for 40% of all US online retail sales, according to eMarketer. That was pre-pandemic and since then Amazon reported a 25% sales increase YoY in Q1 with stock up 45%. Its brand value is now worth more than $415 billion, according to Kantar and WPP. These staggering statistics mean brands must balance their…
Read MoreThe Evolution of the Facebook Algorithm
Since 2018, Facebook’s algorithm has been rapidly changing to make users’ time on the platform more meaningful and valuable. In an effort to be more transparent and give users control of what they see, Facebook made critical updates in early 2020. What is the Facebook Ads Algorithm? The Facebook Algorithm works to serve ads to…
Read MoreSEO for Voice Search: How It’s Changing Optimization Best Practices
Voice search tops nearly every list of 2020 marketing trends. However, there are still a number of questions that surround the trending technology and how it will shape the future of marketing. Specifically, SEO. We break down the truth about voice search, how it’s changing SEO and optimization best practices for the impending voice search…
Read MoreNo CMO Should Overlook This Line Item For 2020 Budgets
Paid Search is included in almost every marketing budget in 2020, but a defensive paid search campaign is often overlooked and should be considered as a separate marketing line item. What is “Defensive Paid Search”? Mindgruve defines “defensive paid search” as using paid search ads to defend your brand from negative third-party reviews and listings. …
Read MoreMindgruve’s Media Team Talks Programmatic Advertising
Twenty years after its introduction, advertising via programmatic buying is now widely considered effective, efficient and reliable. In fact, with capabilities like real time data and insights, immediate placements and hyper-focused targeting, advertisers in the U.S. are expected to spend $84 billion on programmatic campaigns in 2019 alone. Mindgruve’s media team is well versed in…
Read MoreDigiday Future of TV Summit Takeaways
Mindgruve attended the Digiday Future of TV Summit in Palm Springs this past April. The conference hosted brands and agencies from around the country to discuss TV advertising in the streaming era. Television ratings are down, TV ad costs are up and the state of the tactic is in flux as new publishers emerge and…
Read MoreContent Is The New Ad
Creating a successful marketing plan is about finding balance. Balance between tactics that drive massive awareness and tactics that engage potential consumers at a deeper level. When seeking reach, it’s not uncommon for marketers to experience limits to the scale of effectiveness when utilizing popular digital tactics such as banners, native or social ads. While…
Read MoreWhat the disruption to TV advertising means for marketers
TV advertising is still one of the most powerful and influential tactics. Since the 1950s, the television has been the centerpiece in living rooms across the country. As soap operas, sitcoms, documentaries and more captivated people, marketers were afforded opportunities to do the same, creating one of the most effective advertising mediums ever. Today, TVs…
Read MoreThe Roundup – September 2017 Edition
Each month, we recap the biggest industry news by rounding up a handful of can’t-miss articles. In September, we saw tech giants spend big on television, heard a call for marketers to refocus on awareness, noticed missed opportunities on YouTube and more. Why Tech Giants Like Google and Amazon Are Spending Big On TV Ads…
Read MoreBrands Embrace Virtual Reality as a Storytelling Tool for Their Content Marketing
As technology advances, the Jetsons-like future of self-driven cars, robot security guards, and smart devices is slowly becoming the norm. Virtual reality (VR), in particular, is no longer a distant pipe dream. While still new, a bit clunky, and expensive, it’s also emerging as a go-to tool for content marketing. As with any trend, brands…
Read More7 Need to Know 2017 Marketing Trends
1. Digital ad spend is on par with TV now. The balance shifted faster than expected and digital spend will likely exceed TV next year. Spend isn’t moving away from TV to digital, but rather from Print and Local media, according to eMarketer. For the digital space, we’re seeing a consolidation of tech and publishing…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Optimal Media Mix?
Over the past twenty years, as digital outlets evolved into what they are today, marketing decision-making has become increasingly complex. Consumers’ attention is split across a multitude of vehicles—gone are the days of bucketing your budget into TV, print and radio while feeling confident that your target customer is receiving your message. So, too, are…
Read MoreProgrammatic TV: What is it, How Does it Work and What are the Benefits?
What is programmatic TV? As Digiday.com explains, programmatic TV is “[t]he technology automated and data driven way to buy and deliver ads against TV content. This includes digital TV ads served across web, mobile devices and connected TV.” But how does programmatic TV buying actually work? What are the benefits? And if it is all that great,…
Read MoreChad Robley & Lucie Greene Talk Gen Z
Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of Innovation at J. Walter Thompson, recently published her Generation Z trend report, which includes more than 70 pages of research, analysis, and brand examples offering insights as to where our culture is headed and how to best reach our newest generation of consumers. During Interactive Day 2015’s keynote, Mindgruve’s CEO,…
Read More17 Facebook & Email Marketing Best Practices
Facebook is uniting efforts with several partners, including email marketing platform Mailchimp, to help small and medium businesses take advantage of their digital potential. On June 4th, the Boost Your Business with Facebook half-day conference stopped in San Diego. And of course Mindgruve had to be there! Expert panelists, guests, partners and the Facebook team…
Read More13 Takeaways from Mary Meeker’s Report: 2015 Internet Trends
Every year, famous “Queen of the Net” Mary Meeker from venture capital firm KPCB, presents “The Internet Report.” This year, it comes in at a whopping 196 slides. We’ve condensed it to 13 key points that we, as marketers, care about most and think you should know: Internet users grew from less than 1% of…
Read MoreWhy Mobile-Friendly Websites Will Win In 2015
Introducing Google’s New Mobile Guidelines & Tools It’s no longer a surprise, we all know that online mobile usage is growing at the speed of light and quickly taking over desktop usage across industries. As a result, mobile search and mobile applications are the first touchpoints between users and brands. 2014 was already announced as…
Read MoreWhy Programmatic Buying Is Growing in Popularity
It seems as if marketers move further and further away from direct buys and fall more into the world of programmatic buying. An article on Ad Exchanger by Sarah Sluis states that 87% of brands and agencies plan to spend 50% more on programmatic ad buys. Advertising Age is projecting that $9.8 billion will be…
Read More7 Reasons Why You Want to Add Mobile Targeting to Your Marketing Campaign
Every marketer encounters the battle of deciding where to put his or her digital marketing dollars. Do you choose to run a desktop-only campaign? Is mobile and tablet-specific targeting really worth it? Here are seven simple reasons why mobile marketing can increase your brand’s ROI.
Read MoreThe Sweet Spot: How to Avoid Being “Too Salesy” on Social Media
Lately, we’ve been tasked to think of ways to market a product via social media without making the tweet or post sound “too salesy.” Sound familiar? After all, with nearly 60% of Facebook and Instagram users and 46% of Twitter users logging on every day, your brand better speak to the masses in the most…
Read MoreMobile Email Marketing: Avoiding the ‘Unsubscribe’
To put it simply, we’re living in the age of screens. Screens of all sizes, of different operating systems, and all have their own set of rules for mobile content. According to a study done by Business Insider, the global smart phone penetration exploded from 5% in 2009 to 22% by the end of 2013….
Read MoreWhat You Need To Know About Millennials
Being a Millennial isn’t as easy as it looks. For those of us born after 1981, we have to live with crushing student loan debt, being labeled as lazy or entitled and people waiting in line to tell us just what’s wrong with our generation. Not to mention, our childhood heroes are constantly being unceremoniously…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Post, Pin, & Tweet: The Best Time to Outreach
As a person slightly addicted to social media and a professional social media consultant, I tend to be browsing through my networks every other waking hour (I wish this were an exaggeration). My supervisor kindly refers to me as a “power user.” However, I’m not the general population of social media users. Most tend to…
Read More4 Better Ways to Spend Your Marketing Budget Than at Comic-Con
There’s no doubt. Brands LOVE Comic-Con and so do we. But, as the main exhibit hall gets more crowded each year, it’s becoming obvious that grabbing the attention of attendees is extremely difficult unless you’re spending a ton to promote the next summer blockbuster. Don’t have millions to spend? Here’s a couple ways that brands…
Read MoreTNT’s Integrated Marketing Campaign for Comic-Con
Author’s note: Warning! This article contains some Game of Thrones spoilers. Brace yourselves, San Diego. Comic-Con is coming. Whether you’re a visitor to our beautiful city or a local dreading the imminent Gaslamp traffic, you probably noticed that San Diego’s Gaslamp district is slowly transforming into a media planner’s dream. Storefronts will begin transforming into…
Read MoreWho Are Brands Overlooking at Comic-Con?
What comes to mind when you picture a San Diego Comic-Con attendee? Is it a comic book “geek” with a poster tube slung across his shoulder? A film buff in a movie t-shirt and cargo shorts? Or is it an avid gamer with a Mountain Dew in hand? Every year, Comic-Con grows exponentially with 130,000…
Read MoreObserving a (fantastic) Twitter trend: #TrueDetectiveSeason2
If you subscribe to HBO (or are lucky enough to have a friend or family member who is more than willing to lend you their HBO Go login information), you may be a fan of the crime drama, True Detective, created and written by Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Though its first…
Read MoreSocial Media Marketing World 2014: “Let’s Get Social”
I had the opportunity to attend Social Media Marketing World 2014 from March 27th to March 28th to learn from some of the world’s most influential thought leaders in the social media and digital marketing world. During my time there, I’ve acquired a vast amount of invaluable information and education about social media and the…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] 2014 State of Digital Marketing
We understand the importance of keeping our finger on the pulse of emerging trends in digital marketing. For instance, though investment in digital is growing, only 25% of a marketing budget is used for online efforts. Of course, we anticipate these investments to grow even bigger as consumers turn to technology and thus are changing…
Read More2014 Marketing Trends: Get Your Search, Social & Mobile On
There has been a lot of discussions about the future of search and search marketing over the past 3 years. The industry has been moving toward quality-focused solutions that aim at improving user experience. In laymen terms, content is still king, social media is queen, big data is prince and SEO is the grand vizier….
Read MoreSEO in 2014: 5 New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make
Resolution#1: Focus on Quality Content 2013 was a busy year for Google: several additional Panda and Penguin updates targeting low quality content and spam link schemes, as well as the release of the new Hummingbird algorithm which focuses on relevancy and understanding users’ search intents. Topped with the continued rise of not provided keyword data…
Read MoreVideo Ads: Intrusive or Worth the Watch?
Video is all the rage. Or so it seems. During its initial testing, Facebook noticed increased engagement and positive results from their auto-play video ads. Now, Facebook is rolling out auto-play video ads to the masses, and you know what, I’m not so bothered by it. Though some users are finding this tactic intrusive, the…
Read MoreRamp Up Your Email Marketing Strategy for 2014
Email marketing saw some big milestones this year. Yahoo announced it would begin recycling inactive email addresses older than one year. Outlook.com graduated from beta and replaced Hotmail’s web email service. Google brought tabs to millions of inboxes. Litmus hosted the first ever Email Design Conference. And just last week, we learned Google will begin…
Read MoreNative Advertising: Coming to a Comment Section Near You
Sponsored story. Branded content. Native advertising. Whatever you name it, it’s advertising. And studies show that readers prefer native advertising to the traditional banner ad, for the most part. According to the IPG Media Lab and Sharethrough study, “consumers looked at native ads 52% more frequently than banner ads.” Those are a lot of potential…
Read MoreHow To Integrate SEO Into Your Seasonal Marketing Strategy
As customers today expect to find more discounts and deals during the holiday season, it’s imperative that you develop and implement a long standing strategy to stay relevant. Seasonal marketing involves incorporating climate trends into your strategy in order to drive more sales or traffic to your website at specific times of the year. As…
Read MoreGoogle (not provided) and the Future Of SEO
SEO is dead. We’ve all heard so many times over the years. Yet we are still here. Google’s latest strike with the move toward 100% (not provided) is only one more line in a long list. In 2011, Google announced that they decided to move toward secure search to improve their users’ privacies, which meant…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Keys to Winning the Content Marketing Marathon
Lately, buzz phrase, “content marketing,” has been circulating around the marketing world. Everyone is hoping to achieve the ideal content marketing strategy, yet some strategists are still trying to figure out the exact formula to achieve the best results. It’s a trial-and-error world out there, but it all begins with a solid foundation to kick-off…
Read MoreWhat Not to Do On Social: Hijack Users’ Twitter Accounts
Users produce content. It doesn’t necessarily mean you, as a platform, are given free rein over it to use as advertising (according to California law). After losing in court and a cool $20 million settlement later, Facebook has learned its lesson: obtain the user’s consent and clearly state that a user’s shared content will possibly…
Read MoreWelcome to Agency X – Can I Take Your Order?
Dunkin Donuts, Jack in the Box, Subway… agency? Franchises aren’t just for food anymore –with chain shops popping up around the US, media outlets are beginning to take interest in this unconventional format. In a recent AdAge article, Alexandra Bruell delves into the franchise model with a focus on ViaMark, an East Coast-based agency that…
Read MoreA Whole New Meaning to the Social Check-In
Social media has become an integral part of our lives, even following us where we go to disconnect and unwind – vacation. In fact, 57% of respondents of a recent study indicated they wouldn’t consider abandoning their favorite networks in exchange for hotel kickbacks. Taking note of this need for a social connection during R&R,…
Read MoreTeens Get Schooled with New LinkedIn
LinkedIn recently announced an interesting extension to its services: As of September 12, the popular business-centric social network is open to high school students age 14 and older. With access to a myriad of professional resources, this is a great opportunity for the younger generation to develop a stronger drive to succeed. At the same…
Read MoreVine Goes Hollywood
September 9 was a big day for Vine, with two major brands – Dunkin’ Donuts and Trident gum – using the microvideo app to break into the television ad space. Although social media has been working its way into commercials for a while now – it’s hard to think of an ad that doesn’t feature…
Read MoreFacebook Guidelines Update Makes Promotions Easier Than Ever
It’s a beautiful day in the social media marketing neighborhood – Facebook has eliminated its longtime, relatively stringent regulations on promotions. Now, running contests can happen right on brand Timelines, making the entire process much more simple and cost-effective. As of this week, brands no longer need to use third-party contest apps like Wildfire and…
Read MoreSponsored Content: What Current Publishers Are Doing With It
During IDSD, David Lavine of AppsSavvy spoke about the rise and evolution of native advertising, content that is distributed directly by publishers. This form of advertising has become popularized recently amongst some of the major publishing companies online, such as BuzzFeed and The Atlantic. In fact, native ad spending is growing at a much more…
Read MoreThe Good and the What Were They Thinking of San Diego Comic-Con
Comic-Con has converted the entire downtown San Diego into a branded frenzy. There are some memorable building front transformations, and then there’s head-scratching advertising running amok around the Gaslamp District.
Read MoreWebinar Recap: “Evolving the Press Release to Drive New Outcomes”
“The press release is dead.” How many times have you heard that stated, debated, retracted, and restated by public relations and marketing professionals? Since press releases got their start in the glory days of print, many digital-centric marketers have mentally cataloged them in the “do not resuscitate” file and turned exclusively to social media, blogs,…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Social-TV Ecosystem Chart
Rewind back a handful of years and the only true distraction from watching your favorite show was your kid sibling incessantly poking you to change the channel. Now, with the advent of mobile technology, watching TV without your trusty iPhone to tweet out your reactions to that crazy episode of Breaking Bad seems something of…
Read MoreKey Takeaways from the West Coast’s Must-Attend Digital Marketing Event
Despite the fact we were busy getting to know our new alien friend, the Mindgruve team was able to attend some amazing, informative, and insightful sessions at IDSD 2013. Check out some of our favorite takeaways from our day at the conference, which include best practices and musings from top thought leaders like Rand Fishkin…
Read MoreIn the Twitter Driver’s Seat? You’d Better Learn Manual.
Four years after eliminating its own native feature, Twitter has outlawed the ability to auto follow through third-party services. This “immediate and programmatic means of following another user back after they follow you,” as described by TechCrunch, was a longtime staple for social media climbers and brands alike until Twitter severed ties in an unassuming…
Read MoreSomething? Someone? is Going Crazy for IDSD
With Interactive Day San Diego fast approaching, there’s lots of activity going on around the Hilton Bayfront – some a bit more bizarre than the rest. It seems that the Hilton staff and guests have been seeing signs of an otherworldly creature popping up around the hotel and the Gaslamp area. We’ve included the latest…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Social CTAs Work
As marketers, we’re all told call-to-actions (CTAs) are a must when grabbing someone’s attention. For example, did you know that including “please retweet” within your tweet significantly drives more retweets than not including it at all? Dan Zarrella from HubSpot presents an infographic (see below) detailing the stats on various common CTAs on Facebook, Twitter, and…
Read MoreExactly How to NOT Handle a PR Crisis
Almost every brand will deal with some level of adversity during its lifetime, whether it’s an unhappy customer or a bad review that snowballs into a social media call to arms. While no company wants to deal with a crisis, there’s a way to show transparency, maturity, and move on quickly, and there’s a way…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Edgerank 102
Let’s be real – Facebook Edgerank can be… tricky. That’s why this infographic from PostRocket is so great. It puts the ins and outs of Edgerank in plain English and harnesses the help of the Dark Knight himself – can’t hate on that. Read up and you’ll be an expert faster than you can say,…
Read MoreUpdated: [OPINION] Facebook Home Not Home Sweet Home
Update: On May 13, Zach Epstein of BGR was the first to report that the HTC First will be discontinued. Signs pointed to distress several days ago when, after a little over a month on the shelves, AT&T announced that the price of the First would be dropped from $99.99 to 99¢. Although AT&T claimed…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Long Live the Email
Thinking about ditching your brand’s email marketing strategy? Think again – email isn’t just thriving; it’s on the up-and-up. Open rates are up by 14% and newsletters still prove to be an essential tool for pushing readers toward converting, whether that means making a purchase or setting up a meeting. Check out this infographic from…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Pinterest Advertising: A How-To Guide
When you think of advertising on social media, Pinterest is probably one of the networks furthest from your mind. However, the reason why – no set advertising platform – is exactly the reason why you should be doing it: It’s easy to use the Pinterest format to create intuitive, attention-grabbing content fans will love. Brush…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] How to Handle a PR Fail
Nestlé, Domino’s, and United Airlines all have one thing in common – they’ve experienced major, attention-grabbing PR blunders. How each brand handled their crises and recovered, on the other hand, is very different. SDL Social Intelligence takes a closer look at what it takes to effectively bounce back from a PR misstep – and what…
Read MoreCrisis, Trolls, and Blunders: A Social Media Marketing World Recap
Last week, the Content and Social Media team had the pleasure of going to Social Media Marketing World here in San Diego. Of the many sessions I attended, one of my favorites was “Crisis, Trolls, and Blunders: How to Prepare for the Inevitable,” which was led by the entertaining Douglas Karr of DK New Media….
Read MoreSMMW Recap: Discussing Digital Trends with Kyle Lacy
I had the fantastic opportunity to attend Social Media Examiner’s first Social Media Marketing World conference here in San Diego this past week. For the very first conference put on by the blogging giant, SMMW was beyond impressive — not only with the caliber of speakers, but also the networking opportunities available to us. With…
Read MoreHow Multi-Click Saved Social Media
So many marketers look at social media the same way Americans look at the metric system. We know it exists. Some of us know how to use it. But every time we try to show value behind it, we end up with a bruised ego. The challenge a social media marketer experiences is how to…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Visual Social Media Marketing
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ll have noticed an increase in visuals throughout all your favorite social media platforms, including Facebook’s imminent newsfeed design overhaul. Videos, pictures, and other visual content have been taking over all our social feeds and *gasp* we’ve actually been taking notice of all this visual content. It’s more engaging and…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Google+: What’s in it for Business
Think Google+ is useless? Think again. Google+ actually influences your business’ search rankings and posts made on Google+ actually index immediately. That’s right, Google+ is great for SEO! Check out the infographic from searchmojo below to see how else Google+ is helping businesses.
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Fascinating Facts About Facebook
It’s no secret Facebook reigns supreme in the social networking world, but who knew its numbers could form the world’s third-largest country? Keep reading for more facts on Facebook’s rise to power, brought to you by Indus Net.
Read MoreFacebook’s Upgraded News Feed Focuses on Visuals, Mobile
Facebook is rolling out a drastically revamped news feed over the next few weeks, bringing a cleaner, visually-driven experience to its billion plus users. With better organization, room for tons of photos and content (and less for ads), and seven segmented news feed options; the new Facebook seems like the answer to many common user…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Pinterest Best Practices
Just because Pinterest is full of pretty pictures doesn’t mean it can’t have a strategy! Since a Pinterest page is going to represent your business online, each pin should be carefully chosen to avoid a mis-pin. Read below to see how you can fully optimize the world of Pinterest. Infographic from ZogDigital.
Read MoreOMS RECAP: Scaling Social Brand Engagement
A few weeks ago, Mindgruve headed to Online Marketing Summit here in San Diego to embark on some digital education! I participated in the “Scaling Social Brand Engagement” session with Jordan Slabaugh, Director of Social Media at Spredfast, and Michael Bepko, Global Online Community Manager at Whole Foods.
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Social Media Event Marketing Checklist
Anyone who has attended or produced a big-time industry event knows how important it is to keep related information at a constant on key social networks. From the attendee standpoint, sharing thoughts, quotes, and event highlights gets you involved in a bigger industry conversation, allows you to see different points of view, and has the…
Read MoreTwitter’s New Service is Di-Vine
Social video sharing is gaining new traction thanks to Twitter’s brand new service, Vine. The app’s users (iOS-only, at least for now) can create and share looping videos that span six seconds or less. But don’t let Vine’s size fool you — already sending the tech and social world atwitter, we have a feeling this…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] How Users Interact with Google+
Did you know that there are 625,000 new users on Google+? Some may think Google+ doesn’t compete with the social media powerhouses (read: Twitter and Facebook). However, that stat alone says that the user base is growing and happy to try out a new social media platform. To learn more about how users actually utilize…
Read MoreMastering the Art of Localized Marketing
On my latest trip to San Francisco, I discovered that the major Japanese fashion retailer, Uniqlo, recently opened a store in San Francisco. With only four other stores in the US, the popularity of this clothing store was highly noticeable: 9 out of 10 people* walking along the streets of SF were wearing the signature…
Read More[INFOGRAPHIC] Behind the Facebook “Like” Button
Facebook’s “Like” is one powerful little button, especially when it comes to marketing on social media. Although savvy marketers know it’s not all about the “Like,” there’s no question it still has a big influence over everything we do. Want to dig deeper into this enigmatic Facebook feature? Take a browse through the below Boostlikes.com…
Read More3 Rules for Landing Page Success in 2013
It’s the New Year; full of new budgets, new campaigns, and ultimately, new landing pages. Below are three rules you can apply to your landing pages to achieve success and higher ROI for the coming year.
Read MoreHow to NOT Spend $5 Million on One User
Earlier this week, I learned about the University of California’s increased marketing efforts to promote their available online courses. Here is an excerpt: “In an effort to show off its array of online courses, the University of California has poured millions of dollars into promoting its UC Online system. But as the San Francisco Chronicle…
Read MoreFacebook “Graph Search” Continues the Move Toward Social Search
On January 15, Facebook held a media event to announce the release of its latest development: Graph Search. Created as an answer to Facebook’s existing search function, Graph Search promises to revolutionize the Facebook search experience with visually pleasing, intuitive results based on your friends’ connections, likes, and habits.
Read MoreDigital Media Predictions for 2013
Convergence of direct response and branding media campaigns Marketers have placed a wall between these two types of campaigns, but in reality, they are both aimed at one primary goal: reaching a customer and influencing their decision-making to drive sales for the product or service that we are advertising. While direct response and branding campaigns…
Read MoreOur 12 Favorite Digital Topics of 2012
Quick! Make a wish—it’s 12/12/12. Or is that for 11:11…? Whatever it is, we’re a bit superstitious and we want to take advantage of today’s date singularity and share with everyone our 12 favorite digital topics of 2012. Topics below are in no particular order.
Read MoreMindgruve Predicts: Digital Trends for 2013
It seems like each day, this industry of ours is changing and developing. From the start of a mobile revolution to an explosion in crowdfunding, 2012 was one transformative year, and 2013 is bound to be an even more powerful game changer. Although it’s impossible to predict everything that will make its way onto our…
Read MorePin It to Win It: Let Pinterest Rock Your Business World
If you’re like most entrepreneurs out there, you use social media to leverage your business—Facebook, Twitter, and even some YouTube here and there. But have you thought about how an online pin board could shake up your business for the better? Kitschy as it may seem at the surface, Pinterest is nothing to sneeze at—this…
Read MoreBite the Hand that Pheeds: The New Kid in Social is Starting Something
It’s “Twitter with a business plan.” It’s “the ultimate ‘mashup’ of other (social media) sites.” It’s Pheed. Social media’s newest addition, launched in October 2012, is getting hashtags flying and controversy stirring (more on that later)—so, what’s this newcomer all about?
Read MoreIndustry-Leading Instagram Accounts (and How to Get Your Business Up There)
Industry Leading Instagram Accounts (and How to Get Your Business Up There)/In a world obsessed with instant gratification, it’s no surprise Instagram has become a frontrunner for private users and brands alike.
Read MoreIs Your Website Ready for Google’s Semantic Search?
Google’s Search Makeover In March 2012, Google announced through the Wall Street Journal that its algorithm and search results will be undergoing a makeover using semantic search technology. It is the biggest change in the company’s history and could affect millions of websites over the next few years. Semantic search refers to the process of…
Read MoreIt’s time! Facebook Timeline is here!
It’s Time! Facebook Timeline Is Here!/How did your brand prepare for the new Facebook Timeline switch?
Read MoreWhy You Should Integrate Email + Social Media Marketing
Why You Should Integrate Email + Social Media Marketing/There has been lots of social media buzz lately, especially with the release of Google+ and Facebook’s redesigned layout announcement.
Read MoreThe New Facebook & 6 Implications For Your Business
The New Facebook & 6 Implications For Your Business/Facebook has grown to be the thousand pound gorilla in the social networking world with statistics to prove it, but even with that success they decided to make some big changes.
Read MoreBehavior Targeted Advertising is About to Blow Up
Behavior Targeted Advertising is About to Blow Up/Amazon announced in late June 2011 that they will be jumping into the advertising industry, and you can be sure that other online retailers will follow.
Read MoreA Mindgruve Review: Google+ is a Plus
A Mindgruve Review: Google+ is a Plus/In June, Google’s navigation bar got a new look as part of the release of their own social network called Google+, which is supposed to be an extension of Google.
Read MoreThe Struggle Between SEO & PR
The Struggle Between SEO & PR/The battle between SEO and PR has been occurring for quite some time now and we’ve decided to see if we can bring some sense to this altercation.
Read MoreFoursquare Specials: How Local, Small Businesses Can Use Them
Foursquare Specials: How Local, Small Businesses Can Use Them/If you’ve been following our Foursquare blog series, you may have read “What is Foursquare?” and “3 Big Brand Campaigns To Learn From On Foursquare”.
Read More3 Big Brand Campaigns to Learn From on Foursquare
3 Big Brand Campaigns to Learn From on Foursquare/The location based social networking site Foursquare is a major player in the social media world today and doesn’t intend to lose that position.
Read More