What are the Benefits of Using Google My Business for Your Local SEO?
Nov 23, 2023
10 min read
Updated on Nov 23, 2023
The landscape for local businesses has undergone a profound transformation. The Internet has become the go-to resource for consumers seeking information about nearby services and products. Local SEO is a game-changer that no local business should overlook. Picture this: 98% of consumers turned to the internet to find information about local businesses in 2022, with 76% making online reviews a regular part of their decision-making process. These statistics underscore the critical role of Local SEO in the success of your business.
When it comes to online search engines, Google reigns supreme, commanding a staggering 92% global search engine market share. In our ever-connected world, where "near me" searches have become second nature, it's no exaggeration to say that Google is the primary gateway through which consumers discover local businesses. With its seismic shift towards online interactions, the pandemic has only amplified the importance of establishing a robust online presence. Enter Google My Business, a tool that can be your golden ticket to maximum visibility on the world's most popular search engine for good local rankings.
In this article, we'll delve into the six compelling reasons why setting up a Google My Business account is an absolute necessity in 2022. We'll also provide you with a treasure trove of practical tips to optimize your account effectively. So, if you're a local business owner still pondering the significance of Google My Business, and local business directories, it's time to pay attention. Your journey to harnessing the power of this invaluable platform begins here by getting listed in most important local business directories.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO, or Local Search Engine Optimization, is a digital marketing strategy focused on enhancing the online visibility of businesses that serve specific geographical areas or physical locations. The primary goal of local SEO is to optimize a company's online presence so that it ranks prominently in local search results with local rankings when people search for products or services in a particular location. This strategy is particularly crucial for businesses that rely on local customers and foot traffic. So follow us here to know some workable local SEO tips.
Ensuring sure your Google My Business profile is optimized to make it a successful local SEO strategy with great local SEO tips. Be active on social media by posting pertinent content on your Google My Business profile. You need to have a a consistency in your online persona is important, especially when it comes to your name, address, and phone number. For added local search visibility, concentrate on boosting citations and web directories. All of these actions add up to a thorough plan that will improve your local SEO results.
The Crucial Significance of Local Search for Businesses
- High Conversion Rates: 76% of smartphone users visited a company within 24 hours of conducting a local search, indicating a substantial conversion rate.
- Location-Centric Searches: Local queries are popular, accounting for 30% of all Google searches.
- Daily Local Search Habits: 61% of customers conduct local searches on a daily basis, highlighting the habitual aspect of finding nearby companies.
- Review Influence: 82% of consumers read online reviews during local searches, devoting over 14 minutes to this critical decision-making process.
- Google Maps Dominance: 86% of people use Google Maps to identify business locations, indicating its importance in local search.
- Yelp's Visibility: Yelp ranks in the top five search results for SMB queries 92% of the time, demonstrating that it is consistently relevant to small and medium-sized companies.
- Pre-Store Arrival Searches: 74% of in-store customers globally do searches before physically arriving, looking for hyperlocal information such as the nearest location and in-stock inventory.
- Mobile-First Approach: More than half of worldwide internet users prefer to use mobile devices for local searches, indicating a move towards mobile-centric local exploration.
- Google's Search Dominance: 83% of searchers use Google Search to get information about nearby companies, demonstrating Google's search engine dominance in the local context.
What is Local SEO ranking factors?
Local SEO ranking factors are crucial for businesses aiming to secure prime positions in local search results. Optimize your Google My Business listing, ensuring accuracy and relevance. Positive online reviews enhance credibility, and engagement contributes to local rankings. Craft a user-friendly, mobile-optimized website and incorporate local keywords for a seamless online-to-offline experience. Consistent local citations, high-quality backlinks, and a robust social media presence strengthen local authority. Valuable content with location-specific keywords and consistent NAP information further solidify your local presence. Prioritize a positive user experience, attracting local customers and establishing your business as a leader in the competitive local search arena.
What is Google My Business?
A Google Business Profile, formerly recognized as Google My Business or GMB, serves as a robust tool for promoting your business on search engines like Google platform. This profile, which can be established quickly and at no cost, provides an avenue through which you can impart essential information about your business to prospective customers.
Through your Google Business Profile, you can convey a wealth of pertinent details, ranging from your precise location and operating hours to contact information and compelling interior images of your physical storefront. This profile becomes a potent instrument, offering potential customers a compelling glimpse into your enterprise even before they have the opportunity to visit your establishment in person.
What’s noteworthy is that a Google Business Profile boasts visibility across the entirety of Google's expansive ecosystem. This encompasses integration with Google search engines results, placement on Google Maps, and presence within the Google Shopping interface. This extensive reach ensures that your business garners optimal exposure to a broad and diverse audience, effectively increasing its online prominence and accessibility to potential clientele.
Benefits of Google My Business and Local SEO
A Google My Business (GMB) profile serves as a powerful tool meticulously designed for businesses, both physical establishments like hospitality venues, pharmacies, and retail stores, and even online enterprises with physical office space to direct clients. This free online listing is instrumental in simplifying the process for local customers to discover your business and seamlessly access your brick-and-mortar shopfront.
The manifold advantages of having a Google My Business Listing in your marketing arsenal are nothing short of remarkable. Here, we enumerate six compelling reasons why integrating this online profile into your overall marketing strategy is not just worthwhile but imperative.
- Free Visibility in Google Results
While content marketing strategies like SEO blogging and website copy optimization contribute to enhanced search visibility, a GMB profile stands as a notably potent tactic. Irrespective of whether your objective is to drive sales, augment brand recognition, or increase bookings, a Google Business Profile guarantees heightened visibility before high-value local customers on search engines.
According to one of the study's panelists, "Customers' level of trust is indicated by reviews and an owner's response, and trust is a fundamental element in determining rankings." This emphasizes how crucial it is to interact with reviews—positive and negative—as this will help your local SEO efforts. It's important to remember that traditional SEO techniques still apply in a localized setting. As Google has said clearly, "Your position in web results is also a factor, meaning SEO best practices are equally applicable to local search results." This means that how well you perform in organic search results has a direct impact on your positioning in local rankings.
With adept profile configuration with precise address details, strategic keywords, and the appropriate business category, you position your business prominently in local search results, effectively amplifying the likelihood of prospective customers discovering your enterprise. Unlike paid social advertising or Google ads, a GMB listing is entirely cost-free, affording your business name a priority position in search results, ultimately elevating interest, inquiries, and even sales.
- Enhanced Local SEO via Google Maps Integration
If your business offers products or services within a specific local area, it is imperative that your business information be readily available to potential customers. A Google My Business listing is an invaluable means to connect with warm leads precisely when they are poised to convert. Consider this scenario: You urgently require a new pair of running shoes and lack the patience for an online order's delivery time. You turn to search engines and enter queries like 'sneaker stores near me' or 'sportswear stores near me'.
Given that search engines like Google recognizes your search intent for a local physical store, it promptly furnishes you with a tailored selection of Google Maps results. This enables you to effortlessly locate a store with positive reviews, accommodating operating hours, and convenient proximity to your location. Optimizing your GMB listing helps to ensure your business emerges prominently when interested customers search for products or services in your local vicinity. Whether a customer performs a direct Google search or relies on Google Maps for guidance, your business invariably claims the top spot in search results.
Check out the "Local SEO Guide" to learn more about important subjects including the importance of key signals that affect local results. Learn how to create a successful local SEO plan and get pointers on how to assess the competition for local mobile searches. Recognize how user experience and NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information affect local SEO. Learn useful techniques for spotting the best local link-building chances. Discover the significance of reviews and star ratings and get useful advice on making the most of them. Furthermore, become an expert at completely optimizing your Google Business Profile.
- Establishing Social Proof with Customer Reviews
Research underscores that 68% of consumers consult online reviews when making trust-based business decisions, with a staggering 93% swayed by these reviews in their purchase choices. Consequently, a pivotal benefit of a GMB profile lies in the capacity for your business to amass and exhibit reviews on a substantial scale. The accumulation of positive reviews from satisfied customers serves as a potent means to gain the trust of potential shoppers and facilitate their progression through the sales funnel.
The efficacy of online reviews lies in their ability to permit contented customers to vouch for your expertise, service quality, and overall brand experience in their own words. While your marketing materials certainly play a role in expanding your reach, nothing surpasses the persuasive impact of authentic, external customer endorsements.
Prospective customers, above all else, seek assurance that others have had positive interactions with your brand before committing. Consequently, by prominently showcasing Google reviews within your GMB listing, you expedite the path to purchase.
- Streamlined Accessibility to Your Physical Shopfront
As previously mentioned, a GMB listing seamlessly integrates with Google Maps. Beyond bolstering your business's organic visibility on Google, this integration facilitates customer navigation to your physical storefront. Through Google Maps directions, users can effortlessly access precise directions to your physical store with a single tap.
Furthermore, they gain access to vital contact information, including your business hours, website, email address, and phone number, streamlining the process of getting in touch with you. The easier it becomes for new customers to reach your shopfront and establish contact, the more likely they are to forge a positive association with your brand. It all culminates in the provision of a seamless online-to-offline experience, a vital catalyst in converting users into paying customers.
- Unparalleled Control Over Your Online Presence on Google
On many marketing platforms, particularly social media, businesses find themselves subject to the algorithms of major tech entities, which dictate how their business is discovered and the impression it leaves on users. In stark contrast, a Google My Business profile empowers you to meticulously curate the type of experience prospective shoppers have with your business.
From prominently displaying your contact information to updating operating hours to align with special events or holidays, you can deliver an optimal experience to every potential customer engaging with your brand. By mastering the art of profile optimization, you can significantly enhance the likelihood of your business information securing a top-ranking position in organic search results. This positions you for the greatest impact on the purchasing decisions of individuals who chance upon your brand.
- Harnessing Valuable Insights on Customer Behavior
A little-known gem within the GMB arsenal is the robust analytics and insights it offers. Within your Google account, you can delve into a trove of invaluable statistics that provide a deeper understanding of your listing's performance in organic search results. These key metrics include:
1. Views: Offering insight into how frequently your profile, photos, and posts are viewed by searchers.
2. Search Queries: Illuminating the keywords searchers employ to discover your brand is invaluable for refining your SEO strategy.
3. Engagement: Revealing which posts generate the most interaction from searchers.
4. Audience Demographics: Providing insights into the age, gender, and location of searchers discovering your GMB listing.
5. Website Clicks: Offering a glimpse into the number of users undertaking high-value actions, such as visiting your website directly from your Google business listing.Incorporating a Google My Business profile into your marketing repertoire, therefore, equips you with enhanced visibility and the capacity to make data-informed decisions that can refine and strengthen your marketing strategy.
How to Optimise Your Google My Business for Local Businesses
If you are ready to harness the full potential of your Google business profile listing, we present a comprehensive guide with actionable steps you can implement today to supercharge your performance on Google.
- Complete Your Entire GMB Listing
Enhance the effectiveness of your listing by providing comprehensive information. Businesses with complete profiles are 70% more likely to attract visits from local searches.
Key sections to prioritize for maximum impact:
1. Business Category: Choose the most suitable category for your industry.
2.Location: Ensure your physical address is accurate to guide customers correctly.
3. Contact Information: Keep your phone number and website address up-to-date.
4. Business Hours: Maintain current hours and promptly update for special occasions or seasonal changes. - Verify Your Business Location
Verification is a critical step for publication of your GMB listing. Google will send you a letter by mail containing a unique code for activation. It's imperative not to overlook this crucial step. Upon receipt of your letter with the five-digit code, promptly enter it to verify your business.
- Add Up-to-Date Images of Your Business Location
Offer potential customers a captivating glimpse into your in-store experience through professional, high-resolution images of your establishme.
Showcase your premises' exterior and interior within your GMB listing to instill confidence in prospective shoppers. Keep these visuals current and well-lit to present your business in the best possible light.
- Leverage Keywords Throughout Your Profile
Given that Google is fundamentally a search engine, optimizing your GMB listing with relevant keywords is imperative. Strategically incorporate high-volume search terms pertaining to your products, services, or industry throughout your business listing. This strategic integration enhances your visibility in Google organic search results when high-value searchers are actively seeking what your business excels at.
- Encourage Positive Customer Reviews
Reviews wield substantial influence in building trust with potential customers. Distinguish your business from competitors in your local arena by actively encouraging satisfied customers and clients to leave reviews on Google. Employ straightforward methods like sharing a review form with past customers via email to augment the number of favorable reviews associated with your brand. This straightforward yet potent approach significantly elevates the likelihood of new customers choosing your business over competitors.
In Conclusion
As "near me" mobile search become second nature, Google has become the gateway through which consumers discover local businesses, a trend further accentuated by the pandemic. Google My Business is a game-changing tool that offers maximum visibility on the world's most popular search engine.
To fully harness the potential of Google My Business and local SEO, follow the practical steps outlined in this article to optimize your business listing. From completing your entire GMB profile to verifying your business location, adding up-to-date images, leveraging keywords strategically, and encouraging positive customer reviews, these actions will help you maximize your online presence and attract more local customers.
If you're seeking expert assistance in optimizing your local SEO or Google My Business profile, look no further than Saffron Edge. As SEO experts and leaders in SEO lead gen services, we specialize in local SEO for the healthcare industry, along with others. Our team of experienced professionals can serve as your trusted Google My Business manager, ensuring that your business thrives in the competitive digital landscape. Don't miss out on the opportunity to elevate your online presence - contact Saffron Edge today and take your local business to new heights through local business listings. Your success in the digital world awaits.
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4 Top Tips to Boost your Content Marketing Strategy
Traditional marketing practices, tactics of door-to-door sales, or cold calls are the things of the past. They are no longer effective in this fast-paced digital world. Now, content marketing has become the new way to reach customers. It has made an astounding impact on the marketing industry. Content marketing is more than just preparing, sharing, and distributing content in order to generate leads, improve branding, connect to a large audience and achieve marketing goals. A content marketing strategy analyzes or inspects the different ways content marketing can be used across a consumer’s journey along with their varied experiences. But in order to boost this strategy, you need to go beyond this. So, let's take a look at these 4 useful tips that will improve your content marketing strategy: 1. Style your content attractively Sometimes reading content online can be boring so make sure you put extra effort to style your articles effectively. Keep it short and simple. Divide the sections of your content with short, compelling headings and subheadings, and try to keep your paragraphs crisp and brief. Use bullets or pointers to present the content as a list, this will help your readers to get drawn to these bulleted texts. Also, have thorough research on the topics related to your industry and look for sources of inspiration. 2. Try to create more visual content Visual content simply means content with pictures and videos. Visual content always performs better than any other type of content when it comes to sharing. This simply means that if your content posts and links are not getting enough shares, you could change them to visual content. Create custom images, infographics and share video tutorials to improve your content outreach strategy. 3. Improve your promotional efforts For you, your content should be like a living thing: It needs to be supported and nurtured in order to grow properly. This simply means that your promotion efforts are equally important for a successful content marketing strategy as your content creation efforts. All sources that you have used to create content, whether original or curated, should be given a chance to be promoted and shared within their circles and on specific channels. 4. Share your content at the right time The time to share your content is very critical regardless of how attractive or appealing your content may be. If you are sharing your articles or content at a time when most of your audience is at work or asleep, there is a big chance that your content might not get the number of shares it really deserves. To know more about content marketing services and the latest digital trends of marketing, Contact us! ...
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Key Elements of a Successful Google AdWords Campaign
The digital landscape has become very crowded. Owing to the rising popularity of e-commerce and digital marketing, you need all the tools you can gather in your arsenal to come up with an effective plan to set you apart from the crowd. If you are looking to gain a competitive edge and increase your online visibility, Google AdWords is one such tool. However, creating a successful campaign requires much more than just throwing together some ad copy and targeting keywords. To achieve real success with Google Ads, businesses must have a well-defined strategy and employ best practices that can help them stand out from the competition. In this article, we'll dive deep into the world of Google Ads management and explore essential tips that businesses can use to optimize their campaigns and drive meaningful results. From defining your target audience to crafting compelling ad copy and optimizing your bids, we'll cover all the critical elements that make a successful Google Ads campaign. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or a newbie to the world of digital advertising, these tips will provide you with the tools you need to achieve your business goals and maximize your ROI. So, if you're ready to take your Google Ads campaigns to the next level, read on to learn more! How To Create a Campaign That Wins? We are not going to bore you with the basics. Although the success of a campaign is dependent on a lot of factors that are arbitrary, there are a few steps that you can take for your AdWords campaign. Let’s dive right into the details. Research and Track Your Customer In the realm of online advertising, tracking customer demand is an essential ingredient in building a successful Google Ads campaign. Without adequate demand for your product or service, your marketing efforts will be fruitless, and your investment may not yield the desired results. Before launching a Google Ads campaign, it's crucial to perform a thorough analysis of the market to determine the level of demand for your offering. This involves examining key factors such as search volume and consumer behavior to gauge the viability of your campaign. Firstly, it's essential to ascertain whether your target audience is actively searching for your solution. This can be accomplished through keyword research and other tools that allow you to gauge the search volume for your target keywords. Secondly, you need to consider what consumers are looking for in your industry and tailor your ad solutions accordingly. This may involve creating ads that are specific to certain consumer demographics, geographic locations, or search intent. Finally, you need to evaluate whether your product or service is in high demand within your target market. This may involve analyzing market trends, assessing consumer behavior and preferences, and conducting competitive research to determine your product's unique selling points and market position. By taking the time to track customer demand and ensure that your offering meets the needs of your target audience, you'll be better positioned to deliver a successful Google Ads campaign that generates leads, drives traffic, and helps you achieve your business objectives. Define Your Goals In search engine marketing, having a clear goal and desired outcome is essential for a successful Google Ads campaign. Whether you aim to increase followers, boost brand awareness, or drive sales, having a clearly defined objective is the first step towards achieving your business goals. Before launching any Google Ads campaign, it's crucial to perform a thorough analysis of your target audience, keywords, and desired outcomes. This involves identifying the specific customer segments that you wish to target, the relevant keywords they are searching for, and how your ad can be optimized to match their search intent. To create a relevant and effective ad campaign, it's essential to understand the specific actions you want your target audience to perform after seeing your ad. This may include driving traffic to your website, generating leads, or increasing conversions, among other metrics. In addition, it's essential to monitor and measure the results of your Google Ads campaign to determine its effectiveness and ROI. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and conversion rate can help you gauge the success of your campaign and make data-driven decisions to optimize your advertising strategy. Overall, a well-defined goal, a clear understanding of your target audience and keywords, and a focus on specific actions and KPIs are essential for creating a successful Google Ads campaign that generates results and helps you achieve your business objectives. Write For Your Target Audience Crafting relevant and engaging ads is crucial to connecting with your target audience and driving desired actions. To achieve this, it's essential to adjust the tone, language, and call-to-action (CTA) of your ads to match your audience's specific needs and preferences. Effective Google Ads should aim to accomplish several key objectives, including attracting attention with the right tone and context, raising customer interest, and convincing customers to perform a desired CTA. To achieve these goals, it's essential to conduct thorough market research and audience analysis to identify your target audience's specific pain points, interests, and preferences. Once you clearly understand your audience, you can craft ads that resonate with their specific needs and interests, using relevant keywords, compelling ad copy, and a strong call-to-action to drive desired actions. Additionally, it's essential to continually monitor and analyze the performance of your ads, adjusting your messaging and targeting based on data-driven insights to optimize your campaign's effectiveness and ROI. Overall, creating relevant and engaging Google Ads requires a deep understanding of your target audience, a focus on crafting compelling ad copy and CTAs, and a commitment to ongoing data analysis and optimization to drive meaningful results. Focus on the Optimization of Keywords Targeting the right keywords is crucial for the success of your Google Ads campaign. To maximize your results, you should use a combination of keyword targeting types that includes broad match, phrase match, and exact match. A well-crafted strategy should include all keyword targeting types to ensure that your ads are reaching the right audience at the right time. Broad match keywords are a popular targeting option that allows Google to display your ad when a similar phrase or keyword is used, increasing the visibility of your campaign. However, there is also a higher chance of driving irrelevant traffic to your website. To mitigate this risk, it's advisable to bid the lowest amount for broad match keywords. Phrase match keywords, on the other hand, provide greater control over who sees your ad, as Google only displays your ad when a user types in the specific phrase for which your ad is optimized. This targeting type can help you drive more relevant traffic to your website, and it's advisable to bid a higher amount for phrase matches than for broad match keywords. Exact match keywords offer the highest level of control over who sees your ad, as Google will only display your ad when a user types in the exact keyword or keyword phrase. This targeting type can help reduce bounce rates and drive high-quality traffic to your website, making it an ideal option for businesses looking to maximize their ROI. If possible, bid the highest for exact match keywords to ensure maximum visibility. To keep your ad campaign well-organized, it's advisable to keep your ad groups separate according to keyword type. This approach will help you optimize your campaign's performance by providing greater clarity and control over your keyword targeting strategy. Create a USP Crafting a unique selling proposition (USP) is crucial to stand out in a competitive Google Ads landscape. A strong USP communicates the distinct benefit of your product or service to potential customers and distinguishes your brand from competitors. Some of the benefits of a strong USP include: Improved traffic quality: A clear USP helps attract more relevant traffic, reducing unwanted leads and generating more quality leads to your website. Higher conversion rates: By highlighting the unique benefits of your offerings, a strong USP can increase your chances of converting leads into customers. Reduced price comparisons: A strong USP can help reduce the time customers spend on price comparisons, particularly if your product or service offers something unique. To create a compelling USP, you need to have a deep understanding of your target audience, their needs, pain points, and preferences. By focusing on solving their problems and adding value to their lives, you can create a unique and memorable brand identity that resonates with potential customers. Optimize Your Campaign To achieve the best results in a Google Ads campaign, optimization is crucial. It is highly unlikely that you will create a perfect campaign from the start, so you must continuously optimize it as you progress. The following factors are important to consider when optimizing your campaign: Keyword bids: It is important to optimize your keyword bids from the moment you start generating clicks to your website. You can raise the bid for keywords that bring in good sales while lowering the bids or switching to other keywords for those that are not generating the desired results. Landing page conversion rates: The landing page should always deliver what the ad promises to avoid customer bouncing. By ensuring that the landing pages stick to the ad content, you can achieve higher conversion rates and greater profits for the brand. Click-through rates: The click-through rate (CTR) of a specific ad determines its quality score. Therefore, it is important to test different campaigns simultaneously to determine which ads garner the most clicks. Optimizing your Google Ads campaign is key to achieving greater traction for your desired call to action and ultimately benefiting your business. Know Your Competition Conducting a competitive analysis is crucial in developing an effective Google Ads campaign. Understanding your competition's strategies can provide you with valuable insights and inform your decisions about your campaign. Below are some important considerations when analyzing your competitors: Use of Keywords: Analyze the keywords your direct competitors are using to optimize their ads. This information can help you identify gaps in your keyword strategy and make informed decisions about your own ad targeting. Call to Action (CTA): Examine your competitors' CTAs and identify which ones generate the most engagement and conversions. This can inform the development of your own CTAs that resonate with your target audience. Landing Page Analysis: Carefully examine the design and content of your competitors' landing pages to identify areas where you can improve your own. Consider the use of visuals, messaging, and the user experience. Identify Missing Factors: Analyzing your competitors' strategies may also reveal factors that are missing from your own campaign. Identify these gaps and incorporate them into your strategy to create a more comprehensive and effective Google Ads campaign. By performing a competitive analysis, you can gain a better understanding of your competitors' strategies and incorporate best practices into your own campaign. This can help you to create more effective ads, generate higher engagement and conversion rates, and ultimately achieve better results for your business. In Conclusion Creating a successful Google Ads campaign requires careful planning, strategy, and optimization. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this article, you can create ads that attract the right audience, communicate a clear and unique selling proposition, and drive the desired action. Remember to continuously analyze and optimize your campaigns to ensure you're getting the best results possible. At Saffron Edge , we specialize in creating and managing Google Ads campaigns that deliver tangible results for our clients. Whether you're looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or generate leads, our team of experts can help you achieve your goals. Contact us today to learn more and start creating ads that make an impact. ...
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The Concept Of Virality And How It Is Crucial For Your Inbound Marketing Campaign
Internet today is filled with so much of information and sometimes trashy information that it becomes hard for information seekers to get the best results. Viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces the websites or users to pass on the marketing message to other websites or users, creating an exponential growth in the message’s visibility and effect. As social sharing has accelerated at an exponential growth over the last few years, so too has some of the websites and enterprises that have learned to leverage the full scope of social. One of the noteworthy example of such sites is BuzzFeed that has tripled its monthly visitor count over the last two years, from 4.3 million to 19.3 million. Clearly, BuzzFeed has tapped into something important to the domain of marketing that’s fuelling its massive growth. This method is known as Viral marketing, and you can replicate this method too for your business. Reasons Behind BuzzFeed’s Marketing Success 1. Audiences Most Crucial to Business Are “Bored” The target audience that is most crucial to their business are “bored at work”, those who have jobs and have ample of time to browse the internet without supervision. Such audiences are typically looking for content that: Will alleviate boredom Will connect with their current frustrations in life. Another kind of audience that emerged were the consumers who use content on their mobile phones while waiting. It was found that it was this audience that was the principal driver of social sharing. 2. Certain Content Types Defined in Viral Marketing Though these categories may not be the same for your business, BuzzFeed identified some of the content categories that were an immense success for it. These include: LOL: Humorous content Win: Content that the audience finds to be very useful, ingenious or admirable OMG: Content that shocks the audience Cute: Self-explanatory, generally animal-based content. Trashy: Content that makes people feel better by mocking the failures of others, especially the famous. Fail: Content that points out the failings of the society or individual, let’s the audience vent their frustrations. WTF: Bizarre or strange content that triggers the curiosity in the audience. These are some of the examples of content types that you can use for brainstorming your content. The most important question that you need to ask yourself is “ how will this content make the readers react?” 3. Self-Identification is Important For People It might seem logical to many business owners, that making content targeted broadly at their audience will work, but this might not be always the case. Targeting a specific audience can sometimes be extremely successful. For example, BuzzFeed utilized such an article by aiming: “ 21 problems All Sarcastic People Understand”, which has reached 5.5 million views since May 12, 2014. This type of post particularly attracts people who believe they have a certain characteristic, experience or opinion-- in context of this article people related themselves as being sarcastic. Such posts generate interest from a lot of like-minded people, who then share it with more like-minded people, which leads to exponential growth in pageviews. 4. Social Activism Can be a Key Driver Too It is not always the cat videos or funny things that can go viral, it turns out people also has an emotional connect towards the society. People also share content they are passionate about and want to spread ideas and their own views about it. Because they have an emotional response after reading or viewing the content, they want to share this information as well as show others that they care about the real issues and follow the news stories of the day. 5. Being Human! While juggling for so many strategies and objectives when creating content, you must not forget the most important criteria to include: making your content human. By this we mean, you must focus on the human aspect of stories-- forgetting this can make your content look robotic. While creating content, ask yourself this: “why would people want to read this?” Or even better “why would you want to read this?” Some of the examples cited from Upworthy are: Mind blowing stories based on science fact Stories featuring true human moments Stories depicting the win of good over evil ...
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