Mobile App Install Screen

Google to punish sites with mobile app nag screens

DesignNewsSocial Media

Good news! Google is fighting the good fight, taking on websites that turn up their nose at good user experience.

If you’ve ever tapped on a search result on your phone only to see a giant ad imploring you to install the site’s app, you know how annoying that can be. Google realizes that too, thanks to its own internal study that showed users often don’t click through when they encounter these ads. Now Google wants to change that by downranking sites that pull such a stunt. Starting November 1st, any site that uses large app install interstitials will no longer be deemed “mobile-friendly” by Google, which could spell disaster for the site’s SEO. Other interstitials will still be okay, however, and Google is encouraging the use of less obtrusive app install banners instead. While ads aren’t going away entirely — this is Google, after all — at least it looks like they’ll be less aggravating in the future.

Via Engadget

facebook-mobile

Facebook’s Four Rules for Going Mobile

Social Media

Gary Briggs, Facebook’s CMO, told the Business Marketing Association’s annual conference in Chicago that Facebook surpassed 1 billion active mobile users, a threshold he doesn’t believe the company will ever get to on desktops.

Here are his four must-dos to becoming an effective mobile marketer:

The mobile team = every team. This mandate came from the top at Facebook. Mr. Briggs, who joined the company last August from Google, said that anytime a person showed a desktop version of a design first, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stopped the meeting. “We don’t have a mobile team anymore; everyone thinks predominantly mobile,” Mr. Briggs said.

Target real people. Mr. Briggs admitted this is probably a bit easier for Facebook given its deep connection to so many people’s daily lives. The idea is to reach people with content important to them. “We can catch people in the right moment on mobile,” he said.

Measure real people. This ties into #2. Don’t go for broad reach for its own sake. Get the right people the right message.

Focus on quality. Mobile can connect marketers to customers in a very personal way. This is the device they take with them everywhere. Of all the different signals marketer may put out about their brands, Mr. Briggs said the mobile message will be the dominant one. Marketers must make the investment to build a quality team.

Via Advertising Age

tw-graph

What is the Perfect Tweet?

Social Media

Based off an analysis of over 129,300 Tweets from the Interbrand 100 top global brands, these tactics performed the best for the 100 leading brands, and can be used to test your own success on Twitter.

Use Hashtags & Links Together: Tweets with hashtags AND links outperform Tweets with just one or another.

Clear CTAs: Tweets containing the word “click” average 35% more engagement than the brand average.

Urgency: Tweets containing the words “right now” or “today” average higher engagement than the brand average.

Maintain Frequency: Top performing brands average 1-5 Tweets per day.

Use Pictures: Tweets with images average 2X the engagement of Tweets without images.

Share links with photos: Links with embedded photos perform 29% better than plain text Tweets with links.

Via the Simply Measured Blog

fb-engagement

Facebook making brands pay for engagement

Social Media

The Simply Measured Blog released some findings that point to a change in Facebook’s News Feed algorithm.

Simply Measured decided to look at the top 10 brands on the network, and how these changes have impacted overall engagement.

With a collective audience of almost 358 Million, these ten brands represent a significant portion of Facebook’s buying power, and their increased efforts (indicated by a growing number of brand posts from the group of 10 accounts) aren’t producing results. Engagement seems to be steadily declining, which is a scarier proposition for brand marketers than the organic reach decline alone.

We compared the engagement for these ten brands year-over-year, looking at May 2013, which was included in our first Facebook Network Study, and May 2014, which ended this weekend.

Total-Engagement

This aggressive drop in actual engagement showcases exactly why the organic reach crisis should be a focal point for large brands. Facebook is pushing brands to focus on their strategy; both with stronger content, and with an increase in ad spend. With engagement plummeting along with reach, it might be time to pony up.

small-biz-guide

Twitter Guide for Small Business

Social Media

So many small businesses struggle with understanding social media and especially making money from it. If you’re thinking of jumping into social media, the best thing to do would be to consult a professional. But, if you’re still on the fence, it can’t hurt to learn a thing or two on your own so you can talk the talk.

Twitter has recently published an interactive presentation tailored to small business owners. It spans from “What is Twitter?” to how to start using Twitter ads. Take it for a spin here.