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Google, as the number 1 search engine, may have seemed irreplaceable up until now, but there appears to be a growing shift in where the younger generations are choosing to type their search queries. While Google isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, this is still a matter that affects businesses that rely on Google and SEO to get their names out there and end users who may not realize how trustworthy this new source of information is. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the implications of this switch, both positive and negative, for businesses and consumers. The Business Side – Social Media SEO By now, you’ve heard us say it a million times – SEO is essential for businesses. It assists with general user navigation on your website and helps to make sure your business shows up in Google search results. But what happens when the search results aren’t on Google anymore? With social media becoming the new search engine, businesses' use of social media is more important than ever. Social media SEO is the art of optimizing your profiles to reach customers who are searching for terms relevant to your products and/or services . In the past, optimizing your social media might have meant using it to connect with customers and foster engagement. Now, it means utilizing it to acquire new customers. To do so, posts should be the best quality they have ever been to entice users to click on them in the search results. However, even getting your post into the search results is reliant on the caption. Similar to blog posts or website content, captions should now contain keywords and even hashtags that users might be searching for. Additionally, to turn those page visits into conversions, be sure to include your website in your social media bio! The Consumer Side – Amplifying Misinformation According to HubSpot , 31% of consumers now use social media to find answers to their questions. Millennials and Gen Z tend to prefer this option because  it has not yet been optimized for businesses. While the Google search results page is filled with sponsored sites and keywords to get you to click, social media is more likely to provide unbiased answers from transparent, authentic people . This feels like a more reliable and accurate answer for many. However, this new way of searching does not come without its issues. Social media is one of the primary platforms where misinformation often spreads. While Google may have sponsored sites, their search results are more likely to be evaluated for factual information and reliable links. Of course, there are still scammers and fraudulent activity on Google, but it’s a little bit easier to weed through. It can be much harder to tell the difference between an authentic answer and deceptive misinformation on social media, especially with the rabbit holes that social media algorithms tend to create. While social media search engines can act as valuable tools, users should be cautious about how quickly they believe the answers they get. When social media has this big of an impact on your business’s performance, you want it in the best hands possible. Here at unLOCKEd, our marketing experts are on top of the newest trends and have the experience to put them into action (and so much more!) Contact us today!   Author: Sarah Murphy

We’ve discussed SEO – setting up your business profile, using keywords, SERP rankings, and so on – but there’s also something to be said about keeping a user or potential customer on your website. Certain SEO tricks can help with this, such as internal linking and improving navigation, but another tactic is leveraging feedback and online reviews. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to navigate online reviews for marketing success and how it benefits your business! Building Trust Leveraging feedback and online reviews shows that you are a business to be trusted. When you search for a business on Google, and they have limited or negative reviews, many people will turn to a competitor that looks more reliable. Showing that real people have left positive reviews proves to potential customers that you are a trustworthy establishment or source of information. Although you can use other marketing tactics to try to communicate this, nothing says it quite like someone else saying it. Furthermore, don’t stop at having positive reviews on your Google Business Profile – share them on other platforms! Sharing positive feedback on your website and social media is a great way to market your business and show you value your customers. Building and Leveraging Relationships Online reviews are an excellent opportunity for you to build relationships with your customers. Make a habit of responding to reviews and thanking customers for leaving them. This will show current and potential customers that you value and appreciate them. In addition, this can be an opportunity to set any negative reviews straight. An apology or implementing feedback to improve can go a long way in the eyes of a consumer and can even show you where your business’s weak spots are. However, be careful not to get sucked in – getting into a commenting war with a customer or offending someone is not worth it to prove your point. The other side of the coin is leveraging current relationships. Those positive reviews to share or respond to won’t be there in the first place if your customers don’t leave them! The majority of satisfied customers are happy to leave a review when they are asked to do so. However, if you don’t ask, most customers will not bother. Customers often do not understand how much it helps a business to leave a review, so leveraging your current customer relationships by requesting they do so can be half the battle. Building Brand Presence and Values Finally, reviews can be a great way to build your brand presence and values. In addition to showing that you are trustworthy and value customer relationships, other brand values such as eco-friendliness, accessibility, comfortability, and more can be highlighted by reposting a review that has taken notice of them. This can even create a sense of authenticity in your audience’s mind since others are praising your business rather than you boasting about your own success or values. Online reviews can be leveraged to benefit your company substantially, but they also require consistency and time. If you’re looking for someone to help manage your marketing, check out unLOCKEd today! Author: Sarah Murphy

While we’ve discussed SEO many times and even have a blog called SEO 101 , truly mastering SEO requires more than just the basics. You want your website seen by the most people possible, and to do that, you need to understand how to optimize it for the algorithm. So, in this blog, we’ll cover some more advanced tips to help you unlock your website’s visibility and traffic. Bounce Rate While minimizing your bounce rate seems like a pretty basic tip, actually understanding what is causing those bounces is a little more complicated. Figuring out why people click off your page is the first step to solving the problem. This may be due to anything from poor navigability to your content’s time to value. In SEO, time to value is the time it takes for a user to gain value from a piece of content . If page visitors have to scroll and scroll (especially on mobile devices) to find the answer they are looking for, they are more likely to click off and look at a different website for the information. This increases your bounce rate and is bad for your SEO. Ensure the most important information on a page is concise and included at the top to help improve this. Internal Linking Once again, a simple idea, but mastering it can be more complex. While internal linking throughout your website is already a good practice, there are ways to go about it to improve your SEO further. One way to do this is by using topic clusters. A topic cluster is a group of articles or pieces of content that share a central topic and strategically link to and from one another . The best way to format this is to have a pillar page which targets a broad topic and other cluster pages that cover related topics, linking to and from the pillar page. These internal links are great for SEO, and the wealth of information they provide makes you seem more credible about the topic! Structured Data Using structured data on your website is a more technical SEO tip, but it isn’t difficult to implement. Structured data (or schema markup) is a type of code that helps Google understand your content better . This allows Google to pull more information from your website to display on the search engine results pages (SERPs). This means your website is taking up more room on the SERPs and displaying more information that may encourage users to click on it. Anyone can add schema markup to their website using tools such as the one provided below. Visuals Visual elements are great additions to your page to attract and engage your visitors. However, almost every website these days has visuals. So, you need to make yours stand out. A great way to do this is to add dynamic visuals, such as GIFs, animated images, and videos . These are excellent for keeping your visitors interested and to convey more information! Utilize Tools Not everyone is an expert at website design or coding – and that’s okay! You can still achieve excellent SEO results by implementing tips like these and taking advantage of the many tools out there! Here are just a few to get you started! Internal Linking – Backlink Analytics   Schema Markup – Structured Data Markup Helper Tool A/B Testing – SplitSignal ,  Optimizely , or VWO Finding Unlinked Brand Mentions – Brand Monitoring   These tips are great ways to help you master SEO, but they do take time and focus to implement. For the best marketing and SEO results without taking time away from running your business, contact  unLOCKEd today! Author: Sarah Murphy

In a previous blog, we reviewed the marketing trends and predictions for 2023 , but somehow, it’s already time for 2024. Time goes by fast, but the world of marketing is faster! So, to help your company stay ahead of the game, we’re going over some of those 2023 trends that will continue to be important in the new year, and discussing some additional ones for 2024. Let’s get into it! 2023 Recap Managing The Digital Customer Experience In a society of speed, digital experiences, and constant connectivity, consumers have high expectations for companies’ digital presence. Companies that can’t deliver will quickly fall behind. These expectations will continue in 2024. Working On Authority and Authenticity In Your field Customers continue to value quality and transparency, building a trusting relationship with the companies they are loyal to. If your company wants that customer loyalty, they have to earn it. Low prices may be a strategy for short-term gain, but value is the name of the game in the long run. Customers Will Practice Smarter Purchase Choices Due to these customer values, they make smarter purchase choices. These decisions begin long before they enter the store – that is, if they don’t just purchase online in the first place. This means companies’ marketing needs to portray the values and benefits consumers desire before they go to make the purchase. Balancing Physical and Digital Connections Both physical and digital connections have their own values that they bring to the consumer relationship. While people enjoy the convenience and stock of digital purchases, there are many cases where they like to interact with the product or with someone who can answer their questions. Continue to balance these connections in 2024. Influencer Marketing and Social Commerce Will Become Common Practice Consumers’ want for transparency and authenticity can often be fulfilled through influencer marketing. These ‘real people’ are easier for consumers to trust and build relationships with than a brand logo. Influencers will continue to be an important part of marketing strategies in 2024, especially with the emergence of virtual influencers or AI characters  on social media. New in 2024 AI and Automation While AI and automation are far from new concepts in 2024, they will be increasingly utilized and normalized. This will result in highly personalized, real-time content  enabled by AI algorithms, chatbots, and data analytics. Keeping up with this technology and implementing it in thoughtful ways  will be essential for companies this year.  SEO and Search Results AI and other technological advances are also shaking things up for SEO. In 2024, there are many more ways to search for information other than typing . Searching with voice and images are just two ways companies will have to start considering. As well, AI is making it easier for search engines, such as Google, to understand queries , resulting in more information being found more easily. Companies will need to be extremely up-to-date and innovative with their SEO practices to stay on top of these changes. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Integration Advancements in VR and AR should be top-of-the-mind tools for marketers in 2024. Integration of these technologies can make marketing more personalized and customizable, whether it’s a VR showroom tour for a car company or an AR app that lets users visualize how furniture will look in their home . Utilizing these tools can set your company apart from others.  Sustainability, Social Responsibility, and Ethical Marketing Although these ideas are not new to consumers or marketers, they are increasingly important. Purchase decisions now go far beyond the realm of price and quality . Consumers want to understand brand values, beyond their products and services,  particularly concerning environmental and social responsibility . While quality is still important for consumers, marketing in 2024 is as much about values as it is about value .  Dominance of Video Content Finally, video content, especially short form, will be the dominant content format in 2024. The rise of short-form video platforms has made this type of content particularly enticing for consumers and marketers alike. This dynamic and visually appealing content  is perfect for advertising, storytelling, product launches, and even customer testimonials .  Even with these predictions, the ever-changing marketing world can be tricky and confusing. Luckily, unLOCKEd can help with that! Contact us  to ensure your marketing doesn’t fall behind while you’re busy running your business. Author: Sarah Murphy

Welcome to unLOCKEd’s Marketing Mindfulness Series! In today’s hectic digital world, mindfulness practices can provide relief from the chaos when you can’t just shut it off. Mindfulness can benefit your personal and professional life, which we discussed in more detail in July’s Marketing Mindfulness blog . If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check it out! We are sharing one mindfulness practice a month to help you gradually implement mindfulness into your daily life. Trying to make a big change all at once can be daunting and frustrating, but with one small change each month, you can make a big difference! January Mindfulness Practice: Consider a Digital Detox This month’s mindfulness practice is to consider a digital detox . We understand that this can sound impossible in today’s connected world, especially as a marketer. However, a digital detox doesn’t need to last a long period of time or even be a complete detox to provide some benefits. And what better time to start than as your New Year’s resolution? Benefits Taking conscious breaks from the digital world or even just from your work world can reduce stress and enhance your overall well-being and satisfaction in both your professional and personal life . A mindful approach to your screen time and professional availability can help you better enjoy your offline time and recharge. Moreover, this can help you feel rejuvenated for the day and use your online time more effectively. Finally, breaks from the digital world can help your creativity flourish and improve your mental health. How to Implement This Practice We will be discussing two ways to implement this practice. It is important to take a practical approach when implementing mindfulness practices, so they don’t feel overwhelming and counteractive. As we mentioned, a lengthy or comprehensive digital detox is often difficult or even impossible. However, short detoxes can have plenty of benefits as well! Make a conscious decision to stay off of devices during your lunch hour or off your phone when possible during work. An offline lunch can allow for creativity and connection rather than stress and isolation. Your phone can often be a distraction, even if you use it as a tool for your work. Take a mindful approach to the time you spend online during your work and personal day to have a more productive and enjoyable experience! The second way to implement a detox is to avoid work during your personal time. This can mean turning off notifications, setting an out-of-office message for your work email, or even removing your work email from your phone. While a marketer’s job can require unconventional hours, be mindful of setting boundaries to allow yourself some offline time. After all, all it takes is one angry message from a client to ruin an otherwise blissful weekend away from the desk. Although social media never stops, you have to have times in the day and week when you can get away from your phone . Take this month as an opportunity to incorporate mindfulness into 2025. We hope this mindfulness practice helps! Be sure to look out for next month’s blog to continue this series with us! Author: Sarah Murphy

When you think of media and marketing, most of what comes to mind is likely digital. Whether the newspaper or magazine you keep up with has gone online or the business you’re looking for tends to advertise on social media, a lot of what we consume is found on our phones or computers. However, this does not necessarily mean that printing is dead. Print media and marketing continue to be made and distributed despite the misconception that it is being replaced. Here are a few reasons why printing has not yet reached its end. Direct Mail vs Email Contrary to the increasing number of businesses turning to email campaigns for marketing, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. While direct mail is more expensive and its effectiveness is more difficult to trace, it tends to have more impact due to the lower volume of mail than email . Further, mail is kept around and looked at for longer than emails are, which can improve its effectiveness and increase the attention it receives. On the other hand, email campaigns are more cost-effective and can be personalized, but it is overused, and the repetitive and overwhelming daily task of sorting through emails can turn many people off. Marketing emails are also often deleted without being opened, and even if they are, privacy advancements are making it harder to trace links and track emails opened. A survey of words customers associated with these marketing methods showed that email is viewed as quick, spontaneous, interesting, informative, smart, and informal, and direct mail is viewed as formal, official, considered, believable, important, reliable, informative, and personal. It was also discovered that many find physical mail more engaging and memorable than email and social media advertising. A Needle in a Haystack As mentioned above, while digital marketing seems to be the more popular option currently, it is overused, and it can be challenging to be noticed in such an oversaturated medium. Both social media advertising and email campaigns have this issue, and using this method can be like dropping a needle in a haystack and hoping your desired audience finds it. While there are specific metrics and features built into social media apps, such as target advertising, to help with this, it is becoming an increasingly difficult space to be noticed in. Direct mail or print advertisements may stand out or be seen as more appealing simply because they are not on our digital devices. The Paper Experience Many people prefer a physical copy of the book they’re reading; the same can be said about print marketing. The tactile and sensory experience of print should not be overlooked and cannot be entirely replaced by digital media. Physically holding a piece of paper in your hand is more concrete and permanent than an advertisement that can be scrolled past, and this can make a significant impact on your audience. Print media also offers a break from your phone . Once your eyes hurt and you’re sick of scrolling, print media offers a less demanding option which allows you to pay attention to every page rather than an endless scroll. There are also fewer distractions of notifications and ads popping up than its digital counterpart. Finally, not everyone is online. Despite the popular idea that the world is now online, depending on the demographic, this is not always the case. Print media is an accessible option for those who choose not to use the internet, do not understand how to use the internet, or live in a remote or low-income area where they do not have access to the internet. Conclusion So, is printing dead? The answer seems to be a resounding no, and some say it never will be. Instead, it appears that the best strategy is a combination of print and digital content to reach the largest audience effectively. However, what weighting of each works best varies from company to company. unLOCKEd marketing experts have experience with all kinds of content and distribution, both print and digital, and know how to get you the best results. We hope we can help with your next marketing endeavour, providing the support and insight you need while you’re busy running your business. Author: Sarah Murphy

If you’ve read our blog about interior branding, you know how important it can be for a company. To give a brief recap, interior branding can be useful both aesthetically and to communicate brand values. It can also help provide a consistent look across locations and create the look and feel you want to present to your customers and clients. One element of interior branding that is becoming increasingly popular is biophilic design. Biophilia is a love of life or living things . Offices and stores are adding greenery and living elements to their design to cater to this human connection to nature, but there are many other benefits to it as well. Adding a greenery wall, plant accents, or any other biophilic elements to your interior design plan can make a big difference for your business. Here’s why: Improved Air Quality Using real plants and greenery in your design improves the space’s air quality. This affects both employees and clients, creating an overall better atmosphere for your business. However, live biophilic designs are not a feasible option for every business. Don’t worry, though – there are many benefits to fake plants and preserved moss walls too! Showing Brand Values Having a space full of natural light and biophilic elements shows a lot about who you are as an organization . It reveals your company’s social conscience and green credibility, and shows that you care about your employees. Additionally, the thought put into your interior design indicates your company’s attention to detail and quality of work. Having elements of biophilic design at an entrance or a reception area can immediately communicate your brand values to your clients. Making the Space More Attractive Whether your plants are real or fake, they will create a more attractive space for your clients and customers. Being in a natural, calm environment will put your clients at ease and give them a better experience. People notice the space around them, and it will make your business look more attractive if your interior design is more attractive. Leaving a Lasting Impression In addition to creating a better experience while your client is in your business space, biophilic design can also leave a lasting impression after they have left. Biophilic elements can become eye-catchers and focal points in the room, making clients more likely to remember them. The client is then left with a positive, lasting memory of your business, which can influence their decision to work with your company or return in the future. Photo Opportunities Finally, biophilic elements can make perfect photo opportunities. Whether it is a wall that can be used for a backdrop or a planter that can add some life to the photo, this interior design choice can be extremely functional. If you need to capture a product or take a picture of a new partnership or client, biophilic elements make it easy to get that perfect shot! unLOCKEd marketing experts are here to help make your interior branding cohesive, functional, and attractive. A biophilic design might be just what you need! Check out our website and let unLOCKEd bring some life to your space. Author: Sarah Murphy

When discussing your website and marketing strategy, one of the key terms that come up is search engine optimization (SEO). Most people understand that SEO is important for their company and website traffic, but how to improve it is a little more questionable. If you are uncertain about SEO and how it works, you’ve come to the right place. This blog will give you a crash course on all things SEO, including what it is, what affects it, how unLOCKEd can help, and more! What is SEO? SEO is the practice of orienting your website to rank higher on a search engine results page (SERP) so that you receive more traffic. Google surveys web pages to find the ones that are relevant and optimized to appear when someone enters a search query. What is SEO ranking, and why is it important? In SEO , ranking refers to your content’s position on the SERPs. A number 1 ranking means that when people search for a particular term, your web page is the first result (apart from promoted results, featured snippets, and answer boxes). Appearing in the top 3 results is excellent because your click-through rates skyrocket the closer you get to number 1. Appearing within the top 10 results is useful because it keeps you on the first page of search results. The higher your position on the SERP is, the more relevant, organic traffic your page will receive, resulting in more leads and sales. What are SEO ranking factors? Now that you understand what SEO does and why it is important, let’s discuss what Google looks at to decide if your website is optimized. OptinMonster recently provided a guide to Google’s top 10 current SEO ranking factors. These are some steps you can take to begin improving your SEO ranking: A Secure and Accessible Website – If Google is unable to access your page, it will not be able to survey and rank it. Page Speed – Google wants to provide users with the best web experience, and being able to access information quickly is a big part of that. Mobile Friendliness – More people now use mobile devices to access the web than desktops, so the mobile experience plays a significant role in how Google ranks search results. Domain Age, URL, and Authority – Google prioritizes websites that have been around for a while (3+ years). A relevant URL is only really important before this; focus on a URL that reflects your business and then optimize the content instead. Authority has to do with great content, the content’s creator, and off-page SEO (inbound links, social shares, etc.). Optimized Content – Factors such as organic use of keywords and terms related to the main terms people are searching for (LSI keywords), understanding search intent (navigational, informational, investigational, or transactional), content length (2000+ words ranks better), content optimized for answer boxes, and use of video content affect how Google’s algorithm ranks your content. Technical SEO – Google can better understand pages with the correct coding and layout (keywords in page titles, proper heading hierarchy setup, image alt tags, etc.). User Experience – Google uses AI to better understand your page’s user experience, a signal they call RankBrain (click-through rate, bounce rate, and dwell time). Links – Google uses inbound and outbound links to determine your authority and relevance, and internal links to tie together and boost other pages on your site. Social Signals – Social shares can indirectly improve your SEO by increasing traffic and building backlinks, although it is not a direct ranking factor. Real Business Information – This includes name, address, phone number, business listings on Google My Business and Facebook, reviews, and the right local search terms. How can outsourcing your marketing improve your SEO? Reading through this list may seem like an overwhelming amount of information. Although some of it can be implemented through simple changes, other ranking factors require large amounts of work or even redoing parts of your website. This is where unLOCKEd can help! Our marketing experts can devote the time and knowledge needed to improve your website and SEO. We know all the tips and tricks to help without taking your time away from running your business. Contact us for your website and other marketing needs. Author: Sarah Murphy

You do plenty of day-to-day marketing on social media, from promoting brand values to posting regular content to connecting with customers. However, when it comes to paid advertising on social media, you want to ensure it achieves its full potential, benefiting your business as much as possible. However, we know this isn’t always easy, so we’ve outlined some tips to help you unlock the full potential of your social media advertising. Testing and Performance The first thing to think about is how you determine the ideal content or messaging for your advertising. Utilizing A/B testing and organic performance  are two ways to do this. Testing can be used to run multiple ads against each other to see which ones do best. By testing ads on smaller audiences, you can see what works best to promote to a larger audience. On the other hand, your content’s organic performance is another good indicator of its advertisement success. Using similar messaging or structure to the content that does well can be a good starting point for a campaign, or even boosting those posts can be a good route to ensure you are promoting successful content. Objectives and Audience The second area you want to look at is your campaign objectives and audience. What do you want your campaign to do for your company? Who do you want it to reach? Don’t get distracted by a trend or creative idea without ensuring it aligns with your company goals and objectives. Make sure your messaging works towards these goals and targets your desired audience. Narrowing down the audience you want to advertise to is essential in planning a campaign – even the best ad is useless if shown to the wrong people. Engagement and Interactive Content The next thing you should consider is the actual format of your advertisement. While the messaging and audience are important, your ad’s format can also affect its success. If you are using an already successful post as your inspiration, you might already have this part down, but content that is engaging and interactive is a significant way to encourage its success. Interactive ad formats, such as polls, quizzes or playable ads, capture audience attention and provide a memorable experience . Whatever format you choose, it is also essential to be mobile-friendly. Making sure your ad is geared toward engagement rather than just impressions can be crucial to unlocking its potential.  Metrics and Results Our final tip is on the more logical side. Gearing your ad and metrics towards the platform you are using and the objective you are aiming for is essential. Concrete results that are understandable and practical allow you to actually see and report on your results. In addition, it will enable you to see what worked and what didn’t so you can build off this for future campaigns. You unlock so much potential simply by having something to work off of rather than starting at square one. Developing a useful metrics and reporting system can help your company ensure your ads are helping you grow. Social media advertising has a lot of potential to help your business, and hopefully, with these tips, you can reach it! For more marketing advice and services, contact  unLOCKEd today! Author: Sarah Murphy

Welcome to unLOCKEd’s Marketing Mindfulness Series! In today’s hectic digital world, mindfulness practices can provide relief from the chaos when you can’t just shut it off. Mindfulness can benefit your personal and professional life, which we discussed in more detail in July’s Marketing Mindfulness blog . If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check it out! We are sharing one mindfulness practice a month to help you gradually implement mindfulness into your daily life. Trying to make a big change all at once can be daunting and frustrating, but with one small change each month, you can make a big difference! December Mindfulness Practice: Focus on the Positives This month’s mindfulness practice is to focus on the positives . Now, this doesn’t mean you should ignore negative parts of your day, such as mistakes or difficult situations. Instead, it means not to let these get you down or forget about the wins. Maybe you learned from your mistake, or the difficult situation resulted in something valuable for your team. Maybe your coffee was just really good this morning! Just as most days are not all good, most days are not all bad, either . Benefits By no means are we trying to say that negative parts of your day or life are not important – they can help shape you just as much as the positive parts! However, dwelling on the negatives or stressing over them can have a harmful impact on your outlook and mental health. Taking time to focus on the positives allows you to find good in the bad, such as learning from your mistakes, and reminds you that there is good when you are feeling down. Over time, being tuned in to the good things that you take for granted every day can cultivate a mindset that enables you to deal resiliently with all the bad things that inevitably try to derail your day . How to Implement This Practice Developing a mindset that allows you to take account of the positives in the moment can take time. You likely won’t be able to see the good in a tough situation immediately. The best way to begin to implement this practice is to build it into your routine. If you’ve been working on last month’s practice , you’ve likely started to find mindfulness in your morning and nighttime routines. This is a great time to introduce this practice, as well! Take a moment at the end of each day to reflect on the positive aspects of your work and express gratitude for the opportunities and challenges that contributed to your growth . Over time, this will get easier, and you might not even need to consciously think about noticing these aspects! Mindfulness can be especially important during the chaotic holiday season. We hope this mindfulness practice helps! Be sure to look out for next month’s blog to continue this series with us! Author: Sarah Murphy

The world of marketing moves fast, and the trends within it, even faster. Luckily, we’ve gathered the top trends and predictions for marketing in 2023, so your business doesn’t have to worry about falling behind this year. Let’s get right into it! 1. Managing the digital customer experience Managing the customer experience, such as response time to customers’ digital inquiries, will be vital for companies in 2023. Through the pandemic, companies have had lots of time to practice and perfect their digital presence. This means customers have high expectations about the quality of their digital experience, anticipating that it will align with the experience they would receive in person. Companies should continue to prioritize mobile optimization, including the integration of social media as a customer service tool, to adequately manage the digital customer experience. 2. Working on authority and authenticity in your field Authority in your company’s area of expertise is a great way to establish credibility and trust in your brand. As well, customers are increasingly adamant about the authenticity of a brand, prioritizing quality and transparency. However, this reputation does not get built overnight. In 2023, companies will need to focus on the long journey of reliability and loyalty rather than the temptation of making a quick buck here and there. However, once a company lands itself in this position, this trust will last a long time. 3. Managing customers’ fears about AI AI is becoming increasingly accurate and, therefore, more trustworthy and useful for companies’ applications. However, it is important to first make it less taboo and scary. Customers don’t understand AI and are often wary regarding the collection and privacy of their data. Alleviating these fears will be a critical step in order to make the adoption of AI among businesses effective. 4. Customers will practice smarter purchase choices As we mentioned earlier, customers in 2023 are focused on quality and trust, and this will create a shift in their spending habits. According to Josh Campo , CEO of Razorfish and a global leader in marketing transformation, customers will make “choices that maximize impact, utility, and convenience,” forcing companies to adjust to meet these more selective consumers. Social responsibility and intuitive designs will be necessary for marketers to prove they have what it takes to be customers’ reliable choice. 5. Balancing physical and digital connections Through the pandemic, we saw a rapid switch to digital experiences out of necessity. On the tail-end, however, we see an anxious but enthusiastic return to many missed physical experiences. In 2023, it will be important for companies to keep up their digital presence and the convenience it supplies, while balancing it with the benefit of providing customers with those intentional and cherished in-person opportunities. Swinging too far either way negates the value of what each type of connection brings to the table. 6. Integrated video and written content In the age of social media, quick glances, and visuals, video content is increasingly vital for companies to showcase their products, but not to the point of eliminating text. Video content to catch people’s eye and grab their attention and text information for further explanation will be an essential combination in 2023 marketing. However, keeping these videos short is an important component of this content. Fast-paced attention spans make this factor critical for success, not to mention that it takes less of your company’s capacity to create than long-form content. The text element can add any depth and expansion that the video lacks. Additionally, the transferability of this integration between a company’s website and its various social media platforms will provide a consistent, uniform digital presence. 7. Prioritizing retention of customers Due to customers’ focus on quality and authenticity, companies will also have to shift their focus. In 2023, successful marketers will prioritize the retention of customers rather than new leads. Putting emphasis on attaining a loyal and consistent customer base will gain consumers’ trust, boost credibility, and give your company more stability. Gone are the days of running after one-time customers; long-term relationships are in. 8. Influencer marketing and social commerce will become common practice As a more authentic and smooth purchase experience for consumers, companies will continue to implement influencer marketing and social commerce strategies in 2023. According to HubSpot's statistics, “89% of marketers who currently engage with influencer marketing will increase or maintain their investment next year.” Further, “more than 56% of marketers who invest in influencer marketing work with micro-influencers.” As they are “still considered ‘everyday’ people, their audiences are actually more likely to trust their opinions and recommendations.” In 2023, Josh Campo predicts that “influencers and creative social content will be the name of the game.” 9. SEO will continue to be increasingly important With the evolution of Google algorithms and the importance of discoverable content, SEO isn’t going anywhere in 2023. While this trend is not new, strategies for SEO are becoming increasingly integrated into marketing practices. The content companies are posting directly impacts their success on the Google results page. As the influencing components become increasingly complex, many brands find it is important to invest in SEO experts , “who can help them with everything from search insights reports, to multimedia optimization.” 10. Leveraging of social media platforms and their audiences Finally, in 2023 it will be important to understand the use of each social media platform and choose which ones to focus on based on the type and variety of audience. For example, marketers have been expanding into TikTok due to its sheer number of users, its breadth of demographics, and the effects of the app’s infamous virality. However, not every company will do well on a platform such as TikTok. The most important thing is understanding what platforms work best for your company’s marketing strategy and how many platforms your company can invest time and energy into. It's not easy to stay on top of all these marketing trends, especially when you’re also focusing on running your business. That’s why unLOCKEd is here to help. While you concentrate on running your business, unLOCKEd’s experts can ensure your marketing doesn’t fall behind. We provide a single contact for all of your marketing and branding needs so you can spend your time on your already full schedule. Author: Sarah Murphy

While marketing is so much more than advertising, it is an important part of creating an effective marketing strategy. Social media advertising helps your business unlock new clients and customers, and can really drive your company’s growth. That being said, not every platform offers the same tools or provides the same benefits. It is essential to consider which platform best aligns with your company and audience and which provides the tools you value. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the pros and cons of advertising on social media platforms! On the majority of platforms, there are advantages, such as reaching a new audience and disadvantages, such as audience fatigue. Keeping that in mind, we will focus on more platform-specific pros and cons to give a clearer idea of the social media advertising landscape. Another thing to watch out for is AI tools as platforms start to integrate them into their advertising platforms! Facebook Pros Largest audience with the highest monthly active users Running ads across Facebook and Instagram  Recognized as one of the easiest social media ad platforms  to use  Cost-effective options   Cons Less trendy/popular with younger generations Algorithm flaw of irrelevant ads Large issue with fake profiles and spam accounts (clicks do not equal engagement) Instagram Pros Running ads across Facebook and Instagram  Unique ad formats  (photo, story, carousel, video) Shoppable posts and large online shopping platform   Detailed targeting capabilities   Cons Younger audience won’t work for all businesses Limited link sharing  Focus on images isn’t ideal for all types of advertisements TikTok Pros Exploding popularity with younger audiences Algorithm accuracy and high user engagement Native advertising and authenticity (sponsored posts blend in well with the feed)  Cons Not much content type variety (videos are not ideal for all brands and can be more expensive to produce) Unlikely to reach older audiences One of the more expensive social media advertising platforms   X (Twitter) Pros Real-time nature  allows for participation in current trends, conversations, and events to stay relevant Writing tweets is a low-cost form of content productions Cons Easy to get lost in fast-paced stream of content   Limited character count can make it difficult to convey all necessary information Controversial platform One of the more expensive social media advertising platforms   Pinterest Pros Equal playing field for brands ( interest-based rather than brand name-based ) Visually showcase products/services Cost-effective  social media advertising option See related items  your target market pins to improve targeting  Cons Limited demographic Long-term commitment  (building presence and understanding the algorithm takes time and consistency) Often used for inspiration rather than online shopping LinkedIn Pros Professional audience is useful for networking and B2B clients Simple interface  makes it easy to use Targeting and analytics capabilities   Cons Not as effective for B2C businesses, limited reach Simple interface lacks advanced features Limited ad formats and creativity Low user engagement and slow results     While these pros and cons can give you an insight into what each platform offers, your business’s needs and resources play a significant role in your social media advertising decisions. For marketing expertise, contact unLOCKEd ! Let us help with your marketing so you can focus on running your business. Author: Sarah Murphy