UNIT 4

YOUTUBE MARKETING
YOUTUBE MARKETING
YouTube, Web site for sharing videos. Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and
Jawed Karim, three former employees of the American e-commerce company
PayPal registered it on February 14, 2005. They had the idea that ordinary people
would enjoy sharing their “home videos.”
Shortly after the site opened on a limited (“beta”) basis in May 2005, it was
attracting some 30,000 visitors per day. By the time YouTube was officially
launched on December 15, 2005, it was serving more than two million video
views each day. By January 2006 that number had increased to more than 25
million views.
The number of videos available at the site surpassed 25 million in March
2006, with more than 20,000 new videos uploaded on a daily basis. By the
summer of 2006, YouTube was serving more than 100 million videos per day,
and the number of videos being uploaded to the site showed no sign of slowing
down.
CREATING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL
A business YouTube channel is like having the business’s own TV channel
or homepage on YouTube platform where the business can add videos, content
and even advertise their business along with displaying their logo, graphics,
descriptions, etc. The steps to create a business YouTube channel are as follows-
Step 1-Create Google Account
The first step is to have a Google account, if the entrepreneur or the
business does not have one already. The account can be created by going
to www.youtube.com and clicking on the ‘Sign In’ option, which is present on
the upper right hand corner. This will direct the user to a Google sign in page
where the ‘more options’ tab needs to be selected. This gives an option to ‘create
account’ through which a Google account can be created for the business, by
creating a user id and password. If the business or entrepreneur already has a
Google account this step is not necessary. However, in case of multiple Google
accounts, it is important to check which account the business channel needs to be
associated with.
Step 2- Sign In To YouTube
Once the Google account is created, the next step is to sign into YouTube.
Usually this sign-in happens automatically if the email id or Google account is
already logged in, as the YouTube channel is under the many platforms handled
by Google. Once logged in, the next step to create the channel is to click on the
user icon on the upper right hand corner. A drop down menu appears, from which
the ‘settings’ option needs to be selected.
Step 3- Create a Channel via Brand Account
Once the user logs in to YouTube, clicks the user icon, and goes to
‘settings’, information regarding the user will be displayed along with ‘additional
features’ and the option to ‘create a new channel’ This needs to be selected, which
will direct the user to create a ‘Brand Account’. A brand account needs to be
created for the channel and the account can have a different name from that of the
user but it must be kept in mind that while selecting the brand account name, it
must reflect on the brand of the business and to the brand that will appear on the
channel. The name must not differ much from that of the business. The channel
can be for a product or brand or it can be for an organisation or company or it can
be for arts, sports, entertainment, etc. After selecting the name, ‘create’ must be
selected, thus creating a channel. This channel will be visible now along with the
user’s personal account while selecting the ‘back’ option.
Step 4- Optimise The Channel
Once the channel has been created, now it needs to be optimised for it to
be easily discovered. On the dashboard for the channel, the ‘customise channel’
icon needs to be selected. This will direct the user to the homepage where on the
right hand corner will be a cogwheel symbol which needs to be selected and
further ‘advanced settings’ need to be opted for.
Basic information regarding the channel will be entered under this option,
such as the country the channel is based out of, along with the keywords the
channel wants to be associated with. These keywords must be selected carefully
as they will direct the traffic towards the business page.
Step 5- Customise the Channel
The next step includes adding information to customise the channel, which
can be done via two methods- descriptive details and visualisation. The
descriptive details and links, etc can be added by selecting the ‘About’ tab on the
channel’s dashboard. Here details of the channel, its description and links to other
web pages associated with the business, such as Facebook page, website, etc can
be added. These links will then be visible on the profile page banner of the
channel.
The next is to add visuals to the channel, starting with a profile photo for
the business channel. If the business YouTube channel is linked to a brand
account, the profile image needs to be updated in the ‘About’ section of the
Google account (this is also true for the channel name). This can be changed by
clicking on ‘change’ under the profile icon and further clicking on ‘Edit’ where
the brand account information, including the profile photo can be edited and
added.
The banner image for the page can be added via the dashboard by selecting
the pencil icon on the right hand corner and choosing ‘edit channel art’ tab. The
image must be selected carefully by checking how it will appear on the laptop,
desktop and mobile.
Step 6- Add Videos And Optimise Them
The channel is now ready and the videos can be added to the channel.
However, while adding the videos, it must be ensured that the videos have titles,
 descriptions (in 1000 words maximum), tags and are also labelled under certain
categories so that users making similar searches can view the business channel.
.POSTING CONTENT
1. Get your video file ready
After you have edited your video, make sure it is saved in one of
YouTube’s supported file formats:
 MOV
 MPEG4
 MP4
 AVI
 WMV
 MPEGPS
 FLV
 GPP
 WebM
 DNxHR
 ProRes
 CineForm
 HEVC (h265)
If your video is not in one of these formats, use Google’s trouble-shooter to
determine the type of format to which you need to convert it.
2. Log into YouTube
Go to YouTube.com and sign into your account. You can use an existing
Google account, or you will be prompted to create a new one.
3. Click the upload button
 The upload button looks like a video camera with a “plus” symbol. It’s
located to the right of the search bar, near your account icon. Clicking this button
will open a drop-down menu. Select “upload video” to open the upload tool.
4. Select and upload your video file

To upload your file, you can either click “select file” or drag your file into
the window. Depending on the size of your video, it may take several minutes or
longer to process. During this phase, you can complete the next step while
YouTube continues to process your video in the background.
5. Fill out basic information fields
 Video title
YouTube will automatically import your file’s name as the video title. You
can tweak your title based on your needs. Consider including a keyword to help
users find it in search.
Video description
You are also required to include a description. This will be displayed under
your video when someone views it. Include a short paragraph here detailing the
contents of your video. Again, use keywords to make your video easier to find in
search. You may also want to include links to your social media accounts and
website here.
Video preview thumbnail
YouTube will automatically generate thumbnail images from your video.
This is the image that will display when users search for videos or view the video
in a playlist.
To upload your own thumbnail, you must have a verified account. Google
recommends the following thumbnail best practices:
 Images should have a resolution of 1280×720.
 The image file should be formatted as JPG, GIF or PNG.
 The file size should be no larger than 2MB.
 The optimal aspect ratio is 16:9.
Custom thumbnails must follow the same community guidelines as videos.
6. Apply advanced settings

Advanced settings are not required, but some of them may be useful to help
people find your videos.
Playlists
You can create a new playlist or add your video to one that already exists.
Playlists can help consumers find videos related to the same topic. For example,
you might include all of your product demos and feature walkthroughs in a
playlist.
End screen
You can add a customized end screen that will display when your video
has ended. This screen can contain links to other videos and playlists, subscribe
buttons, channel promotions and links to approved websites.
Cards
Cards display on screen while your video is playing. A video may contain
up to five cards, which are placed at various timestamps. Cards may include links
to your channel page, links to approved websites, links to other videos etc.
 Language and subtitles
Here, you can specify which language is used in your video and upload
closed captioning. If your content previously appeared on broadcast television, it
must adhere to FTC captioning guidelines.
Tags
If you only use one advanced setting, it should be this one. Tags help
YouTube search categorize your video for easier accessibility in search. Include
any relevant keywords that consumers might use to find your video.
Category
You can add a category to help users find your video.
Video location
If your video is relevant to a specific location, you can include it here.
When a user searches by location, your video may appear.
Recording date
You can include the date your video was created. This can be useful if you
are documenting a process or creating a linear series.
License
You can choose a copyright license. The Standard YouTube License is
selected by default.
Additional settings
There are four settings contained here:
 Age restriction: This prevents underage users from viewing the video. It
removes the ability to monetize or promote the video.
 Embedding: Selected by default, this option allows anyone to embed your video
on their site. This is useful if you want to add your videos to your own website.
 Publish to subscriptions: Selected by default, this option will notify your
channel subscribers when the video becomes available (if they have notifications
turned on).
  Paid promotions: If your video contains paid promotions, you must select
this option and ensure your video follows the YouTube ad policy as well
as any applicable laws.
Comments and ratings
By default, users will be able to comment on your video and view its
ratings. You can choose to disable comments, hold all comments for review or
hold potentially inappropriate comments for review. You can also choose to
display top comments or new comments first.
7. Preview and publish your video

Finally, you can set the visibility of your video and publish it to YouTube. There
are three visibility options:
 Public: Everyone can see your video. You can schedule your video to premiere
at a certain time. If you choose this option, your subscribers will be alerted in
advance so they can watch the video together.
 Private: Only you and users you select can view your video. You can schedule a
private video to go public at a certain time and date.
 Unlisted: Only people with a link can see your video.
YOUTUBE ANALYTICS
1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. From the left menu, select Analytics.
You can also view various reports at the video level:
1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. From the left menu, select Content.
3. Point to your video and select Analytics
Overview
The Overview tab shows you a summary of how your channel and videos
are performing. The key metrics card shows your views, watch time, subscribers,
and estimated revenue.
In this tab, you will also see reports for:
 Typical performance: At the channel level, it is a comparison of your
channel’s typical performance. At the video level, it is a comparison of
your video’s typical performance.
 Your top content in this period: Your content ranked by views over the
last 28 days.
 Realtime: Your performance over the last 48 hours or 60 minutes.
 Stories: Your performance over the last 7 days from your latest Stories.
Content (channel level)
The Content tab gives you a summary of how your audience finds your
content, what your audience is watching, and how they interact with your
content. You can view the following reach and engagement reports within the
All, Videos, Shorts, Live, and Posts tabs:
 Views: The number of legitimate views on your content for videos, Shorts,
and live streams.
 Impressions and how they led to watch time: The number of times a
thumbnail was shown to viewers on YouTube (impressions), how
 frequently those thumbnails resulted in a view (click-through rate), and
how those views ultimately led to watch time.
 Published content: The number of videos, Shorts, live streams, and posts
you’ve published on YouTube.
 How viewers found your content/videos/Shorts/live streams: How
your viewers found your content within browse features, Shorts feed,
suggested videos, YouTube search, external, channel pages, direct or
unknown and others.
 Key metrics card: A visual overview of your views, average view
duration, impressions, impressions click-through rate, subscribers, likes,
and shares.
 Key moments for audience retention: How well different moments of
your video held viewers' attention. You can also use typical retention to
compare your 10 latest videos of similar length.
 Top videos/Shorts/posts: Your most popular videos, Shorts, and posts.
 Remixed: A visual overview of your remix views, total remixes, and top
remixed content.
 Post impressions: The number of times your post was shown to viewers.
Reach (video level)
The Reach tab gives you a summary of how your audience is discovering
your channel. The key metrics card shows your impressions, impressions click-
through-rate, views, and unique viewers.
In this tab you’ll also see reports for:
 Traffic source types: How viewers found your content.
 External: Traffic from websites and apps that embed or link to videos
from your channel.
 Suggested videos: Traffic from suggestions that appear next to or after
other videos and from links in video descriptions.These videos could be
your own videos or someone else's.
  Playlists: Traffic from the most-watched playlists that include your
videos.
 Impressions and how they led to watch time: how many times your
video’s thumbnails were shown to viewers on YouTube (Impressions),
how frequently those thumbnails resulted in a view (Click-through rate),
and how those views ultimately led to watch time.
 Bell notifications sent: The number of bell notifications sent to
subscribers who get notifications from your channel.
 YouTube search: Traffic from search terms that brought viewers to your
content.
Engagement (video level)
The Engagement tab gives you a summary of how long your audience is
watching your videos. The key metrics card shows your watch time and average
view duration.
In this tab you’ll also see reports for:
 Audience retention: How well different moments of your video held
viewers' attention. You can also use typical retention to compare your 10
latest videos of similar length.
 Likes (vs. dislikes): How viewers feel about your video.
 End screen element click rate: How often your viewers clicked on an
end screen element after seeing it.
 Top-tagged products: Products you tagged in your video that received
the highest engagement.
Audience
The Audience tab gives you a summary of the sort of viewers watching
your videos. The key metrics card shows your returning & new viewers, unique
viewers, subscribers, and total members.
In this tab you’ll also see reports for:
  Videos growing your audience: Your audience’s online activity across
your channel. Data is based on your new viewers across all devices in the
last 90 days.
 When your viewers are on YouTube: Your audience’s online activity
across your channel and all of YouTube. Data is based on your viewers
across all devices in the last 28 days.
 Subscriber bell notifications: How many of your subscribers get all
notifications from your channel. The tab also shows and how many can
actually get those notifications, based on their YouTube and device
settings.
 Watch time from subscribers: Your audience’s watch time divided
between non-subscribers and subscribers.
 Age and gender: Your audience by age and gender. Data is based on
signed in viewers across all devices.
 Other channels your audience watches: Your audience’s online activity
across other channels on YouTube. Data is based on your viewers across
all devices in the last 28 days.
 Other videos your audience watched: Your audience's online activity
outside of your channel. Data is based on your viewers across all devices
in the last 7 days.
 Top geographies: Your audience by geography. Data is based on IP
address.
 Top subtitle/CC languages: Your audience by subtitled language. Data
is based on use of subtitles/CC.
Revenue
If you are in the YouTube Partner Program, the Revenue tab helps you
track your earnings on YouTube. The key metrics card shows your estimated
revenue, RPM, and playback-based CPM.
In this tab you’ll also see reports for:
  Monthly estimated revenue: How much your channel has earned in the
last 6 months. For ongoing months and months without finalized
payments, revenue is estimated and subject to change.
 Revenue sources: How you’re making money with YouTube.
 Transaction revenue: Estimated net revenue from transactions, such as
paid content and Super Chat. The estimate includes deducted partner
charged refunds for the selected date range and area.
 Top-earning videos: Videos with the highest estimated revenue for the
time period.
 Ad types: The format of the ad and its buying platform. This breakdown
is only available for YouTube ad revenue and impression-based metrics.
VIDEO FLOW
Planning your videos can help them perform better on YouTube,
regardless of whether you create vlogs or tech lessons.
To be clear, it is entirely up to you how much planning you undertake before
shooting.
Before clicking "record," some YouTubers have a rough concept of what
they want to say. Some people write out every word by hand.
Prepare for the First 15 Seconds
According to YouTube, the opening 15 seconds of your video are crucial.
Why? Because the majority of your viewers will decide whether or not to watch
more after the first 15 seconds of your video.
The initial 15 seconds of your video should therefore be planned out,
regardless of how much or how little you plan your shot. You should specifically
include a "hook" that piques readers' interest in the video to come. Almost
everything that draws attention can serve as a hook.
Jot Down Key Points
Making an unprepared video is worst way to find you left out anything
crucial.
 For such kind of reason, you should write out a few crucial ideas for your
video, before you start shooting a video. For instance, the YouTube channel for
Buffer used to produce videos with little advance planning. Although they
steered clear of employing a script or outline, they had a basic concept of what
they intended to cover.
In addition, it is a major factor in why their videos had trouble retaining
and engaging viewers. Therefore, identify the three to four main points, which
are very crucial to the video and cover it in the video. Not only did this produce
a video that was clearer, but it also increased the watch time of videos by 61%.
Focus on Flow
There is no denying that YouTube users can be impatient. Because of this,
you want your video to move between the points fast. Unplanned videos will also
have lots of "umms" and "aahhs," which can disrupt the flow and pace of your
production unless you are a natural.
So, when planning your video, consider how quickly you will transition
between points. General speaking speed is preferable.
Follow the H.I.C.C. Structure
 H=Hook
We've already talked about how crucial it is to grab viewers' attention in
the first 15 seconds. In summary, your hook should be something that rapidly
captures people's attention. so they don't close the window.
 I=Intro
It's time to briefly introduce your topic now that you've captured the
attention of your audience. You can also give a preview of what you'll discuss,
provide an example, or hint at a specific point (such a trick or unexpected
discovery) that will be covered later.
 C=Content
 The primary subject of your video is this. These are the procedures
that should be followed for a how-to video. This serves as the actual
workout in a fitness video.
 C Means Call to Action.
Finally, you should include a call to action at the end of your video
encouraging viewers to subscribe, like, and watch more of your videos as well
as follow you on social media.

VERIFY CHANNEL
Verifying your YouTube account grants a number of benefits to uploaders,
including removing the 15-minute limit on video length, the ability to link to
external websites in annotations, live streaming, and customizable thumbnails for
your videos. Verification must be done by phone (Android or iPhone), either
using text messages or a voice call. Either way, you will be provided a 6-digit
code to enter into the verification page. The process takes only a couple of
minutes and grants you immediate access to the extra features granted to verified
accounts.
1. Go to the verification page in your web browser. You will be taken to a page
to select your country and method of verification.
 If you are not signed in to your YouTube account, you will be prompted to
do so before proceeding.
 You can also follow these steps using your browser on Android and iPhone.
2. Select your country from the dropdown menu.
3. Select to receive the verification code by text or voice call. Both methods
will provide you with a 6-digit verification code to enter on the page. Some
countries may be limited from receiving text messages from Google, in which
case you will need to opt to verify using voice call
4.Enter your phone number
5.Click “Submit”. You will either receive a verification code by text message or
via an automated phone call depending on which method you selected.
 You should only have to wait a few seconds for either a text message or a
phone call. If you do not receive the code within a reasonable time frame,
you can request a new one.
 Only 2 accounts may be verified per phone number per year. You will
receive an error if you have reached this limit.
6.Enter the 6-digit verification code and click “Submit”. A message will
display notifying you of the successful verification.

WEBMASTER TOOL
Google Webmaster Tools (also known as Google Search Console), is a
powerful platform that website owners can use to monitor how their site interacts
with Google.
Features
1. Monitor your website’s performance.
GWT provides vital metrics for monitoring your website’s performance,
including:
 Clicks - The number of times that people have clicked on your website
through Google’s search results. This not only gives you an insight into the
effectiveness of your page titles and meta descriptions, but is also a big
indicator of how consistent your traffic is.
 Impressions - The “impressions” metric refers to how many times your
website has popped up in Google’s search results, which is handy for
identifying your ranking keywords. Sorting by page can tell you which
pages rank for specific keywords, adding an extra layer of insight into your
optimization strategy.
 Average CTR - GWT will show you the percentage of people who have
seen your website on Google search results and have decided to click
 through. Basically, it is your number of clicks ÷ impressions x 100, and is
definitely a metric that you want to keep a close eye on. Through GWT,
you can identify your highest (and lowest) CTR queries and monitor them
over time.
 Average position - Your average position highlights where you’re ranking
on Google SERPs for specific keywords or pages.
For all of the above metrics, GWT offers 16 months of data and allows you to
compare two date ranges. You can also filter by query, date, country, and device,
providing you with a comprehensive view of your website’s performance.
2. Watch for indexing errors.
Google has indexed GWT lets you see how many of your website’s pages
since the last site crawl. More importantly, it highlights any indexing errors or
warnings and gives you information for analysis. For example, you might have
broken code, blocked URLs, or an issue with your site’s theme.
3. Submit a sitemap.
Submitting a sitemap to GWT can improve your site’s crawlability and
reduce the risk of indexing errors. It’s a great tool for large websites because it’s
easy for Google to miss changes or additions, but new websites can also reap the
benefits of being indexed faster.
4. Perform a URL inspection.
The URL inspection tool allows you to analyze specific URLs. You can
see a side-by-side comparison of your live URL and the URL that Google has in
its index. This allows you to check for any errors or inconsistencies, and you can
also see the date that the page was last crawled.
5. Keep track of your links.
With backlinks still being incredibly important for any SEO SaaS strategy,
GWT’s links section is one of its most valuable tools.
 Not only can you view your website’s total number of backlinks, but you
can see which domains are linking to you and the anchor text that they use to do
it.
The internal links section is a good way to analyze your website’s structure
and ascertain that your cornerstone content contains the highest number of links.
6. Security and manual actions.
GWT will send you email notifications if any of your pages are not
compliant with Google’s webmaster guidelines.
For example, if Google detects spam, cloaking or purchased links, it will
penalize your site and provide further instructions via this tab. You can also keep
track of any security issues here.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

INTRODUCTION
Search Engine Optimization, more commonly referred to as SEO, is one of
the most crucial aspects of marketing. As such, if you are working to market your
blog or your business, you need to know what SEO means and what the rules and
ways of SEO success are. While a successful SEO strategy isn’t an exact science,
and its practice has been challenged on many fronts throughout the years,
knowing the basics is still important to an effective marketing campaign.
Keywords aren’t the only part of a successful SEO campaign, although
they are certainly important. Other things to consider when developing an SEO
strategy include links, titles, meta descriptions, headings, subheadings, originality
of content, images and videos, and your audience. The most important thing to
remember when reflecting on this SEO introduction is that one single factor will
not determine SEO success; rather, SEO success is dependent upon your content
as a whole.
When writing your content, spend an equal amount of time on trying to
make your content sound as natural as possible, putting SEO at the back of your
mind. Overusing keywords, creating weird or unnatural sentences with the hopes
of improving SEO, or using unoriginal content can be more detrimental than
beneficial to your SEO efforts. Content should always be interesting and
engaging, be short and succinct, use keywords wisely, include optimized images
with great titles, have headings that are appealing, be formatted in an easy-to-read
way, and include relevant links. In fact, you may want to even consider
participating in a link exchange, which refers to the process of exchanging links
with other relevant websites in order to increase SEO.
Content greatly affects SEO. The more relevant your content, the more up-
to-date the content is, and the more interesting your content is, the higher it will
rank. Always plan your content in advance, have someone edit it before posting,
utilize headings and subheadings, think about layout, and include pictures and or
videos. Also, you should design your content and website so it’s easy to share via
social media.

UNDERSTANDING SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process of optimizing the content
of a web page or website to improve its ranking in search engine results pages. It
is also the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in search
engine’s unpaid results i.e. natural, organic or earned results.
SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local
search, video search, academic research, news search and industry-specific
vertical searches. Successful SEO attempts to improve rankings in organic search
results.
IMPORTANCE OF (SEO)
The importance of SEO has increased significantly over the past few years.
Search engine optimization is one of the most important aspects of digital
marketing. The importance of SEO can be seen in the fact that it has an effect on
a company’s overall strategy and marketing efforts. It is one of the most important
factors when it comes to digital marketing and has a significant impact on traffic,
conversion rates, and customer acquisition.
SEO can help businesses increase their visibility in search engine results
and can also improve their ranking on search engines like Google. It is important
because it can be a long-term investment that will keep your business running
smoothly.
1. VISIBILITY
Increasing the ranking of a website or a web page is the main objective of
SEOs. Such rankings increase the visibility of its content. SEO helps in ranking
a website higher in search result and garner more visibility online, making
potential customers more likely to reach the site or content.
2. WEB TRAFFIC
Visibility and traffic go hand in hand. If customers can not find the
websites, the likelihood of your content reaching its audience is less. SEO
increases your organic search engine traffic. Traffic directly correlates to sales.
3. CREDIBILITY
The better score in SEO means the higher rank of the website or web page
while searching. Higher rank on Google or any other search engine is appealing
to all the brands and customers. High rank websites are visible and have reach.
This again make the websites or web pages trustworthy. Users or customers
recommend the sites, which have higher ranking and higher visibility.
4. USER EXPERIENCE
A well optimized web page can clearly communicate and place the product
and service. SEO can help companies and businesses to enhance the users
experience with their websites or web pages. SEO entails where their users are
engaged, what their potential customers are looking for and support the business
to provide what is expected.
5. GROWTH
 SEO increases the visibility which increases the traffic. Higher traffic leads
to higher engagement of customers which results in growth in quantity and
quality. A well optimized website is more likely to gain more customers and make
more sales.

USER INSIGHTS
Customer insights refer to the reporting and analysis of the behaviors, data
and feedback of consumers. The understanding and analysis of these insights aid
in product development and changes to customer support systems. Organizations
use tools such as consumer surveys, data, reviews and focus groups to gather a
collection of feedback to explain the underlying causes and attitudes of consumer
patterns and decision-making processes. Customer insights allow an organization
to identify business models and product features that produce both positive and
negative feedback and focus on areas for improvement.
BENEFITS
Analysing and implementing changes according to customer insight data can
provide many benefits for a business. Customer insights can benefit an
organization by helping it:
 Earn customer loyalty: Companies that value, understand and address
consumer feedback foster positive relationships with the customers. This
relationship fosters loyalty from the consumer because they feel valued and
have confidence in the company's ability to meet consumer needs.
 Improve product quality: Conducting and applying thorough customer
insight research provides relevant suggestions for the improvement and
development of products. Consumers who use products regularly can offer
thoughtful insights on their operations, faults and potential and their
feedback can produce high-quality products that fulfill their needs.
 Target potential customers: Tracking the demographics such as age,
income, gender and location of customers helps an organization identify
 common features included in their target market. Marketing professionals
can use this information to develop campaigns that appeal to individuals in
the demographic.
 Project sales and inventory: Analyzing the sales patterns and market
trends for products and consumers allows organizations to create
projections of future demand and adjust inventory orders accordingly.
Purchasing or manufacturing an accurate inventory reduces costs and
losses associated with overproduction.
 Compare to competitors: Many consumer research surveys and data tools
compare products with those of competitors. Comparisons of brand
recognition, reputation and overall quality provide an organization with
information about competitors and potential threats in their market and
demographics.

RECENT TRENDS IN SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is a constantly evolving activity. As the
search engine algorithms become more sophisticated, they assess Web sites in
more complex ways to arrive at suitable search results. There are significant
changes on the horizon in how search engines will index and present their results.
These changes are aligned with a goal of sorting through the exponentially
increasing amounts of data available on the Web and giving users better and more
targeted search results, which they will find useful.
There are four strong emerging trends for SEO:
 Localization
 Personalized search
 Usage data
 Real-time search
These four trends are making optimizing Web sites for search engines even more
complex.
1. Localization and Personalization
The first two trends revolve around how the search engines are trying to
accommodate the geographic and personal preferences of a user so as to present
them with the best contextual results. By localizing, the search engines are
presenting information in the language and geographic context of the user.
In personalizing search, the search engines are trying to align with what they have
determined would be more appropriate for that specific user. Personalized search
targets users’ preferences on two bases: explicitly and implicitly.
Explicit personalized search is based on an interpretation, by the search
engines, of data and information the users provide directly to search engines, such
as location, age, language, and gender.
Implicit personalized search is based on data and information search
engines gather by analyzing users’ behavior. Search engines will track the pages
users frequently visit or how they use certain sites—such as Gmail or
bookmarking sites. Based on this, the search engines will predict what a user is
probably interested in and tailor the results it presents to that user accordingly.
Surveys suggest that users are generally in favor of personalization and are
willing to trade personal information to benefit from better-quality results from
the search engines.
Large search engines, like Google, are even offering end users the
opportunity to tell them what results they like—through the launch of user
feedback mechanisms such as Google Search Wiki (launched in 2008).This kind
of functionality allows the user to tell search engines what results they like or
don’t like and would like to see (or not) again.
To optimize a site properly, factors like personalization and localization need
to be taken into account and the site needs to be honed to do the following:
 Adapt to how the search engines will measure and index the sites
 Adapt to how users will expect to be presented with contextualized
information
2. Usage Data
Search engines want their results to be highly relevant to Web users to
make sure that Web users keep returning to the search engine for future searches.
And the best way to establish relevance to users—how they use Web sites, of
course!
Usage data are the most effective way of judging the true relevancy and
value of a Web site. For example, if users arrive on a Web site and go back
immediately, chances are it wasn’t relevant to their query in the first place.
However, if a user repeatedly visits a Web site and spends a long time on
the site, chances are it is extremely relevant. When it comes to search engines,
relevant valuable sites get promoted, and irrelevant sites get demoted.
How Do Search Engines Access These Data?
Search engines use cookies to maintain a history of a user’s search activity.
This will include keywords used and Web sites visited from the search engine.
Search engines gather data on the click-through rate of results and on bounce
rates.
Most search engines also provide other services, all of which can be used to gather
data relevant to search. For Google, some examples of these services include the
following:
 Google AdWords
 Google AdSense
 Google Analytics
 Google Web Site Optimizer
 Google Checkout
 Google Toolbar
 Avoid “doorway” pages created just for search engines, or other “cookie
cutter” approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original
content.
  If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site
adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason
to visit your site first.
3. Real-Time Search
Google offered a new feature called real-time search, which went live in
December 2009. It’s designed to further increase the optimal user experience with
search and follows earlier features on Google search engine results pages
(SERPs), which now regularly include images, news items, videos, and shopping
listings. With real-time search, Google now displays a dynamic function in its
SERPS, where you can see the latest mentions or URLs published on the Web,
related to your search term.
This is ideal for social media and microblogging purposes, and Google has
partnered with the likes of Twitter, MySpace, FriendFeed, Jaiku, Identi.ca, and
other online businesses to offer this initiative. It opens up a number of
opportunities and increases the importance of a strong social media presence to
augment your search engine marketing efforts.

CONTENT MARKETING
Content marketing is a type of marketing that consists of strategically
creating, publishing, and promoting content (including blog posts, emails, videos
and podcasts). Content marketing is typically used to increase brand awareness
and engagement, attract visitors or users, generate sales leads, or drive purchases
and revenue.
1. Attracts visitors and grows your site traffic
Helping people find your company among a giant quantity of information
available online is a big challenge, but the content makes you findable,
especially for search engines like Google.
In the same way, relevant content attracts attention in social media or email
marketing campaigns, making more people access your site.
2. Creates value for your audience
The content you create and offer to your customers is not just useful, it
gives a necessary message to the right people, at the correct time they need. It
will exceed the expectations and will turn you into an authority on that subject,
generating value for you and your audience.
3. Engages your audience
When you give your audience relevant and useful content, they will
consider it so incredible that they will share it with their friends and followers.
And that’s not all: people will interact with your content in another way too, like
leaving comments and reactions.
4. Generates a positive brand perception
Beyond all you read, Content Marketing helps your audience in a moment
that it needs, and people tend to make business with brands that they already
know, instead of unknown companies.
5. Educates the market about your products and services
Most people don’t even know they have a problem and that it may be
solved by your product or service. Content Marketing is capable of teaching
the audience that your solution exists and how it works.
6. Drives sales to the next level
Sales are the principal goal, for sure, even when there is another secondary.
Content Marketing may be present in all stages of the buying process driving
your audience until the final decision.
 Without the content, this driving was made individually, by a salesman for
example. That’s why a smaller number of people were reached.
When you adopt Content Marketing, you win bigger coverage, reaching
more and more consumers, but targeting them most effectively.
8. Generates more leads
The most important site or blog goal is lead generation. It is part of the
strategy that will drive sales, once each lead is a potential client. A lead is a
visitant of your blog or another content channel that converts in a form, leaving
some information about him.
With more information, it’s easier to know if the lead will be qualified or
not.Even if your site already has visitors, when you invest in Content Marketing,
you can convert them into leads, offering attractive that stimulates them to leave
useful information to close a deal. And the more you generate leads, the better
are the chances to sell.
9. Reduces Customer Acquisition Cost
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is a metric that indicates the cost
invested in the marketing and sales areas to acquire each new client. Content
Marketing can have a lower CAC because one piece of content can reach a large
number of people.
Besides that, most content produced is evergreen, which means its
informational content will generate results for a long time. This also makes the
content a company asset and increases its value.
So, beyond reducing CAC, content brings more value to your business and
contributes to helping your clients without the need for your sales team’s efforts,
making it free to focus on a more personalized and assertive approach.
10. Increases the client’s lifetime value
The lifetime value is the total value spent by the clients on your business.
It means that the more they buy or the longer they stay as your clients, the bigger
will be their lifetime value.
 If you offer relevant and usable content to your clients, you’ll keep them
for more time on your base. They will feel important when perceiving that your
brand keeps thinking about how to help them solve their problems, even after
they closed the deal.

TRADITIONAL MEDIA VS SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a form of electronic communication that enables users to
create and share information, ideas, messages, and content via social networking
websites and applications. However, the term ‘social media’ is often used
interchangeably with ‘social network’. In fact, social network is a concept that
was around long before the advent of the internet. Social network refers to a group
of people who know each other or connected in some way.
Today, the terms ‘social networking site’ or ‘social networking service’ are
a little outdated, but they essentially refer to the same services as ‘social media’.
Social media is now mainstream media, but it is difficult to define it accurately
because there are exceptions to every definition. It differentiates itself by being
interactive – a two-way communication. Social media includes websites that are
available for social networking.
Traditional media refers to everything that runs via traditional
media channels such as television, radio, newspaper, magazine etc. When you
look at a TV commercial, listen to the radio, or read a magazine or newspaper,
you are experiencing marketing through traditional media channels. Traditional
media are predominantly push media where the message is broadcast from
company to customer and other stakeholders.
Traditional media has been a part of our culture for over half a century.
Traditional media proved to be a powerful tool in the process of making learning
and teaching more effective and interesting. In traditional media, the sender
usually decides what to publish, broadcast or telecast, while the receiver always
receives the information. In private organizations, the owners are usually
responsible for the content or material published.

Definition
 Social media refer to websites and applications that enable users to create
and share content or to participate in social networking. In contrast, traditional
media refers to any form of mass communication available before the
introduction of digital media.
Examples
Some examples of popular social media platforms include Facebook,
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Wikipedia and Pinterest, while
examples of traditional media include television, radio, newspapers and
magazines.
Nature of Communication
While social media offers two-way communication, traditional media
offers one-way communication. This is because the audience has an opportunity
to voice their opinions on social media.
Internet
Although social media has many special features and advantages, it is
dependent on the internet. If there is a break down in the internet connection, you
cannot access any social media platform. However, traditional media is not
dependent on the internet.
Changes
Once a message is published or broadcasted in traditional media, it’s too
late to make changes. However, messages in social media can be changed
whenever you want.
Control
In social media, you have more control over the message you want to share;
for example, you can use audience targeting, or you can delay the date of
publication. In contrast, traditional media does not allow much control.

RECENT TRENDS IN SMM

1. TikTok will become bigger
 In September 2021, TikTok reported more than 1 billion active monthly
users and is still growing. For companies that want to reach younger audiences,
TikTok is necessary. It is one of the main platforms to reach Gen Z and millennial
consumers. TikTok is also a suitable platform for businesses to advertise using
short-form videos -- popular with the younger generations. In addition, TikTok
has ads and business profile tools to expand its platform.
2. Video content will continue to dominate
Eighty-two percent of global consumer internet traffic will be video
content, according to a study by Cisco. However, long-form videos are losing
popularity as more consumers turn to short-form videos, such as those on TikTok,
Facebook's Reels, YouTube's Shorts and Instagram's Reels and Stories.
Moreover, companies are turning to live-streaming to engage with
consumers. These videos can include telling a story, demonstrating a product,
promoting events or sharing other company communications. The length of social
media videos should be kept to around a minute, according to Hootsuite.
3. Social commerce will continue to expand
Buying products directly from social media will become the norm. Social
networks are evolving into retail platforms with storefronts and shoppable posts.
In fact, 98% of consumers plan to purchase on social media, according to Sprout
Social.
To create an ideal shopping experience, businesses should focus on
creating as few clicks as possible. This can be done by focusing on their most
popular items instead of a full storefront to start.
4. Customer service becomes a big part of social media
Using social media as a customer service platform happened gradually as
people realized they could reach out to companies directly. Customers ask
questions or post complaints, and companies respond.
Fifty-four percent of global participants had more favorable views of
companies that responded to customer service complaints or requests on social
media, according to Microsoft's Global State of Customer Service report.
Customers value the importance of responding to posts.
5. More companies will use social listening
Businesses can gather insights and data from social media. By using social
listening tools, businesses can listen to the consumer world. Here are some social
listening tools:
 Clarabridge
 HubSpot
 Lately
 Sprout Social
 Hootsuite
The goal of social listening is to monitor any conversations on social media
and understand reactions.
Social listening enables companies to understand the impact of campaigns,
perceptions of brands and other insights on customer wants and needs. To start,
companies can use branded hashtags, relevant keywords and company mentions
in social campaigns to see the results.
Companies can also use social media to help with crisis management
communications and listening to people on their platforms. Consumers want
businesses to be transparent and honest in a crisis, and 61% of users believe
brands should acknowledge moments of crisis when it’s happening, according to
a Twitter survey.
6. Local targeting will grow
Using location-based targeting helps companies attract local consumers. A
common way to find locals is to use geotagging in social media content to reach
a target audience.
Social media users can search for posts near them, so be sure to add a
location to the post. For example, Instagram has location search option. And on
Facebook, companies can "boost a post" and select target locations for the
audience to help narrow the reach.
7. Social audios will gain popularity
Even though audio is not new, its presence on social media is. Audio uses
only the human voice to reach its audience, giving people the option to listen on
the go.
Clubhouse -- a social audio app -- was popular in 2021, but the invite-only
requirement made it difficult for all businesses to use. However, other platforms
are now offering audio-only options. Facebook now offers features such as
Soundbites, podcast and Rooms to support audio content. Trends for using social
audio include live event broadcasting, voice messaging, music, live audio rooms
and meetings.
8. AI will assist with content creation
The year 2023 will be big for AI, and Forrester predicts AI software will
grow 50% faster than the overall software market. Businesses can use AI content
generation software -- such as ChatGPT, CopyAI and Jasper -- to draft social
media posts.
AI can assist with copywriting, but it cannot replace personalized and
authoritative content from a human writer. AI can help draft content by outlining
or reformatting existing content for other mediums, such as social media or email
campaigns.

CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Marketing on social media has changed from a nice-to-have to a must-have
for modern brands. The power of social can be gauged from these facts:
 Online users from all over the world currently use social media for an average
of 2 hours and 27 minutes.
 77% of social media marketers rated social media marketing as somewhat
effective to very effective for the year 2021.
 Social media ads are driving purchase decisions for almost 80% of people.
1: Lack of Connection Across Departments
In the past, brands didn’t use to place much importance on a social media
team. Far from it, social media teams were either non-existent or managed by just
one person. Today, however, social is no longer limited to online ads. It also
involves a range of proficiencies as illustrated in the photo below.
Social strategy
The COVID-19 pandemic, along with developments in the metaverse, has
made social media more popular than ever. Not surprisingly, social media
management is the third most in-demand marketing occupation today.
For companies, these added responsibilities mean more dependency on
their social media efforts. And for that, almost 90% of brands expect to hire new
social media marketing team members in the next two years, with over half of
them predicting up to six new vacancies. The challenge is finding talents whose
expertise is within the disciplines that contribute to the growth of the brand’s
social strategy.
Solution
One of the best practices for hiring new talent is to adapt your core team to
the challenges that social media faces. Invest in growing not just your social
media team but also those other departments that contribute to your social
strategy.
Moreover, each department should not be siloed. Instead, social media
marketers should be able to reach out to sales, human resources, research and
development, customer service, and other departments when creating marketing
goals. Sharing data with these departments can help them improve the brand’s
social presence.
Provide relevant resources and insights to help the team understand how
the brand’s social media presence affects sales. Know which proficiencies are
lacking in each department, review metrics with them, and find opportunities for
collaboration across the team.

2: Identifying the Right Platform

The next hurdle marketers face is in the selection of which platforms to
leverage. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased social media use among users
and drew marketers to new platforms that boomed during the pandemic.
However, few marketers research their target markets thoroughly enough
to identify the platforms where their target audience is active.
You can see that 51% of consumers hope to use YouTube to discover
brands, whereas only 35% of marketers will consider it for their marketing
efforts. If brands don’t revisit their marketing strategy, then they’ll likely miss
out on more bankable platforms.
Solution
In a way, if you overcome the first challenge of goal setting, you are well
on your way to overcoming this challenge too.
For example, if you want to establish a personal connection with customers,
Twitter is your best bet. On the other hand, Instagram is great if you want to
leverage influencers to spread brand awareness.
Overall, your social platform investment should factor in your potential
audience reach, ad cost, traffic potential, lead generation, and demographic,
among others.
Take the time to get to know your audience. Which platforms are they
active on? What are their main activities on social media? Dissect your audience
demographics to learn about their genders, ages, and locations. Then, meet them
where they are active. A lot depends on the nature of your business as well. B2C
brands need to be active on visual platforms like Facebook and Instagram to grab
the attention of consumers.
 B2B brands can benefit from local SEO on Google My Business and Bing.
They should also post regularly on LinkedIn to make useful connections with
brands. You also need to keep tabs on your competitors. “Out of sight, out of
mind,” is very true for social media users. If you don’t have a strong presence on
channels that your competitors are acing, you’re bound to lose a lot of conversion
opportunities.
Social media listening can help you track the brand mentions of your
competitors. Identify the channels where they are garnering attention. Then, plan
outreach on those channels.
3: Understanding the Target Audience
There are many brands that do superb business in-store but fail miserably
on social. The difference is that in brick-and-mortar stores, customers approach
brands, whereas, on social media, brands have to seek out customers. And, do
some brands have no clue how to do this.
Too often, marketers create content first and figure out the target audience
later. They have the misconception that great content converts, even if it is not
targeted. Though great content gets engagement, it might not generate leads if it
isn’t tailored to your target audience’s needs.
Directionless marketing relies on a spray-and-pray approach that seldom
gives the desired returns. In fact, it can damage your brand’s credibility. You run
the risk of getting blocked or reported if you bombard people with irrelevant
content.
Solution
Do you know who your ideal customer is? Have you created a precise
buyer persona? Dig into your existing customer base, ad analytics, and email
subscriber list. Create a fictional customer avatar from the data you collect.
Get personal with the data. How many kids does your customer have? How do
they spend their weekends? What kind of music do they love? Gather as many
insights as are relevant to your business.
You can use social listening tools to capture insights. You can drill down
into customer conversations around your brand, product, and niche. Understand
the consumer sentiment and pain points to shape your campaign goals and
content.
Kraft Foods used social data when they were planning to introduce mini-
burgers or sliders. Using social listening, they identified slider themes popular
among different customer segments. Social research guides the brand’s product
strategy as well. Their super-successful Mayochup was a result of one such
research.
Social listening will also help you understand the “why” behind customer
actions. Why are they following a particular platform? Why did they unfollow
your brand? Why is your brand mention volume low? Use the insights you
gathered to establish a personal connection with customers and create more
appealing content.
Garnering social media engagement is a competition to gain followers and
even customers. But in its 2022 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report,
RivalIQ reports decreasing organic engagement. This only proves that paid ads
are gradually monopolizing the marketing industry within social media platforms.
The downward spiral of organic engagement tells us that social media
algorithms are becoming increasingly difficult to overcome. Unless you have paid
promotions under your belt, your brand is likely to spiral into social media
oblivion. But even with paid ads, high-quality content is key to gaining
engagement online.
Solution
Know what your target audience wants to see by assessing your top-caliber
posts. Find their common ground, and capitalize on that for future posts.
Granted, creating high-quality content takes time and investment. Repurposing
your old content can help you save some trouble. For example, you can take an
old video, snip it, and post it as new content on short-form content platforms like
TikTok and Instagram.
In terms of the most engaging type of content, short-form or less than five-
minute videos should be at the top of your list. Short-form content is not only
easy to create and share but also gains more than twice as much engagement as
long-forms. Note, however, that long-form content is still more appropriate for
YouTube.
You should also focus on content that appeals to your audience. More than
half of consumers like seeing product-centric ads, which prominently feature
products, services, and real customers. But spin that with user-generated content
that allows your users to win prizes (case in point: yogurt company Chobani’s
#SwitchTheChobaniFlip on TikTok), and you’ll surely cut through the
competitive social media noise.
5: Meeting Consumer Expectations
Aside from gaining followers and engagements, social media marketers are
also challenged by consumers’ current expectations. As we head into the
metaverse, the third iteration of the internet, more people are drawn to emerging
technologies, particularly non-fungible tokens, augmented and virtual reality, and
virtual spaces. When interacting with brands in the future, younger generations
of consumers—Gen Zs and millennials—expect to use technology.
Moreover, people want to identify with a brand that represents similar
values. 71% of people find company advocacies important, particularly those that
relate to social issues and diversity. Brands that speak out on social media also
carve a powerful identity for themselves and become culturally relevant online.
 However, marketers usually have a hard time pushing for this, leaving it to
their company leaders to decide. If brands fail to take a proactive approach and
revisit their identity, then they’re likely to become stagnant or outdated.
Solution
Develop a distinct voice that makes your brand authentic. This voice must
be aligned with your customers’ values. Support issues that matter to your
company, and build a relationship with customers who share a similar advocacy.
You can also create positions that can help you address issues that your
company wants to tackle. Hire talents that have had a similar role in the past and
who can push their higher-ups to speak up and raise awareness on certain topics.
Additionally, invest in metaverse strategies that your consumers would
surely engage in. Take it as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge and adopt
future strategies early on. This will not only help you expose your brand to a new
generation of online users but also allow you to stake a claim in the future of the
internet.