Month: November 2021

Social Media Advertising for B2B

Social media advertising is an increasingly important marketing approach for B2B firms.
However, crafting a strategy can feel daunting with so many different platforms and ad formats to choose from.

Benefits of social media advertising for B2B:

• Increase brand awareness and recognition
• Easily reach target audiences
• Establish thought leadership
• Acquire and retain customers
• Generate leads and sales
• Boost website traffic

#ProTip: Don’t limit your ads to one type of format, social platforms offer numerous options including: text, photo and video ads, sponsored content, story ads, carousel promotions, direct message ads, etc.

Start out the new year with a complete social media strategy. Contact us!

#FunFact:

83% of marketers use social media advertising. Source: Sagefrog

Digital Empathy

A recent interview with Brian Solis a world-renowned author and speakers boasted as a digital anthropologist and futurist, shared his insights into the need for digital empathy. Here is an excerpt from that interview.

“In a world where we risk losing warmth during the massive, accelerated shift to digital, we must not over-invest in transactions over meaningful engagement and experience. One powerful opportunity is to embrace the sixth ‘love language’ in marketing and experience design, which I call digital empathy. It’s this idea of understanding that digital itself has with it a different way of communicating and understanding how others want to communicate and how they want to be engaged. We all know the golden rule, ‘treat others how you want to be treated’. But I think in this world where we’re accelerating digital experiences, even hybrid experiences, there is a possibility now or I should say, a need, for marketers to embrace the golden rule of digital empathy. Treat others how they want to be treated- this is the foundation for data-driven empathy and true hyper-personalization.”

What We’re Reading

• Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse, how will the world of advertisements look?
• ‘You can almost taste the hot chocolate’: Why catalogs are still winning holiday marketing
• Lush is quitting social media. The start of a trend?
• Report: Consumers warming to social commerce
• Black Friday outpaces Cyber Monday for digital purchases
• Why Kraft Heinz is paying for epipens

Every Friday, we share some of our favorite reads and podcasts. Please share what you’re reading by tweeting #FGFreads

#FGFStory: Goal: 250,000 lbs of Food in 1 Day

Our year round #ZenergyCause initiative is pleased to donate our time to promote Toronto Miracle via media relations outreach. The one-day, city-wide food drive, run completely on volunteer power, is happening December 4 across Toronto. The goal for 2021 is to bring together all 140 Toronto neighbourhoods to collect 250,000 lbs of non-perishable food in one day.

Watchan interview on Toronto’s CP24.
Learn more, register to donate or volunteer here.

#FunFact

Approximately 30% of Americans and 40% of Canadians over the age of 15 have volunteered for charities, non-profits and community organizations. #GiveThanks (Sources: StatCan and InterExchange.org)

#Report: Don’t be Shy with Instagram Hashtags

Analysis of over 18 million feed posts on Instagram has revealed that those accompanied by 20 hashtags achieve the highest reach while those with 30 hashtags generate the most comments and likes. The research goes against Instagram’s own advice of using between three and five hashtags. It may be worth testing posts with higher numbers.

Plan your 2022 social strategy now. Contact us!

#IdeasInAction: Ideas we Love

Design students at London’s Royal College of Art were given a challenge: take plastic that will most likely end up in the landfill and turn it into a new raw material using as little energy as possible. The students excelled, turning plastic into train car-seat covers, sound insulation, art pieces, lamps, and more. Learn more about the Precious Waste competition here.

Took a photo that you are proud of?

Send italong and our team will select amongst those submitted to be featured in our next FGF.

“The sky and the strong wind have moved the spirit inside me till I am carried away trembling with joy.”

– Uvavnuk
19th century Inuk oral poet

Short Form Video Trends

(Up to 2.5 minutes in length)

A 2020 study by Wyzowl reported that people share videos at twice the rate than any other form of content. It also found that 84% of people bought a product or service based on the brand’s video. Given this data, video content in short form, the most popular video style consumed, is an important part of every brand’s content marketing strategy.

Here are some short form video trends for 2022:

• Brand Challenges
• Influencer Ads
• Product Teasers
• User-Generated Content (UGC)
• Behind-the-Brand
• Explainer or Educational

#ProTip: The desire to be on-trend is always tempting but brands should be selective about which trends they partake in. With this in mind, it’s all about finding the balance between what’s trending and what’s on-brand for your business.

Zenergy provides turnkey video production services! Contact us!

The Present and Future of Search Engine Marketing

With millions of web pages battling to answer consumers searches, what can businesses do to strategically position themselves at the top of the list? The answer is Search Engine Marketing or SEM. Once used as an umbrella term for both organic and paid organic traffic, SEM has now shifted to specifically reference ads, with search engine optimization (SEO) used for unpaid content. One of the most prominent advantages of SEM, for both B2B and B2C companies, is that it positions businesses directly in front of motivated customers at the exact moment they are seeking a product or service.

Read more about the future of SEM on our blog.

New LinkedIn Data Shows How Gen Z is Recalibrating the Platform

Generation Z (9 to 24 year-olds) will make up 27% of the workforce by 2025 and 78 million of them can be found on LinkedIn where they not only seek content related to work but to professional development, financial security and their values of sustainability and authenticity, according to a LinkedIn report. The older end of the cohort already represents 10% of the platform’s total user base and 80% say that LinkedIn is a brand they trust.

Here are some other insights from the report on how Gen Zers currently on LinkedIn are using the platform:

• 36% use it for work-related networking and research
• 46% for reading news stories
• 74% said they want to learn new skills
• The most popular LinkedIn courses taken by young people are on Microsoft Excel, project management, data structuring and data visualization softwares, coding language basics and search engine optimization.

Ensure that your LinkedIn content speaks to all demographics. Contact us!

What We’re Reading

• 6 Advertising Challenges Brands Could Face in 2022, According to Experts
• Can commercial radio and podcasting go hand-in-hand?
• COP26 made net zero a core principle for business. Here’s how leaders can act
• What Readability Level Makes Sense for Your Audience?
• LinkedIn Quietly Experiments With Product Pages To Boost Conversations

Every Friday, we share some of our favorite reads and podcasts. Please share what you’re reading by tweeting #FGFreads

#FGFStory: 15 Million-Acre Protected Superhighway

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced an expansion of the marine protections around the iconic Galápagos Islands by 23,000 square miles – nearly 15 million acres – at the COP26 climate summit.

Lasso also announced the creation a protected swimway from Galápagos all the way to Costa Rica, an underwater superhighway refuge for a variety of endangered migratory animals such as scalloped hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, rays, sea turtles, and tuna.

#FunFact

Approximately 25% US adults use Twitter, according to Pew Research. Entertainment is the primary reason they do say 42% of those surveyed, while seeking news was the second most popular with 20% saying so.

#Report: Hootsuite Annual Global Social Trends 2022

A Hootsuite survey of customers, marketers and analysts found 48% of marketers planned to increase spending on Instagram this year, followed by Facebook (47%), YouTube (44%) and LinkedIn (43%). The report also showed the growing importance of social media outside of marketing activities, and marketers noted next year’s top social media priorities are brand awareness and customer acquisition.

Top goals on social in 2022 based on company size:

• SMB (1-99 employees): Increase acquisition of new customers followed by increasing brand awareness
• Mid-size (100-999 employees): Improving the employee experience followed by brand protection/risk mitigation
• Enterprise (1000+ employees): Brand protection/risk mitigation followed by improving the employee experience

Plan your 2022 social strategy now. Contact us!

#IdeasInAction

13-year-old Abraham Olagbegi was granted a “Make-A-Wish” and used it to feed the homeless in his area of Mississippi one day a month for an entire year. When life hands you a miracle, you can bask in its glow or you can pay it forward.

Took a photo that you are proud of?

Send it along and our team will select amongst those submitted to be featured in our next FGF.

“A gray day provides the best light.” – Leonardo da Vinci

#ProTips: Successful Influencer Contracts

Many elements related to an influencer contract are obvious but others really aren’t as clear cut. Here are 10 recommended points to include when entering into an agreement with an influencer:

• Assignment details
• Key messages
• Compensation
• Compliance (FTC, social outlet regulations, disclosure, etc.)
• Content rights
• Visual guidelines
• Behavior clauses
• Content removal dates
• Tracking and reporting
• Amplification rights (i.e. boosting posts)

Need help planning an influencer marketing campaign? Contact us!

#Results: Hot Tech

If money was no object as it pertains to consumer tech, many American adults indicated that they would upgrade their phones and improve their home security, as per a survey by eMarketer. However, our readers replied to our poll and said that they are more interested in wearable tech and connected exercise equipment – seems like they’re a health-conscience bunch.

Video Storytelling

According to 83% of marketers surveyed by Content Marketing Institute, video has become an even more important storytelling tool in the last two years. Here are a few other marketer insights from their report:

• 60% of those surveyed expect their video budget to increase in 2022 over 2021.
• 69% say their organization needs to invest more in the format, showing they believe in the power of video.
• 48% say their brand doesn’t use existing video to its potential.
• Almost half (49%) say interviews with influencers/subject matter experts produced the best video results.

Need help with your video content? Contact us!

What We’re Reading

• Why marketing’s age-old sexism problem is easy to fix
• Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? Scientists Look at What’s Going On in Their Minds
• Facebook To Limit Ad Targeting For Health, Race, Ethnicity, Other Attributes
• Egg Farmers of Canada write a book to crack down on egg myths
• Top 17 Tips to Enhance Mobile App User Engagement
• Ford makes a smoothie from ingredients in its cars
• How Linda Alvarado Went From Manual Labor To Becoming One Of America’s Richest Self-Made Women

Every Friday, we share some of our favorite reads and podcasts. Please share what you’re reading by tweeting #FGFreads

#FGFStory: Bouncy Castle Cleans the Air and Gobbles CO2 While You Jump

A bouncy castle on display at COP26 in Glasgow can clean air by removing carbon dioxide and other pollution. It works thanks to algae inside the playground’s inflatable walls.

To demonstrate, children from a local primary school played on the bouncy castle. As the children jump, air is sucked into the walls of the playground where the algae inside absorbs carbon, releasing oxygen in its place.

Check out the video.

#Movember: Over 160 km in 12 days!

Part of this year’s Movember campaign will go towards funding life-changing mental health programs and fundraisers are being asked to run or walk 60 km for the 60 men lost to suicide each hour, every hour across the world. Zenergy President, Linda Farha, has set a goal of 200 km for the month and she’s already surpassed 160 km only 12 days in!

Support Linda’s fundraising campaign by donating here.

#ProTips: Successful Content Marketing

To create a successful content marketing campaign, make sure you craft your message to appeal to your target audience. In a busy world that seems to speed up every day, potential customers are not going to waste their time with irrelevant or boring content. Here are six tips when creating content that will resonate with your target audience:

• Solve a problem
• Make sure it is long enough to rank high in search with keywords throughout (2000+ word content ranks best)
• Use data (research reports, surveys, etc.)
• Include visuals
• Repurpose the content for other uses (social, blogs, eblasts, infographics, etc.)
• Evaluate by paying attention to analytics

Need help connecting with your target audience? Contact us!

#IdeasInAction: Teacher Shares Brilliant Band-Aid Lesson to Teach Kids About Fairness

A third-grade teacher has gone viral for sharing a sweet and simple lesson on fairness using band-aids as a prop. Watch the minute-long mini-lesson on equity that has garnered more than 3M views.

Took a photo that you are proud of?

Send it along and our team will select amongst those submitted to be featured in our next FGF.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes a whole new set of deadlines. The world’s largest retail association, the NRF forecasts that 42% of consumers will start their holiday shopping earlier than usual, making it imperative to be prepared. Zenergy Communications has the perfect solution: a comprehensive holiday Gift Guide Package.

Here’s what’s included:

• A 12-page flip book linked directly to your website or social channel
• Two eblast designs
• Three social media posts
• Online advertising

Let our proven success in delivering integrated marketing and communications solutions through content and creative storytelling help you stand out this holiday season and turn target consumers into shoppers!

Why choose Zenergy’s Gift Guide Package this Holiday Season?

Find out how we can help you succeed this holiday season.

Social Media x PR

Pew Research Center recently released their latest data regarding news consumption on social media platforms and the differences in usage across varying demographics. This data provides industry professionals and organizations with the following important insights into the future of social media and PR:

• Nearly half of U.S. adults still get their news from social media sites.
• Facebook still rules – and has rules for content.
• Diverse, younger audiences require different engagement tactics.
• Election cycles will impact consumption habits.
• This is content creators’ time to shine.

Need help with your social media and public relations strategy? Contact us!

#Poll Hot Tech

eMarketer recently polled US adults and asked: “If money was no object when buying consumer tech what would you buy?” Tied for top place was upgrading their phones and improving their home with smart tech.
What tech would you purchase to spoil yourself?

Top Search Ranking Factors According to SEO Experts

According to recent research from Search Engine Journal, search engine optimization (SEO) professionals say on-page elements had the biggest impact on search rankings over the past 12 months. Some 33% of respondents said that on-page elements, such as metadata (32%), was one of the most important factors while 31% stated organic user behavior.

Need help with your SEO? Contact us!

What We’re Reading

• [Podcast] Masters of Scale – Rapid Response
• Meta’s Ad Returns Are its Redemption for Advertisers
• Research Report: News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021
• How to Choose the Right Facebook Ads Bidding Strategy
• The Metaverse Doesn’t Always Stay in the Metaverse
• Betty White and Betty Crocker Celebrate the Big 100 at Walmart

Every Friday, we share some of our favorite reads and podcasts. Please share what you’re reading by tweeting #FGFreads

#FGFStory: Forget Gold and Fine Art: Investors are Putting their Money into Rewilding the Land

The UK’s fascination with re-wilding has taken a corporate turn, as green investment companies look to generate long-term capital appreciation for investors, through re-wilding programs and the jobs they create. By taking advantage of the growing carbon capture market, businesses looking to offset or reduce their emissions, and the new Environmental Land Management schemes from the British government, the fund hopes to pair the financial power of the corporate world with the inestimable value of the natural one.

Working in three areas of the UK, The Real Wild Estates Company (RWE) hopes to create 100,000 acres of re-wilded country by 2030, in traditional southern English estate country, the Scottish Highlands, and the North English Moors.

Watch the video.

#Movember: Zenergy is Moving for Movember

Zenergy’s President, Linda Farha, has committed to running or walking 60 km during the month of November in a fundraising effort supporting Movember. That’s 60 km for the 60 men lost to suicide each hour, every hour across the world. Of course, in typical Linda fashion she’s set her goal at 200 km for the month!

Support this year’s Movember initiatives by donating here.

#ProTips: Generate More Leads with your Marketing Content

Here are six tips for crafting marketing communications that get a response – so more people actually read, watch, or listen to your content.

• Give your content an interesting or benefit-oriented title
• Try using a problem-based headline instead of a solution-based one
• Narrow your readership to one target audience
• Consider putting the job function of your target audience in the title
• Put a call to action at the end
• Promote and repurpose your content aggressively

Need help connecting with your B2B audience? Contact us!

#FunFact

93% of online interactions start with search engines.

Source: Humans & Robots

“Entrepreneurs are doers who may fall seven times but stand up eight.”
Asahi Pompey, President, Goldman Sachs Foundation