The Power of Micro-Moments, Facebook Canvas, and UGC

Here’s our latest roundup of digital marketing tips.

B2B: Doing B2B content marketing right

For a successful B2B content marketing strategy, set key benchmarks and a timeline and avoid these pitfalls: failing to produce content regularly, ignoring what your clients want to hear, replicating instead of improving content, creating content they won’t consume, and failing to fully utilize content.

Client takeaway: B2B content marketing starts with understanding your audience, providing great content, and optimizing for ROI.

Suggested implementation: Create, follow, and maintain a content calendar. Publishing weekly and then going dark for a few months will alienate your audience.  

Digital marketing: West Elm is lifting sales by using customers’ Instagram photos in Facebook carousel ads

West Elm recently found a sweet spot in their digital ad strategy by recycling user generated content (UGC) from Instagram posts into their Facebook carousel ads. They ran an A/B test of the Instagram UGC versus their regular Facebook content. The ROI for the UGC was seven times higher than the regular ads with a click-through-rate that was six times higher.

Client takeaway: People who were driven to the West Elm website through a UGC ad converted to a sale at a rate of three times greater than those who clicked on a regular ad.

Suggested implementation: Use your brand’s UGC in your social content strategy. Test posting user content and see how it performs, then consider implementing in your ad strategy.   

Mobile: Micro-moments: how consumers rely on mobile to meet their needs

Micro-moments occur when a user turns to a device, usually a smartphone, to learn something, watch something, or buy something. Ninety-one percent of people use mobile for inspiration in the middle of a task; 90 percent use mobile to work toward a long-term goal while on the go (think researching a house or big purchase); 82 percent consult their phones when in a store; and 51 percent have purchased from a company other than the one they intended because the information provided on search was useful.   

Client takeaway: Micro-moments are high intent moments where decisions are usually made.

Suggested implementation: Focus on a mobile strategy where your brand is easy to find and information is readily available.  

Social media marketing: What can Facebook Canvas ads do for you?

Canvas ads are a full-screen, photo-heavy, immersive ad experience. On average, users spend over two minutes on a Canvas ad, with 53 percent of users viewing more than half of the Canvas. That’s 10 times longer than the average ad. Canvas ads are easy to create, tailored for mobile, and an instantaneous experience with no load time.

Client takeaway: Canvas provides a unique way for brands to tell their story, with high engagement and low cost.

Suggested implementation: Create imagery that suits the vertical orientation of Canvas. Test the performance of Canvas against your current ads.

Video: 31 video marketing statistics to inform your strategy

Video is no longer the next big trend in marketing; it is an expected marketing tactic. Including video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80 percent. After watching a video, 64 percent of users were more likely to buy a product online. Ninety-six percent of B2B organizations use video. And a third of all online activity is spent watching videos.

Client takeaway: Video marketing provides an engaging platform to tell your brand story and grab your audience’s attention.

Suggested implementation: Create an attainable video marketing strategy. Focus first on evergreen content that can be used on multiple channels and expand from there.