HOME

The Top Marketing Trends of 2023: What You Need to Know

Leave a comment

The Top Marketing Trends of 2023: What You Need to Know

hive

Introduction

The digital world has changed the way we do business. For some companies, this means adapting to new trends that can help them reach their target audience while creating brand loyalty. For others, it means falling behind or struggling to keep up with competitors. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the biggest marketing trends for 2023 and how you can use them to your advantage.

Why traditional marketing models are broken

Traditional marketing models are broken. It’s no surprise that digital marketing is more effective than traditional marketing, but it’s also more cost-effective. Digital has a much higher return on investment (ROI) and can be used to scale your business beyond what you would have been able to do with traditional methods.

The benefits of digital marketing don't stop there though; these days, we're seeing that companies who invest in new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) will thrive while their competitors falter behind them because they're not keeping up with the times.

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

Here are some reasons why:

  • Traditional Marketing Is Not Scalable – Social media allows you to reach thousands of people at once using just one post—and you don't need an army of employees or expensive equipment! You can also use social media apps such as Snapchat where your audience is younger than Instagram's average viewer age (25–34 years old).

  • Traditional Marketing Is Not Measurable – There's no way for you to know exactly how well your ad campaigns are doing unless someone comes back later saying "hey thanks for advertising my business!" This makes it hard for marketers because they don't know if anyone saw their content before deciding whether or not it was worthwhile giving money away by creating ads in order promote themselves; thus making purchasing decisions based only on gut feeling instead of actual data points collected from research surveys completed by previous customers could cause companies lose money unnecessarily over time due misalignment between expectations/needs versus reality which leads down path towards bankruptcy within five years after launch date originally planned out ten years ago when first meeting took place between stakeholders during annual planning process conducted quarterly throughout year prior launch date set back then moved forward several months earlier due unforeseen circumstances developed leading up until today–things happen faster now than ever before so plan accordingly."

What marketing trends will dominate this year?

AI-Driven Marketing

We're no longer in the digital marketing world of 2017, where a website and an email list are all you need to get started. If you're not already incorporating AI into your marketing strategy, it's time to start. AI can drive personalized experiences for customers and help them achieve their goals across channels—not just one channel at a time. It also helps reduce repetitive tasks so that you have more time to focus on growing your business while AI takes care of the rest.

Customer experience (CX)

Customer experience (CX) is the new marketing. It's more than just a buzzword or phrase—it's the focus of your marketing strategy in 2023. Customer experience is not just about acquiring customers, it's about keeping them. In the past few years, marketers have shifted their focus from attracting new customers to retaining existing ones through improving CX and increasing loyalty.

The reason why this shift has happened is simple: consumers are demanding more from businesses than ever before. As technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, our expectations as consumers increase as well. We want products that are customized to suit our needs and desires; we want services that go above and beyond what was promised; we expect companies to be responsive when something goes wrong; we expect brands to understand who they're selling too based on their previous interactions with them online…and so on!

Omnichannel marketing

Ominchannel marketing is the future of marketing. It's a multi-channel approach to marketing, where your customers can interact with your brand across all channels—social media, email, email newsletters and print publications.

Omnichannel marketing requires a seamless experience for customers: They shouldn't have to jump in and out of different websites or apps to get what they need from you. In addition, omnichannel marketers must be able to manage customer interactions across these channels in real time so that if something goes wrong (for example, if there's an issue with an order) it can be fixed immediately without much disruption for the customer.

Customer-centricity

Customer-centricity is the new marketing.

It’s the best way to build your brand, and it is a key factor in building customer loyalty.

Customer-centricity is about achieving customer satisfaction through a holistic approach that includes understanding the needs of customers, meeting those needs with products and services that are unique to their needs, and engaging with them as individuals in order to build trust over time.

Voice search optimization (VSO)

Voice search optimization is the practice of optimizing your website for voice search and making it easy for users to find the information they want. By 2023, it's expected that 50% of all searches will be performed using voice input. This means that optimizing your website for voice searches is more important than ever!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in advertising and marketing

AI is a powerful tool to help marketers. It can automate tasks, improve efficiency and save time. With AI, you can optimize your marketing campaigns better than humanly possible. For example, if you want a campaign that targets customers based on their behavior or interests, it's easy with AI.

AI also allows marketers to create more personalized experiences for their customers (via machine learning). For example, if someone browses your website but doesn't buy anything yet, an AI bot could send them an email about another product that might be useful for them based on what they've been browsing before (and possibly other data points).

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a great way to reach your target market and gain brand awareness. Here are some ways influencers can help you do that:

  • They have large social media followings, so they can use their platforms to promote your business.

  • They're often experts in their niche, which means they know what people are looking for and can help you fill those needs.

Now that we've covered how influencers can benefit your business, let's talk about how to find the right ones for you. First things first; make sure that the person has an audience that aligns with yours (i.e., if they're catering towards women who wear size seven shoes but own cats named Smudge, it's probably not going to work out). It's also important to note that there isn't one type of influencer—there are many different types of influencers who specialize in different things: travel bloggers, fashion bloggers, food bloggers…the list goes on! The main thing is finding someone who fits into one of these categories because those are usually where most brands look when searching for new talent. If you're still unsure about partnerships but want something similar without actually paying anyone anything upfront – try doing some co-branding campaigns instead! These require less investment because anyone involved benefits from increased brand awareness regardless if any money exchanges hands or not."

Brand video content/storytelling

Brand video content/storytelling

Video is the most engaging form of content, with more than 95% of viewers preferring interactive video over static images. And with advances in AI, the line between what's real and what's fictional has become increasingly blurry. The result? Video becomes a vehicle for brands to tell their stories in new, exciting ways that can change how customers perceive them—and therefore how they feel about purchasing from them. For example, in 2023 when you want to buy an expensive piece of furniture from Ikea (which will still be around), it won't just be about making sure that specific model fits into your living room; it'll also be about how well its story fits into yours—whether through its design aesthetics or its environmental sustainability initiatives or both!

In addition to telling immersive brand stories through video content creation tools like animated GIFs or 3D models that allow users to zoom in on details (like those used by Google Maps), marketers can now create animated characters based on their own faces using artificial intelligence technology like [Amazon Rekognition](https://aws.amazonwebservices.com/rekognition). This allows companies like Uniqlo Japan which launched an online fashion show starring virtual versions of themselves earlier this year using Amazon Rekognition technology as well as Apple’s Memoji feature available within Apple Music app for iPhone users worldwide since June 2019!

Content marketing trends and tools to adopt in 2023

Content marketing is a long-term strategy. It takes time and effort to build a loyal audience that trusts your brand, but the payoff is worth it. By creating relevant content that’s valuable for your customers, you can build trust with them (which leads to conversions) and generate more traffic back to your website.

Content marketing tools:

  • Infographics – A great way to communicate complex ideas in an easy-to-read format

  • Videos – Video content has been shown to increase engagement by 80% compared with text content alone

  • Podcasts – Podcast listeners tend to be very loyal, so building a podcast following will help you attract new clients over time

Online courses – Online courses are a great way to teach your audience what you know and build trust with them. Interviews – Interviewing influencers in your field can help you build relationships that lead to opportunities down the road. White papers – These are dense but valuable documents that share research on a specific topic. They’re especially useful if you have a long sales cycle and need something to give potential clients right away.

Invest in the right digital resources to increase your ROI.

One of the most important things you can do to improve your digital marketing strategy is to invest in the right digital resources.

It’s easy to get caught up in social media, but there are so many other tools out there that can help you increase your ROI. One way of doing this is by using A/B testing tools like Optimizely and Unbounce, which allow you to test different versions of a landing page or email campaign against each other and see which one performs best before making a final decision.

Conclusion

With the right tools, content, and strategies, you can increase your ROI and engage with more customers. Branding is always important but it's even more so in today's world of instant gratification where consumers expect a personalized experience at every touchpoint.

markethive

Tim Moseley

HOME

Gold price surges back to 6-month highs on mixed US data focus shifts to inflation next week

Leave a comment

Gold price surges back to 6-month highs on mixed U.S. data, focus shifts to inflation next week

The latest macro data out of the U.S. pushed gold back to six-month highs after the U.S. economy and employment showed signs of cooling.

The gold market was at one point just $25 away from its key $1,900 an ounce level on Friday, with February Comex gold last at $1,873.40, up 2.4% on the week.

The biggest macro event of the week showed that the U.S. job growth slowed modestly in December, with U.S. nonfarm payrolls rising by 223,000 last month. The November data was revised down to 256,000 positions added.

One of the gold-positive drivers from the report was wage pressures coming down, which is a sign that inflation is cooling. Year-over-year average hourly earnings rose 4.6% last month. This was below markets' expectations of 5% and followed November's downwardly revised gain of 4.8%.

"Overall [the report] showed an economy slowly moderating with inflation coming down and labor market still strong. There is simply nothing recessionary about this report, but it was also a mixed report that had something for everyone," said MKS PAMP's head of metals strategy Nicky Shiels.

Also, the U.S. service sector contracted for the first time in 30 months in December, with the Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reading coming in at 49.6%. The 6.9 percentage-point decline surprised to the downside as market consensus calls were looking for the index to come in at 55%.

"While recent tracking suggests that GDP growth held up much better than expected in Q4 last year, this decline in the ISM services will raise concerns that the economy was losing momentum quickly and could have started 2023 on a soft footing," said CIBC Capital Markets senior economist Andrew Grantham.

Gold surged in response to both data releases, hitting a daily high of $1,875.20 — the highest level since June. "Gold knee-jerked higher," said Shiels. "The steep declines in business activity and orders that, if sustained, creates concerns about the demand outlook."
 

Next week's performance is key

What gold does next will be vital in determining whether the precious metal can sustain its rally, Shiels added.

"Depending on whether gold can hold its weekly gains (which is looking increasingly likely), it solidifies the offensive way gold has been trading since it established a mild bull trend since early November – always looking for reasons to rally," she said Friday. "There's a decent amount of bullish 'pent-up' demand that has been rolled over from last year and can get ignited on the right data point (CPI & PCE) will be far more telling," Shiels said.

Gold began to show signs of a bullish pattern in the fourth quarter of 2022 on expectations of a pivot by the Federal Reserve.

The next target that gold needs to breach is around $1,896.50, which is the 61.8% retracement of the losses since last March's peak near $2,070, Bannockburn Global Forex managing director Marc Chandler told Kitco News.

"I am not convinced it makes it up there as momentum indicators are getting stretched, and I think the risk is greater than the around 1-in-3 chance that the Fed funds futures are pricing in of a 50 bp hike at the FOMC meeting that concludes on Feb 1," Chandler stated. "That said, as long as the yellow metal holds above the $1,825-$1,830 area, the upside looks favored."

After Friday's data, markets started to price in a 74.2% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike in February, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool.

Gold has been anticipating and pricing in a slowdown in rate hikes by the Fed, but the ETF investors still need some convincing before the rally can really kick off, said Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht.

"Its upswing is presumably due primarily to more optimism among speculative financial investors, who are generally more fickle," Lambrecht wrote Friday. "However, any lasting recovery of prices on the gold market will require, above all, a shift in sentiment among ETF investors, who are still exercising caution. They appear to be waiting for the U.S. rate hike cycle to come to an end. In the short term, we envisage, if anything, a risk of setbacks on the gold market."
 

Data to watch

Inflation is one of the key reports that gold will pay close attention to next week, especially after the Fed minutes from the December meeting showed that U.S. central bank officials feel that more work needs to be done to battle price pressures.

"Federal Reserve officials remain concerned that policy needs to be more restrictive and to stay restrictive for a long period of time to ensure that demand moves into balance with the economy's supply capacity and price pressures subside," said ING chief international economist James Knightley.

Market consensus calls are looking for the annual inflation number to slow to 6.5% in December from November's 7.1% print.

Tuesday: Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks on 'Central Bank Independence'

Thursday: CPI, U.S. jobless claims

Friday: Michigan consumer sentiment

By Anna Golubova

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

HOME

Is it worth investing in pay-per-click advertising campaigns for lead generation goals?

Leave a comment

Is it worth investing in pay-per-click advertising campaigns for lead generation goals?

markethive

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a worthwhile investment for lead generation goals, as it allows you to target specific keywords and demographics, and only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This can be particularly effective if you are targeting a specific group of people who are more likely to be interested in your products or services.

Here are some advantages of PPC advertising for lead generation:

  1. Targeted reach: PPC campaigns allow you to target specific keywords, locations, and demographics, which means you can reach a highly targeted audience. This can be particularly useful if you are trying to reach a specific group of people who are more likely to be interested in your products or services.

  2. Measurable results: PPC campaigns provide detailed analytics, which means you can track the performance of your ads and see exactly how many leads they are generating. This can help you optimize your campaign and make sure you are getting the best return on investment.

  3. Quick results: Unlike organic search engine optimization, which can take time to see results, PPC campaigns can start generating leads almost immediately. This can be particularly useful if you need to generate leads quickly.

However, it's important to carefully consider your budget and goals before investing in PPC advertising. PPC campaigns can be more expensive than other forms of advertising, and it's important to make sure you are getting a good return on your investment. It's also important to carefully choose your keywords and create targeted ad copy to make sure you are reaching the right audience.

Overall, PPC advertising can be a useful tool for lead generation, but it's important to carefully consider your goals and budget before deciding if it's the right fit for your business.

markethive

Tim Moseley

HOME

Gold moves lower temporally halting rally on Fed clarifications of inflation concerns

Leave a comment

Gold moves lower temporally halting rally on Fed clarifications of inflation concerns

Breaking four consecutive days of gains, gold prices declined today by $20 as market participants reacted to data revealing that the U.S. labor market is tighter than previously perceived. A tight labor market raises the expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain the elevated interest rates for a longer period. The expectations that the Fed will continue its extremely hawkish monetary policy throughout the entire calendar year have diminished the hope of easing by the Federal Reserve.

The vast majority of gold’s price decline today was directly attributable to dollar strength. The U.S. dollar index is currently up 0.85% and fixed at 104.91. Considering that gold is trading 1.11% lower indicates mild selling pressure combined with dollar strength led to gold’s first daily price decline this year.

Minutes released by the Fed earlier this week cemented sentiment by Federal Reserve officials who unanimously agreed that the central bank should slow the pace of rate hikes while maintaining the current elevated level. While there is very little hope that the Federal Reserve will reduce rates according to the minute's released rate hikes should be limited to their upper target of approximately 5.1% vis-à-vis its benchmark Fed funds rate.

As of 4:15 PM EST gold futures basis the most active February contract is currently fixed at $1838.50 after factoring in today’s decline of 1.10.%. Silver futures sustained a deeper decline giving up 2.48% with the most active March contract currently fixed at $23.37.

Price levels for gold

he two most recent tops occur at $1823 (August 2022) and $1791 (November 2022) which continue to be technical levels of support. Noteworthy is the fact that the support trendline covering recent lows from November to current pricing remains intact.

Major resistance still occurs at $1881.50 which is based on two tops that occurred in mid-November and mid-June 2022. However, yesterday’s intraday high of $1870 now becomes the next level of resistance for gold to take out.

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

HOME

10 Essential Tips to Get Your Website Quickly Indexed in Google

Leave a comment

10 Essential Tips to Get Your Website Quickly Indexed in Google

TIPS

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

 

Here are some essential tips to get your website quickly indexed in Google:

  1. Create a sitemap: A sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website. It helps Google discover and crawl your website's pages. You can use a tool like XML Sitemap Generator to create a sitemap and submit it to Google through Search Console.

  2. Use Google Search Console: Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you monitor, maintain, and improve your website's presence in Google search results. You can use it to submit your sitemap and individual pages to Google for crawling.

  3. Use internal linking: Internal linking is the practice of linking to other pages on your website from within your website's content. This helps Google discover and crawl your website's pages and can also improve the website's overall structure and navigation.

  4. Use external linking: External linking is the practice of linking to other websites from your website. This helps Google understand the relevance and authority of your website's content.

  5. Use social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can help drive traffic to your website and improve its visibility in Google search results.

  6. Use keywords in your content: Use relevant keywords in your website's content to help Google understand what your website is about. This can improve your website's ranking in Google search results for those keywords.

  7. Use alt tags for images: Alt tags are a text description of an image. They help search engines understand the content of images and improve the accessibility of your website.

  8. Use a mobile-friendly design: More and more people are using their phones to search the web, so it's important to have a website that is mobile-friendly. Google favors websites that are mobile-friendly in its search rankings.

  9. Use a fast-loading design: Google favors websites that load quickly in its search rankings. You can use tools like PageSpeed Insights to test your website's loading speed and get recommendations for improvement.

  10. Use a secure design: Google favors websites that are secure in its search rankings. You can use tools like SSL Server Test to check if your website is secure and get recommendations for improvement.

Tim Moseley

HOME

How Can We Get Refund And Replacement Services From Fraud Companies?

Leave a comment

How Can We Get Refund And Replacement Services From Fraud Companies?

fraud

Introduction

If you're a victim of a fraudulent company, you may need to get help from government agencies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state consumer protection laws offer consumers many options for getting refunds and replacements from fraud companies.

How much has fraud cost consumers?

The FTC estimates that fraud costs consumers over $9 billion a year, with the average consumer losing $500 to $1,000. The average age of a fraud victim is 65, and most fraud victims are women.

It's not easy to win a lawsuit against a fraudulent company.

It's not easy to win a lawsuit against a fraudulent company. In addition to proving that the company was fraudulent, you need to prove that you were damaged by the fraud and that the company knew about it. And remember: if you can't get your money back from other sources, it's unlikely you'll be able to get it back in court either.

Don't hesitate to contact the BBB.

If you feel that a company has defrauded you, the BBB can help. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a nonprofit organization that provides education for businesses, monitors their performance and helps resolve disputes between consumers and companies. The BBB also has a Consumer Protection Department to assist in resolving complaints against local businesses.

If you think that your complaint may be too small for the federal government's attention but still need legal assistance and advice on how to get your refund or replacement product, consider contacting one of these local agencies:

  • National Association of Attorneys General: This organization works with all 50 US state attorney generals in resolving consumer complaints about frauds and scams involving business contracts, unfair trade practices and securities fraud violations. You can contact them by emailing info@naag.org or calling 202-469-6000 ext 7042 (Monday through Friday 9 AM – 5 PM Eastern Standard Time).

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

All states have consumer protection laws which apply to out-of-state companies and products.

All states have consumer protection laws which apply to out-of-state companies and products. In some cases, these laws may even apply if the company is based in a different state from you, or if they ship their product from another state. The key question is whether your purchase was made online or over the phone (as opposed to in person).

  • If your purchase was made online: Under federal law, you have a right to cancel purchases within three business days if they're made over the internet. As long as they're cancelled within three days of delivery and before any use of them begins (for example, booting up your computer), then you can get a full refund on any products that arrive damaged or faulty. This applies for all websites—even ones outside of your home state! So go ahead and order that expensive printer from Amazon Canada – we'll help make sure it arrives safely at its new home.

  • If your purchase was made over the phone: Sometimes fraudsters will ask their victims for payments over the phone/email etc instead of requiring them all through credit cards directly through their website; this way there's no record available anywhere showing what has happened with those funds since being transferred away from account holder's hands into theirs instead."

The Federal Trade Commission also protects consumers nationwide.

If you have been a victim of fraud, contact the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC can help you get your money back and it also provides information on avoiding scams in the future.

The FTC does not provide legal advice, but it does provide information about how to get legal assistance if you need it.

You can submit a complaint by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). You can also file a complaint online at ftc.gov/complaint or click here for more information from the FTC's website.

You may be able to get help from state and federal agencies if you've been victimized by a fraudulent company.

If you suspect that a company is committing fraud, contact your state attorney general's office. The Federal Trade Commission can also help you; contact them by phone at 877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). If you've been the victim of fraud and want to file a complaint with the National Association of Attorneys General, see their website for more information.

If your local Better Business Bureau has an online presence—and most do—you can report any fraudulent companies there as well. You may also be able to get help from your BBB by calling them directly; many have customer service lines available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so they're always ready to take complaints from consumers in need of assistance with fraud cases.

If you feel like your case would be better handled if someone was able to explain things in person rather than over the phone or computer screen (perhaps because it will take more explaining), then visit your local BBB branch in person as soon as possible. They should be able to provide guidance on what steps should be taken next and how best to resolve this issue without having any further repercussions fall back onto yourself due largely because there wasn't enough time spent planning ahead before taking action now instead."

Conclusion

With these tips and resources, you can feel confident that you're getting the best service possible. If you have questions about how to get your money back or what steps to take next, contact us at 1-877-FTC-HELP

Audible Gift Memberships

Tim Moseley

HOME

Gold continues 2023 rally amidst minutes revealing Fed remains hawkish

Leave a comment

Gold continues 2023 rally amidst minutes revealing Fed remains hawkish

This afternoon the Federal Reserve released the minutes from last month’s FOMC meeting. Unanimously Fed officials agreed that the central bank should slow the pace of its aggressive rate hikes. This would allow them to continue to ratchet up the cost of credit to curb inflation. They continue to be worried that market participants have an inaccurate perception of hoping for rate cuts this year. However, they left the door open to tightening even more aggressively if inflation rises.

"Most participants emphasized the need to retain flexibility and optionality when moving policy to a more restrictive stance."

Most importantly they continued their stern doctrine to raise interest rates to just over 5% by the end of this year. "No participants anticipated that it would be appropriate to begin reducing the federal funds rate target in 2023,"

Gold prices maintained the morning gains following the release of last month’s FOMC meeting minutes at 2:00 PM EST. Gold futures opened today at $1845.20 and traded to an intraday high of $1871.30. As of 2:45 PM EST, the most active February 2023 contract is fixed at $1857.40 after factoring in today’s price gain of $11.60.

Silver futures basis the most active March contract opened at $24.17, traded to a low of $23.745, and is currently fixed at $23.92 after factoring in today’s $0.316 decline.

Levels to watch in gold futures for Q1 2023

It is a fact that market sentiment for gold had a major price reversal from exceedingly bearish to bullish beginning in November 2022. Our technical studies indicate that the current level of major support is $1831. This support is based on yesterday’s low. Resistance occurs at $1881.50, based on two tops that occurred in mid-November and mid-June 2022.

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

HOME

Gold silver lifted by safe-haven demand bullish charts

Leave a comment

Gold, silver lifted by safe-haven demand, bullish charts

Gold and silver prices are up at midday, but down from earlier levels that saw gold notch a six-month high and silver an eight-month peak. Safe-haven demand is featured to start the new year, along with technical buying amid bullish charts. Risk aversion is keener early this week as global stock markets remain wobbly amid concerns about weakening economic growth in 2023 for major industrialized countries. February gold was last up $17.50 at $1,843.70 and March silver was up $0.185 at $24.225.

Global stock markets were mixed overnight. U.S. stock indexes are lower at midday. After setting a new intra-day record high on Jan. 3, 2022, the S&P 500 stock index proceeded to lose ground the rest of that year and lost 19%–the worst year since 2008. Analysts at some major banks are forecasting the stock indexes will retest their 2022 lows in the first half of 2023. Higher U.S. Treasury yields (which compete with stock dividends), still-hawkish monetary policies from most of the world"s major central banks (higher interest rates), worries about economic growth in China, the U.S. and European Union, and the grinding Russia-Ukraine war are all formidable hurdles the stock market bulls are still facing this year. Some long-time market watchers say higher interest rates are just beginning to pervade global stock markets. Most of the above lean in favor of the safe-haven metals bulls.

 More price upside likely for silver in 2023

The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index sharply higher on a corrective bounce. USDX prices are still not far above the recent for-the-move low. Nymex crude oil prices are sharply lower and trading around $77.75 a barrel. Meantime, the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note is presently 3.782%.

Technically,February gold futures prices hit a six-month high early on today. Bulls have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. A two-month-old uptrend is in place on the daily bar chart. Bulls" next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the $1,900.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,782.00. First resistance is seen at $1,850.00 and then at today"s high of $1,856.60. First support is seen at today"s low of $1,831.30 and then at $1,820.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.5

March silver futures prices hit an eight-month high early on today. The silver bulls have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a four-month-old uptrend on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $25.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $22.735. First resistance is seen at today"s high of $24.775 and then at $25.00. Next support is seen at $24.00 and then at last week"s low of $23.645. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.5.

March N.Y. copper closed down 375 points at 377.25 cents today. Prices closed near the session low and scored a bearish "outside day" down. The copper bulls have the slight overall near-term technical advantage. A three-month-old uptrend on the daily bar chart has stalled out. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at the November high of 394.70 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 370.00 cents. First resistance is seen at today"s high of 387.15 cents and then at 394.70 cents. First support is seen at 375.00 cents and then at the December low of 372.30 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.5.

By Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

HOME

Content Marketing More Prevalent Than Ever Creating Value With Content Is Key To Rise Above Internet Clamor

Leave a comment

Content Marketing More Prevalent Than Ever. Creating Value With Content Is Key To Rise Above Internet Clamor

Given the life-changing events over the past three years, we’ve entered 2023 much wiser and more enlightened. The global population has experienced a technocratic tyranny never seen before, and never before has critical information been so readily available to everyone that brings truth, putting the spotlight on the evil doers of the world, historically and empirically. 

Thanks to the internet and the proliferation of media circumventing the cancel culture, many topics have come to light through content creation. One thing is for sure, the online world has expanded, and for many, it’s the only option to stay in touch with their loved ones and community, bringing a sense of cohesion and strength to the stricken. 

It’s also the best option to facilitate their business to derive income, and companies of all sizes and niches are taking notice. Life goes on no matter what, and we must focus on staying afloat in this crazy world. The latest message is “get the word out,” and content creation, aggregation, or content curation is the best way to do that. If you’re running a business, content marketing is crucial.

According to the latest research, 7.5 million blog posts are published daily, with around 600 million blogs hosted on WordPress, Tumblr, and Google’s Blogger. Moreover, blogging is considered a popular content marketing strategy, with 81% of consumers trusting the information in blogs. Data also shows 61% of online consumers in the US have purchased products based on recommendations from a blog. 

It’s also reported that 75% of people never scroll past the first page of search results, and 80% ignore Google ads. With 82% of marketers reported to be actively using content marketing in 2021 (an increase of 70% from the previous year), the question is, how can you get your content to rise above the noise?
 
The usual scenario involves finding 'How To' manuals and trying to find 'hacks' or 'shortcuts' that will get your content noticed. A content creator’s post, video, or meme goes viral, and tons of copycats appear for the next few months. They never do better than the original.
 
For example, the original Old Spice campaign video resulted in over 55 million Youtube views and was copied thousands of times. Sesame Street was one of the copycats, resulting in five times fewer views than the original.
 
So if Sesame Street, with multi-millions of dollars for the best production resources, can't come close to topping the original video, how will you and your small business do it? There are better ways to produce content than copying. Below are five tips on delivering real value in your content.

The WIIFM Formula 

A marketing acronym that’s been around for years is WIIFM which means, "What's in it for me?" but we turn the formula over. Your content must focus on 'What's in it for THEM, not YOU. (WIIFT) That's when people will read your content. 

Too often, entrepreneurs write self-serving content. It's like going into a pub and shouting out how great you are, your latest accomplishment, and all the reasons you are God's gift to the world. But that is what many brands do when they only write about themselves and how excellent their products are on social media and their blog.

It is better to put yourself in your target customer’s shoes, focus on what they need and care about, and then write content that addresses that.

 
Image source: Markethive.com

Know Your Target Market 

To create WIIFT content, you must understand your target customers. Building customer personas will help with this. The main characteristics of a buyer persona that need to be identified are as follows: 

  • Their location(s)?
  • Their values?
  • Their key demographics (job title, age range, etc.)? 
  • The sort of content they are consuming currently?
  • Their pain points?
  • How will your offer resolve those pain points?

This blog will help you create a detailed buyer persona to ensure your marketing campaign is streamlined and customer-focused. 
 
Show Real Expertise 

One of the main reasons your content may not be resonating is when you are producing mirage content. Content that replicates what everyone else in your field is putting out. In most cases, this happens when the person writing the blog post has yet to gain real expertise in doing what they are writing.
 
If you sell race car parts, your website's blog posts should be written by someone that knows about race cars (Perhaps they build the cars and race them on the weekend?) It’s not a good idea to have some junior copywriter you hired paraphrase a bunch of content they saw from a basic Google search.  

The development of expertise takes time. Either you or whoever writes your content has to:

  • Do a lot of reading and researching.
  • Ask a lot of questions.
  • Invest time doing the thing that is being written. 
  • Be willing to experiment.
  • Fail often. 

You will need to find a way to resolve any lack of expertise in your subject matter. You could hire or interview writers who are subject matter experts. Or you could invest the time to become an expert yourself.
 
 
Image source: Motocms.com 

Be Focused on Customer Intent, not Traffic Volume.

Many companies go after the ‘Top of the Funnel’ (TOFU) keywords. These have tons of search volume and organic traffic but are less likely to convert sales. Additionally, these keywords are probably going to be competitive. It will be highly challenging and costly to rank on page one of Google.
 
The opposite approach converts much better. Begin with ‘Bottom of the Funnel’ (BOFU) long-tail keywords. They may have just a fraction of the traffic but are much easier to rank for, and the chances of them converting to customers are much more significant. 

For example, the most popular post on Hubspot’s site is “how to make an animated gif.” How many of those people are looking for complex CRM or marketing automation software? Probably not very many.
 
You will find Long-tail keywords to target using SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush.
 
Also, some excellent keyword research tools are completely free and include:

  • Reddit 
  • Quora
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • Amazon 

Additionally, social media can reveal how your target customers feel and talk about your product and your competitor’s products. This will let you get ideas on what content to write next and how to present it in a way most likely to resonate with them. 

Don’t Try to Go Viral. 

When you try to go viral, you are taking part in the marketing equivalent of purchasing lotto tickets. You are basing your strategy on something out of your control, can’t be repeated, and most likely will not happen.
 
For example, if you sell garden shovels and rakes, the chances of your video about the best fertilizer to use in your tulip garden going viral will probably be low.

The problem with “viral content” is that you are looking for a one-hit-wonder. If you were to get lucky and one of your videos takes off, the odds of it leading to a ton of sales and being repeatable over and over are very low.
 
A more proven strategy is to regularly create ‘How-To Videos’ week after week, showing your company’s expertise and helping your target customers solve real problems. These videos may only result in a few hundred views each, but they build your reputation and solve a real problem for your target customers. 

As an example, Minaal produces carry-on luggage for minimalist travelers. They aren’t focused on delivering viral pranks. Instead, they do an excellent job of making how-to videos related to packing light.

Below is a video presented by Thomas Prendergast, the CEO, and Marketing Director of Markethive, with some fundamental technical steps for creating a blog, specifically on the Markethive platform. 

Where Do You Start?

If you are just starting, check out this detailed beginner guide. It outlines how to start blogging in five easy steps. When you are ready to start your blog, Markethive is your next step. You can utilize the most comprehensive broadcasting platform with blogging tools, email auto-responders, etc.,  all under one umbrella, along with a built-in meritocratic community of entrepreneurs. 

With Markethive’s internal wallet activation imminent, the new dashboard integration with its multiple newsfeed interface is currently in development. This unprecedented concept is unique to Markethive and integral to the objectives of the content marketer/entrepreneur in broadening reach and building their sphere of influence. Be sure to stay tuned for updates and implementations going forward. 


Image source: Markethive.com

So apart from the conceptual technology integration of intuitive tools fundamental to disseminating information of any content marketing strategy, you need to create content that delivers real value and invest time in understanding your target market. It will require learning about your target customers, talking to them, and practicing humility and empathy. 

Moreover, creating quality content takes time and effort but will pay off in the long run. Make sure your content is well-written and contains accurate information. Using visuals such as images or videos can enhance the value of your content. Whatever your approach, make sure you keep your content interesting and relevant to your audience. If you do this, you'll be well on your way to success in the world of content marketing.

 

 

Editor and Chief Markethive: Deb Williams. (Australia) I thrive on progress and champion freedom of speech. I embrace "Change" with a passion, and my purpose in life is to enlighten people to accept and move forward with enthusiasm. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

Adapted from Markethive’s original article

 

Tim Moseley

HOME

How can I get good traffic to my affiliate products and site?

Leave a comment

How can I get good traffic to my affiliate products and site?

traffic

Introduction

It's not hard to get traffic to a website if you have a good product or service to sell. However, if you're trying to promote an affiliate product through your site and you want more traffic than just word of mouth, there are some things that need to be considered before promoting the product through any one method. First and foremost is making sure that your site itself is ready for promotion through an affiliate program. Once that's done, you can promote it across multiple platforms (such as social media or email marketing) until it generates enough interest in people who want what you're selling so that they'll come back to your site again and again for more information about the product.

click eng

 

Find the best affiliate program for you.

There are a few things to look for when choosing an affiliate program.

Your niche: The first thing you want to do is make sure the program fits your niche. If you sell business coaching, don't choose a blog about how to lose weight as an affiliate partner. You want your readers to be able to relate with what they're reading and if they don't feel connected with the product, they won't buy it.

Payout percentage: You should also pay attention to their payouts and how much they offer in commissions per sale. Make sure there's enough of a return on investment (ROI) so that the time and effort spent promoting their products is worth it for yourself—and not just them!

Hooks: Look at how many hoops there are for someone looking for information on this particular topic; do they have to fill out forms? Do any surveys need completing before being allowed access? In general, this will depend on whether or not people prefer convenience over security/honesty when dealing online; if people are willing

to give up personal information (such as credit card numbers) easily then less work might be required by those who want their identities protected while buying products online…

Sign up for the affiliate program.

The first step to getting paid as an affiliate is signing up for the affiliate program. They’ll ask you to provide your website and bank account details, so they can deposit the money into your account when the product sells.

Make sure your site is ready to promote products through an affiliate program.

The first thing you have to do is make sure your site is ready to promote products. This means the following:

  • Good content. Your blog should be filled with interesting, helpful content that people want to read. Don't worry if it's not perfect—just let it grow organically and use tools like Grammarly to help improve your writing as you go along.

  • Easy navigation. Links should be easy to find on your page and the layout should be simple enough that readers don't get confused trying to find what they're looking for (especially when they know exactly what they're looking for). This can even include providing a table of contents or an FAQ section so readers know where all their options are located while staying within one place on your website before buying something from you directly instead of another store online somewhere else completely unrelated (which could end up costing you sales).

  • Mobile-friendly design/website speed optimization such as installing a CDN service provider such as Cloudflare which will boost performance by optimizing images prior loading onto customers device screens thus decreasing bandwidth usage per user visit meaning more visitors in less time without worrying about costs associated with running servers 24x7x365!

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

 

Promote your site organically by creating quality content that reflects the products you're selling.

When you're promoting your affiliate site, remember that quality content is essential. When people visit your site, they want to know that you are an expert and can help them in their endeavors. So it's important to build a strong brand identity by creating content that reflects the products or services you're selling.

Creating quality content for your blog is a great way to get traffic and build trust with potential customers. This will also help keep them coming back for more! Write blog posts on topics relevant to what it is that you do as an affiliate marketer (or whatever business model applies) so people searching for information related to this field will find them easily when they perform a search query on Google or another search engine service provider like Bing or Yahoo!. You can also use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as part of an overall strategy integrating both organic growth strategies such as blogging along with paid advertising options like Facebook ads or Google Adwords campaigns which allow marketers access

Promote through social media and email marketing.

Social media is a great way to promote affiliate products. You can use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as other social platforms that are popular with your target audience. If they're not already following you on Facebook or Twitter, they can still find you if they search for your name in Google (or whatever search engine they use).

It's important to remember that different platforms appeal to different demographics. For example, women tend to be more active on Pinterest than men; teenagers spend a lot of time on Snapchat while older people prefer LinkedIn; and Gen Xers might be more interested in Instagram than Millennials.

Use Google Analytics to track your success.

Google Analytics is a free tool that gives you access to a wealth of data about how people are using your website. If you’re just starting out, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. The good news is, this section will help you understand how to use Google Analytics to track your success and the success of your affiliate program.

We'll start by looking at what you can learn from Google Analytics, then we'll move on to showing how you can use it specifically for tracking affiliate revenue and sales.

Consider innovation when promoting products across different platforms and outlets.

When you're promoting a product through affiliate marketing, there are several ways to work with it. You can use the same outlet to promote different products. For example, if you have a website that promotes affiliate marketing opportunities and provides tips on how to succeed in this business, then you could also send out tweets about specific products that your followers might find useful or interesting.

When promoting your own site or products on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, it's important that every post has an eye-catching photo or graphic so that people will be more likely to click on it and hopefully purchase the item being promoted.

Keep working hard at creating a popular site that sells the affiliate product well and makes lots of sales for it.

The most important thing you can do is to continue working hard at creating a popular site that sells the affiliate product well and makes lots of sales for it. The more effort you put into your site, the better it will be. The more traffic it gets, the more people will buy through your links and give you commissions.

Keep in mind that there will be ups and downs along the way. So try not to get discouraged if things aren't going as smoothly as planned right now; instead keep plugging away at making improvements whenever possible so that soon enough things will start looking up again!

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

 

Through high-quality organic content, social media, or email marketing you can promote an affiliate product well enough to get traffic to your site, which will generate sales for you both as a site owner and an affiliate marketer.

If you want to get sales, then you need traffic. And if you want traffic, then you need a site that people will want to visit. To start getting traffic and increasing your sales, try creating high-quality organic content that's valuable for the readers of your website. This could be in the form of blog posts on topics relevant to your niche or even just articles that are written well enough that they attract links from other sites and ultimately search engines like Google rank these articles higher than others when someone searches for related terms (which means more eyes on them).

Another way is through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. These can help promote content about products or services on your own website so it gets seen by more people than just those who come directly via search engines like Bing or Yahoo!

Conclusion

If you're just getting into affiliate marketing, it can be a little intimidating to know how to get traffic from the start. But by creating quality content on your site and promoting your site through social media or email marketing, you can build up your audience and turn them into customers. It's all about finding the right product for yourself – one that fits into your niche well enough – and then working hard at sharing it with others so they too will come back again and again!

Tim Moseley

The Artist that came out of the Winter