How NFTs are Changing Art Forever

info on January 18, 2022

By: Danielle Gazda

Let’s start with what an NFT is.

NFT stands for non-fungible token. This “token” is the general and commonly used term for a piece of digital art that has been authenticated and minted. The most familiar forms are 2D and 3D digital art, but it can also be music, photography, videos, Tweets, memes, and more. Any type of digital media is viable.

How can you own something intangible and replicable?

Think about NFTs like they’re expensive, physical art. If you own an original painting by Monet then you have the genuine, one-of-a-kind piece; however, that doesn’t stop museums and online stores from selling prints of the exact same piece. It can exist outside of its original form.

NFTs are essentially the same thing. The concept was initially created as a way for digital artists to authenticate their original pieces and be able to sell it like physical art with ownership. The sites where you buy NFTs function the same way that auction houses or eBay does, where people bid on the items they are interested in.

Creating and selling NFTs.

There are many places across the internet where you can find out the specifics of creating, minting, and selling NFTs, but there are some key things you should know. Minting, for instance, is the process of changing a regular file of digital media into an NFT. This is done on a registry website that uses blockchain.

A blockchain is a decentralized software network where no single computer controls the network, instead they work in tandem and separately to store files securely, keep records, and act as a payment ledger. A commonly used site is Ethereum, which is also one of the biggest names in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is important because that is the only payment method available to create and purchase NFTs.

To purchase and use cryptocurrency (crypto) you need a digital wallet. Setting up a digital wallet and buying crypto happen in separate places. Common wallet types are MetaMask, Exodus, Trezor T, and Ledger. Common sites to buy crypto are Coinbase, Binance.US, Gemini, and more. There may seem like a lot to learn, but once you’re set up, it gets easier.

From here, you can buy and sell NFTs at your leisure.

Why should your company make NFTs?

NFTs are popular, trendy, and worth a lot of money in most cases.

Creating an NFT based on your company logo, a product, or concept can be a new way to get your brand visibility for more and new people to see. It also establishes that your company is tech-savvy and future forward.

Making digital art is free, but changing it into an NFT can be expensive. There are fees involved, but the payout can be significant since most NFTs go for thousands, hundred thousands, and even millions of dollars. This may not happen right away, but making an NFT may still be a fun and advantageous avenue to explore.

If your company has a strong brand identity then it may be worth pursuing. Remember to be creative with the digital media you make, see what’s out there, and what you can contribute to this new digital art world.

January Social Media Articles

info on December 27, 2021

You can find all of the links to the social media news we want to share with you throughout the month of January. Take a look.

Instagram Adds Option to Delete Individual Posts from Carousels, Shake to Report Feature

Social Media Today reports on Instagram’s updates to carousel posts and the new “rage shake” feature to report issues with the app. Read it here.

Social Media Marketing Trends for 2022: Predictions From the Pros

Social Media Examiner has compiled 22 trends for 2022 from the experts. Check it out here.

Technology Is Changing PR and Marketing Forever

Entrepreneur talks about the importance of evolving your brand alongside changes in technology. Read what they have to say here.

Adobe buys social media marketing startup ContentCal

Adobe recently acquired ContentCal, a social media content management website. Read about the acquisition and plans to come here.

Social Trends 2022

Hootsuite determined the five trends that will shape marketing strategies in 2022, based on responses from more than 18,000 marketers. See what they had to say here.

4 Ecommerce trends you need to know for 2022

Online shopping is evolving into social media e-commerce shopping. See what trends Sprout Social thinks will happen in e-commerce here.

Tips on Improving SEO for Your Brand

info on December 2, 2021

By: Christina Healy

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving your website to make it more visible during internet searches, with the goal of increasing traffic to your page. Having advanced SEO strategies for your brand is important because gaining visibility online is crucial for success. You can’t get leads if nobody can find you. During a search, the most relevant keywords will determine the order of results. The goal is to have your brand appear at the top of the results page, making it more likely that the consumer will click on your site. There are many strategies that can help make this happen.

Here Are Five Practices for Improving SEO for Your Brand:

Choose the Right Keywords and Phrases:

It is essential that the keywords chosen are relevant and created specifically to match your content. You want to use simple words that people are likely to use in their searches. It is also important to include phrases with three or four keywords that show a little more detail about your product or service in case of more advanced searches. Your site has a better chance of being ranked higher if your words match the search words exactly.
Use a Program to Monitor Metrics:

A program like Google Analytics is extremely helpful for understanding how your website is being used. You can then take that information and use it to improve SEO. Find out which search engines are leading users to your site, or learn what devices users are on when they visit your site. All of these small details are important when developing strategies of improvement.
Find Out What’s Working for Your Competitors:

Understanding who your top competitors are, and identifying the tactics they are using to be successful, can be beneficial for you. Take that information and figure out what your site needs or could improve upon.
Put Out Quality Content:

When people discover your page, you want to make sure that there is a good chance of them engaging with the content. Therefore, it needs to be of high quality. Be sure to constantly update existing content, as well as to produce new material regularly. Posts should be relevant and newsworthy. Search engines are always evolving to show the most relevant information first. Therefore, that’s what needs to be on your website. You want the consumer to spend a decent amount of time on your page, which improves the ranking of your site in a search.
Have an Engaging Title and Meta Description for Your Site:

The title needs to include the most exciting and important keywords. These few words need to spark emotion in the user. The meta description is a concise summary of the webpage located in smaller letters under the site’s title. It must be short and sweet, yet detailed and clear. Having a great meta description or title could just end up being the deciding factor of whether or not someone clicks on your site.

By improving your brand’s SEO little by little, there will almost certainly be an increase in traffic to your site. Paying attention to the small yet very important factors that make up a brand’s website can lead to great success.

How to Attract Customers Toward the End of the Holiday Season

info on November 24, 2021

By: Christina Healy

It’s no secret that the holiday season is an extremely busy time for most businesses. Online shopping sales are at a high, and physical store locations are flooded with eager buyers. Therefore, businesses need to be strategic in their marketing campaigns, especially when the season starts to wind down. Here are five ways to keep up the hustle and bustle as the year comes to an end.

1. Discounts

Offering discounts and special sales can be the most effective way to bring customers back once the holiday spike recedes. At the end of the year, people are usually at their all-time highs of spending money, and you will stand out if you offer good deals. Remember: People love seeing the word “Clearance.” You can set up your winter merchandise as clearance and attract buyers. Offer deals such as a BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free!) or special markdowns, and advertise them on the homepage of your website.

2. Stocking Stuffer-Sized Items

During the holidays, it is common that many are buying presents for a wide range of people. Maybe they need something at the last minute to contribute to a gift swap, a Secret Santa, or for their nephew’s girlfriend that they didn’t know was coming for Christmas dinner. Therefore, the end of the holiday season is a perfect time to market stocking stuffer-sized items. Can any of your items be sold in smaller sizes? Even if you can’t do it this year, keep it in mind for next year. You can attract buyers by creating a separate section on your website for these specific items, and then targeting the right audience.

3. Express Shipping

Nothing is worse than telling a loved one that their present just didn’t come in time, and that they will have to wait till the new year to receive it. Stand out this year and offer express shipping to your customers when it gets down to crunch time. Having the option of express shipping could just be the reason why someone makes their last-minute purchase with you instead of a competitor.

4. Personalized Emails

The holidays are a time of year where it is essential for customer loyalty to be recognized. Reach out to your existing customers through personalized emails and encourage them to come back for last-minute deals by offering them discounts or incentives. Have them refer a friend for 20% of their next purchase. Show how much you appreciate their past purchases, and remind them why they should come back for more. Sending frequent emails will keep your store on your customers’ minds.

5. Stay Active When Other Businesses Slow Down

Although there is always room for new approaches, it is just as important to keep up with your existing holiday marketing strategies until December 31st when that clock strikes midnight. Don’t stop sending out emails. Don’t stop updating your website and continue pushing out content on your social media platforms. Stay active and don’t let your audience lose sight of you while competitors might be quieting down as the year comes to a close. Stay loud because, no matter what, there will be someone looking for that last-minute buy.

Tips for the Best Social Media Community Management

info on October 5, 2021

By: Stephanie Albert

Community management is an essential part of growing an online following that is connected to your brand. It is the process of interacting and engaging with current followers and the actions you take to attract new followers.

Here are five important practices to consider if you want to gain followers and keep the ones you already have.

1.Engage with content your brand is tagged in: Frequently, brands will be tagged in content from happy customers who want to tell their friends about their experiences. When customers tag your brand in their social media posts, be sure to thank them for their support, and let them know you’re glad they enjoyed your product or service. There is also the possibility that your brand will be tagged in negative reviews. Be ready for this. Have a plan that is aligned with your brand identity for responding to these comments, and try to resolve issues whenever you can.

2. Respond to Direct Messages (DMs): Check your messages as frequently as possible — once a day at the very least. While you should think of all DMs from your customers as being important, there are two types of DMs that are particularly useful in helping to build an online brand. DMs received when your brand is tagged in a user’s story can be used to gain user-generated content that can be reposted to show consumers enjoying your product or service. Also valuable are DMs that contain questions about your business or products. You can earn loyal customers by interacting with people and giving them the answers they are looking for.

3. Like and respond to comments: In conjunction with responding to DMs, engage with followers by liking and responding to comments they leave on your posts. Users generally enjoy being recognized by the brands/products they like, and this type of engagement is a great way to increase the positive feelings customers already have about your business.

4. Follow relevant accounts: Follow accounts relevant to your industry, and engage with the content they post. By interacting with this content, the name of your business will appear in the likes and comments on the post, so consumers will have another way to find you.

5. Follow relevant hashtags: While you’re looking for relevant accounts to follow, try following relevant hashtags, too. They can help you find out what kind of content is popular in your industry, and discover new consumers who might be interested in your product.

By paying attention to what’s popular through other relevant content and connecting with current and prospective followers, community management has the potential to greatly increase the engagement your content receives. When it comes to growing your brand’s following online, engaging through community management is key to your success.

Five Reasons Why Video Content Is the Future of Digital Marketing

info on October 4, 2021

By: Sydney Rikk

Have you ever been scrolling through your Instagram feed when a post that was cluttered with words popped up? More than likely, you just scrolled past it because you were uninterested in reading lots of text. You’re not alone in doing that. Wouldn’t it have been better if the ideas in the post had been presented in a video? Welcome to the future of digital marketing.

In an effort to stay ahead of the trends, here are five reasons why you should be creating and utilizing video content:

1.Video is versatile.

As your business grows and develops, your marketing strategies must keep pace. Video is the answer. With video comes the opportunity to shape, change, and repurpose content according to your brand’s needs. For example, if you have a popular Instagram feed post of an image, change it into video formatting and watch it take off. Videos also offer the ability to make your brand more personable. By featuring greetings from your team or speaking directly to the consumer, you are creating a conversation.

2. Videos can tell a story.

The saying is, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So how many words is a video worth? A still picture can only present and convey a limited amount of information. Change that picture into a video and you have granted yourself more time to get your message across. And, you can do it in a more dynamic and engaging manner. Lean into your video content to capture a story: the story of your brand, product, team, and more.

3. Video content is preferred most often by users.

According to view.ceros.com, “While 73% of respondents to the survey said they have less time to devote to reading and research, many noted that they are willing to spend 10-plus minutes with interactive, visual, and audio content.” Today, people are so busy — and information is coming at them so fast — they often have little time to slow down, read, and take in written content. The solution to this problem is videos. If you only have a few minutes of someone’s time, capitalize on it by using engaging video content to efficiently get your message across.

4. Videos can drive conversion.

People buy when they see a need for the product. If they don’t understand what it is you are selling or why they need it in their life, they are unlikely to buy. Using videos to introduce and demonstrate your brand’s products can help consumers see the need for them. According to animoto.com, “96% of consumers find videos helpful when making purchase decisions online.” Looking for more evidence of videos helping to create conversion? Check out this infographic.

5. Video content has the power to improve SEO.

The more people watch, interact, and engage with your videos, the more likely your video will attract larger audiences. By creating and offering high-quality video content, you can entice people to learn more about your company and your products, driving traffic to your website.

Video content unlocks the door to numerous opportunities. It can tell stories, help you connect with your audiences, drive conversion, and so much more. Video is the future of digital marketing. So grab your video clips! It’s time to get to work.

Advice from an Agency: How to Create a Strong Social Media Image

info on January 15, 2021

By Annie O’Rourke

Incorporating a positive social media image drives high levels of user engagement and allows your brand to market its services.

Start utilizing social media for your small business

Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are just a few of the many social media channels that are most important to incorporate for your small business.

It is important for your business to become a highly active user on all social media channels. Social media allows your business and brand to eventually be more visible and searchable. Research the different social media channels to understand which would be best for your brand, and create accounts on the channels that are most fitting. For example, if your products are photogenic, utilize Instagram because its feed is focused on visuals. Incorporating this technique allows your business to develop a platform of their own to further market their product and services. If you’re not sure where to start, 270M can help!

Keep up with current events and social media trends

Show your followers you know what you’re talking about.

Social media is all about sharing different ideas and content. By incorporating current news and events, people will feel that your brand is a credible source. Post the latest coverage and news about your product or brand to your stories and feed. For example, if you’re a beauty agency, remember to not only post your product but also post the latest information and breaking news about the entire beauty industry itself. This allows your followers to engage and connect with your page.

Create a consistent image across all social media platforms

All of the social channels your brand uses should reflect a similar style throughout to keep your brand coherent.

For example, keep your color tones, brand voice, and brand messaging consistent throughout all of your brand touchpoints. Having brand consistency is essential because it ensures that your brand is recognizable wherever a consumer interacts with it. A strong social media image is not just a recommendation, but a necessity for your small business. 270M is here to guide you through the next steps regarding all aspects of creating an impactful social media image.

Our services at 270M will help you move in the right direction in order to reach high levels of user engagement.