Consumers Sure Do Love the Multi-Device Life

As a digital marketing agency, many of our creatives have multiple devices. Laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones. All at work, all going the whole day. For people outside of this industry, average consumers, this lifestyle rings true as well.

One of the first things we reach for in the morning are our smartphones. We use multiple devices throughout the day, sometimes at the same time. Right now, I am using my desktop to write the blog and my MacBook is streaming music and being used for other assignments. During lunch, I switch to either my iPad or my phone to see what is going on in the world. At the end of the day, the iPad or phone is again used for personal internet surfing or social media while the Apple TV streams Netflix. It's just part of the life of a social media marketing specialist.

As mentioned before, this lifestyle of using many devices throughout the day is true for many people. It is hard for creative marketing agencies to get a good handle on it; the issue for advertisers is how to make sure the ads get seen. It can be difficult for marketers to keep a storyline going that keeps consumers engaged when the marketing teams have to skip across so many platforms. Companies have become more aggressive at tackling this issue of continuing ads, stories, and engagement across devices and platforms.

The opportunity for companies to target consumers with even more accuracy is a hidden gem in the multi-device lifestyle that brands seem to have difficulty negotiating. The story, the ads, the frequency of it all does not have to be the same across each platform, each one deserves a unique approach. The engagement needs to be customized and more intelligent so the effectiveness and ROI is greater than ever before.

Does Pinterest Actually Boost Web Traffic?

Many businesses put lots of effort into social media, even social media platforms like Pinterest (aside from the usual Facebook & Twitter). Pinterest can be a great place to post things like blog posts, product images, process images, etc.

But does the power of Pinterest actually aid the SEO process and generate traffic to your blog and/or website? 

Short answer: Yes. Yes it does.

When you use Pinterest, it creates a local place for people to visit to view your important messages without sifting through junk. Even on your company's Twitter and Facebook, you still have to get through informational, promotional, and even silly posts to find the ones that share things like recipes, how-to's, or posts of the like.

Pinning your blog posts, which are hopefully linked to your site, or pages within your site extends their viewership lives. What do we mean by that? Well, when you post these things to Twitter, Facebook, or Google+, they get pushed down onHowever, on Pinterest, while they will get pushed down on the newsfeed, they stay in the same position on your profile, making each pin very easy to find (especially categorized by boards).
the timeline as you post other stuff (and even faster on newsfeeds).

If you tag your pins right and put healthy descriptions, you can get them found via search very easily, unlike other social media platforms.

What are some tips to do Pinterest for business well?

• Pin consistently
• Schedule pins
• Have great descriptions
• Add links
• Have great images
• Pin to appropriate boards

Tired of having social media strategies that don't get your business any good leads? Then email or call Integraphix for a free marketing analysis! 

How to Make the Perfect Post on Each Social Media Platform

As a Chicago digital marketing agency that deals with a lot of social media marketing, we understand it can be very difficult to remember how to create the perfect post on each social media platform.

We don't like leaving people in the dark, our agency is all about transparency; due to that mentality and model, here are tips to help your business create the perfect post on every major social media platform.

• Google Plus: 
• Make sure to use a great image. The higher resolution, the better. The more relevant, the better. For size, 800 pixels by 600 pixels or 800 pixels by 1200 pixels are the optimal sizes. 
• Pinterest: 
• Create boards with a specific theme. 
• Put descriptions for each pin, 200 characters, sprinkle in keywords. Pinterest will find these in search. 
• Vertical images optimize "real estate" on your Pinterest. Images 735 pixels by 1102 pixels. 
• Link Pin to your site or another source. 
• Relevant, high quality images. 
• Twitter: 
• You have 140 characters but leave 10-20 characters open for each tweet; this leaves room for manual RTs with comments. 
• Include links and/or images. 
• Use engaging, action-sparking words or phrases. 
• Facebook: 
• Vary between photos, videos, and links. 
• Include a personal bit of information- thoughts, summary, synopsis, question, etc. with each post. Be personal. 
• LinkedIn:
• Don't post quotes. 
• Be consistent. 
• Links to articles or using images in posts goes over well. 
• Share OC as well as sharing someone else's content. 

Do you have questions or comments? Then call or email Integraphix, we would love to help you! 

Does Viral Video Marketing Work for Promoting?

We've heard a lot about this video of notoriously nice actor, Dennis Quaid, having a meltdown on the set of a movie or TV show. For many people, this video was quite a shocker since he's known for being a kind soul.

However, it turns out the video was just a big joke. Funny or Die, a popular channel for videos on sites like YouTube, was behind the joke; that's right, the whole video was one big marketing stunt for Quaid's new project.

The video was recorded with a cellphone and it looks like the cellphone holder was being sneaky, so it all seemed legitimate that he was flipping out and it was secretly being recorded. This lent to the credibility of the meltdown being real, which was smart branding from the team on set.

The video hit Reddit on Monday and by Tuesday, it was all over the web and being talked about everywhere, including the radio. See how potent internet marketing can be with viral video marketing efforts? Using YouTube for business can be a wonderful asset, if done right, and in connection with social media marketing.

Does your business need to get in front of more eyes? Then you need to try using viral video! YouTube, Vimeo, Reddit, Tumblr, and other popular sites can be what your business is missing. Email Integraphix about getting started. 

Not sure about this? Chat with our creative marketing team and see what you think! There's no commitment.

Google Glass Needs Rebranding, nay, Reinventing ASAP

Google Glass has to shake off the "Glasshole" reputation, and fast. Do a simple search for anything related to "Google Glass" such as "glass wearable tech" and you will find lots of results about Google Glass; once you review the results, you will figure out why is not available for public purchase. As of now, the product is under construction with the help of Nest founder, Tony Fadell.

Some of the results we found were:

• More Google Glass wearers attacked in San Fran
• Google Glass wearers record at beaches
• Google Glass wearers banned from movie theaters
• Man robs Google Glass wearer on street
• Etc. etc. 

If you type in "Google Glass wearer" into the search bar, you will see the auto-finish finish your search with verbs like, "attacked," "beat up," or "banned". This was what the innovative product was getting in return for its presence in the world, however, it can be understandable; people were afraid of what wearer's were doing and people got annoyed with the mentality of its wearers. This was an issue with the marketing that went on with Google Glass, perhaps, a lack of.

There was some social media marketing with the product but it seems much of it was from the testers, not necessarily from Google, itself; both sources needed to produce good, informative content. Perhaps the quality of it was not the best either, such as a man wearing them in the shower and proclaiming his love for the product (people don't want to view a video of a man in the shower).

Of course, there were some issues with the product outside of marketing it, such as the fact that many consumers thought it looked goofy. Fashion designers worked to change that perception, however, it was unfruitful. This was a major hit in the branding for Google Glass.

Even Larry Page has yet to be seen wearing a pair.

Does your business have a product or service that could use some rebranding? Then contact Integraphix -- a Chicago marketing company. See how we can help your product or service garner new, greater attention!

For 2015, Many Marketers Plan to Spend More on Social Media Marketing

The software giant, Salesforce, did a survey with 5,000 marketers at the end of 2014 and asked them about their budget plans for 2015 and there was a common answer for almost all of them.

70 percent of the marketers that were surveyed planned to increase their social media marketing, their advertising, and even their digital advertising with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and other platforms as well. Of the 70 percent of marketers that planned on increasing their digital budgets know to increase their efforts for both organic social as well as their paid social.

One fear some marketers had was that as the budgets for social media advertising grew larger, they would forget about their needs to increase their efforts for the organic side of things. This was indeed a concern for some members of our Chicago marketing company.

Why does this matter? Well, if you spend more on advertising, which attracts consumers, and then they visit your underperforming social media pages, there will be a great disconnect.

In addition to increasing budgets for these things, companies have also stated a desire to increase budgets for mobile data tracking (67 percent of companies surveyed) and more money will be focused on branded apps (66 percent). 84 percent of mobile marketing budgets plan on being maintained or even increased, while 38 percent of the 5k surveyed will shift money from traditional advertising into the digital side.

Does your business need to get noticed on the web with great advertising, social media, and other marketing efforts? Then contact Integraphix, a Chicago marketing agency with almost three decades of experience in both traditional and digital marketing.

Fisher-Price Created an Ad in Just 24 Hours With New Year's Babies

When you are a baby born in the first hour of New Year's, you are some sort of celebrity. The local media stays in the maternity ward, welcoming in the new babies to the year. Any Chicago marketing company will tell you that this was quite the endeavor.

Usually, the fame lasts a day or so and then it passes; however, with the creative minds over at Fisher-Price, the fame will last much longer for these few 2015 babies.

Fisher-Price spotted some newborns from for its new ad, "Wishes for Baby" which was made in the late hours of NYE 2014 and then the waking hours of 2015. The babies were at seven hospitals around the world-- US, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Kenya, Bangledesh, and Poland.

The ad features the moms holding their new babies, expressing their wishes for their new babies. The recordings were then turned into an ad within 24 hours. With some young mothers at our Chicago marketing agency, we thought this was a delightful ad.

This new ad will launch Fisher-Price's campaign, "Best Possible Start". The text at the beginning of the ad reads, "The best possible start begins with love" and the text at the end reads, "Wishes for Baby". The campaign will be taken to social media marketing as well with the hashtag #WishesForBaby. This is a great example of combining advertising and digital marketing efforts and appeals to a dedicated, engaging demographic- new/young parents.

Does your business need a marketing opportunity that will generate lots of buzz and engagement like this Fisher-Price ad? Then contact Integraphix-- a Chicago creative agency.

Here is the ad, enjoy: