Saba Digital Marketing

The Science behind Creating Content that Goes Viral

Going viral isn’t just a goal for the Zoom generation or millennials. It can also be an effective way to generate some buzz fairly quickly in a way that’s good for your brand, business, or organization. To reap these potential rewards and boost your odds of going viral, it’s important to have a better understanding of the science of virality. The digital marketing professionals from Saba SEO, one of the most innovative San Diego marketing companies, explain how this concept works.

Sparking Conversations

In a broad sense, viral content is what sparks conversations. In the online world, “conversations” typically involve:

• The creation of new content based on the viral content (e.g., response videos, related blogs or social media posts, etc.)
• Getting people talking in a way that generates free publicity
• Commenting on specific content (e.g., a boost in social media conversations)
• Viewing and sharing

As for how to spark conversations, many companies and organizations use promotions to accomplish this goal. For instance, in 2014, one Seattle furniture store offered to give customers refunds on furniture purchased during the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl if the Seahawks won. The team did win, and the company had to dish out several million dollars in refunds. While this may not seem like a win-win, the company did generate a lot of publicity, which likely helped them recoup much of their losses and gain new business.

Using Triggers

Going viral is also about triggering ideas that generate interest in a particular product, service, or business. For example, a popular candy company linked its chocolate bars to drinking coffee. The result? Sales increased as coffee drinkers realized they could have a tasty piece of chocolate with their java.

Playing on Emotions

Lastly, emotions can play a role in going viral as well. A perfect example is the “ice bucket challenge,” an emotion-based promotion that raised awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. After going viral on social media, the challenge also helped raise millions of dollars for related organizations, including the ALS Association.

It’s not easy to create viral content. That said, it’s certainly worth the effort if you prefer to aim for a marketing tactic with the potential to generate a lot of attention fairly quickly. Any successful viral campaign starts with that one great idea. It then needs to be promoted with content that makes that idea one that other people can get on board with in one way or another.

The experts at Saba SEO, a premier provider of San Diego SEO and digital marketing services, can help you develop a winning marketing strategy focused on delivering high-quality content. Our many years of experience helping clients with internet marketing, PPC, search engine optimization, and website development make us one of the most trusted digital marketing firms in the industry. If you need help enhancing the quality of your content to take your marketing strategy to the next level, give us a call today.

Avoid These Marketing Tactics if You Have a Small Business

Most small businesses today understand the importance of marketing, especially in the digital world. That being said, there are some marketing tactics that are best avoided to boost the potential return on investment. The experienced digital marketing experts from Saba SEO, a leading provider of internet marketing service, outline some of the more common marketing tactics it’s best to avoid if you’re running a small business and hoping to connect with your audience online in a more productive and beneficial way.

Marketing to “Everyone”

The main marketing tactic to avoid is assuming you’re just marketing to “everyone” or “anyone” who might be capable of using or buying what you offer. Ultimately, you’ll be better off if you take the time to define your target audience in a way that allows you to focus your marketing efforts better.

Overdoing It with Emails

Emails are still relevant today, but you want to avoid overwhelming your recipients with way too many emails and ending up relegated to their spam folders. Instead, distribute your emails in a more timely and organized manner (e.g., segmented by interests, timed to promote special events or deals, etc.).

Relying Too Much on Social Media

Social media can do many wonderful and rewarding things for small businesses. However, what you want to avoid is relying too much on social media and ignoring or minimizing other marketing opportunities, such as blogs, emails, and paid ad campaigns. On a related note, focus on a few platforms you can manage well instead of trying to be on every single social platform. It’s much easier to be consistent and mindful of quality this way.

Resorting to Questionable SEO Practices

Also, avoid SEO practices that tend to be, at the very least, questionable. If you get penalized by Google, your online presence will be greatly diminished, which can be a major blow to your business. SEO practices best avoided include ones involving:

• Stuffing keywords
• Buying links
• Using misleading redirects
• Posting auto-generated or duplicate content

Finally, it’s just as important to give your customers an easy way to opt out of things like text updates and emails if they decide they no longer want to communicate with you in such ways. The last thing you want is to turn a loyal customer into one who’s annoyed enough to go check out your competitors.

The professionals at Saba SEO, a premier San Diego SEO agency, can help you avoid these types of mistakes and provide expert assistance with all your digital marketing efforts. We have more than fifteen years of hands-on experience helping clients with social media marketing, PPC, and SEO. If you need help boosting your website ranking with outstanding marketing strategies and content, give us a call today.

Tips for Creating a Marketing Strategy around User-Generated Content

Online users crave fresh, consistent content. However, it’s not always easy to stay on top of this goal, especially for small and medium-sized businesses with other responsibilities and limited marketing budgets. One way to supplement the content you produce if you’re in this category is with user-generated content (UGC). The content marketing specialists at Saba SEO, one of the leading marketing companies in San Diego, outline what you’ll need to do to create a UGC strategy that fits your needs.

Choose Your Platforms

You’ll be more likely to get a steady flow of relevant user-generated content if you’re active on platforms your target audience naturally gravitates toward. For instance, if you have a more visual brand, your target audience may be more active and engaged on Pinterest or Instagram.

Set Specific UGC Goals

As is the case with any type of content, user-generated content should be based on specific goals. With UGC, the content curated from users, followers, clients, or customers could be intended for:

• Promoting brands or products
• Encouraging more conversions
• Boosting brand trust

Let Users Know What You Want

According to one survey, 50 percent of consumers wish brands would tell them what kind of content they prefer or want. This is why it’s important to set goals and give some direction to anyone engaging with your brand. For example, you can do this with email campaigns or social media posts where you ask for specific submissions.

Give Users an Incentive to Share

If you need a quick boost in UGC, give users an added incentive to contribute. Contests are a simple and effective way to do this. The “reward” can be something equally simple but meaningful, like having a post designated as the “post of the day” or offering a discount on the next purchase.

Get Permission from Your Users to Share Content

As a courtesy, get permission from users before you share or repurpose contributed content you find appealing or useful. On a related note, engage with the users contributing content. What this does is build relationships and encourage further interactions with your business or brand.

Also, track the results you get from your user-generated content. This will let you know if you’re getting what you need for your goals. Lastly, occasionally sort through your UGC to remove anything no longer relevant or in line with your current online marketing goals.

If you need a focused and effective content marketing strategy for your business, turn to Saba SEO. As one of the leading San Diego SEO service providers, we have designed results-oriented digital marketing strategies for businesses all over the globe. Our experts can provide fresh, unique, and fully optimized content for your businesses that’s sure to resonate well with your target audience and boost your online visibility. To schedule an appointment with one of our digital marketing specialists, give us a call today.

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