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Tag: marketing

Hashtags Banned vs Allowed

Posted on June 6, 2023 - 1:44 pm by

Did you know that Instagram has taken a stand against certain hashtags? Yep, they’ve implemented a ban to make sure those hashtags don’t get associated with any flagged content. It’s all about protecting users and businesses from potentially harmful or inappropriate stuff. So, if you want to keep your social media game strong, stick to using only approved hashtags.

Now, let’s talk about the power of hashtags!

Hashtags play a significant role in social media, allowing individuals to express themselves and explore new ideas. They enable users to share their experiences, perspectives, and achievements, connecting with people and places they may have never reached before. By simply clicking on a hashtag, you can discover a world that relates to your interests, location, and hobbies. Hashtags bring humanity to the internet, injecting emotion into an otherwise flat digital landscape.

Where does the problem lie?

However, the power of storytelling through hashtags can also attract negative elements. Some individuals and accounts exploit the platform for their own gain, providing no value to users. To combat this, Instagram has banned certain hashtags that have been flagged by the community for various reasons. By using a banned hashtag, you risk connecting with inappropriate or objectionable content.

Meta hashtags now offer a tool to check if a hashtag is banned. This tool allows you to verify whether the content you are sharing or connecting with is acceptable and approved by Instagram’s community standards. Banned hashtags include those that feature obscene phrases, explicit or violent material, and those associated with spam or bot accounts. Using banned hashtags repeatedly may result in a shadow ban, temporarily limiting engagement on your Instagram account until the issue is resolved.

Here are a few banned hashtag you should avoid using all together:

#valentinesday
#single
#nasty
#besties
#alone
#adulting
#dating
#humpday
#mustfollow
#parties
#workflow
#thought

Hashtags that connect to proven spam or bot accounts and other content that directly violates Instagram’s community standards will be banned, as well. If you are found repeatedly using banned hashtags, a shadow ban may be placed on any Instagram account. A shadow ban is a temporary limit to any account, they bring your engagement to low or none until there is a resolution to the problem.

Find the complete list of banned hashtags, access the list via desktop or on the Instagram app with the most recent additions. Make sure you stay up to date with what content is being nixed on Instagram so you don’t lose quality engagement from your viewers!

Keep Telling Your Story!

Despite these precautions, it’s crucial to keep sharing your story on Instagram. By maintaining high standards and adhering to community guidelines, you contribute to a positive online environment. At Transcend Ideas, we are eager to connect with you, discover your story, and help amplify your message to those seeking the services you offer. Join us on the bright side of Instagram!

Let Transcend Ideas help find the perfect balance of social media to use in your marketing campaigns and strategy. Let’s get coffee today!

Master CTA’s (Call to Actions) with Empathy Marketing

Posted on April 20, 2023 - 2:34 pm by

How can you master CTA’s (Call to Actions) with empathy marketing? What are CTAs you ask?

It’s the acronym for call-to-action, like:

Donate Now

Learn More

Buy Now

Register Now

… and so on!

CTA is giving the audience direction and an actionable to take

When we market to our audience we are looking to add value and we are asking them to engage with us with curiosity. With my approach to empathy marketing I empathize with my audience and where they are. Here are some things to think about when you are generating your content and your CTAs when you write a newsletter, blog post, or a social media post.

When using empathy marketing, ask these questions:

  • What does the consumer feel?
  • What is the consumer facing right now?
  • How can we connect as a business?

Our content can shape the relationship

Our content can shape the relationship we have with our consumers. We use tone and personality and the consumer then responds to it. It’s important to:

  • stay relavant, stay informed (webinars, workshops, networking events, speak to your audience)
  • humanize your business
  • ask questions (use surveys – this will eliminate assumptions)
  • answer questions (use real Q&A here to share with the community)
  • share how you can help meet a need – *** Keep your content digestable info, bullet points will help led the reader, if they are curious about more they can contact you (DM or E-mail)
  • use clean graphics and nice photography to help compliment your message – this anchors those topics into your website and your social media feed
  • try an A/B testing to see what’s the most effective approach – look at the data and compare and try it again, see if it still works

Consider These Shifted Verbal Cues to Master CTA’s (Call to Actions) with Empathy Marketing:

Let’s Try Something New

Say YES!

Let’s Get Curious

Join the Conversation

Share Your Story

Are you interested to learn more?

let’s get coffee

Google Analytics 4: Understanding the Customer Journey

Posted on March 17, 2023 - 11:52 pm by

Have you heard of the next big wave in consumer analytics tracking?

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) takes us into an exciting time for marketing and sales professionals. GA4 allows us to dive deeper into our understanding of consumer behavior. GA4 allows us to analyze key items in the life cycle of an event measuring value by, what content engages a user to come to the site initially, what leads to abandoned shopping carts, and more. Being able to understand the customer journey more intimately will allow marketers to discover what trends consumers are looking for in their digital experience and better serve them.

We live in the digital age and with that comes ever-changing regulations and security protocols. End users are making more demands for control of their privacy. Users demand privacy on how their data becomes used, tracked, and stored on websites. The amount of data generated and available across websites and apps is staggering and constantly increasing.

Google Analytics 4 logo on computer image

There needed to be a new solution to account for this. GA4 creates instant web and app property data. App and website data will now measure using event-based (any specific occurrence on a website) rather than session-based data. This allows us to isolate many events across a user’s experience on a website or app, rather than one session. This provides a more complete and accurate understanding of the customer’s journey on various devices, from a brand-new site visitor to a repeat customer. The data and insights we now can pull with GA4 properties allow your business to scale and work with cookie/cookieless sessions

GA4, designed to replace dated technology on Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 360 (GA360), will stop collecting data on July 1, 2023. Additionally, GA360 will stop collecting data on July 1, 2024.

A Few Key Insights on Google Analytics 4

  1. Better Tracking: With Google Analytics 4, you can track more types of user interactions on your website. Whether it be scrolling or engagement with videos. This gives you a more complete picture of how people are using your site, which can help you make improvements.
  2. Easier-to-Use Interface: The GA4 interface is designed to be more intuitive and user-friendly than previous versions. This makes it easier to find the information you need and understand what it means.
  3. Enhanced Insights: Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning to provide insights into user behavior and trends. This means you can get a better understanding of what’s working on your site and what’s not, and make changes accordingly.
  4. Cross-Device Tracking: GA4 allows you to track users across multiple devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This is becoming increasingly important as more people use multiple devices to access the internet.
  5. Future-Proofing: Google Analytics 4 is designed to be more flexible and adaptable to changes in technology and user behavior. This means you’ll be better equipped to keep up with changes in the digital landscape. By doing this, you can stay ahead of the competition.

Overall, Google Analytics 4 is a powerful tool that can help you make data-driven decisions to improve your website and grow your business.

Getting Started

Getting started with GA4 is easy for any small business owner. It requires only getting an account set up and adding the tracking code to your website. After this, it’s all about setting up conversions and determining what items are most important to you for measuring. What is a conversion? They are any measurable event or action the user takes on your website, including page views, filling out forms, buying products, and more. There are more reports than ever available with the launch of GA4 from general overview reports to more in-depth items on customer engagement, monetization, and acquisition. Read more from MonsterInsights on how to get started with GA4 on your WordPress site, conversions, and the reports available to you.

We can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for analytics. All the insights are immediately at the fingertips of marketing and sales departments all over the globe. What are you going to track first? What strategic decisions are you hoping to make for your business? Email us at hello@transcendideas.com today to learn how we can help you make the transition to the latest technology available in analytics tracking with Google Analytics 4!

Traditional Marketing Ideas (Clubhouse/Spaces)

Posted on October 3, 2022 - 9:45 am by

I was in a Clubhouse room called: “Old School Marketing” and it blew me away how important going back to basics in your marketing truly is. Check out the next set of audio rooms I will be hosting on this very topic in the coming weeks. In the meantime here are some ideas to stew on..

Traditional Marketing Ideas:

In no particular order of course, but consider these ideas to implement:

  • Word-of-mouth
  • Schedule a cup of coffee or lunch with a work colleague, even your competition to discuss business
  • Mailers
  • Handouts (flyers, rack cards, business cards)
    • Pin up in bulletin boards! – Make a list of these locales that accept those physical marketing tools
  • Stickers (clever approach – catchphrase, coolness)
  • Showing support for a charity/nonprofit organization
    • A certain % of sales goes to charity in a certain time frame
    • Sponsor an event or a sport in your town/city
  • Join the Chamber of Commerce – make connections, take advantage of ALL they offer you!
  • Contests for all ages (art, name mascot, etc.)
  • Handwritten thank you notes
  • Thank you gifts for your bigger clients
  • Exclusive sales to your most loyal customers
  • Holiday cards
  • Networking
  • In-person events – Hold in-person workshops (educate, inform, engage – build trust)
  • Community calendars for events you are hosting
  • Print ads in local newspapers
  • In-store signs (sandwich boards)
  • Takeaways: Bumper stickers, stickers, branded water bottles
  • Name tags – custom name tags, wear your logo and name (perhaps pronouns too) to remind people what you are about!
  • Movie theatre ads – Slides or videos of local businesses
  • Post-it notes – custom couple with your business card (good leave behinds)
traditional marketing ideas

Photo by Marissa Grootes on Unsplash

“Create social proof through that localize medium!”

Heather Cox
traditional marketing ideas

“Tried and True” Marketing Ideas

Going back to the “tried and true” methods of marketing can be just what you needed to revitalize your connection with your audience. I am all for digital marketing, it’s predominately what I do but there is something to be said for that personal touch to make a connection. When we build relationships we are developing trust and communicating and we can’t always lean into digital technology to do that.

These marketing ideas are meant to be approached “in tandem” with digital marketing! Don’t discount the basics and ask yourself what you can you use in Q4 and what could you utilize in your marketing strategy for 2023.

Join the Traditional Marketing Ideas Conversation

Join Heather for a Clubhouse Room AND Twitter Spaces on “Old School Marketing Ideas.” All conversations will be recorded so you can listen in at a later time to learn a bit here and there. We will not be focusing on digitally marketing.

Clubhouse
“Old Skool Marketing for Biz and Nonprofits”
Wed, Oct 19th at 11:15 am MDT

Listen to the Replay

Twitter Spaces
“Old Skool Marketing”
Wed, Nov 2 at 11:30 am MDT

Join Twitter Spaces

The Power of the Word-of-Mouth

Posted on February 23, 2022 - 2:59 pm by

The Power of the Word-of-Mouth

The definition of word-of-mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication.

This is arguably the most powerful organic and the oldest marketing tool. We make decisions based on others’ thoughts and experiences. As consumers, we love to discover new things and experience them for ourselves. But beforehand we take in recommendations. Whether it be a place, a cup of coffee, a vibe, a trail to hike, a dish, a view, a life hack, we generally hear about those special insights from the ones we know and trust.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Build a Good Reputation as a Business

The famous Huckleberry Milkshakes are only found at Victor Emporium. 

We also take into account the word of strangers. That’s why I urge my clients to claim a business listing. If your business has been “on the map” so to speak Google or Bing may already have you pinned. If so, you can claim a business like yours with ample proof that is your business.

There is a big benefit of claiming your business listing. Once you’ve done it it can help receive more attention through customer reviews. Ideally, you have good reviews and not too many poor ones. Believe it or not the negative ones may not always deter people. You can never guarantee satisfaction from everyone. But you can encourage your patrons that are pleased with your service or product to leave you a review. It’s all about building that good reputation in town.

Superlatives

Another fabulous and organic way to build a good reputation is to be on the “Best of” list in your town/city. The public can cast a vote for their favorite nominees. The results can be such a great way to rope in more business.

I have personally been through so many hairdressers over the past 11 years in Jackson, Wyoming. My hairstylist has ranked Gold and Silver for the Best Hairstylist in Best of Jackson Hole for many years in a row and for good reason – she’s fabulous with hair!

Influencers
Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

Social media has changed the way we share our experiences. Capturing photos and videos instantly, geotags, and hashtags help tell the story. Word-of-mouth takes on a whole new meaning when it’s shared on social media. You can pay influencers to share your product or place of business with their followers. This direct influence can help capture even more potential clients.

Influencer marketing is a kind of social media marketing that uses plenty of help through endorsements and products mentioned by influencer individuals. These individuals have a dedicated social following and are considered experts in their particular area or niche. 

Henny Yeshanew, Entrepreneur.com

Through influencers, word-of-mouth is proven to still work but just on hyperdrive. This more dynamic way to story tell is faster and proven to take flight with metrics to back it up. The metrics are measuring engagement, clicks, views, and ROI. You may think that the more followers the more influencer has the better but that’s not necessarily the trend of the Influencer appeal is heading. In 2022, the trend of micro-influencers can be considered experts in their particular area or niche can generate a more reliable return.

Some actionables, the next time you get a haircut:

  1. Find the salon on social and give them that “social currency” with a follow. Mention them in an Instagram story with your new hairdo.
  2. Leave a review on their Google listing. Share a photo if you are able.
  3. Share the “word-of-mouth” by telling a friend your experience.

Coincidentally, I just got a haircut from a new hairdresser in Victor, ID near our new house and I am so pleased. I will do ALL 3 because Mandii Caldwell with Joy Daniels Salon did a fabulous job, she’s professional and friendly. And from one fellow mama and female entrepreneur, I am all about amplifying her and her business.

Interested in learning more about the power of word-of-mouth, let’s get coffee to chat about other ideas.

Content Overload

Posted on February 10, 2022 - 12:12 am by

If you have internet you must be feeling the same content overload that I feel.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020 I recalled seeing my inbox implode with emails almost immediately. Everyone, I mean everyone wanted to fuel connection. The trouble with too much too often is the overload conundrum. My inbox becomes a sea of emails I don’t have time to read, it becomes noise. And I am one of those folks that loves to keep my number of emails unread very low. I mean low, like 2 to 5. Work email especially. I flag them or star them to keep myself accountable to tasks that need my attention. But for the most part I skim through emails to make sure I don’t miss important deadlines, obligations, appointments or events. With “content overload” it sure makes it difficult to reach your audience.

What makes your email campaign content stand out without the content overload?

  1. Frequency: If your emails are being scheduled out with great succession that surely can make it difficult for your audience to: a. stay on top of what you already sent them AND b. care about what you sent them.
  2. Attention Grabbing: Have your subject line standout among the sea of emails. I’m a fan of emojis!
  3. Unique content: Share something NEW and exciting with your audience. Don’t tell them something they already know, this keeps them more engaged.
  4. Relevant content: Stay relevant to your audience. If they can’t relate to your content they will unsubscribe. Note: Unsubscribers are doing you a favor. Don’t waste unnecessary time on trying to capture their attention they’ve made their choice to step back and that’s okay, it’s not personal.
  5. Simplicity: Keep your emails short (dear God). Your audience will likely not read your lengthy email that has no photos or icons, or colors to break up the monotony of reading your boring email. Sorry to be so blunt but it’s true. We folk have a short attention span, let’s keep it short and sweet. Gifs (moving images/graphics) do help keep the eye interested. Be sure to use alternative text to reach your audience that use screen readers. The alternative text helps describe the images on your emails, website and now social media imagery too.

Providing Humanity in Marketing

  1. Elicit (positive) emotion, especially connection: If you just flip on the news, you are inundated with content that elicits fear, negativity and division. Phew, let’s not use that same influence here in their inbox. Help solve a problem, bring positivity to the inbox, share goodness and inspiration. The very last thing you want to do with your messaging is for it to become someone else’s white noise. If you can accomplish connection in your emails, that’s something special. Societally many of us have felt disconnected but if you can help even for a moment to inspire your audience feel connection you’ve accomplished something truly amazing.
  2. You are NOT for Everyone: Release the idea that you are for everyone. It is an impossible expectation to have when deploying your marketing strategy. Focus on your sweet spot bullseye audience and allow for your inbound audience to discover you.
  3. Allow for Discovery: Again, help solve a problem, educate your audience, and inspire them to make a decision about your business. What I have found is that individuals love “discovery” of new businesses and products. Allow for that discovery to happen by sharing your content piece meal through your social media posts, blog posts, and newsletters. That inbound audience will follow the breadcrumbs and make their decision on purchasing from you based on that important groundwork.

Honor where you are

I attended a ED (Executive Director) Roundtable event with Jackson Hole community yesterday and I felt inspired by the presenter. Paige Curry, ED of Astoria Park Conservancy is taking a step back from social media as she recognizes the “content overload” and quite frankly I respect that. She claimed as a mother she doesn’t have time for catching up with everyone right now and needs a personal break. She felt perhaps her audience felt the same. I thought to myself, “Amen, sister. Amen.” In fact, many of the takeaways from her leading of this ED Roundtable inspired this blog post. Thanks Paige!

On a personal note, staying up night after night glancing at my phone has just stopped working for me. It kept me stressed and “on” too much. When you work for yourself or when you work remotely you can easily get sucked into the never ending to-do list that looms. Put down the device and walk away. I am typing this last sentence and shutting my laptop because the next thing on my list can wait until tomorrow.

Good-bye, content overload.

Unique Ways to Engage with Non-Profit Donors

Posted on January 30, 2022 - 9:10 pm by

I love helping nonprofit organizations with their marketing strategy and implementation. I have 15 years experience working with nonprofits and here is a peek into why I am so keen on helping them. Find unique ways to engage with non-profit donors.

Why my Heart is into Helping Non-Profits

People Spread Love

Nonprofit organizations are unique manifestations of good ideas that serve communities. Here in the Teton County, WY/Teton County, ID area we have over 400 nonprofits serving this region. Organizations do so much to serve the community’s needs in ways that government agencies and for-profit companies can not. The important work that nonprofits provide sparks a lot of motivation in me to serve them.

Founder of People Spread Love

I founded a nonprofit, People Spread Love nearly 7 years now. The mission of People Spread Love (PSL) is to empower communities to write notes of love to those facing adversity.  This act of kindness expresses empathy and revives human connection across community lines. PSL had very humbling beginnings, very grassroot style with compassionate volunteers at the helm. This 501c3 nonprofit organization is now stepping into a new phase with funding our very first People Spread Love Starter Kit program. This is an exciting time for me and my Board of Directors and for the community that has loved and supported us for many years now. As part of the Starter Kit program, I put together these clever and fun hand drawn postcards to be included in the kits and as a way to entice our donors to donate to PSL’s operational costs.

Hand Drawn Postcards for LOVE

Like many nonprofit organizations there is a need to engage with donors in unique ways. This angle is a creative one. As Galentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Week is right around the February corner, I thought it wise to release these designs in late January to get a jump start on getting these into the hands of our donors. I put the postcards up as an incentive when donating a certain amount to PSL. I’ve priced the postcards as a way that was less expensive than a greeting card you would already buy from a shop/grocery store (those suckers are nearly $5-8 a pop these days – yikes!). This example of an incentive is a practical one, away to reconnect or express love to someone you care about.

"You'll Ramen in my Heart" postcard
"You have a Pizza my heart" postcard
"You Make my Heart Hop a Beat" postcard
"Be Human Kind" postcard
"I love you!" postcard
Printed Products are NOT Dead & Gone

The dilemma these days is our world revolves around being online, Zooming in, and always being tethered somehow through social media. This separation from that world into the physical written word is a relief for many. This is one of many reasons that PSL is so effective and easily adopted into our volunteer’s routines. When you are marketing your nonprofit do not give up on printed products, they are still very much appreciated and effective ways to reach your audience.

Capture their attention through a unique approach like humor. Since PSL’s premise is inclusion, love, kindness and generosity, a few good puns is a complimentary vibe. The example below is a postcard mailer I helped GAP! send to donors. The postcard presented the problem and the solution, this captures the attention of the donor and gives them the call-to-action (CTA) clearly in the middle of the postcard, the QR code they can “Scan to Give.” QR codes are back and more are utilizing it in the USA.

Ways to Engage with Nonprofit Donors
Direct Mailer postcard from GAP (Girls Actively participating)
Direct mailer postcard from GAP!

Here are some other ways to engage with nonprofit donors;

  1. Monthly emails with Carefully Crafted Content with very direct call-to-actions (CTA) ie. Campaign and goal communicated directly tied to a project or program.
  2. Give them incentive to donate ie. Pun-ny postcards, stickers, etc.
  3. QR codes are “in” now and work effectively to expedite the donation process.
  4. Write and mail a “Thank You Note” – seriously that goes a very long way! Tell them what their gift went to better the community.
  5. Share your impact story – collect testimonials of people have been directly impacted by your organization. This measurable helps your donors see the impact you make on the community.

Interested in learning more about different ways to engage with non-profit donors? Let’s get coffee to chat about other ideas.

Brands Need to Make Women Feel Seen

Posted on September 11, 2021 - 9:13 am by

“Brands need to make women feel seen as they are, not as men want them to be. That’s the big shift that needs to happen. Brands need to stop telling women how to be, and start being in service to them.”

We just couldn’t stop saying “yes, yes, yes” to this New York Times article from Mara Altman on “Yes, Marketing Is Still Sexist.” We are fascinated by how brands have marketed to women for generations with out ever truly getting them. Being a mother it is even more apparent how brands are missing the mark on reaching us. A way that we say out loud, “you get me!” Cunningham and Roberts beautifully illustrate how brands haven’t truly considered the audience they so strongly want to reach.

Trends with Women in Marketing

Women in 2021 want to feel seen and heard. The economic impact the pandemic struck on women has been devastating. Opportunities have halted for women, especially mothers. The epidemic gave female workers the realization that work can look different for them. Opportunities with remote working being normalized are constant.

Women are working. They work from home, they go to school, they are raising their kids, they are without kids, they are coupled-up. Some women are single. Many female workers delegate the cleaning or the laundry. Whether they order in, cook, build community, have family nearby, or have a chosen family to lean into. Mothers are paying for daycare, nannies, and fur babies. They try to balance their self-care, they are constantly questioning themselves, they are confident, they are all different shapes, sizes, and shades, they “Google” when they don’t know something. The key point shows women are a fluid group that makes up 51.1% of the world’s population.

NYTimes: Yes, Marketing is Still Sexist

Between 1980 and 2010, women in commercials were shown in workplace settings only 4 percent of the time; frequently they were shown in kitchens, waxing poetic about the products they were selling. They were shown in kitchens so often that creatives referred to the trope in whispers as 2Cs in a K. “The K represented kitchen and you can guess what the Cs stood for,” they wrote.

Women Centered Marketing Solutions

It’s imperative that women get a seat at the table in creative decision making when it comes to marketing to women. After all, we are women and that’s the most relatable as it gets. Relating directly with the consumer you want to reach is most ideal in messaging and creative direction. From our perspective, we believe that with empathy marketing there can be lasting “business to consumer” relationships formed with great care and consideration. Here’s to more profound relatable brands that reach real women.