Rally the Trends – May
A monthly round-up of digital marketing, SEO, and social media updates, summarized for you.
A monthly round-up of digital marketing, SEO, and social media updates, summarized for you.
Welcome to the first edition of Rally the Trends! We are excited to introduce this highlight reel of the social world that will give you the major updates and get you on your way.
SEO
Shaken to the Core: On May 4th, Google announced the role out of a Core Update to its algorithm on Twitter. Initially, the announcement did not give any further information, although some are concerned that it will negatively impact their businesses on top of the damage already felt from the COVID-19 pandemic. As with any Core Update, the shift will be gradual and more changes will be observed as it reaches everyone. In a blog update on the day after the announcement, Search Engine Roundtable presented multiple sites reporting a major bump down in rankings, as well as business owners on social media saying they had lost a significant percentage of traffic (some up to 70%). While this update is negatively impacting some sites, the article also shows sites whose keywords were higher than before, particularly in the finance and real estate sectors.
The Rally Rundown: This Google Core Update is affecting a lot of sites and businesses negatively at a time then they are already under pressure due to the impact of COVID. Getting knocked down in search results position and losing traffic makes it even more difficult to keep going.
If you are stuck in the lower regions of search results and want to improve your organic SEO strategy, let’s chat.
An Unlikely Pair: Creative writing and SEO-driven content are not a natural pair. Often these are two separate goals, but do they have to be? In a recent article for Moz, Caroline Forsey from the Hubspot blogging team explains how to write creatively with SEO-driven content. This article gives practical and hands-on advice (the best kind!) for how to achieve this goal. The biggest takeaway is to hone in on the personal, one-to-one connection. Talking to industry experts and keeping the reader in mind is an essential part of making this strategy work.
Digital Marketing
Ad spend has been heavily impacted by the Coronavirus, but big brands such as Facebook and Google have found some redemption dollars in the direct response area. Direct response covers actions like app downloads and e-commerce purchases. This makes sense too, as people who have been in isolation are looking for a new game to play or gadget to purchase. With so many activities put on hold or cancelled due to the pandemic, gaming and online shopping have gained popularity and eyeballs as people look for ways to stay busy.
Social Media
Amidst various updates to keep COVID-19 misinformation at bay, the ever-growing social media giant introduced Messenger Rooms to allow people to group video call through Facebook. With an emphasis on privacy, this announcement seemed to be a direct jab at ZOOM, which is dealing with ongoing security concerns and uninvited “zoombombers” disrupting meetings. Rooms will soon extend to other platforms owned by Facebook, including Instagram Direct Messages and WhatsApp.
Source: Facebook Newsroom
Instagram has been a key way to stay connected with the people we are not able to see right now. The company has also made a concentrated effort to support small businesses with updates to their Stories feature. This April update for Business accounts allows for live fundraising as well as convenient support and promotion through stickers.
Source: Instagram Blog
Twitter has seen a significant increase in users, many of whom have flocked to the site for information on COVID-19, but the platform has lost much of its ad revenue due to the pandemic. This is different than Facebook and Snap, who have still grown in revenue with the economic downturn.
On a more positive note, Twitter released its monthly overview full of ideas for social posts and holidays to celebrate. You can find this great resource (along with some tweet-spiration) here. May is almost over, but you can download the full Twitter marketing calendar to kickstart ideas for your posting schedule.
#WorkFromHome Life
Home Sweet Work: Ah, the joys and woes of working from home. Keeping it comfy-casual for “office wear”? Big yes. Dealing with the distractions of kids, pets, ? Maybe not so much. As much of the world is working from home, it is interesting to think about what the “new normal” will look like for office space and company culture in a post-COVID world. M16 Marketing has been remote-friendly for some time, and as our work is digital, a transition to fully remote work has been an adjustment more than a completely new situation. While there has been much (and will be much more) discussion about the pros and cons of remote work, this article by Chris Herd is an informative and thought provoking piece about companies who embrace remote work. Herd states that “remote is $16,400 less a year, per team member”.
The Rally Rundown: Even in different, more positive circumstances, it seems foolish not to consider the benefits of working remotely.
A-Town Shoutout
May is Military Appreciation Month, so we’d like to shoutout VEO Hero, a local veterans organization that helps members of the armed forces find jobs and housing. Their mission is “to empower veterans along their journey to self-sufficiency.” We are really grateful for the work that they do, and if you’d like to donate or learn more, visit their website.
That’s all for this month! What did we miss? Comment below on some major trends or updates that have impacted your digital world. Thanks for being here and we’ll see you soon.
Keep building better relationships.
