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It’s been interesting to see the increase in social media ad spending as of late. A recent study based on a survey of over 500 online marketing and media professionals throughout the U.S. revealed that 64% of them planned to increase social media spending by as much as 10%!
With over 650 million daily active Facebook users as of March, 2013, which is a 26% increase year-over-year, this budget increase makes some sense.
Truth is, you don’t have to spend money to reach more people. Facebook’s EdgeRank, aka their News Feed algo, confirms that. You can increase your social media presence simply by sharing the right kind of text, photos and videos.
Here are a few ways you can reach more people on Facebook without spending a single dollar.
EdgeRankPeople spend the majority of their time now browsing through their News Feeds. EdgeRank is Facebooks way of determining if the content you share is worthy of being put on your friends’ News Feeds. Basically there are three key ingredients at work here: Affinity, Weight and Time.
Affinity: a measurement of the relationship between the viewing user and the creator. The closer that relationship is, the higher the EdgeRank.
Weight: a measurement of the type of post (text, photo(s), video) and how engaging it is. In addition, the more interactions the post has, the more weight it carries. Facebook pours over rich media like photos and videos because they have proven to keep visitors on site.
Time: a measurement of freshness. Be consistent in your posting and time will ever be in your favor. EdgeRank says in with the new and out with the old.
Short & SweetIf you can’t say it in 250 characters or less, you’re shooting yourself in the foot because your posts won’t get as much interactions. Think about it. Facebookers have a lot of posts to rifle through and only a limited amount of time before they get wrangled out of the digital world and have to resume real life.
Stay RelevantAvoid venturing off on unrelated topics like politics and religion if they aren’t relevant to your audience. Nobody likes a lousy pitch. If it’s not up their alley, they’ll lose interest. Target your audience and appeal to them by throwing perfect strikes every chance you get.
CONsisTENT Is KingDeveloping and implementing a consistent posting strategy will keep people interested because they’ll be reminded of your brand and be able to get the information they need from you! I think of it like a TV show, when it’s being aired each and every week, more people are aware and participate. Between seasons however, when it’s not aired, is when people lose interest and go to your competition. You’ll reach more people and keep more tuned in by maintaining a consistent schedule.
Know Your AudienceYou can learn a lot about your audience by analyzing your traffic. When does your site get the most visits? What times of day, what days of the week? Use this data to deduce when your audience is present and most active and schedule posts for those times. I went ice fishing once with a fish finder and it changed my whole experience. Your website, given that you have sufficient traffic to analyze, is your fish finder!
In SummaryImage courtesy of Wiki Commons
You're reading Free Ways To Reach More People On Facebook
15 Ways To Get More Followers On Twitter
Did you ever wish you had an engaged audience? A community of people to:
Ask questions
Gain product feedback
Discuss trends
Share company news
Show what it’s like to work with you or your company
A place where you can build a personal or employer brand, talk to people in your field around the world, and build genuine connections on and offline?
Twitter is that place for me. And it can be for you, too.
An engaged audience is the goal, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Like Bryan, an Orlando marketer tweeted, “You must build an active community on Twitter before it’s useful.”
In this post, I’m going to share 15 proven tips for getting more followers on Twitter while building your brand and community.
How to get more followers on TwitterThese tips worked for me, and I know they’ll work for your business!
1. Create an attractive profileYour profile is the first thing people see so make it count. It consists of:
A good profile picture. If it’s a personal account, use a photo of yourself. If it’s for your business, use your logo.
A custom banner. Create a banner with your brand’s logo, website, or call-to-action. Select two or three colors that represent you and use the same images on all social media. (Or you can use colors from your brand kit to keep everything consistent!)
I’ve created a banner with the same message and logo on my accounts so if people visit my LinkedIn page from @MarSmith they’ll recognize me.
A short bio. Describe what you do using keywords to find a potential audience. You have 160 characters. Create a few bios before choosing one. Write your profile in another document before cutting and pasting it to Twitter. (Get tips to write your business description on Twitter here!)
A location. Include your town, state, or nearest city. On several company Twitter accounts that I’ve managed, a location helped them build local marketing and connections. Time zones help. I tweet with people in Europe earlier in my day than followers in California.
Multiple locations. Companies can list their headquarters and if they are national or global like Dell. Dell’s banner is a colorful mix of computers with their profile tagging their customer support Twitter account.
An accessible Twitter name. Change your @Name if it’s lower case to CamelCase like @MarSmith by capitalizing the first letter of each word. This allows screen readers to say it aloud correctly to blind and visually impaired people. @RemoteWorkTribe is more accessible than @remoteworktribe. (Get more tips to make your social media accessible here!)
Refresh your Twitter profile from time to time or when your brand changes significantly.
Did you know: Twitter is one of the top five most popular social networks in the US. Get more Twitter statistics here!
2. Follow relevant accountsWhat’s your follow strategy? Sometimes people start on Twitter and only follow a few accounts missing opportunities. Small businesses concentrate on content and never follow more people limiting their growth. They get stuck. But if you want to get more followers on Twitter, you need to follow accounts to jumpstart that growth.
Use my checklist to ensure you’ve found and followed all relevant groups on Twitter.
Follow account checklist:
Customers
Competitors (direct and indirect)
Industry groups and associations
Influencers
Employees
Senior executives
Local media
Local companies
Charities your company supports (local and national)
Review accounts following you and choose who to follow back. Some will follow back. Large name brands like Apple may only follow a low number.
To get more Twitter followers and increase your brand name recognition, follow back more accounts. Don’t limit yourself to a few. Check out new followers as you grow at least once per week.
3. Experiment to find your best days and times to tweetThis varies from business to business, but here are some general guidelines.
What is the best day and time to tweet?
According to a recent study by Hootsuite:
“The best time to post on Twitter is early in the morning on weekdays: ideally, 8 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, according to Hootsuite’s data. If you need to post on the weekend, still aim for the a.m., but perhaps a little later, when Twitter users are awake.”
Try this tweet experiment: Experiment on weekdays at various times tracking when you get the most responses from your audience
How many times per day should you tweet?
A recent study by Buffer suggested limiting yourself to three tweets per day. They found that engagement decreases a little after your third tweet.
Many people tweet three-to-five times per day or more and that’s okay.
Expect to get less engagement on your fourth tweet. The exception to this is live chats. When live-tweeting an event or tweeting in a Twitter chat, people will tweet more during these times.
Tweets move quickly and have a short shelf life. To reach my audience in different time zones, I retweet my first tweet in the late afternoon for people who missed it the first time.
Since your audience is unique, experiment to learn how often you should tweet for best engagement.
4. Tweet consistentlyTweets aren’t news releases where a company can occasionally post a new one on their website. Whatever days, times, and frequency you choose, be consistent. If your business tweets three days per week at 9 a.m. your audience will expect to find you on Twitter on those days and times.
Note: If you schedule your tweets, pick a time when you can interact with your audience.
5. Share useful content geared toward your audience and choose a focusI tweeted a tip this week for new accounts building their personal brand:
But to get more followers on Twitter, focus on a few topics to attract the potential audience you want.
Ask yourself: What type of content will help my audience?
One of the fastest ways to grow on Twitter is by tweeting content your audience can use.
This resource was retweeted 15 times.
6. Share a mix of content to engage your audienceIt’s okay for tweets to show personality. Some brands are comfortable having a playful tone of voice while other companies are more formal. Even in regulated industries, companies can mix the type of content they tweet to see what resonates with their audience.
Here are some examples of the different types of social media content you can post on Twitter:
Ask a question. Asking a question and using a cool image prompts engagement like @Chewy asking pet owners about their summer plans.
Gamify a tweet. @Pixleeturnto’s tweet for marketers to choose their superhero name based on random facts was a fun way to get attention and start a conversation with their audience.
Share seasonal content. @LOCALiQ’s Father’s Day tweet is packed with 18 content ideas and templates businesses are looking for now to craft their posts.
Poll your audience. Sometimes companies poll for feedback and other times to celebrate a special event like @CareerBuilder did on #NationalDoughnutDay. Chocolate donuts were #1.
Tweet an Infographic. @Semrush tweeted a Website Content Audit Checklist for their followers to use while reviewing their existing content data.
Create a video tweet. Videos are a great format to get more eyes on your tweets. Be creative. Tell a story with your statistics as @LinkedInMktg did in 10 seconds.
Use promotional content sparingly. Strike a balance between tweets helpful to your audience and promoting your company. Begin with 90% of content geared toward your audience and 10% promotions. Later, as your account grows, an 80/20 % content mix might work.
Repurpose and repackage content. Do people ask the same questions on your Facebook page? Rewrite frequently asked questions (FAQs) and tweet each one. Review old content and repackage it into fresh tweets. Track which ones perform well so you can create more.
7. Pin a tweet on your profileSelect a tweet that will be the first one people see until you change it.
A pinned tweet is a good place to:
Introduce yourself if you’re new
Advertise a unique offer or discount
Highlight one of your popular tweets
Feature employee videos about what it’s like to work there
Promote an upcoming event like @Vitamintalent’s webinar below
8. Use hashtagsHashtags help you find people and be found. Different communities use hashtags to discuss topics they care about.
I tweet topics for people in the #MarketingTwitter and #Writing Community which is why I have those hashtags in my profile.
Search hashtags on Twitter’s search bar. My example reveals the Top and Latest Tweets using the #WritingCommunity hashtag along with people who have it in their profiles.
Use hashtags in your tweets. One to five hashtags in tweets can help expand a tweet’s reach. The shorter the tweet, the fewer hashtags I use. You want your message to stand out.
Twitter isn’t Instagram. Having more than five hashtags takes up space and hides your message.
This example contains 13 hashtags, which makes their message less clear.
Create a hashtag list. When planning content, research to find the hashtags your company will use weekly. Keep a main list of hashtags including ones for unique events. There are hashtags for every day of the week, events, holidays, groups, and industries.
@AzioneUnlimited tweeted about Smart Home Technology. As a Smart Home Association, it makes sense for them to plan weekly content for #TechTuesday.
9. Create a content calendarKeep your hashtag list for Twitter and other social media in your Content Calendar and share with your team. Once you’ve compiled them in one place, you’ll be ready for future content planning.
Twitter is a microblogging site with each tweet allowed 280 characters. How do you tell a story? By tweeting a series of connected tweets known as a thread.
Create a Twitter thread about:
Helpful tips for your product or service
Open jobs at your company
A story about how you got started in your career or business
Changes in the industry and your take on them
A problem your audience shares and how you solved it
11. Retweet and quote tweetRetweet: Retweeting people can help you get more followers on Twitter as people notice who retweets them. @EveryoneSocial retweeted @Socialmedia2day’s Employer Brand Guide tweet.
Quote Retweet: Add your insight for followers at the top of your retweet.
12. Interact with people oftenEach personal or company account cultivates its own community. It all starts with conversation. You build your brand or community one person at a time.
It’s easy to worry more about writing new content or filling your content calendar. Some tweeters never leave their timeline and wonder why their account isn’t growing. People are key.
Engage with people. Review tweets from:
Your following
Your followers
Join popular conversations in your niche
Search via hashtag for topics you’d like to discuss
Communities
Twitter chats
Twitter chats are scheduled events organized around assorted topics. Entrepreneurs share their take on @HeyLindaRey & @MaikoSakaiBiz Twitter Chat #LetsTalkShop.
13. Create Twitter listsAs your account grows, you’ll want to keep track of people you’ve connected with and be able to access their account fast. I use Twitter lists to organize my followers.
Create Twitter lists of:
People you talk to weekly
Customers
Potential customers
Employees and company Twitter accounts
Competitors
Industry thought leaders and groups
Influencers
News media
Public vs private lists:
Individual accounts can create up to 1,000 lists with 5,000 users on each list. Lists can be private or public. If your company is listing competitors or customers keep them private.
Otherwise, create a public list since people are notified when they are added to one. Often, people will follow your list. This is a perfect time to introduce yourself and meet someone new.
My Social Media & Community list has 298 members and 32 followers.
You only see tweets from that group in your feed when viewing a list.
Easy access to people you tweet with often.
Helps in social listening to see competitors’ marketing campaigns and tweets.
Note: Periodically review your lists to check for inactive accounts or a change in content.
14. Promote your Twitter account everywhereLike your website or other social media, you need to promote your Twitter account. Your brand won’t be found automatically. Ask people to follow you.
Include your @Name on:
Email Signature: Follow us on Twitter
Facebook page and other social media
Website: Link to your social media at the top
Email marketing and newsletters
Sales campaigns
Events
Branded marketing items (tee shirts, mugs, tote bags, etc.)
Dress for Success has a link to Twitter and other social media at the top of its website making it easy for people to join their communities.
@InsideIndeed tweets pictures of employees wearing company tee shirts using the hashtag #InsideIndeed. Add your @Name and a call-to-action to promotional items and campaigns.
15. Pay attention to Twitter metrics
You want your Twitter account to grow but don’t get stuck on one metric like followers. Having 1,000 engaged followers is worth more than 10,000 people who never engage with you.
@TwitterBusiness, in What Twitter KPIs Should You Be Tracking, suggests picking a few KPIs:
Engagement: Define what counts for you and what level of engagement you’re tracking.
Performance: Review your engagement rate to see how your audience responds over time.
Growth: As you grow your account measure the number of engaged followers in your target audience.
Other ROI: Include new partnerships and indirect opportunities that started on Twitter.
Get more followers on Twitter–and make them count!An engaged audience doesn’t happen quickly. Quality interactions beat quantity. Give yourself time and track your efforts. Meeting new people and building connections on Twitter is worth the effort.
Opportunities can arise from one tweet!
Follow my 15 tips to grow your Twitter account into a meaningful community:
Create an attractive profile
Follow relevant accounts
Experiment to find your best days and time
Tweet consistently
Share useful content geared toward your audience and choose a focus
Share a mix of content to engage your audience
Pin a tweet on your profile
Use Hashtags
Create a content calendar
Retweet and Quote tweet
Interact with people often
Create Twitter lists
Promote your Twitter account everywhere
Pay attention to Twitter metrics
Marlene SmithOther posts by Marlene Smith
Why More Businesses Are Unfriending Facebook
In space, they say, no one can hear you scream. Some marketers feel the same way about Facebook.
The social network has come to play a vital role for many of the million-plus businesses that promote their brands and connect with customers on its site. But it’s clear that some marketers no longer see Facebook as their friend.
Eat24’s recent post was the latest sign that some companies are frustrated by Facebooks’s algorithm.
A recent post on the site by Eat24, a food delivery service, was the latest sign of marketers’ discontent. The problem, Eat24 and others say, is that Facebook’s algorithms that determine which posts appear in users’ News Feed are unpredictable, and they’re increasingly weighted towards those who pay to promote their posts.
“We give you text posts, delicious food photos, coupons, restaurant recommendations … and what do you do in return? You take them and you hide them from all our friends,” Eat24 said in a “breakup letter” to Facebook.
“It makes us think all you care about is money,” Eat24 wrote, and promptly deleted its account from Facebook.
Pay to connect?But it has to do so in a way that won’t alienate people by making them feel bombarded by marketing. And it needs to strike the right balance with what most people join the site for in the first place—to connect with their family and friends.
One of the main vehicles for companies to promote their products and services is Facebook Pages. For free, they can set up a page and try to get people to visit it, often by generating likes.
Some see it as a bait-and-switch tactic. It’s like selling a billboard under the premise that a certain number of people will see it, and then parking a bus in front of it, said Jessica Canty, owner of Jake’s Coffee and Espresso in Staunton, Illinois.
Just not getting results“Facebook is not nearly as useful as it used to be,” she said.
“That’s asinine,” she said. If Mamabargains already has 145,000 followers, she wants to know, why should it pay all that money for its posts to be seen by potentially less people? Despite the strong following, she said, an average post today is seen by only 3,000 people.
Kurtz said she fields a constant stream of complaints from followers who don’t understand why they no longer see Mamabargains’ posts in their News Feeds. “I could hire someone just to handle our customer service complaints related to Facebook,” she said.
Changing algorithms aren’t helping eitherTrying to adapt her posts to Facebook’s constantly changing algorithms is also frustrating, Kurtz said. Sometimes adding a link provides more visibility, but sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes posts with photos work better, but sometimes not.
The company’s sales have fallen by half in the past year, Kurtz said, and she holds the changes to Facebook’s algorithms largely responsible.
Even if paying to promote a post generates more likes for a page, that might not help in the long run, said Josh Reiss, a photographer based in Los Angeles who uses Facebook to promote his work.
With so much content jostling to appear in people’s News Feeds, having a lot of followers doesn’t assure posts will be seen, he said. “So what if it gives you a few more fans? You still have to pay to promote future posts. You still fall back into obscurity.”
Figures support the idea that the “organic reach” of marketers’ posts—the visibility they achieve without paying for it—is falling. Social@Ogilvy, a marketing consultancy, analyzed more than 100 brand pages and found that organic reach hovered at 6 percent in February, down from nearly 50 percent in October. For large brands with more than 500,000 likes on their pages, organic reach in February was just 2 percent.
“Organic reach of the content brands publish in Facebook is destined to hit zero,” the group predicted. “It’s only a matter of time.”
This leaves Facebook in a quandary. There’s only so many posts it can show to users in a day, and it can’t bombard them with marketing messages or they’ll feel they’re getting spammed. At the same time, it needs to show people the content they want to see, and in many cases that’s not posts by marketers.
Brandon McCormick, director of communications at Facebook, said as much in a response to the post from Eat24.
“There is some serious stuff happening in the world and one of my best friends just had a baby and another one just took the best photo of his homemade cupcakes and what we have come to realize is people care about those things more than sushi porn,” he wrote, referring to Eat24’s food pictures.
Facebook: Yes, business posts are decliningBut he acknowledged that the reach of posts by businesses, unless they’re paying to promote them, is declining. Marketers on the site can try to increase their visibility by creating more engaging content that will generate activity, like posts from people’s friends do, he said.
Some of those tools appear more suited to larger businesses, however, and it’s not clear they’ll help to ease the frustration some marketers are feeling.
Some are already spending some of their marketing dollars elsewhere. Jake’s Coffee and Espresso has started paying $35 a month to use Perka, a mobile loyalty platform, which sends messages to customers each morning.
Photographer Josh Reiss is looking at alternative ways to reach people. “I’m exploring more ways to connect with customers directly,” he said.
“Brands are not going to abandon Facebook, but they will focus a larger portion of their marketing efforts elsewhere, for both organic and paid content,” said Nate Elliott, a Forrester analyst who helps companies develop digital marketing strategies.
Part of the issue is that, much like Google with its search engine, marketers can’t see inside Facebook’s algorithms. They can adapt their content to try to get greater visibility, but ultimately they’re subject to the whims of what Facebook decides. And when those decisions result in poor visibility for their brands, they’re likely to feel they’ve been cheated.
“Marketers feel tricked,” Elliott said.
Updated on April 11 with a video report IDG News Service.
4 Ways To Be More Affectionate
Don’t let texting or emailing the ones you love replace verbal affection. If you are apart, then pick up the phone to check in because it’s more personal, even if it takes more time.
Verbal expressions of affection are the words you speak intended to validate your positive feelings of love and affection and make your partner feel loved. This can be unique to you, your partner and your relationship as long as what you say produces the intended emotions and reinforces your affection for each other.
If you must use electronic modes of communication, sign off with a phrase like “Thinking of you” or “Miss you” instead of a something generic. [10]
Understand that long-distance relationships require more verbal affection. Since you won’t be able to physically touch and bolster your bond that way, you will need to tell him or her how you feel more often. This is important to maintain the closeness in your relationship and reinforce feelings of safety, comfort and trust. If possible, use Skype or Google Hangout so you can make eye contact and pick up on physical cues while talking.
Look for things that you admire, appreciate or that the other person is good at to compliment. This can be anything from the way they look, a feature of their face that you particularly enjoy (such as eyes or lips), a personality trait, accomplishments, the positive way they make you feel or a skillset that you admire.
Be honest, and don’t let opportunities to compliment those you love pass you by. Tell your wife, “You have beautiful eyes” while looking at her or “You complete me”, if it’s true. Tell your husband, “You look handsome in that shirt” when he gets ready for work or “You’re a great cook” when he makes you breakfast. Tell your child, “You’re so smart” when you see a report card or “You’re good at sports” after practice.
Greet your partner or children when they get home. Stop what you are doing and interact with your partner or children so they know you care. You want them to know they are more important than anything else and that you missed them. Combine verbal affection with physical affection by giving your kids a peck on the cheek or top of the head. You may want to kiss your partner on the lips or cheek.
Some common nicknames include: Angel, Cowboy, Doll, Babe, Dear, Honey, Love or Sweetheart or Sweetie.
Take the time to say “thank you”. Think of all the things the other person does for you or the ways they improve your life. Look them in the eyes and express your appreciation in a few sentences. You want them to know exactly how much you love and appreciate them and everything they do.
Don’t assume that “I love you” is the only way to express affection. If you are not saying it, you should try to make it a regular part of your vocabulary. Phrases like “You’re great”, and “I’m so lucky to have you”, are also good ways to show affection. There is probably also something specific to your relationship, such as a mutual interest in cars, that allows you to expand on these simple phrases to include descriptions of something you really love for added meaning. If you love cars, then you might use a favorite vehicle to explain how you feel by saying, “You’re my 1968 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi.”
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4 Ways To Blur Part Of Photo Before Posting On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
If you wish to blur out a particular region inside your photo, then you can use the native gallery app on your Android smartphone to achieve it before posting it on social media. Here’s how you can do it.
2. Next, tap on the Mark tab in the bottom-right corner of the app and press the Mosiac option to apply the blur effect.
3. Choose your preferred brush size and drag your finger over the region which you wish to blur. Once done, tap on the tick icon in the top-right corner to save changes.
That’s it, you’ve successfully blurred out your desired region in the image using the native gallery app.
If you wish to blur out a portion of your image before posting it on Instagram, then you can use its in-built editor to hide it. Follow these steps for an easy fix.
1. Open the preferred photo on your Instagram app to post it as a normal post.
3. Further, choose your desired blur method and drag your finger over the region on which you wish to focus. Rest all the area will get blurred out.
4. Once finished, tap on the Done button at the bottom-right corner.
5. That’s it. You can now post this edited photo on your Instagram profile with your added blur effect.
There are lots of free third-party apps available on the Google Play Store and Appstore that offer the feature to easily blur out part of a photo. One such popular Android app goes by the name of Blur Photo Editor & Effects through which you can easily hide sensitive data on your image. Here’s how you can achieve it with the help of this app.
1. Open Google Play Store on your Android device and search for the Blur Photo Editor & Effects app to install it.
2. Next, tap on the Touch Blur button to blur out the desired region on your chosen photo.
4. Drag your finger over the area that you wish to blur and tap on the Next button at the top-right corner once finished.
5. Further, tap on the Save button to export the edited image to your device.
Similarly, you can use the Blur Photo Effect Background app on your iOS device to blur out a specific part of your image before posting it on various social media platforms.
In addition to using various apps and devices to blur out photos, you can make use of free online tools such as Peko Step to add the blur effect on a specific part of the image before posting on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Follow this quick guide to using an online tool to blur out part of your photo.
Now that you have learned to blur out specific parts of your image using the above-listed methods, you must also learn to blur out your background in a Zoom meeting. Check out this detailed read to blur your background in a Zoom meeting.
You can also follow us for instant tech news at Google News or for tips and tricks, smartphones & gadgets reviews, join GadgetsToUse Telegram Group, or for the latest review videos, subscribe GadgetsToUse YouTube Channel.
How To Get People To Click On Your Pop
Popping and Hovering Annoyance vs. Conversion: A TradeoffIts analysis found that 9 percent of people who saw a mobile interstitial, which acts as a pop-up by blocking content, pressed “get the app.” Google also found that 69 percent of visitors neither installed the app nor continued to the mobile page. Instead, they just bounced.
Many app providers would be happy with a 9 percent CTR, right? Of course, this is a very specific case of a company trying to get users to switch from the mobile website to the mobile app. Even after install, the company would still need to get people to use the app – and then convert them within the app.
Pop-up GoalsThis much-maligned ad unit can accomplish some important goals:
Discount coupons: To sweeten the site registration offer, even more retailers may offer an instant discount to those who purchase during that visit.
How to Keep From Popping Off Your VisitorsWith more thought and some technology tweaks, it’s simple to up the results of a pop-up campaign without annoying consumers.
Worst Practice: The RoadblockWhen new visitors come to your site via a link, direct navigation, or a search result, they’re interested in what you have to offer. But delivering a pop-up before they’ve had a chance to check out your wares might not be the best practice. This is particularly true when a popup requires some immediate decision, e.g. providing an email address to apply a discount right away.
Best PracticesThere’s no clear research on exactly how long you should wait to ask for an email address. When AppSumo analyzed sites that used its List Builder software, it found that showing a pop-up after five seconds onsite was by far the most effective at gathering emails; the next most effective was after 20 seconds.
At LinkAssistant’s official blog, we show a pop-up offer to sign up for our newsletter after a person has spent 90 seconds on an article. You should test different delay times to see what works best for your site.
You can also configure the pop-up software to trigger when the visitor’s cursor moves up toward the back bar, indicating he’s about to leave.
Another option is being more polite with your pop-up and not covering up all the content. Search Engine Journal, for example, promoted a webinar with a pop-up box appearing aside an article.
Worst Practice: Irrelevant Offer Best PracticeThose who enjoy reading books digitally presumably might be more inclined to want to move their physical titles over to the e-reader via a scanner.
Worst Practice: Box That Won’t CloseThe most infuriating pop-up of all has to be the one that is difficult to close or cannot be closed at all. Sometimes the ad designer deliberately makes the X or “close” difficult to see to gain viewing time for the ad. In other cases, a coding error places the X out of the user’s visual field. This is especially a problem on mobile devices, where it can be difficult to cater to the huge diversity in screen sizes. When users are faced with an obscuring pop-up that can’t be closed, they have no choice but to bounce.
Best PracticeSome people find this amusing; others would say it’s more on the passive/aggressive spectrum. You should definitely make your pop-up copy engaging and clearly state the benefits of subscribing, downloading or whatever your goal is. We’ll let you decide how far to go – or, better yet, test!
Worst Practice: Too Frequent Best PracticeMake multiple offers to entice your visitors to provide email, and feature sign-up forms prominently on your site. For example, at chúng tôi we feature two more opportunities for users to provide their email addresses – without blocking the page view.
Making it Work for YouYou should also make sure your use of pop-ups fits with your overall marketing goals. If you write a blog to show yourself as a thought leader, the content marketing value coming with full-page views may be more important than gathering email addresses. If your site provides hot deals, you may find it works better to offer a discount or free shipping during the checkout process rather than upfront.
The ubiquitous, sometimes ugly, pop-up ad isn’t going away. In fact – ironically — many mainstream publications are now using them to ask site visitors to turn off their ad-blocking software. When used carefully, they can be a valuable tool in customer acquisition. Just play nice!
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