MintTwist Roundup: Top 10 Articles Of 2014
A MintTwist look back on the hot topics of 2014.
Content marketing has become a key tactic in the digital marketer’s tool box. At MintTwist it’s no different – we know our audience wants topical and useful guidance on new trends and techniques.
Looking back at our most popular articles from 2014, there’s been a definite shift this year towards measurement. Our blog ideas come from keeping our ears to the digital marketing ground, listening to contacts and clients, and reflecting on what we’re experiencing running campaigns. As more budget shifts to digital, it needs to prove its worth.
Read More on Digital Doughnut.
The Top 10 is compiled by the articles that created the most engagements onsite and shares on social media. We hope you enjoyed them and keep reading in 2015!
Predictiing The Eurovision 2014 Winner With Social Media
Colin Cheng’s annual foray into Europe and spreadsheets produced our most viewed article. We predicted three out of the top four winners (Austria, Sweden and Armenia) using social media. Social media now plays a vital role in TV events such as Eurovision, both in the run-up to and when it airs. Twitter has put itself at the forefront of this by encouraging users to #OwnTheMoment and launching a planner.
Read “Predicting the Eurovision 2014 Winner with Social Media”
Google Panda 4.0 In 2014 - What You Need To Know
No year is complete without a Google Algorithm update to send fear into every SEO heart. Over the last three years we’ve seen Panda change the search engine landscape. Focusing on poor content and over-optimisation, it has forced SEO practitioners to develop and optimise for humans, not an algorithm.
Press release websites such as BusinessWire.com and PRNewsWire.com saw rankings plummet overnight. eBay was also not immune to it losing almost 33% search visibility.
Read “Google Panda 4.0 in 2014”
Prediciting The World Cup 2014 Using Social Media
Following on from Colin’s success predictions, I attempted to apply it to football. I also unwittingly signed myself up to watching almost every single match…
Other companies such as Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs also attempted predictions and ultimately we all got it wrong (we all predicted Brazil). However, we were more successful than either at the group stage with a prediction rate of 50% (41% for Goldman Sachs and 46% for Bloomberg).
Our predictions fared better after this, or at least until the semi-final stage. It also did wonders for some team’s social media stats. Before the tournament Argentina was notably lacking but during the tournament they gained more traction on Facebook and Twitter.
Read “Predicting the World Cup 2014 using social media”
Top 4 Mistakes That Are Destroying Your Analytics
One of the most common mistakes we see is poorly set-up analytics accounts and focus on the wrong area of analytics.
Data is a valuable asset, especially your website’s. Spending time getting it right is important but neglected by some marketers.
As marketing budgets come under more scrutiny, proving digital’s worth can only happen with this data. Many of these issues can be resolved and be done without technical assistance.
Read “Top 4 mistakes that are destroying your analytics”
A Quick Guide To Twitter’s Analytics Dashboard
This year Twitter allowed all users to access an analytics dashboard to understand the impact of tweets and their reach. Unless you were advertising on the platform, it was all a mystery.
The dashboard gives users a better understanding of how many followers are seeing tweets, what content is engaging them (beyond just clicking through to your website) and any tweets that are under exposed.
There are some good features such as the 28-day average trends and we expect to see Twitter expand the dashboard in 2015.
Read “A quick guide to Twitter’s Analytics Dashboard”
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - Digital Marketing Case Study
Since the Hunger Games film series was released, we’ve been impressed with their well-thought out digital promotion.
A compelling part of the digital marketing strategy for the film has been dedicating almost half of the collateral to the Capital. This was used to break the fourth wall and create engagement with die-hard fans, as well as be more experiential.
Facebook Growth
The Hunger Games is an excellent example of how to create imaginative content and distribute it to a particular demographic (in this case Millennials and the generation after them).
Read “Mockingjay Part 1 - Digital Marketing Case Study”
3 Areas Your Digital Budget Must Be Invested In
Digital marketing budgets are set to rise again in 2015 but where should this extra money be spent?
Three key areas we identified are measurement, mobile and content promotion. Marketers are under pressure to prove digital’s worth (partly because it’s such a measureable channel) and insight must go beyond just Google Analytics.
Mobile and content promotion are not new areas but ones that many companies are still weak in. Serving the right content in the right format is critical for satisfying new and existing customers.
Email marketing platforms what one is
Read “3 areas your digital budget MUST be invested in”
Our Ultimate Local SEO Guide
Location is increasingly becoming an important part of a user’s search, especially on mobile.
Our guide looks at user’s search behaviour and search query tips, as well as giving our top local SEO tips and an ultimate list of citations.
Read “Our ultimate local SEO guide”
Email Marketing Platforms: What One Is Right For You?
Email marketing is still one of the most popular and effective channels for maintaining relationships with customers.
There are many email marketing platforms on the market – how do you know which one is best for you? Well, we’ve saved you some time in answering this by looking at the market leaders and weighing up the pros and cons of each.
Read “Email marketing platforms”
7 Steps To Getting Started With LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn’s ad platform is one of the best for targeting a B2B audience.
However, it’s often overlooked for more popular networks such as Google AdWords or Facebook. It requires a different set-up, but with the right method and template, you can get a campaign set up quickly.
We break this method down into 7 steps and even give you a handy template to download!
Read “7 steps to getting started with LinkedIn ads”
Originally posted on MintTwist blog
Read More on Digital Doughnut.