Social Media Roundup: October 23, 2018

2019 Marketing Planning Guide

'Tis the season for planning your marketing campaigns and budgets for next year, now just over two months away. To help you think it through (if you haven't already done so!), an article in Target Marketing by Sarah Mannone offers some basic tips. There's also a free downloadable "2019 Marketing Communications Plan" template from Trekk. More specific details can be found in the article, but here are the categories she covers.

1. Revisit your buyer personas (consumer preferences shift)
2. Learn from 2018 (you've gathered plenty of data)
3. Document your objectives (break 2019 goals into concrete objectives)
4. Plan your marketing by channel (and by quarter)

Wallet Hub Credit Card Debt Study: Reduced Consumer Spending Ahead?

A study released last month on the state of American household credit card debt is not encouraging for businesses that rely on consumer spending to ring up daily sales. These numbers could (should?) affect consumer marketing plans for the coming year, from budgeting to which channels and target audiences to focus on. Here's an early warning indicator from the report, "Credit Card Debt Study: Trends and Insights": Only four times in the past three decades have we overspent so much in a year. Here are three other main findings from the study, which is packed with data, graphs, and charts, including the biggest Q2 increases by city.

• Outstanding credit card debt is at the second-highest point since the end of 2008.
• The $29.8 billion in credit card debt that we incurred during Q2 2018 is 24% above the post-Great Recession average. It is also the fourth highest Q2 accumulation since 2008.
• We ended 2017 with $91.8 billion in new credit card debt, most for a year since 2007 and 104% above the post-Great Recession average.

Have You Heard? Voice Search Is Taking Over! (Are You Prepared?)

The quick acceptance of voice-activated devices into homes is already changing how consumers search and buy. This article from Yext, "Voice Search To-Do List," includes statistics backing up the rapid growth of these devices, but more importantly contains a list of what you can do to get in on the action. First, a couple of stats from the article:

• 37% of Americans own a voice-enabled digital assistant (eMarketer)
• By 2020, an estimated 50% of all searches will be completed by either speech or image search (Search Engine Land).

Now for 5 things you can do to prepare for what's predicted to be the new - and preferred - way for customers to search and shop:

• Take control of your digital knowledge by: 1) establishing a single, centralized source of truth for your data; 2) keeping public-facing data on your own site and app up to date; and 3) claiming and updating your third-party listings.
• Make sure your site is mobile-friendly by: 1) optimizing your entire site for mobile; 2) keeping resources "crawlable"; 3) testing your page load time; 4) prioritizing the mobile user experience; and 5) testing your site using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test Tool.
• Structure your data to make it easy for search engines and consumers by: 1) adding schema tags to critical business data on your website (address, hours, phone, reviews, etc.; and 2) testing your structured data using Google's Structured Data Testing Tool.
• Make your site secure by: 1) asking your hosting provider to move you to secure hosting; and 2) researching https best practices--and following them.
• Optimize your content for voice search by: 1) making sure the length of your answer matches the complexity of the question; 2) formulating the answer appropriately; 3) write in a way that sounds natural when spoken; and 4) creating a unique persona for your brand.

Social Media Examiner - 5 Articles from a Longtime SMM Resource

Social Media Examiner has been a resource for all things social since its founding in 2009. SME's stated mission is "to help you navigate the constantly changing social media jungle." And, as any savvy consumer marketing pro knows, any help is welcome. Offerings include original articles, interviews, original research and reports, "how-to" tips, news, a social media marketing podcast, a weekly live video show, and an annual conference. To get you started, here's a sampling of 5 recent articles from the website.

• How To Promote Your Blog Posts with Facebook Dynamic Ads -- Do you want more people to read your blog? Learn how to set up a product catalog of articles you can automatically promote with a FB dynamic ad campaign.
• How To Do an Instagram Giveaway: Ideas and Tips -- Wondering how to run an IG contest? Looking for giveaway ideas you can adapt? Find tips and inspiration to help you plan a successful Instagram competition that supports your marketing goals.
• 4 Ways To Improve Your B2B Facebook Ads -- Does your company target other businesses? Wondering how to use Facebook ads to connect with prospects? Discover four ways to use Facebook ads to reach B2B customers.
• Social Media Advertising: New Research for Marketers -- Wondering if it still pays to advertise on social media these days? Looking for data to show you where you should be investing your ad spend? Discover insights that reveal how fellow marketers are planning their social advertising and which platforms offer new space for ad placement.
• Pinterest Strategy: How To Get More Traffic from Pinterest -- Want more visitors to your website? Wondering how Pinterest can help? Find out how to improve the visibility of your pins with hashtags, and discover how fresh images and multiple boards help you boost website traffic.