If you are looking to outrank and outperform within organic search, link building is essential. However, there are many misconceptions about effective, safe link-building strategies and exactly how brands can harness links to propel their Google rankings, trust and authority in 2022.

Improve your strategy by joining 17-year SEO veteran, Jon Lightfoot of StrategicSEOSolutions.com, who uncovers the most effective link-building strategies and the metrics that matter. Rise above the competition with creative, effective and sustainable link-building strategies.

To learn more, register today for “Building Trust, Builds Brands: SEO Link-Building Strategies That Work” presented by Strategic SEO Solutions.

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Google has announced that dedicated Gmail campaigns will no longer run as of June 28. The company notified affected advertisers about this change via email on January 18. You may also see the announcement within your Google Ads interface (shown below).

The “Learn more” link in the screenshot above points to the “About Discovery campaigns” help page. Tip of the hat to @PPCGreg on Twitter for bringing this to our attention.

Why we care

Google broadcasted this change when it announced that standalone Gmail campaigns would become “read-only” beginning in July 2021. Since then, advertisers haven’t been able to create new or edit existing standalone Gmail ads or campaigns.

Now, we have an official deprecation date. Advertisers that still rely on their standalone Gmail campaigns should find other alternatives (such as Discovery campaigns) to test out well ahead of the deadline so that they can minimize any performance impacts before June 28 comes around.

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Twitter is launching three new ad products designed to improve performance for campaigns aimed at driving site traffic, the company announced Tuesday.

Site Visit Optimization is a new optimization goal for finding and serving ads to the audiences that are most likely to convert. Aggregated Measurement provides conversion metrics for audiences that have opted out of iOS tracking. And, the Events Manager is where advertisers can manage their Twitter Website Tag and associated web-based conversion events.

Why we care. During testing, Site Visit Optimization outperformed existing offerings and saw an average lower cost-per-site-visit of 31%, according to Twitter-funded advertiser tests. Results can vary, so testing it out for yourself can help you determine if it’s right for your brand or clients.

Aggregated Measurement may give advertisers a more detailed picture of their campaign results. With Aggregated Measurement, Twitter said it saw a 31% increase in attributable site visit conversions in Twitter Ads Manager, across advertisers. This feature may be an improvement for advertisers that have seen their attribution impacted by Apple’s App Tracking Transparency. 

Site Visit Optimization. Twitter is introducing Site Visits Optimization, a new goal under the Website Traffic objective (formerly the Website Clicks & Conversions objective). This goal is designed to find and serve your ads to the audiences that are most likely to visit your site.

This goal uses Twitter’s Website Tag, which (when enabled) tracks actions that users take on an advertiser’s site so that they can be attributed to their Twitter campaign.

Aggregated Measurement. This feature is meant to provide conversion metrics (by counting events in aggregate) for audiences that have opted out of iOS tracking. Advertisers will be able to see an aggregated view of site metrics and conversion events within their Twitter Ads Manager Reporting.

Events Manager. The Events Manager is Twitter’s hub for managing Website Tags and their associated web-based conversion events.

The platform plans to integrate App-based events into Events Manager at some point this year.

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Launching new loan products is a great way to boost your bottom line this year. But to be successful, you’ve got to get the word out!

Over the years, many excellent loan products have underperformed simply because lenders failed to properly advertise them. If you want to avoid a similar fate, then it is vital to start spreading the news well ahead of the product launch.

In order to help, we have created this simple guide. By using the tips below, you can generate plenty of buzz about your latest offers, helping more borrowers to take advantage of your programs.

Launch a Social Media Campaign

While traditional digital advertising is still useful, social media marketing is all the rage these days. Marketing on social media platforms is especially useful for loan officers. After all, the mortgage industry is all about forging relationships with prospective borrowers.

As you’re planning your campaign, make sure that you don’t overstretch your resources. Instead, focus on one or two channels and develop a cohesive strategy. Your plan should involve a good mix of paid advertisements and organic traffic.

If your social media pages don’t have a large following, then you will need to rely a bit more heavily on paid ads. These ads can fill the gap while you work on earning more followers. 

Take Advantage of Mailing Lists

With all of the hype around social media ad campaigns, some mortgage brokers end up neglecting their mailing lists. This is a huge mistake, as email marketing campaigns can actually produce great results.

Remember to keep messages short. Your subject line should grab the reader’s attention and encourage them to open the message. Don’t get too flashy, though, as this can cause your email to be sent right to the “spam” folder.

Make sure that you don’t send out messages too frequently. As you prepare to launch new loan products, limit your emails to about one a week. This will get the word out without annoying your target audience.

Host a Sweepstakes

As a mortgage broker, it is vital to building your following on social media. However, this process can take months or even years.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to jumpstart your efforts. All you need to do is host a contest.

To start, announce the contest that you are hosting on your social media pages. Within the post, lay out the conditions of the contest and clearly state what the prize will be. For instance, you can give the winner a $100 gift card to a popular restaurant or retail store.

In order to enter, require users to do things like follow your page, tag a friend, or share your post. This simple but effective tactic can help you increase your number of followers in a matter of days.

Marketing Made Easy with BNTouch

Are you at a loss when it comes to marketing your products or services? If so, BNTouch is here to help. Our innovative CRM platform offers a full suite of tools designed specifically for loan officers.

In addition to electronic document management and post-funding tools, our platform also includes over 170 e-marketing campaigns. These campaigns are a great way to increase your online exposure and acquire new leads.

Contact us to learn more about this exciting technology or to schedule a free demo today!

The post Launching New Loan Products in 2022? How to Get the Word Out appeared first on .

It goes without saying that the past year has been a time of momentous change for marketers. In previous articles, I addressed how CMOs and leaders have had to navigate an array of emerging trends, from new digital demands and customer preferences to growing workforce dispersion and diversity. These shifts have undoubtedly reshaped the marketing landscape as we know it and led leaders to seek new operating models and digital solutions to keep pace.

Now, as ongoing global disruption ushers in a new digital and hybrid era, it’s time for leaders to embrace that there’s no turning back. According to McKinsey, the future of work is hybrid, and Forrester dubbed 2022 the “year to be bold” as demands only grow stronger. Strategic marketing leaders must reshape their agenda in line with these new realities to find success this year.

So, where should leaders focus as they reenvision their organizations for the road ahead? Let’s look at the top four areas leaders must prioritize to gain a competitive advantage in 2022:

1. The cost of ineffective communication: Overcome the growing business impact of poor communication to adapt and scale.

Success in a digital workplace requires agility to reinvent operations, but one essential—and overlooked—factor hinders marketers from driving growth: ineffective communication.

In fact, new data released by Grammarly and The Harris Poll estimates U.S. businesses lose up to $1.2 trillion annually due to poor workplace communication—or $12,506 per employee every year. This is especially true for communications-heavy functions like marketing. And now, evolving workforce and customer demands are continuing to amplify the impact of poor communication across organizations.

From the surge of e-commerce and omnichannel to the rapid adoption of new digital tools, brands and customers are showing up and interacting in more ways and places than ever before. In this landscape, achieving clear, compelling, and consistent communication—no matter the channel or context—is critical for both productivity and engagement.

By building a foundation of effective communication internally and externally, leaders will build resilience to grow faster, control costs, and create reimagined experiences for customers and employees alike.

2. CX as a growth driver: Address ongoing market disruptors by delivering exceptional experiences that balance quality and efficiency.

New market disruptions are driving a renewed focus on the brand and customer experience, at a time when it’s increasingly critical to business success.

As consumer spending continues to overwhelm supply chains, experts predict that inflation and higher prices will continue to worsen. This will lead to a far higher bar in customer expectations to pay those prices. In response, CX will reach a critical turning point this year as business and marketing leaders must double down on the customer experience to justify rising costs and keep pace with demands.

Success for brands will come down to a delicate balance of meeting customer expectations with both quality and efficiency—i.e., keeping up with high spending patterns while delivering a better, more consistent experience. Leaders must overcome unwanted brand variability across channels and equip teams with the right tools to quickly and consistently meet customer needs.

Those who deliver consistently compelling experiences will gain an advantage so that when supply chains normalize, they’ve cemented a loyal customer base.

3. The rise of employee empowerment: Engage employees—and customers—by building an empowered work environment that promotes confidence.

Marketers can no longer ignore that the employee and customer experience are inextricably linked. Successful CX depends on first building engaged, productive teams who effectively represent the brand.

But from the “Great Resignation” that shows no signs of slowing down to increasing globalization creating more cross-cultural teams, it’s never been more challenging to engage and retain all employees. In a world where employees have increasing choice, delivering exceptional employee experiences will become a foremost differentiator. In fact, research shows business leaders are prioritizing employee satisfaction and retention this year—ahead of team productivity and customer satisfaction. 

Leaders that deliver a new, location-agnostic approach to EX—i.e., reinventing experiences to be engaging and seamless, no matter the location or context—will come out ahead. Employee empowerment will be at the core of this approach as leaders must embrace new tools and strategies designed to enhance employees’ potential, grow their confidence, and help them be more productive wherever they are.

This focus on empowerment will underpin the digital workplace, lead to new customer and brand experiences, and redefine productivity with experience at the center. 

4. Empathy as an imperative: Prioritize the human connection to meet customer and employee needs.

In many ways, the constraints of the past two years often made interactions more impersonal and transactional. This lack of human connection has left customers and employees alike desiring more empathy and emotionally sensitive support from employers and brands.

But that’s a daunting task when paired with the shift to a hybrid workplace and influx of digital touchpoints that have cropped up in recent months. This leaves marketers with a dual challenge: Keep pace with the sheer amount of interactions happening across systems while delivering higher quality in all of those engagements.

In response, leaders must invest in empathy in the workplace as a strategic business priority. Human-centric technologies play a vital role in this process by helping teams move faster while maintaining the humanity of a brand. With automated and integrated solutions like communication augmentation platforms, leaders can infuse more of a human touch, strike the right tone, and create more genuine connections with employees and customers in all the places they’re already engaging.

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As we tread forward, CMOs and marketing leaders must embrace that uncertainty is the only constant they can expect. As Forrester emphasized, the time to be bold is now—and tremendous opportunity awaits for those who reimagine the status quo.

By focusing on the above areas—investing in effective communication, delicately balancing new customer and employee needs, and prioritizing empathy and human connection—marketers will be well-poised to adapt and grow this year and beyond.

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For more on how to reimagine success in the hybrid-work era and the business impact of poor communication, download the report, “The State of Business Communication: The Backbone of Business Is Broken,” and visit www.grammarly.com/business. 

This sponsored article was written by Dorian Stone, head of organizations revenue, Grammarly.

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