The Wax Blog
16 Jan The Wax Blog makes new list of top social media and marketing blogs
This isn't even a humble brag - it's a full-on total brag. We were blown away to see the list from TryLately.com and the Lately Blog of the Top 50 Social Media and Marketing Blogs to follow of 2018. The new list includes most of our heroes...
16 Jan Vital Epiphanies in Software Delivery from Dr. Mik Kersten
Dr. Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop, recently published a book titled Project to Product: How to Survive and Thrive in the Age of Digital Disruption with the Flow Framework. In his book Dr. Kersten discusses The Flow Framework - a new approach for connecting the business to technology, which bridges the gap between business strategy and technology delivery. Dr. Kersten discusses three vital epiphanies he had that revolutionized how he thinks about software delivery. In this excerpt, he discusses these epiphanies and how his revised angle of attack benefited his business.
10 Jan Your Guide For Designing a Virtual Reality App
This past year, virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality technologies had a reasonably slow start, with the cancellation of major projects like Intel’s Project Alloy and the HTC Daydream headset. However, despite drawbacks like these, users and business owners alike still believe that VR has a bright future with a lot of potential. Some brands like Sony even saw their sales exceed expectations when it came to the release of their PlayStation VR headset, with over 3 million sold to date. Plus, by 2020, VR technology is projected to generate more than $20 billion in revenue, and reach a global market size of over $209 billion by 2022. Virtual reality, augmented reality and even mixed reality (MR) experiences are expected to dominate the digital space in the coming years. Why? Because 2D just doesn’t cut it anymore! We all remember the fire that Pokemon Go ignited — and it wasn’t just a frenzy, it was an international sensation. Users were enthralled that they could enter the Pokemon universe and interact with Pokemon in the streets, in their offices, and throughout their cities. And although the fire cooled to a slow ember for that game specifically, users still have a fascination and intrigue for VR, AR and MR technology. VR is the future of digital design and user experience. Are you ready? Brands Using Virtual Reality Business owners are looking into virtual reality not only for entertainment, but also to enhance their brand. Dozens of companies are currently working to integrate VR to their user experience, and some companies have already done so. A great example of a notable brand that’s welcoming web design services and VR into their UX is Lowe’s. Visualizing and conceptualizing home projects can be difficult, even when they’re illustrated. With the launch of their Lowe’s Holoroom, users can get an intuitive experience to constructing and viewing the room of their dreams thanks to VR and AR technology. IKEA is also a great example of a major brand embracing VR. However, instead of helping users visualize a room, they’re giving their customers the opportunity to go virtual reality shopping! Another company that’s offering VR experiences in a different way is YouVisit. YouVisit, an immersive tech company that’s powered by Aria, gives users the ability to dive into an immersive and interactive experience in 360°. You can participate in a virtual tour on a college campus, or view a hotel room all from VR goggles. Among their clients are colleges like Harvard University and Ohio State.
17 Dec How to Make Your CTAs Irresistible to Your Site Visitors
Let’s face it: The success of your marketing campaign relies heavily on how effectively you can get people to do something. Whether it’s to download a guide, join a webinar, or buy a product. Making irresistible CTAs not only encourages user engagement, but it also generates leads, cultivates customer relationships, and increases your website’s conversion rate. And with how internet-savvy the netizens have become, simply creating a site or a landing page that “looks good” just won’t cut it anymore. If you want to influence them to take action on your offers, you need to have a compelling CTA. In this post, we’ll be taking a closer look at how you can create CTAs for your website that visitors can’t ignore. Ready? Let’s get to it.
29 Nov 5 Tips for Giving Holiday Business Gifts
For B2B companies, particularly those in the services industry, deciding whether to send a gift during the holidays can be a difficult decision. Once the precedent has been set, it’s probably necessary to make it a tradition. Deciding what to give can be a pretty challenging endeavor as well. The following are five tips for giving holiday business gifts:- Decide the goal for giving a gift. Is it simply to say “thanks for your business?” Do you see it as an opportunity to reinforce or remind clients (or potential customers) about your company? Sometimes it’s simply because all your competitors provide gifts. Whatever the reason, make sure you know what you want to achieve. Simple thank you items don’t have to be expensive or even that memorable. Something that needs to reinforce the brand should be a bit more carefully designed. [pullquote]Lotus Biscoff is a great option for delicious, edible and customizable gifts for clients.Use the code WAXMKT to get 15% off any gift purchase at ShopBiscoff.com.[/pullquote]
- Determine the recipients of the gift. Are you providing something for the entire office, or is this a memorable gift for an important buyer? Do you need to order 100 or 1000? Understanding the quantities that you need to deliver can help make that decision, as logistics can be tricky with heavier or fragile items, or those that need to be refrigerated. Companies that provide customized treats can often be much more convenient, especially if they handle orders for multiple recipients.
27 Nov How Data-Driven Facebook Marketing Can Future Proof Businesses
When marketing is done, it’s not a matter of randomly coming up with campaigns out of the blue. It requires a strategy that works best when driven by supporting data. The same is true if you intend to do Facebook marketing. Facebook has proven that it has evolved from a mere social networking platform, but to an effective marketing platform as well. This is not only because of the large user base that Facebook has, but also because of the multiple tools that are geared to help make marketing in it more systematic, and more capable of achieving your goals. With that, data-driven Facebook marketing can help you achieve your desired results more efficiently.What is data-driven marketing?
Data-driven marketing is making use of relevant data to craft winning marketing strategies. Doing data-driven marketing involves the collection of data from your marketing campaigns, analyzing them, and using them to aid the creation of better campaigns in the future. The data you’ll collect not only involves the demographics of your target market but also how they reacted to your previous campaigns so that you will know how you will design your new marketing campaigns. When done correctly, data-driven marketing can allow you to improve your lead generation, and ultimately, your conversions.
26 Oct The Power of Ephemeral Content
At first glance, ephemeral content appears to be yet another buzzworthy trend making rounds throughout the marketing industry. But after making a disparaging remark at PRSA ICON recently, I was schooled by a few marketers who helped me explain why this type of content is so engaging. I'm not alone. ntroduced by Snapchat in 2011 these kinds of stories were met with overwhelming skepticism, as marketers struggled to make sense of this new type of temporarily available content. Traditionally, marketers have always focused on long-lasting, reusable content. Investing valuable resources into a medium that is available only for 24 hours seemed very counter-intuitive to me. However, the growing popularity of social media platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram meant that traditional strategies also had to evolve in order to remain effective, and more importantly, relevant. Ephemeral content has become a crucial part of any well-thought-out marketing strategy.What is ephemeral content?
11 Oct Twitter for Marketing – A Refresher
Twitter has been one of the biggest social media platforms for more than half a decade now, which means some of your potential customers are using it. 69 million people in the US are on Twitter, but what's more interesting is that nearly half use the social network every day. While this is a known fact, very few people know how to use Twitter for marketing a brand, product or service. You may have already realized that shooting out tweets about your business every five minutes brings nothing at the end of the day. But is that a reason to rule out the platform as an impracticable marketing channel? The point with Twitter is to gain influence and grow awareness but it can't be done by blatantly selling. You may have let your Twitter accounts languish in favor of Instagram or LinkedIn. But it's well worth your time to dive back in and take another look. In case you've forgotten, here is a refresher on how to use Twitter for marketing your brand and grow your influence.Showcase your brand
Your profile is the face of your business on Twitter. It is the first thing anyone scrutinizes whenever they bump into your handle on the platform. Too many brands don't focus on the profile aspect. With so much competition on social platforms and every startup hyping their business to look like an international brand, you would have to put some effort to prompt clicks from potential customers. Users are overwhelmed with options and the decision to take further action or continue scrolling is only a glance into your profile away. Use your business logo, if you have one, and avoid adding a personal touch to it. This will add to your credibility and earn your brand respect and recognition. Your bio should be short, formal and informative and all background photos should conform to your brand concept. Try a provocative call to action with a URL attached to it and use a unique landing page to measure your results. Change this up every couple of months or so, to see what works best and what doesn't. Use hashtags in your bio as well to draw attention from like-minded users.Above all, share interesting content
No one logs onto Twitter to look for a product to buy. On this channel, you're judged by the curation you keep. Most people who will come across your product will do it inadvertently while checking out tweets from friends and their favorite humor handles. To blend in seamlessly, use pictures and videos that users will enjoy without compromising the message in your tweet. This not only promises to capture the attention of your followers but also prompts them to share with their followers which attract views and clicks from people who are not in your follower list. Become an account that people follow as a news stream and influence will follow.Build your own Twitter community
If you’re starting to build your online presence, consider being the first one to follow people so they can follow back. Don’t go on following random handles. Find people who hold some benefit for your business. For starters you can follow related businesses, your customers, colleagues, competitors, and relevant influencers and handles with the information you find useful. Engage with the people you follow. Don’t just share information about your brand and product. Be active, like and re-tweet other people’s tweets. Tools like Buzzsumo can help find good folks to follow and keep you up to date on trends.Keep tweeting
