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We’ve known since late 2020 that Apple iOS had some privacy updates in store for us, and they are finally here. If you haven’t already made changes to adapt your remarketing strategy, there are still some things you can do.

About the Privacy Updates

Before looking at how to adapt to the changes, make sure you understand what changes occurred and why Apple made them.

Previously, if an iOS user wanted to opt-out of having an app collect browsing data, they had to go to settings and manually opt-out. With the update, opting-out becomes the default, not opting-in. When users download an app on iOS 14, they will be asked for permission to share and collect data via a prompt.

This is important for marketing because that data helps you personalize your app and do so much more. You use that data for personalization, segmentation, retargeting, exclusion targeting, and lookalike audiences, among other functions.

That means that if your users opt-out, you will lose the ability to perform all of those functions, or at least the effectiveness of doing so. It can have a particularly strong effect on your Facebook marketing, as the social media platform uses many of those features in its advertising capabilities.

Why Apple Changed Its Privacy Policy

The reason for the update comes down to privacy. Apple prides itself on being a “privacy-first” company and this is just one step in the process of ensuring that is the case.

Now that you know what these privacy updates are and the reasons behind them, it’s time to tweak your remarketing strategies. This will minimize the impact of the privacy update on your marketing efforts while helping your business adapt.

Below are some tips you can follow.

1. Verify Your Domain on Facebook’s Business Manager

If you haven’t already done so, go to your Facebook Business Manager account and verify your domain. If you skip this step, you may not be able to configure conversion events on Facebook.

2. Expand Your Customer Acquisition Channels

While the update will affect every app on iPhones and iPads, you should expect to see a more significant impact on your Facebook advertising than other platforms. This is because of the way Facebook uses cookies and data.

The best way to overcome this is to expand your customer acquisition channels, especially if your focus was primarily on Facebook. Even if you already have several customer acquisition channels, consider adding a few more. After all, each will likely become slightly less effective if you rely on cookies.

3. Go All-In on Email Marketing

The privacy update is also the perfect opportunity to boost your email marketing strategy. You can use email for many of the same remarketing tasks you would do with other types of ads, such as offering discounts, sharing sales, and sharing product tutorials. You can also use email marketing to recover abandoned carts, request reviews, and more.

Most importantly, email marketing strategies don’t rely as strongly on tracking and cookies. Instead, these methods have more to do with purchases and registration. You may even segment your email audience via surveys or sign-up forms.

That being said, remember that some of your email marketing efforts, including segmentation and abandoned product emails, do rely on cookies.

4. Get Data from Other Sources

When talking about email marketing, we hinted at some other sources of data, such as surveys or asking questions in sign-up forms. Use these and other methods to get the data you can no longer count on from iOS.

One excellent source is your website’s metrics. Your website will already be monitoring where visitors come from and what they do on your website. While you won’t be able to connect those actions to specific users, you can still see general trends.

If you want to focus on sign-up forms and self-reported data, create more landing pages. Or consider using chatbots to interact with users and then creating lookalike audiences based on those interactions.

5. Focus Your Efforts on Android Devices

You should also keep in mind that while a lot of people have iPhones, even more use Android devices. This means that even if you no longer have access to some of the data you use for retargeting iPhone users, you still have that data for Android users. If you focus your efforts on Android devices, you should be able to make up for at least some of the loss of data from iOS users.

Conclusion

With the latest privacy update, iOS users have to opt-in to share their data with you. This may limit your ability to target, segment, and personalize content. But you can overcome this by getting data from other sources and expanding your marketing channels, along with a few other simple strategies.

The right blog can help your company grow by attracting new customers and positioning you as a leader in the industry. Because of this, many businesses create blogs. But often, business owners do not have an idea of how to develop the blog to help their company be the best it can be. Here are a few things to consider applying to your blog for more success.

1. Define Your Reader

Understanding who comes to your site will help you provide the information they are seeking. Without a defined audience, it is impossible to create topics that will keep them engaged. Take the time to brainstorm who your ideal clients are. Consider the following:

• Who your audience is
• What drives them
• What interests them
• What questions and problems do they have
• How can you help them with these issues
• What information do they want

2. Use Keywords

Once you have an audience in mind, you can create possible topics for your blogs and use the right keywords. Keywords will help your content appear in search engine results. Keywords will also help you create content around what your readers want. You can use keyword research tools like Google Analytics and SEMRush to help find what keywords are used most often.

Using these specific words in your articles will help with keeping your content fresh as well as ensuring your blog achieves higher rankings in search engine result pages. The trick is to remember to use keywords naturally and you will reap the results.

3. Internal Links are Key

Once you get the hang of blogging, you can work on adding internal links to your blog posts. These internal links help introduce your other post to readers, potentially boosting engagement. You also keep the traffic moving through your blog posts, helping your site stay in the search engine result pages.

Placing these internal links can also help your SEO or search engine optimization strategies as well. Do not forget to go back and link your older posts to your newer ones as well for the most benefit.

4. Add Multiple Media Items

Adding multiple forms of media to your blog posts will help your readers interact and spend more time reading your material. Add videos where they make sense or pictures of graphs and other items to hold your readers’ interest throughout your posts.

As you do this, remember to pay attention to copyright. There are many places you can find photos and images you can use royalty-free. Remember to optimize these images as well for the most benefit.

Slideshows, vlogs, and other types of media will help keep your blog fresh. You can even create infographics for your blog, something which can also earn you incoming traffic from other websites.

5. Titles and Meta Descriptions Are Important

Limited to just 155 characters, a meta description provides a short explanation of what readers can expect from your post. These descriptions are typically displayed on search engine result pages, right under the titles of blog posts. In most cases, you want a meta description to contain the keywords you used in your post. The same goes for your posts’ titles.

With a mindfully crafted title and meta description, you can convince your readers to click through to your blog post and read your content. Ultimately, this results in more traffic for your business’ blog.

6. Make Easy-to-Read Content

Every writer assumes that their work is easy to read. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Make sure to be aware of keeping your sentences short and to the point. However, add variety to your sentence length where necessary. This may seem confusing, and it is. The good news is that there are many free online tools for checking the readability of your content.

You can use tools such as Grammarly or Hemmingway to find out how readable your content is. You can even use the stylistic proofreading tools built into your preferred word processing platform; Word, for example, can provide suggestions for style as well as grammar. Readers like to scan their articles and a simple-to-read article is ideal.

The Bottom Line

Applying the above advice, you may notice that your blog ranks higher on search engine results and does a better job at bringing visitors to your website. That rise in brand recognition should also boost your small business’ performance.

Influencer marketing has become a big industry. Estimated to be worth $1.7 billion in 2016, the industry has grown exponentially since then and is now expected to reach almost $14 billion by 2022. It goes without saying that influencer marketing is here to stay. As more platforms like TikTok emerge and mint new influencers, so do the opportunities for brands looking to target this marketing channel.

While influencers exist on just about every social media platform, it’s Instagram that has played a major role in the development and progress of this industry. The Facebook-owned social network is very content forward. It prioritizes photo and video content. That has enabled influencers to build communities around their specific niches by showcasing their skills, talent, etc.

Instagram influencer marketing is also a great fit for businesses in many niches. For example, fashion brands collaborate intensively with influencers on Instagram. A lot of people look for new fashion products on this social network so spending their marketing dollars there becomes a no brainer for brands. The same holds true for other niches like fitness, travel, wellness, etc.

The Instagram influencer pricing dilemma

This is something that many brands that are just starting out with Instagram influencer marketing struggle with. How do you quantify the rates that these influencers ask for a post or story? Never make the mistake of simply looking at the followers counts. That’s actually one of the worst metrics you can consider when deciding how much to pay an influencer.

It’s no secret that follower counts can easily be manipulated. There’s no shortage of services that sell fake Instagram followers so that people can show that they have a large following when in reality they don’t.

An easy way to spot an artificially inflated follower count is to look at the engagement on posts. If an influencer appears to have a million followers but barely gets a hundred or so likes and comments on their posts, there’s a high chance that their follower count isn’t accurate.

This is just one of the multiple factors that should be considered when working out Instagram influencer pricing. There are also other factors that may be less quantitative but can help in reaching a decision. They include factors such as access to a niche audience, talent and even celebrity status.

Tips on how to determine Instagram influencer pricing

• Understand the different tiers of influencers

Not all Instagram influencers are created equal. On one hand you have micro-influencers that have anywhere from 10K to 50K followers. The numbers might seem low but they often provide access to a highly targeted niche community. Micro influencers also tend to have a more loyal and engaged following.

The mid-tier influencers are ones that have up to 1 million followers while the mega influencers have over 1 million. Those in the mega tier are at the upper echelon, they’re the ones that drive trends on Instagram and expect to be paid handsomely in the process.

When trying to determine Instagram influencer pricing, make sure you first understand what tier of influencer best suits your campaign goals. There’s no point in shelling out the big bucks for a mega influencer when you could have a far better conversion rate with a micro influencer that charges way less for a campaign.

• Always look at the engagement rate

The engagement rate is an important metric that tells you just how well sponsored posts do with an influencer’s audience. It shows whether the people who follow them even care about the content they share.

There’s a simple formula that you can use to calculate the engagement rate of an influencer: (likes + comments) / followers x 100. The industry generally views an engagement rate of between 1% to 3% as favorable.

If it’s below that, the influencer’s audience is deemed to be not interested enough in what they have to say. If the influencer that you want to work with demands a higher price than appears to be justified by their engagement rates, you can use that to negotiate and strike a deal that gets the best possible ROI for your brand.

• Choose the content type that’s they’re good with

There are many content categories on Instagram that can be used to collaborate with influencers. Some might be great with taking photos but not videos. Others may not be comfortable doing an Instagram Live show. Some may show great creativity on Instagram Reels.

A collaboration that only requires images and not video is obviously going to cost less since there’s less work for the influencer to do. When deciding how much to pay them, look at the type of content that they’re good with.

This ensures that your campaign gets the full benefit of their creative energies and that the content they produce is something that their audience already appreciates and is familiar with.

• Don’t forget about the agency fees

A lot of influencers only work through marketing agencies that obviously charge a service fee. If you’re collaborating with one that uses an agency, chances are their campaign rates are going to be much higher than one that deals with brands directly.

Now there are positives to working with agencies that specialize in influencer marketing. However, for some brands it may not be feasible, particularly if they’re operating on a tight budget.

In that case, work with influencers that prefer to deal with brands themselves. This removes the agency’s cut from the equation and provides a more cost effective solution.

Remember, there’s always room for negotiation

Brands understand that influencer marketing is an important avenue for them to explore. It’s a great way to reach out to a highly targeted and motivated community that responds well to recommendations from the person that they’re following.

This places incredible power in the hands of people who have built communities on social networks like Instagram. Influencers are thus able to demand top dollar for access to their audiences. Since this is a very competitive market, you’ll find that most influencers don’t make their fees public online.

It’s only once you reach out to them and establish a line of communication that you find exactly how much it would cost to collaborate with them. A rule of the thumb is that the greater the number of followers and engagement an influencer has, the higher their rates are going to be.

However, brands shouldn’t forget that there’s always room for negotiation. Influencers also prefer long term collaborations with brands that they believe in or want to support. This enables them to offer consistent recommendations to their audience and that helps build confidence in the brand.

You can negotiate with your influencer of choice on a variety of metrics, content types, creative angles and more to strike a collaboration that rewards them appropriately for their work while also ensuring a good ROI for your marketing dollars.

One of the many marketing challenges small businesses face is trying to grow their email lists. The larger your email list is, the larger your reach and therefore the more potential purchases you will generate. But it can be hard to convince people to give you their email addresses. This is especially true with so much spam being sent.

The good news is that there are some methods, both simple and complex, that can help small businesses build their email lists.

1. Develop Compelling Content

One of the most important things to do when building an email list is to make sure that subscribers will be interested in the content you send them. After all, just the act of providing them with quality, relevant information should encourage them to sign up. This is the reason that people sign up for emails from news platforms; they want the content. You just have to figure out what that interesting content looks like for your audience.

2. Run a Contest

Creating a contest that requires submitting an email address is a simple yet very effective way of getting those addresses. The contest can be as simple or involved as you want. You can just ask for email addresses and choose one at random to get a free item or service from your store.

You can also get creative and ask people to share something else, like a photo or funny story on social media, to participate. Just remember to ask for an email address as well. When choosing the format of the contest and the prize, think about your customer base and what they likely want.

3. Try Other Freebies (Or Lead Magnets)

Contests aren’t the only type of offer that will encourage people to give you their email addresses. Offering something for free in exchange for an email address is called using a lead magnet.

Other examples include eBooks, product samples, coupons, free trials, and access to podcasts, webinars, and templates. Or give subscribers early access to features or products. Once again, think about your audience and what would appeal to them, as well as what works for your product. The best lead magnets are high-value ones.

4. Create Landing Pages

For the best results, consider making a landing page for your lead magnet or for your email list. This page should have the single goal of getting people to submit their email addresses. It keeps things simple and encourages visitors to take the desired action.

For the best results, incorporate social proof, make the copy customer-centric, and have one prominent call to action.

5. Put Pop-ups on Your Website

While pop-ups asking for an email address are annoying, they also work. This is a great way to get the attention of anyone visiting your website. You can keep the form simple and just ask for an email address to encourage them to sign up for a newsletter. Or you can use it to offer a lead magnet or announce a contest.

6. Advertise Lead Magnets on Social Media

Your website shouldn’t be the only place that you advertise your lead magnets. You also want to advertise them on social media. You can do this via posts on your social media pages as well as via paid advertising.

7. Add Social Sharing Buttons

Take a look at the emails that you send out. If you don’t already have social sharing buttons, add them. One study found that social sharing buttons may boost click-through rates up to 158%. They are great for your SEO rankings, customer experience, and attracting new potential customers.

8. Encourage Referrals

Another option is to encourage referrals and subscriptions. For example, you could set up a referral program with discounts for both the person referring and the person being referred.

9. Attend Local Events

If your business regularly attends local events, use those as an opportunity to grow your email list. You can offer attendees lead magnets, including physical freebies and those mentioned above. Anytime your company is in the public eye at an event, try to get email addresses.

10. Limit What You Ask For

People are already hesitant about sharing information online, so don’t ask them for too much. Stick to their name, email address, and of course their permission. In addition to showing that you respect their privacy and alleviating security concerns, this also means that they can sign up very quickly.

If you follow these methods to drive customers to share their email addresses, you’ll be one step closer to growing your business.

The larger your email list is, the larger your reach and therefore the more potential purchases you will generate. Here are methods that can help you build it.

Building backlinks to your website is just one of many important steps to boost your SEO rankings and bring more people to your website. Small businesses may feel intimidated by the idea of link building, not knowing where to start. Once you break it down into various tips, however, it becomes clear that while link building will take some effort, it is something any small business owner or marketing person should be able to handle. To get the best results, keep the following tips in mind.

1. Develop High-quality, Useful Content

Your number one priority for link building should be to create high-quality content. Remember, it should be content that people want to share. This is the absolute best way to get organic links. This content doesn’t have to be written either. In addition to blog posts, it can be podcasts, infographics, how-to guides, tutorials, videos, and more.

• Reuse What You Have

If you already have some content from other marketing efforts, take advantage of it! You can combine and repurpose content in a fresh way.

• Promote Your Content

Just creating the right content won’t be enough; you also need to get it out there. To do so, find out what social media platforms your audience uses and promote on there.

2. Create Some Local Content

The challenge with creating high-quality content is the level of competition you will face. The good news is that the competition reduces if you focus on more local or specific issues. For example, a bike store could make a blog post or video about great local bike paths. Think about topics that are relevant to your business and community.

3. Get Ideas From Keyword Research

Typically, keyword research is done so you can include those keywords in your content marketing or bid on ads for them. This is a related idea, but a bit different. Essentially, you want to look at keywords to see what your audience is searching for. Specifically, pay attention to the intent behind the search. Then, use this to create the content that they want.

By creating quality content, you should automatically generate some backlinks.

4. Write Guest Posts

While putting high-quality content on your company’s website is useful, it isn’t your only option for building backlinks. You should also consider guest posts or appearing as a guest on a podcast or something similar. Just remember to focus on delivering useful and interesting content, not on backlinks. The backlinks should come naturally.

5. Work With Other Local Businesses

As a small business, you get a unique opportunity to build connections with other local businesses. You can then promote each other and become strategic partners. You share their content, and they share yours. If someone asks for a recommendation, you recommend them, and they do the same.

6. Work With Local Bloggers and Influencers

Don’t limit yourself to working with other “traditional” businesses. Consider working with local bloggers or influencers as well. You could both benefit from a partnership. For example, you could give them free products in exchange for a post or set up an affiliate partnership where they earn commissions.

7. Be Active Locally

Another link building method that focuses on local connections is interacting with the community. Consider sponsoring an event or hosting events. Most local events will have a website and list your website on it if you sponsor them. This will also get your company’s name in the local papers and social media pages.

Remember that you aren’t limited to sponsoring one-time events. You can also look for opportunities to sponsor local non-profits in the long term.

8. Don’t Forget About Local Directories

You hopefully already listed your business on all the relevant local directories, as well as Yelp and Google My Business. If you haven’t, do so now. If you have, take a moment to confirm that all of the information on the listings is up to date.

Join Local Organizations to Get in More Directories

When looking for local directories you can have your business listed in, don’t forget about those from local organizations. For example, there may be a chamber of commerce focused on a particular demographic that you fit into.

With the help of these tips, you’ll be well on your way to building backlinks and increasing your audience.