This year’s “spring” hasn’t done much to revive spirits from the slump of winter in Boston. Hope is on the horizon, though, because the sun did make a few appearances this week.
If we could send you on a sunny, warm and totally refreshing tropical vacation, we would. We’re here with the second-best option: The Content Marketing Weekly.
This edition is filled with new Facebook community guidelines, fresh perspectives on taking advantage of influencer marketing, tips for seeing how cool your pages are by Google’s standards and advice for refreshing your creative juices after falling into a slump.
Here are the industry’s fresh takes of the week:
Facebook Publishes Internal Enforcement Guidelines & Announces Appeal Process
How does Facebook decide who and what is allowed to live on the platform? The answers are in the Internal Enforcement Guidelines, which the social media giant just made public.
The guidelines are essentially a set of community standards, enforced by artificial intelligence, user reports and a team of content reviewers. The guidelines cover violence and criminal behavior, safety, objectionable content, integrity and authenticity, respecting intellectual property and content-related requests. That includes the hate speech, cruel and insensitive language and fake news that may have already led you to unfriend or unfollow a few accounts in your personal experience with the platform.
Policing member speech can be a touchy field, which is why Facebook released an expanded appeal process alongside the guidelines. Here’s how it works: Facebook notifies users when their post has been removed due to community standard violation, and gives them the option to request additional review. A member of Facebook’s team will review the post and restore it to the platform if the violation is deemed a mistake.
Head over to Search Engine Journal for more on the reaction from social media professionals, and read the official press release from Facebook here.
Brands Hesitated With Marketing on Social Media, and They’re Doing the Same With Influencers
It’s easy to make a case for influencer marketing – it leads to quality content creation and valuable organic reach. But brands are hesitating to jump on board the influencer train, for reason such as:
- Skepticism of influencer authenticity.
- $$$$.
- Legal concerns.
- Brand safety.
However, Adweek is here to quell those concerns with the top four things to consider when choosing an influencer:
- Identification.
- Measurement.
- Management.
- Amplification.
Identification includes finding the perfect match – someone who aligns with the brand goals while also deciding whether micro-influencers or celebrity macro-influencers are the right move for brand needs. The article points out that original metrics used for social media were solely related to engagement rather than business objectives, and influencer marketing measurement can easily fall prey to the same mistake.
Brands can alleviate pressures by addressing legal requirements, sponsorship disclosure, terms and conditions and payment at the start of the relationship. Remember that to leverage the influencer content in other campaigns and collateral, it must be specified in the terms and conditions.
Read the full story on unlocking the potential of influencer marketing for your brand here.
How to Find the Date Google Associates to Any URL (and Why You Need to Know)
How fresh is your page? Recently published or updated content tends to get a more favorable ranking from Google.
That’s great – except freshness is not always obvious because Google sometimes doesn’t display dates in search results. That makes it difficult to determine which verticals or search queries are most affected by freshness ranking. Plus, even if you’ve refreshed content on your end, you’ll only get a boost in rankings if Google recognizes the update.
Here’s how to confirm if Google took note of your last update:
- Create a Google custom search engine.
- Use Google’s “Tools” search option.
- Copy the URL and add “&as_qdr=y15” (without the quotes) to the search.
Along with checking if Google updated the date on your content, you can gather insight into this ranking factor. That allows you to predict whether freshness is affecting how your pages rank.
Head over to Search Engine Journal for more details and step-by-step guides for each method.
27 Ideas to Break Your Creative Slump
It happens to the best of us. One day we’re sharp, witty and creative content creators. The next, we’re asking ourselves: “What are words?” “How does one write?” “Infographic, video or both?” “How did I ever come up with good ideas?”
This feeling is more commonly known as the dreaded creative slump.
No need to fear: Content Marketing Institute asked marketers to share their methods for breaking out of inevitable creative ruts.
Some of our favorites included:
- Play with LEGO blocks.
- Revisit old content.
- Write out ideas by hand.
- Grab an adult coloring book – and feel free to go outside the lines.
- Say om with meditation.
- Hand wash the dishes.
Check out the rest of the slump-breaking tactics here.
Sometimes all you need to hit refresh on the creative thinking is stepping away from it entirely (TGIF). Have a fabulous weekend and keep these tricks up your sleeve to start next week on the right creative foot.
