January Right Now Report
Staying ahead of the ever-evolving marketing landscape can feel overwhelming, especially when juggling daily operations. At Right Relations, we’ve got your back. We are the marketing experts so you don’t have to be.
The Right Now Report is your concise, no-frills guide to the latest updates and trends, tailored for busy professionals like you. In the January Report, we’re covering how you can unlock SEO success in 2024, the importance of influencer marketing and how to avoid using content unlawfully.
Unlocking SEO Success in 2024
Does SEO make your head spin? It can be difficult to understand Google’s ranking factors (how they decide where web pages show up in search results) due to limited access to their data and how they weigh these factors. We dug into Semrush’s recent “Ranking Factor ‘24” Report to give you high-level insights into how to get your content to perform better.
- Focus on making great content that fits what people want instead of worrying about counting keywords or constantly updating when your content was posted. Good quality and being relevant are what help you rank higher on Google and other search platforms. You can use resources like Answer the Public to gather insights into what people are searching for by providing common searches and topics related to particular keywords.
- While backlinks, links from another website to yours, from diverse domains are essential for building authority, it’s not just about quantity; focus on establishing your expertise over time.
- Improving organic rankings has a significant impact on traffic, small jumps can lead to substantial increases. Instead of focusing on pages that are ranking lower or not ranking at all, prioritize making the top-ranking pages even better to maintain or increase their visibility and performance in search results.
- When you write titles and descriptions on your website, don’t stress too much about using the exact words people search for. Just make sure what you say matches well with what your content is about and what folks are looking for.
Mastering Influencer Marketing
It seems that in 2024, influencer marketing will become an increasingly important strategy for reaching new audiences. Prioritizing smaller, engaged audiences and local influencers is becoming crucial. Short-form videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are dominating the scene. Authenticity, transparency, and user-generated content are pivotal for building trust. Tailoring these trends to your brand can significantly enhance your influencer marketing impact. To find influencers, you can utilize specialized platforms like Upfluence or Traackr, search for industry-relevant influencers, bloggers and vloggers on Google or on social platforms and seek recommendations from your network for potential influencers in your niche. You can also look for influencers specific to your community, such as local community leaders, artists, and micro-influencers with dedicated, specific followers who often hold considerable sway.
By finding influencers that’ll speak your mission, fostering genuine relationships, and creating meaningful collaborations, small businesses and nonprofits can effectively harness the power of influencer marketing to expand their reach and impact.
Using trending sounds on social? Don’t Miss the Beat on Music Permissions
Sony Music Entertainment has taken legal action against U.S. cosmetics brand OFRA, claiming that the brand used Sony’s music in Instagram and TikTok advertisements without obtaining the necessary permissions. Failure to obtain proper permissions, even unknowingly, could lead to hefty fines—up to $150,000 per unauthorized song. This takes us back to the 2021 Gymshark-Sony case where Gymshark used unlicensed music in ads, which underscored a crucial lesson that brands must secure proper permissions to use music even on social media.
Regardless of whether you’re a large corporation or a small business creating content, seeking permission from the music’s rightful owners is the safest route. While the case between Gymshark and Sony settled out of court with undisclosed details, the message resonates for all, especially social media users tapping into trending sounds. Just because a sound is viral doesn’t mean it’s free to use for your profit. It’s crucial to seek proper permissions before incorporating trending sounds into paid social media content.
What about organic content? The legal landscape surrounding sound use on organic social media is still evolving. Using sounds owned by others on organic social media depends on platform-specific policies, with TikTok generally allowing copyrighted sounds for non-commercial use and Instagram and Facebook being more restrictive, potentially leading to content removal. The type of sound matters, as original music and commercial recordings pose higher risks. To use sounds safely, check platform guidelines, use royalty-free or licensed sounds, give credit, and be aware of potential consequences. Despite lenient platform policies, copyright regulations apply, and unauthorized use may lead to legal issues.
Other updates we’re watching:
- Move over SEO…there’s a new optimization type to look out for – generative engine optimization (GEO). GEO tailors content for AI-powered search engines like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) or Bing, focusing on crafting content for personalized responses or generated content based on queries. GEO matters because it aims to optimize content for algorithms that actively create responses, offering a chance to reach users beyond traditional rankings. Best practices are still emerging, but we’re keeping an eye out because understanding GEO’s potential could be crucial for success in the future of search.
- Threads, a social platform in the Meta family, has officially launched in the European Union. Until now, it wasn’t available in the EU due to complexities with the Digital Markets Act, a law aiming to regulate tech giants. To comply, Meta lets EU users browse Threads without a profile, although posting still requires an Instagram account.
If you have any questions about these topics or would like support in implementing these trends in your own marketing strategy, we’re here to help. We’re committed to helping you navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing with ease.We’d love to hear from you!
Reach out today to explore how working with Right Relations can help you stay ahead of the curve and bring joy back to your marketing efforts. We’d love to hear from you!
