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ChatGPT is a powerful language model developed by OpenAI that can generate human-like text. However, as with any technology, there are certain pitfalls that users should be aware of when using it.

There’s no doubt this is a highly intelligent tool, ready to be used in some capacity but it’s not something we think is ready for agency use. So, with so much talk on LinkedIn about ChatGPT and how it could revolutionise the world of marketing, here’s the top 5 negatives we think need addressing before we can start to adopt this new technology.

1. Biass

One pitfall is the model’s tendency to generate biassed or offensive content. Since ChatGPT is trained on a large dataset of internet text, it may have learned biases and stereotypes that are present in the data. This can lead to the generation of offensive or discriminatory language. To combat this, users should be aware of the potential biases in the model and actively work to mitigate them by providing diverse training data and using bias-correction techniques.

2. Over-reliance

ChatGPT’s ability to generate human-like text can make it easy to rely on the model to generate content without proper editing and fact-checking. This can lead to errors and inaccuracies in the generated text. To avoid this pitfall, it’s key that users always review and edit the text generated by the model before using it in any critical application but then that’s relying on there being no human error.

3. Plagiarism

Since ChatGPT generates text that is similar to existing text, there is a risk that the generated text may be considered plagiarism. To avoid this, users should be aware of the source of the text generated by the model and properly cite any sources used – something not easily achieved.

4. Too general

ChatGPT is a large model trained on a wide range of text, it may not have the specialised knowledge required for certain tasks and so users should be aware of the model’s limitations and use it in tasks that are appropriate for its level of expertise.

5. Lack of understanding

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that ChatGPT is a machine learning model and it will not have the same level of understanding and ability to reason as a human. It can generate text based on patterns it has seen in its training data, but it doesn’t understand the meaning of the text it generates. Therefore, it should not be used to make critical decisions or in situations where a high level of understanding is required.

Summary

Anyone using this tool needs to be aware of potential biases and inaccuracies in the model, and actively work to mitigate them but that does leave a big risk especially when working for a third-party. They should also be aware of the model’s limitations and use it in appropriate tasks. Additionally, it is important to review and edit the text generated by the model before using it, and to properly cite any sources used to avoid plagiarism. As with any technology, it is important to use it responsibly and with caution.

Ad fatigue is a phenomenon in which audiences become less responsive to advertising over time and something we’re starting to see more often when talking with new clients. This can happen for a number of reasons, but it is most commonly seen in situations where audiences are exposed to the same ad or ads over and over again.

Volume of advertising online

One of the main reasons for ad fatigue is the sheer volume of advertising that audiences are exposed to on a daily basis. With the rise of digital media, audiences are constantly bombarded with ads from all directions, whether it’s on their social media feeds, on streaming platforms, or on websites they visit. This constant exposure can make it difficult for audiences to pay attention to any one ad, and can lead to them becoming desensitised to the messaging.

Repetition

When audiences see the same ad repeatedly, they are less likely to engage with it or remember it. This can be especially problematic for businesses that are trying to build brand awareness, as the ad may be seen as less effective in driving that engagement.

Relevancy

Audiences may also suffer from ad fatigue when they are exposed to ads that are not relevant to their interests or needs. This can happen when ads are targeted to a broad audience instead of a specific demographic or when the ad is not tailored to the audience’s needs or interests. This can lead to audiences feeling like they are being bombarded with irrelevant messaging, which can make them less likely to engage with the ad.

Ad types

Audiences may become less responsive to traditional display ads, such as banner ads, over time. This is because these types of ads are often seen as intrusive and can be easily ignored. On the other hand, audiences may be more likely to engage with native ads, which are ads that blend in with the content of the website they are on, because they are more subtle and less intrusive.

Summary

Overall, ad fatigue is a complex phenomenon that can be caused by a variety of factors. The key for brands is to be aware of these factors and to take steps to mitigate them. This can include using targeted advertising, using different types of ads, and varying the messaging and creative to keep things fresh.

Additionally, brands should also be mindful of the overall ad experience, and make sure that their ads are not intrusive or disruptive to the audience’s experience. By being aware of these factors and taking steps to mitigate them, brands can help to prevent ad fatigue and ensure that their advertising is effective in reaching and engaging their audiences.

In the world of digital marketing, content is often referred to as “king.” This is because the quality and relevance of the content that a business produces can have a significant impact on its online presence and ultimately, its bottom line.

Why it’s important

One of the main reasons that content is so important in digital marketing is that it is the primary way that you can attract and engage with your target audience. By creating valuable and informative content, you can establish yourselves as experts in your industry and build trust with your audience.

Search optimisation

Content is also crucial for improving your search engine rankings. Search engines, such as Google, use complex algorithms to determine which websites should appear at the top of search results for a particular keyword or phrase. These algorithms take into account factors such as the relevance, authority, and freshness of a website’s content. By producing high-quality and relevant content, you can improve your search engine rankings and increase your visibility to potential customers.

Building your reputation

By consistently producing valuable content, you can establish yourselves as thought leaders in your industry and position your brand as a trusted source of information. This can lead to increased brand awareness and loyalty among customers, as well as a stronger reputation among industry peers and influencers.

Quality

It’s not enough to simply produce any kind of content. The content must be relevant, valuable, and high-quality to be effective. This means that you must invest time and resources into researching and understanding your target audience, as well as producing content that meets their needs and interests.

Diversity

Another key aspect of effective content marketing is to produce a variety of content types. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, whitepapers, case studies, and more. By diversifying the types of content you produce, it can reach a wider audience and appeal to different learning styles.

Consistency

It’s important that you’re consistent in your content production. This means that you should aim to produce new content on a regular basis, whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly. This will help to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.

Choosing the right digital marketing agency can be a daunting task for any business – we know this because of the questions we get asked when we first meet a new client.

With so many options available, it can be difficult to determine which agency is the best fit for your company’s specific needs. However, by considering a few key factors, you can increase your chances of finding the right agency to work with on growing your business.

Experience

Consider the agency’s experience and expertise. Look for an agency that has a proven track record of success. This may include case studies or client testimonials that demonstrate their ability to generate leads, increase website traffic, or improve search engine rankings. Additionally, consider whether the agency specialises in specific areas of digital marketing such as SEO, paid advertising, or social media marketing.

Communication

A good digital marketing agency will have strong communication skills, which are essential for achieving success in the digital space. They should be able to clearly explain their strategies and tactics, and provide regular updates on their progress. Additionally, they should be willing to work closely with your team to understand your business goals and objectives, and tailor their approach accordingly.

Transparency

A reputable agency will be transparent about their methods, techniques, and strategies. They should be able to provide detailed reports on the performance of their campaigns, and be willing to make adjustments as necessary. Additionally, they should be held accountable for their work, let you know when things aren’t going to plan and provide solutions.

Pricing and terms

The cost of working with a digital marketing agency can vary widely, and you should be aware of any hidden costs or long-term commitments that may be required. Be sure to read the contract carefully and ask any questions you may have about the terms of the agreement. Additionally, consider whether the agency offers flexible pricing options that are tailored to your budget and business needs.

Culture

Finally, consider the agency’s culture and values. It is important to find an agency that shares your company’s values and culture. This can be an essential factor in building a successful long-term relationship with the agency. Look for an agency that is aligned with your company’s mission, vision, and values, and that is committed to achieving your business goals.

Summary

Choosing the right digital marketing agency requires careful consideration of a variety of factors. By evaluating the agency’s experience and expertise, communication and collaboration skills, transparency and accountability, pricing and contract terms, and culture and values, you can increase your chances of finding the right agency for your business.

Identifying a target audience is an essential step in creating effective marketing and advertising campaigns yet a big percentage of businesses we talk to appear to have missed this out completely.

Understanding the demographics, needs, and behaviours of a target audience is vital for us in managing a client’s marketing campaign and ensures we increase conversions and ultimately grow their revenue as quickly as possible but also with the best type of customer.

So here’s our step by step guide to identifying your target audience.

Gather information

The first step in identifying a target audience is to gather information. This can include demographic information such as age, gender, income, and education level. Additionally, you should consider the geographic location, lifestyle and interests of your perfect customer.

Once you have a general understanding of the audience, you can begin to segment the market by identifying specific subgroups or niches. For example, a business that sells outdoor gear could segment its market by identifying subgroups such as hikers, campers, and hunters. These subgroups may have different needs and interests and therefore may require a different marketing approach.

Pain points

Another important aspect of identifying a target audience is to understand their pain points and needs. This information can be gathered through surveys, focus groups, and customer interviews. By understanding the problems that a target audience is facing, you can create a more effective marketing message and offer solutions that directly address their pain points.

Personas

Once you’ve identified a target audience, you can then create buyer personas. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of a business’s ideal customer, based on the research and information gathered about the target audience. Creating buyer personas can help you to understand the goals, motivations, and pain points of your target audience, which can be used to create a more effective marketing strategy.

Social media data

In addition to traditional methods of research, you can also use social media and website analytics to gain insights into your target audience. For example, you could use social media analytics tools to understand the demographics and interests of your followers. Website analytics can be used to understand the behaviour of website visitors, such as which pages they visit, how long they stay, and where they came from.

Customer journey

Finally, you should also consider the customer journey when identifying a target audience. The customer journey is the process that a customer goes through when researching, considering, and purchasing a product or service. By understanding the different stages of the customer journey, you can create a more effective marketing strategy that addresses the needs of the target audience at each stage.

Summary

Identifying a target audience is an essential step in creating an effective marketing and advertising campaign and something any digital agency you might be working with will need.

You should gather as much information as possible about the general population, segment the market, understand the pain points and needs of the target audience, create buyer personas, and use social media and website analytics.

Additionally, you should consider the customer journey when creating a marketing strategy. By understanding the demographics, needs, and behaviours of a target audience, you can create a more effective marketing strategy, increase conversions and ultimately grow your revenue.

Search Engine Optimisation is a crucial aspect of digital marketing to help businesses increase their online visibility, reach more customers, and drive more traffic to their websites. However, SEO is a constantly evolving field, and it’s essential to regularly monitor and track the performance of your website to make data-driven improvements.

We’ve taken on many client campaigns over the years that have gone from smashing it to barely seeing any improvements and the most common reason has been the lack of tracking and strategy revision based on real data – some businesses just aren’t tracking even the basics.

So, in this guide, we’ll go over the various tools and techniques for tracking your website’s SEO performance and making data-driven improvements.

Web Analytics Tools

The first step in tracking your website’s SEO performance is to set up web analytics tools such as Google Analytics. These tools allow you to track various metrics such as website traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rate. By monitoring these metrics, you can identify areas of improvement, such as high bounce rates, and take action to address them. Additionally, you can use Google Analytics to track the performance of your website’s pages, track the behaviour of your visitors, and identify which pages are driving the most traffic to your website.

Search Console

Google Search Console is another essential tool for tracking your website’s performance. This tool allows you to track your website’s search engine rankings in Google, visibility, and the number of clicks your website is receiving. Additionally, it provides insights into the keywords that are driving traffic to your website, which can help you identify new opportunities for optimisation. It also alerts you of any issues with your website, such as crawling errors, which you can fix to improve your website’s visibility and ranking.

Keyword Tracking

Tracking the keywords that are driving traffic to your website is an essential aspect of SEO. Tools like SEMrush allow you to track your website’s keyword rankings and identify opportunities for optimisation. By monitoring your website’s keyword rankings, you can identify which phrases are driving the most traffic to your website and which keywords you need to optimise further. Additionally, you can use these tools to track the performance of your website’s pages and identify which pages are ranking well for specific keywords.

Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis is a valuable technique for tracking your website’s SEO performance and identifying opportunities for improvement. By monitoring your competitors’ websites and their search engine rankings, you can identify areas where they are outperforming you and take action to address them.

Tracking your website’s SEO performance is crucial for making data-driven improvements. By monitoring various metrics such as website traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rate, you can identify areas of improvement and take action to address them. Additionally, by using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush you can track your website’s search engine rankings, visibility, keyword rankings, and competitors, which can provide valuable insights into your SEO performance and help you make data-driven improvements. Regular monitoring and tracking of your website’s SEO performance will help you stay ahead of the game.

Facebook advertising can be a powerful tool for reaching potential customers and growing your business, but it can also be challenging to get your campaigns to perform well.

As one of the most commonly used platforms for our Paid Advertising clients and we love nothing more than proving how to turn a mediocre campaign into a well-tuned sales channel so here’s our top 10 tips for improving your Facebook advertising campaigns:

1. Define clear goals

Before you start creating your ad campaign, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, or generate leads? Having clear goals will help you to create more effective ads and measure the success of your campaign.

2. Target the right audience

One of the key advantages of Facebook advertising is the ability to target specific groups of people. You can target your ads based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. The more specific you can be with your targeting, the more likely your ads are to reach the right people.

3. Use high-quality images and videos

The visuals in your ads are often the first thing that people will notice, so it’s important to use high-quality images and videos. Make sure that the images and videos you use are visually appealing and relevant to the message of your ad.

4. Test different ad formats

Facebook offers a variety of ad formats, including photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, and more. Experiment with different formats to see which ones perform best for your campaign.

5. Keep track of your metrics

Measuring the performance of your Facebook advertising campaigns is crucial to understanding what works and what doesn’t. Facebook’s Ads Manager provides detailed analytics that can help you track key metrics like click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), and conversion rate. Use these metrics to make data-driven decisions about your ads.

6. Optimise your ad copy

The text in your ad is just as important as the visuals. Make sure that your ad copy is clear, concise, and relevant to the target audience. Test different variations of your ad copy to see which one performs best.

7. Use retargeting

Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a way to show ads to people who have previously interacted with your business. This can be especially effective for driving conversions, as these people are more likely to be interested in your products or services.

8. Test different placements

Facebook allows you to place ads on different parts of the platform, including the news feed, the right-hand column, and Instagram. Experiment with different placements to see which ones perform best for your campaign.

9. Use Facebook’s Audience Insights

Facebook’s Audience Insights is a powerful tool that can help you to understand your target audience better. It provides data on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. Use this information to improve your targeting and create more effective ads.

10. Experiment with different ad formats

Facebook allows you to place ads on different parts of the platform, including the news feed, the right-hand column, and Instagram. Experiment with different placements to see which ones perform best for your campaign.

Improving your Facebook advertising campaign requires a combination of good planning, accurate targeting, effective ad formats, and consistent testing and optimising.

It’s important to have a clear understanding of your target audience, goals and what metrics you will use to measure the success of your campaign. With the right approach, you can create ads that perform well and drive real results for your business.

It’s not uncommon for businesses to find themselves struggling to come up with content for their social media channels and the root cause of this can almost always be down to the lack of strategy and planning.

We regularly speak with businesses who give examples of what they want to be posting and it’s usually based on someone else smashing it on social media. The problem is that they’re starting with the end result – the post, which is the biggest mistake.

All those profiles posting interactive and engaging content got there by first developing a strategy which told them to create that post, so let’s take a look at some of the elements that make up a social media strategy.

Define your goals

Before you start creating content, it’s important to know what you want to achieve with your social media presence. Common goals include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, and generating leads. Be specific and measurable when setting your goals so you can track your progress.

Understand your audience

To create content that resonates with your target audience, you need to understand who they are and what they care about. Conduct market research to gather information on demographics, interests, and behaviours of your target audience. Use this information to create buyer personas, which are detailed descriptions of your ideal customers.

Choose the right platforms

There are tons of social media platforms available, but not all of them will be relevant for your business. Choose the social platforms that your target audience is most active on and that align with your goals. For example, if your target audience is primarily visual, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest may be more effective than Twitter. We’ve put together a guide for picking the best social channels for your business which might help.

Create a content calendar

A content calendar is a schedule of the content you plan to post on social media. It helps you stay organised and ensures that you’re consistently sharing valuable content. Use your content calendar to plan out themes, promotions, and special events in advance.

Develop a content mix

Your social media content should include a mix of different types of content. This can include text posts, images, videos, infographics, and live streaming. Experiment with different formats to see what resonates best with your audience.

Measure and adjust

After you’ve implemented your content strategy, it’s important to track your progress and make adjustments as needed. Use social media analytics tools to measure engagement, reach, and conversions. Use this data to refine your strategy and improve your results.

Collaborate with influencers

Collaborating with influencers can help you reach a wider audience and establish credibility for your brand. Identify influencers in your industry who align with your brand and reach out to them about potential collaborations.

Be consistent

Consistency is key when it comes to social media. By posting regularly, you’ll stay top-of-mind with your followers and increase the chances of your content being seen.

The purpose of this guide is to stop you from focusing on what other businesses are doing and start thinking about your own business. Just because you come across someone in the same industry doesn’t mean you’ll have the same goals which, in turn, means your social media management strategy will be different and therefore your content.

Remember to be flexible and open to experimentation, as the social media landscape is constantly evolving. With a solid strategy in place, you’ll be able to effectively reach and engage your target audience.

It sometimes feels like every time you log into the Google Ads dashboard that red alert icon is waiting for you to exclaim a round of changes that will transform your advertising results. The question is, can you trust what they’re telling you, should you simply press the button to auto apply their suggestions, or, should you be more selective? Here’s what we think.

How do Google make their recommendations?

The recommendations that Google makes almost always relate to their optimisation scoring system – the percentage they believe you have implemented everything they think you should have.

They’ll take a look at what you’re doing and what could help you get as close to a 100% score as possible. Obviously, this is on the assumption that having a 100% score will give you the best performing Ad campaign.

The recommendation categories

The types of recommendations Google will make can be quite varied, depending on the type of campaign you’re running but let’s take a look at some of the more common categories.

New keywords

Every now and again Google will start suggesting new keywords that it believes will increase your impressions and results. While we certainly wouldn’t suggest you ignore these new phrases, we do believe you need to take time to review them and perhaps conduct your own research.

For example, we’ve seen a large number of suggestions across multiple industries where the phrases have little or no intent. “How to fix a roof” is clearly less valuable than “Roofers near me”

Negative & conflicting keywords

The negative keywords category can be extremely useful, especially if you’ve added any negative keywords that could potentially stop your Ads being shown for search phrases you’ve added.

In addition to conflicting phrases, Google will also occasionally suggest negative keywords that should be removed in order to increase impressions and whilst we’ve rarely found them to be correct, we have come across the odd suggestion where we didn’t realise the negative keywords was listed, or, it’s made us think about split testing a new Ad group with the phrases included.

Extensions

Extensions are a good example of where they’re not always relevant to a business yet Google seems to use a blanket approach to these suggestions.

Naturally most businesses will benefit from things like sitelinks but when it comes to extensions like click to call, not all companies would welcome this traffic. Websites such as eCommerce stores will be much more focused on landing page and product visits than increasing calls.

Budgets

This is a tricky area and while Google’s intentions may well be honourable, if you’re a PPC manager working to a client’s budget, you’ll rarely be able to take advantage of these recommendations.

That said, even if you don’t have the budget to increase the overall spend of the account, it’s worth looking deeper into the suggestions as you could be missing out on impressions for phrases that are more profitable than others.

Search partners

This is the option most seasoned PPC managers will turn off at the point they create a campaign. Search partners means showing your Ads to third-party sites that are part of Google’s Ad network.

Unless you’re struggling to spend your budget on Google Search and you’ve exhausted other networks such as social media, you’ll probably just want to ignore these recommendations.

Improving Responsive Search Ads

Another tricky area which will probably need a lot of thought and manual implementation. Just because you’re not using all the available slots for headlines and descriptions, doesn’t mean you should be.

We’ve worked with many clients where the offering and message is very specific and therefore only a small range of headlines would be relevant or, as can be the case, there are a limited number of headlines.

We’d never dismiss RSA recommendations but take the time to consider if they’re relevant to your campaign.

But can you trust them?

The problem with Google recommendations is that not all businesses and certainly not all target audiences are the same.

Many sceptics will say that Google only ever recommends things that help you spend more money with them – like a wolf teaching you how to look after your chickens, but we’re not sure that’s actually the case.

A lot of what Google put forward as tips to improve your account are generated from their optimisation scoring algorithm and so our advice and the way we approach our client campaigns is to take everything into account, where you can, carry out your own research and, if possible, manually implement any changes so you get to really know and have control over any changes.

Google Lighthouse is one of a few go-to tools we use to understand a number of website factors important in ensuring a site has the best chance of ranking well in the search engines.

As with everything SEO related, we take all these tools with a pinch of salt, nobody can tell you that having a Google Lighthouse score below 100, or even below 80 will stop your website ranking, but there are plenty of great insights you’ll get from this free tool and some scores you should be taking notice of.

What is Google Lighthouse

Lighthouse is a service by Google which can be accessed in a number of ways – from the browser tools in Google Chrome, from a Node.js command line, programmatically or the easiest option, from the web.dev website

By entering your website URL, the service will virtually load the site, collecting information along the way to give you detailed information on the following subjects.

Performance

How fast your website loads through various stages, some of which are quite technical and relate not just to the speed of the server your website is hosted on, but any code that’s potentially blocking the website from loading quickly.

Accessibility

Judging how accessible your website is for users, including things like fonts and text sizes, the contrast of background and foreground colours, image tags and other elements that ensure the widest range of people have a good experience with your website.

Best Practice

Scoring your website on what Google considers to be the best-practice for any website including elements such as image size/ratio, bad Javascript code, whether the browser is logging errors with the site code and has a valid security certificate right through to whether your website would stop a user from pasting a password into a form field.

SEO

This section covers more of the basics you would assume most websites have in place including page titles, meta descriptions, whether links are crawlable, have descriptive text and the site has a valid robots.txt file through to even checking if the server returns a valid HTTP code.

Is the Lighthouse score important?

When thinking about the importance of a high score, it’s best not to assume that the score itself is being recorded and taken into account by the search engines but instead think about each of the sections and how that could be affecting the ability for a search engine to crawl your site and the visitor to use it.

For example, you could have a high performance score but if your website takes 3 or 4 seconds to load there’s a good chance the search engines will penalise you and an even greater chance that visitors will hit the back button before they’ve had a chance to see your website.

On the flip side, your website could get a mediocre score but by quickly loading for the user and if they go on to spend time on your site and convert, there’s no doubt this will help with your progression up the rankings.

How easy is it to improve your score?

Making changes to a website in order to improve the Lighthouse score will depend on a number of factors including your own ability, your technical resource, your hosting provider and the CMS system you’re using.

Performance is probably the most challenging section since most of the items relate to the various stages it takes to load a website. For example, even if you understand what First Contentful Paint and Time to Interactive are, you may well be restricted by your hosting server.

Accessibility and the SEO sections can be quite straightforward and most of the items will be related to the content you or your webmaster has put into the CMS itself. Changing font sizes, content readability and image attributes is something almost all businesses should have access to change.

Best Practice can be a little trickier and will probably need someone quite technical to look at javascript, the use of CDNs, caching, SSL certificates, etc. but shouldn’t be something that most CMS systems stop you from doing.

What’s a good score?

It would be easy to say anything over a score of 80 is considered good but, as we said before, the focus should really be on each element itself and the impact it will have on the user’s experience. A great user experience is going to be favoured far more than your overall score.

Ultimately, you’re not likely to ever get a score of 100 which is fine. It’s not uncommon to find that fixing one thing reduces your score in another area or highlights a new issue – Lighthouse recommendations can often contradict themselves.