9 Reasons Why Listicles Still Work

9 Reasons Why Listicles Still Work

Admit it…You’ve read at least ONE listicle today. Of course you have! The listicle has gone through a few reputation iterations in its short lifespan, from new and flashy to overdone and mocked to…a pillar of blogging content. Say what you will, the listicle offers a chance for readers to digest a lot of information quickly and easily. Blogging like this can be a great way for businesses to get ahead in the game, and some people will even do it as one of their Hobbies which could potentially lead them into career opportunities. There is a lot that blogging can accomplish. If your content marketing strategy needs a little something to jazz it up, write a listicle! You’re an expert in something, we guarantee it!

1. First of All, Blog Posts Help the Bottom Line.

Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI. If your company is thinking of making use of a blogging section on your website, make sure to get in touch with professionals (you may want to check Frenik Marketing Group for reference) who may be able to help with quality content. That said, there are quite a lot of SEO techniques that can be implemented in these blogs that might help reach your target audience. Hence, if you’re not sure about how this is done, getting in touch with an expert might provide you with the perfect solution. (Source: HubSpot)

2. Listicles are Quick

Listicles are a small time investment, and if the content is bad, the reader hasn’t wasted more than two or three minutes (Fire Brand Group). 43% of readers skim blog posts, anyway (HubSpot).

3. They're Eye Catching and Pique Our Curiosity

It’s true. I mean… talk about clickibility. I can be an expert in a subject in just ten steps? There are ten reasons why this is the right strategy for my business? 5 Reasons why flamingos are the smartest birds? (Don’t know if that’s true, but I’d read it.) Boom (Proponent Agency).

4. They're Digestible

They break up the complex ideas into bite-size pieces that readers can understand more easily. As Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker says: “They create an easy reading experience, in which the mental heavy lifting of conceptualization, categorization, and analysis is completed well in advance of actual consumption.”

5. Our Brains Prefer Lists

It’s true. In a world of so many choices, a list is finite, reassuring, and predictable. They provide a level of certainty in an uncertain world. You know what you’re going to read and you know what you’ll learn from it. These listicles could also be a good SEO strategy to increase your customer base. A Sydney SEO Expert (or one in your locality) could help you in this regard and answer all of your queries.

6. They Provide Relevant, Expert Advice and Information

It’s a simple way to share information about your brand or business without selling it. For example, “10 Solutions to Staying Hydrated This Summer” offers a chance for a water bottle brand to be more than just a water bottle brand. They’re now experts in hydration. (Journal of Risk and Uncertainty.)

7. They're Easy to Stop and Come Back To

You can remember what number you’re on! That’s why they are perfect for a mid-work reading break…and why so many readers choose to read them. Listicles are also a great reason for your search engine optimization since you can add various keyword related words in your article. You could learn more at Digitrio or other similar digital marketing firms if you’re struggling to write such content or need help with some SEO strategy.

8. They're Good for High-Volume Suggestions and Low Stakes Advice

Have lots of suggestions about a topic that everyone wants to know about? Or maybe a topic that has more than one (brief) analysis possibility? Maybe you’re not into commitment? Listicles are the perfect, multi-answer breakdown! (Fire Brand Group)

9. Odd Numbered Listicle Headlines Perform Better

…. That’s right. They outperform even ones by 20% (CMI). So we’ll stop at 9 ;).

Mobile is the Move: Why Your Content Strategy is Losing $$

Mobile is the Move: Why Your Content Strategy is Losing $$

Since Mary Meeker boldly declared a $7 billion mobile advertising spending opportunity in her Internet Trends Report, the spotlight has shone bright on the future of mobile advertising. As smartphones’ capabilities advance and younger generations’ (especially Gen Z) appetite for handheld content increases, there’s no doubt that mobile advertising should follow suit – and style.

Let’s start with phone use: whether your source is eMarketer or AdWeek, users now spend between 3.5 and 5 hours (or more) on their mobile phones – ⅔ of which are on smartphones (eMarketer) – no surprise there. If you walk down any street or settle into any waiting room or, well anywhere, most people will have their phones out. I mean, are you on your phone right now? The proof is in the Text Neck – a new “modern spine ailment”. The disease causes rampant neck pain. Usually, it occurs when you look down at your phone too much! For instance, if you scroll through your phone for an hour without a break, you might soon be at the end of breaking your neck and spine.

Keep in mind that this can be a legitimate problem for some people, so finding ways to manage this pain is super important, be it by consulting spine surgeons like Dr Timothy Steel or opting for other procedures like Yoga. The former is often opted for by many who want to get a quick resolution to their problems. Those with the patience to wait a few months are more likely to choose the latter.

However, there is a third option too–herbs! Those wishing to use a natural solution may wish to look up something like “is CBD oil legal” in their country to see if this could be a potential option for them, as well as look up

But how much interaction are these sore users having with brands? According to Google, people today have 2X more interactions with brands on Mobile than anywhere else (includes TV, in-store, you name it), and 89% of people are likely to recommend a brand after a positive brand experience on Mobile. Well hello engagement opportunity! Nice to see you there! Furthermore, this engagement might usurp even Desktop use: 83% of internet users will use a mobile phone to go online according to eMarketer.

This trend became clear in our own analysis of our 2018 data: mobile engagement is climbing. Average Mobile CTR for 2018 was 0.35%: in Q4 of 2018, the Mobile CTR was 150% higher than Desktop’s.

Not only that, Mobile Time On Site increased by 28% from Q1 to Q4 2018 and Bounce Rate decreased by 25% in the same time (Bidtellect 2H Native Report). It’s all happening! Engagement continues to increase in conjunction with the vast improvement in the Mobile web experiences from readability to relevant placement. Not only are users increasing engagement with Native ads on mobile, but they are also engaging for longer – and that engagement is climbing at a faster rate than on Desktop. We could expect to see continued growth in Mobile as users are on the phones more often, much longer, and for more important tasks.

Moreover, mobile is not just effective with native ads; it can also deliver great results with other marketing strategies like live events and virtual trade shows. While people are busy with their daily lives, online events have gained popularity, and with that, the audience can attend international events virtually, which highly benefits businesses since it could increase their outreach to a global extent. People all around the world can now indulge in business tie-up simply through the mobile phone.

Furthermore, the sheer volume of phones being used worldwide might facilitate suitable conditions to approach new marketing techniques to further your content or webpage. With the help of services provided by a PPC Management Perth company or one based on your locale, you could seize the opportunity to implement PPC-based strategies. That could not only retain but develop new and higher traffic as well, which could generate new revenue, enabling you to reach newer heights.

With the seemingly limitless potential of mobile outreach, can mobiles completely take over the world?! Will we no longer need computers?!

Ok ok. Back to reality here. Have advertisers taken note of the trend? Spending indicates, yes. Mobile ad spend will top $93 billion in 2019, according to eMarketer, and over ⅓ of ad dollars worldwide will go to mobile in 2019 – for the first time ever (eMarketer). Woah! And as Native Ad Spending trends match Bidtellect’s findings: eMarketer measured a 30% growth in Mobile Native ad spend versus just 15% growth of Desktop spend last year. This is to say, a Content Marketing and Native Advertising strategy – heck, any programmatic strategy – requires Mobile in the conversation. It’s non-negotiable at this point. But furthermore, more time and resources ought to be set aside for the improvement of how Native ads are experienced on Mobile devices to ensure a positive user experience, that is, to create a positive and trusted relationship with a brand. Get on the mobile ad train then! Everyone is doing it!

But smaller screens mean less room for nonsense – so yes every programmatic strategy requires Mobile, but obnoxious display or banner ads will not cut it on mobile devices, and will likely become obsolete. And as users today seek relevant, high quality content they can trust from brands they respect, browsing on Mobile will cut the BS. Contextual relevancy, good creative quality that’s conducive to a smaller screen, and content that matches the brand are even more important than ever before. And lest you forgot, high quality content makes consumers 131% more likely to buy (Twitter via Nudge, “The State of Content“) and 70% of users who feel a connection to a brand spend twice as much as those who don’t, according to Adweek. Content marketing strategy coupled with Native Advertising is the secret sauce here, even for Mobile.

As our CEO always says, “When a consumer engages with a brand’s content, they engage with the brand.” A content marketing strategy that misses Mobile is a missing opportunity.

For these and more stats, Download our Mobile is the Move Infographic here!

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