Managing advertising campaigns efficiently is crucial for success. If you’re venturing into Meta Ads for the first time or working with an Agency partner like GeistM, understanding the role of Business Manager is essential.

Here’s an overview from our growth experts that answers some key questions about Business Manager and its integration with agency partners.

What is Business Manager, and Why Do I Need It for Meta Ads?

Business Manager is a tool provided by Meta that allows businesses to manage their advertising activities, pages, and assets in one place. It’s particularly useful for companies that are working with multiple ad accounts, pages, or partners.

Why You Need Business Manager

• 1. Centralized Control: It helps you organize your advertising efforts and control who has access to your assets.
• 2. Collaboration with Agencies: If you’re working with an agency like GeistM, Business Manager simplifies the process of granting them access to your ad accounts and assets. Or, you can set up additional ad accounts under your Business Manager that are specific for them.
• 3. Improved Security: You can manage permissions and roles, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive data.

What Are the Requirements to Set Up a Business Manager with an Agency Partner?

To set up a Business Manager account, you’ll need:

• 1. Log In to Business Manager: Go to your Business Manager account.
• 2. Business Settings: Click on “Business Settings” from the main menu.
• 3. People and Partners: Select “Partners” in the left-hand menu.
• 4. Add a Partner: Click on “Add” and enter your agency partner’s Business Manager ID or email address.
• 5. Assign Roles: Choose the level of access you want to grant (more on permissions below).

When partnering with an agency, it’s crucial to discuss and finalize the roles and permissions in advance to ensure smooth collaboration.

How Can I Add My Agency Partner to My Business Manager?

Adding an agency partner to your Business Manager involves a few straightforward steps:

• 1. Admin Access: Full control over the Business Manager, allowing them to manage everything. This is generally not recommended unless necessary.
• 2. Advertiser Access: Can create and manage ads, view performance metrics, and edit ad settings. This is a common choice for agencies. RECOMMENDED.
• 3. Analyst Access: Limited to viewing ad performance without the ability to make changes.

Carefully consider the level of access based on the responsibilities you want your agency partner to have.

What Is a Facebook Pixel and Why Is It Important for My Ads?

Facebook Pixel or Meta Pixel is a piece of code that you place on your website. It collects data on user interactions and helps you track the effectiveness of your ads. This is also known as client-side tracking.

Importance of Meta Pixel

• 1. Tracking Conversions: It allows you to measure the actions users take after clicking your ads.
• 2. Audience Targeting: You can create custom audiences based on visitors to your site, helping you retarget users effectively.
• 3. Optimization: The pixel helps optimize your ad campaigns for specific actions, such as purchases or sign-ups, improving overall ad performance.

What Is a Facebook Conversions API and Why Is It Important for My Ads?

Unlike the Facebook Pixel, which operates client-side (tracking events from a user’s browser), Conversions API or CAPI sends event data directly from your server to Facebook. This means that it can capture events even if the user’s browser blocks cookies or JavaScript. This is also known as server-side tracking.

CAPI allows businesses to send various types of event data, such as purchases, sign-ups, and page views. This can include details about the user (like email or phone number, if hashed) and the actions they took on your website.

Importance of CAPI

• 1. Enhanced Data Accuracy: By reducing reliance on client-side tracking, CAPI improves the accuracy of the data you collect. This is especially important as browser privacy settings become more restrictive.
• 2. Improved Ad Targeting: With more reliable data, businesses can create better-targeted ad campaigns, leading to improved ROI.
• 3. Greater Control Over Data: CAPI provides businesses with the flexibility to choose what data to send to Facebook, enabling more tailored tracking and measurement strategies.
• 4. Better Cross-Device Tracking: Since the Conversion API captures events from the server, it helps track user behavior across different devices, enhancing the understanding of customer journeys.

Which Pixel Should I be Using? Should My Agency Use A Different One?

At the end of the day, choosing between CAPI and the Meta Pixel depends on your business’s needs and goals. If you’re concerned about data privacy and cookie blocking, then the Conversion API is the better choice. The Pixel is a good tool if you’re starting with Facebook advertising.

However, you do not have to choose anymore. It is now best practice to utilize both CAPI and the Meta Pixel at the same time. This ensures that nothing falls through the cracks and you can  track as much data as possible.

You might be wondering if we use both the Meta Pixel and CAPI, wouldn’t we be collecting multiple of the same events? Yes, you will, however, since Meta is able to see the same event come in through both the browser and server, they will keep one event and discard the rest, a process called deduplication. 

This duplication process is important and why it’s consideredbest practice to share the same pixel with your agency and to NOT create a separate pixel for them. When creating a separate pixel tracking the same events, you will see duplicating results and not understand who is providing the most value.

How Can I Add My Agency Partner to Manage My Pixels?

To give your agency partner access to your Facebook Pixel, follow these steps:

• 1. Log In to Business Manager: Go to your Business Manager account.
• 2. Data Sources: Navigate to “Data Sources” and select “Pixels.”
• 3. Select Your Pixel: Choose the pixel you want to share with your agency.
• 4. Assign Partner: Click on “Add People” or “Add Partner” and enter your agency partner’s Business Manager ID.
• 5. Set Permissions: Determine the level of access they should have regarding your pixel.

By providing your agency partner with access to your Pixel, you ensure they can optimize your ad campaigns effectively.

Conclusion

Using Business Manager in conjunction with an agency partner can streamline your advertising efforts on Meta platforms. By understanding the setup process, roles, and tools like Facebook Pixel and CAPI, you can enhance your advertising strategy and drive better results. Whether you’re new to Meta Ads or looking to optimize your existing campaigns, Business Manager is an invaluable resource for managing your digital presence.

Or, you can simply contact GeistM, where our expertise goes beyond helping you understand your data. We specialize in optimizing campaigns to maximize ROI, ensuring your marketing efforts deliver the best possible results.

Written By: Marc DeMattie

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay. 

AI is revolutionizing industries and transforming how we interact with the world. From personalized recommendations on streaming platforms to advanced data analytics in business, AI is reshaping our experiences and capabilities. 

Embracing these advancements is not just about keeping up with trends; it’s about leveraging powerful tools to drive innovation, efficiency, and growth in every aspect of our lives.

This blog explores the best AI tools of 2024, from chatbots to AI image generators and everything in between, to help you enhance productivity, creativity, and efficiency. 

Keep reading to discover the best AI tools, or skip to…

• Best AI Chatbots
• Best AI Voice Generators
• Best AI Art and Image Generators
• Best AI Paid Media Tools
• Best AI Sales Tools
• Best AI Tools For Productivity

Best AI Chatbots

ChatGPT

A product of OpenAI, ChatGPT is an AI language model that generates human-like text responses based on the input it receives.

Key Features:

• Natural Language Understanding: ChatGPT can comprehend and respond to complex queries naturally and coherently.
• Adaptability: It is versatile and can used across various domains, including customer support, content creation, and more.
• Continuous Learning: The more you interact with it, the better it gets, making it a constantly improving tool.

Benefits:

ChatGPT’s adaptability and continuous learning make it a valuable asset for businesses looking to automate routine tasks and enhance customer interactions with a highly reliable and efficient AI assistant?. 

Intercom’s Fin

Fin by Intercom is designed to streamline customer support operations by automating responses to common customer queries.

Key Features:

• Customer Support Automation: Handles up to 50% of incoming customer queries automatically.
• Contextual Understanding: Maintains the context of conversations for more natural and effective interactions.
• Seamless Integration: Integrates well with Intercom’s existing suite of tools, enhancing overall workflow efficiency.

Benefits:

Fin is a game-changer for customer support teams. It allows them to focus on more complex issues while ensuring customers receive quick and accurate responses to their common questions?.

Jasper Chat

Jasper Chat is designed to assist with various writing tasks, from drafting emails to creating social media posts.

Key Features:

• Content Creation Assistance: Helps generate various types of content quickly and efficiently.
• Search Engine Optimization: Offers keyword suggestions and optimization tips to ensure content ranks well on search engines.
• Tone and Style Adaptability: It can adapt its writing style to match your brand’s voice, ensuring consistency and personalization.

Benefits:

For marketing professionals, Jasper Chat is an essential tool. It not only speeds up the content creation process but also enhances the quality and effectiveness of marketing materials by ensuring they are optimized for search engines and aligned with brand guidelines?.

Best AI Voice Generators

Murf AI

Murf AI is a sophisticated AI voice generator that creates lifelike voices for various applications, such as podcasts, videos, and presentations.

Key Features:

• Extensive Voice Library: Over 120 voices in multiple languages to choose from.
• Voice Cloning: Ability to clone voices to create personalized content.
• Voice Emphasis Controls: You can fine-tune pitch, speed, and tone.
• Third-Party Integration: Works with tools like Google Slides, Canva, Adobe Audition, and more.

Benefits:

Murf AI stands out by producing studio-level voiceovers that ensure high-quality output. Its versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of content types, including educational and corporate materials.

LOVO AI

LOVO AI specializes in AI-generated voices, offering tools for text-to-speech conversion, voice cloning, and content creation.

Key Features:

• Extensive Voice Library: Over 500 voices in 100+ languages.
• AI Script Writer: Generates scripts quickly using AI.
• Video Editor: Integrates voiceovers with video content seamlessly.
• Voice Cloning: Allows you to clone your own voice.

Benefits:

LOVO AI allows for extensive customization, enabling you to fine-tune voices by adjusting emotional tones, pronunciations, speed, and intonation. This versatility and user-friendly design significantly reduce the time required to produce high-quality audio and video content?. 

ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs is an AI voice generation software that produces highly natural and fluent synthetic voices that can be used as voiceovers, audiobooks, virtual assistants, and more.

Key Features:

• Speech Synthesis: Converts text and audio into lifelike speech.
• VoiceLab: Allows creation and customization of unique voices.
• AI Dubbing: Translates and dubs existing videos.

Benefits:

Eleven Labs delivers high-quality, natural-sounding AI voices, making it ideal for various content types. Its accessible plans include advanced features like voice cloning without requiring high-tier subscriptions, offering great value.

Best AI Art and Image Generators

Midjourney

Midjourney is an AI-driven art generation tool designed for creative individuals and professionals. Simple text prompts enable you to produce images in many styles, from photorealistic to abstract.

Key Features:

• High-quality Settings: It offers various model versions, including specialized models for different art styles, such as Japanese Anime and Manga.
• Community-focused: Operates via Discord, fostering a vibrant community where users can share and discuss their creations.
• Adaptive Canvas: Can generate a wide range of styles and high-resolution images, making it highly adaptable to user needs.

Benefits:

Midjourney is ideal for creative individuals and professionals who want to explore diverse artistic styles and engage with a community of like-minded users. However, it requires a subscription, and its Discord-based interface may be a learning curve for some.

Canva AI

Canva’s Magic Studio suite leverages AI to simplify and enhance the creation of visuals.

Key Features:

• AI Photo Editor: Canva AI integration allows you to transform photos, erase clutter and background noise, and fine-tune your images at the touch of a button.
• User-friendly Interface: As part of Canva’s Magic Studio suite, the AI tool is designed to be intuitive and accessible, even for users with no prior design experience.
• Variety of Templates: It offers an extensive library of templates and design elements, empowering users to enhance their creativity and easily produce professional-quality visuals.

Benefits: 

Canva is perfect for designers, content creators, and businesses requiring quick, high-quality visuals. Its user-friendly interface and powerful AI capabilities support many professional and creative applications, ensuring you can produce captivating assets with minimal effort. This tool is especially valuable for those looking to streamline their design process while maintaining high visual quality standards.

Best AI Paid Media Tools

Optmyzr

Optmyzr is a powerful tool designed to manage and optimize PPC campaigns. 

Key Features:

• Bulk Editing: Allows for multiple changes across campaigns quickly.
• Account Management: Manage, edit, and view multiple Google Ads accounts simultaneously.
• Optimization Suggestions: Provides actionable recommendations to improve campaign performance.
• Integration: Works well with Google Sheets, Google Analytics, and other Google tools.

Benefits: 

Optmyzr is highly user-friendly, making it perfect for beginners. It enhances efficiency by automating tasks and supporting bulk editing, significantly reducing manual work. The platform provides insightful analytics for fine-tuning campaign performance and is cost-effective, helping manage budgets efficiently by optimizing bids and other elements.

AdCreative.ai

AdCreative.ai specializes in generating AI-driven ads and marketing materials quickly and efficiently. 

Key Features:

• AI-Generated Ads: Creates professional-grade ads based on user inputs.
• Copy and Caption Generation: Produces compelling ad copy and captions.
• Performance Tracking: Monitors how audiences engage with ads and optimize future ads using machine learning.
• Versatile Formats: Supports the creation of images, banners, and videos.

Benefits: 

AdCreative.ai saves you valuable time with its rapid ad creation process. It leverages data and machine learning to continuously improve ad performance. Additionally, it supports multi-platform ad creation, ensuring a wide reach across various advertising channels.

Smartly.io

Smartly.io is a platform that automates the creation and management of advertising campaigns. It is highly regarded for its ability to handle large-scale ad operations for big brands.

Key Features:

• Ad Creation: Facilitates the creation of image and video ads using numerous templates.
• Campaign Management: Allows for the simultaneous management of multiple campaigns.
• Analytics and Reporting: Provides detailed data and reports on ad performance.
• Brand Compliance: Ensures ads adhere to brand guidelines and assets.

Benefits: 

Smartly.io offers excellent scalability, making it ideal for large businesses with extensive advertising needs. It boosts efficiency by automating many aspects of ad production and campaign management. The platforms use data-driven insights to optimize advertising strategies, improving overall campaign effectiveness.

Best AI Sales Tools

Gong.io

Gong.io is an AI-powered conversation analytics tool that analyzes sales calls, meetings, and emails to provide deep insights into sales interactions.

Key Features:

• Call Recording & Transcription: Automatically captures and transcribes sales calls for easy reference.
• Conversation Intelligence: Identifies key moments, talk ratios, and trends in sales conversations.
• Deal Risk Alerts: Notifies you when deals are in danger, allowing proactive intervention.
• Sales Coaching: Provides personalized feedback based on real-world data.
• Market Intelligence: Understands industry trends and competitor strategies.

Benefits: 

Gong delivers enhanced insights into sales conversations, offering unparalleled visibility into sales interactions. By analyzing detailed conversations, it helps sales reps enhance their performance. Gong can also integrate seamlessly with popular CRM platforms, ensuring smooth workflow integration and data consistency.

Clari

Clari is a revenue operations platform that provides AI-powered insights for optimizing sales performance and improving revenue predictability.

Key Features:

• Automated Activity & Relationship Tracking: Eliminates manual data entry.
• Sales Process Visualization: Provides a panoramic view of the entire sales process.
• Real-Time Coaching: Delivers actionable insights and alerts in real time.
• Mutual Action Plans: Enhances collaboration between sales teams and buyers.
• Integration: Seamlessly integrates with CRM and other sales tools.

Benefits: 

Clari provides accurate sales forecasts and predictive analytics, ensuring reliable planning. It can enhance pipeline management by identifying bottlenecks and facilitating smooth sales processes. Clari also promotes enhanced collaboration through mutual action plans and supports data-driven decisions with real-time insights, helping teams make informed choices effectively.

Apollo AI

Apollo AI is a comprehensive sales engagement platform that combines lead generation, email tracking, and sales automation.

Key Features:

• Extensive Contacts Database: It has access to over 265 million contacts.
• Email Tracking:> Monitors email opens, click-through rates, and responses.
• Personalized Outreach: Uses AI to craft hyper-personalized emails.
• CRM Integration: Ensures reliable data coordination and teamwork.
• Automation: Simplifies outreach efforts and shortens sales cycles.

Benefits: 

Apollo offers comprehensive tools for sales engagement, streamlining various aspects of the sales process. It easily integrates with existing CRM systems, ensuring smooth workflow integration. Plus, it simplifies and automates outreach efforts, improving efficiency and productivity.

Best AI Tools For Productivity

Mem

Mem is an AI-powered note-taking app that organizes and connects your notes automatically.

Key Features:

• AI Tagging: Automatically tags and links notes.
• Powerful Search: Easily find and retrieve notes.
• Integration with Calendar: Syncs notes with your calendar for better organization.

Benefits: 

Mem offers effortless organization, automatically keeping your notes well-structured without manual effort. It enhances accessibility by making it quick and easy to find and use your notes whenever needed.

Zapier

Zapier is a workflow automation tool that connects different apps and automates tasks.

Key Features:

• Custom Workflows: Create automation workflows without coding.
• Wide Integration: Supports over 2,000 apps.
• Conditional Logic: Automate tasks based on specific triggers and conditions.

Benefits: 

Zapier increases efficiency by reducing manual tasks and minimizing errors through automation. It is highly versatile, capable of automating a wide range of processes across various platforms, making it an invaluable tool for streamlining workflows.

Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai is an AI tool that transcribes meetings and generates detailed notes.

Key Features:

• Real-Time Transcription: Transcribes calls and meetings in real time.
• Smart Summaries: Provides highlights, action items, and clickable timestamps.
• Versatile Sharing: Easily share transcripts via links or QR codes.

Benefits: 

Fireflies improves meeting productivity by capturing important details without the need for manual note-taking. It facilitates collaboration through easy sharing and access to meeting notes, ensuring all team members stay informed and engaged.

Final Thoughts

The transformative impact of AI in 2024 is undeniable, revolutionizing productivity across various sectors. From sales and marketing to workflow automation and meeting efficiency, AI tools are enabling businesses to operate more effectively.

Take the first step towards a more efficient future by trying out these tools and experiencing their benefits firsthand.

And If you’re looking to elevate your brand’s digital presence further, consider partnering with GeistM. Our team of growth and content marketing experts is dedicated to driving results through data-driven insights. 

Written By: Shannon Purcell-Miggan

Diversifying networks has never been more important for marketers. 

Meta has long been the go-to for digital advertising or even information gathering. But, they’ve had a number of struggles over the last few years, and consumers have been moving to different platforms to get their daily dose of brand knowledge. 

Take Gen Z, for example, who predominantly gathers information from TikTok, with 35% expressing that a potential ban would critically impact their access to information, underscoring the platform’s engaging and interactive nature.

Advertising platforms are subject to shifts due to various demographic preferences and other factors. The unpredictability of networks means that relying solely on one could risk obsolescence. Diversification is not just beneficial; it’s essential for staying relevant in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Essentially, you need a mix of social media advertising and native networks:

What is the difference between social media advertising and native networks?

“Social media marketing is a type of digital marketing that uses social media platforms to promote your brand and offerings to your ideal customers. Your posts will likely include a combination of text, images, videos, and stories that position your brand in a positive light and capture a relevant audience. Depending on your budget and particular goals, social media marketing might also include paid social ads that allow your brand to appear in front of the right people at the right times.”

According to Forbes 

“Native advertising is a paid strategy where ads fit seamlessly with organic content. Users most commonly see them as social media ads in their feeds, but they also appear on blogs and news websites, looking like other editorial posts. Native ads are subtle and use content that better engages users.” 

According to Single Grain

They are both different but also similar in many ways. Hence, the perfect marketing strategy balances the two well — relying on one marketing network simply isn’t enough anymore. 

Here at GeistM, we take that into consideration, offering a range of networks to help diversify your marketing strategy: 

5 Native Networks to Add to Your Marketing Strategy

TikTok

While you might think TikTok is only for GenZ and dance videos, you’d be surprised to find that all age ranges exist on the platform. While 36.2% of their audience falls within the 18-24 age range, forming the majority, it’s crucial not to overlook the 7.9% aged 45-54 and the smaller, yet still significant, 6.2% who are 55 and older.

Although it might be one of the newer platforms, with over 150 million users in the US and an estimated 55.5 million users making purchases through the platform in 2023, TikTok Shop is a great place to make a mark for your brand. 

It’s not just a platform that people doom scroll on. The viral #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt tag shows that it’s a great platform to advertise. In June 2024, the beauty brand, Canvas Beauty, set a TikTok US record with a 6-hour live stream that generated $1 million in sales.

Nextdoor

The neighborhood network is real. You can reach your consumers where they are by targeting them through location, demographic segmentation, and interests. With over 88 million users (known on the platform as “neighbors”), it’s a network with great potential. 

According to Nextdoor, 25% of all conversations involve neighbors asking for recommendations for local businesses. And 79% of customers say they trust online reviews as much as the personal recommendations they receive from those in their network. So, if you can get one neighbor talking about your brand, chances are you can get the whole neighborhood to chime in.

Pinterest

Pinterest is an exciting platform that depends heavily on engagement. Half of its user base considers it a shopping destination, and users save over 1.5 billion Pins across more than 10 million boards every week. 

It’s a platform that relies on visuals, and the more engaging the visual, the better the performance. Plus, its “ready to buy” consumer base is great for traffic and sales for premium products. A study by Pinterest recently showed that “content related to the seasons, holidays, or other everyday moments is incredibly popular on the platform. If your business offers products or services that fall into these categories, you’ll see 10 times more awareness and 22% more sales.”

Taboola

Many of us might not have realized, but Taboola has been around for years — a decade, in fact. It’s one of the most dominant native networks for advertisers, reaching over 1.4 billion unique monthly users. According to data released by Taboola, “it serves a staggering 450 billion content recommendations every month.” 

Taboola excels in advertising, offering robust ad placements and audience targeting options complemented by a user-friendly interface. What truly distinguishes Taboola ads is their credibility. Endorsed by leading publishers such as NBC News and Business Insider, these high-profile affiliations underscore Taboola’s reliability and effectiveness. This makes it an essential tool for anyone looking to enhance their content marketing strategy. 

Outbrain

This independent native advertising platform hosts thousands of publishers, enabling businesses to place native ads across the “open web”—beyond the confines of paid search and social networks. This strategy allows companies to engage with a vast consumer audience directly on their preferred websites, where they are spending increasing amounts of time. 

According to Outbrain, “these ads reach approximately 1 billion consumers each month outside of social media”, offering significant exposure and engagement opportunities. 

When a consumer clicks on a native Outbrain advertisement, they are directed to a content page—be it a blog, video, or product information page—tailored by the advertiser. A well-executed Outbrain native ad can significantly capture and hold people’s attention. In fact, Outbrain reports that native ad campaigns benefit from 28% higher time spent and 180% higher leads.

Why GeistM for Native Advertising? 

Incorporating a diverse range of networks into your marketing mix enhances stability and reach. At GeistM, our growth analysts possess extensive expertise that enables your brand to advertise across multiple networks effectively. We’ve cultivated strong partnerships with these platforms, ensuring a seamless integration of your campaigns.

Moreover, our in-house content and creative team specializes in crafting targeted content uniquely tailored for each platform. Leveraging our expansive network of owned and operated publishers, we can revolutionize your performance marketing strategy to not only identify but also directly engage your audience across various networks, maximizing your marketing impact.

Visual content is more than just an attention-grabber; it’s a powerful tool for conveying your brand’s story and forging a deep connection with your audience. 

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, captivating visuals are essential for making an immediate impact. They’re more engaging than text alone, capture attention quicker, and can hold it longer. This is especially important since attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. 

Big digital advertising agencies understand the importance and power of ad creatives and invest tons of time and money into creating them. 

Before we delve into some effective visual storytelling strategies that can up your creative marketing game, let’s talk about the core principles of visual content and how it can elevate your brand’s narrative.

The Power of Visual Content and the Science Behind It

Visual content — like images, videos, UGC, and graphics — plays an important role in storytelling and emotional engagement. Our brains process visuals at astonishing speeds, with research indicating that images can be understood in as little as 13 milliseconds.

Here’s why visual content is indispensable:

• Memory Retention: Visuals enhance memory retention. After three days, people remember about 65% of visual content compared to just 10% of text.
• Emotional Resonance: Visuals evoke emotions more effectively than words, creating a lasting impact.
• Increased Shareability: Visual content is more likely to be shared on social media, increasing a brand’s reach and visibility.
• Boosts Conversion Rates: Visual content can influence purchasing decisions. High-quality images and videos of products or services can enhance their appeal, leading to higher conversion rates. The same goes for authentic UGC.
• Instant Storytelling: A single image can tell a complex story instantly, without lengthy explanations. We all know the saying that an image says more than a thousand words.
• Attention-grabbing: Visuals naturally draw attention, making them the first thing people notice online.
• Humanizes the Brand: Visuals, especially user-generated content that shows behind-the-scenes content or customer stories, can humanize a brand. This helps in building trust and a more personal connection with the audience.

Understanding these psychological principles is crucial for creating compelling visual content.

Visual Creative Marketing Strategies to Captivate Your Audience

Exploring various forms of visual content can uncover innovative ways to engage your audience. Here are some tips that can help you boost your performance. 

1. Focus on the story, not just the visuals.

Visual storytelling goes beyond mere images. Visuals should weave a clear and consistent narrative for your brand. Even if each visual asset doesn’t convey an obvious story on its own, your audience should be able to follow the overall narrative.

Our advice? Think like a storyteller. What is the message you want to convey? Then plan your visual media to represent and relate this message across all your platforms.

We love how the mindfulness app Calm executes this. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9xYZeyORMh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

2. Capture Authentic Moments with Photos.

Photos serve as windows into the past, connecting your audience with the emotions and experiences captured in each frame. Whether it’s a candid team shot or a stunning product photo, images build authenticity and trust.

Dove’s #TurnYourBack campaign used simple yet powerful photos to raise awareness about the negative effects of social media filters. These images helped drive deeper connections while championing a cause.

https://www.instagram.com/dove/p/CpgUo0fvJdh/?img_index=1

3. Align Your Visual Storytelling with Your Marketing Content Strategy.

Simply posting a photo or video online and waiting for results to flood in is not a strategy. Nor is relying on the hope that your visual content will go viral — it most likely will not. Like any content marketing format, visual storytelling requires an effective strategy to convert views into conversions. 

Before your creative team starts brainstorming, ensure they address these crucial questions:

• What are we trying to accomplish with our visual content?
• Who is our target audience? What types of content experiences engage them?
• What problems does our brand solve?
• What is our vision of what makes our brand unique? How can we communicate these messages compellingly and consistently?
• What metrics will we use to measure success? For which search terms should this image appear in search engine results?

^{Photo Via: Tinder}

4. Simplify Complexity With Graphics

Graphics, such as charts and data visualizations, transform complex data into engaging visual stories. They make information more accessible and understandable, cutting through the noise with clarity.

We’re big fans of Spotify’s Wrapped campaign, which offers customers a personalized recap of their music journey. Using vibrant colors and striking graphics, Spotify transforms each user’s listening history into a fun and highly shareable data story.

^{Photo Via: Cosmopolitan}

5. Dynamic Storytelling with Video Formats

Videos combine moving images and sound to create a multisensory storytelling experience. Whether you create short clips like Memes that are humorous and highly shareable and can spread your message quickly or you hire a UGC creator to create authentic videos that gain trust — videos are versatile and impactful. They should play a major role in your overall marketing strategy. 

Embracing Visual Storytelling

Mastering visual storytelling enables you to capture attention, evoke emotions, build trust, and inspire action. It’s a highly powerful medium to convey your message and leave a lasting impression on your audience in an ever-evolving digital world when done correctly. Building a high-level visual storytelling marketing strategy takes experience and expertise, which is where digital advertising agencies and creative marketing agencies can step in. 

How can GeistM help?

At GeistM, we excel in enhancing visual storytelling strategies to maximize conversions through innovative and engaging content. Our expertise in user-generated content (UGC) videos allows us to create authentic and trustworthy visuals that resonate deeply with your audience, and combined with our unique content strategy they can help you to maximize results. 

Additionally, our comprehensive approach includes utilizing memes, infographics, animations, and other dynamic video content to ensure your brand’s story is compellingly told across all platforms, ultimately leading to higher engagement and increased conversion rates.If you’re ready to take your storytelling to the next level, contact us today.

Written By: Julia Steiner

In the twenty-first century, the avenues for digital marketing are endless, with methods like email, social media, SEO, OTT, and countless others emerging regularly. These techniques allow businesses to reach and engage with their target audiences in more personalized and innovative ways than ever before.

But which form of marketing remains as crucial today as it has for centuries? Word-of-mouth, commonly referred to as Third-Party Endorsements or Third-Party Validation today.

“Third-party endorsement is defined as solicited or unsolicited recommendation from an entity or individual who is neither manufacturer nor seller of the product/service.”

– MBA Skool

4 Reasons why Third-Party Endorsements are Important for your Brand

1. Establishing Trust 

In the era of information overload, earning trust has become increasingly challenging for brands, with consumers growing increasingly skeptical. This is where third-party endorsements come into play, serving as credibility in a sea of promotional noise. When consumers see endorsements from reputable sources, whether it’s industry experts, influencers, or established publications, they are more inclined to believe in the endorsed brand.

2. Increasing Brand Authority 

Where brands are constantly competing for consumers attention, third-party endorsements help to amplify brand visibility and establish authority within your industry. When your brand is featured on reputable platforms, it gains instant credibility and recognition, elevating its status in the eyes of consumers.

“When an unaffiliated or third-party expert talks positively about your brand, it can be an instant credibility booster that takes out of the equation you simply boasting about your own product.” –  Entrepreneur

3. Building Brand Loyalty

Nowadays, consumers seek meaningful connections with the brands they choose to support. When consumers see their favorite influencers or trusted publications endorsing your brand, they feel a sense of affiliation, strengthening their loyalty over time.

4. Creating Social Proof

Third-party endorsements serve as social proof, reassuring consumers that they are making informed choices supported by the experiences and opinions of others. Whether through customer testimonials, influencer collaborations, or media features, these endorsements help overcome consumer skepticism.

“Third-party validation that provides ‘social proof’ that we are not only relevant but also experts in what we claim to do for our target markets. Bottom line: Establishing and continually increasing credibility is essential for nearly every professional and business owner today.”

– Forbes

Read Our Blog On The Power Of Brand Awareness 

How to Leverage Third-Party Validation for Your Brand with GeistM

GeistM employs a multifaceted strategy to develop third-party endorsements for your brand. By owning a variety of publisher sites, including subdomains and related profiles  across social media. We leverage our extensive in-house network to create compelling campaigns with content crafted by our team. This ensures that your brand is showcased across a variety of platforms with high-quality, engaging content. 

Additionally, GeistM collaborates with a wide network of external publishers and UGC creators, allowing our clients the opportunity to widen the reach of these endorsements further. Our expertise in the Native Network space is also incredibly useful to expand the impact of the non-branded, third-party content we create.

This comprehensive approach allows GeistM to provide an unparalleled level of exposure and credibility, helping your brand connect with a broader audience through trusted third-party perspectives.

GeistM: A Testament to the Power of Third-Party Validation

By leveraging our extensive network of publishers and industry experts, GeistM facilitates third-party endorsements that resonate with diverse audiences, increasing brand credibility and driving conversions. 

Whether coming from an industry expert or a peer, GeistM’s team of editors and creatives meticulously craft non-branded, third-party content to endorse your brand in the most impactful way. 

In conclusion, third-party endorsements are an indispensable asset to modern marketers, offering a means of building trust, amplifying authority, fostering emotional connections, and overcoming skepticism. 

Want to know how we can help your business with third-party validation? Contact us today to learn more.

Written by Emma McHugh

In today’s fast-paced marketing landscape, utilizing a complex network of strategies and tools is necessary to foster the loyalty of a diverse array of audiences. 

Marketers must continuously innovate and adapt to stay relevant in this ever-changing scene, employing creativity and analytical precision. As a result, marketing strategies are becoming more personalized, aiming to meet each audience segment’s unique demands and preferences.

Digital marketing and performance marketing stand at the forefront of this revolution, each playing a crucial role in the narrative of modern advertising.

What Is Digital Marketing?

“Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use digital channels, such as social media marketing, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO). It’s a symphony of strategies, creativity, and technological prowess orchestrated to create a harmonious connection between brands and their target audience.” 

–Medium

What Is Performance Marketing?

“Performance marketing widely centers around lead generation and conversion. Banner (Display) ads, native advertising, content marketing, social media, and search engine marketing (SEM) are channels of Performance Marketing… To be more particular, it is ‘results-based’ marketing to achieve specific key performance indicators (KPIs) while maximizing return on investment (ROI) and propelling business growth.” 

–Medium 

Performance marketing works very closely with digital marketing. They are intertwined, and you need both to have a successful campaign. Performance marketing is excellent at driving conversions and sales, while digital marketing gets you more brand loyalty and customers that’ll stick with you. Ultimately, amalgamating both can help you succeed. 

It’s difficult for any company to achieve this balance independently, so we recommend partnering with an agency like GeistM to maximize your ROI. 

Who Are We?

GeistM is a leading performance marketing agency that specializes in in-house content and UGC creation for some of the world’s most notable brands.

Our full-service approach allows us to profitably acquire new customers for our clients by creating assets, managing campaigns, and leveraging content data to showcase your brand’s product offerings from a third-party perspective. 

What Makes Us Stand Out?

In-House Content And Creative Team

We couldn’t call ourselves a leading performance marketing team without having a dedicated, in-house content and creative team. Our content and creative team develops UGC-style content, from videos, static images, and articles, that can reach an audience your branded content generally wouldn’t. These teams work together to ensure that your customers know all the benefits of your product even before they reach the landing page. 

Read our UGC vs Influencers Blog to learn more about User Generated Content.

Third-Party Endorsements

At GeistM, we have a network of over 100 publishers  — including several owned and operated websites — that can host our content. This allows us to educate our users on our clients through a third-party perspective, adding an extra level of trust that your branded social handles and landing pages cannot achieve. 

Network Testing

Our team has vast experience testing a wide range of networks. We believe that adding more networks to your marketing mix will help you reach a wider audience. We have formed relationships with representatives from many different networks, so we always know what’s new and what can be tested. From social networks to native networks, we know how to exceed our clients’ goals, and the results from our campaigns speak for themselves.

Within the paid social realm, we test a variety of platforms, such as Meta, Pinterest, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Nextdoor, and more. We conduct this approach strategically to set our clients up for success. 

We leverage our media spend and partner mix to unlock lower rates and offer testing opportunities you wouldn’t consider. At GeistM, we manage everything for our clients on these networks straight from kick-off, with daily reporting, constant communication, and detailed insights—you won’t have to worry about anything; leave everything to us. 

Read our Why More Networks Equal More Stability Blog to learn more about different networks.

Search Engine Marketing 

No marketing strategy is complete without search engine marketing. That’s why it’s one of GeistM’s core offerings. We take the time to understand your business, research your competitors, and analyze all the data necessary to ensure we help you achieve your goals. 

We use the SKAG strategy (Single Keyword Ad Group) to ensure that each of our keywords captures the highest relevance. Through constant testing, competitor research, and bid management, we are able to leverage high-quality scores to maintain an efficient CPA and acquire new customer growth. 

Read our Why You Should Be Leveraging Google Discovery Blog

A Few Of Our Success Stories

We can give you all the ideas, but we need to prove that our strategies work as well. So here are just a few of our successes. If you want to know more, visit our case studies page. 

Lowering CPA 

CPA, or Cost Per Acquisition, is one of the most common conversation rate matrices in marketing. And each company wants a lower CPA — as low as possible. 

One of our clients wanted to increase conversion volume quarter over quarter while maintaining CPA efficiency to ensure profitable growth. We successfully scaled conversion volume by 16x while maintaining multiple active networks, achieving a CPA 21% below the goal. 

Want to learn more? Read the full case study here 

Incrementality And Acquiring New Customers

Acquiring new customers is essential for any business, but it’s hard to know where to put your marketing spend. The best way to analyze your budgets and make sure you’re spending your money effectively is through incrementality.

We were asked to help a client determine where best to allocate spending. We tested the content funnel across different Facebook placements for three months and discovered Geist’s efforts alone drove an average incrementality rate of 93.6%. 

Learn more: Reading the full case study here

Cultivating Life Time Value (LTV) Customers 

Content is always the basis of brand authenticity, and that’s what we do best here at GeistM. 

So, after noticing customers canceling after the first shipment, a health & wellness client asked for content specifically designed to help with LTV. Our in-house content team created two content pieces that helped educate and alleviate a lot of skepticism about the project. After 8 months, the same month one customers reordered with a 25% retention rate.

Interested to know more? Read our full case study here

Elevating ROAS

ROAS, or Return On Ad Spend, is one of the fundamental KPIs of marketing, and it’s one of the best ways to judge the success of your campaign. 

A US-based vacation rental client approached us looking to achieve profitable ROAS growth. They struggled to maintain CPAs (Cost Per Acquisition) below $120 on Meta. Using GeistM’s performance marketing strategies, we spent $922,894 and drove 9632 new customers for an average CPA of $95 and ROAS of 2.85, which decreased 20.83% over an 18-month period. 

Learn More: Read our full case study here 

GeistM: The Ultimate Solution To All Your Marketing Needs 

Marketing is about trying and testing different approaches to find the right one that works for your brand. It can be hard to figure out what to test and how to test it. This is where GeistM can help. We can maximize your ROI by testing and helping you reach audiences you can’t reach yourself. 

Don’t try to figure it all out yourself. Performance marketing can be a challenge, so contact us today!

Written by: Nitanti Alur

In the dynamic realm of marketing, staying ahead of the curve is not only a strategy but a necessity. Everything changes quickly; what might be a marketing-must one day is a complete no-no the next — in the blink of an eye.

This new era’s marketing landscape is constantly shifting due to many factors. It’s driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and global dynamics. Adaptation is the name of the game, and you must be prepared to pivot. 

Join us as we reveal what marketing trends we should bid farewell to and which ones we should greet with open arms. 

Are you ready to look deeper into 5 significant marketing trends — in our opinion — that’ll dominate 2024? Let’s dive in.

1. Out With Long-Form Video Content And In With Short-Form Video Content 

Over the last couple of years, it’s evident that video content has taken over and outperforms static images. In fact, 88% of marketers say video is integral to their marketing strategy. And 52% of companies say they create videos to educate their target audience about their products. 

Now that we know videos are a marketing essential, it’s time to figure out the ideal length. 75% of people watch short-form video content on their mobile, and most watch videos with closed captions. Although long-form videos offer in-depth analysis of products or services — which is really educational — they don’t hold people’s attention, especially in the age of TikTok. 

Short-form videos are meant to be around the 17-second mark. They’re designed to be easily digestible content nuggets, ideal for quick scrolling and viewing multiple pieces simultaneously. 

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, 96% of consumers prefer to watch short-form videos when learning about a product or service. While close to a third (30%) of all short-form videos are watched 81% of the way through. So, if your marketing strategy has yet to start using short-form videos, now is definitely the time to start. 

2. Out With Traditional Advertising And In With Sponsored /Native Content 

With digital marketing strategies taking precedence over traditional marketing, techniques like direct mail and print ads are no longer beneficial. We’re not saying that these methods don’t work, they simply don’t resonate with younger generations — they are the future, after all. 

So, what are the alternative methods? Native or Sponsored marketing — both forms of paid advertising. Native ads seamlessly integrate a business ad into the user’s regular reading flow. In contrast, sponsored content is advertising tailored for a specific site or platform. It’s designed to reach a fresh audience, those who would have otherwise never heard about your brand. 

When it comes to traditional ads, you could talk with someone over the phone and gain information about a product or service. But there are better methods. We all hate getting a marketing call when we’re busy or mid-meeting. But sponsored ads provide the same information — or more. Plus, there’s the benefit of actually seeing how the product or service works. 

That’s why according to Hubspot, “more than a third (36%) of marketers plan to increase their investment in native advertising in 2024, and 56% plan to continue investing the same amount.” 

3. Out With Big Celebrities And In With Micro-Influencers 

We’ve all seen posts from our favorite celebrities featuring brands and products that they endorse, influencing us to purchase the product. So we know that the strategy of working with influencers is great for marketing — that’s why influencer marketing is extremely popular. 

Hubspot says, “When marketers collaborate with influencers and industry thought leaders in their industry, they can expand brand awareness and gain fans from the influencer’s own audience.” 

Micro-influencers generally have 10,000 to 100,000 followers, and according to Ad Week, Micro-influencers are “actually attracting much higher engagement and conversion rates than highly influential users.”

Although micro-influencers have fewer followers, they usually value their community and won’t peddle ineffective products to boost their revenue. They’re more open and honest about what they want to achieve from the partnership. And since their voice is more relatable and authentic —  a mom blogger will actually sign up for a diaper subscription in real life. 

This is why “of the marketers who worked with influencers and creators in 2023, 64% worked with micro-influencers, making them the most popular choice for influencer marketers.”

4. Out With Branded Photographs And In With UGC 

We all know how indispensable visual aspects are in marketing. Providing consumers with something to see helps them imagine the product and click the purchase button. This doesn’t have to be videos alone; it can also be still images. 

There are many different image styles, but overall, it comes down to Branded photographs, which are super staged and have impeccable lighting. Then, there’s UGC content, or user-generated content, which is much more genuine and natural. 

We go into detail about the differences between these two in a previous GeistM blog post. But ultimately, seeing real people using the product convinces buyers. According to Hootsuite, “60% of marketers agree that authenticity and quality are equally important elements of successful content. And no other content type is more authentic than UGC from your customers.”

UGC is important in the final stages of the marketing funnel because it makes users feel like their money is going to the right place. “Nearly 80% of people say that UGC impacts their decision to purchase, making user-generated content and social commerce a match made in heaven.” 

So, make sure that your marketing funnel has some UGC — you can even get a sample of the product you’re advertising and take the images or videos yourself. 

5. Out With DIY Marketing And In With GeistM 

Finding the optimal marketing strategy for your business can be tough. It requires a lot of testing and experimenting to figure out what can help your brand the most. It’s not just start-ups that are struggling to find the right strategy; even big brands can miss out on certain aspects that could have boosted their campaigns. 

Rather than trying to figure out a marketing strategy for yourself, put your trust in us, and we’ll do it for you. Here at GeistM, we can create a marketing strategy that’s completely customized to help you achieve your goals. 

We’re a marketing partner with owned and operated media sites. With our expert content team, we provide full-service direct-response content marketing. And our amazing in-house creative team work hand-in-hand to develop high-quality and engaging visuals to boost your brand. 

By choosin GeistM, we can identify the perfect marketing strategy for your brand, keep up with trends, and help your business grow. So contact us today!

Written by Nitanti Alur