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Marketing Hot Takes: Grammar, Spammers & More

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8THIRTYFOUR What Needs to Change in Marketing NOW 2024 Insta several logos within a graphic, including META, Canva, Instagram, X, LInkedIn

Welcome to another enlightening and entertaining edition of 8THIRTYFOUR musings or ravings, take your pick. We love marketing, but we have some serious pet peeves. This serves as an open letter to all guilty parties.

Not Every Holiday Needs a Graphic

It’s totally cool if a brand wants to hop on the Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, and all the other big holidays bandwagon, but not every holiday needs a cute or clever graphic – we see you Canva designers. Those posts often get lost in the social media noise. Mix it up people, mix it up.

How about sharing a powerful woman’s story for Women’s History Month? Or spotlighting a nonprofit making a difference on Earth Day? On December 31st, why not talk about some family-friendly local events to welcome the new year? When you share content, think about what your audience can take away. Posts that add value for the reader always hit the mark.

Enough With the Spam

If you’ve ever handled a business page through Meta, you know the struggle. Fake comments and warnings about account shutdowns seem to be popping up more often. Besides being annoying, these spam messages can confuse customers and harm a brand.

We get it, there’s only so much we can do to completely eliminate these scams, but Meta really needs to make it a priority. Each update should tackle this issue, and ways to help should be easily accessible, not hidden behind a paywall like a little blue check.

Sadly, this isn’t just a Meta thing – scams have been around since the internet began, and they keep evolving. From fake parking tickets to iPhone cons, these scammers are like creative geniuses in the dark web. Platforms where these scams take place can and should step up their game.

Grammar is Important

We’re all about quality control here. If you’re going to comment on something, take that extra 15 seconds to check your writing. Let’s chill on the multiple spelling and grammatical mistakes. Let’s block these people. If you still don’t know the difference between your and you’re then we can’t help you. Do yourself a favor and grab Grammarly to avoid any future mishaps. It may not bother the masses, but it makes all of us look dumb. We’re just over here crying into our AP Style Guides. We are done normalizing these grammar flunkies. Be part of the solution, let’s openly mock people together.

Video = Awesome

Video is a game-changer when it comes to engaging with your audience. It’s like waving to a crowd rather than standing alone in a room. Instagram users are binge-watching 17.6 million hours of reels daily, and TikTok is blowing that out of the water tenfold.

Video isn’t just about views; it’s about boosting web traffic, generating leads, and getting your brand out there. Think of it as turbocharging all the good stuff. Sure, it takes time and effort, but when have things ever been easy? To keep up with the latest trends, explore Later’s Top Instagram Reels Trends for the Week. Be sure to check back weekly for updates on what you can try out, you know we will.

Step It Up

If you’re a marketer or someone who hates spelling and commas, step up your game. Meta, you’ve always been and forever will be the bane of our existence and the object of all our daily hurdles – with Google usually in the mix too. We hate you equally.

We’re inclusive in every way here.

Sincerely,

Team 8THIRTYFOUR

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Thank you to @lakemichigan_cu for partnering with us to provide this program. Their support means we can offer this at a significantly lower cost to business owners.

Go apply at the link in bio.
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Join Cheryl and our powerhouse lineup of industry experts at The Pause on September 24th. 

Link in bio to register - spaces are going fast.
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It's not who you know, it's who knows you
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See more Bode wisdom at her YouTube channel linked in our bio.
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