3 Things For March 3rd, 2021

Relationship Based Business, Core Web Vitals, and Facebook & the Apple Update

Building Your Business Through Relationships

I recently had the privilege of hearing a successful local business owner speak on the topic of relationship based business. Thankfully, he also was so kind as to share his notes – lucky for me, since I found myself captivated to the point of not jotting down the key takeaways.   Relationships and referrals are a major element to a business’s growth, because while marketing and advertising are important, as he put it: “it is impossible to replicate the Trust a client has when the connection is through a referral.” Two things really stood out to me from his presentation: his commitment to, and consistent follow-through and his genuine desire to provide value to his connections. These two things create exponential growth! So now for those key takeaways:
  1. Identify your referral partners
  2. Take the lead to meet (*in-person) with them regularly.  How often?  Err on the side of higher frequency.
  3. Be consistent and persistent
  4. Add value to them!
  5. Look for ways to connect them with others
  6. Connect on a deeper level
  7. Thank yous and celebrations!
*Let’s face it, Zoom fatigue is real and nothing beats in-person connection. Of course, be respectful and stay safe, but as things continue to open up, let’s get together! If you’re interested in learning more about relationship based business and how your digital presence can help support your efforts, reply to this email and ask for a meeting.  I’d love to have that discussion with you!

Changes Ahead with Facebook Advertising & the New Apple Update

In the marketing world, we have been hearing about and preparing for big changes coming to Facebook’s advertising platform due to Apple’s newest software update, which is set to roll out in this spring. What is Apple’s IOS 14 Update? Apple is concerned about app tracking transparency (ATT) and user privacy. They want to protect the data of Apple users. In the light of this philosophy, they moved from opt-out to an opt-in principle. What does that mean? With the IOS 14 update, Apple’s mobile devices will display a pop-up to Facebook users that will ask consent for all tracking related actions. With this gatekeeping action, Facebook and other apps will have limited data access.

IOS 14 updates will affect Facebook advertising in three areas:

• Business Tool set-up • Targeting & optimization • Measurement Facebook ads manager will now have limited access to user data and conversion tracking, along with aggregated event measurement. This may cause the performance of some Facebook ads to be impacted. The good news is that in the world of digital marketing, change is inevitable, and we are constantly adapting to meet these changes! At Strategy 3, we know firsthand that small business owners depend on targeted ads, which is why we’re prepared to tackle these updates head on by taking all necessary precautions. Experts predict that due to this update, and future ones that will eventually follow, more improvements and tools will become available in the months ahead to help counter the impact of these platform modifications.

What is Google Core Web Vitals? And Why is it Important? 

As of May 2021, Google will have a new set of metrics that will gauge the User Experience of each website, known as the Google Core Web Vitals. These metrics will come into play when Google is ranking your website within Google search, and not meeting the criteria could mean your site slips in search rankings. It is important to review your scores using a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to make sure that your site is meeting Google’s expectations.

The three factors that Google will begin to evaluate are Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

LCP refers to the time between the start of a page load to when the largest image or text block in a user’s view port is rendered.

FID refers to the amount of time it takes for a page to be ready for user interactivity, meaning that as pages are assembling, how long does it take for the page to respond to clicks, scrolls or keyboard inputs.

CLS refers to the amount of unexpected layout shift of visual page content. This occurs when attempting to interact with the page and the content shifts, causing issues for the user.

If your scores are not up to par or if you’re unsure of how your site is performing in these critical areas, Strategy 3 can help to provide your visitors the best possible User Experience. We are happy to run tests on your website to identify any areas of concern and can provide a plan to resolve these issues, putting you in the best position possible when the new metrics are considered starting May 2021. Contact us today for an evaluation!

What Do Our Customers Have To Say About Working with Strategy 3?

“This is a great local marketing agency here in Tacoma! They work with several clients of mine and do a phenomenal job creating a strategy to support local branding. Beyond that, they are wonderful people!” – Mike S.
Thank you so much, Mike, for the online review! Have we worked together? Please consider leaving us a review here on Google!