With three months behind us since Google introduced major changes to Google Grants, the philanthropic arm of AdWords, the long-term effects on account performance are now becoming apparent. Sadly, they’re not to nonprofits’ benefit.

First, some background: Google Grants is part of the Google for Nonprofits program, which allows registered 501(c)(3) organizations to take advantage of a handful Google products at reduced rates or no cost. While the Grants program provides nonprofits with in-kind pay-per-click (PPC) advertising through AdWords, it comes with a few limitations.

Major changes to Google Grants and its effects on nonprofit search marketing programs

The revitalized look of Facebook's News Feed (Image courtesy of Flickr user Thomas Hawk)

In March, Facebook announced its new mobile-inspired news feed which has again sparked conversations surrounding the vital importance of visual elements in social media marketing. “Visual Marketing” was coined as a breakout trend of 2012 with the growing popularity of social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram. With pictures being shared and liked more than text, links and videos it’s clear that more images equals more engagement. This is not surprising considering the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text alone, 83% of all learning is visual, and 93% of communication is non-verbal.

Image courtesy of Dell's Official Flickr Account

Identifying ailing digital marketing strategies can be challenging. Even if you are posting content on a regular basis and gaining followers, are you meeting goals and generating a return on investment? In order to answer these questions, you have to evaluate your social media strategy.

The Golden Circle creator, Simon Sinek. (Image courtesy of Flickr user Cea.)

Rarely will a company prioritize “gaining prospect and customer trust” as a top goal for its marketing campaign. However, trust is one of the most crucial aspects of any relationship: romantic, platonic, familial or professional. If little or no trust exists in a professional relationship, projects will likely not meet goals and will waste time, effort and money. On the other hand, a trusting professional relationship enables both parties to communicate openly so that work is accomplished efficiently and effectively. At 90octane we believe trust is a differentiator. In fact, it’s our why.

Image courtesy of SEOPal

The search engine marketing community has been abuzz over the last week analyzing signs that a potentially game-changing update to Google’s algorithm is about to take place. No one knows exactly when the new version of Penguin will be implemented, or how it will affect SEM efforts, but Google has made it clear that this isn’t just another minor change – it’s the next step for Google in search engine marketing.

How are you presenting yourself? (Image courtesy of Slideshare)

Social media users love images. The popularity of Instagram and Pinterest along with Facebook’s redesign forecast an image-saturated future for social media. This should come as no surprise since research shows that between 60-65% of people are visual learners, meaning this portion of the population prefers visual stimuli over text.

Google has announced a major change to the look of its search engine results pages for nonprofits: charity organizations are now included in Google’s Knowledge Graph, which adds additional information about the nonprofit to the right sidebar of the page.

How is your brand using Vine?

Have you been following the progress of Twitter’s new social platform Vine? Well, it has been nearly two months since Twitter announced Vine and it is continuing to gain popularity with not only the everyday user, but top brands as well. This social app allows users to create a 6-second max video loop and then share it across various social media platforms.  There are numerous ways that brands are able to utilize Vine to share content and engage with their audience.  Brands can use Vine to highlight a product launch, run a product/service demo, create contests, or simply just create engaging content that can reach a mass audience.  Learn how some brands are already using vine to leverage their products and services in this recent article from PRNewser.

90octane has made BtoB Magazine's "Top Agencies Special Report" for the sixth year in a row!

We’re thrilled that BtoB Magazine has included 90octane in its “Top Agencies Special Report” for the sixth year in a row. The list is compiled based on annual revenue, percentage of business-to-business revenue, innovation, and top clients for small, midsize, large and interactive agencies. We’ve been listed in the Interactive category since our first inclusion in 2008. To learn more about BtoB Magazine and the Top Agencies Special Report, visit www.btobonline.com. And to learn more about 90octane, visit www.90octane.com or email info@90octane.com.

Nielsen's 2012 Social Media Report - Social Networking Is All About Mobile

It is no surprise that social media plays an increasingly substantial role in the lives of today’s consumers. As marketers continue to evolve social media strategies, it’s crucial to refer back to learnings and trends from the past to properly plan for the future. Nielsen’s 2012 Social Media Report provides valuable insight on the growth, evolution and impact of social media based on its increasing base of consumers across the nation and the globe. So what can we learn from the Nielsen’s report’s key findings?