Shale Plays Media Introduces Customized Content Marketing And Web Development Services

June 16, 2015 - PRESSADVANTAGE -

Mike Marcil, CEO of Shale Plays Media, has announced that his firm has the ability to deliver specialized advertising services to their clients, and delivered the following message: "It's time for the oil and gas industry to flex its collective muscle across all media platforms, from social media to sponsored content."

The number of active Facebook users worldwide per month jumped to 1.44 billion in the first quarter of 2015, according to Statista, a leading internet monitoring company. What's even more dramatic is that 1.25 million of those users access Facebook via a mobile device. Twitter, too, jumped from less than 10 million active users in 2010 to around 65 million active users in the first quarter of 2015. These aren't numbers businesses can ignore. But what businesses need to figure out, is how to narrow that audience so they can reach the users that matter.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, in addition to up-and-comers Pinterest and Instagram, allow a company to promote and market not only their products and services but brand reputation as well. In fact, using social media platforms is arguably one of the best ways to target a specific audience.

Ben Reed, spokesman for Shale Plays Media, said that the recent changes in Facebook's algorithm, marketing on the popular platform can be even more confusing than ever. Knowing how to use the platform to a business's best advantage is a skill that takes time and research or the help of a social media marketing expert. One thing's for certain: ignoring social media and sticking to traditional print ads isn't the way of the future, and that kind of advertising won't help a company grow.

While social media plays a prominent role in marketing, native advertising has seen a huge increase in successfully helping to build a company's reputation, market products and services and increase brand awareness. "Sponsored content has gotten a bad rap in the past," says Marcil, "but it has become one of the biggest success stories of the last five years."

Native is a Natural

Shale Plays Media says that companies need to consider sponsored content. According to a recent study by the Online Publishers Association (OPA), almost 75 percent of publishers offer some sort of native advertising. More importantly, people pay way more attention to that content than they admit. They don't skip sponsored content as much as they claim. According to research from IPG media lab, native ads are viewed for about the same amount of time as editorial content, and they're much more likely to be shared than a traditional ad.

Companies are using sponsored content for a variety of reasons, too. An article sponsored by a company not only helps with brand awareness, but it encourages engagement with the audience, boosts customer loyalty and nurtures the company/client relationship, and generates leads. Last but not least, sponsored content boosts sales.

By engaging an audience and presenting information that's either helpful or entertaining, companies build customer relationships and loyalty. When a reader is engaged with solid, useful content, he or she is also far more likely to respond to a sales pitch. It is worth considering pairing sponsored content with traditional banner ads or other digital marketing to get the best possible results.

The Whole Package

According to Marcil, the best approach for oil and gas companies considering their online presence is a package deal. Forbes writer Jayson DeMers, in discussing marketing trends for 2015, identifies key points companies ought to consider when deciding how to use their budgets. He talks about the relationship between content marketing and traditional digital marketing as well as social media. Social media and email marketing send traffic to a website. An innovative website design encourages engagement and client interaction. Solid content marketing helps increase search engine optimization (SEO), and potential customers will have an easier time finding the company in question in Google search results. All of these things work together to give a customer a solid online presence, and if one leg of the stool is broken, the whole thing can't stand up.

Shale Plays Media LLC, is a leading media company that serves the energy industry by providing news and information on sites such as Bakken.com and many more. The company is now the largest and most comprehensive content and premier digital marketing provider for the oil and gas industry.

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For more information about Shale Plays Media, contact the company here:

Shale Plays Media
Ben Reed
701-552-7008
ben.reed@shaleplaysmedia.com
1201 Page Drive
Fargo ND, 58103