Being first to market — or the first to gain market share — has many advantages. Examples of brand names that are interchangeable with product function are iconic. Think Kleenex, Super Glue or Photoshop. They’re product names that we identify with the product itself: any brand of tissue is regularly referred to as Kleenex, just as any doctored photo on the internet is referred to as photoshopped. The reason? They Continue reading
Verizon recently completed its $4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo and is now in the process of merging Yahoo and AOL’s operations into a company named Oath. Oath will be comprised of 50 brands, among them AOL and their subsidiaries, Yahoo and their subsidiaries; The Huffington Post, Tumblr, Autoblog, and Verizon Digital media services. Oath’s portfolio will allow them to leverage data from the 1.3 billion users across Oath properties, more Continue reading
What comes to mind when you picture manufacturing jobs? Grease, sweat, welders, tools, blisters and assembly lines? Picture this instead: robots, technology, computer programing and 3D printing. Thanks to industry rebels such as Voodoo Manufacturing in Brooklyn, NY, manufacturing has changed, and for the most part these stereotypical images are no longer accurate. Industry rebels are people or companies that disrupt in a positive way, and Voodoo Manufacturing does just Continue reading
When you think about mastodons (some people actually do think about mastodons), what’s the first thing you see? A giant, extinct elephant? Well, yes. For some people. But for others, Mastodon is a rapidly growing social media platform named after the abovementioned defunct species (as well as an Atlanta-based heavy metal band). We Rebels believe that industry disruptions create revolutionary ideas. Mastodon is on pace to do this by challenging Continue reading
If you’ve picked up a newspaper, er, a mobile device recently, you’ve probably read about virtual reality (VR) technology. If you haven’t, here’s the cheat sheet: VR refers to technologies that use virtual reality headsets to generate realistic images, sounds, and other sensations to either replicate real environments or to create imaginary settings. It also simulates a user’s physical presence in environments. But do your customers want (or need) it? Continue reading
To help understand why inline styling and all its “royal” characteristics reign, it helps to start by discussing Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Basically, CSS helps distinguish a document’s content against its ultimate presentation on the page. But there’s always more to any story, and inline styling has its own tale. Inline Styling: Among Three Paths to CSS Greatness Whether you’re a creative, full-time web or mobile app developer, or Continue reading
It’s that predictively predictive time of year, and we’re making our own search trend calls for 2017 with predictable boldness. In our 2016 prediction blog post, we anticipated growth of location-based search, video content, mobile optimization, and aggregated content. It turns out, we were right. (Don’t worry: we’re patting our own backs.) What’s the scoop for 2017, and how can you prepare your site for success in the New Year Continue reading
Regardless of the industry, social media is among the most powerful marketing tools in business. Rebel Interactive Group predicted some social media marketing trends for 2016, many of which we saw come to fruition to some extent. Now that 2017 is on the horizon, it’s a good time for us to make some gutsy predictions for another year. Live Streams Become More Important We saw the emergence of live streams Continue reading
Celebrity and brand partnerships are a venerable tradition, from Babe Ruth hawking cigarettes and Michael Jordan lifting Air Nike, to Jennifer Aniston selling skin cream. Partnering with celebrity can boost marketing, but it also comes with risk: choosing the wrong influencers can drive customers away. There are other options to consider as well. Using influencers — socially savvy individuals — in your niche to create and distribute relevant content and Continue reading
Let’s be blunt: you want as many visitors as possible to visit — and stay — on your site. But what happens if they stumble across a “page not found” or a “404” error? It’s a familiar and unsightly roadblock that makes a visitor’s eyes roll; then it sends them on a detour to a competitor’s site. But the super-secret truth (that we’ll share with you) is that you can Continue reading
Whether or not you like it, today’s business owners, sales managers, independent bloggers, and just about any other type of professional competing in the modern market, needs to maintain a highly functioning website that reflects and supports its brand. It’s crucial you understand how your website performs in terms of providing positive interactive experiences for your visitors. Web analytic tools help you gain meaningful and actionable insights into customers’ and Continue reading
As a merchant, you don’t have to be an online retail giant (think Amazon) to understand the advantages — and risks — of e-commerce. Whether you routinely sell to millions or occasionally sell to hundreds, as of the new year, Google will require sites with logins and/or payment portals to have SSL certificates — AKA https secured URLs. Who Should Get an SSL Certificate? While it’s always best to Continue reading
Facebook has raised the ante again, and this time you can definitely ride its wave of success. The venerable social media behemoth now offers a new platform — Facebook Live — for your company to host webinars. It’s a strategic way to provide customers valuable information while getting to know them better. Facebook Live allows users to provide you with feedback in real time by “liking” your live stream and Continue reading
My name is Julie. It’s neither Judy nor Judie, and it’s definitely not July or Jukie (although the “K” is perilously close to the “L” on a qwerty keyboard). If you (or your company) send me an email with my name spelled incorrectly, it will be your first — and last — mistake. (Read: junk/delete.) Does that seem remedial? You’re absolutely correct. It is. But taking time to review some Continue reading
If Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) takes off, it will be a revolutionary way for brands to improve search result speeds on their sites. That can mean a lower bounce rate, which translates to higher conversions. But will Google AMP take off? And what is it, anyway? Once again, Rebel has the answers you’ve been looking for. What is Google AMP? Google AMP is an open-source project that helps website Continue reading
There’s no denying that social media holds considerable sway where your company’s promotional efforts are concerned, but it’s also become increasingly important to focus on email marketing. Always thinking, we Rebels thought of some interesting approaches for growing your business through email subscribership. Here are five easy tips for maximizing your list for long-term success. Incentivize Your Users Among the most strategic tools you have in attracting users to sign Continue reading
Whether you’re looking to rebrand your current business or are in the process of creating a new company, one step you’ll need to take is creating a logo. Coming up with one that properly represents your brand while remaining original enough to stand the rest of time is by no means easy. Following these steps as you work to come up with a logo for your company can help you Continue reading
It’s no secret that big brands create and use custom Snapchat geofilters for marketing and advertising. However, Snapchat’s recent announcement that users could place filters on the app for as little as $5 each, makes it clear this function is no longer limited to large organizations with deep pockets. Instead, small businesses and even individuals can now rent their own customized Snapchat filters. How Do Custom Snapchat Geofilters and My Continue reading
These days, businesses of all sizes are looking for ways to improve their customer experience. Research shows that 86 percent of adults would switch brands due to having just one negative customer experience, whereas 70 percent would be willing to spend more money for a brand with a reputation for excellent customer service. It makes sense, then, that leveraging different forms of technology to improve overall customer experience is a Continue reading
Unless you’ve been living unplugged in a cave for the past month, you’ve probably heard of the latest smartphone gaming craze, Pokemon Go. In fact, if you’re anything like the 5% of Americans who have the game installed on a smartphone, you’re probably quite familiar with it and understand just how addicting the quest to “catch ’em all” can be. But a gaming phenomenon such as Pokemon Go also has Continue reading
While virtual reality is a major player in the immersive experience industry, the videos are expensive to create and often out of reach for brands without six-figure budgets. However, the industry offers a unique opportunity to immerse people in a new experience, and it has a number of uses ranging from educational to advertising. But there are a range of other immersive experiences that are both impactful and attainable for Continue reading
Victoria’s Secret, one of the world’s famous — and slightly infamous — brands, has recently announced they’ve discontinued their catalog, which had been a part of the company’s marketing strategy since the late 1970s. Since the announcement there’s been a fair amount of discussion. Why’d they do it? Have they made the right choice? Our brand experts are here to set aside (some of) our bias — we are a Continue reading
Chatbots? They were so… 90s? But now they’re becoming a critical part of the future of technology. If the world’s top tech giants all have one thing in common, this is it. We Rebels have done our research and compiled the top six things you need to know about chatbots (you’re welcome). They’ve Been Around Longer Than the Millennials Believe it or not, chatbots have been around for decades. Continue reading
Did you tune into the annual Google Performance Summit that took place May 24? Rebel did, so don’t worry: we’ve got you covered. Our SEO and PPC experts are excited to share key highlights and updates in the organic and paid search world (hey, we’re unapologetic nerds). And we strongly suggest you take advantage of these new features early, as each will be critical to your success in dominating the Continue reading
It’s no secret that the landscape of organic search has changed over the past five years. As a result, many website owners and SEO professionals alike have found themselves trying to pin down those changes and work effectively around them. If your organic search traffic is down, there are a few reasons as to why this may be the case. And fortunately, there are always some steps you can take Continue reading
