#I never tag my rare analysis posts but I put a lot of effort into this one and I think it's worth sharing this time :')

[khytal]

I’ve been meaning to write about this since ep12 aired but I haven’t had time until now. I'm sure someone's already brought it up by this point but I wanted to put it into my own words, so here I am :]

I’m gonna talk about the “plant song”, as it’s called in stampede’s soundtrack: an 8-bar motif that comes up in several songs in the ost (but I’ll only be going through 3 of them + some other things)

*I consider "common front"/"trigun stampede" to be vash's main theme, rather than "vash the stampede" (more on this later)

it's used (or not, in one case) in some very interesting ways, which have interesting implications :)

I'm referencing track 28 from vol2 of the ost, "plant song on erhu", as the base that I'm comparing the other songs to. aside from some stylistic ornamentation, it's just the 8-bar melody on its own (which I've transcribed in the above image). this is also currently the only version of the song in the soundtrack that features this melody as a solo, with no other instruments.

some notes before I get into it:

-for my sake, I refer to "common front" as vash's theme in this post x) I know it's a shorter version of "trigun stampede" (they're the same song), but the track title makes it easier for me to associate it with vash so I'll be using that instead of "trigun stampede". the titles are more or less interchangeable though

-the rests in measures 3-4 and 7-8 in the transcription for "bio-power reactor" and "common front" don't exist in the songs themselves. I inserted them so that the corresponding parts line up with when they occur in the plant song

-the excerpt from "bio-power reactor" is a diminution (note lengths were cut in half) to make the comparison easier to see

-in "common front" 's case, the transcription isn't entirely accurate but it's more about the notes than the rhythm u-u)b

-this motif is heard in more than just these 3 songs, but about a third of the ost recycles sections from other songs (ex.: "vash the stampede" is just "the jeneora rock resistance" and "trigun stampede" stitched together), so I picked the ones I felt were like "source" songs. since this is about plants, I only had to look for the tracks that were most representative of the twins and the plants themselves

-knives has like 7 different versions of his theme (including the piano/duet ones) but they're all more or less the same so. yeah. I referenced the vocal version in vol2 since it emphasizes the plant song as the melody, and has a slight variation

-I don't talk about the duet here since it's pretty clear that it's for both vash and knives, and it's just a fancy version of the plant song. not much to analyze about it for this post

-I did annotate the music I transcribed, but no knowledge of music terminology is necessary to understand it. it's all pattern recognition, and I mostly just highlighted where the similarities and differences were

-please don't take any of my interpretations as fact, I just thought it'd be cool to point out the motif. you're more than welcome to have your own interpretations using the transcriptions I've included ^^

okay here we go :)

-the songs are listed by how closely they resemble the original plant song, with "millions knives" (and any other related themes) being nearly identical and "common front"'s excerpt being something barely recognizable as the plant song

-"millions knives" has this motif everywhere. you could say it's representative of him being in tune with his identity as an independent plant. or almost like he represents the plants--oh wait, he does (self-proclaimed, but that's irrelevant here)

-almost every time the plant song is heard, knives is there/involved. prior to ep12's implication that it comes from the plants (and the ost outright confirming this), it wouldn't be odd to assume that it's his theme; that's how frequently it pops up. and it's even more obvious in the soundtrack..........except it might as well be his theme, despite its origins lying with the plant race

basically: *knives voice* my theme now

-even though "bio-power reactor" refers to the plants, their song is barely present in the track (it's heard at the beginning and end). kinda sorta makes it feel like a transference of the theme to knives. like the plants are just vibing (they are, mostly) while knives is taking the reins (he is, mostly)

-the reason the track "vash the stampede" isn't part of this is because the plant song is nowhere to be found in it. while it does use "trigun stampede"/"common front", it doesn't have the part that I transcribed

(if you really want to read into this, you could consider the motif's absence a reference to vash being more akin to a human than a plant. I can't say whether this was intentional or not though, considering "vash the stampede" is just a mix of 2 pre-existing songs and has no melodies unique to it)

[-feel free to skip this tangent: "common front"/"trigun stampede" stands out to me because the lyrics are more about vash than the track that's literally named after him (which isn't even an original composition for some reason):

"here I come, here I come any enemy is powerless in front of me here I come, here I come, keep anybody that get(s) in my way, away from me

get everybody involved like a typhoon pull the trigger, shoot down [on a/on the/'nother?] full moon can't you see what I'm [hiding/having?] in my hands call me vash the stampede, and feel love and peace"

not that "jeneora rock resistance" 's lyrics aren't about vash, but I think it's odd that "vash the stampede" doesn't use the lyrics from "trigun stampede" beyond the initial "here I come, there is no one anywhere who is a match for me"]

-"common front" is vash's main theme to me, since it references the plant song while also being about vash himself. it describes vash as he is amongst humans, with the motif serving as an acknowledgment of his race without overpowering the rest of the song (unlike with knives, where it's nearly constant and makes up the core of his theme. if this was intentional on the composer's part, it's very clever)

-the bit I transcribed from "common front" is from the part in the middle that features a flute solo (1:17-1:26; or 1:36-1:45 in "trigun stampede"). you can also hear this in the low brass around 2:27 of "millions knives", where it follows the same pattern as the section in "common front". it looks like this (written as it's heard, without the 2 measures of rest I added):

"millions knives" and this fragment from "common front" are both in the key of b minor ("common front" starts in d minor and briefly modulates to b minor before going back to d minor)

personally I like that knives's variation is grand/drawn out, while vash's is played freely. it highlights their personalities, though we don't really get to see much of vash being "free" in stampede

-there's a very short call and response bit in ep12, where vash sings the first 2 bars to the plants and they sing back to him:

nothing specific to write about here but vash's "La"'s in the jp dub are more articulated because of how japanese people pronounce the "L" sound; whereas jyb's articulation is much softer/barely noticeable (though he sings the 2nd measure with 1 "la" instead of articulating each new note. also his F# was a little flat but like. don't take that as an actual criticism lmao I just have a really good ear)

I don't know why the plants' responses are unique between the two dubs, but I thought it'd be cool to transcribe that part as well. the rhythms were a little hard to pin down since they're sung freely so idk if it's accurate but I know the notes are right x)

-I'm guessing the dub's VA for young vash couldn't sing the C so they cut it and had them start a beat later to compensate and match the lip flaps:

not a significant difference, since the altered part exists in the plant song so it doesn't stand out unless you're listening for it (like I was), but yeah. there you have it

(-I'm sure people know this by now but I figured I'd mention it anyway since I'm talking about it. the reason "knives" asks vash what he's humming in the flashback is because it was rem who asked him that in the original memory. the song seems to be something that all plants know instinctively, so knives should've known what it was. and this discrepancy is part of what caused vash to become aware of himself again......which means knives screwed up his own plan x)

(I wonder if knives will ever talk about what the song means to him))

-when vash is poking at the piano keys at the end of ep12, he's just playing an octave (between a low and high Bb, but that isn't important). my guess is that he's trying to play the plant song, specifically starting at the octave that ties into the triplet, but for some reason he can't get any further than that.

I think he's reluctant to hear the song of his people, the one that made up the duet he and his brother used to play; the one that used to calm him down but may now instead only remind him of what he did/lost. maybe he's trying to reassure himself with the song, and is unable to with the weight it suddenly holds for him

(side note: the duet is in the key of a minor and no Bb's are played in it, so he's not trying to play either parts of the duet)

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extra things I noticed that aren't very conclusive (so don't take them too seriously) but are still worth mentioning:

-these are also arranged from most to least similar

-........yeah I found the plant song in "tombi". the augmented triplets in the pre-chorus tipped me off. I'm pretty certain this is a coincidence though, since it's the only piece of the motif that I heard. I didn't look too much into it, but if "tombi" was written with stampede in mind and if kvi baba was asked to incorporate the plant song then. well. x) anyway I just wanted to point it out, coincidence or not

-knives's theme is here again but for the express purpose of being compared to "orphanage" of all things, because they're in the same key. this 2-bar excerpt plays from 0:18-0:22 in "orphanage", and it seems to be pulled from "millions knives"

the notes are split between 2 different instruments (3 if you count the piano chord reinforcing the A) but they form that exact phrase if you put them together and follow the main beats

which leads me to this point: knives's theme is in "orphanage" because he's linked to it through the eye of michael (again this is me reading deeply into the pattern, so I wouldn't say this was on purpose but if it was.....!)

-elendira's theme doesn't have the plant song in it; at least, not directly. she's actually the reason I ended up writing this whole post, because I wanted to know if the plant song was in her theme. and it's not. fascinating.

anyway this one's a HUGE stretch but I find it to be an interesting interpretation: the plant motif possibly being an inversion, as a way of saying she's neither plant nor human (as mentioned by dr conrad)

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that's all I have to say about this! I hope it wasn't too confusing x') thank you for reading, if you made it this far. the plant song is pretty significant in stampede so I'm really looking forward to hearing how it's used in s2 o)-<

(if there's anything I missed or if you have any questions feel free to ask!)

[nevermindirah]

Do you have any thoughts on the use of AAVE for Nile (or lack thereof) in TOG fanfiction? I've been reading some Book of Nile fic and some writers seem to write her as a Millennial™ (using words like "fave" and "woke") but never acknowledge her Blackness in her patterns of speech. I know we don't see her use as much AAVE in the films, but I would argue she's in situations where code-switching would be valued (first in a "professional" environment in the army, then around a group of non-Black strangers).

Hi anon! I have many thoughts on this and I'm honored you asked me! But I should start by saying I'm white and any thoughts Black fans and especially Black American fans have on this that they want to share would be beyond lovely. (I'm not gonna tag anybody bc that feels rude but please add onto this post if any of y'all see this and want to!)

The main reason I personally avoid AAVE for Nile in my own fics is because I'm not Black. But Nile-centric fics by Black writers tend to avoid using much of it too, at least from what I've noticed/understood, and my guess is it's largely for the reason you mention, that she's in situations that encourage code-switching.

In movie canon Nile is highly competent at tailoring her language to each situation she finds herself in. This fantastic linguistics analysis meta shows how skillfully Nile chooses her vocabulary and grammar to meet her goals with different conversation partners in different contexts. In comics canon Nile had a bunch of different civilian jobs before joining the Marines, so she would've had experience code-switching in the ways that made sense for all those different contexts as well as the Marines and her family and high school and wherever else she spent her time before we met her. And now she's spending her time with a handful of immortals none of whom are native English speakers and a fellow Black American but one with a Queen's English UK accent whose professional experience is in the CIA where high-status code-switching is often an absolute must for success or even survival.

Fics featuring Nile are charged with extrapolating from that to how it might show up in her use of language that she's coping with a traumatic separation from her family and her career and pretty much everything she's ever known and now she needs to be able to make herself understood to people who seem to care about her and each other but are super duper in crisis, three (soon to be four) of whom predate Modern English entirely and the only one who's anywhere near her contemporary she's not supposed to talk to for a century. All of these people are telling her that pretty much any contact with any mortals poses an existential threat to her and the rest of the group. How the FUCK is she supposed to cope with that, like, generally? And would it be a more effective way for her to cope if she talked to Andy Joe and Nicky using the speech patterns that she used to use with her mom and brother, to at least retain that part of her identity even if it means having to do a lot of explaining, or would it meet her needs better to prioritize Andy Joe and Nicky understanding what she means with her words over using the particular words and grammar forms she used with her family?

I've seen several fics, both Nile-centric / BoN and otherwise, explore this a little bit in how/whether Nile uses Millennial™ speak. It's often a theme in Nile texting Booker despite the exile because of the popular headcanon that he as The Tech Guy is the only other immortal who understands memes. But Nile's much-younger-than-Booker mom probably uses Boomer and/or Gen X memes and Andy has been adapting to new communication styles for forever as evidenced by her canon high level of fluency with standard-American-accented English.

Which brings us back to people avoiding AAVE because they're not Black and they don't want to make mistakes (or they're not Black and they don't want to get yelled at for making mistakes, though I think many people overestimate how much they'll get yelled at while underestimating how much these mistakes can hurt). I can imagine some Black fans hold back from using much AAVE in fic because they don't want to share in-group stuff with white people who are likely to then adopt and ruin it, as white people so often do with Black cultural stuff. Some links about this including a great Khadija Mbowe video. I'm saying this gently, anon, because you might not know: woke, an example you cited as Millennial™ speak, is AAVE, and that's gotten erased by so many white people appropriating it and using it incorrectly online.

And also there's the part where fandom is a hobby and you never know when you're reading a fic that's the very first thing someone's ever written outside of a school assignment. This cultural considerations of language shit takes a level of effort and skill that not everybody puts into every fic, or even could if they wanted to because they haven't had time to build their skills yet. It's definitely easier for non-Black fans to project our millennial feels onto Nile than to do the layers of research and self-reflection it requires to depict what Blackness might mean to Nile, and it's not surprising that often people sharing their hobby creations on the internet have gone the easier route. There's not even necessarily shame in doing what's easier. It's just frustrating and often hurtful when structural white supremacy means that 3-dimensional Black characters are rare in media and thoughtful explorations of them in fandom are seen by the majority of fans as not-easy to make and therefore Nile Freeman, the main character in The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood, has the least fic and meta and art made about her of our 5 main immortals.

I've been active in different fandoms off and on for twenty years and I barely managed to write 5,000 words about Sam Wilson across multiple different fics in the 7 years since I fell in love with him. There's an alchemy to which characters we connect with, and on top of that which characters we connect with in a way that causes us to create stuff about them. Something about Nile Freeman finally tipped me over the edge from a voracious reader to a voracious writer. It's not for me to judge which characters speak to other individuals to the level of creating content about them, but I do think it's important for us to notice, and then work to fight, the pattern where across this fandom as a whole Nile gets way less content, and way less depth in so much of the content that's in theory about her, than any of these other characters.

Anyway, back to language. My two long fics feature Nile with several Black friends — Copley and OCs and cameos from other media — but all of those characters except Alec Hardison from Leverage aren't American. It's very possible I'm guilty of stereotyping Black British speech patterns in I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore. I watched hours and hours of Black haircare YouTube videos in the research for that fic and I modeled my OCs' speech patterns on what I heard from some of those YouTubers as well as what I've heard people like John Boyega and Idris Elba saying in interviews, but the thing about doing your best is you still might fuck up.

I'm slowly making progress on my WIP where Nile and Sam Wilson are cousins, and what ways of talking with a family member might be authentic for Nile is a major question I need to figure out. For that, I'm largely modeling my writing choices on how I hear my Black friends and colleagues talking to each other. I haven't overheard colleagues talking in an office in a long-ass time, but back when that was a thing, I remember seeing a ton of nuance in the different ways many of my Black colleagues would talk to each other. Different people have different personalities! And backgrounds! And priorities! A few jobs ago my department was about 1/3 Black and we worked closely with Obama administration staff many of whom were Black and there was SO MUCH VARIETY in how Black people talked to each other, about work and workplace-appropriate personal stuff, where I and other white coworkers could hear. There are a few work friends in particular who I have in my head when I'm trying to imagine how Sam and Nile might talk to each other. From the outside looking in, God DAMN is shit complicated, intellectually and interpersonally and spiritually, for Black people who are devoting their professional lives to public service in the United States.

One more aspect of this that I have big thoughts on but I need to take extra care in talking about is the idea of acknowledging Nile's Blackness in her patterns of speech. There's no one right way to be Black, and Nile's a fictional character created by a white dude but there are plenty of real-life Black Americans who don't use much or even any AAVE, for reasons that are complicated because of white supremacy. (Highly highly recommend this video by Shanspeare on the harms of the Oreo stereotype.)

Something that's not the same but has enough similarity that I think it's worth talking about is my personal experience with authenticity and American Jewish speech patterns. My Jewish family members don't talk like they're in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I've known lots of people who do talk that way (or the millennial version of it), some of whom have questioned my Jewishness because I don't talk that way. That hurts me. Sometimes when another Jew tells me some shit like "I've never heard a Jew say y'all'd've," I can respond with "well now you have asshole, bless your Yankee-ass heart," because the myth of Dixie is a racist lie but I will totally call white Northerners Yankees when they're being shitty to me for being Southern, and this particular Jew fucking revels in using "bless your heart" with maximum polite aggression, especially with said Yankees. But sometimes I don't have it in me to say anything and it just quietly hurts having an important part of me disbelieved by someone who shares that important part of me. The sting isn't quite the same when non-Jews disbelieve or discount my Jewishness, but that hurts too.

Who counts as authentically Jewish is a messy in-group conversation and it doesn't really make sense to explain it all here. Who counts as authentically Jewish is a matter of legal status for immigration, citizenship, and civil rights in Israel, and it's my number 2 reason after horrific treatment of Palestinians that I'm antizionist. But outside that extremely high-stakes legal situation, it can just feel really shitty to not be recognized as One Of Us, especially by your own people.

It can also feel really shitty to be The Only One of Your Kind in a group, even if that group is an immortal chosen family who all loves each other dearly. Sometimes especially in a situation like that where you know those people love you but there are certain things they don't get about you and will never quite be able to. I'm definitely projecting at least a little bit of my "lonely Jew who will be alone again for yet another Jewish holiday" stuff onto Nile when at the end of I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore she's thinking about being the only Black immortal and moving away from the community she'd built with a mostly-Black group of mortals in that fic. Maybe that tracks, or maybe that's fucked up of me.

Basically, this got very long but it's complicated, writing about experiences that aren't your own takes skill which in turn takes time and practice to build, writing about experiences not your own that our society maligns can cause a lot of harm if done badly, it can also cause a lot of harm when a large enough portion of a fandom just decides to nope out of something that's difficult and risky because then there's just not much content about a character who deserves just a shit ton of loving and nuanced content, people are individuals and two people who come from the exact same cultural context might show that influence in all kinds of different ways, identity is complicated, language is complicated, writing is hard, and empathy and humility and doing our best aren't a guarantee of avoiding harm but they do go a long way in helping people create thoughtful content about a character as awesome and powerful and kind and messy and scared and curious and WORTHY as Nile Freeman.

[izukusjoyfriend]

Deku and Bakugou analysis,a bit of a KatsuDeku theroy post.

Warning!!! This thread is very long and has suggestice themes. Please proceed with caution.

"After that, he lit a fire under me like that"

That's way to sus.

One thing I've noticed too,Deku refers and reacts to Bakugou differently than big heros,even ones that he strongly admires,like,really admires,like all might.

Which makes me thinks..Is all the romantic-like shit done on purpose?

Stuff like this:

That first line translates into: The burning longing in my chest will not disappear.

Second line:I want it to change

He said he daydreams about him and Katsuki in some opening I don't remember.

Stars are VERY prominent with them to,after when Deku said that sus line,he looks up at a star,and saids,he wants it to change,ya know,there is also another song about Katsuki and Deku,Its Polaris. It being about Deku and Katsuki,makes a lot of sense.

Heres why;

"If I could go back and give up everything I had,I would never hide my scars for anything. No not for no one"

When Katsuki bullied Deku,he was scar-ed.

It makes sense. He regrets what he did to Deku. Hes trying to Atone. He absolutely hates what he did to Midoriya,and The line saying,"No,not for no one". It makes sense!

Katsuki hid his scars and tried to act like a big and tough boy,which in reality..

He was the weak one. That's canon,that was touched apond in the manga

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"Say goodbye ,I don't have the strength to let it all end,I would give all and everything if we could mend,All I wanted was you to stay and not disappear,I've decided I will follow my heart,Promise yours will always be right near me.."

Makes a lot of sense. Let me explain,The "Say goodbye" line is a play on deku leaving U.A,and after that..Bakugou saids this,

"I don't have the strength to let it all end!"

Which is..f***ing heart breaking.. Alright let me bring this up,

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Yes, Izuku's exhaustion and pain is the primary focus, but those tiny details imply that Katsuki Bakugou, the guy who has had a strict bedtime and diet his whole life, who puts every bit of effort into his own health, has completely disregarded his self-care to go after Izuku. Which also implies that his body didn't just move on its own when he risked his life for Izuku. It's further evidence that he isn't just trying to atone for his own sake. This guy straight up stopped taking care of himself because he was WORRIED for Izuku. He stopped sleeping in favor of searching. He reaggravated a very serious injury (one that he got already protecting Izuku) in order to protect him AGAIN.

Which..Makes sense... It shows more of a..Softer caring side of Bakugou. It explains it itself.

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"I would give all and everything if we could mend,All I wanted was you to stay and not disappear,I've decided I will follow my heart,Promise yours will always be right near me.."

Wow. If this is Katsuki..Its makes a lot of sense.. He would give..A lot for him and dekus friendship to be better again. That's why he did the training with him.

He would do anything to make the connection with him and deku because..He,wants to mend with Midoriya. Repair the friendship..

But what is really interesting and important is,that,He said "I've decided I will follow my heart,promise yours will also be right near me!" Which means,it wasn't just not his mortal compass..It was also where his,Heart was leading him too..

Which means,Bakugou doesn't just want to mend things for sake of mortality and heroism,but also,it's because..He feels that he should. And I would say he feeling like he should do this because he feels bad for deku,BUT,he said he wants deku heart to stay near his..which means:

"Close to your heart" is an English idiom describing something or someone dearly loved. It can be used to describe anything that has earned a great deal of affection from a person, often through familiarity with it over time. The meaning of this phrase comes from the fact that the heart is considered the organ of the human body that is the source of all love and affection. As such, anyone or anything that resides close to it will be on the receiving end of those feelings."

❗❗❗❗❗

OHHHHHH----- KATSUKI---

It could be platonic-- but...he wants..There..Hearts to be close?? That's oddly specify..He could just say he want them to be close..The thing is,he didn't even have too say anything about hearts..Hearts are symbolized as,a love thing.

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❗❗❗❗

You're probably asking "Why does this matter???" Well..Ummm..Look at the background. There bubbles,the trope which is used is called love bubbles.

A romantic moment in anime is often accompanied by a pastel background with lots of bubbles. Nobody knows who wanders into all these series with an invisible bubble machine, but maybe they should stop before they get soap in somebody's eye...

Is..Is he blushing..? That explains the bubble and sparkles..

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HuH..???? HOW-

Look I don't know what to tell you.

But if that's not romantic,then I don't know what it is.

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Peace sign is confirmed to be a bakugou and deku song. He calls this story,MY HERO ACADEMIA,"OUR STORY"...huh..Remember the song "Datte atashi no Hero?" He also called bakugou his hero. Let that sink in.

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Remember shout baby...? Heres more crap to make Bakudeku romantic.

Let's go over that one line again..

Can't sugar code it. Nope. That's romantic in nature. Unless deku has fucking heart problems,this is romantic. No doubt on my end.

Heres something that just plain romantic.

"It’s frustrating that this unusual scent of hair made my heart flutter. So I hid my lips that’s forming a smile under my scarf.."

Wow... This sounds like Bakugou.

Let me explain why it does sounds like Bakugou. Frustration. About something small as that seems like him. It sounds like him too. And also,Bakugou rarely smiles.. I wonder what they where doing which made his heart flutter.

And why it's romantic..? Hear the way that's worded. The person hide the lips after their heart flutters.

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Alright let's go here. This is a song that supposedly between Bakugou and Deku.

Let's see it here,

❗❗❗❗❗

And the kanji used for this song is not helping.

They use the words like "Suki" Suki is only plantoic when revfiring to non humans. Deku uses it to Katsuki at the end of the song in another translation like this,

Suki da suki da suki da suki da

Context clue:

Suki da,

好すだよ。

Suki da yo.

I like you.

This phrase is commonly used in everyday life. It reveals to the interlocutor that you have feelings for him. It is up to him to interpret the strength of your love.

To avoid misunderstandings, do not tell people with whom you have friendly relations. I already imagine your Japanese friends feeling uncomfortable because they think you are trying to get out of the friend-zone. 

Kimi ga daisuki da yo.

大だい好すだ。

Daisuki da.

I really like you.

Daisuki implies that you are a big fan of something when you talk about an object, food or a sports team. This is also the case when you talk about an artist, an athlete or some other famous personality.

But when you say that to someone, it implies that you have strong feelings for that person. These feelings must be beyond normal friendship.

........

*Sigh*

Here's more of the song

"Update! I want to fly, to fly, just to fly so far away, away from here. It can’t be anybody else, I don’t want anybody else. Because I don’t want to regret, I’ve got to say it now,I love, I love, I love, I love,I love being here with you."

The more I read into it. The more the song sounds like Katsuki. And it make sense if somewhat of update is sang by Katsuki.

Think about it. The song said this,

"It's not what you do,or what you say,it who you're with."

And if you think about,someone of these song lyrics sound like Katsuki himself.

This song is blunt. Blunter,then fuck,and you know who's blunt..?

Katsuki.

I'm not saying he sang all of it.. No. Update actually in the outro points about Deku and makes him the main focus. But,these lines make more sense for Bakugou then Deku,

"If you are, you are, you are, you are,If you are with me,Not back, not down, but the reason I was able to see the front only was,You were here"

Those lines make more sense for s5 bakugou and up,then s3 deku. Let me explain why. "The only reason I was able to see the front is because you where here" remember the apology..? If you don't it's chapter 322

Also for a second,let pay attention to this

It can’t be anybody else, I don’t want anybody else.

That's literally at least saying that Katsuki is VERY special to deku. And the context for this is that,who he'd run away with. It's basically saying he'd spend his life with Katsuki away from everybody else..and he would be..Fine..?

That really saying something about his favoritism to Katsuki-

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SEE WHATS WRONG...? If ya don't then,here;

It's really just explains itself,Katsuki and Deku are the only ones here.

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Tags: #bakudeku #decchan #bkdk #Izuku x Katsuki #bkdk canon #katsudeku #deku x kacchan #dkkt #dkbk #wonder duo #bakugou x deku #deku x bakugou #dekugou #dekugo #dekubaku #dyandeku #midoriya x bakugou #bakugou x midoriya #bakumido #bakudeku analysis #bakudoriya #bkdk fluff #bkdk soulmates #Katsuki x Izuku #katsuki x deku #deku bakugou #mha bkdk #long post #twin stars

[prince-liest]

I got my first technically negative comment on AO3 ever just now, and it was made with the goal of calling out my use of an ableist slur in Shinsou's internal narrative in Summer Break. The person was totally well-meaning and I'm not fussed about it, but it kinda reminded me of a thought I have every once in a while, which is that I'm so freaking pleased by how many people consume my stories with a lot of effort put towards depth and insight.

A LOT of the heavy, deep shit that I write about never makes it out of the subtext in my stories. I write a lot about trauma, recovery, and a variety of unhealthy mindsets - and most of the dark subjects that come up in the narrative are never something that the characters sit down and discuss or psychoanalyze. They're just there, written as naturally and genuinely as I know how, and I leave it entirely up to the reader to have to dig through them and their ensuing narrative consequences. They're persistently there, but they're very rarely spelled out.

Stuff like, "Shinsou throws out an R slur here, and I trust you to cotton onto the insinuation that he's spiraling emotionally and his maladaptive defense mechanism to that involves defaulting to the abusive language he's internalized from it being thrown at him throughout his childhood" is literally so much not a given... and yet I very quickly stopped being nervous every time I post a new fic for my growing collection of works tagged things like Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, C-PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, etc, because the vast majority of people in the comments are nothing but effusive and often very in-depth in their analysis.

It's the most satisfying, gratifying thing ever and this comment really just kinda hit an "exception that proves the rule" brainworm for me. So, like. Thanks for trusting me to handle this shit with respect and depth, even when the tags make it look like an edge-fest. I love you all a lot. 😊

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

Peace! It's nice to meet you, fellow mbti person! I'm so glad to have stumbled upon an ISTJ who is into typology! I have a request. I typed Elsa from Frozen in a post (I'll tag you) and I argued that she is not an ISTJ. I wanted to know what you thought, particularly if I made any mistakes in understanding the ISTJ personality type. Thank you so much in advance! I hope it's not too much of a bother. I'm an INTP btw.

Hi,

I want to start out with the following: for anyone reading, do not make a habit of having me analyze your posts about fictional characters. I am happy to help you type yourself, or answer questions about MBTI. However, in case it was not clear from the fact that I have only typed fictional characters in response to direct questions, that my answers have typically been very brief, and that I’ve repeatedly directed people to blogs that specifically focus on character typing, I’m not really interested. I should note: I had fun because I love picking up my metaphorical red pen and writing “wrong” over every other sentence, but it did also take me like an hour and a half and it’s over 3 pages long, and I don’t have time to do that regularly.

With all that said, the post had sufficient issues with both basic logical argument structure (I would very strongly recommend you revisit that INTP typing of yourself and look at something with high Fe instead) as well as understanding of MBTI that, because you asked directly, I will go through said issues. I want to make it very clear: this is going to be harsh. For both that and for the length I’m putting it below a read-more such that if you were looking for a brief thumbs up or down and not for extensive criticism, you are welcome to ignore it, block me, or whatever is best for you.

Basic argument structure: you open repeatedly with the most subjective arguments - that she gives off Fi and Ni vibes and you don’t see the Si in her. This will convince no one but yourself.

This argument is also mostly focused on “other people think this, but I don’t” which I find is only useful in a process of elimination argument. We’ll get to the final typing eventually but it is generally stronger to argue in favor of what you believe and then address potential disagreement rather than the reverse; by the time you get to ISFP I’ve read so many incorrect assumptions and subjective asides that I’ve long since stopped valuing the analysis of the work.

Issues with the ISTJ argument

(note: I have, and continue to type Elsa as an ISTJ so this will be the longest section in that I’m both pointing out flaws and arguing in favor of ISTJ; the rest will be solely focused on MBTI misconceptions or logical fallacy).

While it’s true people often mistake trauma for Si, this argument seems to equate trauma with being stuck in the past (people can just be stuck in the past without trauma for whatever other reason - it’s not healthy but it does not necessarily indicate literal trauma). There is also a false opposition here: It’s absolutely valid to argue that Elsa is traumatized, but that does not preclude her having Si, merely removes one argument in favor of Si.

You define Si (gathering concrete details to understand what to expect) but don’t actually argue why Elsa doesn’t do this. I’d argue, in opposition to the statement later in this paragraph, that she does. She is aware from the past that her abilities can harm her sister. She is aware from her past that when she avoided Anna, Anna was safe. She hasn’t been happy with the “conceal don’t feel” line, but it has achieved her goals and her expectation is that she’ll hurt someone if she stops following it.

If you’re referring to an Si-Fi loop (wallowing in self-pity), it doesn’t use Te since that’s how loops work. You don’t explicitly say this is in the context of looping although you introduce looping in the second sentence, but if you are referring to a loop this is incorrect. It’s true that ISTJs are often likely to use Si (preference for familiar/existing structures) and an Fi understanding of morality to direct their energies when they wish to change something (ie, they will change things through existing channels) but the focus on speaking out about injustice here is much more in line with enneagram 1 - a very common enneatype for ISTJs and an enneatype that’s rare for any non-TJ types, but not the enneatype I’d give Elsa nor an inherent ISTJ trait itself.

The part about self-discipline is mixed - a lot of ISTJs are very disciplined in certain areas (particularly professional/familial) but can neglect the self (not getting enough exercise/not eating well, not addressing burnout or more emotional issues) and I’d argue again, Elsa shows this: she’s not addressing the fact that she’s lonely and miserable, but she’s highly disciplined with regards to concealing her abilities and avoiding Anna even though it’s the very thing making her lonely and miserable.

I don’t necessarily think Let It Go is indicative of an Ne grip, but one can make changes outside of a grip, so this isn’t a useful argument, as it argues why an Ne grip is wrong, not why ISTJ is wrong - I would merely argue she’s not gripping at that time. Which is a general issue here: the argument you provide in this paragraph isn’t arguing against ISTJ, it’s arguing against other people’s arguments for ISTJ, which is an important distinction.

The final paragraph of the ISTJ section has numerous issues: ISTJs are not rebellious. They are not as resistant to change as stereotypes indicate, but even a healthier version of ISTJ Elsa would be unlikely to rebel and rather try to understand her parents’ argument, research other options, or look for a way to gain control over her powers while still working within the normal hierarchy. I addressed self-discipline (I should add: I don’t think a child/young woman having difficulty controlling magical powers with no training is an argument against self-discipline; my argument for self-discipline is that she stays in her room and away from her sister despite clearly hating it). It is also, to be blunt, mind-boggling that you (correctly) argue that trauma responses are not inherently Si but then refer to obsessive-compulsive behaviors as Si when that’s also a medical disorder completely divorced from the MBTI framework. Finally, her continuing to follow an order from her parents after they die is first, quite literally the definition of self-discipline (she’s the queen; no one else is going to discipline her for it, after all) and second, entirely in line with Si (this is what she has always done and it’s not great but it works) and is, arguably, if not medically obsessive-compulsive, an obsessive need to follow a compulsion. To be clear: this isn’t healthy ISTJ behavior, but since you’ve acknowledged grips and loops here I think an unhealthy interpretation of the type is very much on the table. You say her behavior is more in line with F types; it’s not and you don’t explain why.

If I may it seems as though, much in line with the argument here being against other arguments but ultimately not debunking the typing, your arguments against MBTI stereotypes focus on what’s incorrect but they tend to merely swing the pendulum to the opposite side (eg, that ISTJs are likely to rebel, in opposition to the stereotype that they’d mindlessly follow orders) rather than find the more nuanced middle ground of how people of a type or with a certain function behave.

Issues with the INFJ and INFP sections:

Ne users can and frequently do go out into the world; simply because Ne can be engaged without external physical stimulation doesn’t mean it never is. I’m also not really a fan of reading being classified as a strictly introverted pursuit; that’s falling into a pretty significant stereotype trap. Going out and exploring is a thing anyone can do but if anything I’d either associate that more strongly with high sensing (either Si or Se) or with extroversion. 

My biggest issue here is the implication that searching for a meaning for existence or a purpose is in itself an indicator of Ni. This is just the human condition. If you’re going to argue that Si users are driven to rebel against injustice I don’t see how you can miss that that might in turn be driven by a belief that this is their purpose. Perhaps Si-Ne users aren’t as invested in having a single purpose, but wondering why you are on this earth and what it is you are here to do is just being a person, and to be blunter than I have been, I am struggling to understand how there has been so much effort made earlier to push away from stereotypes to the point of overcompensation in the opposite direction and then when it comes to the idea that only Ni users have a desire for meaning in life you just accept it without question.

Issues with the ISFP section:

At this point I’ve probably covered most of them though I’d like to point out that I don’t think there was an argument ever made explicitly for introversion; while the structure of the earlier arguments and focus on debunking was, as stated, flawed, I would at least round it out by eliminating ESFP as an option.

The argument here rests heavily on Let it Go, which is interesting because most of the terrible arguments for Elsa being an intuitive also rested squarely on that same brief if admittedly pivotal section of a full movie; in attempting to differentiate itself from those arguments it has in fact replicated the most significant flaws. Anyway, I’ve addressed that I don’t personally think Let it Go being indicative of a grip is how I’d argue for ISTJ, so that becomes invalid; I’ve tried to focus more on issues with logic MBTI than the contents of the movie but I’d add that “she was happy” is open to interpretation and her emotional state was probably fairly complicated. Relieved, sure, but she’s still ultimately isolated. (Also while mentally singing Let it Go, I realized that here’s that rebellion you were asking for in the ISTJ section).

You also outright say that when Elsa tries to reassert control it’s through Te. Yeah. That’s what a high Te user does. An ISTJ in a grip would indeed use Ne, but in quite literally any other circumstance (looping or just existing as an ISTJ not in a grip or loop) would reassert control via Te, so again, your argument does not sufficiently eliminate that Elsa is an ISTJ, just that she’s not a gripping ISTJ, which I’d agree with. 

“She acts out when she is stressed and makes bad decisions” is also the human condition (and why I’ve frequently on my blog argued very strongly against typing via stress behaviors, because in the end most people...act out and make bad decisions when stressed), so this isn’t useful as an argument for anything.

In conclusion: multiple misconceptions about Ni and Si; no argument that I could find presented for high Fi, just Fi in general; inconsistency regarding whether or not Elsa rebels, and an overall reliance not on making a new argument but on arguing why other arguments were wrong. Given the title of the post you asked me to analyze I have to (admittedly this is extremely cynical of me) wonder if there was an underlying goal to come up with a typing that was different from commonly accepted arguments, rather than to simply type for its own sake. 

[leafesol]

Some people are interpreting this post as me arguing that Goldenglow is a Crowd-Control operator, not a DPS. I wasn't going to respond initially, but I know I'm not going to get it out of my head unless I put my thoughts down somewhere, so I'm going to try to clarify a few things. (Emphasis on "try", because I know I'm not the best at it.)

That post was not made to say Goldenglow is strictly Crowd-Control. Alternatively, it's not saying she is strictly DPS either. The intent, (which, I admit, was poorly worded) was that there is no need for her to be wholly one or the other.

That post was made before her release in-game though, so to everyone who told me she is a DPS and that she has the DPS tag, thank you for telling me something that the past me did not know, I'll be sure to pass it on. I realize that making a post like that before then is probably a bad move, but I'll explain my reasoning for doing so in a bit.

Someone brought up the question of if the hypothetical person in the above was real, to which I say, I paraphrased what they actually said.

This is the person I had in mind while writing the above post. And maybe I interpreted their statement incorrectly, but I'll get to that in a second. Note that I don't have anything against the person themselves, it's just that what they said was the initial catalyst for the whole post.

Simply, I made that post in a moment of frustration. I just wasn't in the right state of mind to even try to form a coherent argument. (Hell, this post might not even be coherent even though I'm trying.) Goldenglow is not the first new character I've seen something like this happen to, and it's been grating on me, for over the course of a year and a half. That's why the post was structured so informally, why I used the word 'maybe' so liberally, why, again, the statement of the above Discord user was paraphrased to such a degree. Because I was frustrated and didn't put a lot of effort into it. (To be fair I also didn't expect it to get the traction that it did.)

I know there are people that like to do this type of analyzation, that this is how they have fun with Arknights. For some people it might be a necessity if they're going to spend money on the game. That in of itself is not the issue. The issue I have comes from the feeling that this apparent obsession with categorizing everything into good/bad, meta or niche, pervades every aspect of how I interact and have fun with Arknights and the community.

It feels like I can't admit to not raising certain characters because I don't want or need to without getting hit with how they can be used in the base. It feels like I can't admit to not knowing parts of a character's skill without getting hit with "EN can't read", even if it's a skill I don't use on a character I rarely use. It feels like I can't explain that I raised characters like Ayerscarpe or Jessica because I simply didn't have "better" options at the time without feeling like I'm being simultaneously judged for it. It feels like I can't openly admit to using Surtr, or guides, because in doing so, I'm opening up to what feels like mockery, harassment, or judgement. And to that person who asked if the first post was based on something a real person said, I can assure you, that all these too are things that actually happened. And there were more, but I'm rambling now.

And maybe my point for this post also got lost in the translation from my thoughts to the keyboard, but, and I'll be the first to say it, the translation almost never comes out the way I intend.

TL;DR. I made the original post out of frustration, not from a desire to prove a point. Stop telling me things that I wouldn't have known when the post was made, it's likely not going to change my mind. Yes, the post was based on something someone said, but it was heavily paraphrased, because again, frustrated. And you can play the game however you want, yes, including meta analysis, but for the love of god, please stop trying to hold me to the same playstyle, even if you are "trying to help" because it doesn't feel helpful, it feels forced onto me.

Some meta obsessed nerd on Discord: The slow on Goldenglow's S3, paired with her first talent, completely ruins the damage from her trait.

Me from the back, becoming increasingly frustrated: Maybe she wasn't designed to do damage. Maybe that's not her role. Maybe, like Kjera's Cold/Freeze and Click's stuns, she's meant for Crowd Control. Maybe her talent was meant to allow her to juggle more enemies than either Click or Kjera could. Maybe her global range on S3 allows her to be in more places than the other two of her archetype could hope for. Maybe not every character's niche is necessarily DPS. Maybe she doesn't have to compete with Eyjafjalla. Maybe not every new character is going to reshape the meta. Not that it would matter, of course, because when that does happen, all you fucks complain about is how they're a "must pull", and that "it's just another unit to build" to stay viable in the meta of a goddamn singleplayer game, you dENSE MOTHERFUCKERS.

[rated-r-for-grantaire]

Jay Gatsby has AVPD

the titular character in The Great Gatsby is an AVPD icon, which I shall explain under the read more. It’s sort of a longish post - I’ve copy/pasted the DSM symptoms and showed examples of when Gatsby displays them, so it may be a bit rambly, sorry.

Heads-up: A good number of the points involve Daisy and it’s a bit repetitive. 

I have identity issues, which include low self-esteem. I find myself unappealing or inferior to others. - When he was originally trying to get back with Daisy, he was incredibly insecure and nervous about everything. True, it could be contributed to general nerves, but it could just as easily be contributed to a PD as well.

I set unrealistic standards for myself, and I am reluctant to pursue any of my goals or take personal risks or engage in new activities which involve interpersonal contact. - Um yes this is pretty much Gatsby’s entire character! His dream of being with Daisy and being the perfect man for her is incredibly unrealistic and yet he holds himself to that standard everyday. He also never makes an effort to contact Daisy (until Nick shows up to support him), just stares at the green light.

I am empathic, although I focus more on negative feelings which are directed at me. I am sensitive to criticism and rejection. - Gatsby is so terrified of being rejected and/or criticized that he makes a huge fake life so that people like him. Ironically, he ends up getting criticism for his fake self just as much, if not more, than for his true self.

I am reluctant to get too close to people and maintain a distance to keep people from knowing me too well. - Gatsby has very few true friends and doesn’t really make an effort with anyone, except Nick. Readers (correctly!) say that only three people come to Jay’s funeral (his dad, Nick, and Owl-Eyes) bc they didn’t actually care about him and only liked him for his parties, but rarely have I seen people acknowledging that this is more than just assholes being materialistic partiers...it’s Gatsby being lonely.

I experience intense feelings of nervousness, tenseness, and panic in reaction to social situations. I worry about the negative effects experiences, and I am afraid of embarrassing myself. - This is the whole reunion scene with Daisy. 

I detach myself from social contacts and don’t initiate anything in order to avoid embarrassing myself or ruining the relationship. - See again: His awkwardness when first reuniting with Daisy. I say it can apply to other people too, though, as we never really see Gatsby initiating much - maybe a bit in the beginning with Nick, but that’s all. In general, he’s a very detached man. 

I find myself unable to fully enjoy myself or properly engage in experiences which should make me happy. It’s hard for me to take interest in things. - Gatsby is not a happy person at all. He doesn’t have fun at his parties, and he doesn’t seem to have casual interests either - just obsessions, and not even many of those if we’re being honest!

I avoid intimacy and getting too close to people (romantic relationships, friendships etc). Hiding away from everyone during his own parties? Staring longingly across the bay instead of going to East Egg and trying to talk to Daisy? Seems avoidant to me!

I avoid activities that involve significant interpersonal contact because of my fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection. - Again, he avoided pretty much ALL (legal) social activities until he met Nick. Even around Nick he was still nervous. And this really applies to so much more than just Daisy and the “hiding from people at his own parties” thing. After he got rich, Gatsby never truly put himself out there. He’s so nervous about everything. And he hates criticism! He either gets self-deprecating or destructive towards others when he is criticized. (I’d say self-deprecating more so. He gets destructive towards Tom once i think and that’s more about rage and fear over his cover being blown than anything. But...it still happens.)

I’m pretty unwilling to get involved with people unless I’m certain they’re going to like me. - Given all of my other points, I don’t think I need to explain this one by now. 

I hold back in personal relationships because I’m afraid of being shamed or ridiculed - He never tells anyone about his true self. He created his fake and glorious persona because he was ashamed of how he really was, when it’s really nothing to be ashamed about. It’d be one thing if he was actually a bad person who deserved to be shamed (like Tom, who is a literal white supremacist, unloyal, sexist dick), but he isn’t.

I’m preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations. - Once again, my other points apply here. I can’t think of anything Gatsby fears more than rejection. He NEEDS people to like him and this could not be more obvious.

I feel uncomfortable in new interpersonal situations because of my feelings of inadequacy. - He is literally awkward as hell with EVERYONE. I've already addressed how he is around Daisy, but tbh he's awkward around others too, even Nick. When him and Nick first start to become friends, he keeps fumbling around with his words and he's really not smooth at all. It is in part due to all the lies that he is telling Nick, but Gatsby lies a lot in general and he doesn't ALWAYS act that way while telling his lies. Otherwise people would’ve suspected that something was up with him sooner than they actually did.

I see myself as socially inept, unappealing, or inferior to others. - Gatsby may act cool and confident, but he doesn’t feel that way about himself in reality. He truly does not see himself as good enough.

I’m reluctant to take personal risks or engage in new activities because I may embarrass myself. - Gatsby is an outsider in his world, and he's not a risk taker at all (at least not in a social aspect). He hopes and waits for good things to happen to him, rather than taking action and doing new things.

So that’s my analysis. Maybe a small part of this headcanon is projection, but I do truly see canon avoidant traits in Gatsby. He fits some parts of the criteria more than he fits others, but no one needs to fit ALL the criteria to have a diagnosis. I just think Gatsby does...to some extent.

You can reblog this whether or not you have avpd btw, i’m putting it in the tags for other people to see and for my own filing, not because I ONLY want avoidant Gatsby fans reblogging it. And if anyone - avoidant or not - has any feedback and/or more evidence supporting this I’d love for you to share it in the reblogs or replies! There could very well be some stuff I’m forgetting.

[its-a-queer-thing]

In case you missed it... Pt 1

Gallavich moment 1: The Meeting-- 1x03

This IS your spoiler warning. All of these posts will include spoilers from ALL 7 seasons.

So, something I’m certain is less than palatable for critics is how these two met. I’m certain so many people were turned off by their story because of violence--which is fair! Even the cast portrays the violence in their arc as bigger than it actually is. (SIDENOTE, I am NOT condoning violence of any kind in real life relationships. This is a TV drama that takes place in a world that I personally have no understanding of and I’m certain many of the fans have no understanding of. The premise of the show is that they are living in a ghetto area where the rules are different than the society I know and was raised in, and while this is not an excuse for any form of violence, it explains a lot and demands a sort of bend in typical rules; this is the premise on which I base my analysis).

They meet on violent terms and maybe that got people unsettled to begin with? However, in case people missed it: Mickey was chasing and threatening Ian because Mandy lied and told her brothers he raped her. I think this is a pretty realistic reaction for all different kinds of people. A lot of people don’t trust cops to handle situations like this or just feel the need to take matters into their own hands in general.

To remind: Mandy tried to jump Ian who is 100% gay and had no interest in her, and also has 0 backbone for telling her to kindly fuck off.

When he does put his foot down, she flees the Gallagher house and tells her brother(s) (Mickey) that Ian raped her. Mickey and his brothers then hunt for Ian providing us with two of the most dynamic and effective character introductions on TV.

These shots established two things.

1. Mickey and his brothers are badasses (not necessarily in the complimentary way (though yes there’s that), but like literally they are badasses and are not to be fucked with). Now, their introduction is a violent one and obviously we are scared for Ian because we know he didn’t do anything; BUT let’s not get angry at Mickey just yet. He is trying to avenge an alleged sexual assault which he had every reason to believe occurred. The Milkoviches would never go to the police because they are usually the ones being picked up by the police, so could you imagine any of them calling an officer to their aid or any officer who frequents the Milkovich house giving their best effort to help? 

Yeah, me neither. This is just one example of many that establishes what world they live in--one in which the rules by which our society values (one in which we call the cops when something goes wrong and can trust that they will/can help) don’t apply. In this world, you handle your problems yourself and often times you handle those problems with violence. If you as an audience member don’t like it, it’s probably because you recognize that it is an accurate depiction of life in neighborhoods like this, and it makes you uncomfortable knowing that there are communities like this. Which is the point of early Shameless itself as a darkly satirical look at the underprivileged of US America.

So here Mickey is taking matters into his own hands to defend his sister (arguably an admirable action). He then spends the whole episode hunting Ian down.

This further shows how devoted he is to the people he loves. Obviously, this is a good and bad thing. Good because fierce devotion is rarely a bad thing and is usually an admirable quality. Bad because when this degree of devotion is bad, it’s usually because of a disregard for limits to what they will do for someone--including having no reservations for breaking the law --

--like tagging, assault, and stalking. The moral standing of this is debatable due to two major factors: 1. Mickey is trying to avenge his sister’s rape (the fact that it didn’t actually happen holds no weight against Mickey because he believed it was true). Had the assault actually happened, I feel like Mickey’s actions in this episode would not have been challenged as strongly by the disgruntled audience. 2. His background. Though it shouldn’t excuse him, it would be an incomplete analysis to ignore how he was raised and how he learned to deal with his problems. If this were real life, these things would never excuse him, though could explain his actions so we would understand them, muddling the morality of the specific actions. I think that is a huge distinction that needs to be made: excusing versus understanding. Hopefully I am not the only person who has encountered people who say and do things that are wrong (though maybe not quite to the degree Shameless sinks to for virtually all of their characters) and while I don’t excuse these actions or statements, I may try to understand their perspective with the hope that some day that perspective will change and these offenses will become fewer and further in-between (as they did with Mickey throughout the series). 

I feel another reason some people don’t receive Mickey well is because he beats up Lip (though let’s face it, the smart mouth was kind of asking for a punch with his comeback about Mandy).

*Note, Karen backing away from him because she knows what’s coming. I mean, who can honestly expect to say something like that to even a reasonable person and not get hit? Say it to the neighborhood thug who scares grown-ass men and you’re not walking away with only a single punch.

 Lip fans may resent him for beating up Lip and scaring Ian just as I resent Ian for leaving Mickey at the border, but I will also understand Mickey’s perspective because the writers had to stay true to the world they live in. 

Finally, the chase is called off when Ian comes out to Mandy who promises not to say anything to anyone, and even offers to be a faux girlfriend so no one gets suspicious. This sparks a friendship that is questionable to say the least, but still one of the better aspects of the show (especially within Ian’s and Mickey’s plotlines). At this point in the show, Mickey and Mandy exist solely as accessory characters for Ian’s plotline, but clearly those roles are important because otherwise I wouldn’t be here typing up this masterpost to counter-argue criticism against Mickey and Gallavich. 

That’s all I’ve got for 1x03, but please feel free to reblog to add anything I may have missed or even counter-argue! Or show some love if you agree. 

Get the whole analysis

[aeon-wolf]

My rant about Supergirl & its fandom

I’m really going to try not to be rude about Mon-El as a character, Karmel as a ship or anything to do with the show itself and the writing. But I am going to rude about the Supergirl fandom. Don’t read this. I just needed to get my feelings off my chest. >.<

I’ve been stewing for a while about Supergirl and where the CW seems to be taking the show. Ever since Supergirl got moved to the CW from CBS, I’ve been wary about what they were going to do to the show. Ever since The 100, I’ve been very skeptical of the CW and hesitantly got into Supergirl for the sake of a single character, Lena Luthor. Which is why you’ll rarely see me posting analysis posts about the show or being overly critical of the show. Because I’m only invested in a single character, I try to stay in my lane as best as I possibly can. 

But everything about this fandom has just driven me to a place of annoyance and irritation that I needed to get my feelings off my chest. 

I’m very much the type of person who believes that you should ship what you want to and people should respect your decision to do so. I have a personal thing against incest/non-con ships and I know a lot of other people do. But as far as my line of tolerance goes for fandom, it’s pretty high. I’m not the type of person to believe that if you support a ship, that means you must be anti-everything else, because as a multishipper, I know that’s not true. I’m also not the type of person who says that if you like a problematic ship, that you as a person are problematic. I don’t see a problem with liking problematic ships. But we then get to where I draw the line. If you don’t recognize the ship is problematic and you think it’s a perfect relationship.

This is where I start to get extremely annoyed at fandom. Especially at the ire between Supercorp and Karmel shippers. And this is where I’m going to frank and pretty rude about both fandoms. Supercorp has its really toxic shippers. I think on some level, the entire fandom knows it. And when Karmel fans call us out for our toxic people, we should acknowledge that they exist. There are some really overly zealous people in our fandom. And they can get very brutal with their spewing of hatred. And it gives the rest of us a bad name. If we, as a fandom, are going to bunch the Karmel fans together with the worst of their fandom, we should have to take responsibility for the worst of our own. 

On the flip side, I consistently see Karmel fans saying that Karmel is a perfect example of what a relationship should be and that Supercorp shippers are only angry at Karmel because it’s a straight white man that is standing in the way of Supercorp. First off, 95% of the Supercorp fandom acknowledges that Supercorp will never happen. That is completely not the reason that Supercorp shippers dislike Mon-El and Karmel. In fact, you see a large number of Supercorp shippers who will stand up for Karolsen because while that isn’t something some of us like, we all acknowledge that they really fucked over that relationship for Mon-El and Kara. 

It was an entire season of slowburn for a relationship. Only for it to fail within a single episode. Fair enough if you believe they had no chemistry, but you cannot say it is fair for a relationship that they were building for nearly 20 episodes to be broken up and brushed aside in the span of one. Especially when the interracial couple was broken up for yet another straight, white couple. 

Now, this is me setting side Supercorp for a second. 

Karmel is far from a perfect relationship. And while on some level, yes a relationship should have flaws to make it realistic, Mon-El takes it a step too far. It’s not a reach to say that Mon-El barely respects Kara, he has belittled her, spoken for her, insulted her, hurt her, played with her emotions, and guilted her into things. These things in and of themselves can be dealt with. He can relearn as Karmel fans are so fond of saying. But the problem is is that he seems to not learn at all. Kara chides him for doing these things and within the next two episodes, he turns around and does it again and then blames it on his relearning. That’s not him putting in an effort, that’s him making excuses. 

And on a side note, why do people even think their storyline is romantic at all? I have never understood why straight people always think that this “Bad boy falls for the good girl. He wants to change so he can date the girl. So he asks her for help to change, just so he can date her. She tries to help him change. He ends up making a half-assed effort. But because he’s better than when he started, the girl falls in love with him” trope is cute. It’s not. If you have to change yourself completely, just to date someone, that relationship is probably not a healthy one. Especially if you are constantly slipping up, especially when you not around your significant other. 

That being said, these are reasons why I personally cannot get behind Mon-El. (There are others but if you want a deep explanation, inbox me). But, I also respect people’s right to ship it because they do find that story compelling. But don’t go around telling everyone that Karmel is the definition of a perfectly healthy relationship. Because it’s just flat out not. “Things were easier when I objectified women and didn’t care about anyone”? Give me a break. That should be a sign of a problematic character. Not that he once did that and is trying to change, because okay. Character development. But the fact that he said it in the first place. It’s not the content of the sentence that bothers me. It’s the fact that it was a necessary line when he should have just kept his mouth shut. 

And then we’ll get to what really got me steamed. The flame baiting. I’ve been in a number of different online communities where flame baiting is common, gaming ones mostly. Let me tell you, I have never found it to be effective in doing anything except starting a fight that shouldn’t have been started in the first place. I don’t blacklist anti-supercorp or anti-lena-luthor tags because unlike a lot of people, I don’t want to confine myself to a bubble. I want to know what people think on the other side. I think it’s important. 

But when you have some Karmel fans who are intentionally posting anti-supercorp posts, in the supercorp tag where you know all that will do is cause people to send you hate when you could have easily kept your thoughts to yourself or within your section of the fandom, and in fact you’re basically asking for hate messages to prove your point, that’s flame baiting. Going into a community with the intention of getting a rise out of people you know are there. That accomplishes absolutely nothing. If people truly wanted relations between the fandoms to get better, both sides wouldn’t do shit like that. At that point, it’s just being unnecessarily antagonistic and honestly really immature. 

Neither fandom is perfect. We’ve both got our toxic shippers. And problematic elements to each relationship. That doesn’t make the shippers problematic people as long as they acknowledge it’s not perfect. And honestly, as I said, I don’t give a flying fuck if people want to ship Karmel. That’s their choice. Just like it’s my choice to ship Supercorp. And as long as you leave me alone, I leave you alone. But there is a minority on both sides that go out of their way to unncessarily start shit and that needs to fucking stop. 

[anthonykrierion]

The Complete CognitiveSEO Review

Last updated on January 3, 2020 at 06:04 pm

CognitiveSEO has been part of the SEO-Hacker toolbox since 2017 and I have been using it since then. CognitiveSEO is an all-around SEO tool that is being used by hundreds of SEO agencies and has helped improve the visibility of thousands of websites.

I had the privilege to test CognitiveSEO in its beta phase and I wrote a review on its Keyword Tool and Content Assistant. CognitiveSEO has made a lot of improvements since then and I thought it would be great to review this tool again and talk about everything that it has to offer this time.

If you’d like to try out CognitiveSEO for yourself, you could do so by going to this link and get a free trial. I highly recommend that you go and check it out but if you need more convincing, you could read this review first!

SEO Campaign Setup

CognitiveSEO allows you to set up campaigns to easily check for errors on your on-page SEO, track your backlinks, monitor your competitor’s backlinks, and track your keyword rankings. The process of setting up a campaign is easy and simple and can be done in a few clicks. All you have to do is put your domain, select the campaign objectives, and move on with the next steps.

Once you’ve set up the campaign, CognitiveSEO will start to crawl your website and it will take a few minutes before it is done crawling. The tool also allows you to connect your Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts for complete data.

Site Audit

CognitiveSEO’s site audit tool is its newest feature. It scans for critical on-page SEO issues found on your website. The site audit tool will look for issues on your website’s indexability, content, and architecture. It can detect 404 errors, missing and duplicate meta tags, pages with thin content, mixed content, malware, and images without alt text.

The site audit can also give you an overview of your website’s site structure. With this tool, you could easily identify the pages that need more internal links, broken links, anchor text distribution, and crawled sitemaps.

What I like about this feature is that the Site Audit Overview already gives me all the information that I need and helps me prioritize the problems I need to fix first. I don’t have to check each and every URL if it needs some fixes. One look at the dashboard and all I need is there. All I have to do is click that issue and it will take me to the list of specific pages that need immediate attention.

The dashboard will always show you the Top 3 Fixes that the tool recommends. In this example, the three problems were Non-Descriptive URLs, Limited Word Count Content, and Similar Page Titles.

If I go to check the pages with Limited Word Count Content, it will show me a list of pages with low word count numbers and should be optimized by adding more content. This saves me a lot of time rather than sifting through pages one by one.

Depending on your plan, the number of pages the Site Audit tool will crawl is limited. CognitiveSEO’s starter plan has a maximum limit of 50,000 pages so if you have a website larger than that, you would have to contact their team and request a more suitable package for you. However, if you have a limited plan, there is an option to put a URL list in your crawl that allows you to specify the pages you want to crawl so you could prioritize important pages on your website first. 

inBound Link Analysis

CognitiveSEO’s inBound Link Analysis is one of my favorite tools to use. In the SEO campaign, the inBound Link Analysis monitors all of your website’s current, new, and lost backlinks realtime. It also allows you to track your competitor’s links to give you an edge and steal their backlinks to your advantage. But, the backlink analysis tool shows you more than that.

There are two things that I love in this tool: Data visualization and Unnatural Link Detection. 

In the dashboard, I have the option to select different types of link charts. I could check my website’s Link Velocity to see my backlink profile’s growth, show the ratio between nofollow and dofollow links, the location where my links are coming from the most in webpages, and even the category/niche of the websites linking to my website. I find this really useful since it gives me a holistic view of a website’s backlinks.

The inBound Link Analysis tool will also show you the most used anchor texts in your backlinks and there is an option for you to classify each anchor text if it’s branded, commercial, or miscellaneous.

Once you’re done with the classification, CognitiveSEO will start to scan for unnatural links that might increase your chances of receiving a penalty.

From here, you have the option to go to the Unnatural Links Navigator, check if these links are really suspicious and harmful, and export a file with the list of URLs you want to disavow.

Similar to the Site Audit, the inBound Link Analysis has also a maximum limit of 200,000 backlinks that it will crawl per website. This is for the Starter package and you would also have to request a custom package should you need to crawl more links.

CognitiveSEO Backlink Influence

There are so much more data to explore inside CognitiveSEO’s backlinks checker that I can say it is a haven for link builders. Another major example of it is CognitiveSEO has its own metrics to identify the influence of each linking webpage or domain to your website. The Link Influence and Domain Influence.

CognitiveSEO uses different metrics to identify if a website has No, Low, Good, Average, or High influence.

I use this tool regularly when I do link building. Before I consider building a link from a website, I check it first if it is worth the effort by checking its influence in CognitiveSEO’s Quick Site Explorer. I usually target websites that have at least Good Page and Domain Influence. I also check the website’s Link Profile Influence which shows a chart of all the influence ratings of the website’s backlinks.

In the inBound Link Analysis inside the SEO Campaigns, there is also a visualization of the overall link influence of the website you are monitoring. While it is great to have links that are Good to High influence, CognitiveSEO states that it is normal to have the majority of a website’s links Low or No influence because the majority of the web consists of low-quality websites.

Content Optimizer and Keyword Tool

No SEO campaign would work without, of course, content and keywords. I’ve already reviewed this tool in my previous article on CognitiveSEO but it is just so good that I had to revisit it.

The Keyword Tool allows you to do keyword research fast and easy. Once you search for a keyword that you have in mind, CognitiveSEO will show you its difficulty and give you an estimate of the Content Difficulty and Links difficulty of the keyword. It will also show you other related keyword opportunities in the Keyword Explorer Tab and gives you an overview of your competition in the Ranking Analysis Tab.

CognitiveSEO measures Link Difficulty based on the strength of the backlink profiles of the websites in the top 10 search results. A low Link Difficulty score indicates that it is easier to rank for the keyword with just a few links. It will also indicate the recommended number of links you need to the page you want to rank and your domain if you want to win the keyword you are targetting. With that said, a high Link Difficulty score means you need more links to rank.

CognitiveSEO measures Content Difficulty by how much the top 10 results for that keyword is well optimized when it comes to content. A low Content Difficulty score means it is easier for you to rank by using content. The Content Difficulty Score can also be a basis of the minimum score your content needs to have for you to compete for the keyword. You could use the Content Optimizer tool to find out your content’s rating and CognitiveSEO will also give you suggestions on how to improve your score further.

CognitiveSEO Signals

Last 2019, Google started to pre-announce broad core algorithm updates. Google algorithm updates are always a crazy time for SEOs because you can never know how you will be affected. It is rare for Google to announce algorithm updates and you can never expect it but having tools to help monitor the volatility of the search results can give you a good idea if there is something going on.

CognitiveSEO has a tool called CognitiveSEO Signals that monitors over 170,000 keywords for fluctuations. They also keep a track of the past confirmed Google Updates if you to see a history of significant updates.

I usually check this tool a few times a week. High fluctuations in this tool don’t necessarily confirm that there was an algorithm update on that specific day until Google confirms it but this gives me a good idea that Google might be changing small things or could expect that there might be a big update coming.

Key Takeaway

CognitiveSEO is a versatile tool that can save webmasters a huge amount of time and offers unlimited optimization opportunities to increase a website’s visibility. I’ve been using CognitiveSEO for more than 2 years now and I could easily say that I’ve had a great experience with this tool. The user interface is pleasing to the eyes and the ease of use makes it a great tool for single website owners, agencies, and enterprises.

The Complete CognitiveSEO Review was originally posted by Video And Blog Marketing

[gus-the-icreamman]

3 Secrets You Didn't Know About SEO

There should not become any haste in selecting the SEO service providing company. Keyword research is still the critically-important element of SEO. Finally SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Smart links allows you in order to set nofollow attribute and open up links in new window. Page titles and descriptions have an effect on what individuals see in research results, so it's necessary in order to check these out in any kind of SEO audit. Mobile user experience may perform a key role in the particular way sites are ranked, therefore not having a mobile-friendly edition could greatly hinder your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION efforts. SEO is actually a cross-functional marketing activity that will gives visibility to content within the organic search channel. 15 Upon Page SEO Techniques To Position High In Search engine outcomes. There are several technical modifications that web developers and SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION companies can do to repair this, so do not overlook it. If your competitors have a fast mobile-friendly site plus you never, you will drop traffic and business to all of them. Improve the customer experience by offering the thorough assistance and provide your SEO ranking a improve. SEO, today, means what usually has: creating a website that will can be properly understood simply by a search engine. Many growing SEO trends could infuse large difference to future SEO technique of businesses. Plus that's why search engine optimization (SEO) - the earning associated with traffic through search engines : has been this kind associated with important topic for site proprietors for more than 20 many years. 1 of the biggest mistakes brand names make when it comes in order to their SEO is focusing upon metrics that misrepresent the whole success, such as keyword position and keyword search volume. Some SEO software equipment give you the option in order to spy on your competition, in order to see where they are obtaining their links from, what key phrases they are competing for, plus so much more. I'm curious : sometimes with your chapter-based instructions, you might have them most on a single page such as this one, but sometimes they may separate pages with the overview web page as a sort of introduction + table of contents, like as the Keyword Research intended for SEO Definitive Guide. When you have a brick-and-mortar company, you can't neglect local SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION and listings if you desire to stay profitable. A current study from Toby Shotland & Dan Leibson associated with Local SEO Guide showed that will the strength and volume associated with local citations don't seem in order to matter much for local search positions. White hat SEO is definitely not just about following suggestions, but is about ensuring that will the content google search indexes plus subsequently ranks will be the same articles a user will see. In case you want to get even more traffic from SEO in 2018, I recommend creating and customization content specifically for YouTube. We have a strong belief that will content marketing and social networking each will be among the top SEO trends in 2018. In some rare cases, we all have found a customer in whose website is well-optimized (good content material, page titles, meta tags, intra-site linking, and so forth ) Actually, strike that - All of us have never found a client having a well-optimized website before participating an SEO firm. Filter the keywords within line with the search quantity and try to see in the event that you may get any content ideas through it. Parenthetically - you select a keyword Local SEO Trends”. It can be Local SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Checklist, Local SEO tips plus tricks, Local SEO trends intended for 2018 and so forth. A person can then either use this particular article as being a guest post or even publish it on your very own blog. "Search engine friendly" websites are webpages that have apparently had SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques applied to them. Since Google emerged out with its Pigeon” revise, local SEO has gained substantial prominence forcing businesses and internet marketers to pay attention to the local tangent. Lastly, a typical issue such as penalization simply by Google for spam links or even content duplication is a permanently issue for SEOs to prevent cautiously. The takeaway here is that will if you have LOTS associated with location pages serving ONE SOLITARY business in a single place, then those are very most likely classed as some sort associated with doorway pages, and probably old-school SEO processes for these type associated with pages will see them categorised as lower-quality - as well as -- spammy pages. Knowing that will, smart SEOs are starting in order to optimize a selection of their own content for voice search. A write-up within states that 85% of people prefer native mobile apps in order to websites Feature your brand conspicuously in the app name plus be sure you have correct links to apps for much better search rankings Also, you should assure that app optimization tops your own list of SEO optimization. You need to give upward the on-page SEO practices plus techniques belonging to the old-school. On-Page SEO refers to all the particular things that you can perform ON your website to assist you rank higher, such since page titles, internal linking, meta tags & descriptions, and therefore forth Hey John, I'm in the current method for optimizing my YouTube Route and update everything I may to improve its SEO ranks. To stay on the best it is mandatory to believe out from the box which delivers the particular best quality at ease along with holistic SEO approach in 2018 ADDLEAD is leading Digital advertising agency specialized in SEO, Sociable media management, website designing plus online branding. I believe that will 2018 is going to be the particular year where voice search changes how users search and SEOs need to optimize. The purpose of off-page SEO would certainly be to get links in order to your information. There are usually many tools on the internet to assist with basic key word research (including the Google Key word Planner tool and there are even more useful third party SEO tools in order to help you do this). Another important issue to add up to the particular checklist for local SEO within 2018 is UX. The consumer experience for Local SEO will certainly become even more important within 2018. In the older times of SEO, Google could not understand modifiers, meaning if I actually put in more keywords within like best” or new, ” I could outrank someone which failed to use those key phrases in the meta title. While the real difference, for people snippets, is not the method the information continues to become fetched by Google (as this particular works much like the great old SEO) but how the particular result is presented towards the particular user: these snippets answer the lot of questions, triggered simply by our voice.

Off-Page SEO refers in order to the techniques that are utilized to improve the ranking associated with website or blog. In this situation, in, the article ranks immediately after the official Google guidelines (and it seems sensible that Search engines should be number 1 upon their own branded query) yet Smashing magazine is shown because a position 0” snippet associated with text around the query Google put up guidelines” in. Search Motor Land, a high-quality SEO blog page that is a pillar associated with the community is ranking right after Smashing (which happens to become more of a design blog page than an SEO one). SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is the discipline that enables people and websites to gain access to the potential of the internet. Search motor optimization (SEO) is the procedure by which a website is definitely optimized for making sure this has the highest position position for the search engines results web page. Create new and fascinating blogs, have them optimized with regard to SEO, link to other appropriate pages, and share them upon social networking. Today, some website themes furthermore come with a built-in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION tool kit which allows a person to definitely monitor the key phrases you use. SEO is definitely conducted around the understanding that web pages rank because of how appropriate a webpage is to analysis online query and how several links point out that web page. You might be which owns a growing and growing business, the webmaster of the dozen sites, the SEO expert in a Web agency or even a DIY SEO ninja fascinated in the mechanics of Research: information is meant for a person. In truth, this SEO method is regarded deceptive since it tricks research engines in order to obtain the desired ranks for focus on keywords. Black Head wear SEO's tend to look intended for loopholes and in order to game” the particular search engines in a method that causes massive results, plus fast results. In order in order to maintain the right track, we all have come up with the particular new SEO Trends that will certainly be necessary to overcome your own competition in the year 2018. Starting from what exactly will be voice search and why is definitely it so important for your own online business, in this guidebook we will share with a person 10ย actionable tips on how in order to optimize your content for tone of voice search and various SEO methods that can specifically provide you with this particular. Within 2018, SEO is content plus content is SEO, content is definitely digital and digital is content material. As with any kind of industry, it is our obligation to stay aware of any kind of emerging SEO trends so that will we can incorporate them in to our strategies and be certain we are providing our customers with creative, industry-leading strategies plus business advice. For this reason, in general, the rule associated with thumb here is that, within order to win SEO”, a person want to rank #1 with regard to all of your keywords. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION stands for Seo. ” This particular is a significant process associated with generating traffic from the free of charge, organic, editorial and natural research results on search engines. I actually believe that 2018 is heading to be the year exactly where voice search transforms how customers search and SEOs need in order to optimize. SEO within 2018 is the process associated with increasing organic traffic by developing content and optimizing webpages that will match what search engine customers are seeking. Now could be the good time to take the closer take a look in SEO marketing data because research is getting worse for most types of B2B and B2C businesses. 34. Applying SEO methods (like keyword optimization) to interpersonal media increases discoverability when customers search social platforms like Fb and YouTube. Then each time the term SEO appears on your web site, it's automatically turned into the link you specified. Dark hat SEO attempts to enhance rankings in ways that are usually disapproved of with the search motors, or involve deception. Moreover, us SEOs considered AMP just another (often annoying) "added task" to our own implementation checklist, and not since a signal from the genuine intentions of Google: Mobile lookup is all search. Whenever it comes to WordPress SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, it is important to keep in mind that Google is still the pc algorithm, and that is definitely why keywords still matter within 2018. ย You definitely should end up being writing for your visitors plus customers as Google recommends, yet write smart. In case you want to excel with SEO in 2018, you need to start thinking of long-form content. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the particular hardest parts of running the website. The history of SEO schedules back to the 90s whenever the search engines like search engines emerged for the first period. A single reason is because of device learning, however take is that will the major search engines utilizes machine learning to help all of them identify great content, identify articles that users like the many, identify one of the most authoritative content plus better understand user intent plus queries. ” All of that will keeps SEOs in business, fairly much as usual. (Note that will this is figure was used at the time of creating - in case you click on on the link you'll most likely find a different number, since data from this source is definitely collected in real time. ) This is a lot associated with activity for any given company to compete with and is definitely why SEO is such a good important (but tricky) section of electronic marketing to know. I haven't heard that will new videos are given concern but I have definitely noticed this and think it may be genuine - I just haven't completed (or read about) any tests on it. Google likes clean content though and especially within the field of SEO, points get outdated quickly so a great new video can definitely become powerful. There's a great program for analyzing websites called Screaming Frog SEO Spider It gives users the opportunity to check their blogs for broken links, external and internal links, pages that don't exist anymore and redirects, defining Title, H1 and a number of other features. Your contribution to Advanced SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION tricks is appreciated, It will be rightly said by you SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION tricks to enhance traffic continues to be the same All we require to do is to highlight on making sure that every web page has appropriate name tags and that the content material is just not thin” or low-quality and other Off page tactics. One off page SEO method to be very specific along with search pages as well since to increase response and hyperlink acquisition rates in your outreach would be to actually make use of in moment options on the internet research. Mobile users are increasing therefore it you must aware with the mobile SEO tactics and also updated that Google making. 1- I realize that do backlinks with robots or programs, that not great for SEO and Big Sibling Google do not love this i mention to Fiverr Gig”. Knowledge associated with SEO techniques can assist a company to promote its online existence effectively. Therefore, as a good online marketer, you should possess a clear regarding the latest SEO trends. Along with SEO becoming more and even more important, search engines had in order to produce a way to utilize this with greater accuracy. Given the rankings plus search volume, SEO can generate considerable traffic and leads intended for Grainger. Google's Featured Thoughts and quick answers can become another important SEO trend that will you should watch in 2018. Many business people find looking at up on the "moving target" of SEO distracts them through daily priorities more than these people ever imagined, therefore it is usually good to look closely in why is sense for every business. SEO is mainly about keywords. See how I naturally included multiple variations of the keywords (called LSI keywords) that I am looking to target how to do seo”, seo tips and techniques”, search engine optimization wordpress”, and so forth If you are the marketer or a business proprietor, or maybe an agency for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, it's always good for study and learning new SEO methods. With that will in mind, here are a few key tips for enhancing your own Google rankings, based partially around the latest SEMrush SEO study, plus partly on our own evaluation of marketing trends. Within SEO terms of speech, that will means much more long-tail key phrases included in the list. Taking the effort to understand even the basics of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION can help your site get higher click-through rates, engagement, plus of course, rankings. This particular will lead to an even more individualized experience, while the rise associated with voice search and digital co-workers can offer the ideal floor to develop artificial intelligence plus reward successful SEO strategies that will keep up with the developments.

Voice search is developed to interpret user intent, therefore the challenge for SEO is usually to optimize content for queries searchers are likely to request. Just remember in order to focus upon solid content creation and copywriting fundamentals, engage your viewers significantly, and stay abreast of specialized trends like backlinks, SEO wellness, site speed, and schema. All of us already see this trend within lots of places, like incredibly precise targeting of social advertisements - but a lot associated with brands still approach SEO plus content creation using a one-size-fits most attitude. Further SEO Wise links allows you to set up your own keywords and place of matching URLs. As Google acquires even more off-site details about businesses, SEOs require to be thinking read even more about optimizing a business with regard to both on the web plus offline success. An excellent SEO option regarding 2018 is the creation associated with video content for our customers. The services usually offered simply by an SEO consultant includes yet may not be restricted in order to keyword or key phrase analysis together with checking out the particular competition, SEO web design with regard to the site and other internet pages connected to your blog, functioning with the necessary codes plus content for the site, construct link popularity for the web site and website SEO maintenance intended for the particular site. Consequently, I would say that 2018 is a challenge for Search engines, as much as it may be for SEOs. This also ties straight into another hot SEO trend : voice search. If you click upon the link for post, Precisely why SEO Is Not Going Away…But Will Change - Here's The reason why #155, ” you can select to pay attention to the particular site's 155th digital marketing movie or read the transcripts. If you don't take treatment of SEO, you can obtain lost among the trillions associated with links out there. Search engine methods are closer than ever in order to mimicking a human understanding associated with query intent based on synthetic intelligence; therefore the focus associated with all facets of SEO want to be biased toward customers with an emphasis on relevance, quality, and engagement. If you started 2018 along with a strong SEO campaign, yet aren't too sure if this is worth your time plus effort, it's time to contact Knoxweb. For hyperlink building in 2016 and over and above, the ability to understand these types of external website concepts and furthermore to use effective off-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques can help you along with in influencing a website's rank power.

thirty-one. Link Development @jambad 2018 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Trends - 5 Ways In order to Stay Ahead of the Shape SEOmeter 92 What exactly is definitely it? Today, just the particular most smartest search engine optimizers with most recent SEO styles and techniques, and the greatest content writers achieve the phase where they are the numero uno hit on the Search engines. I agree with almost all points but still unsure just how voice search can transfer in order to SEO. The particular best SEO plans will combine video (specifically, YouTube) as component of the marketing mix. Even though proper link building is just SEO 2019 PDF not a good easy thing to do, right now there are still many seo strategies you can start with also today, without considerable efforts or even expenses. SEO much even more than just on-site optimizations in order to increase search engine ranking. It's a great and educated blog to improve your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ranking. Faster launching of web pages serves the particular ultimate good user experience plus thereafter it helps in great SEO score boost. ” Since per Google AdWord is regarded, faster loading of a internet site or a webpage is 1 of the most important stage for achieving a good high quality score of a squeeze web page.

Ranking today offers more to do with significant and useful content than SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION voodoo link crazy linking methods and spending your time upon keyword density as well as other technical products. SEO is making the most of findability, user experience, and wedding by making certain content plus messaging is aligned and structured based on the language that will potential customers and visitors are usually most often using to explain the products, solutions, services or even information that a website is definitely providing. With a couple of correct best WordPress SEO procedures you can really see the nice little boost both within SERPs and Google Picture Search. Essential whenever they will plan to expand their web business; they quickly need in order to take the help of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION optimization services. First, understand that schema markup is one of the almost all effective, least used parts associated with SEO today Schema are essentially brief snippets of data that will can give extra information in order to search users and search motors like google.

The Penguin update was released to algorithmically penalize sites who deliberately attempt to enhance their search motor rankings via link building techniques or Black-Hat SEO techniques in order to artificially raise the ranking of their particular websites. Blog site commenting is another SEO techniques for enhancing your SEO results. Tools like SEMrush Backlinks Band, Moz Open Site Explorer, plus MajesticSEO Bulk Backlink Checker permit you to input your domain name to be able to monitor the number of backlinks might gained over a certain time period of time. Bill is a content advertising and SEO expert with more than 4 years experience working like a full-time consultant. With Search engines continuously trying to mimic individual mind, SEO experts may have got increased focus on end customers. In purchase to master this, constant screening of content, keywords and hyperlinks that are centered on the niche market should form portion of your SEO strategy. When you begin task management with SEO PowerSuite's Rank Tracker, the Google SERP Features column will display almost all elements generated by your key phrases, with the ones you position is highlighted in green.

[marie85marketing]

8 Overlooked Social Media Tactics That Can Increase Conversion Rates

“Wash. Condition. Rinse. Repeat.” Sound familiar? It’s a common morning routine. And we all know how things run when we settle into a comfortable routine: it feels like life is on autopilot.

Sometimes, that works. However, you might perform your routine so well that you forget to look for improvements. Perhaps your hair would look better without conditioner, but if you never stop to question your routine, you’ll keep going down the same path. You’ll be stagnant.

The same logic applies to your social media strategy. It’s easy to repeat the tactics that have worked well for you so far, generating a little bit of buzz and keeping you hooked into what’s happening on Twitter.

But are you just going through the motions without considering how you can use social media to improve conversion rates?

If you’ve been using the same social media strategies for ages and your impact has leveled off, it’s probably time to review your goals and make sure that your social media tactics are increasing conversion rates, building brand awareness, and bringing in new customers.

Here’s how.

1. Double Down on One (or Two) Channels That Work For You– And Share Videos

Let’s face it: Internet users are addicted to video, and that’s great for publishers and marketers.

On average, Facebook users devour 100 million hours of video every single day. About 82% of Twitter users watch video on that particular medium. Marketers are also seeing positive results with LinkedIn Video, which was introduced this past August to help users introduce themselves, explain their professional processes, or reach out to new people.

If you want to increase conversion rates on social media, double down on the channels that are already working for you. For example, if you see more engagement on Twitter than you do on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to direct your efforts on Twitter.

After we saw higher engagement with Facebook videos, especially the one about the three essential ​WordPress plugins for websites, we narrowed ​our targeting ​to ​people ​that are ​interested ​in ​WordPress ​as a ​software ​and ​those ​who ​work ​in ​IT ​industry such as the ​web ​developers ​or ​freelancers. As the result, we’re able to ​reach ​more ​potential ​customers ​and ​generated ​immediate page ​likes ​and ​engagements, increasing ​the ​average ​daily ​registrations by 71%.

2. Use Thoughtful, Conversion-Oriented Social Sharing Buttons

Many publishers simply work hard to create content and trust that readers will figure out how to share their content. However, it’s easy for publishers to integrate compelling social sharing buttons onto their blogs– and these easy-to-click buttons help drive virality.

That’s why it’s crucial for publishers to optimize their social sharing buttons to drive more content engagement. But before we get into the tactics, let’s talk about what makes a good social sharing button in the first place:

Clarity. Social sharing buttons should be both easy to spot and understand. Remember those “Try me!” toys in the toy store? Those are great examples of buttons with clarity. All you have to do to have fun is press the button. Don’t make users work to share your stuff.

Non-interference. Social media buttons that interfere with the content tend to get on our nerves. Users will have no qualm sharing your content if they think it’s worthy of sharing — your job is to make it easy to share and the sharing button doesn’t get in the way of the content.

Strategic placement. What do we mean by “strategic”? You should place your social media buttons just at the moment someone feels compelled to share your quality content. Don’t jump the gun or make users search for a long time for your buttons, only to finally give up.

Depending on your specific blog and its graphic style, you’ll likely want to choose between two types of social buttons: inline or sticky share buttons. The choice is ultimately a matter of your own strategy and preference, but here’s an overview of each type:

Inline share buttons are arranged together, which makes them easy to sort and insert into your content without interfering. When you hear “inline,” think “inline roller skates”–where the wheels are arranged neatly together.

Sticky share buttons are a little more interactive. For example, they can include a floating sidebar or a floating banner. As the user scrolls down, the buttons follow along, without getting in the way of the reading experience along the way.

Below, you’ll see examples: first, inline buttons arranged neatly together for a graphically-satisfying result. Second, a “floating sidebar” that makes its presence clear:

Your choice? Simple. Pick the style that suits your site the best.

3. Participate in Social Forum Sites and Add Value

When it comes to social forum sites, you’re looking at three main contenders: Reddit, Quora, and Inbound. Each of these sites is full of active communities that are chatting, sharing, and getting support.

If you participate on these sites, you’ll get more attention on your brand. Here’s a great example of a Quora answer that shot to the top because of the time and insight shared in the answer:

If you have read this Quora marketing guide, you’ll remember the site gives you exposure to 1.5 million monthly viewers so you stand a good chance of drawing more attention to your site. If even a fraction of those eyes want to check out more about you and what you do, the investment you’ve made in sharing value online will pay off.

4. Test the Life Out of Social Ads

Are you thinking like a data-driven marketer? If not, you should. You need to analyze data to figure out which platforms performs the best in driving brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately conversions.

A key component of data analysis is A/B testing. Perform A/B tests on your social ads to find out which version resonates more with your audience. On most of the social media platforms, you can invest a relatively small amount of money to gain insights that could generate huge returns. Facebook is big on promoting its own A/B testing platform, which means that most of the work is already done for you.

Not sure you want to spend any money on social A/B testing just yet? You can even use strategies to test your Facebook posts without putting a single penny down.

5. Consider Exactly How Your Audience Buys on Social Media

Given the variance in demographics of different social media platforms, it’s not surprising to see that some products sell better on one platform than another. Some sales processes are built for the platform. Others…well, they’ll take a while.

For example, an email service provider may not capture many direct sales from Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t build brand awareness and long-term name recognition. On the other hand, when Kylie Jenner announces a new lip kit on social media, she can expect instant sales.

Posting my first Kylie Cosmetics YouTube video today!!! Jordyn and I are revealing my brand new lipkits for fall!

— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) September 28, 2017

The bottom line? Understand the sales process of your audience and create a social media strategy tailored to the demographic of each platform.

6. Use Emotional Cues to Spruce Up Your Headlines

According to CoSchedule, there are three headline formats that perform particularly well. These can be used as headline for your blog posts, and can then be used on social media to increase conversions.

How to {Do Something} That Will {Help You Experience Desired Result}

{#} Ways to {Do Something} to {Produce Desired Result}

What is the Best {Topic} That Will {Do Something Desirable}?

These headlines share a few things in common. First, they get to the point: there’s no doubt in what you can expect to get or learn when you read the post. Second, they take on the customer’s perspective — some of them even sound like keyphrases that customers and readers are entering as they search for your solutions.

When it comes to headlines, start from the customer’s perspective. Think about what will resonate most with them, and you’ll rarely go wrong.

7. Play Nice With Others

No one wants to follow a social media robot online. Follow this golden rule: be the kind of social media account you would want to follow. For example:

Participate. Tag those you’ve quoted and mentioned when you share on social. You won’t only share insights with your audience, but you’ll earn some brownie points along the way.

Curate content. Think of your social media like a blog. Promote the work of other companies if you think a link is something your audience might want to check out. Some people will follow you online just because you’re so good at finding interesting tidbits and links.

Give, give, give. Infographics, statistics, insights, stories–if you can provide something that your followers will find valuable, make sure you share it. After all, social media is a two-way street: don’t just promote your company and forget to give valuable information to readers.

For example, toilet paper is the opposite of a sexy product, but Charmin’s Twitter account is so generous and engaging that social media users can’t help but interact. The brand replies to Tweets that come in, and runs campaigns, such as #Tweet4ATree to encourage participation.

.@emily_maggie We know you love sports so we hope this tree someday shades kids & families as they play. #Tweet4ATree pic.twitter.com/YTdeWMiRR6

— Charmin (@Charmin) October 27, 2017

8. Use Social Media as a Primary Support Channel

Did you know that in the last two years, customer service interactions on Twitter have increased 250%? That’s a lot of people asking for help on social media.

Today’s social media user expects your service to be timely and responsive, even in matters of customer support. Why not give them what they want? Send personalized and timely replies on social media, even if it’s simply to direct someone to the right customer support channel.

For example, Casper, an online retailer for mattresses, responds in a natural, friendly way to customers with questions. They don’t be belabor the interaction or make it tough on the customer– they simply give a friendly answer quickly and efficiently.

Take Advantage of Your Social Media

Let’s face it: you’re on social media anyway. If your old routine has gotten you nowhere, it might be time to incorporate the overlooked tactics that boost conversions and even sales. Let us know about any of your experiences with these tactics below!

About the Author: Paul Lentz is the SVP of Publisher & Business Operations at ShareThis, a technology company that provides free sharing and content optimization tools to help more than three million publishers grow their digital audiences. When not doing what he can to support the publishers, he’s taking a break from digital devices and experiencing nature through skiing, hiking, and running.

[samiam03x]

8 Overlooked Social Media Tactics That Can Increase Conversion Rates

“Wash. Condition. Rinse. Repeat.” Sound familiar? It’s a common morning routine. And we all know how things run when we settle into a comfortable routine: it feels like life is on autopilot.

Sometimes, that works. However, you might perform your routine so well that you forget to look for improvements. Perhaps your hair would look better without conditioner, but if you never stop to question your routine, you’ll keep going down the same path. You’ll be stagnant.

The same logic applies to your social media strategy. It’s easy to repeat the tactics that have worked well for you so far, generating a little bit of buzz and keeping you hooked into what’s happening on Twitter.

But are you just going through the motions without considering how you can use social media to improve conversion rates?

If you’ve been using the same social media strategies for ages and your impact has leveled off, it’s probably time to review your goals and make sure that your social media tactics are increasing conversion rates, building brand awareness, and bringing in new customers.

Here’s how.

1. Double Down on One (or Two) Channels That Work For You– And Share Videos

Let’s face it: Internet users are addicted to video, and that’s great for publishers and marketers.

On average, Facebook users devour 100 million hours of video every single day. About 82% of Twitter users watch video on that particular medium. Marketers are also seeing positive results with LinkedIn Video, which was introduced this past August to help users introduce themselves, explain their professional processes, or reach out to new people.

If you want to increase conversion rates on social media, double down on the channels that are already working for you. For example, if you see more engagement on Twitter than you do on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to direct your efforts on Twitter.

After we saw higher engagement with Facebook videos, especially the one about the three essential ​WordPress plugins for websites, we narrowed ​our targeting ​to ​people ​that are ​interested ​in ​WordPress ​as a ​software ​and ​those ​who ​work ​in ​IT ​industry such as the ​web ​developers ​or ​freelancers. As the result, we’re able to ​reach ​more ​potential ​customers ​and ​generated ​immediate page ​likes ​and ​engagements, increasing ​the ​average ​daily ​registrations by 71%.

2. Use Thoughtful, Conversion-Oriented Social Sharing Buttons

Many publishers simply work hard to create content and trust that readers will figure out how to share their content. However, it’s easy for publishers to integrate compelling social sharing buttons onto their blogs– and these easy-to-click buttons help drive virality.

That’s why it’s crucial for publishers to optimize their social sharing buttons to drive more content engagement. But before we get into the tactics, let’s talk about what makes a good social sharing button in the first place:

Clarity. Social sharing buttons should be both easy to spot and understand. Remember those “Try me!” toys in the toy store? Those are great examples of buttons with clarity. All you have to do to have fun is press the button. Don’t make users work to share your stuff.

Non-interference. Social media buttons that interfere with the content tend to get on our nerves. Users will have no qualm sharing your content if they think it’s worthy of sharing — your job is to make it easy to share and the sharing button doesn’t get in the way of the content.

Strategic placement. What do we mean by “strategic”? You should place your social media buttons just at the moment someone feels compelled to share your quality content. Don’t jump the gun or make users search for a long time for your buttons, only to finally give up.

Depending on your specific blog and its graphic style, you’ll likely want to choose between two types of social buttons: inline or sticky share buttons. The choice is ultimately a matter of your own strategy and preference, but here’s an overview of each type:

Inline share buttons are arranged together, which makes them easy to sort and insert into your content without interfering. When you hear “inline,” think “inline roller skates”–where the wheels are arranged neatly together.

Sticky share buttons are a little more interactive. For example, they can include a floating sidebar or a floating banner. As the user scrolls down, the buttons follow along, without getting in the way of the reading experience along the way.

Below, you’ll see examples: first, inline buttons arranged neatly together for a graphically-satisfying result. Second, a “floating sidebar” that makes its presence clear:

Your choice? Simple. Pick the style that suits your site the best.

3. Participate in Social Forum Sites and Add Value

When it comes to social forum sites, you’re looking at three main contenders: Reddit, Quora, and Inbound. Each of these sites is full of active communities that are chatting, sharing, and getting support.

If you participate on these sites, you’ll get more attention on your brand. Here’s a great example of a Quora answer that shot to the top because of the time and insight shared in the answer:

If you have read this Quora marketing guide, you’ll remember the site gives you exposure to 1.5 million monthly viewers so you stand a good chance of drawing more attention to your site. If even a fraction of those eyes want to check out more about you and what you do, the investment you’ve made in sharing value online will pay off.

4. Test the Life Out of Social Ads

Are you thinking like a data-driven marketer? If not, you should. You need to analyze data to figure out which platforms performs the best in driving brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately conversions.

A key component of data analysis is A/B testing. Perform A/B tests on your social ads to find out which version resonates more with your audience. On most of the social media platforms, you can invest a relatively small amount of money to gain insights that could generate huge returns. Facebook is big on promoting its own A/B testing platform, which means that most of the work is already done for you.

Not sure you want to spend any money on social A/B testing just yet? You can even use strategies to test your Facebook posts without putting a single penny down.

5. Consider Exactly How Your Audience Buys on Social Media

Given the variance in demographics of different social media platforms, it’s not surprising to see that some products sell better on one platform than another. Some sales processes are built for the platform. Others…well, they’ll take a while.

For example, an email service provider may not capture many direct sales from Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t build brand awareness and long-term name recognition. On the other hand, when Kylie Jenner announces a new lip kit on social media, she can expect instant sales.

Posting my first Kylie Cosmetics YouTube video today!!! Jordyn and I are revealing my brand new lipkits for fall!

— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) September 28, 2017

The bottom line? Understand the sales process of your audience and create a social media strategy tailored to the demographic of each platform.

6. Use Emotional Cues to Spruce Up Your Headlines

According to CoSchedule, there are three headline formats that perform particularly well. These can be used as headline for your blog posts, and can then be used on social media to increase conversions.

How to {Do Something} That Will {Help You Experience Desired Result}

{#} Ways to {Do Something} to {Produce Desired Result}

What is the Best {Topic} That Will {Do Something Desirable}?

These headlines share a few things in common. First, they get to the point: there’s no doubt in what you can expect to get or learn when you read the post. Second, they take on the customer’s perspective — some of them even sound like keyphrases that customers and readers are entering as they search for your solutions.

When it comes to headlines, start from the customer’s perspective. Think about what will resonate most with them, and you’ll rarely go wrong.

7. Play Nice With Others

No one wants to follow a social media robot online. Follow this golden rule: be the kind of social media account you would want to follow. For example:

Participate. Tag those you’ve quoted and mentioned when you share on social. You won’t only share insights with your audience, but you’ll earn some brownie points along the way.

Curate content. Think of your social media like a blog. Promote the work of other companies if you think a link is something your audience might want to check out. Some people will follow you online just because you’re so good at finding interesting tidbits and links.

Give, give, give. Infographics, statistics, insights, stories–if you can provide something that your followers will find valuable, make sure you share it. After all, social media is a two-way street: don’t just promote your company and forget to give valuable information to readers.

For example, toilet paper is the opposite of a sexy product, but Charmin’s Twitter account is so generous and engaging that social media users can’t help but interact. The brand replies to Tweets that come in, and runs campaigns, such as #Tweet4ATree to encourage participation.

.@emily_maggie We know you love sports so we hope this tree someday shades kids & families as they play. #Tweet4ATree http://pic.twitter.com/YTdeWMiRR6

— Charmin (@Charmin) October 27, 2017

8. Use Social Media as a Primary Support Channel

Did you know that in the last two years, customer service interactions on Twitter have increased 250%? That’s a lot of people asking for help on social media.

Today’s social media user expects your service to be timely and responsive, even in matters of customer support. Why not give them what they want? Send personalized and timely replies on social media, even if it’s simply to direct someone to the right customer support channel.

For example, Casper, an online retailer for mattresses, responds in a natural, friendly way to customers with questions. They don’t be belabor the interaction or make it tough on the customer– they simply give a friendly answer quickly and efficiently.

Take Advantage of Your Social Media

Let’s face it: you’re on social media anyway. If your old routine has gotten you nowhere, it might be time to incorporate the overlooked tactics that boost conversions and even sales. Let us know about any of your experiences with these tactics below!

About the Author: Paul Lentz is the SVP of Publisher & Business Operations at ShareThis, a technology company that provides free sharing and content optimization tools to help more than three million publishers grow their digital audiences. When not doing what he can to support the publishers, he’s taking a break from digital devices and experiencing nature through skiing, hiking, and running.

http://ift.tt/2itRGs1 from MarketingRSS http://ift.tt/2ks5KX6 via Youtube

[reputationiseverything]

8 Overlooked Social Media Tactics That Can Increase Conversion Rates

email marketing campaign strategy

“Wash. Condition. Rinse. Repeat.” Sound familiar? It’s a common morning routine. And we all know how things run when we settle into a comfortable routine: it feels like life is on autopilot.

Sometimes, that works. However, you might perform your routine so well that you forget to look for improvements. Perhaps your hair would look better without conditioner, but if you never stop to question your routine, you’ll keep going down the same path. You’ll be stagnant.

The same logic applies to your social media strategy. It’s easy to repeat the tactics that have worked well for you so far, generating a little bit of buzz and keeping you hooked into what’s happening on Twitter.

But are you just going through the motions without considering how you can use social media to improve conversion rates?

If you’ve been using the same social media strategies for ages and your impact has leveled off, it’s probably time to review your goals and make sure that your social media tactics are increasing conversion rates, building brand awareness, and bringing in new customers.

Here’s how.

1. Double Down on One (or Two) Channels That Work For You– And Share Videos

Let’s face it: Internet users are addicted to video, and that’s great for publishers and marketers.

On average, Facebook users devour 100 million hours of video every single day. About 82% of Twitter users watch video on that particular medium. Marketers are also seeing positive results with LinkedIn Video, which was introduced this past August to help users introduce themselves, explain their professional processes, or reach out to new people.

If you want to increase conversion rates on social media, double down on the channels that are already working for you. For example, if you see more engagement on Twitter than you do on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to direct your efforts on Twitter.

After we saw higher engagement with Facebook videos, especially the one about the three essential ​WordPress plugins for websites, we narrowed ​our targeting ​to ​people ​that are ​interested ​in ​WordPress ​as a ​software ​and ​those ​who ​work ​in ​IT ​industry such as the ​web ​developers ​or ​freelancers. As the result, we’re able to ​reach ​more ​potential ​customers ​and ​generated ​immediate page ​likes ​and ​engagements, increasing ​the ​average ​daily ​registrations by 71%.

2. Use Thoughtful, Conversion-Oriented Social Sharing Buttons

Many publishers simply work hard to create content and trust that readers will figure out how to share their content. However, it’s easy for publishers to integrate compelling social sharing buttons onto their blogs– and these easy-to-click buttons help drive virality.

That’s why it’s crucial for publishers to optimize their social sharing buttons to drive more content engagement. But before we get into the tactics, let’s talk about what makes a good social sharing button in the first place:

Clarity. Social sharing buttons should be both easy to spot and understand. Remember those “Try me!” toys in the toy store? Those are great examples of buttons with clarity. All you have to do to have fun is press the button. Don’t make users work to share your stuff.

Non-interference. Social media buttons that interfere with the content tend to get on our nerves. Users will have no qualm sharing your content if they think it’s worthy of sharing — your job is to make it easy to share and the sharing button doesn’t get in the way of the content.

Strategic placement. What do we mean by “strategic”? You should place your social media buttons just at the moment someone feels compelled to share your quality content. Don’t jump the gun or make users search for a long time for your buttons, only to finally give up.

Depending on your specific blog and its graphic style, you’ll likely want to choose between two types of social buttons: inline or sticky share buttons. The choice is ultimately a matter of your own strategy and preference, but here’s an overview of each type:

Inline share buttons are arranged together, which makes them easy to sort and insert into your content without interfering. When you hear “inline,” think “inline roller skates”–where the wheels are arranged neatly together.

Sticky share buttons are a little more interactive. For example, they can include a floating sidebar or a floating banner. As the user scrolls down, the buttons follow along, without getting in the way of the reading experience along the way.

Below, you’ll see examples: first, inline buttons arranged neatly together for a graphically-satisfying result. Second, a “floating sidebar” that makes its presence clear:

Your choice? Simple. Pick the style that suits your site the best.

3. Participate in Social Forum Sites and Add Value

When it comes to social forum sites, you’re looking at three main contenders: Reddit, Quora, and Inbound. Each of these sites is full of active communities that are chatting, sharing, and getting support.

If you participate on these sites, you’ll get more attention on your brand. Here’s a great example of a Quora answer that shot to the top because of the time and insight shared in the answer:

If you have read this Quora marketing guide, you’ll remember the site gives you exposure to 1.5 million monthly viewers so you stand a good chance of drawing more attention to your site. If even a fraction of those eyes want to check out more about you and what you do, the investment you’ve made in sharing value online will pay off.

4. Test the Life Out of Social Ads

Are you thinking like a data-driven marketer? If not, you should. You need to analyze data to figure out which platforms performs the best in driving brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately conversions.

A key component of data analysis is A/B testing. Perform A/B tests on your social ads to find out which version resonates more with your audience. On most of the social media platforms, you can invest a relatively small amount of money to gain insights that could generate huge returns. Facebook is big on promoting its own A/B testing platform, which means that most of the work is already done for you.

Not sure you want to spend any money on social A/B testing just yet? You can even use strategies to test your Facebook posts without putting a single penny down.

5. Consider Exactly How Your Audience Buys on Social Media

Given the variance in demographics of different social media platforms, it’s not surprising to see that some products sell better on one platform than another. Some sales processes are built for the platform. Others…well, they’ll take a while.

For example, an email service provider may not capture many direct sales from Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t build brand awareness and long-term name recognition. On the other hand, when Kylie Jenner announces a new lip kit on social media, she can expect instant sales.

Posting my first Kylie Cosmetics YouTube video today!!! Jordyn and I are revealing my brand new lipkits for fall!

— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) September 28, 2017

The bottom line? Understand the sales process of your audience and create a social media strategy tailored to the demographic of each platform.

6. Use Emotional Cues to Spruce Up Your Headlines

According to CoSchedule, there are three headline formats that perform particularly well. These can be used as headline for your blog posts, and can then be used on social media to increase conversions.

How to {Do Something} That Will {Help You Experience Desired Result}

{#} Ways to {Do Something} to {Produce Desired Result}

What is the Best {Topic} That Will {Do Something Desirable}?

These headlines share a few things in common. First, they get to the point: there’s no doubt in what you can expect to get or learn when you read the post. Second, they take on the customer’s perspective — some of them even sound like keyphrases that customers and readers are entering as they search for your solutions.

When it comes to headlines, start from the customer’s perspective. Think about what will resonate most with them, and you’ll rarely go wrong.

7. Play Nice With Others

No one wants to follow a social media robot online. Follow this golden rule: be the kind of social media account you would want to follow. For example:

Participate. Tag those you’ve quoted and mentioned when you share on social. You won’t only share insights with your audience, but you’ll earn some brownie points along the way.

Curate content. Think of your social media like a blog. Promote the work of other companies if you think a link is something your audience might want to check out. Some people will follow you online just because you’re so good at finding interesting tidbits and links.

Give, give, give. Infographics, statistics, insights, stories–if you can provide something that your followers will find valuable, make sure you share it. After all, social media is a two-way street: don’t just promote your company and forget to give valuable information to readers.

For example, toilet paper is the opposite of a sexy product, but Charmin’s Twitter account is so generous and engaging that social media users can’t help but interact. The brand replies to Tweets that come in, and runs campaigns, such as #Tweet4ATree to encourage participation.

.@emily_maggie We know you love sports so we hope this tree someday shades kids & families as they play. #Tweet4ATree pic.twitter.com/YTdeWMiRR6

— Charmin (@Charmin) October 27, 2017

8. Use Social Media as a Primary Support Channel

Did you know that in the last two years, customer service interactions on Twitter have increased 250%? That’s a lot of people asking for help on social media.

Today’s social media user expects your service to be timely and responsive, even in matters of customer support. Why not give them what they want? Send personalized and timely replies on social media, even if it’s simply to direct someone to the right customer support channel.

For example, Casper, an online retailer for mattresses, responds in a natural, friendly way to customers with questions. They don’t be belabor the interaction or make it tough on the customer– they simply give a friendly answer quickly and efficiently.

Take Advantage of Your Social Media

Let’s face it: you’re on social media anyway. If your old routine has gotten you nowhere, it might be time to incorporate the overlooked tactics that boost conversions and even sales. Let us know about any of your experiences with these tactics below!

About the Author: Paul Lentz is the SVP of Publisher & Business Operations at ShareThis, a technology company that provides free sharing and content optimization tools to help more than three million publishers grow their digital audiences. When not doing what he can to support the publishers, he’s taking a break from digital devices and experiencing nature through skiing, hiking, and running.

Youtobe

[alissaselezneva]

8 Overlooked Social Media Tactics That Can Increase Conversion Rates

“Wash. Condition. Rinse. Repeat.” Sound familiar? It’s a common morning routine. And we all know how things run when we settle into a comfortable routine: it feels like life is on autopilot.

Sometimes, that works. However, you might perform your routine so well that you forget to look for improvements. Perhaps your hair would look better without conditioner, but if you never stop to question your routine, you’ll keep going down the same path. You’ll be stagnant.

The same logic applies to your social media strategy. It’s easy to repeat the tactics that have worked well for you so far, generating a little bit of buzz and keeping you hooked into what’s happening on Twitter.

But are you just going through the motions without considering how you can use social media to improve conversion rates?

If you’ve been using the same social media strategies for ages and your impact has leveled off, it’s probably time to review your goals and make sure that your social media tactics are increasing conversion rates, building brand awareness, and bringing in new customers.

Here’s how.

1. Double Down on One (or Two) Channels That Work For You– And Share Videos

Let’s face it: Internet users are addicted to video, and that’s great for publishers and marketers.

On average, Facebook users devour 100 million hours of video every single day. About 82% of Twitter users watch video on that particular medium. Marketers are also seeing positive results with LinkedIn Video, which was introduced this past August to help users introduce themselves, explain their professional processes, or reach out to new people.

If you want to increase conversion rates on social media, double down on the channels that are already working for you. For example, if you see more engagement on Twitter than you do on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to direct your efforts on Twitter.

After we saw higher engagement with Facebook videos, especially the one about the three essential ​WordPress plugins for websites, we narrowed ​our targeting ​to ​people ​that are ​interested ​in ​WordPress ​as a ​software ​and ​those ​who ​work ​in ​IT ​industry such as the ​web ​developers ​or ​freelancers. As the result, we’re able to ​reach ​more ​potential ​customers ​and ​generated ​immediate page ​likes ​and ​engagements, increasing ​the ​average ​daily ​registrations by 71%.

2. Use Thoughtful, Conversion-Oriented Social Sharing Buttons

Many publishers simply work hard to create content and trust that readers will figure out how to share their content. However, it’s easy for publishers to integrate compelling social sharing buttons onto their blogs– and these easy-to-click buttons help drive virality.

That’s why it’s crucial for publishers to optimize their social sharing buttons to drive more content engagement. But before we get into the tactics, let’s talk about what makes a good social sharing button in the first place:

Clarity. Social sharing buttons should be both easy to spot and understand. Remember those “Try me!” toys in the toy store? Those are great examples of buttons with clarity. All you have to do to have fun is press the button. Don’t make users work to share your stuff.

Non-interference. Social media buttons that interfere with the content tend to get on our nerves. Users will have no qualm sharing your content if they think it’s worthy of sharing — your job is to make it easy to share and the sharing button doesn’t get in the way of the content.

Strategic placement. What do we mean by “strategic”? You should place your social media buttons just at the moment someone feels compelled to share your quality content. Don’t jump the gun or make users search for a long time for your buttons, only to finally give up.

Depending on your specific blog and its graphic style, you’ll likely want to choose between two types of social buttons: inline or sticky share buttons. The choice is ultimately a matter of your own strategy and preference, but here’s an overview of each type:

Inline share buttons are arranged together, which makes them easy to sort and insert into your content without interfering. When you hear “inline,” think “inline roller skates”–where the wheels are arranged neatly together.

Sticky share buttons are a little more interactive. For example, they can include a floating sidebar or a floating banner. As the user scrolls down, the buttons follow along, without getting in the way of the reading experience along the way.

Below, you’ll see examples: first, inline buttons arranged neatly together for a graphically-satisfying result. Second, a “floating sidebar” that makes its presence clear:

Your choice? Simple. Pick the style that suits your site the best.

3. Participate in Social Forum Sites and Add Value

When it comes to social forum sites, you’re looking at three main contenders: Reddit, Quora, and Inbound. Each of these sites is full of active communities that are chatting, sharing, and getting support.

If you participate on these sites, you’ll get more attention on your brand. Here’s a great example of a Quora answer that shot to the top because of the time and insight shared in the answer:

If you have read this Quora marketing guide, you’ll remember the site gives you exposure to 1.5 million monthly viewers so you stand a good chance of drawing more attention to your site. If even a fraction of those eyes want to check out more about you and what you do, the investment you’ve made in sharing value online will pay off.

4. Test the Life Out of Social Ads

Are you thinking like a data-driven marketer? If not, you should. You need to analyze data to figure out which platforms performs the best in driving brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately conversions.

A key component of data analysis is A/B testing. Perform A/B tests on your social ads to find out which version resonates more with your audience. On most of the social media platforms, you can invest a relatively small amount of money to gain insights that could generate huge returns. Facebook is big on promoting its own A/B testing platform, which means that most of the work is already done for you.

Not sure you want to spend any money on social A/B testing just yet? You can even use strategies to test your Facebook posts without putting a single penny down.

5. Consider Exactly How Your Audience Buys on Social Media

Given the variance in demographics of different social media platforms, it’s not surprising to see that some products sell better on one platform than another. Some sales processes are built for the platform. Others…well, they’ll take a while.

For example, an email service provider may not capture many direct sales from Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t build brand awareness and long-term name recognition. On the other hand, when Kylie Jenner announces a new lip kit on social media, she can expect instant sales.

Posting my first Kylie Cosmetics YouTube video today!!! Jordyn and I are revealing my brand new lipkits for fall!

— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) September 28, 2017

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The bottom line? Understand the sales process of your audience and create a social media strategy tailored to the demographic of each platform.

6. Use Emotional Cues to Spruce Up Your Headlines

According to CoSchedule, there are three headline formats that perform particularly well. These can be used as headline for your blog posts, and can then be used on social media to increase conversions.

How to {Do Something} That Will {Help You Experience Desired Result}

{#} Ways to {Do Something} to {Produce Desired Result}

What is the Best {Topic} That Will {Do Something Desirable}?

These headlines share a few things in common. First, they get to the point: there’s no doubt in what you can expect to get or learn when you read the post. Second, they take on the customer’s perspective — some of them even sound like keyphrases that customers and readers are entering as they search for your solutions.

When it comes to headlines, start from the customer’s perspective. Think about what will resonate most with them, and you’ll rarely go wrong.

7. Play Nice With Others

No one wants to follow a social media robot online. Follow this golden rule: be the kind of social media account you would want to follow. For example:

Participate. Tag those you’ve quoted and mentioned when you share on social. You won’t only share insights with your audience, but you’ll earn some brownie points along the way.

Curate content. Think of your social media like a blog. Promote the work of other companies if you think a link is something your audience might want to check out. Some people will follow you online just because you’re so good at finding interesting tidbits and links.

Give, give, give. Infographics, statistics, insights, stories–if you can provide something that your followers will find valuable, make sure you share it. After all, social media is a two-way street: don’t just promote your company and forget to give valuable information to readers.

For example, toilet paper is the opposite of a sexy product, but Charmin’s Twitter account is so generous and engaging that social media users can’t help but interact. The brand replies to Tweets that come in, and runs campaigns, such as #Tweet4ATree to encourage participation.

.@emily_maggie We know you love sports so we hope this tree someday shades kids & families as they play. #Tweet4ATree pic.twitter.com/YTdeWMiRR6

— Charmin (@Charmin) October 27, 2017

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

8. Use Social Media as a Primary Support Channel

Did you know that in the last two years, customer service interactions on Twitter have increased 250%? That’s a lot of people asking for help on social media.

Today’s social media user expects your service to be timely and responsive, even in matters of customer support. Why not give them what they want? Send personalized and timely replies on social media, even if it’s simply to direct someone to the right customer support channel.

For example, Casper, an online retailer for mattresses, responds in a natural, friendly way to customers with questions. They don’t be belabor the interaction or make it tough on the customer– they simply give a friendly answer quickly and efficiently.

Take Advantage of Your Social Media

Let’s face it: you’re on social media anyway. If your old routine has gotten you nowhere, it might be time to incorporate the overlooked tactics that boost conversions and even sales. Let us know about any of your experiences with these tactics below!

About the Author: Paul Lentz is the SVP of Publisher & Business Operations at ShareThis, a technology company that provides free sharing and content optimization tools to help more than three million publishers grow their digital audiences. When not doing what he can to support the publishers, he’s taking a break from digital devices and experiencing nature through skiing, hiking, and running.

from WordPress https://reviewandbonuss.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/8-overlooked-social-media-tactics-that-can-increase-conversion-rates/

[filipeteimuraz]

8 Overlooked Social Media Tactics That Can Increase Conversion Rates

“Wash. Condition. Rinse. Repeat.” Sound familiar? It’s a common morning routine. And we all know how things run when we settle into a comfortable routine: it feels like life is on autopilot.

Sometimes, that works. However, you might perform your routine so well that you forget to look for improvements. Perhaps your hair would look better without conditioner, but if you never stop to question your routine, you’ll keep going down the same path. You’ll be stagnant.

The same logic applies to your social media strategy. It’s easy to repeat the tactics that have worked well for you so far, generating a little bit of buzz and keeping you hooked into what’s happening on Twitter.

But are you just going through the motions without considering how you can use social media to improve conversion rates?

If you’ve been using the same social media strategies for ages and your impact has leveled off, it’s probably time to review your goals and make sure that your social media tactics are increasing conversion rates, building brand awareness, and bringing in new customers.

Here’s how.

1. Double Down on One (or Two) Channels That Work For You– And Share Videos

Let’s face it: Internet users are addicted to video, and that’s great for publishers and marketers.

On average, Facebook users devour 100 million hours of video every single day. About 82% of Twitter users watch video on that particular medium. Marketers are also seeing positive results with LinkedIn Video, which was introduced this past August to help users introduce themselves, explain their professional processes, or reach out to new people.

If you want to increase conversion rates on social media, double down on the channels that are already working for you. For example, if you see more engagement on Twitter than you do on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to direct your efforts on Twitter.

After we saw higher engagement with Facebook videos, especially the one about the three essential ​WordPress plugins for websites, we narrowed ​our targeting ​to ​people ​that are ​interested ​in ​WordPress ​as a ​software ​and ​those ​who ​work ​in ​IT ​industry such as the ​web ​developers ​or ​freelancers. As the result, we’re able to ​reach ​more ​potential ​customers ​and ​generated ​immediate page ​likes ​and ​engagements, increasing ​the ​average ​daily ​registrations by 71%.

2. Use Thoughtful, Conversion-Oriented Social Sharing Buttons

Many publishers simply work hard to create content and trust that readers will figure out how to share their content. However, it’s easy for publishers to integrate compelling social sharing buttons onto their blogs– and these easy-to-click buttons help drive virality.

That’s why it’s crucial for publishers to optimize their social sharing buttons to drive more content engagement. But before we get into the tactics, let’s talk about what makes a good social sharing button in the first place:

Clarity. Social sharing buttons should be both easy to spot and understand. Remember those “Try me!” toys in the toy store? Those are great examples of buttons with clarity. All you have to do to have fun is press the button. Don’t make users work to share your stuff.

Non-interference. Social media buttons that interfere with the content tend to get on our nerves. Users will have no qualm sharing your content if they think it’s worthy of sharing — your job is to make it easy to share and the sharing button doesn’t get in the way of the content.

Strategic placement. What do we mean by “strategic”? You should place your social media buttons just at the moment someone feels compelled to share your quality content. Don’t jump the gun or make users search for a long time for your buttons, only to finally give up.

Depending on your specific blog and its graphic style, you’ll likely want to choose between two types of social buttons: inline or sticky share buttons. The choice is ultimately a matter of your own strategy and preference, but here’s an overview of each type:

Inline share buttons are arranged together, which makes them easy to sort and insert into your content without interfering. When you hear “inline,” think “inline roller skates”–where the wheels are arranged neatly together.

Sticky share buttons are a little more interactive. For example, they can include a floating sidebar or a floating banner. As the user scrolls down, the buttons follow along, without getting in the way of the reading experience along the way.

Below, you’ll see examples: first, inline buttons arranged neatly together for a graphically-satisfying result. Second, a “floating sidebar” that makes its presence clear:

Your choice? Simple. Pick the style that suits your site the best.

3. Participate in Social Forum Sites and Add Value

When it comes to social forum sites, you’re looking at three main contenders: Reddit, Quora, and Inbound. Each of these sites is full of active communities that are chatting, sharing, and getting support.

If you participate on these sites, you’ll get more attention on your brand. Here’s a great example of a Quora answer that shot to the top because of the time and insight shared in the answer:

If you have read this Quora marketing guide, you’ll remember the site gives you exposure to 1.5 million monthly viewers so you stand a good chance of drawing more attention to your site. If even a fraction of those eyes want to check out more about you and what you do, the investment you’ve made in sharing value online will pay off.

4. Test the Life Out of Social Ads

Are you thinking like a data-driven marketer? If not, you should. You need to analyze data to figure out which platforms performs the best in driving brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately conversions.

A key component of data analysis is A/B testing. Perform A/B tests on your social ads to find out which version resonates more with your audience. On most of the social media platforms, you can invest a relatively small amount of money to gain insights that could generate huge returns. Facebook is big on promoting its own A/B testing platform, which means that most of the work is already done for you.

Not sure you want to spend any money on social A/B testing just yet? You can even use strategies to test your Facebook posts without putting a single penny down.

5. Consider Exactly How Your Audience Buys on Social Media

Given the variance in demographics of different social media platforms, it’s not surprising to see that some products sell better on one platform than another. Some sales processes are built for the platform. Others…well, they’ll take a while.

For example, an email service provider may not capture many direct sales from Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t build brand awareness and long-term name recognition. On the other hand, when Kylie Jenner announces a new lip kit on social media, she can expect instant sales.

Posting my first Kylie Cosmetics YouTube video today!!! Jordyn and I are revealing my brand new lipkits for fall!

— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) September 28, 2017

The bottom line? Understand the sales process of your audience and create a social media strategy tailored to the demographic of each platform.

6. Use Emotional Cues to Spruce Up Your Headlines

According to CoSchedule, there are three headline formats that perform particularly well. These can be used as headline for your blog posts, and can then be used on social media to increase conversions.

How to {Do Something} That Will {Help You Experience Desired Result}

{#} Ways to {Do Something} to {Produce Desired Result}

What is the Best {Topic} That Will {Do Something Desirable}?

These headlines share a few things in common. First, they get to the point: there’s no doubt in what you can expect to get or learn when you read the post. Second, they take on the customer’s perspective — some of them even sound like keyphrases that customers and readers are entering as they search for your solutions.

When it comes to headlines, start from the customer’s perspective. Think about what will resonate most with them, and you’ll rarely go wrong.

7. Play Nice With Others

No one wants to follow a social media robot online. Follow this golden rule: be the kind of social media account you would want to follow. For example:

Participate. Tag those you’ve quoted and mentioned when you share on social. You won’t only share insights with your audience, but you’ll earn some brownie points along the way.

Curate content. Think of your social media like a blog. Promote the work of other companies if you think a link is something your audience might want to check out. Some people will follow you online just because you’re so good at finding interesting tidbits and links.

Give, give, give. Infographics, statistics, insights, stories–if you can provide something that your followers will find valuable, make sure you share it. After all, social media is a two-way street: don’t just promote your company and forget to give valuable information to readers.

For example, toilet paper is the opposite of a sexy product, but Charmin’s Twitter account is so generous and engaging that social media users can’t help but interact. The brand replies to Tweets that come in, and runs campaigns, such as #Tweet4ATree to encourage participation.

.@emily_maggie We know you love sports so we hope this tree someday shades kids & families as they play. #Tweet4ATree pic.twitter.com/YTdeWMiRR6

— Charmin (@Charmin) October 27, 2017

8. Use Social Media as a Primary Support Channel

Did you know that in the last two years, customer service interactions on Twitter have increased 250%? That’s a lot of people asking for help on social media.

Today’s social media user expects your service to be timely and responsive, even in matters of customer support. Why not give them what they want? Send personalized and timely replies on social media, even if it’s simply to direct someone to the right customer support channel.

For example, Casper, an online retailer for mattresses, responds in a natural, friendly way to customers with questions. They don’t be belabor the interaction or make it tough on the customer– they simply give a friendly answer quickly and efficiently.

Take Advantage of Your Social Media

Let’s face it: you’re on social media anyway. If your old routine has gotten you nowhere, it might be time to incorporate the overlooked tactics that boost conversions and even sales. Let us know about any of your experiences with these tactics below!

About the Author: Paul Lentz is the SVP of Publisher & Business Operations at ShareThis, a technology company that provides free sharing and content optimization tools to help more than three million publishers grow their digital audiences. When not doing what he can to support the publishers, he’s taking a break from digital devices and experiencing nature through skiing, hiking, and running.

Read more here - http://review-and-bonuss.blogspot.com/2017/12/8-overlooked-social-media-tactics-that.html