WHAT'S GROWING ON

Over the past 20 years, podcasts have been on an upward trajectory and they show no sign of stopping. In 2004, George W. Bush became the first U.S. President to deliver a weekly address via podcast. Today, 55% of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast with 24% listening to them weekly. With over 48 million episodes of podcasts available, there is certainly no shortage of these virtual shows.

The idea of blogging is just over 20 years old, but in those 20 years, the nature of blogging has changed and transformed and is still changing to this day. When they first started, blogs were called “online diaries” and “personal pages” and were mainly used as places where people could document their thoughts and interests—what we now know as personal blogs.

"Alexa, what is a normal blood pressure range?" "Okay, Google, how much water should my 80-year-old mother drink each day?" "Hey, Siri, what is the difference between assisted living and independent living?"

Did you know that over 10 million tons of plastic are dumped into our oceans each year? Plastic pollution is a massive problem globally—wreaking havoc on our oceans, wildlife, and the planet in general. You may have even heard the horrifying prediction that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

We’ve all seen them: the grid of images that may or may not contain a fire hydrant, a row of distorted letters and numbers, or just a simple box that makes you promise you are “not a robot.” These small tests are called CAPTCHAs and are used to differentiate between genuine users and fake users or bots that could have a negative impact on your website and business.

All of us have researched a new product or service, whether for personal use or business, so we know how powerful testimonials can be. After all, would you rather read a website where a company describes the benefits of their services or read real people’s firsthand accounts of their experience using the product or service?

The latest Apple software update, iOS 14, delivered both practical and fun features to iPhone users. These included Fitness Plus—a paid service offering guided workouts, more accessibility features and shortcuts, and the ability to customize your home screen with widgets and app icons.

2020 was the year nobody could have predicted. If anyone had “global pandemic shuts down the world and forever changes the way we live” on their 2020 prediction list, they should consider buying a lottery ticket. 

As a senior living marketing agency, Markentum is actively involved in the Fight to End Alzheimer’s. Our team members wear purple with pride, participate in The Longest Day (June 20) and the Walk to End Alz, and raise funds and awareness for a disease that impacts so many.

As the phrase goes, “content is king” (or queen!). The reason people say this is because, well, it’s true. Content marketing is one of the most effective strategies for your company. Do you want to build brand awareness? Use content. Do you want to improve your search engine rankings? Use content. Do you want to increase leads? (Hint: use content).