We've created a large number of sliders recently that replace various legacy website features. The slider introduced in this article show selected post type content as sliding panels. The feature may be used anywhere with a drag and drop Elementor widget or shortcode, with the expectation that it will be used on the front page of your website.
The latest slider was designed for content sent to your website social and video archives - both blog-style archives of what is traditionally external content, such as social media posts and video. However, in the light of a little early feedback, we have updated the slider to include virtually all post types.
Social and Video Archive: The mortgage broker website we provide our clients includes links to the social, video, and various other archives in the website footer. The content fed to the social archives is part of the standard (and optional) distribution made available via the Instagratify and Vista social media modules (the former is an Instagram hashtag-based filtering tool while the latter is a method to post to social directly from a dedicated Outlook calendar) - both amazing tools. The video archive was formerly an automated tool but we've since updated the system so videos ingested by Yabber enjoy a little TLC before they're sent. Both of these archives are presented in a blog-style format with a styled page showcasing your content. They're both an excelling customer-focused and SEO tool that assigns ownership of the content you create back to you. If your website is the centre of your marketing universe (and it is), then your website should be an archive of your entire digital footprint - we shouldn't allow other networks to take ownership of our content.
The Result
To return the default slider, we'll use the shortcode of [bm_posts_slider]. The slider isn't really intended to be used in an article, so we've used the shortcode attribute of truncate="16" to shorten the title, and this was done simply to ensure the title doesn't wrap around multiple lines.
Social Archive
This is a note for clients. As you're aware, we've built what is an extremely comprehensive statistical engine for WordPress websites called 'Xena' that replaces the older module. The new system is built with an 'AI-first' architecture to support more informed marketing decisions, and it also records every conceivable type of interaction data. Xena supports the conditional engine more efficiently and integrates seamlessly with new form, trigger and social modules. It also includes its own comprehensive and fully customisable tagging system. The point of this post is reasonably insignificant, but it is important, and it relates to a feature that was long overdue for an update. Until now, we've resolved user location and timezone based on an IP address, but this method has become less and less reliable over time. The integrated calendar feature associated with every form will display a resolved timezone (in order to show your available booking slots) but it will occasionally return an invalid location if the IP address resolves incorrectly. We now retrieve the timezone and UTC offset directly from the users' browser and then save these values to session and a cookie. It is this known value that determines what (default) timezone is applied…
Social Archive
I took the kids to McDonald's in Narellan today but left because it was filthy. Absolutely filthy. I figured Emerald Hills would be a good alternative because of the larger play area, so we drove there instead. The kids insisted. Despite an empty restaurant, every table was truly disgusting , and the bins were literally overflowing with stacked rubbish. Adding insult to the mess was trash from neighbouring restaurants which including Pizza Hut and KFC. The bins were worse than Narellan but the tables were a little cleaner. A terrible experience. So much to unpack from this experience for our website. View on Instagram
Social Archive
The purpose of sharing this screenshot isn't because the lead cost is low, because it isn't, but it is within acceptable limits despite the fact the campaign is performing in the bottom 35% of all those we manage. I see businesses buy individual leads for anything between $80 and $200, and brokers will routinely purchase packs of 50 leads for around $8k. I took this screenshot when a campaign hit 50 leads to illustrate how you'd pick up a minimum of 1250 leads with the same budget, and how you would return the same volume of leads for just a few hundred. If we doubled the effectiveness of this campaign we'd pick up 2500 leads. The conversions from this volume is clear, and the advantages of taking ownership of your own business growth is evident. I've shared over 1000 examples in the past that shows how and why paid leadgen is plagued by compliance issues and illegal methodology, and I don't believe any of the leadgen charlatans can be trusted... and none of them are invested in your success. Don't buy leads. Stop the finspam. View on Instagram
Social Archive
We're a few days away from rolling out the final update to the new Sendify (social media) module. Morphing Instagratify, Sendly, Vista (Outlook social), SendPress, and other social modules directly into a unified module (and sitting on top of the content library), there are literally dozens of seriously funky social features and tools. One of the new features is the facility to simultaneously post a poll to Twitter, LinkedIn, and your website (pictured), via Instagram! It can obviously be accomplished in Yabber as well, but the Instagram option keeps the feed alive. The new system is easier to use, more intuitive, and far, far more powerful. Integrating fully with your website, it is the *only* system in the industry that's designed with genuine AI tech to leverage your social efforts and drive leads. Paired with our amazing website, it's a winning combination. The new system is also designed to make managed social options easier to manage (with major updates to better support aggregation and franchises). Well be shutting down all social for around 48 hours from Monday to perform a migration of old data, at which time the older system will be deprecated entirely. View on Instagram
Social Archive
This is a reasonable example of what the leadgen charlatans don't want you to see. There's a $20 budget assigned to a video ad, and after a few days of its initial run it's already returning $6.20 leads. Given that it's a first print, the split and improvements will likely drive the cost to around $3 (CPC still isn't where it should be, PCR is still quite low, CPM is still high etc). We did everything on this ad that leadgen crooks avoid. We included full comparison disclaimers, full licensing details, and basic LVR information - all on an ad without rates. The ad is clean, professional, and presents honestly. The pictured example certainly isn't the highest-performing ad our brokers are running, but it's a strong start to a targeted campaign that'll return at least a few leads a day with *very* high conversions. I still can't wrap my head around why brokers pay for leads when this campaign took me minutes. Don't believe a word any of these crooks tell you - it's all a lie... and you'll be contributing to the illegal ad-rot and decay of industry confidence. Please keep in mind that FB represents a small percentage…
Social Archive
I criticise leadgen charlatans all the time. Usually because they're a business-debilitating service that'll do nothing but expose you to non-compliance and illegal advertising. Digital leadgen is easy. A 'generic' campaign takes minutes to create and outperforms pay-per-lead and industry-unawares leadgen peckers without exception. If you're engaging in Facebook advertising, consider the pictured 85 leads at $5.69 (still high, and nearly 6X what we were paying just a few years ago, but that's not the point). A leadgen crook would have represented your business poorly, given their own fake/illegal brokerage exposure, shared your leads with others (regardless of what they tell you), and then they'll charge you around $12k for the privilege. In fact, some leadgen guys will even double-dip on the ad and promote solar after your client has provided their details (****ify - obviously) - appaling conduct. By the way, leads under $6 are the exception rather than the rule. Most guys hover between $8-$11. It needn't be said that our objective is conversions - not leads... but you can't have one without the other. It's not hard. Don't buy leads. Stop the finspam. View on Instagram
Social Archive
In my 14-years at BeliefMedia, and in all the years prior with AWE and Y P/L, the one message (probably above all others) that I've tried to impress upon brokers is that they should *never* buy leads. Every business has the capacity to generate higher-quality leads as part of a fully branded solution for a fraction of the cost, and every business has the resources to create a more efficient campaign (when compared against the leadgen charlatans) in around 7 minutes. Your own solution is owned, far more cost-effective, compliant, ethical, and contributes to your own brand rather than that belonging to an illegal service. Of the 1.2BN our clients settle every *month*, around 400m is from Facebook... but FB returns a lower quality lead and requires more maintenance than grass-root relationship programs, with formalised referral arrangements returning far more volume and higher-quality candidates. The image shows a shiny new campaign that returned a lead for 67c (for a 2.2m deal). The second came in under $1. It's not typical, but once you get it right, it just works. Those boneheads that sell leads have the same common sales patter detailing why their service is of value. It's all total…
Social Archive
Note to clients. Later this week we'll be migrating the last of the Sendify features into Yabber, and we will be turning off the legacy social tools forever. Sendify integrates social media, Sendly, SendPress, Instagratify, Vista, the Social Library, Image Factory, and other tools into a single module. As part of the update, we've built in a number of new tools into Instagratify with an emphasis on Video/Reel functionality. When a video is created in Instagram, various tags and shortcodes in your message cause various effects and text to be rendered on the resulting video that'll be sent to social media platforms and your website social archive. Pictured is a video with the header, footer, upper CTA text, phone number, and Cash Rate applied, although there's a large number of options that may be used. Remember, most of your social is managed, so the Instagratify video, image, and album tools should be used to inject personality and branding into your messaging. Expect an email with links that'll point you to migration resources and FAQs. View on Instagram
Social Archive
A broker shared a link to a PDF I thought was worth reading. The document, however, wasn't branded with his name, logo, web address, phone number, or anything else - it instead included a generic brand shared by a few hundred. I had my wife call the 1800 number and the call was referred to a *different* broker. It shouldn't need to be said, but simply don't share CTA-based content unless it supports your own operation, and certainly don't pay for a managed service that sends enquires elsewhere. It's a deplorable practice. If you're paying for a managed service, it's expected that the product you're paying for will support your own business. We will never share content of any type via our managed services unless it promotes you and your business directly. Videos, images, and PDF documents are *always* fully branded with *your* details in full. View on Instagram
Social Archive
This was one of the two lowest-performing campaigns run this month in terms of the cost per lead (we saw refi leads as low as $3). The other low-performing ad was a custom campaign that we shut down pretty quick, but this one (pictured) came of the tail-end of a 5-minute turkey campaign that we literally created and had published in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. It returned leads for $7.48, so returned 9 leads for $67.28. First, I'm not trying to sell you something. As of January we work exclusively for just one group, so if you called me I'd either turn you away or try and recruit you into our subby. What I'm trying to do is get you to stop buying non-compliant and unethical garbage leads. What made this campaign interesting, and why it's a first for us (and in absolutely no way typical), is that 8 of the 9 leads converted - resulting in 9.4m in volume... and this was off a spend of just $67.28. Typical conversions are around 30%, so having all but one translate into a file was seriously unexpected... but satisfying given the broker was going through…
Social Archive
Note for clients. Yabber's Content Library is undergoing a seriously significant update. As part of an architectural overhaul that impacts most major systems, the Content Library (in company with associated systems, such as the Media Factory, Instagratify, and Vista) is seeing new functionality that'll integrate it directly with the updated Sendify (social media) modules. The Content Library already includes thousands of images and video (and billions if you include external sources), but the branded managed content that is created and sent on your behalf was always part of a standalone system... but the fractional and disruptive nature of multiple content sources ceases with the update and completely rationalises all media - including that originating from Instagratify and Vista. In real terms, it means that you'll have more control over all your content - including that which you upload yourself directly to Yabber (pictured). Big-picture changes made with the update includes integration with the website article modules, website social media modules, website download archive, Testimonial media, and the website video archive. Generally speaking, all content modules of any type will find their way into the new 'Social Library'. Please take full advantage of the powerful social media systems and content libraries.…
Social Archive
This is an important note for all website and Facebook advertising clients. Xena is the only statistical engine of its kind in the market, and it builds on the amazing conditional engine that has continued to consistently deliver clients with spectacular website, promoted, and funnel results. While our existing model is industry-leading, the Xena engine takes our decade-old BeNet AI to the next level (details will be provided in private). The system is totally integrated in nature, so website traffic, email marketing interactions, phone calls, and *every* single other digital or organic touch point of any type, is all recorded within a singular system. Creation of Xena has taken nearly a year, and testing has taken place over the last couple of months via our Shortt URL service. The entire stats framework will be shut down on Thursday morning at 2am AEST for approximately 45 minutes while we migrate the system. During this window all web services will be limited. Other revised modules, such as SendPress, Sendify, Triggerly, and the updated Social Library, will all undergo updates over the next couple of weeks. View on Instagram
Slider Details: Showing a slider in this narrow post isn't ideal because much of the formatting is lost, and various spacing isn't preserved. It's likely we'll have an example on the front page of this website. As we'll introduce shortly, virtually every option in the slider may be customised (including the image shown as the 'featured' image). We looked at including the hashtags in various locations but ended up simply adding them to the end of the description. Note that only the most recent results will show the correct featured image and image icons until a Yabber database update is performed.
Pictured: Two slides showing post from the video archive. Note that we have 'play' icons that launch video modals. The featured image is inherited from the featured image defined as the video category in Yabber.
An option is made available in Elementor (and shortcode) that renders all post images as icons which will launch an image modal. This feature is enabled by default, and it is available for content other than the posts in the social archive.
Before we introduce the simplicity of Elementor, consider the shortcode necessary to render the next slider. Shortcode of [bm_posts_slider post_type="post" meta_margin_top="-12" include_first_image_as_featured="1" slide_speed="6" number="14" items="1" truncate="50" apply_shadow="0"] returns the following:
Blog & News
We provide a large number of forms via Yabber integration, meaning that lead forms, event forms, referral forms, fact find reports, property forms, and others, may all be quickly created and then included on your website in a number of ways (our supports shortcodes, Elementor drag-and-drop forms, significant automation, form escalation, interest-based rendering, and so on - all designed to support a real marketing funnel). We've recently updated Yabber to support the default Elementor form-building block, so any custom form created in Elementor is now submitted to Yabber, and automation will take effect as if the form were one of our own. This article introduces now the Yabber component of the submissions will improve your workflows. The native Elementor form is quite good, and it has improved enormously since the rather boring early versions. The form supports multiple field types, stepped forms, and post-form actions. Creation of any form of any type takes no more than a few seconds. The standalone Elementor form block has some optional webhooks built in by default, so it can send to select platforms, and the default feature will POST submissions anywhere. By default, and without any modification, any Elementor form you create yourself will…
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LoanOptions.AI are an asset finance company that leverages their technology by making it available to mortgage brokers. Asset finance filter through to LoanOptions, while home loan leads are fed back to brokers. We've had a couple of our own brokers partner with the company so we built a standalone WordPress plugin to quickly enable the feature. We have our own , and we'd argue that it's a better solution for our clients. Our mortgage-focused solution is smaller, faster, and we believe returns more accurate results... but the idea behind LoanOptions is that you're essentially partnering with an asset finance company, so it's a completely different style of feature than the tool we've built (ours will optionally send asset deals to any company - not just a single brokerage). Our AI-engine delivers results based on passing through a classifier engine and policy matrix that filters results based on lender policys, so our filtration mechanism is vastly different to those returned via LoanOptions. If installing the necessary code to make LoanOptions work for us was problematic (and it was, we encountered numerous issues with the code), then brokers may possibly needlessly struggle.... so the WordPress plugin will hopefully mitigate the low level…
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Around March this year we had a client ask to have default page titles and formatting modified on around 70 pages. The request exposed a weakness in the architecture that prevented easy modification of page titles on a large number of pages, and with a recent update to the website framework, we've made modifications to the title module that permits a far greater measure of control over text and stylistic presentation. Titles haven't changed since version 2 of the framework which dates back over 3 years. The early website title blocks were created in a manner that assigned focus into one key area - conversions... and we ignored those subtle stylistic components that improved presentation. Changing the formatting completely would be foolish given their demonstrated performance, so the new titles are presented in an almost identical manner with the exception that we include a few icons for bling, and the title and formatting is optionally altered in Yabber. Not unlike most of our other text elements, the titles themselves may optionally include rate placeholders to return current rate data of any type. First, a look at the former title block. Similar in presentation to around 70 other pages within the…
Blog & News
We've recently updated the 'Testimonials' website and Yabber module, and the changes are significant enough that they require a reintroduction to the feature. Some like reviews. Others don't. We don't. In the broking world, however, and in the broader finance space in particular, reviews serve a valid purposes, and in a world populated with copious qualities of , it's important to validate your business as one that is real and actually exists. Testimonials and reviews provide social proof and tend to shape the early opinion that borrowers will have of your brand. Many businesses will use a simple plugin for their website that pulls reviews from Google, and that's fine for most brokers. Our system is a little different (and far more advanced) in that we aggregate reviews in Yabber, send them to one or more websites as a dedicated post, and then allow various types of modifications to be made in Yabber to alter the appearance of your website testimonial slider. In addition, we manufacture a mix of testimonial review images for use on . We've made the effort to ensure that Yabber supports the most versatile testimonial module available anywhere, and this article introduces how the updated system…
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A couple of years ago we introduced a that'd return formatted rates within a style of textbox. On the back of a recent request from a client, we've created a new style of featured panel that'll return a similar lender rate textbox that is managed entirely from Yabber. While the former rate panel remains, the new panel is simplistic and arguably more persuasive. This article will introduce the basic feature, the WordPress shortcode, and how to use the Elementor block. For the first example, we'll look at the typical lowest rate that many brokers rightly or wrongly show on their entry page (and this is where the requesting client required the basic rate text). We've in Yabber that includes the type of rate we require and we've defined the . The result of the shortcode returns the following: The basic text-only style shown above is the expected usage. For those that insist on using prominent call-to-action rate text on page entry, this is the general style that should be applied. In the second example we'll use the lowest against a . We've also linked the rate to an internal page. An may be applied the container as shown below. In…
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There are dozens of ways in which you may render lender data on your , and this data includes page-level archives that'll return information in an indiscriminate manner to support your funnel and educate your clients. These archives are supported by various panels and widgets that are used to showcase data of a certain type or from certain lenders. Supplementing existing features, and in preparation for of our website framework, we've introduced a suite of new archive pages that render the lowest rate from all accredited lenders on a specific page. The pages were built into the framework because we could... and necessarily because we should. In the light of operational experience, and on the back of millions of pages views, we can definitely claim that providing lender data in various formats objectively improves page views and conversions, so it stands to reason that providing additional resources will further cement broker expertise and authoritativeness and ultimately converts more website funnel traffic. This article introduces the new lender archive pages in brief. Like it or not, borrowers want access to research material and lender data, and rightly or wrongly, over 93% of all mortgage clients consider the rate to be the…
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In creating the of our , we've had to create various elements that'll support different types of navigation. The first of these tools is the 'Link Block' module, and this article introduces the very basic feature. Similar to the module, the feature simply creates a block of styled links in a block or list. Used by a large number of pending Yabber features, such as '' and '', the links assigned to any single profile may be rendered in a styled menu, standard list, or accordion panel (again, similar to a related reading list). Link block content is updated globally from within Yabber, meaning that any website reference to any link block will update sitewide (or across all your websites) in the same way as other modules, such as . WordPress has its own method of creating nested menus, and it's quite good, and with a little fiddling around it can be used an an alternative to what we're describing. The advantage of our system is that link blocks may be included in managed and supported content, such as that provided via our article system. Our menus are easily maintained without having to mess around with the WordPress backend. To…
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We recently encountered a broker that waited 6-months to have a logo changed on an aggregator-style website. A full 6-months! This gave us reason to dust off the old Platinum logo features, add a little more functionality, and push the tools into a standalone Yabber panel. The result is an additional component in the Website module that provides immediate, conditional, and seasonal control over how your website logos are managed. As far as your leadgen and big-picture marketing efforts are concerned, the website company logo module is a small and somewhat insignificant feature. However, as with all primary assets on your website, we should remain true to the philosophy that underpins our broader marketing efforts, and part of this agility comes from having full, quick, complete, and granular control over primary website assets. The logo system performs three primary function: Update any webiste logo at any time by uploading and sending an image. Define scheduled timeframes where a company logo will automatically swap over to another. Define conditional logos that will show on the basis of resolved borrowing objective and or industry/interest type. This article will introduce how the system functions. The Result The result is as you would expect.…
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The FAQ system we incorporate into our is both 'similar' and fundamentally different to the design of typical websites. The has evolved significantly since it was first introduced, but the FAQ titles were always something that we were always going to come back to 'fixing', so they haven't changed much since the module was first introduced. The 'Statement' modules takes care of this design bottleneck and provides a method of rendering nicely styles titles and general website content in a manner that supports your broader . This article introduces the super-simple 'Statement' (title and description) feature. It needs to be stated that we're not really a web design company. We're a marketing company that provides a website to support your marketing efforts, and we do so in a manner that is superior to other solutions availed to the market.... and our tools are more affordable, scalable, and suitable for any growing business (we provide a website because we were sick of inheriting solutions that simply didn't work the way websites were meant to work). All our website tools are designed to support your organic and promoted marketing funnels... and the Statement block is an attempt to further amplify funnel conversions.…
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We archive about as much data as ASIC and other regulatory bodies or institutions make available. The API we make available to all clients by virtue of their assigned key provides access to a large number of resources and tools - most of which they'll never use. This article introduces the ASIC API in brief in order to support some scheduled articles that details our Broker Matrix API. Until a couple of years ago, Matrix was used to measure the performance of our product against others, and we sought to identify the practices that others might be using that returned good results. We've evolved to a point where it's generally unfair to include our own broker website in the search as our solution objectively exceeds the experience provided by others by a significant margin, but we still use the resolved data to shape the digital decisions we make every single day. As an indicating and forecasting tool that evaluates broker/aggregation performance, we'd argue that Matrix has evolved into the most powerful tool of its type in the industry. Bottom line: the assessments and determinations we make are built on the back of quantifiable, measurable, and scientifically valid data. The results…
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Built on the back of our Lender Data API, and supplementing features such as Lender Widgets, Rate Ribbons, Rate Blocks, Lender Archives, and Lender Product Pages, we've just released the Lender Document (and Media) APIs. Our is now shipped with an Elementor Block that'll enable the features we're about to describe. The Lender Document API supplements the Lender Archive (and is linked to from the archive page), and it shows all the available PDF product documents associated with each of your accredited lenders. Updated every two days, the documents are grouped by product type on your website, with Residential Lending PDFs represented by a snapshot of the PDF front page, and the remaining document types are rendered as links. The purpose of the Document website tool supplements and supports the underlying objective of the hundreds of other in that it qualifies you as a preferred broker by further showcasing your expertise and authoritativeness. That said, it is an unusual page that you might consider keeping hidden from standard navigation... although you'll likely reference the documentation yourself from time-to-time. The page might be suited as a funnel asset that's only revealed in email follow-up - usage is obviously entirely up to…
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Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the process that converts an image of text into a machine-readable text format. For example, if you scan a form or a receipt, or you receive a scanned PDF or image from a client, the OCR facility will evaluate that object, extract the text, and save the resulting information to a database. Certainly, in the finance industry (where we assign virtually all of our efforts), the tool is invaluable since it returns information in a way that can be further evaluated, searched, or acted upon by way of triggers. An OCR facility is integrated with Yabber, although the tool is also available via a standalone AI-driven API accessed with your client API key. This article provides information on how the tool might be used to improve upon your digital workflows. The reliability of the resolved text is excellent. An AI backend learns more about text the more it is exposed to new fonts or handwriting. Purpose of the API For clients, the purpose of the API functionality will become more evident as we release Yabber modules that aren't 'generally' available. At the top of this list is the website-based fileUploader functionality. The Nuntius module evaluates…
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This article introduces some of the legal obligations that dictate the manner in which you represent yourself online, particularly as part of your advertising programs. The scope of non-compliance, and what can only be described as blatantly illegal advertising in the industry, is truly staggering, and it's only a matter of time before even the smallest brokers and ACL holders see themselves exposed to significant fines and litigation. More often that not, brokers are unaware of their malfeasance, as the advertising representing their brand, and the promotion that returns them 'leads', is managed by a lead generation company - something that no broker should ever do in the current market. While the focus of this article is to highlight the basics of advertising compliance, we'll introduce the nature of illegal and somewhat ubiquitous nature of 'fake' broker websites, the misguided information supplied by these resources, and the erroneous results that are returned in order to create an expectation of qualification in the minds of the consumer. First and foremost, we don't enjoy calling out the marketing mediocrity in the market. However, as the leading agency that provides a digital service, we felt an obligation to provide brokers with the education…
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We've provided the leading digital solution to the mortgage industry since 1997... and we've never sold leads, and we never will in the manner the industry is accustomed. We believe that every business should have the capacity to generate its own leads and support its own business growth without any reliance on a marketing company. Leads are the lifeblood of any mortgage business, so it stands to reason that every organisation has the capacity to generate their own consistent (and unlimited) influx of high-quality enquires. However, a modern digital experience is more than just subscribing to a form or responding to paid promotion (such as a Facebook advert), and it's a high-quality that continues to apply pressure on a subscriber in order to provide the necessary confidence for a phone call or booking. Buying leads is a . Our digital suite is the most powerful, the only integrated, and the only holistic product made available to the industry, and we've built our high-yield so it provides a more sophisticated experience than any of the dodgy lead generation services floating around the market, and it returns leads for a fraction of the cost of pay-per-lead garbage. To be clear: the solution…
The example does illustrate how the slider may be used for alternate post types, and at the moment it supports posts from the following post types: instagram and video posts (intended usage), posts, pages, FAQs, resources, and education. Standalone sliders exist for post types such as testimonials. In the above example, we've applied the 'meta' data which shows icons for images associated with each post, but this is an option we've enabled.
Our shortcode editor will make light work of applying this style of 'complex' markup, but until then, Elementor is far easier to use.
Elementor Widget
As with all our primary tools, a drag-and-drop Elementor Widget is made available that'll allow you to place the slider on any post or page. The widget includes customisation options for virtually every aspect of the slider style. Additional options will be added as they're requested.
Pictured: The Elementor Post Widget. Drag and drop the widget onto a post or page, select the post types to show, and the slider will start showing results. A large number of options apply that alter the style and formatting of the rendered slider.
Shortcode is available, but the large number of options introduce a complexity that is best avoided. That said, rendering a default slider with only minor changes takes just a few seconds.
Updates to the Social Archive
In building what was a 'simple' slider, we encountered a 'problem' (and an opportunity). In the past, Yabber would create a social article on your website based on the attributes of the post content... but it wouldn't create tags or categories. However, social posts are based on hashtags, so it only seemed appropriate that we'd assign them to each social post created. The assignment of tags (or, in this case, hashtags) means that all content connected via a hashtag may be navigated independently of other content, thus providing a more usable and engaging customer experience.
Pictured: The social archive on this website showing images associated with the #bankhistory hashtag. The archive allows a user to experience your social archive as if it were a social network by bouncing around content based on the hashtags associated with the post. This new archive presents some interesting social options we're yet to fully explore.
The framework is now shipped with a social tag archive that is linked to from the tags associated with each post (meaning you're able to browse your own social archive in the same way that you would Twitter or Instagram).
In terms of the slider itself - the primary reason the above changes were made - we now have the capacity to include hashtag links from within each panel, thus giving your website visitors direct access to social, video, and other content that interests them most.
In creating a searchable archive for the social media custom post type, we were required to create a 'hashtag' taxonomy (which is basically an association that connects the hashtag to the post), and we were required to build in a searchable hashtag archive page (or a paginated archive that shows all posts containing a single hashtag). If you're sporting a framework that was delivered anytime before January 23rd, the searchable hashtag archive will not work, and you shouldn't include hashtags in your social slider (or anywhere else) as the tags will link to an invalid page; this restriction only applies to social panels as it's the only location the tags are shown.
For those with an existing website, we'll provide video instructions on how to perform the update yourself (changes were already made on managed client websites). If you're an active social media user, and you're using our social systems, then we'd recommend an update.
Ironically, archived social media posts on your website will almost always have a higher reach than content posted to social media platforms.
Considerations
If you expect to use the slider, consider the following:
- In most cases you will use your post featured image as that which is shown in the social slider. For those cases where you set an unrelated and default featured featured image in Yabber, you may select the first post image
shown in your article as the featured image.
- Video and Social archives are the only two post types that will display 'alternate' content (images for social posts, and a video link for video posts). Other posts types will show in a generic format. The slider can be used for posts from any archive type, including just those from your blog (supplements an existing default Elementor tool).
- There are a large number of Elementor options . In most cases you will only select the post type, and alter only those values that are related to your brand. You may select your brand 'global' colour so that any updates in the future will alter the colours to all slider instances. It's expected that we'll build a panel in Yabber to set default or specific styles.
- Linked hashtags in social may be rendered above or below your post text. The option is defined in Elementor or with shortcode. We'll tidy up this option in the near future.
The feature is very new so you can expect minor bugs. Please report them as they're found. Please also forward any feature requests and we'll include them in the next plugin update.
Continued Development
One of the features we've considered implementing into the website framework is the history of lenders and banks in Australia. We've built up a significant archive ourselves, and as we post finance history to your social channels via the managed program, and as you post your own content, we can link that content to a 'history' page with more information. It's a little 'outside the box' so we'd appreciate your feedback on this type of feature.
Aggregation & Franchise
While it's yet to be used, Yabber provides for an aggregation or franchise group to include a full library of social content from all brokers on a dedicated or company website, with each post linking back to the original author - this style of social tool may also be suitable for an operation with a larger number of independent brokers. The idea is that we want our social media efforts to be archive and come alive before its buried deep down under thousands of feet of cat pics and dancing babies.
Conclusion
We're often required to explain why a company often perceived as a 'lead generation' company applies so much effort into building industry leading website tools... and the answer is a simple one: your website is required to support a full-stack marketing funnel, so the persuasiveness and value derived from your broader digital experience contributes towards your conversions. Simple.
While the slider is a fantastic tool that elevates the awareness of your social media content, it's the evolution of the social media archive that is probably more significant. Hosting your own social and video material gives you complete ownership of your own content. The searchable hashtag archive makes your website come alive with a complete searchable library of the content shared to social, and the system adds significant SEO value in the process.
Coming Soon: One of the more significant steps we've taken in this whole process was the modification of the backend framework to support a facility that will permit you to post to social media from within your social media archive. In other words, you will create content on your website, and the content and media associated with the post will send to selected social accounts. This tool will supplement the Vista and Instagratify tools, and will arguably be a more efficient mechanism for creating social content.
The last of a slider-style tool that we'll build in the short-term will return selected videos uploaded to YouTube and/or Wistia in a video slider, and the Elementor tool is expected next week.
