editor, Author at Mediastreet

In News

How to Leverage Paid Social Media With Retargeting

September 25, 2020 No Comments

By Amanda Robinson.

The more people engage with your ad and post, the more likely it is to be seen by people outside your target audience.

The following excerpt is from Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing by Eric Butow, Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Mike Allton, available now via Entrepreneur Press. Order from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books.

Boosting your Facebook Advertising efforts is an investment you might want to consider if social media marketing is a big part of your overall marketing strategy.

When you decide to advertise with Facebook, you can either create a new ad or use a status update you’ve already shared.

The ad fee structure is similar to Google in that you can set a daily budget, but you don’t set a bid per click. Instead, Facebook will begin showing your ads; the more interest people show, the less per click you’ll be charged. So it’s in everyone’s best interests to create Facebook ad posts that are interesting and compelling.

In addition to driving traffic, you can use Facebook ads for brand awareness and simply pay for engagement — in other words, likes, comments and shares. The more people engage with your ad and post, the more likely it is to be seen by people outside your target audience.

Unlike Google search ads, which are 100 percent text, Facebook ads can be links, images or even video. You can use a single image or a carousel of images. You can even upload multiple images and let Facebook test which one resonates best with your audience.

You can also set up a remarketing pixel (a snippet of code installed on your website) so that Facebook can track users who have been to your site and allow you to “remarket” to them with an ad specifically targeting them.

Here’s how remarketing works. Once you have a Facebook pixel installed on your site and are driving targeted traffic using Google Ads (and, of course, other means), you are equipped to amplify the illusion of frequency.

With a pixel in place, you can now create Facebook ads targeting people who have visited your site, or even specific pages or posts within your site. This is referred to as retargeting or remarketing.

You’ve doubtless experienced this yourself. Spend a couple of minutes looking at cars on an automotive site, and suddenly every site you go to is displaying ads for that brand of car. Because you showed interest in a brand or product by visiting their site, advertisers smartly wish to capitalize on that interest and keep themselves top of mind.

You can now do exactly the same thing!

When your Google ads effectively capture someone as they’re searching for you or information you have published, they register as a visitor with the Facebook pixel. If Facebook recognizes them as a user and you are running a remarketing campaign that includes someone like them, you can layer brand-awareness or added-benefit advertising on Facebook or Instagram, which will potentially be seen by someone who was already demonstrating search intent and is familiar with your brand. This is extraordinarily powerful and effective.

Couple this technique with problem-solving content, and you now have a means to reach people who you know have an issue and may need help to solve it. That help might include:

How-to guides.
Answers to frequently asked questions.
Case studies.

Let’s say you’re a local attorney specializing in family law. You can write a series of blog posts that answer common questions about divorce, child custody, estate planning and so on, and then use Google Ads to help people who are searching for those answers find your content. You can then place Facebook ads that encourage those people to call you for more information and assistance.

Or let’s imagine you own a wedding dress shop. Same scenario: Create content that answers common questions brides have about their special day, use Google Ads to drive intentional traffic, and then leverage Facebook to make sure those brides know about your gorgeous dresses by placing ads showcasing your latest offerings and retargeting your website traffic.

Whatever products or services you have to offer, this technique can be implemented, tested, refined and then scaled up.

Feature Image Credit: Image credit: Kornburut Woradee | EyeEm | Getty Images

By Amanda Robinson.

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

In News

An Instagram account is exposing influencer inequality

September 25, 2020 No Comments

Sourced from MarketPlace

Black influencers tend to be paid less than white influencers, and it has nothing to do with follower counts.

Talking about how much you’re paid can make for an awkward conversation, but Adesuwa Ajayi is asking just that of social media influencers. They can have followings of tens or hundreds of thousands and companies will pay them for promotions. Ajayi started the Influencer Pay Gap account on Instagram to highlight the fact that Black influencers are routinely paid less than white influencers, even when they have similar numbers of followers or the same reach. The account lets people share stories anonymously and learn from other people’s experiences about what a fair payment is for a particular job or endorsement.

I spoke with Ajayi, whose day job is managing influencers at the talent agency AGM. She said she’s been collecting hundreds of stories. The following is an edited transcript of our conversation.

Adesuwa Ajayi: One of the most interesting ones actually was a campaign an influencer was participating in. This was a white influencer. And she was approached last-minute by a beauty brand with the expectation that she was going to replace a celebrity. She was pitched £5,000 to be paid for that campaign. She turned up, but then realized that the celebrity that apparently wasn’t going to turn up actually did turn up. So, there was no need for her to be there. And she was still paid that £5,000. Whereas a Black influencer, who actually participated in the campaign, was paid around £1,700. And it had nothing to do with their influence and following.

Jack Stewart: It is one thing in a job where people get paid a salary and you can be fairly transparent about it or at least force that transparency. But with influencers, where there’s kind of just not that overall body, there’s not a union, there’s really no way, is there, to dig in and figure out what these differences are? It really lets you hide things quite easily.

Ajayi: One hundred percent, especially as there are different parties involved. You have the brands, but you also have the agencies, and agencies are often given big budgets from brands. And there’s no level of transparency, whereby if a brand gives an agency around £10,000, who’s to say the agency doesn’t cut off £5,000 for themselves and intentionally lowball influencers? I think there are so many things at play here. There are so many people involved in different ways, and each industry, each niche, there are different behaviours that are a lot more common within certain niches than others. So it’s a bit of a mess, to a degree.

Stewart: You work at a talent agency. Is there anything you can think of that would help fix this problem? Is there a way to structure pay? Is there a way for influencers to work together or form a union?

Ajayi: I am working hand in hand with a union that has actually been set up. They are working towards opportunities for advocacy when it comes to influencers in this space and creators in general, where people feel OK to discuss the ways in which they have been treated. I think reinvigorating influencers in the sense that where they feel a lot more confident, and a lot more, almost, heard, in the grand scheme of things is really important.

Stewart: Have you heard anything from brands either talking to you personally or speaking out publicly about the inequality issue?

Ajayi: There are some Black influencers who kind of feel a way about some of the posts that have been made by certain brands. Especially brands that have a habit of picking and choosing what they like from Black culture, but completely ostracizing Black influencers from their campaigns. And I think there is constantly, right now, a conversation around seeing Black influencers and Black creators as worthy of a level of respect. It shouldn’t be anything somewhat shallow because you’re scared of any repercussions.

Stewart: What do you hope changes as a result of this page and the work that you’re doing?

Ajayi: I would really love for it to create a space whereby people feel like they can be truly honest and they feel that they’ll be heard. And not only heard, but, based upon the feedback, brands will take steps to do what they know they should do. So that’s one thing. I would also say, just the sense of community has been amazing and just seeing influencers help one another. An influencer with a million [followers] can seem so far-fetched to an influencer who has 5,000. But on the page, it sort of brings people together and gives them an understanding of what different spaces are like and the things that other people go through. And so I’d love for a kind of close-knit way of people kind of advocating for one another. It also required people to use their privilege and also use their insight to help one another. And I think that is what has been really, really amazing about the page, and I think it will only continue to get even bigger and better in that sense.

Sourced from MarketPlace

In News

Marketers Turn to Facebook and Instagram to Build Brand Awareness

September 25, 2020 No Comments

By Emma Wiltshire.

Last week, we ran a few polls in the newsletter to learn more about how marketing goals vary between social media platforms. You may use a platform to accomplish many goals, but there is most likely one goal that you both have invested in and have consistently seen a great return on that investment.

We selected four common social media marketing goals to focus on:

Brand Awareness
Lead Generation & Sales
Customer Service
Community Engagement

Instagram and Facebook were the first two platforms we selected for the polls. Given the immense user-base of both platforms, plus the diversity of interests and communities found on each, it’s not a huge shock that brand awareness took the lead in both of these polls.

For Instagram, brand awareness took the lead with 39% of participants claiming this to be their primary goal on the platform. This could be an indicator that Instagram is a great place to launch a new brand on social and get noticed.

Social Media Today newsletter

Once again, brand awareness took the lead on Facebook with 30% of the majority vote. Next, with 26% of the vote came generation and sales. Following close after with 24% was community engagement.

Social Media Today newsletter

It’s also not a huge surprise that these two polls shared similar results with brand awareness leading and customer service coming in last. Many marketers link their Instagram and Facebook accounts, adjusting their approach slightly for each, but there is still a connection between the two.

By Emma Wiltshire

Sourced from Social Media Today

In Jobs

Whytematter Staffing Solutions Belfast

September 24, 2020 No Comments

Whytematter is searching for a Planner / Strategist to join the Marketing Services team for their client who are a Marketing Agency based in Belfast.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Account Managers to track what Business is coming in along with the Project Manager to see what current work is being implemented and therefore work out the timelines for future and further business.

This role would suit someone who has been working in a Marketing Agency, managing projects and understands the full Lifecyle of Marketing. This person must also be very organised and able to draw up reports as part of their role.

Typical Job Duties (not limited to only these):

Be an active player in creative concept meetings, identifying key insights to form the basis of creative ideas, facilitating the creative process within others, and generating creative ideas and campaigns stand out from other competitors within the industry Work cross-functionally within the marketing services department and approach each task with a cooperative attitude Reporting with the Project Manager regarding the progress of a task, as well as the overall performance of projects Conduct research on a client’s business, brand, industry and audience, and present their findings back to the team in a clear, succinct and beneficial way Play a lead role in overseeing the delivery of Account Based Marketing programmes Develop campaign messaging across a variety of channels, and ensure all messaging aligns with client expectations

Criteria

3+ years’ experience in a B2B strategy/planning role, agency side preferred. Has developed the marketing strategy for a variety of programmes and campaigns, and has produced tangible results because of this Can use core insights to underpin campaigns and analyse research to make strategic recommendations Can create value propositions that get to the heart of a business, crafting a message that is clear, succinct, and impactful to prospects Able to demonstrate creative thinking, and isn’t afraid to think outside the box when generating ideas for campaigns Can interview clients to gain further insights, and can brief others on the client’s expectations for a project Shows an eagerness to keep on top of market trends, marketing insights, and pays attention to thought leaders within the industry An ambitious individual looking for an opportunity to grow and excel long-term within a business

If this position is of interest to you, please hit the “APPLY” button or alternatively, phone Kirsty on 07715582743.

In Uncategorized

Five B2B SaaS Marketing Tactics That Most Organizations Overlook

September 24, 2020 No Comments

By Brian Schofield.

Digital marketing consultant at Market 8, specializing in search engine optimization. He is mainly focused on the SaaS industry.

Growth-minded SaaS companies need to find strategic ways to stand out online. And while it seems like many marketers tout “the next best thing” when it comes to software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing, I find that there are a few tactics that are routinely underrated.

It’s become all too common to see SaaS companies getting caught up in the “shiny object syndrome” of the latest growth hacks. Although some of these “hacks” can produce results, it’s important to remember the basics.

In fact, having stood the test of time, these tactics prove that it’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel. So here are five marketing strategies that we leverage for our B2B SaaS clients at Market 8 and that I find most software companies ignore — tactics that could be the difference between being overlooked and winning over new customers.

1. Leverage searchability around competitor brand names.

With such stark competition in the SaaS space, companies need to find a way to elevate themselves above their competitors. This often means positioning your software against your competitors’ software in a way that acknowledges yours as the superior choice.

To get in front of prospects looking for your competitors, you can target your competitors’ branded keywords through Google Ads (or Bing Ads, depending on the market). Then, direct these prospects to a landing page that showcases why your solution is best.

What’s great about these landing pages is that they often attract organic traffic, especially if you’ve included comparative keywords such as “Brand A vs. Brand B” in the meta page title and header tags.

2. Fully optimize your review listings.

It might seem obvious, but this one is often overlooked.

Be sure to claim and optimize your review listings on G2, Capterra and similar directories. This means thoroughly filling out your company description, specifying the categories you do business in, and adding high-quality images and demo videos.

Next, you’ll want to make sure you have an ongoing plan in place to collect reviews, especially on the directories that your target audience is routinely browsing. Lastly, address any existing negative reviews in a tactful way to show that your brand values and listens to customer feedback.

While doing all of this will most certainly improve your brand’s reputation, it may also improve your search engine optimization (SEO) on and off the directory website.

3. Become more visible in the search engine results page (SERP).

Schema markup is a type of code that can be placed on webpages to help search engines better understand what a page is about. This code also allows search engines to display rich snippets in the search results.

FAQ markup and AggregateRating markup are two types of structured data that our agency is seeing great results with right now, simply because the click-through rate of these listings goes through the roof. It makes sense — if users are able to get their most important questions answered right away while seeing your company’s glowing reviews, they’ll be more likely to click your listing than your competitor’s.

4. Extract more value out of existing content.

Many SaaS firms are so focused on creating new content that they forget about their existing content. To get the most out of what you already have, revisit your blogs, and optimize based on data you find in Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Update, remove or add sections of content, and add a new lead magnet to the page.

The same can be done for your important product or service pages. Add power words, modifiers on keywords and conversion-focused long-tail keywords to attract targeted users and convert that traffic into buyers. Highlight your strongest selling points, and add compelling calls to action (CTAs) to entice users to click, buy or subscribe right away.

Updating existing content improves user experience, but what it also does is provide “freshness” signals to search engines, improving your rank in search results.

5. Focus new content on customer retention, not just acquisition.

Build your content strategy with the goal of retaining users, not just acquiring new ones.

It’s a well-known fact that retention is less expensive than acquisition, so why do many SaaS businesses focus on acquisition as a top growth strategy?

Having a retention-focused content marketing strategy could set you apart from the vast majority of your competitors. Successful SaaS firms that do this have “learning centers” on their sites, answering every question users could possibly have and addressing any confusion users might have about their products.

A great example of a company that does this incredibly well is Ahrefs. Its content acquires new customers, but it also creates product experts out of existing customers, too. These customers go on to be brand advocates who direct even more customers to the software.

Conclusion

While it may be tempting to chase the next best marketing “hack,” it’s important not to forget the fundamentals. The above B2B SaaS marketing strategies routinely generate amazing results for SaaS companies that implement them on a regular basis.

Brand positioning, reputation management and having a retention-focused content marketing strategy are all tactics you can use to increase your online visibility, even in a highly competitive industry. What is your SaaS company doing to stand out in your market?

Feature Image Credit: GETTY

By Brian Schofield

Digital marketing consultant at Market 8, specializing in search engine optimization. He is mainly focused on the SaaS industry. Read Brian Schofield’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

How can marketing change the world for the better?

September 24, 2020 No Comments

By Jenni Baker.

Does marketing have the power to change the world? The year 2020 has forced us all to redress the net result of the industrial revolution, which spurred mass consumption and throw-away consumerism. So, can our industry – with the abundance of talent, skill and creativity- champion for a better future for all?

The Drum and Facebook have partnered to bring together teams from brands and agencies across the globe to provide some answers to this very challenging question. The idea is to get together experts from the industry to find solutions to business and societal challenges to help create value for the people and the communities it impacts.

The creative brief

Uniting three markets under the theme of ‘stakeholder capitalism’ – with attention to inclusion and diversity – three separate teams in North America, EMEA and APAC were put together to answer the brief that involves a rethink of how small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs) that are run by minorities operate, and how as an industry we can help create more resilient businesses especially in these unprecedented times.

Each of the three regions were given three separate briefs – The US (North America) team’s brief is to focus on women run SMEs. So how to overcome systemic social and financial challenges while starting and sustaining female-led businesses? Do they need to approach entrepreneurship differently?

For the London, UK (EMEA) team the theme was immigrant-led small business. Are immigrant-owned businesses the untapped potential? What are the challenges and opportunities of migrant founders and their businesses?

The theme for the APAC team is silver start-ups. A growing number of over-65s are now delaying retirement by starting their own firm, fueling a ‘grey business’ boom. What are their challenges, can we identify the most pertinent ones and solve those problems?

The first meet-up

Each of the teams kicked off their first virtual brainstorm session to find a campaign solution that would positively impact the lives of minority groups operating in the SME market. Each of the teams were also given mentors to help guide through the process.

Following is the list of the three teams:

Team US

Tom Spaven, brand director, Bombay Sapphire, North America (mentor)
Stephanie Walker, innovation marketing manager, Pepsico
Cassie Begalle, strategy and innovation brand Manager – U by Kotex, Kimberly-Clark
Iyanni Callender, junior art director, Strawberry Frog
Paola Ortega, associate strategy director, DDB Chicago
Michael Rodriguez, content strategist, 3 Leches Creative

Team UK

Arjoon Bose, marketing head- culture & brand experience (Europe-Australasia), General Mills (mentor)
Andre Campbell, partnerships lead, Mercedes-Benz
Fatima Diez, head of marketing, MunchFit
Shannie Mears, co-founder & talent chief, The Elephant Room
Jade Nodinot, former creative associate, BlackBook London
Emma Luxton, former senior account executive, Avantgarde London

Team APAC

Erica Kerner, SVP, marketing strategy & partnerships, ONE Championship (mentor)
Triveni Rajagopal, global digital director, skin cleansing and BPC, Unilever
Chandini Malla, senior manager, Diageo
Bryan Martin, social media executive, Reprise Digital
Adrianne Pan, planner, Havas Singapore

Team US: A fact-finding mission

Gender equality is at risk of being set back decades in the current climate – not just minorities in general, but especially women in it. In the US, the focus is on women-owned SMEs, looking at how female-led businesses can overcome systemic social and financial challenges, as well as addressing the different approaches that this cohort might have to entrepreneurship in order to succeed.

One such challenge was posed by keynote speaker Victoria Monsul Singolda, owner and creative director of Iris & Virgil, who discussed that though it might be true that for women-led businesses, their vulnerabilities as women and as small business owners are compounded, there needs to be a gender-smart approach because not all women-led businesses are the same.

“I never really thought of myself as a female business owner, I’m just a business owner. Maybe because my mother was very dominant in the household, she was a student, she was a business owner, she was a mum, we always saw her, we were always together. Maybe that’s why I never thought that there was something different or special being a girl.”

Headed up by mentor Tom Spaven from Bombay Sapphire, the team immediately honed into “resilience” and “impact” as the insights towards this gender-smart approach.

The team delved into discussions to align on common goals and objectives. The first step was to focus on the challenges in order to find the most creative solution – with three key take-aways that these women are lacking: Knowledge and resources to tap into; a community to help them venture into this new world; and platforms available to really share and have people learn more about.

The team then decided that the initial insight-led approach would begin with a fact-finding mission to assess the situation and the scale of the problem that the campaign needed to solve; followed by the consumer insight to understand the deep motivations and needs of the target to ultimately give the barrier they need to start to push against in order to solve the problem; and finally, culture listening around this topic – all of which would help to get a clear, sharpened brief about the real problem they are trying to solve.

Team EMEA: Move from ‘pivot to evolve’

On the other side of the Atlantic, Team EMEA, led by mentor Arjoon Bose from General Mills, tackled the untapped potential of ethnic minority and immigrant-owned founders, their challenges and opportunities.

“The last few months have been testing and I think we’ve all come up with a ton of learning. But I think we’re at that stage right now where we’re needing to move from pivot to evolve,” said Bose. “A growth mindset is what we’re going to have to need as we come out of this and prepare to get stronger and accelerate.”

After hearing from keynote speakers Sharon Jandu, director, Yorkshire Asian Business Association and director, Northern Asian Power List; and Steph Douglas, founder, Don’t Buy Her Flowers, it was clear that a heavy emphasis on networking, relationships and experiences, along with access to digital technologies, were key in bringing this community together.

“For an SME, they are so busy doing what they do that they don’t have the time or the capacity to think about what they can do – or they don’t have the networks to enable them to get the contacts to get investments or to get ideas. They are constantly running on a treadmill, trying to do and keep what they are doing alive. How can we stop them becoming so absorbed in their business that they can actually distance themselves and look at it from an aerial perspective?” asked Jandu.

The team identified the need to listen and learn directly from migrant-led business owners themselves to understand their experience, their struggles and challenges with direct feedback through focus groups and on-the-ground research. This would allow them to narrow down into one or two sectors that need the drive and support. They identified Facebook’s own small business community as a great place to start to create a questionnaire in order to gain invaluable insights to help shape their strategy.

“The opportunity that digital gives us to connect these immigrant-owned businesses with each other and provide each other with their own experience and their own knowledge can be a very valuable thing that we could leverage if it’s relevant to their challenge,” said Fatima Diez.

Team APAC: Reinventing and re-energising culture

With a growing number of over 65s now delaying retirement and fuelling a ‘grey business’ boom, the focus for Team APAC was on overcoming the challenges faced by the silver start-ups, particularly when it comes to navigating through the coronavirus pandemic.

Mentored by Erica Kerner from ONE Championship, the team was presented with a keynote talk by Jeremy Nguee, founder, Preparazzi Gourmet Catering; Batu Lesung Spice Company; who helped his mother set up Mrs. Kueh, a local sweet treat business. They touched upon some of the unique experiences and challenges of their business that they ran from home.

Hoping to learn from this experience and translate these lessons to help support silver entrepreneurs and home-based businesses through his volunteering role in the Hawkers United Facebook community, Nguee said: “I think this is going to be a very, very big market. There are a lot more home-based businesses coming up because of high unemployment in the market.”

Inspired by the talk, the team decided to focus on Singapore food culture and food service industry run by silver entrepreneurs, that has an international dimension throughout much of its history but continues to retain features firmly rooted in the locality so that the global and local are not always distinct. The team wanted to understand the different segments of businesses and the landscape in which they were working in.

“The complexities of Asia, the complexities of the segment, the types of digital, could become such a beast,” says Kerner. “My instinct is to start with the data. Starting a business now, no matter what your age is a challenge and a lot of small businesses are obviously struggling to survive. We’ve got a lot of things to think about. What aspect of this do we want to try to unbuckle?” asked Kerner. “In Singapore we are losing a lot of that Hawker culture and if we can find a way to re energise it, and bring more people back into it, it’s good for all of Singapore culture.”

The next steps

Over the upcoming weeks, the teams will continue to work on their campaign and then subsequently present the big idea for solving that problem.

The final ideas will be entered in The Drum Social Purpose Awards.

The Drum consulting editor, Sonoo Singh, said: I’m inspired to see the true power of marketing when used to promote issues that are critical to our societies, persuade a change in behaviours, and influence a positive shift in behavior that would benefit our environment. Having been involved with all the teams, I cannot wait to see the final outcome of this very challenging brief.”

By Jenni Baker

Sourced from The Drum

In News

Why Influencer Marketing Will Continue to Thrive

September 24, 2020 No Comments

By Reena Rai.

How have brands such as Glossier and Telfar cultivated communities of brand ambassadors to build brand loyalty? Reena Rai, Pinterest’s Creator Lead explains.

Influencer marketing is one of the most innovative facets of the digital marketing mix. It has evolved at a phenomenal pace over the last decade and is expected to grow to be worth $9.7bn in 2020. The latest evolution, Ambassador Marketing, sees brands engaging customers to create content, provide reviews and suggest future product lines, all while putting the spotlight on authenticity.

The need for authenticity and relatability is reminiscent of the early days of blogging over a decade ago. The majority of bloggers started their foray into digital publishing as a passion project on Blogger or WordPress, before expanding to social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

Marketers saw an opportunity to enhance their traditional marketing strategies by working with influencers. Engaging real people with a social following adds a layer of authenticity, while also helping to reach new audiences. One-off collaborations have led to long-term partnerships, turning influencers into ambassadors.

Super-influencer Lorna Luxe has been working with fast fashion e-tailer ‘In The Style’ since February 2019. Her first collection was the most successful launch in the brand’s history, with 5,000 units sold out in under an hour.

Paid influencer collaborations have proven to be a very successful marketing tactic, but fans and followers have become sceptical of how authentic these partnerships and influencer reviews really are. In 2018, the industry faced a further crisis in confidence after several leading influencers were caught buying followers and using bots to overinflate their engagement metrics.

This is why I believe Ambassador Marketing is a necessary evolution. Influencers undoubtedly play an important role in digital marketing, but brands can benefit from engaging grassroots fans to create a 360° approach. Consumer purchase decisions are heavily influenced by peers and relatable micro-influencers: engagement rates are much higher for micro-influencers and a recent study stated that 70% of millennials are influenced by social content from their peers.

Here are two compelling examples that illustrate the importance of engaging superfans as both a source of inspiration and to help build grassroots buzz.

Case Study: Glossier
Beauty brand Glossier is estimated to be worth a cool $1.2bn and much of the company’s success is attributable to Ambassador Marketing. Interestingly, Glossier was founded by Emily Weiss in 2014 and, before launching her brand, Emily was a blogger at ‘Into The Gloss’ which launched four years prior.

From the beginning, Glossier has placed customers at the heart of their brand strategy, with early customers engaged as brand ambassadors. Not only were customers encouraged to share social media posts with their products and signature pink bubble wrap pouches, but Glossier also relied on their brand ambassadors to share product reviews and tips.

By treating each customer as an influencer, Glossier has amassed an impressive amount of User Generated Content (UGC). This social amplification has earned the brand a huge following across their channels, with their largest audiences being on Pinterest (over 10m monthly unique views) and Instagram (2.8m followers).

Taking the concept of Ambassador Marketing a step further, Glossier also has an exclusive Slack group with 100 ‘superfans’ who are happy to provide feedback on the existing line and share ideas for new products.

Case Study: Telfar
Launched in 2005 by Telfar Clemens in New York, Telfar is one of the most exciting luxury fashion brands in the zeitgeist. Steadily building a buzz within the Brooklyn party subculture, Clemens has been collaborating with brand ambassadors since the brand’s inception.

While large fashion brands scramble to prove that they value diversity, Telfar’s founding motto is “It’s not for you, it’s for everyone”. As a black-owned luxury fashion brand which is unisex and affordable, Telfar is effortlessly inclusive. Clemens dresses friends such as Kelela and Dev Hynes, who in turn become brand ambassadors, wearing Telfar pieces and performing at the brand’s shows.

Telfar’s first handbag was a runaway success and the limited monthly drops have resulted in a cult-like following. Dubbed the “Bushwick Birkin”, the handbag is a prized possession which unofficial brand ambassadors share across social media in high-quality, editorial-esque shoots.

By engaging superfans and high-profile cool kids spanning the art, fashion and music worlds, Telfar is able to reinforce their brand values, extend their social reach, lean on their community for content creation and create a grassroots buzz.

As brands and agencies look for new opportunities to extend their digital presence and build brand loyalty, the most innovative strategy they can adopt is cultivating a community of brand ambassadors. Engaging with influencers as thought leaders in their niche only goes halfway. The most powerful advocates for any organisation are existing customers and fans. Genuine advocacy from an ecosystem of influencers and fans will help you to engage customers, build loyalty, and drive incremental brand visibility.

By Reena Rai.

CREATOR LEAD, PINTEREST

Sourced from iab.uk

In News

More companies join Facebook ad boycott bandwagon

September 23, 2020 No Comments

Sourced from CNA

REUTERS: A long list of companies have pulled advertising from Facebook Inc in support of a campaign that called out the social media giant for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms.

The Stop Hate for Profit campaign was started by several US civil rights groups after the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody triggered widespread protests against racial discrimination in the United States.

Following are some of the companies that have decided to support the campaign:

Starbucks Corp

The US coffee chain said it would pause advertising on all social media platforms while it continues discussions internally, with media partners and civil rights organisations.

Unilever Plc

The consumer goods company said it will stop advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the United States for the rest of the year, citing “divisiveness and hate speech during this polarised election period in the US.”

Adidas AG

The German sportswear giant said it and subsidiary Reebok will pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram globally throughout July.

Walt Disney Co

The media company will slash its advertising spending on Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that the time frame for the pullback was not clear as some brands paused their ad spending for longer stretches.

Coca-Cola Co

The beverage maker will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days, Chief Executive Officer James Quincey said in a statement.

Merck & Co

The drug maker said it was stopping ads on Facebook and Instagram and was monitoring the actions Facebook takes.

Target Corp

The retailer said it was pausing all ads on Facebook and Instagram throughout July and was re-evaluating its plans for the rest of the year.

Ford Motor Co

The No 2 US automaker said it would pause advertising on all social media platforms in the United States for 30 days, adding that it would evaluate such spending in other regions as well.

HP Inc

The computer maker said it was stopping US advertising on Facebook until the platform puts more robust safeguards in place against objectionable content. It added that it was reviewing its social media strategy across all markets and platforms.

Lululemon Athletica Inc

The yogawear maker said it would pause paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

Levi Strauss & Co

The denim maker said it and subsidiary Dockers would pause all ads on Facebook and Instagram, calling on the social media company to take actions to stop misinformation and hate speech.

Beiersdorf AG

The Nivea cream maker said it was pausing ads for all its brands on Facebook and Instagram throughout July.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc

Chipotle said it was temporarily pausing paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram starting Jul 1.

Diageo Plc

The world’s largest spirits maker will pause all paid advertising globally on major social media platforms from Jul 1.

Clorox Co

The bleach maker said it will stop advertising spending with Facebook through December.

Verizon Communications Inc

he telecom operator said it was pausing advertising until Facebook creates “an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable”.

The North Face

The outdoor brand, a unit of VF Corp, said it would pull out of all Facebook-owned platforms.

Ben & Jerry’s

The ice-cream maker said it would pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the United States as of Jul 1

Magnolia Pictures

The film distributor and studio became the first Hollywood company to join the movement. The company said in a tweet it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram, starting immediately, through at least the end of July.

Patagonia

The outdoor apparel brand said it would pull all ads on Facebook and Instagram through at least the end of July.

Source: Reuters/ec

Feature Image Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Sourced from CNA

In News

From Strategy To Action: Five Tips For Smarter Marketing

September 23, 2020 No Comments

By Charlie Grinnell.

The marketing world is full of buzzwords: “omnichannel,” “integrated advertising,” “customer journey” … the list goes on and on. I believe “strategy” has become one of those buzzwords. It seems like marketers can’t take a breath without some kind of strategy — for Facebook, influencers, SEO, etc.

Here’s the thing: Strategy is important. However, it’s become a dangerous term to use because different people interpret the word in different ways — and this is a word that should not be open to interpretation. From what I’ve seen, the overuse and misuse of “strategy” has created a web of confusion, which ultimately can be bad for business.

Building a strategy doesn’t have to be an overly complicated concept. In fact, a good strategy (one that’s properly defined and understood) should serve as the foundation for concrete action. With that in mind, here are five tips that can help you move seamlessly from strategy to tactics.

1. Ensure that you have an alignment of language.

Start by making sure that everyone on your team is on the same page when it comes to terminology. Language matters — words have power. If you want your marketing team’s efforts to be unified, then you need to ensure that basic terms like “objective,” “strategy” and “tactics” are used consistently and are associated with clear definitions.

What are the differences between these terms? Let’s break them down:

• An objective is a thing aimed at or sought; in other words, a goal. It’s where you want to go.

• A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve an overall aim. It’s the plan to get you where you want to go.

• A tactic is a carefully planned action to achieve a specific end. It’s a specific action that moves you closer to your destination.

Think of it this way: On a road trip, you have a destination (your objective). You have a route to get there (your strategy). And you take specific actions along the way, like refuelling your vehicle (your tactics). Easy, right?

Unfortunately, many marketers confuse these definitions; in turn, this confusion of language leads to confusion of efforts. As Sun Tzu once said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

2. Build contextual links between your objectives, strategy and tactics.

With a clear understanding of these terms, the key is to build contextual linkage between the three concepts, working from the top down. Everything starts with clear business objectives. Make sure that you have SMART objectives in place —goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. (And if you don’t have those SMART objectives, it’s time to crack the whip on your leadership team — this is their job, after all.)

Once you have clear objectives to aim for, you can link those objectives to workable strategies, and finally to specific tactics. So your objectives are contextually linked to your strategies, which in turn are contextually linked to your tactics. The beauty of this process is that it eliminates misaligned strategies and tactics from consideration. In other words, if it’s a great idea in a vacuum but doesn’t fit with your overall objectives, then you don’t have to explore it further.

Here’s a real-world application of these principles in the world of retail:

• Objective: Increase handbag sales to single women in London by 25%.

• Strategy: Use Facebook ads to reach the target audience.

• Tactic: Use video and carousel ads to feature close-up images of the handbags.

Everything is contextually linked together, from the high-level objective down to the specific tactic used by the retailer.

3. Use your strategy to drive the choice of tactic (instead of the other way around).

Put simply, don’t get distracted by shiny objects. There is a plethora of innovative marketing tools available today, ranging from “shoppable” posts to retargeting ads to the newest SEO techniques. However, your choice of tactics should always be determined by your strategy. Allowing your strategy to be directed by your tactics is counterproductive and ultimately self-defeating. Don’t reach for the chainsaw when you need a scalpel. Think carefully about which tool would work best for your plan of action, and then use it.

4. Proactively communicate your strategy to drive alignment within your organization.

If objective-driven marketing is the fuel that keeps your company’s engine going, then proactive communication is the oil that keeps the gears lubricated. The fact is that many marketers struggle to clearly communicate their strategy to the broader organization. However, you need to have everyone in your company (or at the very least, all the key stakeholders) on the same page if you want your strategy to succeed.

I’ve found that the best way to communicate your vision to others is to simply use the framework established above. Lead your audience from your objective to your strategy to the specific tactics you are using to accomplish that objective. By doing so, you’ll show how your efforts are contributing to overall business goals, and you’ll be able to justify your preferences for certain tactics over others.

5. Consistently update your strategy to reflect industry/market shifts.

Many marketers don’t realize (or accept) that strategy is not a static concept — it’s dynamic. Industries change; markets shift. You’ll need to consistently audit your strategy and make adjustments that reflect current realities. A strategy isn’t an end state; it’s a framework within which your company can operate, grow and adapt as needed. Think of it like a plot of land for a garden: The location stays the same, but your actions change depending on the season, the kind of plants you grow, etc.

In summary, the key to smarter marketing is alignment. Whether it’s speaking the same language, communicating with leadership, or linking objectives, strategy and tactics together in their proper context, alignment is your friend. By keeping the above tips in mind while developing a new strategy (or adjusting an existing one), you’ll be more likely to set your brand up for success.

Feature Image Credit: GETTY

By Charlie Grinnell

CEO at RightMetric, a subscription-based competitive marketing intelligence firm. Read Charlie Grinnell’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

On CRM: What’s The Best Small Business CRM For Gmail?

September 22, 2020 No Comments

By Gene Marks.

Many of my clients who are looking for a customer relationship management system ask me: is there a specific offering that works with Gmail? To answer that question, you have to define what “works” means.

Gmail is really two things. It’s a web-based mail client (or application) that you can use from any device in a stand-alone manner. It’s also, when you subscribe to G Suite, an email server, not unlike Microsoft Exchange, where you can connect other email applications to it, including email applications that come with some CRMs.

There are three types of CRMs that work with Gmail. Some – like Zoho (which my company sells), Sugar, Insightly and GoldMine (which my company also sells) – have their own, built-in email clients that can connect to Gmail’s server to send and receive messages. Others – such as Salesforce – will just quickly integrate with Gmail right out of the box via a plug-in and then synchronize messages back and forth. And then there are a few – like Copper and Streak – that work right inside of Gmail.

In the end we all want the same thing: a simple way to send and receive messages so that all of our email communications are stored in the history for each contact and account in our CRM systems and can be shared (with permissions) with others in our group. That way when a customer or prospect reaches out the team’s got their entire email history at their fingertips.

So what’s the best option for integrating Gmail with your CRM? The first thing you need to do, in order to get the most out of your Gmail integration, without any limitations, is to subscribe to Google’s G Suite of business applications. Once you do that, there are essentially two roads you can take.

Going Inside of Gmail

If you want your CRM system to be imbedded inside of Gmail I recommend looking at either Copper or Streak. These applications “super-charge” your Gmail in-box and give you a Google experience on hyper-drive. They enable you to manage your prospects, leads, customers and pipeline right from inside of Gmail, and assuming you’re a G Suite user, your data will not only be synchronized with your Google contacts and calendar but with most of G Suite’s apps including Slides, Sheets and Meet.

Both Copper and Streak’s most popular versions come with mobile apps that will work on iPhones and Android devices and cost about $50 per month per user. They include workflows, automation and reporting. They also integrate with other popular small business applications like QuickBooks, Xero, HubSpot and MailChimp. Copper has a growing number of implementation partners that can help with your setup and training. Streak has robust capabilities for mass emails. Both applications have been around for a while (Copper, formerly known as ProsperWorks was founded in 2014 and Streak launched in 2011) and both have received mostly positive reviews for their interface and support.

When I speak to clients that use these products I generally get good feedback. However, the biggest limitations I hear is that both applications’ functionality are mostly for lead management and sales pipelines. That’s fine if you’re a small business and need a simple, yet robust sales tool inside of Gmail. But what if you need more? That brings me to the second road you can take.

Integrating With Gmail

Some companies want to use their CRM for more than just lead management or to track sales. My company integrates our CRM with our website. We do quotes. We track service issues and run relatively advanced campaigns from within our CRM, which is Zoho.

However, because Zoho comes with its own built-in email application, we use Gmail as our company’s email server, so our need is less to be inside of Gmail but to integrate with Gmail. Zoho does that well. Although it does integrate with Google’s contacts and calendar, because Zoho isn’t built into Gmail like Copper or Streak, it doesn’t integrate with as many Google applications. Also, we’re forced to use the capabilities of Zoho’s email functionality, including spam filtering, which is not as robust as Gmail’s. But on the other hand we have more features and applications available to us – like accounting, projects and campaigns – as part of Zoho’s business suite than if we were just using Copper and Streak.

As mentioned above, some CRM applications – Salesforce being the most prominent – forgo their own email application and just give their users the ability to quickly integrate with other popular email apps like Outlook and Gmail via a plugin. This way if you want to send or check your email, the application literally calls up a Gmail window and you do the work through there. All messages sent or received will be saved inside of your CRM application. If that capability isn’t available out of the box, it’s likely that you can use a connector like Zapier or Workato, to accomplish this. Google publishes a large list of CRMs and connectors that have integration capabilities on its G Suite Marketplace.

The bottom line is that just because you use Gmail doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get a CRM that’s built into Gmail. That’s nice, as long as you’re willing to work within their limitations. But most, good CRMs today will easily synchronize with Gmail and, although not perfect, the synchronization tends to work well.

Feature Image Credit: (Photo Illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES