by Saara Jafari | Sep 21, 2012 | Advertising, Business Success
How many times have we heard ourselves and those around us complain about how there never seems to be enough time? And how often have we walked down an aisle in a grocery store and gotten overwhelmed by lines and choices of products? The answer would be ‘countless times’. Then why is it that advertisers often, in their rush to spend their marketing/advertising budgets often fail to understand what exactly they are competing with before formulating the message they want to communicate to the buyer.
While it is simple to define ‘competitors’ as those whom you are competing with, it would be naïve to limit the scope to only include products or businesses in the same category. Today’s lifestyle is often the major competitor. With the increasing tendency of multitasking and quick fixes, where cost of living is sky rocketing, and people are working more than one job or longer hours, people place a greater value on the little time they have left to spend with their families, friends and personal development.
What does this mean to marketers? It means there are only a few seconds in a day, for companies, to get consumers’ attention and how they reach out to consumers is equally significant. According to a research conducted by McKinsey in Europe, 54% of the respondent base went online to collect information before making a purchase. This means companies should have a stronger and mindful online presence, whether it’s through digital advertising or social media. It’s important to streamline your websites and have engaging topics of discussions on your social media sites and user-friendly navigation to assist consumers in getting the information they want effortlessly…. And quickly.
Information overload is a definite competing factor and should be recognized and analysed when trying to get consumers’ attention. Whatever it is you have to say, say it well and say it fast. Be sure that what you are claiming to offer is relevant to your consumer’s need.
It’s imperative to understand consumer buying behaviour before developing your communication strategy. This is what you need to know:
- know what they think, how they feel, who influences them, what drives them to buy that product and at what time,
- what makes them pick up the one brand as opposed to the others,
- when and where are they most receptive to actually listen to what you are trying to say,
Here are a few tips to make sure that your point gets across and sticks!
Do not ramble. You have to be focussed. You need to be concise.
Be catchy. There is enough serious stuff going on in the world. Don’t be afraid of a little cleverness, a little colour, a little music, a little positive emotion.
Keep it light. People like funny. If your brand puts that smile on their faces, they will remember you. Your job is partially done if they remember you fondly, and have positive emotional associations with your brand.
It goes without saying, of course, that your product should deliver on what it promises… marketing 101. No amount of cleverness or humour can make up for a brand that doesn’t deliver on its promise. Actually, you’ll tick off your consumers even more because they’ve taken out the time that they could have used else where to engage with your brand … only to be disappointed. But if you convey your promise of satisfaction and deliverance of benefits in a simple, light and humorous way, and deliver…you’ll definitely stand out.
You need to get inside their heads and step into their shoes to know how they think, how they process all the information bombarding them from everywhere. You need to understand this in order to break through all the clutter sucking up all their time. After all, that’s what advertising should do, gain share of mind and top of mind.
Please share your comments. We’d love to hear what you have to say.
by cassandr | Sep 13, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
Everybody is still talking about Facebook and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Yes, people use Twitter to jib jab… but ultimately you need a home base for online social persona… and an extension of your website.
A fan page is great way to connect with your users and a place to advertise your business, post pictures, videos and connect a variety of your other networks at one central location. But in order to do this effectively, you must have a solid number of followers so you can maintain the momentum of engagement. So how can you go about that?
Create Contests
To add value to your fan page you have to ask yourself for what reason are users going to join my page, aside from brand loyalty? You don’t want just to be a gateway for offering resources. A great way to create participation is through offering coupons and contests specifically to Facebook users. This is key in enticing existing fans to engage… and more importantly reach and get consumers to join.
Many stores offer their fans coupons on Facebook that can be used in store, providing an added reason as to why the consumer should join. For retailers, it’s a great mechanism to collect a customer database for future promotions. Coupons require consumers to click the coupon, which re directs them to a page where their contact information is required prior to the coupon being downloaded or sent.
Post Regularly
Like Twitter, and various social networking sites you must post regularly in order to attract new fans. In most cases two to three times a day is plenty, you can post more than that … however there is a direct correlation between the number of posts you post and how much time you spend on your page. You can also use the social media management software Hootsuite that can schedule your posts releases, although there’s a school of thought that suggests that fans feel that this is less authentic and isn’t perceived as favourable.
Respond
The easiest way to show your Facebook fans that your listening to what they have to say is to simply “like” their response. You could also just write a written response, it’s up to you. Again, being authentic is the best way to blend in with your fan base . Either way you want to show your fans that you pay attention with what they have to say, and stimulate discussion.
Include Surveys
One of the best ways to engage your audience is through surveys. People like sharing their opinions. With that in mind why not hold a poll on your page. In order to create discussion its best to stick with open ended questions that people can go on and on about. Make sure you keep people up to date with the results of the survey, again to keep them engaged and wanting more.
What tactics have you found useful on a Facebook page? We want to hear from you!
by Saara Jafari | Aug 30, 2012 | Business Success
The Dilemma
Many small to mid-sized businesses are often caught in a “To Market Research or Not To Market Research” dilemma and by Market Research, I mean traditional market research methods like focus groups, survey polls, etc. So why is there this dilemma? To nail it, it’s because of time and money. As a business manager you are often crunched for time before product launches, ad campaigns, and constrained by budget too.
So then you may ask – how to market research? Use tools like Survey Monkey? Sure, if you feel all you need is a range of 100 – 250 responses per month … Or, if you are a small business or network surveying your internal staff for cafeteria food improvements or annual Christmas party venue ideas, by all means, go for it. However, if you are launching a product or campaign and would like to test it before the big launch, using a third party research company specializing in the field should be the preferred route to take. Responses require analysis and credible/effective analysis requires thought and strategic direction. Survey Monkey does neither for you.
A tool providing a broader respondent base at a given point in time would seem more beneficial. Don’t you think? Do I hear Market Research company?
The Million-Dollar Question
Is market research imperative to business /product/brand success?
The Answer
“Marketing without traditional research still creates a blind target”
If you don’t know whether your product or service is relevant to your target market, you are not only wasting your valuable marketing and sales bucks on product development, but also on your distribution and advertising campaign. Miriam Hara from 3H Communications puts it very aptly, “Sometimes a $1K spend is more costly than a $10K spend – after you do the math.” Be farsighted. Think long-term customer loyalty via knowing customer demand. Translate that into sales. Translate that into dollars. Translate that into a happy boss. A happy boss equals promotion, which equals a bonus, which equals a happy you.
A lot of big marketers like to back up their ‘Market research is not important’ outcry by quoting what Henry Ford famously once said, “If I’d have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me ‘A faster horse’.” Steve Jobs was one of them. In an interview with Fortune Magazine’s senior editor, Betty Morris, he was quoted as saying famously, “we do no market research” when it comes to choosing strategy. And when it came to connecting with his consumers, he spoke about launching the innovative Apple iPhones after talking to everybody around him and finding out how much they hated their cell phones. iTunes Music Store? Same story. Observing people around him, he realized how much everyone loved their music and that they all wanted to carry their music around with them. It “seemed like the writing on the wall” that electronic music transfer is the future. Ironically though, Apple is known to conduct surveys to get customer feedback on its products and service.
“Know your market. Know their market”
If you don’t talk to your target market, you won’t know how to beat competition. Knowing about the strategies and plans of your competitors is Marketing 101.
“Don’t assume. Ever.”
Don’t assume you know what the consumer likes or dislikes. Find out and adapt.
“Good enough is never good enough”
As much as your family and friends’ opinions are valuable in your personal life, they are not good enough when it comes to your business. They don’t want to hurt your feelings. Start off with secondary research if you really can’t spend much. But try to use both primary and secondary research. Oh, and just in case you missed the point above, let me reiterate … Please don’t use Survey Monkey.
To conclude, “Dare to be surprised: Use research”.
The cost of a market research project is typically less than the media cost associated with a product or an ad campaign launch. So an unsuccessful campaign translates into a waste of all those big media bucks.
So what do you think is the roadway to business success? To Market Research or Not to Market Research?
(Miriam Hara’s e-book quotes are available on www.3H.ca)
by cassie | Aug 21, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
Social Media change…what else is new!
The only constant in life is change, and this seems especially true in terms of social media. It seems as if every other day there is a new platform that is coming into vogue and those that have been around awhile are changing to keep up. Once you finally learn how to leverage networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, they change the next day.
Let’s take a look at some recent social media changes:
Klout has altered its scoring system to include “moments.” Moments are posts that have generated activity. Through moments users can see what action was taken, who did it and what network it happened on. In similar fashion to Facebook, Klout is also including insights, which allows users to have a better idea of their influence by allowing them to view data quickly and simply.
LinkedIn has changed its user interface. The homepage now features a more modern design as well as incorporating more visuals in the updates stream. Additionally, updates and posts can now be organized and viewed by what is most relevant, not that which is most recent.
Twitter has taken its promotional tweets one step further with targeted tweets. Targeted tweets allow advertisers to send tweets to specific audiences without tweeting to all of a brand’s followers. Advertisers using targeted tweets can segment by location, devices and platforms.
Facebook is following in the footsteps of Twitter by testing promoted posts. Promoted posts allow ads to show in the news feeds of all members regardless if the user has liked the brand page or if they have friends who have liked the brand page.
The question remains, are these changes necessary and useful or just annoying?
As with any change, there are going to be positive and negative aspects.
The best instances of change come out of necessity. In the case of Klout, there were many critics voicing opinions about whether the score is truly accurate and even questioning how the score is determined.
Klout’s response was to try to develop a better user understanding through its new features. Whether it will silence the naysayers remains to be seen.
Facebook is also a good example of necessary social media change. One of its largest competitors was offering a way to reach more people, so they are testing a similar approach to stay relevant.
This particular case has huge potential for brands and advertisers. Facebook already offers ads, but they are small and cast off to the side of the page. Promoted posts will bring the content onto the news feeds of users, giving it more space and attention.
These changes have the potential to transform the way those specific platforms are used and to open new ways for marketers to engage with their audiences. These changes show that the platforms are listening to their users and work to serve a purpose.
Change for change’s sake is not necessarily good. Facebook is notorious for changing their user interface and often times the reasoning behind the change is not clear. LinkedIn is the most recent platform to alter its appearance and one could question why the now and if it was even necessary.
Changes, such as those mentioned, can seem superficial and can lead to “user rage.” With the speed of technology and the amount of platforms out there, users can easily become overwhelmed. It takes time, a precious commodity they don’t have, to learn and adjust to a new interface and many initially resent being forced to make the change. It goes against the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality.
Change has the potential to bring about great things, so long as it serves a purpose and people are willing to accept it. How do you feel about the recent changes in the social media landscape?
by cassie | Aug 17, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Design, Social Media
The rise of social media has brought about many advantages: instantaneous and constant communication; the humanization of brands and stronger relationships with customers.
However, it all comes at a price, mainly the diminishing attention span of users. Social media creates a constant feed of information virtually 24/7, resulting in people spending less time engaged in your content – if they even read it at all.
So how does one make sure that not only does important information reach the intended audience, but that it also gets absorbed?
It’s funny how everything old is new. Social Media content has taken “a page” from traditional print. Remember how newspapers were very rudimentary in layout and content was “the star”, making for a very text heavy presentation. Well, here we are once again.
Social media is becoming increasingly more visual and that means if you want your content to be read, you need to make it visually appealing.
Moving away from being text heavy, Twitter has a limit on the number of characters a message can have as well as allowing for postings of photos. After all a picture is worth a thousand words! Taking that adage to the max is Instagram, a photo-sharing platform in which users take photos, apply a filter and share it to their other social media accounts. Then there’s Pinterest, a virtual pin board that allows users to “pin” photos of things they find interesting and share with others for inspiration.
Making numbers and dry data interesting is easier said than done. One way do that is to use infographics. Infographics are visual representations of data and yes, they too have been around for a long time, just not called as such. Chances are you’ve used infographics long before venturing into social media. Maps, diagrams and charts are all examples.
So why now are infographics gaining popularity?
First of all, with the rise of social media, people don’t want to dig to find the relevant information. Infographics can streamline what needs to be known in a concise and easy to read manner. At the risk of repeating myself, the attention span of audiences is lessening by the second!
Secondly, infographics can take information that, while important, might be boring and transform it into something that is eye catching and visually appealing. With a whole spectrum of symbols, characters and colours to use, what once was boring can be made fun. By using those elements, the creator of the infographic not only catches the eye of the reader, but directs them where to look, helping ensure the information is read.
For example
This is an infographic taken from www.timeout.com. It provides interesting stats on the Olympic and Paralympic games through recognizable symbols, colours and limited text. If the information were presented written in a black and white article, people might not care, but through the use of infograhpics the information has suddenly become quirky and worth a second look.
How can brands leverage infographics to their benefit?
Brands can use infographics to tell their story. Through statistical graphs and charts brands can show how the brand has grown and the direction in which it is evolving.
Brands can also use infographics to assist in developing or establishing a persona. The images, characters and colours used will all have connotations and those choices directly reflect the brand.
Lastly, brands need to put their infographics out into the world. The whole point is to make the information easy to understand and absorb quickly, making it ideal for sharing. Being easy to read and understand, visually appealing and fun are all characteristics that help generate engagement and propel brands. The greater the impression an infographic makes on a reader, the greater the likelihood of the reader sharing it with others on social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest– that’s what social media is all about after all.
Just like having a brand and not advertising it…. It doesn’t matter how great an infographic is, if it’s not posted to social media, it’s not worth anything.
What has your experience with infographics been? Do you think they are here to stay or a fleeting trend?
