Select Page

5 Effective Techniques to Market Your Conference on Facebook

by | Digital Marketing

 
One of the biggest challenges for any conference or event organiser is ensuring good ROI. Also, making sure that their event is well attended and supported.
 
Achieving this is easier said than done. Yet, are you taking advantage of one of the largest opportunities for getting the attendance, return and support? You need this to make your event a success.
 
Using Facebook to correctly market your event at precise times is a great way to get started.
 
Marketing events on Facebook can prove to be incredibly effective. Given the size and nature of Facebook, it can be the ideal tool to improving your returns. According to WebHosting.com, Facebook has 2.23 billion active monthly users, making it by far the largest social network globally. Additionally, they state that as of May 2018, there were 80 million Business pages on the platform.
 
With so many opportunities to engage, communicate and share with an audience, it is the perfect place to promote your upcoming event.
 
In the current digital age, social media platforms are one of the most effective ways to create awareness around events. With that in mind, here are five effective ways to take advantage of Facebook marketing for your next event:
 

Increase Your Reach and Attendance With a Facebook Event

 
This quick and easy step is essential to making the most out of Facebook for your conference as it will help with overall awareness.
 
After setting up the event, choose the right event name, cover image and then add the relevant details. Don’t forget to convey the right message about your event to your audience. Be mindful of the information you provide. Ensure to include your ticketing link so that it is easy for your audience to book their spot.
 
When you create your event, you will be able to invite attendees from your Facebook friends list. A great tactic is to incentivise fellow industry experts or speakers at the event to invite their own friends or connections.
 
This will ensure that your organic reach is far wider, appealing to people who are likely interested in your event.
 
Additionally, when someone is invited to an event by someone they know and respect, it makes them significantly more likely to sign up and attend.
 
Another great feature of Facebook events is that those who RSVP as “going” or “interested” will receive regular reminders as your conference draws closer.
 
However, the most valuable benefit of creating a Facebook event is the free newsfeed placements that your attendees generate.
 
When an individual accepts the invite to your event, it is automatically posted to their wall. As a result, their friends’ timeline, has greater organic reach for your event.
 

Create Facebook Content that Promotes Your Conference

 
Social Media is most effective when it is in fact social. Avoid using aggressive and direct sales techniques. Rather communicate the value that your conference can add to those who attend it. By giving them an indication of how they can benefit, they are far more likely to express interest or attend.
 
When it comes to conferences, an effective technique for communicating value is by sharing content from previous conferences. Alternatively, provide a taste of what attendees can expect.
 
Communicating what they will take away or stand to gain from attending your conference is a great strategy to attract attendees. Information from speakers or key topics that can create discussions online are great sources of content.
 

Target Interested Audiences With Facebook Ads

 
Due to updated algorithms and Facebook’s changing privacy settings, it is harder than ever for content to be seen organically. Simply put, there is very little chance of someone who does not already like your Facebook page seeing your content organically.
 
Running ads and promoting your event on Facebook allows you to reach more people and even sell tickets to your conference or event.
 
The convenience factor when it comes to buying a ticket can be the difference between a ticket sold and an empty seat at your conference. So, keep this in mind when promoting your event. All you need is a few clicks on your event page to make a booking. Setting this up is relatively simple and the benefits can exceed your expectations!
 
If you’re looking for increased awareness among people interested in your event, a targeted Facebook advert will help you reach them. Ensure you include all the information that your event can offer them!
 
Whilst Facebook advertising can be competitive, the right balance of accurate targeting and excellent content can yield results far more effectively than traditional marketing.
 

Cultivate Organic Awareness of your Event

 
Although paid advertising is powerful, organic awareness is just as efficient if you can get it right. Why not recruit your followers and partners to help with awareness?
 
This is achievable by enabling affiliates the opportunity to share and connect. If you have speakers or conference partners, ask them to invite their followers. Provide them with everything they’ll need in order to do so. This will take little effort from their side while boosting their credibility among their own followers. It’s a mutually beneficial method.
 
Additionally, start a conversation. Include the social handles of your speakers within your event description. Attendees or potential attendees can then converse with your speakers or partners about the content of your upcoming conference. You can even go so far as to create an authentic hashtag for your event.
 

Use Testimonials As Marketing Content

 
The value in testimonials is boundless. Having customer reviews of your event is a brilliant idea. It can resonate with visitors who are unfamiliar with your conference or business.
 
Include statements that epitomise the excitement of future speakers and past attendees. More so, loyal attendees that are enthusiastic about your upcoming conference.
 
Use them to create visual content to share on your conference’s event page. You can easily do this by using a graphic-design tool website.
 
Testimonials can be incredibly persuasive marketing tools for influencing potential attendees’ decisions to sign up for your event. It’ll also increase your credibility.
 
If you’re looking for more specific advice or need some help with marketing your conference get in touch with us.

How To Make Facebook Ads Work For You

by | Digital Marketing

More than 3 million companies now advertising on Facebook, a figure that suggests that Facebook ads can complement the online marketing strategy of every business. When properly designed and managed, Facebook ads can give your company exposure to a global audience, boost lead generation, and improve SEO ranking in a very cost-effective way. But how exactly can you achieve this? This is your starter guide to making Facebook ads work for you.

Related: 5 Effective Techniques to Market Your Conference on Facebook

Do’s And Dont’s Of Facebook Ads

Facebook ads can be a fantastic opportunity for business owners who want to get their brand message out there. Here are some best practices to ensure you make the most of Facebook’s targeting capabilities and create an ad campaign that works.

DONT’S

  • Don’t skimp on research: Researching your audience is a must before you even start thinking about how the ad will look like. Facebook’s advertising platform is only as precise as your knowledge of your audience! The same applies to the campaign’s goals, which should be research-based and specific.
  • Don’t stick to the same ad format: Facebook ads come in more than ten formats, from full-screen videos to carousel ads, so don’t be afraid to create variations of the same ad and use a format that resonates with your target audience.
  • Don’t overwhelm the audience: Social media users have a preference for visual content and not so much for written text, so use carefully chosen visuals and don’t bombard the audience – think quality vs quantity.
  • Don’t forget the call-to-action: No ad is compelling enough unless it ends with a clear call-to-action. This motivates viewers to take action, whatever that action may be (sign up to a newsletter, grab an offer, make a purchase, app download, etc.).

DO’S

  • Define the campaign: Use the ad account interface to set the campaign’s goals, start and end dates.
  • Define your audience. Facebook offers a wealth of targeting options within its advertising platform, but you will need to know which demographics make sense for each campaign. Targeting can be very broad from everyone on the social network to people who have liked your page, or custom audiences. You can create a custom audience based on their location, age, gender, interests by keyword, etc. The general rule of thumb is to start small and gradually broaden audience characteristics as you test the ad’s effectiveness. Moreover, targeting small groups is cheaper., so this is how you want to get started.
  • Make use of the advanced budget feature: This not only lets you allocate a budget to the advertising campaign, but also to schedule when you want the ads to appear based on the time when your audience is likely to be online. You can also use this feature to specify whether you prefer to be charged based on the number of impressions (the times an ad is shown) or post engagement.
  • Choose a suitable ad format: You can find a few basic guidelines here. Bear in mind that Facebook has specific requirements regarding the size, file format, word count, etc. of the ad’s photos and copy. Here’s a cheat sheet that you may find useful.
  • Get the copy right. There are dozens of copywriting formulas out there, but it’s best to keep it simple with something like the AIDA formula:
    • Attention: grab the viewer’s attention with a compelling headline
    • Interest: the ad should make it clear that your product/service is going to do for your target users
    • Desire: bring proof of benefits (short testimonials), or mention offers and special rates
    • Action: tell viewers what they need to do next
  • Test and re-test: A/B testing is the cornerstone of modern content marketing. The beauty of social media is you can test in real time and make changes to ensure every ad is an opportunity for business growth. Simply put, A/B testing means you create two versions of the same ad (A and B), create two custom audiences, ensure they are shown a different version of the ad, and measure their responses. You then modify the ads accordingly, for example by experimenting with predominant background or image colours, headlines, typography, call to action, etc.
  • Track the campaign’s performance: You can do this by looking at:
    • Ad or video views
    • Total Reach
    • Engagement metrics (likes, comments, and shares), although bear in mind that getting more likes doesn’t necessarily mean getting more exposure or conversions since usually, people like a page or an ad and rarely revisit it, unless there was something that was especially attention-grabbing.
    • Website click-through rates and redirects to your business site
    • Enquiries or direct messages received
    • How many of these interactions end up with a sale (conversions)

Related: Content Performance Marketing: Making the Right Choices at the Right Times

  • Rotate the ad: One of the reasons why Facebook ads always don’t work is because the audience can become saturated quickly. This means you will need to have a variety of ads ready and change them every 7 to 14 days to reduce what is known as ad fatigue. To do this, Facebook experts recommend creating ad sets consisting of approximately five ads each. The specific rotation details will be ultimately determined by click-through rates or other metrics like the ones listed above, which can be accessed via the Actions tab in the Ad Manager dashboard. If something doesn’t work, change it, change the frequency, or do both.
  • Stay up-to-date with current trends: Things change fast in the world of online advertising, so it’s vital to know what drives your target audience at any given point. Some important Facebook advertising trends to keep in mind during 2018 include:

Conclusion

Advertising on Facebook is an excellent way of generating exposure, loyalty, and brand awareness. To make Facebook ads work for you, make sure to design a data-driven and visually appealing ad campaign that resonates with your target audience — or even better, get a professional digital marketer plan and manage the campaign for you.

Content Performance Marketing: Making the Right Choices at the Right Times

by | Digital Marketing

Marketing is apparently not what it used to be. Online retailers are now vying for the attention of an increasingly demanding public; mainly about what can only be called a fickle millennial generation. Thus, it is very much “out with the old and in with the new” when looking at successful marketing strategies. This is arguably the main reason why content performance marketing is now being embraced across the boards. How can this approach be employed to measure critical data accurately and more importantly, how will this data-driven method continue to change the marketing community? 

Content Performance Marketing: The Critical Role of ROI 

From a broad aspect, the ultimate goal of content performance marketing is to understand the demand for specific content. The ability of the advertiser to leverage past and present analytics will provide a much more seamless approach. Of course, this strategy can also help to predict the ROI associated with an ongoing sales campaign accurately. To be quite clear, this is a different methodology when compared to more traditional forms of content marketing. 

Related: Formulating an effective approach to Content Marketing

Past approaches would gauge marketing performance by merely churning out material and observing which approaches worked the best. Unfortunately, this would often fail to target the appropriate customer base, and without a firm connection with the consumer, substantial amounts of revenue would be squandered. Performance-oriented marketing stresses quality over quantity. The on-demand material will also help to evaluate present and future ROI; essential for any business.  

Predictive Analyses and Performance Marketing 

Another tenet embraced by this type of marketing involves data analyses and performance optimisation. To put this another way, the marketer will leverage all available information (through existing analytics) to better understand how to segment and distribute the content itself. For instance, some campaigns would be much more efficient as email advertisements while others are intended for a social media audience. Understanding how a brand will perform in the eyes of its audience will also help to increase ROI and to maintain a stable connection with the buyer. The enterprise can better understand what is working and what is not. 

Segmenting the Buyer Community 

Past companies would essentially disseminate information to the masses. If they threw enough jam onto a wall, perhaps some would stick. Doing so is once again incredibly wasteful concerning ROI, and in some cases, the audience itself could become alienated. 

Analysing the performance of content enables a company to make timely decisions and to deliver the correct material at the right time to the precise audience. This granular and segmented approach can also help to increase brand loyalty; a benefit not to be overlooked in such a competitive atmosphere. 

Related: Mobile App Marketing for your Business or Organisation

Content Performance Marketing: Lean and Versatile 

Another reason why so many firms are shifting their focus towards this strategy is that in-house expenditures can be dramatically reduced without sacrificing quality. Correct performance analyses will enable management to build leaner teams and enhance interdepartmental accountability. Establishing strong data-driven connections associated with any sales campaign can provide the insight and clarity to make the best choices at the best moments. 

Tying Together Performance and the Customer Experience 

18 billion dollars was spent on content creation during 2016 within the United States alone. It is therefore easy to appreciate why understanding how this content is performing using real-time methods is so important. Content marketing is here to stay. Regarding sheer efficiency, take advantage by measuring your performance.

The article Content Performance Marketing: Making the Right Choices at the Right Times was first published on fmwaechter.com. Author Frank M. Waechter.

4 Concepts To Understand Digital Transformation in the Event Industry

by | Digital Marketing

As most meeting planners and event organisers know, technological disruption has brought profound changes to the MICE industry. Today, meetings, conferences, and exhibitions are increasingly being planned, organised and managed using digital tools. Digital tools are becoming an integral part of strategic event management given their proven ability to bring in substantial benefits. Such as significant cost and time savings, higher attendee satisfaction, and better exposure and image building.

Widespread digitalisation has brought us closer to a new understanding of communication within the meetings industry and being familiar with the key components this transformation is essential for planners, organisers, marketers, and anyone involved. In this post, we introduce four concepts that can help you understand the foundations of the digital transformation in the event industry.

1. Bringing In An Experiential Dimension

If you thought that we live in a digital era, think again: experts believe we are in the early stages of the Age of Experience. This means that every event now has the potential to become an immersive experience marked by authenticity and lasting engagement. Technologies like VR, AR, and 3D can unify the digital and physical aspects of an event, help create bi-directional conversations between the different parties involved, and eventually become content marketing engines in their own right. Moreover, adding an experiential dimension to an event turns attendees into participants, and motivates them to go from being consumers of information to have an active role in the generation of knowledge.

Related: Content Marketing for Associations: How to Grow Membership in the Digital Space

2. The User Experience of Events

Linked to the above is the fact that digitalisation has created a direct connection between the organisation and management of events and the field of user experience. The principles of UX are relevant to any digital tools used at events, and include:

  • Simplification of information: digital tools used at events should be designed to make it easy for participants to absorb and digest the information presented
  • Trust: when effective digital tools are in place, participants can appreciate how much time and effort have gone into creating an event that meets their expectations. This creates a sense of transparency that reinforces trustworthiness in the organiser
  • Feedback: not every participant is equally tech savvy, so it is important to ensure that event apps and other digital tools used at an industry event provide users with clear signals and timely feedback on how they should be used
  • Invisibility: great technology is as unobtrusive as possible. People expect tech tools to be an extension of their daily lives, so their implementation at events is no exception and should be planned with a focus on seamless functionality
  • More control to the user: digital event tools must shift the focus of control from the organiser to the attendee since flexible and user-friendly applications can empower participants and contribute to higher satisfaction rates

Related: Developing Social Media Strategies for Conferences & Events

3. Personalisation and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence and related digital technologies, such as mixed-reality tech, are leading the digital transformation in the event industry. These tools enable organisers to create fully personalised environments in ways that were unthinkable only a few years ago.

AI applications (like iBeacons, concierge apps, and chatbots) can quickly gather contextual and granular data about attendees preferences and behaviour and provide them with real-time and relevant information, delivering curated content and offering opportunities for feedback. In addition to helping organise attendee-led events, these tools allow organisers to plan future and more personalised events, facilitate research, and bring valuable insights into lead management, as long as they are used alongside robust data security measures.

4. Networked Communities

Despite the emphasis on personalisation, every industry event has a clear social and relational component. Conferences, meetings, trade fairs, seminars, and similar events can be considered living organisms that rely on deep networks and meaningful connections to prosper. This is why the concept of networked communities is central to the digital transformation in the event industry. Tools like social media chats and online forums facilitate the emergence of communities at a conference or exhibition and play a role in helping keep communities alive throughout and after the event. When creating networks between and within attendees is at the core of event design, the technology used goes from being a product to becoming a service that enables meaningful and lasting conversations between all parties involved.

Conclusion

Digital tech is quickly becoming the backbone of events in the MICE industry. The digital transformation in the event industry is underpinned by the inclusion of experiential dimensions, the principles of UX design, growing personalisation, and networked communities that add human value to any event. These four concepts are far from short-lived trends since according to a recent report, nearly 70 percent of event organisers believe that digitalisation is here to stay. As time goes by, the implementation of events technology will give rise to new insights and opportunities. Events can become spaces for learning, interaction, innovation, and more, so now is the time to consider how you can take your event to the next level and jump on the bandwagon of digital transformation in the event industry.

The post 4 Concepts To Understand Digital Transformation in the Event Industry was first published on fmwaechter.com. Author Frank M. Waechter.

Networking Technology and Events: An Overview of the Key Trends

by | Digital Marketing

Networking Technology for conferences and events is changing at speed of light. Over the past decade, we have witnessed how the transformational power of technology has revolutionised many industries, from commerce to education and leisure. As a result, the events industry is not an exception. In recent years a series of new trends have emerged proving that technology can improve the quality of networking events and, as a result, bring higher returns on investment.

Networking Trends

One of those trends refers to how individuals attending an event are increasingly becoming perceived as active and engaged participants. Rather than as mere receptive audiences. People no longer attend events for the sake of attending or networking: they want to become an active part of them and have more control over their experience. The widespread availability of mobile devices and the adoption of social media for business purposes are one of the main reasons behind this qualitative change. Gamification is another key trend that has the potential to transform the way we think about and organise events.

Related: Mobile App Marketing for your Business or Organisation

Event planners have begun to realise the power that games have when it comes to motivating and engaging people. Event and conference mobile apps are part of the most popular ways of gamifying an event and of incentivising productive interactions. Lastly, digitalisation is playing a crucial role in shaping the way we produce and consume large amounts of information. There is a growing awareness about the possibilities that digital technologies can offer to events management, with a focus on enabling meaningful interactions and helping discover opportunities for collaboration. Below we discuss some examples of how to use technology for networking at exhibitions, conferences and events to benefit both event organisers and attendees.

Event Planning & Networking Technology

Networking technology can provide a useful platform that makes event planning more efficient, less time consuming, and more engaging. Therefore, for the majority of event planners, it has become common practice to focus on the social aspect of things, using social networks to promote an event, interact with participants to create a sense of community, get a dialogue going, and build enthusiasm before the actual event. Big data can also be used to improve the effectiveness of networking at events. Information collected through social media profiles can be used to target the interests of participants and create activities based on common interests.

Big Data and more

Use big data to let attendees set up and edit profiles before the event, and so find participants with similar interests, making face-to-face interaction easier and less awkward. Other event organisers are already experimenting with technologies like iBeacons, Bluetooth, and NFC in an attempt to make a more efficient use of big data. In addition, some typical applications include badge collection, surveys, digital vouchers, and the delivery of push notifications. These are all especially relevant ways of using networking technology at events to deliver a targeted experience and to transform interactions by giving them a personalised and meaningful edge.

Related: Social Media Marketing for the MICE Industry

Focusing On The Experience

The fact that event attendees are now considered active participants has put additional demands on organisers. Consequently, many planners have been focusing on architecting memorable experiences. Instead of simple events that can be ticked off a calendar. Some emerging trends with regards to this new emphasis on the experiential side of events include:

  • Wearables
  • Smart conference badges
  • Digital business cards
  • Social WiFi
  • Event communications tools

Wearables

Use wearables e.g. as a wayfinding tool, to make check-in faster and easier, or to quickly arrange meetings with other participants.

Smart conference badges

Smart conference badges rely on RFID technology to collect and store vital information about attendees. Helping to keep track of things like who they interacted with. Or which sessions they attended, or which vendor booths they visited. As a result, event organisers can also use the data collected by smart badges to generate analytics for subsequent follow-up.

Related: Lights, Camera, Action! The Why and How of Video Marketing

Digital business cards

Digital business cards are another smart application of networking technology at events. These cards allow attendees to exchange and manage contact information seamlessly and to take advantage of “matching opportunities”. Furthermore, organisers can use them to build digital directories based on common interests or other relevant information.

Social WiFi

Give participants the chance to get online using their social network logins. This puts a wealth of useful data at the fingertips of event organisers. This data could include:

  • the duration of interactions
  • which sessions are more popular
  • the type of spontaneous web searches prompted by different talks

Event communications tools

Some organisers are already using in dedicated event apps that offer seamless communication opportunities between participants (such as app messaging tools or proximity networking apps) and between speakers and attendees, such as apps that filter the most relevant questions during Q&A sessions.

The article Networking Technology and Events: An Overview of the Key Trends was first published on fmwaechter.com. Author Frank M. Waechter.

Content Marketing for Associations: How to Grow Membership in the Digital Space

by | Digital Marketing

Content Marketing for Associations. Associations are increasingly looking to the online world to bolster their membership numbers: the lower overheads, and the increased reach of association messaging over the web. Two of the most appealing aspects of this shift.

But moving marketing online requires extra effort in other areas. You are communicating with an audience that has a broader choice than ever before when it comes to the consumption of media. As a consequence, they have a much shorter attention span and lower tolerance for content which does not serve their motivations. Successful marketing begins when you embrace the fact that your audience has the right to choose its engagement – and when you start to offer something which the audience will not only seek out for themselves. But will also share among their networks of friends, family, and peers. That is why it is known as content or inbound marketing. Your leads will identify themselves as such as they engage with your online presence. The key to this engagement is valuable content.

What is Content Marketing for Associations?

To use an analogy: if the internet is a global village, then conventional advertising is akin to standing in the street and handing out flyers explaining why people should buy your product or join your association. Content or inbound marketing, meanwhile, is more like installing a huge window in your premises, allowing every passer-by to see the appealing products and services that you can offer them once they have chosen to enter. The moment when a prospect sees an attractive offering and enters your store? That is inbound marketing in action.

The Rules of Attraction: Why Inbound Marketing Works

It is perhaps not the most water-tight metaphor when talking about the intricacies of digital marketing. But the example does demonstrate a fundamental difference in attitudes between the two methods. One which is valuable for all association management personnel to learn. Content marketing is less aggressive, and it foregrounds the needs, expectations, and motivations of the customer. You are attracting prospects and inviting them to connect and participate, rather than forcing them through a sales funnel with the push of hard-selling promotional copy.

Successful Content Marketing Strategies in Practice

Which is all very well in theory. But how does an association apply a successful online marketing strategy, grow membership, and attract those valuable repeat subscribers? An effective strategy can be broken down into four components:

  • Functionality
  • Informative
  • End-user oriented
  • Value for Money

Functionality

The internet has opened up information for all of us. The challenge today is not about having access to resources, but being able to locate them among the hundreds of thousands of similarly-themed web pages. Content creation may be the priority, but presenting it in a way that is easy to discover should be seen as just as significant.

Established strategies such as search engine optimisation (SEO) improve the user experience. And also the visibility of your content. Effective association management means identifying the niche of your organisation and then targeting precise search engine words and terms to raise your profile in key areas. If you are unique in your industry, emphasise those attributes; if you serve a specific locality or community, make the world aware of your excellent work with region-specific search terms. Remember:

  • Do not overlook the value of web-building basics, either.
  • Create internal links between your pages and invite visitors to stay.
  • Use Social Media tactics and professional data analytics.

If all of your content is informative, and transitions intuitively from one area of interest to the next, then you will be on the right path to establishing yourself as a trusted online resource.

Related article: Advanced Data Analytics: One of our Data-Sets is Missing!

Informative

Of course, once the user base has discovered your content, it then has to delight. Data-rich copy and practical, expert advice is the magic ingredient when it comes to transforming your site from a sterile profile page into a valued resource. Pro-active content marketing for associations includes guest blogs, infographics, multimedia presentations, and industry insight from experienced professionals are among the most popular forms of data-rich content.

End-user oriented

Attractive marketing combines these first two facets and applies the results in a customer-orientated fashion. This means not only delivering the right content but delivering it at the right time. Attract clicks with offers and promotions: discounted subscription fees for a limited time, or free access to exclusive content when a prospect follows a specific referral link. But, most of all, make sure that your leads are discovering your offers when it will meet their needs, not your own. Provide pro-active support for your subscribers. Respond to frequently asked questions and provide solutions that are ready when your members need them the most. Effective marketing strategy blends seamlessly with your customer relationship management.

Value for Money

If you have accomplished all of the above, then you will have created a marketing copy that is more than advertising, and more than customer service: you have created a product in and of itself.

The vast majority of your association’s content-driven online marketing may be free to access. Yet, providing that access in return for customer contact details and an “opt-in” facility turns a blogging site into a potent lead generation tool for your association — additionally, a commitment-free means of participating for your members.

It is perhaps unsurprising then that content marketing strategies for associations are seen as an effective means of cementing brand loyalties.

Related: Social Media Marketing for the MICE Industry

As a content provider, you are cultivating ongoing relationships with visitors that will encourage them to return, time and again, to consume your products and services. In a sector where revenues are often reliant on the ability to grow membership numbers, there can be little doubt that inbound strategies represent a powerful means of promotion for associations today.

The article Content Marketing for Associations: How to Grow Membership in the Digital Space was first published on fmwaechter.com. Author Frank M. Waechter.

Formulating an effective approach to Content Marketing

by | Digital Marketing

Many consumers are unmoved by traditional methods of advertising; they watch streaming TV to avoid ads or record TV programmes to skip past the ads, turn the page of a magazine ignoring the advert and use ad blockers online to avoid pop-ups. This has led savvy marketing and digital marketing departments to search for more effective ways of reaching a contemporary audience. In doing so, they discovered the potential of content marketing, or also called inbound marketing. It involves brands, companies or individuals taking a strategic approach to their marketing methods. Here, the focus is mainly on creating content which is helpful, reliable, consistent and appealing to an audience.

Creating strong content has a double effect on both websites and social media accounts. Primarily they attract more web traffic through organic searches. Secondly visitors are retained because they are interested in what’s being discussed. Furthermore, the end result is more positive customer reactions, whether that involves conversions, or just them signing up for a newsletter. Thus, becoming interested in the product or service being offered.

Related: Content Performance Marketing: Making the Right Choices at the Right Times

Successful content marketing strategies communicate with customers in a meaningful way. Without trying to sell them something directly. You provide information to your audience that educates them and makes them feel they can trust your brand. Rather than continually mentioning the benefits of what you have to offer. Once you’ve accomplished that, it’s likely that you’ll be rewarded for your hard work with loyal repeat customers who regularly come back for more. Hence, content marketing is being used online by everyone from small niche bloggers with something to sell, to start-ups and huge multinationals, but how are they doing it? Here are some examples of the types of content marketing you can utilise and how they work.

Some content can boost trust

Although people may be aware of what you have to offer, they may remain loyal to another brand. Your job is to change that behaviour by informing them about your service and building trust. You can use SEO articles to join up with more in-depth quality content to be more discoverable. And, of course, to show industry knowledge when people arrive. Producing a ‘How to…’ video or article with tips and advice is an excellent way of drawing people in, as are consumer reviews on third party sites and testimonials on your homepage from satisfied customers.

Informative content marketing strategies

When people know a bit about your company or service, they want to see what sets you apart from the competition. Use content to show the back story of your organisation. This communication can be achieved by

  • sending out a regular newsletter with interesting articles
  • setting up an FAQ section on your website
  • hosting an online seminar to engage on a more personal level with your audience.

To only name a few.

Consumer generated content

Once you have an active audience, they can be an invaluable source of free content. By getting them involved with your pages and social media accounts, you can provide proof of your reliability to newer customers and build a larger community. Reward existing customers who refer new people with discounts and vouchers. Ask them to create a video testimonial with software you provide and add a comments section, to start a discussion. When these are especially funny, moving or intriguing, inbound marketing in the form of stories told by customers can quickly go viral. And produce huge amounts of free publicity for a company.

Related:Tips For Encouraging User-Generated Content At Your Conference

Third party content is a useful tool

You don’t just need to rely on the content you create yourself. By integrating content that has been written by someone else, companies can enable their customers to understand more about their industry. Naturally, it should be insightful and of interest to the people who visit your page – if you filter the available content well, many people will appreciate the service you provide. Try embedding an RSS feed that has been customised to include details on your industry. Or simply retweet, share and republish content which is well written and relates to your business.

Content marketing that can convert

The type of content which converts visitors with a passing interest into paying customers is always going to be a high priority. Most conversion marketing has an emotional impact. Things like case studies which look at another customer’s journeys work well. As do lists of results and ROI calculators that reveal the economic benefits of switching to a product or service you offer.

At fmwaechter we can help you with your integrated content marketing strategy and execution. Please get in contact with us.

 

Advanced Data Analytics: One of our Data-Sets is Missing!

by | Digital Marketing

There is a false maxim, which still does the rounds, that blights any industry that uses computational models to analyse its marketplace. Interestingly it’s one that’s often rolled out by so-called panels of experts. Often with a self-serving smile on their faces. I’m talking about “lies, damned lies and statistics”: a statement that suggests that data can be manipulated in any fashion to arrive at whatever conclusion one wants. Businesses, however, are primarily interested in using the information to improve their performance; not to massage the figures on their end-of-year accounts. Data has the power to transform companies’ balance sheets; the real issue is not whether we should rely on data, but how good it is and whether we are using the right methods to understand it.

What we can do now that we couldn’t do yesterday  

Advanced data analytics can deliver the power of computing to help organisations understand their customers in a way that was unimaginable just a few years ago. Algorithms, which in the past required that data be boiled down to unambiguous text and figures, can now be built to interpret pictures, video, even the nuances of speech. Why is this so important? Because the best information of all, particularly that contained in word of mouth, will be found in people’s interactions with each other on social media. Increasingly this is where the data is; the data we will miss out on if we don’t fully engage with our online communities.

“He’s only a Wookie”

To give a topical example, Candace Payne’s decision to video herself enjoying the moment she tried on Hasbro’s electronic Chewbacca mask broke the record for most viewed Facebook Live video by a country mile. Media outlets just cannot keep up with the rate at which her post is being viewed. But we are now comfortably into the hundreds of millions.

Related Blog: Marketing for Associations: 4 Reasons to Use Google Analytics

The most interesting fact of all about this viral video to beat all other viral videos is that the product at its centre was purchased in a clearance sale. Now the company has a moneymaker beyond its wildest dreams. For which it can justifiably pitch a market price that meets the new demand Candace’s video has created.

How advanced data analytics and Candace Payne go together

What Hasbro does next will determine how much hay they can make while the sun is still shining. Think back to the comment I made about Candace’s video. In the few minutes that I’ve been writing another fifty words or so, her views will have gone up in the thousands, maybe even the tens of thousands. Who’s looking and where are they? What are they saying? And perhaps most important of all, “when” are they? Not only can we find these answers; we can do so in real time. In other words, Hasbro and others can decide how they will respond to market opportunities on the basis of what their customers think now. Not what they thought last week, last month or last year. Knowing what’s happening to our own products and services can also be extended into understanding what our competitors are doing too. The new ways we can look at data are reinventing the world of statistics. Thanks to innovations in cloud computing, you don’t have to reinvent your IT infrastructure to take advantage of what advanced data analytics have to offer. 

Related: Getting Started With The Digitalization Of Associations

Conclusion

The title for this blog paraphrases the 1942 film by British-Hungarian team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, “One of Our Aircraft is Missing”. The Dutch who rescued the airmen in the film assumed at first that they were spies. Because there was no trace of the plane they said they had bailed from. If they had had the sort of intelligence provided by advanced data analytics, they would never have jumped to the wrong conclusion.

At fmwaechter we can help you with your integrated data strategy and execution. Please get in contact with us.

​

Effective Mobile App Marketing

by | Digital Marketing

Effective Mobile App Marketing

Internet searches on mobile devices overtook desktop searches already years ago. (Updated content, Jan. 2017) According to research done by Smart Insights 90% of time spent by mobile users was on a mobile apps. The internet usage via Smartphone is on a constant rise of 11% per year, with an average of 3 hours day per mobile user (Updated content, Jan. 2017). As of July of 2015 there were 1.6 million apps for Android Users and 1.5 million apps available in Apple’s App Store for iPhone users. With so many apps to choose from it is apparent that mobile app marketing is essential. 

As with any digital marketing strategy it is important that you understand how mobile is being used. It goes without saying that in 2016 you must have a mobile-friendly or what’s called a responsive website. In fact it’s been nearly a year since Google changed its algorithm making mobile-friendliness a factor in their ranking of all websites. This is what the term “Mobigeddon” refers to.

Digital Media Consumption via Mobile Apps

Everything on your website must now be designed and optimized to work well on a mobile screen. This affects your content marketing strategies to be sure. For every online marketing campaign that you engage in, you’ve got to incorporate mobile marketing strategies as well. Mobile is now the platform that most web users are choosing so it’s imperative that every online marketing campaign includes mobile.  

Related: Lights, Camera, Action! The Why and How of Video Marketing

Most of digital media consumption, and especially social media, is now done within mobile applications, according to a recent study by comScore. What this signifies is that mobile apps take up more of users’ time than does mobile web surfing or desktop usage. Facebook is by far the most popular mobile app and accounts for 52% of the time people spend using digital media. Combine this with mobile web usage and 60% of digital media is consumed via mobile as opposed to 40% being consumed via desktop.  

Mobile apps are the driving force of media consumption today with 7 minutes out of every 8 of media consumption on mobile devices being done via apps. App activity goes even higher for smartphone users, with 88% app usage as opposed to 82% on tablets. App users have shown themselves addicted to apps, with 57% of those with smartphones using apps every day, and 79% reporting they use apps 26 days per month.  

The Social Media Impact

Facebook remains the number 1 app used and the other top apps include Google, Apple, Yahoo, Amazon and eBay. Social networking apps as well as games and radio apps garner almost half of the time spent on mobile apps. This means that people use apps for entertainment and for communication purposes. Another interesting statistic is that iPhone users make 40% more in income than do Android users. They also use more apps for some reason, spending 9 more hours a month using apps than do Android users.  If you have a mobile app you must have mobile app marketing strategies in place to get your app the needed exposure.   

What Exactly is a Mobile App? 

A mobile app is a specific program that can do something for you once you download it onto your mobile device. Many of the top ones work as an adjunct to a website. With the technology in the smartphones and tablets of today, apps can do great things like giving you movie times, calculating the exchange rates, allow you to interact on social media, give you traffic alerts, provide entertainment of all kinds and notifying you of special offers in your area.   

In developing a mobile app for your website or your blog you must provide something of value to your visitors, prospects or customers. This would be done by incorporating the kind of functionality and content that is time sensitive and/or location based. Just as with social media, don’t be selling something, but offering something useful, like snow reports for skiers in a specific area and this will drive traffic to your website if you are in a related business, like sportswear and/or sports equipment.

It’s all about convenience

With smartphone users your app is all about convenience, and the more indispensable it is the better. In driving traffic to your retail store you can announce “Specials” and/or “Events.” This can help you stand out from your competitors, create more customer engagement and drive loyalty. A well functioning and engaging app will put your brand on many customers’ phones, allow you to receive instant feedback, and make it easy for them to share your content with other mobile users. The goal is to increase revenues and profits. The only way this can happen is with an effective mobile app marketing strategy that will get it out there for people to find.   

Related: Content Performance Marketing: Making the Right Choices at the Right Times

Marketing Your Mobile App

Online marketers naturally assume that people go to the app store to browse and find new apps and 40% of those with smartphones do go to the app store looking for new apps, making this a popular method. But app stores are certainly not the only place to discover new apps. People find out about apps in many different ways while using smartphones:

  • While they’re using another app
  • Looking for another app
  • Watching a video on YouTube
  • While navigating a mobile website
  • Through a web search   

According to research, web searches are a major way that people discover apps with one out of four app users actually discovering an app by searching the web for something else, but related. 

For example, someone planning a business trip to Paris needs a hotel room. She’ll go to Google Search looking for “hotels in Paris” and will find an app listing hotel rooms in the area along with short-term rentals. Since she travels frequently on business, she chooses to download this app because it’ll come in handy for this booking as well as overnight stays in the future.

Discovering an app through a web search is most common for local apps, as well as tech apps (i.e. reviews of new devices) and for travel categories (i.e. confirming trip details). In these three particular categories people are more likely to use a web search in finding the apps they’re looking for.  

An effective mobile app marketing strategy

An effective mobile app marketing strategy will ensure that your app can be discovered everywhere and that includes through web searches. 

Another way people find new apps is through search ads. This is one of the most effective methods of promoting app downloads. When people who downloaded an app after viewing an ad on their smartphone were questioned, 50% said that a search ad prompted them to download the app. This insight into how consumers discover new apps sets the stage for marketers to reevaluate their approach to how people discover their apps. Search ads raise the visibility of apps and because they’re there right when a consumer is searching for an app, they drive downloads. For app marketers it is vital that your app stand out wherever smartphone users would be searching for apps related to their needs and interests.  

Inbound Marketing Strategies for Mobile Apps

Mobile apps have already surpassed the Internet when it comes to time spent by consumers and it’s only second to time spent in front of TV. Inbound online marketing has blossomed over the past few years and if we’re smart we’ll take what we’ve already learned and apply this to mobile app marketing. Below are three incredibly successful inbound marketing strategies you can implement for mobile apps that will get you results:

Related: Formulating an effective approach to Content Marketing

1- Be on Social Media

We all know now how vital social media is to any marketing strategy. But with mobile it is all the more important as this is exactly what people use their smartphones for. When we’re riding the bus we email, text and check Facebook like crazy. When we’re at lunch we Instagram our meal and we Tweet our excitement while waiting in line at a concert.  This is where you want conversations to take place regarding your app’s features and offerings. Here is how you can use Twitter for example:  

Twitter

A while ago, Nike decided to experiment with Twitter in introducing their new mobile app. They went to Twitter and aggressively shared their content plus the app with consumers who were likely to be interested because they were Tweeting about their own athletic activities. Nike was amazed at the results they got after this two-week experiment:

  • Received more than 3 clicks for each outbound Tweet
  • Doubled their positive reviews and ratings in the app store for this new app
  • Got as many downloads from these Tweets as they got from their largest paid advertising channel   

2- Share Your Story

Beyond choosing the right name, creating a compelling icon and making sure your app’s description is optimized. You have got to own your presence within the app store. This is one more channel for sharing your app’s story. Do not allow the app store to tell the story for you. They will gloss over a lot of the details that can influence the number of downloads. Use this channel as well as your website and other social media channels to tell everyone why they need to use your app. Do this by explaining clearly what problems it can solve and all that it offers. 

3- Engage Your Audience From Day One

In business these days we must all be proactively connecting with our customers from the day we “open our doors.” You must be doing all you can to engage with them and with your target audience as a whole. Improve social listening and Data Analytics, in order to build your brand and a fan base. When you have a loyal following your customers will likely share their enthusiasm for you and your app with the world. 

In developing your app you can create a way to reach them from within your app. Understand that your customers have their smartphones with them all day everyday. When people are inspired they will use their smartphones to share your app and all that it offers. This is when downloads can skyrocket. Offer value and you will reap the rewards.

The article Mobile App Marketing for your Business or Organisation was first published on fmwaechter.com. Author Frank M. Waechter.

​