Influencer marketing – who, what, why?

As mentioned on one of the previous posts, word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) is one of the best ways to reach customers, as people are effected by others’ opinions in the decision-making process. Influencer marketing is a type of WOM as it focuses on using influencers to represent or advertise your brand to their large social media following (Single Grain, 2016). Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship allows the company to reach a wide target audience. The followers trust the influencer and can therefore be more willing to buy your product.

Although social media is increasingly important, only 1% of companies use influencer marketing as part of their digital marketing strategy (Davies, 2017).

 

Why should you add influencers as part of your digital marketing strategy?
People are effected by other people’s opinions when making decision. Social media has risen to being a more important way of getting information than traditional outlets. Therefore, making sure your company has a strong media presence can have a big impact (Davies, 2017).

 

Finding a suitable influencer

Adding influencers to your marketing strategy is a good way to get a worldwide audience (East, 2016). While having an influencer with millions of followers might seem like the best option, having influencers with a smaller but a more engaging following could be much more cost-effective (East, 2016). As seen below in Kendall Jenner’s Instagram post, she is an influencer for Calvin Klein and clearly showing this to her followers with the use of hashtag ‘Ad’. While using influencers such as Kendall Jenner can seem appealing, it might not be the most cost-effective option.

waking up in @calvinklein #mycalvins #ad

A post shared by Kendall (@kendalljenner) on

Using anyone from the Jenner family will cost your company a small fortune. While having an influencer with over 80 million followers might seem like the best option, having influencers with a smaller but a more engaging following could be much more cost-effective (East, 2016). Micro-influencers are cheaper and could have a more engaging follower base which could be more profitable to the company.

Daniel Wellington is another example that uses Kendall Jenner as an influencer. Their cooperation includes Jenner having the company as her Instagram caption, as seen below.

Kendall Jenner’s Instagram caption

Daniel Welington also utilizes micro influencers such as Lea Lein. This is a way of them to reach their German audience better and with much lesses cost (Forbes, 2017). Lea has 20k followers which is a lot less compared to Kendall. This also shows how different their ways of advertising Daniel Wellington are, obviously wanted by Daniel Wellington.

Finding an influencer with the following that represents our target audience is crucial. It is also important to ensure that the content the company is trying to sell matches with the influencer’s.

 

Tips

In order to make the relationship and marketing strategy function effectively, the company needs to communicate expectations. These include:

-Content –> what kind of content do you want the influencer to convey? Are you giving them creative freedom?

-Intended audience –> who are you trying to reach?

-Expected ROI –> how do you calculate this?

-Timeframe –> how often are posts posted?

-Output –> when should the posts be posted? How and where? Which social media channels?

 

 

References:

East, E. (2016) 5 Best ways to work wih influencers. Digital Marketing Magazine. [Online] <http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/5-best-ways-to-work-with-influencers/3811> (Accessed 15th of May 2017)

Davies, J. (2017) Only 1 % of Brands engage with social media influencers. Digital Marketing Magazine. [Online] <http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/only-1-of-brands-engage-with-social-media-influencers/4340 > (Accessed 15th of May 2017)

Gill, N. (2017) Influencers: who are they? What do they do? Digital Marketing Magazine. [Online] <http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/influencers-who-are-they-what-do-they-do/4180>  (Accessed 15th of May 2017)

Suhrawardi, R (2017) Digital markeitng startegy and the rise of micro influencers. Forbes. [Online] <https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccasuhrawardi/2016/08/30/digital-marketing-strategy-and-the-rise-of-the-micro-influencer/#43d9f4a121c5 > (Accessed 15th May 2017)

Bounce rate: Mobile and desktop e-commerce

The impact of 4G and internet have had a huge impact on the retail market. As the photo shows, the numbers have been constantly rising (Telegraph, 2014). Online sales and mobile sales have been rising as can also be seen in the rising levels of  investment in advertising. This shows how important and effective online sales are.

 

The photos below compare mobile vs desktop e-commerce spending. As seen from the photos, mobile spending is lacking behind desktop and laptop PCs e-commerce spending. Mobile e-commerce can be expected to surpass desktops in a few years

 

 

E-Commerce and Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of a single visit on a page or web sessions (Optimize Smart, 2017). Bounce rate is the number of visits in which a person leaves your website from the landing page without browsing any further. 

Photo 1 shows the metrics of mobile shoppers in tablets, desktops and smartphones. Mobile shoppers accounted for 75.9% of all US digital shopper (EMarketer, 2015). MarketLive also found that nearly 56% of traffic to retail sites came from nonmobile sources. In addition, so did three-quarters of their revenue. Tablets are typically associated with having  a digital shopping use case closer to that of PCs than smartphones. Tablet accounted for almost as much revenue share as traffic, which can be seen in Photo 1. But smartphones only accounted for about one-third as much revenues as traffic, supporting the position that smartphones are more commonly used for browsing and research activities than for actually completing a purchase.

US Retail Ecommerce Metrics, by Device, Q4 2014

Photo 1.

Photo 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By looking at the other metrics, such as bounce rate, tablets and smartphones had higher rates. This could be a possibility for companies to work more on the bounce rates of their smartphones.

 

WHY AND HOW TO REDUCE BOUNCE RATE?

The average bounce rate for a website is around 40-60% (Innermedia, 2015). According to this, around half of the web visitors are likely to leave the site straight after entering. High bounce rate suggests that you’re not attracting the right site visitor or the user experience is not satisfactory (Patel, 2015). Improving this figure is easier than trying to get new traffic (Innermedia, 2015). The importance of reducing bounce rate also means more engaged visitors and a greater chance of conversion (Eubanks, 2013). Improving bounce rate doesn’t have a solution, it’s a combination of actions (Innermedia, 2015). It can anything from your site speed, your design, or even your main traffic sources.

When comparing bounce rates on devices, bounce rates are almost 10% higher on mobiles than desktops. This can be affected by  the go’ behaviour, interruptions, to poor 3/4g/wifi signal and slow load times on mobile phones. Because mobile e-commerce has been on the rise in the past years, companies need to make sure they are catering to mobile users and offering them the best possible experience when people are using tablets or phones to access the sites.

Google Analytics is a great and effective tool to help reduce bounce rate therefore increase conversion and sales (Optimize Sales, 2017). For more information on how Google Analytics metrics can help you: CLICK HERE!

 

How to improve the mobile bounce rate?

Companies need to put more emphasis into optimization.‘Optimised’ means that you provide a responsive template. Reducing the mobile bounce rate should start with checking your mobile load speeds and looking at how user friendly your mobile version really is. You can look at user journey and popular entry pages to find out what people are really looking for when they visit your site on mobile, and make sure that you make it as easy as possible to access popular information. This means offering totally different menus on mobile and desktop versions of your site. If people are trying to buy online but your site doesn’t offer the best experience for them, it may be worth building an app to cater to their needs in a more convenient format.

 

Bounce rate in mobile apps

Bounce rate in a mobile apps is more difficult to calculate. The application and meaning of a bounce rate can differ from the traditional web application. Firstly, there are different ways to calculate a bounce in an app. A bounce on an app could mean that a user initiates one server call (usually, an app requires two server calls to succesfully ‘launch’ the app).  E.g. when you open an e-commerce application, a launch event is recorded, and then the first page page is loaded.

First way to count a bounce in when someone opens the app, lets it load to the homepage, but then does not go any further.  If someone opens the app, does not wait for the homepage to load (could be caused by high load time), and then closes the app, could also be counted as a bounce. This also depends on what kind of behaviour is wanted to be measured: app performance vs. content.  A bounce is effectively looking to measure if a user is provided with the right content at the right level upon first load (just like a website!). If a user bounces, that will tell you 1 of 2 things. 1 – the content that you’ve provided is not the right content for your audience. 2 – your app load time is too long and causes users to quit.

 

 

References:

Marketing Charts (2015) Breaking Down Mobile vs. Desktop E-Commerce Spending, by Retail Category [Online] <http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/breaking-down-mobile-vs-desktop-e-commerce-spending-by-retail-category-67902/attachment/comscore-mobile-v-desktop-retail-e-commerce-spending-may2016/>(Accessed 17th of April 2017)

Emarketer (2015) Mobile’s Still Far Behind Desktop for Retail Ecommerce Revenues [Online] <https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Mobiles-Still-Far-Behind-Desktop-Retail-Ecommerce-Revenues/1012100>(Accessed 17th of April 2017)

Eubanks, N. (2013) Reduce Bounce Rate: 20 things to consider [Online] <https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2237250/reduce-bounce-rate-20-things-to-consider> (Accessed 17th of April 2017)

OptimizeSmart (2017) 11 powerful methods to reduce bounce rate in Google Analytics [Online] <https://www.optimizesmart.com/two-powerful-ways-to-reduce-bounce-rate/> (Accessed 17th of April 2017)

Innermedia (2015) 20 Common Digital Marketing Problems [Online] <https://www.innermedia.co.uk/20-common-digital-marketing-problems-and-solutions/>(Accessed 17th of April 2017)

Patel, N. (2015) 13 Ways to Reduce Bounce Rate and Increase Your Conversions [Online] <http://neilpatel.com/blog/13-ways-to-reduce-bounce-rate-and-increase-your-conversions/> (Accessed 17th of April 2017)

Telegraph (2014) Infographic: online shopping goes mobile [Online] <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/technology/4g-mobile/connected-retail/11299797/infographic-4g-mobile-internet-retail.html>(Accessed 17th of April 2017)

 

Word-of-mouth marketing could be a secret to Ikea’s success

Social media marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of companies’ marketing strategies. Hundreds of millions of users use social media daily which makes it an appealing way of getting the company and the products to the wider audience. This blog will take a look on word-of-mouth marketing and why it is important.

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) has become even more effective through social media as the posts can reach a wider audience with a much faster pace (Whitler, 2014; Patton, 2015). WOMM is triggered when a customer experiences something positive or something more than expected (Entrepreneur, 2017). Social connectivity has increased with technological improvements therefore making it easier than ever for consumers to do your marketing for the company (Whitler, 2014; Patton, 2015). WOMM can be more effective than one-time viral marketing campaigns (Patton, 2015). By building trust with their customers, the companies can create brand ambassadors, who are excited of their products. By building a brand around trust and good customer service, companies can save in paid advertising and rely more on the customers doing the marketing through WOMM. Since 92% of consumers believe in the recommendations of their friends and families, WOMM is a powerful engine.

By studying marketing, you must have heard about the 4Ps of marketing. The 4Ps that are crucial in helping to understand what the products and services offer and how to plan for the next successful product offering. Whitler (2014) suggests that with WOMM, marketers should focus on the three E’s: Engage, Equip, Empower. By mastering the 3Es, the products can become the most talked about products in the industry. This will then ultimately lead to increase in sales and profits. Ikea has differentiated itself from its competitors as it has a strong brand awareness created around people’s abilities, or the lack of abilities, to build stuff. As mentioned above, the Ikea effect is one of a kind in its industry.

Ikea has build its brand around offering products that are affordable. The products come in a packaging of tens of different pieces that need to be assembled in order to get the wanted product. This can cause irritation in people but it also creates the so-called “Ikea effect” (Norton et al, 2011). When people are a part of creating or building a certain product, they can value the product more highly. It is suggested that successfully completing a tasks like that will create positive attributes of the product therefore create emotional attachment to it (Norton et al., 2011). Because people will be more proud of the products, they will be more likely to post about them to social media. This is cost-effective for Ikea since it relies on WOMM (Whitler, 2014). By a more proactive use of social media, Ikea could improve its engagement levels.  By a more effective use of creativity in competitions, use of hashtags and humor, Ikea could improve their social media presence. Interacting with followers and using interactive hashtags could be a ways to improve the situation (Long, 2016).

References:

Entrepreneur (2017) Word-of-mouth advertisin (Online) <https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/word-of-mouth-advertising> (Accessed 28th of February 2017)

King, C. (2015) 13 Instagram marketing tips from experts (Online) <http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/13-instagram-marketing-tips-from-the-experts/> (Accessed 28th of February 2017)

Long, J. (2016) 7 Marketing tips to help grow your brand on Instagram <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/280964> (Accessed 28th of February 2017)

Norton, M. & Mochon, D. & Ariely, D. (2011) The IKEA effect: When labour leads to love. Harvard Business School. https://contently.com/strategist/2014/11/07/how-ikea-became-kings-of-content-marketing. [Online] <http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/11-091.pdf>(Accessed 28th of February 2017)

Patton, T. (2015) 3 reasons why word-of-mouth marketing is important for your brand. (Online) <https://www.getambassador.com/blog/3-reasons-why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-important-for-your-brand>  (Accessed 28th of February 2017)

Whitler, A. (2014) Why word of mouth marketing is the most important social media (Online) <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/#72b6933f54a8>  (Accessed 28th of February 2017)

Effective email marketing by Kayla Itsines’ fitness program by appealing to me emotionally

I subscribed to Kayla Itsines’ fitness program about a year ago. It is a structured wellness program, containing fitness and eating instructions, for 12 weeks. As I’m not the most athletic person, it might not come as a surprise that I forgot about it after 2 weeks. Luckily, they have focused well on their email marketing therefore have kept me following them. During the program, they send weekly reminders of taking progress photos and sending it to Kayla which Kayla can then post on her Instagram feed for her millions of followers to see. It is a good thing that those emails are weekly since they are a reminder for you to keep working and reaching your goals. After the program, they still email me which increases user commitment.

The email that I am examining is an email I received last week (so a year after my subscription). As you can see from the photos (see below) the email is very effective. According to Ellis-Chadwick and Doherty, the subject line is the first thing that triggers the need to open the email. The email reaches out to me well, since the first thing I saw was the subject line: ‘How to recognize signs of overeating’. As I am a female in my twenties, this definitely hit a nerve, which made me click on the email. The email is presented well with the top of the email showing the logo of Kayla Itsines. It also advertises the wellness program right in the beginning of the email by again by giving me 7 days for free and then showing me how and where I can download them by just one click.

screenshot-2016-11-04-22-07-03

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The clear and simple structure of it makes it easy to read and easy to follow.  The use of illustrations is also effective. It is colorful while still maintaining a clear and focused content. The email has three different and effective photos and topics on the email which all relate to the wellness program that Kayla Itsines offers. The amount of  CTAs is good and they are clear. The top part of the email is clearly related to the email’s heading which concentrates on the eating habits which definitely engaged me in the email.

Email from Kayla Itsines

Email from Kayla Itsines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lower two photos concentrate on the fitness side of the program and tries to entice me to buy the program again. The email definitely appeals to my motional side by making me think about my current fitness and eating habits. After I start to realize there might be a need for improvement, it hits me with a nice gift of a ‘Free 7 day Trial’. As  Kevan Lee mentions in his blog, giving something for free is good and effective content in a marketing email.

 

All in all, this email was an effective way to get my concentration by appealing to my emotions. While it does lack certain personalization, it does not make a difference since it still affected me emotionally. I didn’t even notice the lack of personalization at first. The length of the email is also ideal, since it is short but contains hyperlinks in order to get more information on the topics. I believe the marketing was also done effectively since it knows its target audience well. Most of the users are young women who spend time on their phones and use social media a lot. The email targeted the users to open the emails on their phones since it had links to App store to download the app and to buy the program. The end of the email also send hyperlinks to Kayla Itsines’ Instagram profile, where you can see people’s progress on the program.

References:

Ellis-Chadwick, F., & Doherty, N. F. (2012). Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing. Journal of Business Research, 65(6), 843-848.

Kevan Lee (2013) 8 Effective Email Marketing Strategies, Backed by Science. <https://blog.bufferapp.com/8-effective-email-strategies-backed-by-research> (Accessed on the 4th of November 2016)

Why bringing down the statue of GoT’s King Joffrey was excellent marketing?

SKY, who owns the exclusive rights to broadcasting the hit tv show Game of Thrones, worked together with DDB, a top communication agency, to create a unique and effective advertising for the new season of the show. They needed to attract new audiences and decided to advertise it in New Zealand by building a 4 meter King Joffrey statue in a prime location in Auckland. The twist was that every time someone used their official hashtag #bringdowntheking, the rope around the statue’s neck would pull tighter, eventually bringing the king down.

The marketing stunt was a great way to appeal to people’s emotions and get them to interact on social media. This was also a well-thought publicity stunt, since it clearly relied on people’s hatred towards the character. The audience really did want to be a part of bringing down the king. By relying on people’s emotions and their willingness to act on them, was a brilliant move by the communication agency. It was an efficient way to make the audience to do the tweeting, therefore reaching an even wider audience. The uniqueness of the character related well with the uniqueness of the publicity stunt.
Click here to watch the moment of the statue falling

To be continued…

Hello world!

Welcome to your brand new blog at University of Brighton Blog Network.

To get started, simply log in, edit or delete this post and check out all the other options available to you.

For assistance, visit our comprehensive support site and check out our Edublogs User Guide guide.

You can also subscribe to our brilliant free publication, The Edublogger, which is jammed with helpful tips, ideas and more.