Category: Uncategorized

How to avoid potential privacy issues that come with using Snapchat

So, we all know that hundreds of companies are using Snapchat to vlog their latest behind the scene moments and newest fashion line, however there are some privacy issues that come with Snapchat that might make you think twice about signing up. Not only Snapchat would face consequences of everyone being worried about these issues and deleting their accounts, but so would all the companies that use Snapchat as a main marketing source.

French (2015) says that the app has full rights in republishing your photos and actually saving them to Snapchat servers. Users are also at high risk of their videos and photos being saved by other users without them knowing (Burnham, 2014), the thought that your pictures and videos could be out there without you knowing is enough to put you off the app for life. It’s also being said that Snapchat are transmitting your location and collected contact information from your address book (Burnham, 2014). It’s not looking too great for Snapchat at the moment, but you don’t necessarily have to stop using the fun platform, I have gathered some simple tips to avoid these issues.

(Source via: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snapchats-new-scary-privacy-policy-has-left-users-outraged-2015-10-29)

Keeping your snaps and stories friend only is an easy way to ensure your photos and videos aren’t getting in to the wrong hands (Naked Security, 2016). This is easy and some would say obvious, but if people you want to be seeing your snapchats are people you don’t mind saving them, then this lowers your chance of people you don’t know getting hold of them. It’s a default option on snapchat that only your friends will see your snaps, and it is highly recommended you keep it that way. Another way to ensure you are avoiding privacy problems is only snapchatting things you don’t mind being public, there are many people and third party apps that can simply take photos of your snaps without you knowing by pointing another camera at them (Naked Security, 2016). Doing this will make sure nothing you don’t want people to see will be seen.

(Source via: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/08/31/3-tips-for-better-security-and-privacy-on-snapchat/)

Another easy and obvious way to avoid your snapchats being seen by people you don’t want to see them is by keeping your passwords unique and secure (Kenny, 2016). It is so important you don’t give out your password to anybody, even your friend who you trust with all your secrets. This ensures no one is going to be getting on any of your social media, changing your password regularly is a good way to make sure of this, even if you have forgotten you mentioned a password in a passing conversation (Kenny, 2016).

There’s a way you can share Snapchat stories with the whole world through the “Snapchat Live” function, you just have to make sure your comfortable with the whole world seeing what you’re putting on here before you do so (Kenny, 2016). It’s also important you check what applications you have that act as third party apps to Snapchat, you should not trust these apps and it’s best just not to use them at all (Njeri, 2016). These applications can see everything you are doing on the app and have access to all pictures and videos you are sending and saving, so you can even be putting your friends and family at risk.

Furthermore, if you are worried about Snapchat having your location, it is super easy to turn this off in the settings on your phone and this won’t let Snapchat see your location at all. There are filters that many people use via their location being turned on, and it is fun to use them but it isn’t necessarily worth the risk.

Therefore, to make sure you’re not in danger follow these simple tips and everyone can live happily on the application and you don’t have to delete the app all together. This makes it easier for companies to get their stuff out there to as many people as possible, and we don’t want to ruin their fun, do we?

References:

  • Burnham (2014). 5 Ways Snapchat Violated Your Privacy, Security – InformationWeek. [online] InformationWeek. Available at: http://www.informationweek.com/software/social/5-ways-snapchat-violated-your-privacy-security/d/d-id/1251175 [Accessed 6 May 2017].
  • French (2015). Snapchat’s new ‘scary’ privacy policy has left users outraged. [online] Market Watch. Available at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snapchats-new-scary-privacy-policy-has-left-users-outraged-2015-10-29 [Accessed 6 May 2017].
  • Kenny (2016). Kaspersky Lab official blog. [online] Blog.kaspersky.com. Available at: https://blog.kaspersky.com/snapchat-privacy-security/11151/ [Accessed 6 May 2017].
  • Njeri, K. (2016). Complete Snapchat Privacy and Security Guide to Stay Safe on it | Cyberogism. [online] Cyberogism. Available at: https://cyberogism.com/2017/01/snapchat-privacy-security-guide/ [Accessed 6 May 2017].
  • Varmazis, M. (2016). 3 tips for better security and privacy on Snapchat. [online] Naked Security. Available at: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/08/31/3-tips-for-better-security-and-privacy-on-snapchat/ [Accessed 6 May 2017].

What does it take for a company to use email marketing effectively?

Email Marketing is a form of direct marketing, it is the process of companies sending mail digitally and is a common way for companies to get through to their customers by promoting their products and services. This blog will explore how companies can effectively use email marketing to communicate with their customers and will discuss where companies have gone wrong and where they have effectively used this platform.

BuzzFeed is a company who use email as a marketing strategy, it’s suggested that this platform is one of the top 5 or 6 referrers of traffic to their website each month (Beashel, 2015). These figures suggest that BuzzFeed are doing something right when it comes to email marketing. The company suggest that their email marketing is so effective because of their large mailing list, over the past few years they have become more vigilant in making sure that consumers are seeing the email marketing subscription sign up more frequently throughout their site (Beashel, 2015). However, when browsing a website it can be seen as annoying to be constantly asked for your email for a subscription, so maybe this isn’t the best way to go about increasing your mailing list. Although BuzzFeed can be annoying when asking for your email to sign up to their newsletter, they do also ask what you’re interested in before signing you up. This is a great way to keep your subscribers interested and to increase your website traffic.


(Source via: https://www.buzzfeed.com/tools/email)

Uber uses email marketing to inform customers of new promotions and deals, it’s suggested that the simplicity of their emails is what makes people love them (HubSpot, 2016). The first thing a customer will see when looking at an email, is the subject and Uber keeps it short and sweet, which is said to be perfect for subscribers who are quickly skimming the email (Target Marketing, 2015). There is a fine line between short and sweet and boring when it comes to receiving a marketing email, I’m sure everyone has received them at some point and they definitely need colour and an essence of fun to make you want to read them. However, Uber use their signature colours and geometric patterns to liven up their emails. Not only does Uber use simplicity to create their email campaigns, but they also use punchy language to give their consumers a sense of urgency and this stirs them in to action (Moth, 2014).

(Source via: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-examples-list#sm.001kj47phi3ife610mq1w8ane2ior)

Groupon use email marketing to show customers their new deals, in 2014 they gave customers a chance to win $5,000,000 in Groupon dollars and they promoted it by sending out am email consisting of a big red button. This idea excited subscribers at first, they were in for a chance for winning loads of freebies, however, the excitement quickly faded when most of the customers were obviously told, bluntly ‘sorry, you didn’t score’. It’s suggested that the majority of people who were disappointed by the big red button felt undervalued by this marketing campaign and if anything, felt put off by Groupon (Simply compelling, 2015). This is a fine example of how an email sent to promote your business needs to appear appealing to everyone, or there will be a large amount of people disappointed and if anything, it is bad publicity. Groupon have showed that effective email marketing needs to consist of targeting a majority of their subscribers, to excite and appeal to everyone.

So, now I have discussed some do’s and don’ts when it comes to email marketing you can now create the best marketing emails ever. It’s so important that the whole of your audience find your emails appealing, to ensure they don’t unsubscribe as this will lose traffic on your website, and eventually profit. The content is obviously one of the most important parts to email marketing, and keeping it simple enough for the reader to not get bored but exciting enough too is tricky but vital. The mailing list is also a big part of email marketing, and not nagging customers to join is just as important as the content, because if you have no one to email then the content wouldn’t matter any way.

References

  • Beashel, (2015). How BuzzFeed uses email marketing to drive growth. [online] Campaignmonitor.com. Available at: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/customers/2015/04/buzzfeed-email-marketing/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017].
  • HubSpot, (2016). 15 of the Best Email Marketing Campaign Examples You’ve Ever Seen. [online] Blog.hubspot.com. Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-examples-list#sm.001kj47phi3ife610mq1w8ane2ior [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017].
  • Moth, (2014). Email marketing CTA design: five good vs. six bad examples. [online] Econsultancy. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/64997-email-marketing-cta-design-five-good-vs-six-bad-examples/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017].
  • Simply Compelling, (2015). Examples of email marketing gone wrong – Simply Compelling. [online] Simply Compelling. Available at: http://simplycompelling.com/email-marketing/examples-of-email-marketing-gone-wrong/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017].
  • Target Marketing, (2015). Uber Gets an A+. [online] Target Marketing. Available at: http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/uber-gets/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017].

 

How can companies use Snapchat to effectively market their goods and services?

Snapchat was created for friends to easily send pictures and videos to one another, and it has come a long way since being launched in 2011. It is not the most popular digital platform for companies to use for marketing, but it definitely can be effective if you go the right way about it. This blog is going to explore the factors and features a business can keep in mind when creating an effective Snapchat marketing campaign.

Source: https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/02/18/why-snapchat-is-moving-into-ecommerce/

There are different factors that companies have to think about when marketing on Snapchat, this Forbes article discusses some of these. DeMers (2014) suggests that embracing the 10 second time limit is the number one top tip in using Snapchat for marketing purposes. In fact, he suggests this is the perfect opportunity to give teasers to your consumers for new products. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a short snippet of what’s to come.

On the other hand, this short time limit can be a major limitation to this marketing technique and some companies may not find having to do such a brief advert so appealing. DeMers (2014) also discusses that portraying the companies personality through Snapchat is an effective marketing technique, however, to show personality in such a short time frame will be difficult for a company and the image or video will have to be well thought out to contain content to portray this personality fast.

Parker (2016) discusses how companies have used Snapchat effectively in her guide to marketing on the app. It is said that the most effective way a company can use Snapchat is producing their very own filter, we all know everyone loves using these filters, the funnier the better. This article raised a good point that companies like Starbucks who have their own filter are doing it right. Starbucks used this technique to launch their Snapchat chilled summer drinks campaign. These filters get sent around to everyone, and seeing your friend constantly sending you this logo is probably going to get you thinking that you want a Starbucks. However, everything can be critiqued and even this wonderful idea has a down fall, creating this filter and making it available for a long time can be pricey, but it’s probably worth it.

Source: https://twitter.com/frappuccino/status/728231049516310528 

Snapchat is used by millions of people, all kinds of people. This alone does show that using Snapchat to market your goods can be very effective, however, pleasing your audience is so important. Your grandparents probably don’t use Snapchat, they might, but they probably don’t so this does restrict what kind of company can use Snapchat for marketing purposes. But if your audience are Snapchat users then targeting and understanding them is one of the most important things you have to think about. The overall casualness of the app has to be taken in to account when deciding on what kind of language is going to be used and making sure that posts have a sense of fun.

There are fun ways that you can market your goods on Snapchat, SocialMediaExaminer discusses some of them here. This article discusses using influencer reveals, account takeovers and promo codes to effectively use Snapchat by taking the fun approach. Staging an influencer reveal can be a great way to promote your company, this includes having an influential, well known character talking up your company or product. McDonald’s have used this approach, for example; they used a video of LeBron James loving one of their new burgers. This kind of technique works because consumers love seeing someone they know using a product, and we can all admit that for some strange reason we have at some point bought something or used something specific because we’ve seen a celeb we love using it (guilty).

Source: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/10-ways-to-use-snapchat-for-business/

If a company wanted to use fun techniques when marketing through Snapchat, giving consumers VIP access to backstage of the product or service happening is a great one to use. It’s popular between fashion shows, giving previews of what’s happening back stage. I’ve seen this happen so many times and I’m sure there are loads of people that are interested in watching them, but I have never been too bothered about watching a 550 second Snapchat story, everyone knows; the longer the worst. However, there are thousands of people that are interested in watching these so from a company’s point of view this can be a fun and effective technique.

So, I don’t think anyone will disagree that Snapchat is a fun and effective way to market your product or service for short amounts of time. There are lots of choices of how to do so, even though it comes with limitations too, Snapchat is great once you know what audience you’re targeting and you understand the casual feel of the app.

References

  • DeMers (2014) Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/04/your-guide-to-using-snapchat-for-marketing/#14b568e43e35 (Accessed: 28 February 2017).
  • Parker (2016) Available at: https://blog.hootsuite.com/snapchat-for-business-guide/ (Accessed: 28 February 2017).
  • Siu, E. (2017) 10 ways to use Snapchat for business: Social media examiner. Available at: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/10-ways-to-use-snapchat-for-business/ (Accessed: 28 February 2017).

Airbnb Marketing Analysis- does anyone read their emails?

How many of us actually read all of our emails? I know I personally just multi click them and mark as unread, unless it’s discounts on Pizza.

According to Ben Oren email open rates are great indicators of the quality of your mailing list, subject line choice, time of sending, and even an under performing email service provider, but I’d say emails are only really opened if you’re interested in that company or anything its offering at that moment in time, the subject could be the most interesting line in the world but if you’re not interested then there’s no chance of a read.

I received an e-mail from Airbnb, I would normally ignore an email like this as I’m a poor student and I know I can’t afford to go on holiday, depressingly. This email had attractive photo’s of beautiful Cities; Paris, New York, Berlin and had a personal touch, with the heading ‘Where travellers like you go to escape, Here’s where travellers in Brighton go when they want to live elsewhere. Even if it’s just for a week‘. I appreciate personal touches in email’s, even though thousands of other people are being sent the same one with their name or where they are living on it, it definitely makes me want to read it more. This email didn’t have my name at the beginning which it probably could have done with to be more personal and to ensure they’re grabbing the reader’s attention immediately.

pic11I want to visit every City in the world so if there was any email I would find the most interesting it would be one like this from a company like Airbnb. The photo’s are clear and beautiful, however, the layout is simple which could be viewed as boring. A lot of people would agree that there doesn’t need to be a lot of writing on an email, it is time consuming and doesn’t immediately capture the viewer. Airbnb have added a minimum amount of writing, just short snippets of the greatest parts of these Cities. A downside to the appearance of this email is that the writing is all in black and doesn’t capture the viewer immediately, it is put up against colorful, bright photo’s and this makes the writing look dull and may make the viewer not want to bother reading it. Although, I wanted to because I liked the photo’s and wanted to read more.

interesting1

Each Photo in the email takes you to a landing page; where to book for each City. It immediately lets you choose dates, a price range, what kind of room you would like and the accommodation on the Airbnb website. A map of the City with the different affordable prices placed around is also immediately visible once clicking on a photo, allowing you to choose price and location, this technique of one click taking you to the affordable and appealing accommodation in a City of your choice will persuade someone to book straight away. There is also a personal aspect to the landing pages, if you are already a member to Airbnb it will take you to the page logged in to your account with your details, making it easy and accessible to book quickly. A link of things to do in the city is also include in this page, another technique to ensure the viewer is seeing all the great parts of the City to ensure they are persuaded to book a room. Each page could have accessible to links to viewing the Airbnb’s available in other Cities as the viewer could then see the others if they change their mind and would not have to return to the email to do so, this accessibility would simply make it easier for the viewer to navigate the web pages.

hm

This email caught my eye because it interests me and in retrospect I am glad I actually opened one of my emails. It showed me what Airbnb has to offer and also exactly what I would send out to customers if I am ever in charge of the emailing.

References:

Oren, B. (2016) 9 ways to fix your Email marketing strategy | SEJ. Available at: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/goodbye-spam-hello-inbox-9-ways-fix-email-marketing-strategy/147594/ (Accessed: 4 November 2016).