The Internet has transformed business marketing to promote via website, blogs, email, and social media (Marketing Donut, 2017).  Social media marketing is a popular and effective marketing tool, due to its accessibility and reach to customers. However, all marketing platforms are directed to the business website, with links or as a call of action. When a customer enters an organization website they typically do so in order to find information on a given product/service or to undertake a particular transaction, such as purchasing a product/service (Taylor & England, 2006). Rowley (2000) stated that consumers approaches to product searching on website are a key factor in successful e-business and that any approaches that can be enhance product visibility and ease of location are key in defining and maintaining competitive advantage. This blog aims to provide tips to make a business website effective.

So what should a business consider to implement on their website?

User-friendly

Fundamentally a user-friendly website allows greater navigation to locate information or undertake a transaction (Taylor & England, 2006). In website marketing terms, the more difficult it is for the consumer to locate what they are looking for on a website, the greater the likelihood that the consumer will simply give up and use a different website instead (Taylor & England, 2006). Clear call of action, can help provide a user-friendly design, while optimizing, as it directs users to required pages and provides a focus to the website (Boag, 2017). This is beneficial for small businesses that have limited budget, as it is a useful technique to convert visitors into customers.

Lets take a look at a good example:

Miss Selfridge consists a user-friendly design website, demonstrating clear drop down menus, search option and image maps, while having minimal text. Thus holding good use and clear call of action with the use of their images. Therefore allowing greater engagement through easier navigation, e.g. the sale section at the bottom.

However, an effective call-of-action (CTA) is complex to achieve, it takes creativity, patience and a lot of testing (Smith, 2015). CTA prominently sits on the homepage and helps convert a visitors to users, therefore if its not appealing and convenient enough it will lose its prime use and benefit of using it (ImForza, 2017). Thus, losing on further engagement and not leaving a good impression on customers.

Check out the most effective techniques for call to action 

SEO keywords

Despite, having an aesthetically pleasing website, it is vital that it can actually be found by search engines, ensuring site is productive. Gilmore (2016) stated that 81% of consumers use search engines to research a product/service or business before making a purchase. For greater visibility around the business online, keywords should be identified and incorporated throughout the website (Fiorini & Lipsky, 2012;Gilmore, 2016). Keywords could be included in web content like headlines, summaries and links, which will make it possible to find the website through the search engines (Jantsch, 2016). This is beneficial as a website that is well optimized for search engines “speak the same language” as its potential visitors based with keywords on SEO help connect searchers to site (Wordstream, 2017).

However, there is an implication for businesses to pick the right keywords (Mothner, 2010). This is because if longtail keywords are used then it will drive less traffic and be difficult to insert into content/website than short tail keywords (Abishek, 2017). Although short tail keywords are highly competitive, therefore more difficult  for one site to rank a good position, these are normally taken by big companies (Smart Traffic, 2010). Therefore content should be unique and specific to the business, prevent duplicate content, to minimise this limitation (Kissmetrics, 2017).

For example: when the keyword jeans was entered only popular shops appear but for smaller businesses it is more specific. Therefore emphasising the need for content to be unique so useful keywords are selected.

Check out the video for 5 tips for choosing keywords using Google.

Check out how to do keyword research for SEO, this will help you pick the right keywords.

Mobile Responsiveness

With the growing use of mobile phones, more searches are being carried out through this medium than other platforms, like desktop, tablets and laptops (Sterling, 2015). Therefore placing it a primary screen for searches and something businesses should consider if not implemented. This is beneficial, as it will increase conversions, as people are likely to go to competitor’s site rather than zooming in and out in order to navigate a site, as un-optimized sites irritate visitors (Jones, 2016). Thus referring back to user-friendly layout to ensure a better user experience. Moreover, if not optimized businesses will be losing ranking on search engines, which indicate now boosts mobile-friendly sites on search results (Mordue, 2015).

This is an example of a website that is not optimised for mobile compared to one that is. Clearly we can see that the second one is much more user-friendly, as it does not require zooming in/out or scrolling to read text, making it covinient for the user. The first website,however, looks much more cluttered, as the main body is full of text and sidebar navigation is had to view, making it difficult to use. Also it is lacking the simplicity and modern look of the second one, therefore making it less functional and leading consumers to select other sites. Thus small businesses should consider making their websites to be more mobile-friendly in order to stay competitive with big organisations and meet the needs of a wider audience.

Check out 10 benefits why businesses should consider mobile sites 

Check out 9 tips to creating a mobile-friendly website

How to measure the effectiveness of the website

• Average time on page- A key factor to consider if average time is low, as it indicates current content on site needs to be reviewed for greater engagement. Are their images, videos or just text? (Cain, 2012)
• Search engine traffic- The amount of traffic being reffered to your site through search engines, reinforcing the need for keywords as pay-per-click may be expensive for small business (Cain, 2012)
• Conversion rate- The percentage of visitors to your site who take a specific action (Cain, 2012)
• Google Analytics

To check out more methods to track website, click here.

With the use of these metrics, businesses will be able to see how functional the website is. This is primary crucial for small businesses as marketing through their website is key as other methods may be expensive, therefore if website is not effective, it could lose against competitors.

Overall, small businesses should not only consider the design of websites but other factors that will influence the productivity, such as functionality and mobile optimization for searches. If one of these are not implemented it may influence the overall performance.

References

Abishek, R. (2017) The Disadvanatges of Long Tail Keywords in SEO. [Online] Available: http://www.abiwrites.com/the-disadvantages-of-long-tail-keywords-in-seo [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Boag, P. (2017) Call to Action: The 10 Most Effective Techniques. Boagworks. [Online] Available: https://boagworld.com/design/call-to-action/ [Accessed 27 April 2017]

Cain, K. (2012) Measuring Marketing Effectiveness: 6 Metrics You Need to Track. Content Marketing Institute. [Online] Available: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/10/measuring-marketing-effectiveness-metrics/ [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Cisnero, K. (2015) 9 Tips To Creating A Mobile-Friendly Website. Hootsuite. [Online] Available: https://blog.hootsuite.com/9-tips-to-creating-a-mobile-friendly-website/ [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Fiorini, P.M. & Lipsky, L. (2012) Search marketing traffic and performance models. Computer Standards & Interfaces, Vol. 34, pp.517-526

Gilmore, L. (2016) 7 successful marketing tips through online presence. TNW. [Online] Available: https://thenextweb.com/the-power-of-personal/2016/09/30/7-ways-successful-marketing-online-presence/#.tnw_JrcbWKe7 [Accessed 27 April 2017]

ImForza, (2017) How to Pick an Effective Call to Action [Online] Available: https://www.imforza.com/blog/how-to-pick-an-effective-call-to-action/ [Accessed 27 April, 2017]

Jantsch, J. (2016) 7 Ways to Improve Your Search Rank With Social Media. Social Media Examiner. [Online] Available: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/7-ways-to-improve-your-search-rank-with-social-media/ [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Jones, A. (2016) How To Measure Website Effectiveness In 2016. Jdr Group. [Online] Available: https://blog.jdrgroup.co.uk/digital-prosperity-blog/how-to-measure-website-effectiveness-in-2016 [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Kissmetrics, (2017) 7 Critical SEO Errors of E-commerce Websites. [Online] Available: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/seo-errors-ecommerce-websites/ [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Marketing Donut, (2017) Online Marketing. [Online] Available: https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/online-marketing/online-marketing-overview [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Mordue, L. (2015) 10 Benefits of Mobile Websites: Why You Shouldn’t Get Left Behind. Jdr Group. [Online] Available at: https://blog.jdrgroup.co.uk/digital-prosperity-blog/10-benefits-of-mobile-websites-why-you-shouldnt-get-left-behind [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Mothner, M. (2010) 5 Secrets to Selecting Highly-Effective SEO Keywords. Inc. [Online] Available: https://www.inc.com/guide/2010/06/picking-effective-seo-keywords.html [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Rowley, J. (2000) Product search in e-shopping: a review and research propositions. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 17, pp.20-35

Smart Traffic, (2010) Types of Keywords, The advantages and Disadvantages [Online] Available: http://www.smart-traffic.co.uk/blog/types-of-keywords-the-advantages-and-disadvantages/ [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Smith, J. (2015) The Power Of The Call to Action & How Its Strength Boosts Conversion. Marketing Land. [Online] Available: http://marketingland.com/power-call-action-strength-boosts-conversions-145845 [Accessed 27 April, 2017]

Sprung, R. (2015) How to Do Keyword Research for SEO: A Beginner’s Guide. Hubspot. [Online] Available: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-do-keyword-research-ht#sm.000rmg185lafe4t11mx1q9wflkmdj [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Sterling, G. (2015) It’s Official: Google Says More Searches Now On Mobile Than On Desktop. Search Engine Land. Available: http://searchengineland.com/its-official-google-says-more-searches-now-on-mobile-than-on-desktop-220369 [Accessed 1 May 2017]

Taylor, M.J. & England, D. (2006) Internet marketing: web site navigational design issues. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. Vol. 24, pp.77

Wordstream, (2017) SEO Keywords: How Better Keyword Research Gets You Better Results. [Online] Available: http://www.wordstream.com/seo-keyword [Accessed 1 May 2017]

One of the newest forms of social media is micro-blogging, most commonly associated with Twitter. Twitter consists of ‘tweets’ mesages which can instantaneously be transmitted across a large scale network, and has become the most popular micro-blog tool since its launch in 2006 (Jiang and Erdem, 2016; Burton & Soboleva, 2011). It has reached 554 million users worldwide in 2013 with 9,100 tweets every second, making it an effective and viable tool, if used in the right way (Jiang and Erdem, 2016). This blog is going to explore the factors and features a business needs to consider when creating an effective Twitter marketing campaign.

Use Hashtags

A main factor that companies need to consider when marketing on Twitter are Hashtags. Tweets are classified as high-interactive, if they contain a hastag, as it allows users to create or follow a thread of discussion (Burton and Soboleva, 2011). With the strategic use of hashtags, the tweeted content can be broadcasted to a wider audience and speed information spread, if used effectively could go viral (Wang et al, 2016). Hashtags can be effective when a business is having a sale or promotion as a hashtag followed by the promo code, allows sales to be tracked by the people that used the Twitter-specific code (Twitter, 2017a).

Patel (2015) supports this by stating that tweets with hashtags get two times more clicks, retweets, favourites, and replies than tweets without hashtags. Thus increasing market presence as hastags enhances the visibility of messages by helping construct information-sharing network and bridge diverse social groups with a common interest (Wang et al, 2016). A good example of a effective campaign using a hashtag is Coca-Cola’s #Choosehappiness (Campaign, 2016), see below. The company asked consumers to tweet their favourite variant of Coca-Cola alongside the hashtag, which was connected to the Coca-Cola machine below, were displayed their tweet on the screen and released a free shirt (Deighton, 2015). This correlates directly with the company’s values of Happiness and sustained by evoking emotion, like happiness, which further engaged consumers on Twitter. People quickly took to Twitter to share their messages of positivity, all through the Coca-Cola name. This indicates that with the use of the # it allowed Coca-Cola to increase awareness of the campaign due to exposure and form a discussion that favoured the brand image.

However, there is a limit to the usage of hashtags on a single tweet (Patel, 2015).  It is recommended that the maximum amount of hastags to use in one single tweet is two, as any more than that can dimish a companies engagament (Patel, 2015). In contrary to Instagram where the limit is endless and still manages to retain high engagement, as seen below.

Check out how to create a Hashtag just for your business 

Use different media types 

Chaney (2016) states that the most effective way for a company to use tweets is by including different media types. Tweets that contain videos get retweeted more than those that only contain text (Chaney, 2016), shown below. This enables companies to showcase their personality and differentiate themselves, as it may be difficult to get a message across or the brands personality with Twitter’s 140 characters rule constraint (Jackson, 2015). Quinn (2015) identified McDonalds as a company that used a videos in the right way. McDonalds used this technique to launch a campaign to promote their products in a visually fun way. Thus engaging consumers by driving retweets and favourites, which will probably drive consumers to go McDonalds.

Moreover this technique can be used to build brand loyalty by providing consumers with VIP access to backstage events that companies host, most commonly used by fashion brands using video content like vines or livestreaming (Macmillian, 2014). This offers transparency and value to the consumer by showing them how products are created or parts of the company that they wouldnt get to see (Jackson, 2016). Thus inviting them on the experience or journey of the product, which boosts engagement.

However, when marketing with videos on Twitter, videos need to be relevant and meaningful as Twitter can act as an electronic word of mouth and gain the company a negative reputation and brand image (Trimble, 2015; Burton & Soboleva, 2011). For example Pepsi recently tweeted a promotional video containing Kendall Jenner giving a policeman a pepsi when there are uprest (Twitter, 2017b), see below. Unfortuanaly, Pepsi did not consider the relevance of the content of the video with the issue of black people being killed. People across the US were tweeting their negative opinions about the ad by using the #PepsiLivesMatter (Twitter, 2017b), see below. Although Pepsi quickly responded by deleting the tweet and tweeting a picture with long apology to Twitter users, it goes to show that one normal video on Twitter could lead to an uproar of negative press for the company.

(Twitter, 2017b)

The pepsi ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73P9STckPLw

Check out the five best practices for promoted video on Twitter 

Use Influencers 

Lastly companies should consider being creative when campaigning on Twitter by including influencers (Adweek, 2014). Kinney & Ireland (2015) support this by stating that when positive influences are used in a Twitter ad it has greater chance of attracting and maintaining consumers attention. This is effective as it will allows companies to target their audience more easily, especially younger audiences, which may be hard to reach. However, the overall image and brand of the business needs to be taken in consideration when selecting an influencer to ensure tweets are relevant. Kinney & Ireland (2015) state that influences, expertise and relevance work together to form trust, leading to favorable brand attitudes. For instance the Adidas ad called #heretocreate on Twitter featuring James Harden, to attract the younger audiences, which most likely will be big fans of the player, to drive sales. The effectiveness of the campaign can be seen in the re-tweets and favourites, compared to a normal campaign without an influencer, see below. Nonetheless, if the fit is not correct and the influencer’s image does not align with the brand’s image then it is likely to have little value (Hendriksz, 2016).

For other examples of campaigns using Twitter as their platform to advertise: Check out the best Twitter campaigns and why they work 

Check this video to optimise campaign performance with Twitter Ads.

(Twitter for Business, 2014)

How to check the success of the Twitter campaign:

• Businesses can use Twitter Analytics to track impressions, cost-per-result across all different campaigns and online n tracking. This will help you undertsand your customers better and the level of engagement (Twitter, 2017c).
• With tweets you can see the number of re-tweets and favourites to show the level of engagement and impact. For example:

Overall, Twitter is a effective and creative way to campaign products, as there are lots of choices of how they can differentiate themselves from others. Despite the limitiations, if businesses understand their target audience and the casual conversational feel of Twitter it will build brand loyalty.

References

Adweek, (2014) 7 Of The Most Creative Twitter Campaigns. [Online] Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/7-creative-twitter-campaigns/ [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Burton, S. & Soboleva, A. (2011) Interactive or reactive? Marketing with Twitter. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 28, pp.491-499

Campaign, (2016) Twitter reveals insights from best social campaigns of 2015. [Online] Available at: http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/twitter-reveals-insights-best-social-campaigns-2015/1380415 [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Chaney, P. (2016) 25 Ways to Use Twitter for Marketing. Practical Ecommerce. [Online] Available at: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/119922-25-ways-to-use-twitter-for-marketing [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Deighton, K. (2015) Coca-Cola creates Twitter-powered vending machines. Event Magazine. [Online] Available at: http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/coca-cola-creates-twitter-powered-vending-machine/brands/article/1359593 [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Hendriksz, V. (2016) Tapping into the rise of the Digital Influencers. Fashion United. [Online] Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/tapping-into-the-rise-of-the-digital-influencers/2016012719197 [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Jackson, D. (2015) How to use Twitter Effectively. Sprout Social. [Online] Available at: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-to-use-twitter-effectively/ [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Jackson, D. (2016) A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Twitter Video. Sprout Social. [Online] Available at: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/twitter-video/ [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Jiang, L. & Erdem, M. (2016) Twitter marketing in multi-unit restaurants: Is it a viable marketing tool? Journal of Foodservice Business Research,

Kinney, L. & Ireland, J. (2015) Brand Spokes-Characters as Twitter Marketing Tools. Journal of Interactive Advertising, Vol.15, pp. 135-150

Macmillan, G. (2014) Eight creative ways fashion brands can use Twitter. Twitter. [Online] Available at: https://blog.twitter.com/en-gb/2014/eight-creative-ways-fashion-brands-can-use-twitter [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Patel, N. (2015) How to Harness The Power Of The Hashtag As an Entrepreneur. Forbes. [Online] Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/sites/undefined/undefined/undefined/undefined/undefined/?q=cache:Z-d7aDKHS0YJ:www.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fneilpatel%2F2015%2F08%2F17%2Fhow-to-harness-the-power-hashtag-as-an-entrepreneur%2F%20&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=safari#7ebd85a28344 [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Quinn, S. (2015) 4 Ways to Use Twitter Video for Your Business. Social Media Examiner. [Online] Available at: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/use-twitter-video-for-your-business/ [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Smith, K. (2016) The Best Twitter Campaigns and Why They Work. Brandwatch. [Online] Available at: https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/best-twitter-campaigns-why-they-work/ [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Trimble, C. Why online video is the future of content marketing. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/jan/14/video-content-marketing-media-online [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Twitter, (2017a) Guidelines for Promotions on Twitter. [Online] Available at: https://support.twitter.com/articles/68877 [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Twitter, (2017b) #PepsiLivesMatter. [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/hashtag/PepsiLivesMatter?src=hash [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Twitter, (2017c) How to use Twitter Analytics. [Online] Available at: https://business.twitter.com/en/analytics.html [Accessed 6 April 2017]

Twitter, (2016) Five best practices for Promoted Video on Twitter. [Online] Available at: https://marketing.twitter.com/apac/en_gb/insights/five-best-practices-for-promoted-video-on-twitter.html [Accessed 5 April 2017]

Twitter for Business, (2014) A new way to optimze campaign performance with Twitter Ads. Youtube. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fSLYSMYZrU&t=7s [Accessed 5 April, 2017]

Wang, R., Liu, W., & Gao, S. (2016) Hashtags and information virality in networked social movement: Examining hashtag co-occurrence patterns. Online Information Review, Vol. 40, pp.850-866

York, A. (2016) How to Create a Hashtag Just for Your Business. Sprout Social. [Online] Available at: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/create-a-hashtag/ [Accessed 5 April 2017]

This post will look at the use of digital influencers in the fashion industry and analysing the benefits and drawbacks of their relation with fashion brands. 

Welcome the new generation of online PR, influencers. The emergence of social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, paved a sharing platform of experiences, opinions, and information, enabling electronic word-of-mouth, an effective marketing tool (Uzunoglu and Kip, 2014). Uzunoglu and Kip (2014), states that digital influencers have the ability to influence target audiences attitudes, perceptions and even purchase behaviors making them powerful in the eyes of the brand. As a result, fashion brands are turning from traditional print advertising and celebrity promotions to individuals who share their opinions and advises via social media platforms (Hendriksz, 2016), to promote their brand in an effective way.

Guess used blogger, Dulceida, to promote their new bag Cate. Dulceida promoted by recommending the Guess bag to her followers by posting that she is ‘In love’. Dulceida used the hash tags #LoveGuess and #TheOneILove along tagging Guess to recommend others as well followers.

Personal recommendations are used by influencers to be accepted, as ‘one of us’ by online users, creating a friend-like relationship with consumers/followers (Uzunoglu and Kip, 2014). As a result, personal recommendations is an important marketing tool that has the potential to significantly improve a brand’s relationship with customers (Smith, 2011), thus playing a central role in persuading customers to like a brand. According to Uzunoglu and Kip (2014), this is because customers value comments of someone who personally has tried a product. Therefore trusted influencers’ recommendations related with a brand indicates a ‘good, trusted brand’ (Uzunoglu and Kip, 2014).

Take a look at the postive response that the recommendations has had on Guess’s  #LoveGuess campaign: Click here 

Thus promoting through influencer’s recommendations will develop a brand trust even before actually experiencing Guess’s product. This is because, as consumers become to trust Guess they will become loyal and share positive reviews. In which Guess will benefit from a better image and reputation, leading to have a good relationship with consumers, as in the online community they would have already built a good image through influencers recommendations.

This is essential as fashion brands tend to get bad images due to ethical practices, like Primark, which affects their relationship with consumers (Vergnault, 2016).

Nonetheless, if the fit is not correct and the influencer’s image does not align with the brand’s image then it is likely to have little value (Hendriksz, 2016). Therefore affecting the impact it will cause the consumer, as they will feel that Guess does not meet their needs and will prevent any contact with the brand. According to Telegraph (2017), picking the right influencer is 75% of the battle. Telegraph (2017) states that a key to a successful campaign is spending time making sure that you select the right influencers with the right personal brand, audience demographics and social engagement.

Zara collaborated with well known fashion-focused instagrammers to showcase their latest products. They posted a video showcasing influencer Teesh Rosa and used the hash tags #iamdenim. It managed to get more than 360,000 views. Thus boosting awareness (Instagram, 2017b).

According to Booth and Matic (2011) brands currently don’t have a voice in the social media space, driven by the difficulty to reach their audience amongst the existing competition. However, the increase in digital media usage has lead to a much larger connectivity, thus allowing influencer’s to reach and capture a wider audience (Smith, 2011), particularly younger audiences, via social media channels. Such as using hashtags and links to reach and engage consumers by encouraging them to share to increase awareness.

Therefore as consumers become more available and accessible online, influencers presence can provide brands, the opportunity to expand their presence in the online environment (Uzunoglu and Kip, 2014). Hence benefiting Zara, as well as other fashion brands, from greater brand awareness by becoming more visible through their posts. Additionally, as influencers have a wide audience due to social media, they are present in different markets. Therefore Zara will benefit from an increase in their brand awareness in a different market, which consequently will help it enter new markets.

Nevertheless, Zara should be aware of taking too much of a commercial approach when working with influencers to promote their brand, as consumers will notice the difference between sharing a product versus paid product promotion (Hendriksz, 2016, Archer and Harrigan, 2016). Therefore, if does not managed effectively influencers will lose their voice in the community, as their opinions are being influenced, thus losing the sole aim of using influencers.

Take a look at Zara’s campaign with the use of influencer Teesh Rosa: Click here 

According to Hardy (2017), as influencer campaigns get so much product exposure it accelerates consumers from awareness through to the purchasing stage. Thus skipping or shortening the consideration stage. This is because consumers/followers trust influencers opinion due to building a friend-like relation, which increases their power to influence (Uzunoglu and Kip, 2014, Hardy, 2017). Therefore greatly increasing purchasing decision process, as shown in the image below, which benefits fashion brands sales. For example fashion retailer Boohoo saw a 17% sales boosts from vlogger, Zoella collaboration, in which she did a boohoo haul and offered her favourite products from the website (Thompson, 2015). However, Hardy (2017) states that smaller bloggers or influencers tend to have loyal followers that big influencers. Thus not selecting the correct influencer may affect the level of success of the promotion.

Take a look at Zoella boohoo haul: Click here

Yes, using influencers is the new big deal, as it offers the fashion industry greater benefits when promoting clothes. But how do brands select the suitable influencer to ensure a successful promotion?

The image below includes seven steps to have a successful influencer campaign. For further insights to how to achieve the seven steps : Click Here 

(Kumar and Mirchandani, 2012)

But how can fashion brands measure the benefits provided from using influencers?

Fashion brands can use conversation points as a guide to view the performance and the influence of the influencers.

• The number of visits, response and the quanity of comments, which can be assess through analytic websites (Booth and Matic, 2011)
• Brands can search any tags used by the influencer to see how many times the tag has been used (Booth and Matic, 2011).

References:

Archer, C. and Harrigan, P. (2016) Show me the money: how bloggers as stakeholders are challenging theories of relationship building in public relations, Media International Australia, Vol. 160 pp. 67-77

Booth, N. and Matic, J. (2011) Mapping and leveraging influencers in social media to shape corporate brand perceptions, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 16 pp. 184-191

Hardy, J. (2017) How Influencers Are Transforming The Path To Purchase. Acorn. [Online] Available at: http://www.acorninfluence.com/blog/influencers-transform-the-path-to-purchase/ [Accessed 18 February 2017]

Hendriksz, V. (2016) Tapping into the rise of the Digital Influencers. Fashion United. [Online] Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/tapping-into-the-rise-of-the-digital-influencers/2016012719197 [Accessed 17 February 2017]

Instagram, (2017a) Dulceida. [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCKdtcrCxnx/?taken-by=dulceida [Accessed 17 February 2017]

Instagram, (2017b) Zara. [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCfp8XIC_Y7/?hl=en [Accessed 17 February 2017]

Kumar, V. and Mirchandani, R. (2012) Increasing the ROI of Social Media Marketing, MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol 54. pp. 55-61

Telegraph, (2017) How to use influencers in your next marketing campaign. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connect/better-business/how-to-use-influencers-in-your-marketing-campaign/ [Accessed 17 February 2017]

Thompson, H. (2015) 3 lessons to be learnt from retailers who boosted their sales with social media star generated content. Syndy. [Online] Available at http://syndy.com/3-lessons-to-be-learnt-from-social-media-user-generated-content/ [Accessed 18 February 2017]

Smith, K. (2011) Digital marketing strategies that Millennial’s find appealing, motivating, or just annoying, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 19 pp. 489-499

Uzunoglu, E. and Kip, S. (2014) Brand communication through digital influencers: Leveraging blogger engagement, International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 34 pp. 592-602

Vergnault, O. (2016) Is Primark ethical? The heavily criticised chain stands by its practices after opening in Truro. Cornwall live. [Online] Available at: http://www.cornwalllive.com/is-primark-ethical-the-heavily-criticised-chain-stands-by-its-practices-after-opening-in-truro/story-29897317-detail/story.html [Accessible 17 February 2016]