Facebook’s Facilitation: How to use the platform to build brand awareness

Posted on by Nathaniel Njie

Facebook is an extremely powerful platform that can be used for online marketing and ultimately increasing brand awareness. With over 1.9 billion active monthly users, Facebook provides unrivalled access to a wide and varied audience (Zarrella and Zarrella, 2010). Companies have identified this and are utilising the social platform for various marketing efforts such as increasing brand engagement and brand awareness amongst prospective customers (Goldfarb, 2010).

In order to reap the potential benefits of Facebook, it’s crucial to understand what’s effective in regards to building awareness for a brand (Alba et al., 2013). With this in mind, a few useful methods have been suggested below.

 

Create a Facebook page

Creating a Facebook page should be one of the first steps taken in attempting to build brand awareness. A brand page that users can refer to is key for developing a significant online presence. Indeed, through the creation of a brand page, strong online communities consisting of brand followers can be formed (Rao, 2016). It’s therefore important to make the page interesting by posting engaging content that users can interact with and share.

 

 

For help creating a Facebook page for business, simply click here.

 

Communicate with the audience

One of the most attractive aspects of social platforms is that they help to facilitate direct communication between companies and social media users. Through Facebook, companies can engage and discuss with their customers and prospective customers about issues that are important to them, thus building more meaningful relationships (Kubacki, 2015). Customers feel valued if companies listen and interact with them, making them more likely to give positive reviews and make recommendation to others, which would eventually spread through word of mouth (Vreedenburgh, 2013). Thus, brands should look to communicate with customers as openly and often as possible.

 

Video ads

Videos are becoming an increasingly popular medium for marketers to promote their messages and  products to users. According to Steers (2013), videos have been found to be the most engaging form of content compared to text and images. Thus, it can be said that video ads represent a good opportunity for brand promotion.

Facebook offers its own native video that allows companies to upload videos directly to the platform so that they appear on users’ news feeds. Facebook have highlighted that users are highly interested in native videos and that they are actively engaging with this type of content (Gingerich, 2014). Interestingly, a study by CMO.com found that native online video ads can reportedly incite an 82% brand lift among users (Abramovich, 2013).

Here’s an example from IKEA of how video can be used effectively to get a message across without directly selling a product.

 

 

Designing a kitchen using the metaphor of cooking a recipe is an extremely creative concept and excels at engaging the viewer.

For ideas on how to create an effective video ad, simply click here.

 

Content marketing

Content marketing is a popular concept as it helps build brand awareness whilst encouraging social media users to share a brand’s content around their online communities, essentially taking care of a lot of the marketing effort. Content marketing pertains to the creation of content that’s original, appealing and eminently shareable without being explicitly promotional (Kuenn and Kuenn, 2015). Compelling content marketing can increase brand exposure as users will often share and discuss interesting content with other Facebook users, eventually spreading the content to a larger audience (Pulizzi, 2014), making it an effective brand awareness tool.

 

This example of content marketing from Airbnb is effective in the way that it promotes the brand by providing helpful neighbourhood guides, subsequently encouraging viewers to travel and use the service.

Facebook advertising

Facebook advertising is an effective method for building brand awareness as it’s features allow for companies to target users who fit their target market with precise ad campaigns (Carter, 2013). Facebook ads can also be created with specific objectives in mind, for example a campaign can be designed that focuses on building brand awareness amongst prospective customers. While one of the major selling points of advertising on Facebook is that it’s free, paid advertisements that are promoted by the platform are an especially useful feature for brands as they have a higher chance of engagement (Turban, Strauss and Lai, 2015).

It should be noted that it can be quite difficult obtaining ad recognition as increasing competition means the Facebook news feed is littered with brands’ ads (Curran, Graham and Temple, 2011). Therefore, it’s imperative for an ad design to stand out in order to grab a user’s attention as they scroll through their home feed.

 

This ad created by Slack demonstrates a good example of an effective Facebook ad as it immediately grabs the viewer’s attention through the use of colourful imagery. The illustration of ‘What it feels like to sit in 25% fewer meetings’ appeals to a wide audience as a lot of people around the world don’t enjoy having to go to meetings. The ad also displays minimal text providing viewers with a sense of clarity, while ‘Like Page’ and ‘Learn More’ represent two clear call to actions, encouraging viewers to engage with the ad.

For some more examples of effective Facebook ads, simply click below.

https://adespresso.com/academy/blog/15-inspiring-facebook-ad-campaigns-beloved-brands/

 

 

 

 

 

Abramovich, G. (2013). 15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Online Video Advertising. [online] Available at: http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2013/8/27/video_15_mind_blowing.html#gs.I1J_oEM [Accessed 6 May 2017].

Alba, J., Stay, J., Melia, R., Smith, M. and Stelzner, M. (2013). I’m on Facebook–now what???. Cupertino, Calif.: HappyAbout.

Carter, B. (2013) The like economy: How businesses make money with Facebook. 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Corporation, US.

Curran, K., Graham, S. and Temple, C. (2011). Advertising on Facebook. International Journal of E-Business Development, [online] 1(1), pp.26-33. Available at: http://scisweb.ulster.ac.uk/~kevin/ijed-facebook.pdf [Accessed 6 May 2017].

Gingerich, M. (2014). How To Use Facebook Ads to Promote Your Blog Content : Social Media Examiner. [online] Available at: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-ads-to-promote-your-blog-content/ [Accessed 6 May 2017].

Goldfarb, S. (2010). Facebook for Business – How To Market Your Business on Facebook and Get More Sales, New Customers and Brand Awareness. 1st ed. Tradimax.

Kubacki, K. (2015). Ideas in Marketing: Finding the New and Polishing the Old. 1st ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Kuenn, A. and Kuenn, B. (2015). Content marketing works. 1st ed. Vertical Measures.

Pulizzi, J. (2014). Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less. 1st ed. McGraw-Hill.

Rao, N. (2016). Social Media Listening and Monitoring for Business Applications. 1st ed. IGI Global.

Steers, N. (2013). Online videos more engaging than text, study finds. [online] Available at: http://www.mycustomer.com/marketing/technology/online-videos-more-engaging-than-text-study-finds [Accessed 29 Apr. 2017].

Turban, E., Strauss, J. and Lai, L. (2015). Social Commerce: Marketing, Technology and Management. 1st ed. Springer.

Vreedenburgh, B. (2013). The 12 Labours of Social Media: A Guide for Small Business Owners. BookBaby.

 

Apt App Approach: Methods for Effectively Marketing a Mobile App

Posted on by Nathaniel Njie

An increasingly popular channel of digital marketing is mobile apps as they offer companies greater accessibility and provide consumers with useful information and content pertaining to the brand. The emergence of the smartphone generation has coincided with the exponential growth in the number of apps available to download. The app market is a highly competitive environment with 2.2 million apps on the App Store and 2.7 million on Google Play (Vaidos, 2017), thus, it’s important for a mobile app to be able to stand out and grab users’ attention. With this in mind, the following blog aims to provide a helpful guide on methods that can be used to effectively market a mobile phone app.

 

  Ensure App is Useful

 Regardless of how much money is spent on a marketing campaign and how well it’s marketed, if a mobile app doesn’t address any basic consumer needs such as providing information or entertainment, people aren’t going to be interested in downloading the app. Looking at the consumer decision making process, the first stage involves need recognition where essentially the consumer is triggered by a stimulus, either internal or external, leading them to identify a specific need in order to satisfy their desire (Du Plessis, Strydom and Jooste, 2012). If an app’s features fail to appeal, it is highly unlikely that targeted consumers will feel the need to download it as it won’t evoke any desire.

Having a useful app means consumers who download the app are likely to make positive recommendations to others, eventually spreading through word of mouth. Subsequently, not only will this help to facilitate marketing efforts, it should also lead to greater conversion rates (Kapadia, 2015).

It isn’t easy to make an app that is useful, if you would like to check out some examples of useful apps, simply click here.

                           

Social Media Platforms

Social media is a very useful marketing tool for advertising a mobile app as social platforms provide access to millions of users at relatively little expense. It allows for online communities to be identified and targeted based on shared interests and common features, therefore making it easier to reach a specific target market (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Facebook advertising, for example, is an extremely useful tool in terms of being able to tailor an ad campaign and make sure it is viewed by the desired audience.

It must be noted that there is no guarantee of higher conversion rates as it can be difficult standing out on platforms like Facebook with the news feed filled with posts and ads. Although, the main aim of social media advertising generally is to attract attention and get the content shared (Kaser, 2012), thus, while downloads may not significantly increase straight away, the amassed attention could eventually lead to greater download numbers (Matchcraft, 2015).

                                                  

App Store Optimisation

 App Store Optimization (ASO) is one of the most effective ways of drawing attention to an app with notable features including the name of the app, associative keywords, descriptions and accompanying media. Using a specific algorithm, the app stores subsequently rank apps based on the aforementioned features, determining the level of exposure and how easy they are for consumers to find. This means it’s important to focus on app optimisation through fine tuning (Cailean, 2015).

According to Cailean (2015), keyword optimization is an extremely important aspect of ASO as these are the words that help consumers identify specific apps. In terms of choosing keywords, it can be difficult to find the right balance as words that are too common will make it harder for the app to stand out while words that are uncommon aren’t likely to be searched by consumers. Therefore, it is vital that careful consideration is given to choosing a name for an app and the keywords associated with it.

For a comprehensive guide to effective ASO, simply click here.

 

  Integrate QR Codes

Scannable QR codes are an extremely useful marketing tool as they are free to obtain and can be attached to almost anything ranging from cereal boxes to e-mails, allowing brands to reach consumers both online and offline. Essentially, QR codes offer consumers a quick way of performing an action with a mobile device often linking them directly to an app’s landing page or the various app stores, ultimately facilitating the pre-download process (Winter, 2011).

There are a number of creative ways in which QR codes can be used, one notable example by AXA is available to watch below.

 

 

These are just a few methods that could be employed to help market an app, there are many other effective marketing tools that are available such as blogs and app review websites.

For more useful ideas on how to effectively market a mobile app, simply click here.

 

 

 

 References

Cailean, I. (2015). Extensive Guide to App Store Optimization (ASO) in 2015. [online] Available at: https://www.trademob.com/app-store-optimization-guide-apple/ [Accessed 15 Apr. 2017].

Du Plessis, P., Strydom, J. and Jooste, C. (2012). Marketing management. Cape Town: Juta.

Kapadia, A. (2015). 40+ Word-of-Mouth Marketing Statistics That You Should Know. [online] Available at: https://www.getambassador.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing-statistics [Accessed 14 Apr. 2017].

Kaser, K. (2012). Advertising and sales promotion. Cengage Learning.

Mangold, W. and Faulds, D. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 52(4), pp.357-365.

Matchcraft (2015) 5 benefits that Facebook advertising can bring to your business | MatchCraft | premier digital marketing platform. Available at: https://www.matchcraft.com/5-benefits-facebook-advertising/ [Accessed: 14 Apr. 2017].

Vaidos, A. (2017). Google Play Store vs Apple’s App Store – A Comparison. [online] Available at: http://news.softpedia.com/news/google-play-store-vs-apple-s-app-store-a-comparison-512601.shtml [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].

Winter, M. (2011). Scan me. Napa, CA: Westsong Publishing

How effective is Facebook advertising at increasing website traffic and generating actual sales?

Posted on by Nathaniel Njie

Social media has become an integral part of many companies digital marketing strategies as they look to connect with consumers directly. Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world and is often utilised for marketing campaigns due to the useful information and features provided such as consumer age, interests, location and various other ad tracking metrics (Carter, 2013). Ensuring a Facebook ad campaign is targeted at the right market is extremely important for companies as users who have no interest in their products aren’t going to click on their ads. The aforementioned features help facilitate marketing efforts by allowing companies to target specific markets with tailored ads based on user profiles and subsequently track the response.

The question remains however, how effective is Facebook advertising?

In a study of 25 marketing campaigns conducted by media intelligence firm Aggregate Knowledge, plans that focused on Facebook ads saw 24% more new sales compared to those that didn’t (Peterson, 2013), suggesting the social platform to be a useful advertising tool. When designed to a certain standard and targeted appropriately, advertising on Facebook can be very effective in terms of increasing brand awareness, increasing website traffic and ultimately improving sales conversion rates (Zarella and Zarella, 2010). Notably, the quality of a Facebook ad’s aesthetics stands out as being of key importance with users more likely to click on an ad and follow through to the landing page if the design is effective (Ray, 2013).

This promotion by NatureBox represents a good example of an effective Facebook ad.

  • “Try a free sample” signals a clear call to action.

 

  • The words “free trial” are in big and bold lettering, subsequently grabbing the user’s attention.

 

  • The image showcases exactly what the product on offer consists of, giving the user a clear idea of what to expect

 

  • The link directs users straight to the NatureBox landing page.

 

For more examples of effective Facebook ads, simply click here.

 

On the other hand, it can often be difficult for smaller companies to stand out on Facebook as the news feed is cluttered with posts and it costs money to get Facebook to promote an ad campaign that has a higher chance of engagement. This means that smaller companies are often seeing very little engagement from Facebook users and subsequently low traffic and conversion rates (Luo, 2017). For companies that do increase their website traffic, this has not necessarily led to an increase in sales as users often fail to convert for various reasons such as a poorly designed landing page or one that doesn’t match up with the ad (Wishpond, 2014). Moreover, as with any purchasing process users might simply change their mind at the last minute, lessening the effectiveness of Facebook ads in terms of generating sales.

As mentioned previously, the design of the ad is crucial as a campaign that’s been poorly put together is unlikely to be very effective at attracting users.

This ad from Barclaycard gives an example of what an ineffective ad looks like.

  • The ad looks too corporate and formal for a social site like Facebook.

 

  • There is no clear call to action

 

  • The ad fails to grab the attention with a lot of unutilised white space.

 

  • Whilst the accompanying link is simply an agency that tracks where visitors are coming from, users could easily mistake the ad for spam or malware and scroll past it.

 

It would seem that Facebook can be very effective for increasing website traffic and generating sales although this largely depends on varying factors. Indeed, it would seem that the quality of an ad’s design and its ability to stand out, as well as who is targeted, play a large part in determining the level of success it experiences. While advertising on Facebook might not always result in increased website traffic and sales, an ad campaign can still be effective in regards to improving brand awareness as the news feed gives it a degree of visibility and exposes users to it repeatedly which could eventually lead to a sale in future (Matchcraft, 2015).

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For a detailed guide on creating an effective Facebook ad campaign that can potentially help increase website traffic and sales conversion rates, simply click here.

 

 

 

 

References

Carter, B. (2013) The like economy: How businesses make money with Facebook. 2nd edn. Indianapolis, IN: Que Corporation,U.S.

Luo, C. (2017) How Facebook is failing local businesses | Fastcompany | the future of business. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/3044299/hit-the-ground-running/how-facebook-is-failing-local-businesses (Accessed: 24 February 2017).

Matchcraft (2015) 5 benefits that Facebook advertising can bring to your business | MatchCraft | premier digital marketing platform. Available at: https://www.matchcraft.com/5-benefits-facebook-advertising/ (Accessed: 25 February 2017).

Peterson, T. (2013) Study: Facebook leads to 24% sales boost. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/study-facebook-leads-24-sales-boost-146716/ (Accessed: 25 February 2017).

Ray, R. (2013) The Facebook guide to small business marketing. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Tij2PAQHUiYC&pg=PA88&dq=facebook+ad+design&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbqsuwn7PSAhWhOsAKHRlcA604ChDoAQg6MAU#v=onepage&q=facebook%20ad%20design&f=false (Accessed: 22 February 2017).

Wishpond (2014) 3 reasons why people click your Facebook ads but Dont convert. Available at: http://blog.wishpond.com/post/75896272479/3-reasons-why-people-click-your-facebook-ads-but (Accessed: 24 February 2017).

E-mail marketing e-valuation of Wowcamera: e-ffective or e-xasperating?

Posted on by Nathaniel Njie

“Please Read”……..a phrase often synonymous with those reviled spam e-mails that seem to constantly inundate our inboxes. I can’t speak for you but rarely do i ever actually read, or even open, e-mails sent to me by companies offering products and services i usually have no interest in, which leads me to question how effective e-mail marketing really is.

Wreden (1999, p3) has previously described e-mail marketing as the “Internet’s killer application” because of its precision, enabling companies to adapt their campaigns to different target audiences whilst also providing a platform to track consumer response. Subsequently, this would suggest that when implemented carefully and considerately, e-mail marketing can be one of the most effective forms of online marketing. Keeping this in mind, the focus of this blog will be on analysing an e-mail i have received from the electronics company Wowcamera with the aim of evaluating its features and gauging its overall effectiveness.

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Email Analysis

My initial thoughts prior to analysing the e-mail are that i would open it simply because the subject line is appealing and holds some relevance to me, having previously purchased a smartphone from Wowcamera. The subject line is the first point of contact the viewer has with the e-mail, therefore it needs to be pertinent to them (Mohammadi et al, 2013). Taking a closer look at the e-mail, its clearly identifiable that it falls under a house-list campaign with the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus being offered through integrated trackable links. The message content excels in that it is clear and concise, immediately providing me with the information of what’s on offer whilst also including links to the subsequent landing page.

scrnshot-1

One particular aspect that i think works well is the use of imagery at the top of the e-mail showcasing the product, an effective tactic in helping to grab the readers attention (Ellis-Chadwick and Doherty, 2012). Another feature of note is the fact that by starting the e-mail with “Dear Nathaniel”, Wowcamera look to play on the personalised aspect in order to build the customer relationship which, admittedly, does make me feel a lot more compelled to open their e-mails as a result. This is imperative as incorporating this kind of personal touch into an e-mail campaign can often lead to an increase in the overall conversion rate (Wainwright, 2012).

scrnshot-2

On the other hand, despite the use of imagery at the top, i wouldn’t consider the rest of the e-mail to be very eye catching as i found the layout to be quite tedious and plain to look at. Furthermore, while the all-important call to action does make use of key phrases such as “don’t miss the chance” in order to inspire urgency, it’s located near the bottom of the e-mail and fails to include the actual prices of the iPhones on offer, a crucial facet of an effective call to action (Bonini, 2013).

On the whole i think the e-mail does perform effectively, although to improve its overall visuals i would suggest the following few points:

  1. The brand logo should be prominent at the top left of the e-mail rather than at the bottom (Ellis-Chadwick and Doherty, 2012).
  2. The information in the e-mail could be displayed on one page, thus removing the need for the viewer to scroll down.
  3. More eye catching imagery could also be added in order to grab the attention and keep the viewer engaged throughout (Constant Contact, 2013).

Simply follow the link if you would be interested in viewing more useful best practices for e-mail marketing here.

 

Landing Page Analysis

In regards to the aforementioned landing page, the links provided take you straight to the iPhone 7 advertised where you’re subsequently provided with a host of features including the product description, pricing, reviews and an add to cart option (call to action). An aspect of the landing page i feel works very well in particular is the super deals tab at the top linking to other offers that may be of interest, subsequently, even if i decided to not buy the iPhone 7 there could be another phone that i might purchase.

lp

Looking at the landing page holistically, it must be said that the user interface design is aesthetically appealing with the layout communicating the various key features clearly without congesting the page. The webpage looks sophisticated and maintains a consistent theme throughout, although i would put forward that the add to cart option being near the bottom of the page is a little annoying as you need to scroll down in order to find it which, to an extent, mitigates its effectiveness. Thus, if i were to make a recommendation for improvement it would be to change the position of the call to action, i.e add to cart, and move it further up the web page next to the actual product.

lp2

John Bonini provides helpful tips for designing productive calls to action in his blog located here.

 

 

 

References

Bonini, J. (2013) Design tips for creating calls-to-action that pop off the page [Online], Available: <https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/design-tips-for-creating-calls-to-action-that-pop-off-the-page> [Accessed 3rd November 2016]

Constant Contact (2013) How to use images to bring your emails to life [Online] . Available: <http://img.constantcontact.com/docs/pdf/images-email-marketing.pdf> [Accessed 3rd November 2016]

Ellis-Chadwick, F. and Doherty, N. F. (2012) Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing. [Electronic version]  Journal of Business Research, Volume 65, Issue 6, June, pp 843-848. [Online] Available:  http://www.sciencedirect.com (accessed 1st November, 2016).

Mohammadi, M. and Malekian, K. and Nosrati, M. and Karimi, R. (2013) Email Marketing as a Popular Type of Small  Business Advertisement: A Short Review. [Electronic version] Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, Volume  7, Issue 4, pp 786-790. [Online] Available: http://ajbasweb.com (accessed 2nd November, 2016).

 

Wainwright, C. (2012) 9 undeniable advantages of using personalized content in your marketing [Online], Available:  <http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33971/9-Undeniable-Advantages-of-Using-Personalized-Content-in-   Your-Marketing.aspx#sm.000o8j4aw11areguzw82pkfrvrl1i> [Accessed 3rd November 2016]

Wreden, N. (1999) Mapping the Frontiers on Email Marketing. Harvard Management Communication Letter.

 

 

Game of Social Media

Posted on by Nathaniel Njie

Those of you who are big GoT fans (that’s Game of Thrones for those that aren’t), did you hear about New Zealand based advertising group DDB running a campaign with the aim of engaging more New Zealanders with GoT and subsequently getting them to sign up to SKY. Interestingly, this was done by creating a social media buzz using the most hated character in the series, can you guess who it is?………no not Cersei Lannister although she is pretty close. To be continued………..