BYK Digital Marketing

Author: Emma Turnbull

Psychology in Advertising: Part 2

Last week, we shared some ways psychology is used in advertising that you might not even notice. There were way too many examples for just one blog post, so today, we’re back with part 2! Here are a few more common advertising techniques that are based on psychological principles.

1. Pain Avoidance and Attention to the Negative

Through the years, studies have shown that people tend to feel stronger emotion with negative, rather than positive, stimuli. Because their response is stronger, humans thus tend to pay more attention to “negative” things. This can be applied to advertisements when determining the language to be used in a given ad. An experiment by Ferreira et al. found that participants experienced significantly more fixations and recognition for negative words than for positive or neutral words. You can see this principle in action in the advertisements from Trident and Snickers below. Trident uses the word “can’t” while Snickers uses the negativity of not feeling like yourself when you’re hungry. The negative phrases capture and hold your attention.

2. Spacing Effects and Multiple Exposures

It is well-established that people are more likely to remember things they have seen multiple times. Most all companies work to find ways to expose audiences to their advertisements multiple times, to increase their familiarity and chances of remembering it. There are, however, some nuances in the timing of these multiple exposures that can aid viewers’ memory even more. These are called spacing effects. The idea is that if you are exposed to a stimulus multiple times over an extended time period, you are more likely to remember it than if you are exposed that same number of times all in a row.
If you have ever tried cramming for an exam the night before, you probably know this principle well. Studying 10 minutes per night for 2 weeks, instead of 140 minutes all the night before, would result in the retention of more information. This can be applied to advertising when determining when and how often to run an advertisement.

3. Primacy and Recency Effects

When determining placement of ads, you should keep in mind the serial positioning effect, shown by Murdock in his 1962 work. When exposed to multiple items, such as numbers in a list or pages in a magazine, people are most likely to remember the first and last things they were exposed to. These findings have held true across multiple studies and fields, and are called the Recency and Primacy effects. If a stimulus was recent, or was the first of many (primacy), you are more likely to remember it.
Why does this matter in advertising? This can be applied not necessarily to the advertisements themselves that you are creating, but to your decision-making about where to share them. If you are advertising in a print medium, try to ensure your ad is on one of the first or last pages. On television, try to position your ad at the very end or beginning of a show. You want people to remember whatever you are advertising, so be sure to position the ad in the most beneficial way possible.

4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

No matter what you are advertising, you want to find a way to appeal to people’s needs or desires. The needs that are most salient to people were laid out by Maslow in his Hierarchy of Needs pyramid. He found that people needed to first have their basic needs met, and once those are satisfied, they are able to move up the pyramid and focus on the needs for love, esteem, and self-actualization.
When you are advertising a product or service, be aware of where your audience is likely to be positioned on the pyramid, and then use that position to persuade them that your offering will help satisfy their needs. For instance, if you believe you are advertising mainly to customers who have their physiological and safety needs met, maybe you want to prove to them that your product will help them feel like they belong, will help them strengthen their connections, or will help them feel strong and independent. However, if you are advertising a food product, you will probably want to appeal to consumers’ basic need to satisfy hunger. Here are a couple of advertisements that effectively used appeals to the needs that Maslow laid out.
We hope these posts have given you a bit of insight into the ways psychology and advertising are intertwined. Next time you see an ad, think about the principles at play. Do you recognize any tactics they are using to grab your attention or try to persuade you? You will be able to see advertisements with all new eyes now!
Sources:
View Doc
The Serial Position Effect Of Free Recall
A Theory Of Human Motivation

2020-09-29
Events We’d Love to See Turned Virtual

Since the world was forever changed way back in March by the global pandemic, many places have found ways to turn events and experiences virtual. Everything from concert live streams to virtual museum walk-throughs to remote team building activities have helped keep people entertained.
But virtual doesn’t have to mean stationary, looking at a computer screen and pretending to be somewhere you’re not. Those types of events have all been great, but with so many major world events being cancelled or postponed, we’re thinking even bigger. Here are the top 5 huge events we’d love to see virtual versions of, and what they could potentially look like.

1. Virtual Music Festivals

Millennials everywhere mourned the cancellation of this year’s Coachella festival. While you may not be able to travel out to the desert this year for your festival fix, how about a virtual Coachella (a Couchella perhaps?)
Concerts from today’s biggest artists could be livestreamed for a fee, but that wouldn’t be all. Imagine a festival experience in a local park or even your own backyard. You could grab your favorite drinks, dress up like you’re heading out to Indio, sit back, and enjoy the show! The festival organizers could sell supply packs to help you make your own festival as realistic as possible – everything from fanny packs to snacks to merchandise from the performing artists to an artsy tapestry to lounge on. The experience could be rounded out with virtual initiatives like outfit contests and share-your-experience hashtags.
There could even be a VIP package, with premium supply boxes, signed merchandise, exclusive “backstage” interviews with artists, and more!

2. Virtual Sports Championships

With major sporting events going on around the world without fans in attendance, we need something to create the hype that would normally surround big ticket events like the World Series or Super Bowl.
Since the TV viewership for these types of events is already much larger than the in-person attendance, it’s not so hard to imagine them going completely virtual. However, there are ways to make it more exciting than just becoming a television-only event. The teams involved could host virtual watch parties, where fans could gather to discuss the game, share excitement, and feel the camaraderie that is so prevalent in sports fandoms. They could run daily virtual Q&A sessions with their top players, that fans could submit questions to.
The leagues, venues, and teams could also offer specialty, VIP experiences for superfans. There could be behind the scenes footage of game day prep, interactive tours of the facilities, and opportunities to virtually “meet” players and coaches in small group video calls. Watching the games provides plenty of excitement all on its own, but these extra components could really make virtual championship games feel just as special as past years.

3. Virtual Parades

With the winter holidays approaching, there would normally be parades galore coming up! From Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years, with each major holiday there seems to come at least one popular parade.
Wouldn’t it be nice for these parades to still be able to happen, safely. Well, instead of one huge parade, how about many small satellite parades? Neighborhoods could come together to organize short routes to ride through (remember all the car parades that were happening a few months ago?) People could build floats or practice performances in small teams, and then record or livestream the procession through their neighborhood. With enough of these local parades coming together into one broadcast, the parades this year could actually be bigger and better than ever! Commentators could still narrate the processions to make it feel even more real. Plus, participation opportunities would be more widespread and easier to access, so people could get involved from their own homes more than ever before!

4. Virtual Amusement Parks

Amusement parks are some of the most fun and carefree places to visit under normal circumstances. If you’re unable to travel to one now for whatever reason, how about bringing the amusement park to you! These locations could easily sell “at-home amusement park packs.” They could include your favorite snacks from the park along with exclusive online access to interactive park maps, virtual rides, behind-the-scenes tours with employees, and online versions of their most popular carnival games.
You could even make it more realistic by turning this into an outdoor experience. Turn your yard or local park into the amusement park. Choose spots for the various activities, then walk from ride to ride and game to game, just like you would if you were really there!

5. Virtual Trick-or-Treating

Halloween is right around the corner, and it remains to be seen what the usual traditions will look like this year. If you won’t be heading out for trick-or-treating, there can still be fun alternatives.
Towns or neighborhoods could come together to provide an unforgettable, socially distant Halloween experience for the children. Instead of having bags of candy at home to hand out, neighbors could pool candy ahead of time to make pre-packed bags of candy for local kids. There could also be activity packets and supply kits for at-home Halloween fun. The kits could provide kids with the chance to bob for apples, make witch’s brew, and more! There could even be instructions for Halloween-themed virtual games kids and teens could play with their friends on video calls. We’ve been so impressed with all the creative ways brands have discovered to connect with their audience and provide value to customers during these times. The ideas above have all been inspired by the creativity we’ve seen all around. It would be fun to see some of these concepts come about as we continue to navigate an ever-changing world.

2020-09-25
Psychology in Advertising: Part 1
Have you ever wondered how the advertisements that you see everywhere came to be? How did the teams working on them decide on the colors, the phrases, and the overall look of the ad? There are of course many factors in this decision-making process, but one that you might not realize is an important factor is psychology.
That’s right, those advertisements you see in magazines, on TV, and as you’re scrolling through social media are impacted by psychology. Psychology is all about getting inside your head and understanding how you think, and companies often apply those principles to their ads.
What are some of the most common psychological principles being used in ads today that you might not have even noticed? We’re diving into 4 of them below.

1. Right and Left Brain Processing Fluency

As you may or may not know, the two halves of your brain focus on different types of processing. The left brain processes analytically and logically, while the right brain is where creative functioning takes place. Businesses often use this to determine placement within their ads.
The things you see tend to be processed by the opposite side of your brain than the area they are located in your field of vision. So, visuals are best processed when on the left side, and words are easier processed on the right side of your view.  A research study conducted in 2015 confirmed that ads with visuals on the left and words on the right are in fact processed more quickly and easily.
Below are a couple of examples. You can see companies like Ben & Jerry’s and Olive Garden applying the principles of brain processing fluency to shape the way their ads look.

2. Colors and Emotions

Brands can also work with color in their advertisements to shape the way the viewers are feeling. Numerous studies have been conducted showing that humans tend to associate certain colors with specific traits and emotional states. Here are some of the most common traits people attribute to the colors red, green, and black.
Red: passion, energy, strength, love, power, determination, intensity, anger, excitement, appetite stimulant.
Green: growth, health, harmony, safety, nature, calm, refreshed.
Black: power, strength mystery, elegance, evil, mourning, death, confident, calm, stable, mysterious.
These color associations are especially important for brands in their logos. They want people to feel and think a certain way when seeing their logo – they want their logo to express important aspects of their brands. Take a look at the way colors play a role in the following logos.

3. Priming Cues

It probably makes sense to most of us that companies choose to advertise their products via mediums that are related to their offerings. Women’s beauty magazines often feature ads for perfume, makeup, and high-fashion designers, while children’s television channels usually show advertisements for games and toys. Intuitively, it makes sense to promote your product or service in a place where your intended audience is most likely to see it. But this is an even better idea because of something called priming cues.
People take in and process information better when they have been primed by something similar. After seeing a picture of a hamburger, our brains are more likely to think about a hot dog or fries than if we had not seen that picture of food. By placing advertisements in locations where the content aligns well, marketers are able to apply this principle. Our brains will process a makeup ad more quickly after reading an article about beauty tips than we would after reading an article about fishing. This helps viewers take in more information from the ad, and they are thus more likely to remember seeing it and think about it next time they’re considering making a makeup purchase.

4. Principles of Persuasion: Authority and Consensus

Finally, companies rely on some of the 6 principles of persuasion developed by Robert Cialdini to enhance the effectiveness of their ads. Cialdini developed these principles as a way to explain the conditions under which people are most easily persuaded. They offer a framework for the way speech within an advertisement can be written to be most influential.
The two principles that are most often seen in ads are Authority and Consensus. Authority is the idea that the more powerful, or well-educated someone is on a given subject, the more likely you are to believe what they say about it. Have you ever seen a toothpaste advertisement with the phrase “dentist recommended” or “Approved by the American Dental Association”? In this case, dentists are the authority on cleaning your teeth. If dentists say a given product is effective, that can persuade you to believe it as well.
Consensus is the idea that if everyone else is doing or saying something, you feel you should be doing or saying the same as well. If everyone in your life agrees that a certain brand of screwdrivers is the best, you will probably also buy that brand next time you need a screwdriver. Companies can use this in their advertisements by collecting a group of customers to speak on their experiences. They can try to give you the sense that everyone is using their product or service, so you should too.
We hope all the examples above provide you with a bit of insight into the ways psychology is working in advertisements. Check back next week for part 2, where we’ll be sharing even more examples of psychology in advertising!
Sources:
(Robert Cialdini’s 6 principles of influence) Cialdini R, Cliffe S. The uses (and abuses) of influence. Harv Bus Rev. 2013;91(7-8):76‐132
The role of background color, interletter spacing, and font size on preferences in the digital presentation of a product
Priming Effects on Affective Preference for Healthy Products Over Unhealthy Products Upon Brand Exposure
2020-09-22
Ecommerce Must Haves

Having an Ecommerce site is basically a must in this day and age. Offering customers the option to shop online can help your profits greatly, by increasing ease of access and expanding your reach beyond the area you are physically located. There are a seemingly endless number of Ecommerce platforms to choose from. No matter which one you choose, for your Ecommerce site to be successful, there are a few must-have features you need to be sure to offer.

1. Accept All Major Forms of Payment

There are plenty of gateways through which you can process payments on your site. PayPal, Square, and Stripe are a few of the most popular and widely used. You want to be sure whatever gateway you are using accepts all major credit cards and forms of payment. Most people go into a purchase with a certain form of payment in mind, and you do not want to lose that customer because you do not accept their payment method.

2. Easy-to-follow Checkout Instructions

Another aspect of Ecommerce purchasing that is important to shoppers is the simplicity of your checkout process. There is a large amount of information you will need to collect from purchasers, including all contact, shipping, and payment information. But you do not want to make this process lengthier or more complicated than it needs to be. Make sure as potential customers click through, your checkout process is intuitive and does not lead to any confusion. You don’t want to lose a purchase once a customer has decided to buy just because they are confused by your interface.

3. Allow for Guest Checkout

Another way to streamline your checkout process is by allowing guest checkout. This means customers can make a purchase without creating an account with you. Oftentimes, the extra step of creating a user account can feel like a barrier to new customers, especially those who are not completely sure about your brand yet and are just “trying it out.” You will still be collecting their contact information for checkout, so you won’t lose the benefit of gathering information by allowing for guest checkout, and will likely gain a few customers you would have otherwise lost.

4. Wish List or Save for Later option

Window shopping is still popular, even online. When potential customers visit your Ecommerce site for the first time, they may not be ready to commit to a purchase right away. However, providing an option for them to create a Wish List or otherwise save items they are interested in for later could increase the chances they return and purchase from you in the future. It is much simpler for someone to log in and have the items they are interested in already collected, than it is for them to start the search over for anything they were interested in buying.

5. Accurate Photos

Wherever your menu or list of offerings is, you want to be sure there are correct, up-to-date photos to accompany each offering. Humans are visual creatures. They want to be able to see what they are getting themselves into when making a purchase. A simple photo can answer many of their questions about the product or service you are offering, and instill confidence in their purchasing decision. Make sure your photos are high-quality along with accurately depicting the offering.

6. Detailed Product or Service Descriptions

That being said, even though a picture speaks a thousand words, your actual words used to accompany the pictures in this case are also important. A photo can provide a lot of information, but not everything. Write a description to go along with each of your offerings, that includes all relevant information you can possibly think of. If relevant, be sure to include things such as size or dimensions, color options, noise level, materials, and a short description of the functionality. You want to provide as much information as possible pre-purchase to avoid unhappy customers who were misled to purchase something different than what they wanted.

7. Accessible Customer Reviews

No matter how much information you provide, that is still not enough for some people. Some shoppers want to hear reviews from other consumers about their experience with the product or service before buying it. Providing customer reviews alongside each of your offerings can streamline this process for consumers and provide them with reassurance about their purchase.

8. Ways to Cross-Sell and Upsell

Cross-selling and upselling make stores large amounts of additional revenue each year. Efficient and effective sales teams can bring in large amounts of revenue from what was originally going to be only a small purchase. Since you are not personally interacting with your customers through the Ecommerce site, you need your site to do the salesmanship for you. Craft your site to show customers items similar to those they have added to their cart. You can also add pop-ups showing order add-ons during the shopping or checkout process to try to garner additional purchases.

9. Collect Emails from Abandoned Carts

One valuable way to reach those who might purchase from you is by using the information from abandoned carts. These people clearly at least considered making a purchase, but for one reason or another, just did not quite follow through. This is a prime group to target with a follow-up email or discount to encourage them to finish their purchase. In contrast to many other marketing efforts that cast a wide net in hopes of reaching relevant consumers, this targets a relatively small audience, while still offering just as great of a potential pay-off.

10. Clear FAQ and Policies Page

Help your customers understand your business and your offerings with FAQ and Policies/Procedure pages. You want your customers to have a clear understanding not only of your products, but also of your return policies, site security, warranties or money back guarantees, clearance or sale exclusions, and other pertinent information. Customers who felt misled or purposely not informed about any of these policies are more likely to be unsatisfied, demand refunds, or leave negative reviews. Be clear and try to answer any questions your consumers are likely to ask. With these 9 features, your Ecommerce site will be off to a great start. If you focus on these features, select the right platform, and market wisely, your Ecommerce should be off the ground in no time!

2020-09-18
Business and Personality: Using Your Traits to Your Advantage

Through the years, there have been many studies done correlating personality traits with leadership and success in business. These are interesting, and do show some significant patterns. However, since personality traits are relatively stable over time for individuals, these studies also have limited applications. If you happen to be extraverted and conscientious, then they can make you feel good about your chances, but if not, they can be disheartening. So if you don’t possess these “successful” traits, does that mean you are doomed to fail professionally?
The short answer is no. Just because you do not possess the personality traits most characteristic of leaders and executives does not mean you will not be able to succeed. There are many paths that can lead to professional success. We’re here to discuss some areas in which people with different personality traits can thrive, and how you can use the personality traits you do have to your advantage.

Introversion

Introverts do not tend to be natural leaders. They often do not take control in group situations, tend toward the quieter side, and work well alone. While these characteristics do not necessarily lend themselves well to the traditional powerful and assertive CEO, they do lend themselves to business success in other ways.
Introverts are able to keep their heads down and get work done, while others may be more distracted by social temptations in the office. Many times, they are content to do tedious work that extroverts may consider to be boring or unappealing. They tend to excel working independently, so would do well in one of the many important positions that emphasize individual work over constant collaboration.
So how can this all be used together to help introverted individuals set themselves up for success? They should carefully select the positions they pursue, to ensure they align well with their introverted personality. Jobs that allow for independent work, do not require constant meetings, and provide a relatively calm and quiet setting are usually a good fit. Introverted individuals can also make themselves valuable in any position they are in by showing a willingness to take on roles and tasks that others may find too mundane or boring. Becoming the go-to employee for certain tasks can increase your value and make you an indispensable team member.

Agreeableness

In most studies, agreeableness does not seem to have a significant effect on success either way. There seem to be both pros and cons to having, or lacking, agreeableness that cancel each other out. Both those low and high in agreeableness can achieve success in business, just using different paths and approaches.
If you are high in agreeableness, you likely avoid confrontation and present yourself in a likeable manner. This can make a great first impression on your colleagues and show that you are a team player. You can position yourself as an asset to workplace morale, as well as helping keep the peace in situations where that is necessary. Agreeable individuals can thrive in roles that allow for open communication and in which they can focus on their relationships with others to help them be successful.
On the other hand, those who are lower in agreeableness can succeed in very different roles. These individuals tend to be more assertive and willing to deal with confrontational situations. They can make themselves valuable by being willing to challenge or call out colleagues when needed, as well as spurring necessary discussions that are on the uncomfortable side. You can succeed in roles that call for negotiation and standing your ground rather than compromising.

Neuroticism

Finally, we have neuroticism. This is usually seen as a negative or undesirable trait, but can be beneficial in business. High neuroticism does often lead to negative feelings like anxiety or guilt. If you are neurotic and can manage these emotions, they can be channeled into motivating your hard work. People who are neurotic can use their anxiety and stress to spur themselves onward to go above and beyond the requirements of their job. They can be extremely hard workers. Neuroticism lends itself well to positions that are not inherently too high-stress, so as not to overwhelm the negative emotions, but to positions where hard work and long hours are especially important for success. By focusing on your strengths and choosing roles that suit your personality, people with almost any traits can succeed in business. Not everyone is likely to achieve the same path to success, and not everyone is well-suited to be a leader. But even personality traits that tend to be seen in a negative light, can be utilized and managed to help achieve success.

2020-09-11
Most Common Email Communication Mistakes

For many professionals today, email is their primary form of communication with clients, partners, and coworkers. Email, of course, has its benefits and its drawbacks.  Despite its convenience, it can quickly lead to frustration and confusion if people have different expectations, or if the lines of communication become unclear. Below are the top 7 mistakes professionals tend to make in their email communication, and how to avoid these frustrating errors.

Writing ambiguous subject lines

The subject line should clearly and succinctly clue your recipient in to what the email is going to be about. Being vague or misleading in your subject line can not only annoy the recipient, but could lead to people not even opening your emails. While it may be tempting to try to be clever or catchy in the subject line, it is usually best to keep it simple and straightforward, especially when it comes to professional communications.

Marking too many emails as urgent or high priority

This is truly one of the most frustrating things to deal with in an inbox – a whole slew of “urgent” emails, half of which are not urgent at all. Do not be tempted to mark every important email you send as “urgent” or “high priority”, because these designations will come to mean nothing if overused. Then, when the time comes that you do send a very urgent email, your recipients may not believe that they need to read and respond quickly. Reserve this designation for messages that require an immediate response, not for messages that you would just prefer a quick answer to.

Following up too often or not enough

So you’ve sent an email to a colleague or client and you haven’t heard back. It is a perfectly acceptable practice to send a follow-up, but do not send it too soon. Give your recipient a reasonable chance to respond before peppering them with follow-up emails. Not everyone is constantly checking their email, so try to allow them a few business days before sending another message.
On the flip side, it is also an error to wait too long to follow up, or to never follow up at all. Sure, a small percentage of the time, maybe your email is being purposely ignored, and in those cases sending another message won’t be productive. But chances are, if you have not received a response, your recipient probably missed the email, or saw it and forgot to respond. A gentle reminder that you are awaiting a response can spur them to action and move the communication forward.

Covering too much ground in one email

You don’t want to address too many different topics in a single email. If you do, some important information can get lost, buried far down in the message, and questions can be missed. Sometimes, people are tempted to do this so they don’t have to send multiple emails to the same recipient in a row. But most times that you try to include multiple topics, you won’t receive responses to all parts, and will end up needing to email again anyways. Organizationally, it is also easier for all parties to limit each message to a single topic.

Forgetting to spell check and proofread

One of the simplest errors to avoid, yet still one of the most common mistakes people make. Do not be in such a rush to send your emails that you do not take the time to at least read them through once. Spelling and grammar errors are embarrassing and unprofessional, and are also easily avoidable. This is especially important for communications with individuals outside your organization, like partner businesses or clients. You are representing your company each time you email someone, and you do not want to leave a bad impression for something as simple as a typo.

Writing paragraphs that are too long

Your recipient does not want to open your email and come face-to-face with overwhelmingly long blocks of text. Whenever possible, keep your emails short and sweet. It can be tempting to over-explain things, but that will ultimately make your emails wordy, harder to read, and maybe even harder to understand.
Now, there are some situations in which emails just need to be long. This is unavoidable, but you should still do your best to be clear and concise, and to make the email as readable as possible. Separate your points into multiple short paragraphs instead of in one endless block of text. Use bullet points or lists whenever it is possible and appropriate. Do not be needlessly wordy, and overall, just focus on keeping your emails as short and readable as possible, while still covering everything you need to.

Including questions or topics that are too vague

Finally, make sure the topic you are communicating about is appropriate to be handled via email, and that you communicate it clearly to your recipient. Questions you ask in emails should have a relatively clear answer. If you need to ask an employee to complete a specific task, that can be done over email easily. If you need to brainstorm ideas for an upcoming project, meeting in person is probably more productive. Try to avoid submitting vague requests or asking complicated, theoretical questions in an email. These types of communication are better suited to phone calls or in-person discussions, instead of in a lengthy chain of hard-to-follow emails. Streamline your professional email communications by avoiding the common mistakes above. Not only will your recipients appreciate it, but your communication will be more efficient and it will help you out as well.

2020-09-08
Ways to Learn About Your Audience

Getting to know your audience is one of the most beneficial things you can do for any business. It’s hard to sell to or connect with an audience you don’t really know! Sometimes, a brand will have one intended audience, but will come to learn that a different demographic is actually their main group of customers. That’s why it is so important to learn about your actual customers, and grow your understanding of them. Below are a few of the best ways to learn about your audience.

Online Reviews

Online reviews are one of the places people tend to be most brutally honest. Whether they have positive or negative things to say, they usually don’t hold back. That makes online reviews and recommendations a great source of information to determine how purchasers are feeling about your offerings. Looking through reviews and compiling trends can help you see clear patterns in the aspects of your offerings people are loving and hating.

Follow Relevant Hashtags

To learn about your customers more broadly, not just in respect to the way they feel about your products and services, social media is a great tool. Get into the minds of your audience by following hashtags and topics that are popular amongst them. This will provide insight into the way your target demographic talks, the way they think, and what kinds of things are important to them.

After-purchase Surveys

To obtain information about your audience directly from the source, surveys are a great tool. It is common for brands to offer a survey to customers who have recently made a purchase. These tend to be focused specifically on the purchasing experience, but can also encompass some broader questions to gather more information. This is a great method to utilize if you are searching for data about the group of people who are already customers of yours.

Incentivized Surveys

If, on the flip side, you are interested in learning more about people who are not necessarily your customers yet, you can still use a survey, just one that is targeted differently. You can try distributing a survey via social media or an email list to reach those who have not bought from you. These people are less likely to fill out a survey for you, since they did not recently make a purchase, so it can be helpful to incentivize responses. Offer people an exclusive discount code, free gift, or other special perk in exchange for providing you with information. That way, you can hopefully collect data from a large pool, and use it to better target potential customers in the future.

Collect Information at Checkout

Collecting information from customers is most seamless at times they are already expecting to provide a lot of personal information. That makes the online checkout process a great spot to strategically place a few questions that would help you learn about your audience. When they are already entering their name, contact information, address, and payment info, a handful of other questions feel less intrusive than they would as a stand-alone survey. Just be sure not to go overboard and make your checkout process lengthy and overwhelming.

In-person Interactions

Last, but certainly not least, whenever you have the opportunity, you should go old school and interact directly with your customers, face-to-face! Have a conversation and really listen to what they are saying. Get to know them as people, so you have a better grasp on who exactly you are selling and marketing to. You can often gather more information from a few minutes of in-person interaction than you can from hours of online scrolling. Plus, these types of interactions tend to be more memorable for your audience as well, so you could be making a great impression while you learn! So don’t be afraid to do some digging when it comes to your audience. You may think you know who you’re selling to, but sometimes your audience will surprise you. Utilizing a combination of online and in-person methods, you can gather huge amounts of data about your current and potential customers, and help your business best move forward, armed with more knowledge about your audience.

2020-09-04
Long Term Business Impacts of Coronavirus

Can you even remember what your company was like before the coronavirus gripped our nation in March? It feels like a lifetime ago that it was business as usual in our country. There have been many obvious temporary impacts of course, like mask wearing, sanitizing stations, and socially distanced stores and restaurants. However, this public health crisis has also brought about some other shifts and impacts that could be longer lasting, even permanently changing the business landscape as we know it. How might the world of business look different on the other side of this? We’re breaking down some patterns that have emerged because of the pandemic, and some of the trends that could stick around.

Online ordering is king

Of course, online ordering of everything from food to clothes to furniture was popular well before the pandemic began. The world was already trending toward primarily online retail, and away from shopping malls and big box stores. However, there was a mixed bag of people who preferred the experience of doing their shopping in person, and those who preferred the convenience of ordering online. Now, many of those who used to prefer shopping in person, have taken up online ordering years before they otherwise would have. Even as stores and businesses have reopened, many have continued to shop online.
We should expect to see in-person retail sales bounce back somewhat when the pandemic calms down, but the trend toward more online shopping is here to stay. Expect a significantly higher number of consumers than before conducting the majority of their shopping through online channels. This change will be especially evident in categories that previously struggled in online sales, like groceries.

More work from home and flexible scheduling

Work from home is the catchphrase of 2020. Most everyone whose job lent itself to the ability to work remotely did so for at least a few months this year. Even now, as many companies begin returning to their offices and workplaces, remote work and flexible scheduling are taking center stage more than they ever have before. These few months really proved to everyone, employees and employers alike, that working from home can be productive and effective. A few major corporations, like Twitter and Shopify, have already announced plans to allow some of their employees the option to work from home permanently. Expect more companies to follow suit, or to at least ease up on their policies regarding days off and days spent working from home. The traditional office space no longer feels completely necessary for a company to function and employees to contribute.

Virtual events are taking over

Finally, anyone who invested in Zoom is the real winner of this year. Who ever would have thought so much of our lives could be conducted through a computer screen? Everything from concerts to work meetings to birthday parties to weddings have been taking place on video calls and livestreams. This holds true for business as well as for people’s personal lives. Companies have been finding ways to raise money, connect with consumers, and conduct business in new and creative ways.
As with many of the other trends that have emerged in response to the coronavirus, expect some of these events and meetings to return to the way they used to be as soon as they can. However, this has really opened up new creative avenues for businesses to run. Online events are usually exponentially cheaper than in-person ones, and with enough creativity can offer just as much to participants. Expect virtual events to continue to dominate long after the virus is under control. There’s no denying the country looks very different right now than it did 6 months ago. In many ways, things will probably return to “normal” once it feels safe and healthy to do so. But there will also likely be some new normals brought on by this crazy time. New business practices have emerged that we believe are here to stay. The pandemic has taught us a lot about how companies were previously functioning, and actually allowed a chance for businesses to improve some of their practices and come out even stronger. Who knows what the business landscape will look like a few years from now – all we do know is that we’ll have the coronavirus to thank for at least some of it.

2020-09-01
Engagement – What It Is and How to Get It

Engagement, engagement, engagement. The holy grail of social media today. If you’ve got high engagement, your page is pretty much automatically considered “successful,” so it is highly sought after to say the least. We’re here to drop some knowledge on everything engagement – from what it is, to why it matters, and how to increase it on your platforms.

What is Engagement?

Engagement is a broad term used to describe the level of interaction your posts are getting. It means basically the same thing on social media as it does in everyday life. By being engaging, you are holding people’s attention, encouraging them to respond, and keeping them entertained. However, in terms of social media engagement, it goes a bit beyond just the way a post is written or presented. Not only does a post need to seem “engaging” by the standards above, but it also needs to be getting a certain level of reaction and attention. That brings us to our next topic: the ways in which engagement is measured.

How do you Measure Engagement?

Notice above we said “ways” engagement is measured, not “way.” That is because there is not a set industry standard for the measurement of engagement. Different people and companies use slightly different metrics when determining engagement level. Some people look at the number of likes on a particular post, some people look at comments, while others pay more attention to shares or saves.
It is pretty universal to look at whatever metric you have chosen in proportion to the number of followers the channel has. 100 likes on a photo is impressive for a channel with 200 followers, but less so for a channel with 10,000 followers. Engagement tends to be seen as the percentage of the following that is engaging.
Most people also agree that engagement should be measured as an average of multiple posts on a page – merely looking at one post or photo is not enough to determine an engagement level. Exactly how many posts need to be considered, whether outliers should be removed from calculations, and what time frame is relevant for determining engagement are all up for debate and vary widely, depending who you ask.

What are the Benefits of High Engagement?

Engagement is good for your brand because your posts are yet another way you can interact and build relationships with your customers and potential customers. The more interactions you are having, the better. Your page can also benefit from higher engagement outside that scope. On most sites, engagement factors into the algorithm of who will see your posts. More popular posts tend to be shown on followers’ feeds more often. Highly engaged-with posts are also more likely to appear on discover pages, so even people who are not yet following your page can see it. This can help grow your following even further.

How do you Increase your Engagement?

There are other tips and tricks, but your content is ultimately the most important factor in increasing your engagement. You want your posts to provide value to your audience, whether that is information, entertainment, or something unique they can’t find on other pages. Make sure your posts are created with your target demographic in mind – speak in the way your intended audience speaks to try to connect with them. You also want to optimize the engagement on your photos by including questions, polls, or other calls to action to encourage your followers to engage. We hope that provides a useful window into the world of social media engagement. While it is not always the easiest thing to define and measure, it is extremely valuable to your brand, so however you measure it, always be sure to be focusing on increasing your engagement.

2020-08-28
Do’s and Don’ts of YouTube Promotion

These days, YouTube is full of ads and branded content. Everything from hauls to product reviews to product placements fill videos in practically every genre and niche on the site. Brands can benefit immensely from YouTube influencer promotions, but only if they are being handled correctly. If you are new to the field of YouTube marketing, here are a few Dos and Don’ts to keep in mind to help optimize your content and returns.

DO: Choose channels that resonate with your target audience

When choosing what kinds of potential partners to reach out to about working with your brand, be sure you are keeping in mind your brand’s target audience. Try to find channels that have an audience that aligns closely with your customer base. It is important that you are reaching a relevant audience with your promotions.

DON’T: Choose channels based purely on size

It can be easy to be drawn in by huge numbers of subscribers and video views. These numbers are important, but they are not the only thing that matters. It is better to reach 5,000 viewers who are all interested in your offering than 50,000 viewers who would almost never consider purchasing from you. Just because a channel is popular does not necessarily mean it is the right fit for your brand.

DO: Provide structure for your partners

When you make a deal with someone to promote your product or service on their channel, be sure to provide them with plenty of information about your expectations. Describe how you would like the offering presented in their content, and offer examples of other successful campaigns for inspiration. Sending a framework and the most important talking points is always a good idea.

DON’T: Write a script for your partners to follow

Provide structure, but do not take it too far. Partners often like to infuse their own voice and style into their ads, and that is completely acceptable! In fact, their viewers will usually respond better if they feel that the influencer is being authentic and speaking from their own point of view. Presenting a script you would like followed word for word can come across as inauthentic to viewers, and can feel insulting to your partners.

DO: Allow for creative freedom

You have ideas for your campaigns, but chances are so do your partners. Be open to hearing ideas and flexible to the ways they feel most comfortable working your product into their content. In the end, creative freedom will allow influencers to present your product in the best possible light, because it will flow within their channel and not stick out like a sore thumb.

DON’T: Be intimidated by large or “popular” partners

With the above being said, you do not have to allow COMPLETE freedom. Some partners who have wide popularity and are well-versed in brand deals may try to push you in a direction your brand is not comfortable with. Do not let their confidence or experience intimidate you. Be aware of the most important aspects of the deals you have made, and be firm in sticking with them.

DO: Ensure your partners are educating their viewers

Nothing feels less authentic than a product being mentioned in a video, but not being shown in use and not being described in any sort of detail. You want your partners to really show and explain your offerings to their viewers. Be sure everyone watching the video could come away with at least a basic knowledge of the product or service that was being promoted.

DON’T: Have unrealistic expectations

Your partners do not work for your company, and do not have limitless knowledge of your offerings. If they are saying anything untrue, of course correct them and ask for edits. However, do not expect them to know every single detail and talking point about your offerings. Make sure key points are hit, but do not expect them to spend hours extensively researching all the ins and outs of your brand or your products. If and when your brand decides to dive into the world of YouTube promotions, keep all of the above in mind. Be sure to balance structure and freedom, select the optimal channels for your brand, and manage expectations. With these keys to success in mind, you are well-equipped to try your hand at YouTube marketing.

2020-08-25