Emma Turnbull | BYK Digital Marketing

The Power of Word of Mouth

Contrary to what some people may believe, word of mouth is not an outdated, archaic marketing tool. Word of mouth and the role it plays for companies has changed through the years – there’s no doubting that. But through these changes, it is in fact just as important as ever. People still talk, share their opinions, and influence others, just in different ways than before. We’ve outlined below the changing role of word of mouth in the marketing field, and also why it is still a vital thing for companies to pay attention to.

How it has changed

More online communication

In some ways, word of mouth has actually expanded its reach and importance. In the age of the internet, people are not just talking about brands to their close acquaintances face-to-face. They are also posting about them on social media, talking about them on message boards, and sharing their thoughts on review sites. The web of influence one customer’s experience can have has grown, from just the handful of people they would have spoken to about their experience a few years ago, to the hundreds of people they now share their thoughts with online.

Influencer Marketing is a form of word of mouth

It’s not just your average, everyday customers talking about brands online either. Influencers, more than anyone, talk about brands, products, and companies on their large and widely-followed social media channels. This is word of mouth on an extreme scale. Many influencers’ followers put a lot of trust in their opinions, so whatever an influencer says about your brand is bound to have a pretty large impact.

Expanded avenues for sharing

This goes hand in hand with the points above, but there are more channels than ever through which people can share their thoughts and opinions nowadays. People can (and do) still talk directly to their close friends and family about experiences they have had with different products and brands. But whereas that was pretty much the extent of word of mouth in the past, now it reaches far beyond that. There are always new sites and apps being created that allow for customers to share their opinions. The channels through which word of mouth can spread are seemingly limitless.

Why it still matters

So with this changing landscape, what is the importance of word of mouth today?

Plays a particular role for small businesses

Traditional word of mouth still has an important place in the reputation of small, local businesses. These companies often do not have large marketing budgets, and still rely on positive reviews and recommendations to spread their reach. Even with globalization and digitalization, these businesses often still rely on their core, local customers to spread the word.

Customers trust each other

Your brand’s marketing department has a vested interest in presenting your products or services in the best light possible. Many consumers realize this, and so do not always trust information coming directly from the brand itself. Hearing a review from a friend, or even a stranger online, can often seem more trustworthy and unbiased than a company’s advertisements. In this way, word of mouth has not changed. If anything, consumers are more informed than ever now about business practices, and so are even more likely to favor the “unbiased” opinion of others.

Opinions are spreading faster than ever

Finally, we have all seen how information can spread like wildfire across the internet. From viral videos to international new stories, information can spread worldwide in a matter of minutes. This can be true of customer reviews and opinions online as well. A negative customer experience will not only be shared with their handful of friends anymore – it could make it’s way around the world on a review site like Yelp. This gives companies less of an opportunity to do damage control, because often by the time they are made aware of the issue, it is too late, and their reputation has already been harmed. So now more than ever, it is important for companies to be aware of the role word of mouth plays in purchasing decisions. This role has not weakened in recent years – if anything, it is stronger than ever.

2020-08-21

Reasons to Rebrand

Change can be annoying, can’t it? Have you ever had a company you knew and loved completely change their logo, their slogan, or their advertising, and suddenly seem unfamiliar to you? This is called rebranding. While rebranding can be perceived negatively by loyal customers, it also is sometimes a smart move for a business to make. Here are 5 reasons a company might need to rebrand.

1. Branding is outdated

Sometimes branding just gets outdated. There is not necessarily anything wrong with the old branding, but it just needs to be updated. Rebranding for a facelift is not something brands need to do often, as that can confuse customers. But over the years, everything from colors to logos to taglines can start to feel old, so an occasional update is a good thing. Below are a few prime examples of companies that drastically changed their branding to keep up with the times.

2. Offerings have changed

As a company grows, develops, and finds their niche, the products or services they are selling may gradually change. They may expand certain product lines and eliminate others. Sometimes these changes are slight and still fit within the original branding, but other times these changes in offerings can gradually shift the company away from their original brand. For instance, a retailer could open intending to sell mostly casual clothing, but gradually realize their fancier items are selling better. This could call for a rebrand to align their branding with their higher-end offerings.

3. Target audience has changed

Whether it happens organically, or a company strategically orchestrates it, the target audience of a business can change over time. Branding is all about appealing to your target demographic, so if that has changed, branding often needs to change as well. This can be especially poignant when there is a shift of the age of the target audience. A younger audience will expect a hip, modern appearance for your brand, while an older audience may expect your brand to appear more elegant and sophisticated. As an audience changes, the way a business caters to that audience will change as well, sometimes resulting in a need to rebrand.

4. Competitive landscape has changed

There are also situations when a business has stayed exactly the same, but the industry around it has changed enough that it needs to rebrand itself. Branding is not only about the products or services – it is also about the company’s position within the market. Maybe a company used to be the cheapest, but now there are other cheaper options in the market, so they need to rebrand themselves as the best quality, low price option. Maybe a company began as the only of its type, but now there are imitators, so they must reposition themselves as “the original” or “the best” instead of “the only.” If a business’s entire brand was built around a market position that is no longer true, they may need to do a complete rebranding to be able to reposition.

5. Negative press or reputation needs to be combatted

Finally, a company may be in desperate need of a rebrand in response to negative press or a situation that soiled their reputation. Usually, other steps need to be taken first to quell the negative press, but sometimes the backlash is strong enough that completely rebranding is also needed. Rebranding for this reason tends to go hand-in-hand with other changes, such as new leadership being brought in or production being completely revamped. This type of rebrand is basically meant to show the customers that it is a whole new company now, introduce new values and standards, and to dissociate the business from the bad reputation it had before. So as you can see, there is no universal reason why a business should rebrand. Any of the situations above, or some combination of them, could lead a company to rethink their branding. Although they can risk alienating current customers, companies will probably need to take the risk and rebrand if any of the above apply to them. Are you a business owner who thinks you may fall into one of these categories? We offer branding and reputation management services for any companies who may need to freshen up their brand a bit. Reach out HERE for a consultation or to learn more.

2020-08-18

What is Social Listening and Why Does it Matter

Have you heard of Social Listening? It’s a very popular tool amongst brands right now, used to gauge and analyze their overall online presence. It has many aspects to it, but when they all come together, it has the potential to be a very successful tactic for marketing management. We’ve broken it down into a few simple sections below, to help you understand the What, How, and Why of Social Listening.

What is social listening?

Social listening, in a nutshell, is the gathering and analyzing of data online to provide insights into your brand and your customers. It can help you gauge the popularity of your brand, as well as the way it is being perceived by potential customers. It is based on activity online, and specifically on social media sites.

You can think of social listening as having an ear down to the ground online, so to speak. Brands monitor the posts, comments, and stories being shared about them. They can then use this information to see how they are being perceived and manage their reputation. It is how brands hear what is being said about them online, review the digital conversations people are having about them, and engage with potential customers through the internet.

How do you practice social listening?

So the gist of social listening is monitoring how your brand is being presented online. But how can you do this monitoring? There are many methods, and the best results usually come from using them all in conjunction with each other.

Your goal is basically to seek out everything that is being said or shown about your brand online. Think of all the places people could be talking about your brand, from social media to review sites to personal blogs. You can start with something as basic as a Google search for your brand name to see what results pop up. Then, move on to more detailed forms of searching, like crawling sites for keywords and searching through hashtags and Geotags on social media. Consistently check places where people are most likely to discuss your brand, to not only be aware of the conversations, but also to engage and take part.

Why does social listening matter?

Social listening is an extremely popular marketing tool right now for good reason. By actively practicing social listening, you can easily find new potential customers who are active in the spaces you are monitoring. People who are using the keywords, hashtags, and platforms that are most relevant to your brand are likely a good demographic for you to be marketing to and trying to convert into customers.

Social listening also helps you stay current not only on the way your brand is performing online, but also on more general trends in your industry. It will help you be aware of how competitors are performing online, new tactics they are trying, and new posting trends that are resonating with your target audience.

2020-08-14

New Marketing Roles to Look Out For

As the world changes, the job market changes with it. Especially in fields that rely heavily on technology, new jobs are constantly emerging as new technologies are developed. In fact, many of the jobs today’s college students will get after graduation do not even exist yet.

In the field of marketing, a lot has changed in recent years, and many new areas have emerged. For instance, social media marketing and influencer marketing did not exist 10 years ago, yet now they are an essential part of any marketing strategy. So what can we expect next? Below are our top 5 emerging marketing roles to look out for in the coming years.

Machine Learning and AI Specialists

Artificial intelligence is taking the marketing field by storm. Everything from filters on Facebook and Instagram to computer vision is a result of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Those with a background in statistics and computer science are likely to become even more valuable to marketing teams in the near future as AI and Machine Learning continue to grow. This will be helpful not only with data collection and analysis , but also in automating roles that traditionally have required large amounts of human labor time.

Bot Developers

This goes hand in hand with the Machine Learning Specialist. Automation of everything is the name of the game lately in marketing. Now that digital customer service and communication is well-established, companies are looking for ways to automate this communication as much as possible. Bots to respond to emails, messages, and social media comments are emerging as a key way to automate digital marketing efforts. Many chat bots do currently exist, but do not always do everything a company is looking for. Look for bot developers to become key members of many marketing teams to help companies strive for complete automation.

Social Media Marketers for emerging platforms

Social media marketing is old news by today’s standards – pretty much every successful company has a social media team by now. However, this role is bound to keep changing and evolving in nature, if not in title, in the next few years. Social media sites tend to have short-term popularity before making way for the next hot channel. First there was Facebook, then Instagram, and now TikTok is all the rage. Look for social media managers to continue to change their responsibilities as new social platforms and trends emerge.

Social Media Algorithm Specialists

If you’ve ever been on a social media channel, you’ve probably heard someone complaining about the ever-changing algorithm. It’s the way these sites determine what posts and photos you see on your home feed, based on a complicated combination of factors including your viewing history, popularity of posts, and those you interact with most frequently. Companies have long been trying to keep up with the algorithm and use it to their advantage. Look for these efforts to lead into full-time algorithm specialist positions soon.

Mood and Emotion Managers

Now more than ever before, customers are making purchasing decisions based on ethos and emotion. Managing and playing into people’s emotions has always been a part of marketing, but it is something that could become a position of its own in the near future. With customers able to share their opinion so quickly and broadly online, it is growing ever more important to manage customers’ responses to your brand and be aware of the reputation of your brand. This is currently something that most companies incorporate into general digital or social media marketing roles, but that could take more of a center stage and blossom into a role of its own in the coming years. Keep an eye out for all of the above roles to become more central to marketing strategy over the next few years. With ecommerce and digital marketing dominating the field right now, all sorts of technological and innovative roles are bound to continue emerging. By next year, there will probably be a whole new crop of up-and-coming marketing positions. Who knows what will be next?

2020-08-11

How Discounts Can Help or Hurt your Business

Every brand offers sales and discounts at some point. When you’re considering whether to run a sale, there are many factors to weigh. Below are some ways discounts can help and some ways discounts can hurt your business. Keep these in mind next time you contemplate running a sale to be sure you make the best decision.

Ways Discounts Can Help

Bring in New Customers

A discount is a great way to convince a potential customer who was on the fence about purchasing to finally purchase. A lower price point means less of a potential loss for the new customer in case they do not end up liking the product or service. Specifically target those who have visited your website, or those who have left something in the cart, with an exclusive discount. If the discount is widely utilized, it can bring in many new customers for your business.

Bring old customers back

Sales and discounts can also encourage repeat purchases. If you notice your business is not retaining customers very well, one way to try to win some of these customers back is with a coupon. Chances are, you have some customers who enjoyed the product or service they bought from you, but just did not want to pay to purchase again. A discount can help hook these people in and hopefully entice them to continue their purchasing behavior with you in the future as well.

Limited time offers foster urgency

Discounts can also help your business by causing an immediate jump in sales. If there is a time you are short on cash, struggling a bit, or have excess inventory you need to get rid of to make room for new offerings, a sale is a great way to help your business out. When a sale is only running for a limited time, customers feel the urgency to purchase before the discount pricing disappears. This can encourage people to stock up or to repurchase sooner than they were planning to, both of which boost your sales quickly and immediately.

Ways Discounts Can Hurt

Devalue product

On the flip side, discounts can also be harmful to your brand in certain situations. Steep discounts can devalue your product, and make it feel cheap. This is especially true for luxury or high-end products and services. Remember that you chose the selling price of your offering for a reason. Be careful not to offer discounts that are too steep and take value away from your product or service.

Lose out on revenue

When weighing the pros and cons of running a sale, this is a pretty obvious downfall. Selling items at a discounted price decreases your margins and the revenue you are making off of each product. Oftentimes, the boost in sales and other benefits the discount provides outweigh this concern. But be sure to consider the margins and the money you will be bringing in by offering a discount, and make sure it will not harm your business to sell at the lower price.

Frequent discounts can discourage customers from paying full price

One final risk of offering discounts is that customers can become accustomed to sale prices and stop shopping your offerings at full price. This risk is especially salient for brands that run sales frequently. If customers can expect to see items marked down on a regular basis, they may withhold purchases any time items are at full price. As long as the discounts you offer are few and far between though, this should not be a major concern. Overall, discounts can be very effective at boosting sales when they are at the optimal level and are directed at the right demographic. However, there are some pros and cons to offering discounted prices on your products. Each business has different needs and concerns when it comes to discounts, and these needs can change situationally as well. Do not just fall back on a sale or discount as your only go-to marketing move. Be sure to look critically at the potential positive and negative aspects to make the best possible decisions as far as discounts go.

Discounts are just one of many ways you can try to optimize your company’s Ecommerce. Be sure to check out some of our other tips for improving your Ecommerce store as well.

2020-08-07

Digital Marketing Buzzwords and What They Actually Mean

Buzzwords. Those words you hear all the time and can never seem to escape from. Every industry has their own set, and knowing what they mean and how to use them is essential for success in any field. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the key digital marketing buzzwords you’ll want to know to impress your colleagues, friends, or maybe even a potential employer.

SEO

SEO stands for search engine optimization. This is the art of improving your ranking on search sites like Google and Bing to increase your web page’s visibility. The ultimate goal of SEO is to drive more traffic to your site. It includes only unpaid search results, and excludes any form of paid advertising or placement.

Engagement

Engagement is a social media term. This refers to how much “action” you’re getting on the posts on your page. Different companies use different specific metrics to measure engagement. It can be based on how many likes, comments, or shares your posts are receiving on average – any way in which your followers are engaging with your content. The goal with engagement is usually to increase the percentage of your followers that are liking or commenting on a given post.

Influencer

Who hasn’t at least heard of this term? An influencer is someone who has a large following on a social media platform, and uses that platform to share information and impact others’ decisions. Influencers achieve their fame primarily through their social media channels. There are no exact specifications to define influencers or differentiate them from other social media accounts. Generally, they have large followings, paid partnerships, and curated content.

CRM

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. This term encapsulates many different areas of marketing. It includes building, managing, maintaining, and analyzing relationships a brand has built with their customers. The purpose of CRM is to understand the customers better, and ultimately increase retention rates and sales.

Algorithm

Finally, the oft-discussed algorithm. This is in reference to the way social media sites, Instagram in particular, decide what content will show up on an individual’s feed. The algorithms are constantly changing, and can be based on a variety of factors. These can include anything from what accounts the user has engaged with most in the past to how many likes a given post already has. So there you have it. 5 key terms in the world of digital marketing that everyone in the field should have at least a basic understanding of. Knowing what these terms mean and how to apply them is essential to success in the field today. Hopefully this short explainer helps you start to have a better grasp on them and provides a little bit of insight into the world of digital marketing.

2020-08-04

St. Louis Influencers to Watch

We love ourselves some local influencers. If you aren’t following these ladies already, you’re missing out on some great content! There’s a little bit of something for everyone below, from fitness to food to fashion. Here are our 6 can’t miss St. Louis influencers.

Live Well by Natalie: Fitness

Live Well by Natalie is a brand new up-and-coming fitness page run by Natalie Weis. Not only does she have some great workouts to share, but she also focuses on confidence and body positivity. Keep your eye on Live Well by Natalie – she’s a rising star who has great things to come.

She’s Gussied Up: Fashion

Sydney at She’s Gussied Up simply radiates style in every one of her photos. Her fashion is not only adorable, but also affordable and accessible. She rocks quality content and a consistent posting schedule. This is a great source for everyday outfit inspiration.

Vera Jeanae: Lifestyle/inspiration

Vera’s got a little bit of everything on her page! From mom life to fashion to lifestyle to inspiration. If you’re feeling down or looking for some motivation, look no further. She is a great example of an influencer with a beautiful grid, but who still manages to keep it real.

The Daily Carmen: Wellness

The Daily Carmen is here to help you feel and be your best! Carmen’s page features all kinds of self care, beauty, and wellness tips, with food and fashion advice sprinkled in as well. Think “living your best life” and then go check her out.

Tidy Mom: Recipes

Cheryl of Tidy Mom has got a feed full of scrumptious-looking recipes and food inspiration to satisfy all of your culinary cravings! This busy mom seems to have the perfect dish for every occasion, and you can too if you give her a follow.

Emmy Lou Styles: Mom/Lifestyle/Fashion

Last but not least we have Emily at Emmy Lou Styles. This fashionable mom has tips, tricks, and products galore for all the other moms and fashionistas out there. Emily has been well-established in the influencer game for a while now, and for good reason. Her content is cute, helpful, and relatable all in one! There you have it. Some of our favorite STL-based influencers on the internet. These 6 women are upping the influencer game in our area, with content that is useful, motivating, and inspiring all in one. From newly-started to well-established, these accounts all bring something unique to the table and are all worth a follow.

2020-07-31

Reaching a Local Audience Digitally

The digital age has helped businesses reach customers in so many new ways, and opened up numerous new avenues through which to communicate with the public. With these incredible opportunities there have, of course, come some new challenges as well.

Businesses now have unprecedented access to millions more people than ever before. However, they need to filter through these people to be able to effectively reach their target demographic. This has presented a particular challenge to small, local businesses, who rely almost exclusively on customers within their geographic area. How can a brand best target people near them when the internet seemingly transcends location?

Here are some tools and tricks that have emerged to help with this particular issue.

Local Hashtags

On Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, people widely use hashtags to tag their content. Some of these can be geographically specific. Search for hashtags that include the city, state, or region you are looking to target. Searches like #midwestblogger, #stlproud, and #nashvillefood often yield promising results.

Geotags

Another helpful feature users can add to their Facebook and Instagram posts is a geotag. This will show others the location where the photo was taken. It can be as broad as the name of the state they are in or as specific as the name of the exact salon they are getting their hair done at. Searching through various locations near you to see who was there recently is a great way to find potential customers in your area.

Use competitors and customers

Local competitors and existing customers also likely have friends or followers that you would want to connect with. Many of the people your competitors and customers are connecting with are likely local to the area, and may share common interests that make them a prime candidate to shop your brand as well.

Location filters

There are also tools and websites that pair with various social media platforms and allow you to filter results you are seeing by location. These tools allow you to choose a radius in which you will see results from, and help narrow down the pool you need to comb through to reach potential customers.

Bios and About Me pages

Users on every social platform can also reveal their location in their biography or About Me section. These can be harder to search for in large batches, as there are not as many accessible tools available to comb through these and filter them for you. But before connecting with a potential consumer, this can be a good final step to check that they are located within your area.

Targeted Ads

You can target your paid advertisements on social media based on many factors, and one of them is location. You can choose to only run your ad to those currently in a specified area. This will help you save money on advertisements to people who could not become customers while reaching much of your intended audience.

Website Search Keywords

Last but not least, you can work on your SEO ranking for local search words. Craft your website so that the name of your city or town plus the product or service you are offering ranks high in search engines (ie. Memphis Chinese food or New York photographer). You want to find ways to pop up when people near you are searching for the product or service you offer, even if they are not specifically searching for your brand.

So while it may seem challenging when you are first trying to craft your digital presence, finding your local audience can actually be quite simple with the right tools and methods.

2020-07-28

Rebranding Successfully

There are many reasons to rebrand your business. Maybe your target demographic has shifted, maybe your offerings have changed, or maybe you just need a facelift to keep up with the times. Whatever the reason, attempting to rebrand is a massive undertaking, and one that needs to be approached carefully. It can be challenging to maintain the positive aspects of your brand while reinventing yourself. With rebranding, you risk alienating loyal customers and losing recognizability. Here are a few things you must keep in mind if you want to execute a successful rebrand.

Focus on what sets you apart.

Once you have decided to rebrand, you need to start with a lot of industry research. Look at competitors, evaluate yourself, and decide what makes you unique within the industry. Your new brand should focus on aspects that separate you from your competitors. You do not want to be too generic – this is your chance to show off what sets you apart from everyone else.

Have an overall consistent strategy.

To ease the transition from old to new, you need to have an overarching strategy for positioning that keeps things smooth. This should include everything from your mission statement to your key values to a description of your brand’s voice. Be sure your strategy is well-defined on all fronts, so that any changes that take place during the rebranding are in line with your strategic goals.

Tell people why you’re rebranding.

When you are ready to let the public know that you are rebranding, you will also want to explain your reasons for making the change. This will be especially beneficial to your existing customers, who may be confused as to why you are rebranding and what this means for the company. You can help ease any concerns they have by issuing an explanation, as well as clarifying your new positioning and why it matters to you.

Emphasize anything that’s staying the same.

The final way you can increase your chances of success is by making clear the aspects of your brand that are staying the same. People will be especially interested in how product offerings, operating hours, and pricing will be affected. A rebrand is about reinventing yourself, but that does not mean you cannot embrace the aspects of your business that were already working and are not changing. Any overlap between your new and old brand can actually make the change seem more natural and work to your advantage.

The tips above alone will not guarantee that your rebrand will go off without a hitch, but they will help enhance your chances of success. Having a clear strategy that includes what makes you unique, as well as announcing the rebrand in a way that focuses on both changes and things that are staying the same are a solid starting point.

2020-07-24

5 Posting Trends You Do Not Want to Miss

Social media trends come and go so quickly that they can be hard to catch before they disappear. It seems that as soon as a trend or concept gains popularity, a new one pops up to overtake it. We’ve compiled the top 5 hot trends of the moment that you will not want your business to miss out on. Take advantage of them quickly, before they become yesterday’s news!

1. Augmented Reality

AR filters have been popular on sites like Snapchat for a while, but their reach is rapidly spreading. Augmented reality on Instagram and Facebook is growing, and it’s a perfect time to jump in the game. Brands can create their own filters to both promote their offerings and provide a bit of fun for users. Try holiday-themed filters, seasonal filters, or special filters if you have a big launch or business change coming up.

2. User-generated content

Of all the trends in this post, this is by far the oldest, but it is still going strong in terms of effectiveness. Brands are continuing to make use of content their customers are generating. Encouraging your customers to share photos of your products and tag your business is a great way to keep content rolling in. Not only do these posts feel authentic and accessible, but they also bring some variety to your feed!

Fans are often excited and eager to have their photos shared on your social media accounts. And just because most people are not professional photographers does not mean that they won’t provide high-quality content. Do not overlook user-generated content, because it continues to be a real minefield for many brands.

3. Instagram Live

IG Live really took off during the recent pandemic. With so many people staying at home, viewership of Live videos has risen astronomically in the past few months. Content creators and brands have also been getting more creative in utilizing Instagram Live to supplement or replace in-person advertising. This is a trend you will want to hop on right away. Live videos give your fans unparalleled access into your world, and feel much more relatable than a curated post. Take advantage of the increasingly virtual world we are living in, and starting creating some Instagram Live videos.

4. Posting about values

A bit more serious than most other trends, sharing your values has really taken the forefront recently. Consumers are becoming more cognizant of the values and priorities of the brands they are purchasing from. They care about more than just the product or service itself – they want to know what a business stands for before supporting them.

As a brand, it can feel like walking on thin ice to take a stance on social issues – brands are often hesitant to risk alienating portions of their consumer base. Every brand does not necessarily need to express a strong stance on every single issue in the world, but it is important to know your brand’s priorities and values and be vocal about them. Being neutral is not as widely accepted for brands as it used to be, so now is the time to be willing to express viewpoints and participate (within reason, of course) in more divisive discussions.

5. TikTok challenges

TikTok has taken the social media scene by storm this year, especially among younger generations. One of the biggest trends to emerge, besides dances, is TikTok challenges. It seems like every week there’s a new “challenge” trending on the platform. Plus, these challenges aren’t just staying on TikTok. They’re being shared and replicated across pretty much every other social media platform as well.

Check out recent challenges and find a way for your brand to get involved. Do a variation on them that works for your business and shows off your offerings. These types of challenges are always trending and tend to receive a lot of social media attention, so this is a great way to make some less serious content that has the potential to reach a large new audience.

2020-07-21

Author: Emma Turnbull