Its every business’ dream to get millions of views and become big in next to no time, but let’s get realistic – it takes a lot of planning, a little genius and a pinch of luck to go viral. The harsh reality is that only one percent of campaigns actually do reach this level.

Viral marketing put simply, is the uncontrollably fast spreading (much like wildfire) of any piece of content on online social channels, that is caused and controlled by the consumer themselves.

Do yourself a favour and read marketing guru Neil Patel‘s cheat sheet!

Brands have the difficult challenge of producing extremely appealing and creative content relating to their products and services. And they need to launch it into the digital universe in the right context and the right time to really make an impact. Tapping into emotions, good causes and humour are a few excellent ways to connect to the people.  Knowing that majority of the work is in the hands of customers, the biggest challenge for marketers is ensuring their message is simple, effective and avoids misinterpretation – one simple mistake and any chance of getting big vanishes.

But why spend time on a technique with such small chances of success?
Aside from bigger ROI, the advantages include greater exposure and increased online visibility, not only by your target market but other potential customers too. The more your post gets shared, liked and commented on – the online version of word of mouth – the more credible your brand can become. And once you’ve reached a large enough audience, promotional and advertising costs lower in the long run.

What campaigns have you helped become infectiously popular? Let me know below!

You’re reading one now, and you have probably skimmed over hundreds in the hours you spend online – that’s right it’s a BLOG. It’s been around for twenty-two years, but now more than ever it is vital that businesses large or small jump onto the trend.  A simple way to increase online visibility, and connect with consumers and most importantly generate leads (with the potential rollover effect of increased sales, yay!)

Need more convincing? Here are three key reasons your business should start blogging:

Better SEO
Posting content regularly about certain topics, incorporating key words and phrases commonly used by consumers to search can help improve SEO. Businesses that blog see 434% more indexed pages – these are the pages that drive organic searches. Consistent blogging keeps a website active, attracting search engine spiders which help to keep your website and brand in the top search results – businesses who publish on the regular receive eight times the website traffic!

Higher Leads
Higher page ranks result in increased website traffic, which has the potential to turn into legitimate leads and possible sales – statistics show that businesses who blog generate 66% more leads. By creating interest in your blog through unique, creative and inspiring content, a brand can not only show off products or services indirectly but begin to interact with customers. Plus, good content keeps people returning for more, a sure-fire way to help keep your company as top of mind.

Reputation
Blogs help companies show off their expertise, experience and knowledge about particular topics in a classy and effective way. By sharing tips, tricks and valuable on trend information brands are proving they are trustworthy and worth taking a second look at.

How often do you end up exploring a new brand or website thanks to a blog you stumbled across?

Reaching the right people, at the right time with the right content to match their interests is becoming an ever-difficult task for marketers. Add to that the increasing ability of consumers to block, remove and skip advertisements and you have an even bigger challenge!

The growing trend to solve this: programmatic advertising

Essentially it is an automated way of purchasing display space and placing tailored advertisements in real time to consumers who are most likely to purchase. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and specific algorithms to sift through vast amounts of raw data, the software generates valuable customer insights allowing for smarter advertising. Brands are able reach larger audiences, and better impact by directing creatives in the right contexts, on the right devices And, best of all, the system guides them in the right direction to maximise ROI.

A prime example of a company that has leveraged this concept is The Economist. Through witty and alluring content (taglines), they were able to reach out to disinclined readers in a way that let them feel in control of their decision to further pursue what the brand had to offer. They successfully increased their reader base and changed perceptions towards the brand.

I think the concept speaks for itself. It provides multifaceted benefits for marketers in a digitalised era – bigger reach, more personalisation, more control over creatives, and most importantly it speeds up the process of buying, selling and negotiating digital advertising terms by removing the traditional time-consuming human interactions required. Yes, it needs quite a lot of technical skill, however through outsourcing and the right man power businesses of any size can empower themselves.

How prominent do you think automated ads are going to become over the next ten years? Will robots take our jobs?

The most common misconception with influencer marketing is ‘bigger the following better the results’ but that just doesn’t work and there’s an ace in the influencer hole with thinking on a smaller scale – NANO influencers.

The little guys who actually produce more of an impact, due to the higher engagement ratio (8.7%) they have with their smaller audiences (typically under 5000 followers). They are perceived as authentic and credible because of how relatable they are, real people connecting with their community. Thus, and most importantly they have the strongest levels of influence over these supporters.

Businesses can employ the services of multiple nano-influencers over the same time period for a fraction of the cost of macro influencers or celebrities, making it a budget friendly strategy for marketers to employ. Not only does this increase the ROI in the long term, but also helps to reach better target audiences (niche groups, LGBTQI groups, specific interest groups) – a large variety of potential customers.

Jamilla Boyaci, The Lazy Co., Avril – a small brand can be an influencer too!

Essentially this trend is taking the date old concept of ‘word of mouth’ and making it digital. And its important to remember, as little as one negative or positive post even on such a small scale can have a tumultuous impact on a brands image – so marketers take care and pay just as much attention as you would to the big celebs.

As a follower do you find yourself more inclined to listen and believe the opinions of nano-influencers? Or like me do you find yourself swayed by the trend setting mid-tier/ macro stars? Let me know in the comments below!

If you’ve ever surfed through any social media platform you’ll know what an influencer is and let’s be honest like me, most of you have your favourites whom you religiously follow. Majority of these individuals are everyday people providing entertaining content, and if they’re big enough, even promoting products and brands. And we trust them – we see value in their opinions and reviews, even gain respect for their work.  

Jade Tuncdoruk Murad Osmann Jack Harries
Just a few of my favourites I would definitely recommend checking out!

Companies leveraging the trust between consumers and influencers is the rising (long existing) trend used to reach a large audience, create brand awareness and hopefully change purchasing behaviours. The influencer industry is projected to more than double in size from $3 billion in 2017 to $6.5 billion in 2019.

But it’s a tricky business and marketers must tread carefully. Consumers are looking for authenticity and transparency with influencer content. Don’t bother creating paid staged posts or blatantly promoting a product, its going to get ignored. WE KNOW when affiliations to brands are natural and resonate with the influencer’s values/ ethics.

They key to successfully using this trending form of digital advertising is to know your goal and find the right influencer for your purpose. And then make sure their audience is a good fit. The biggest mistake marketers could make is to use someone with a large following – its not about size (in numbers) it’s about how well the audience’s interests, habits and needs match your brand.

Its clear that influencers aren’t slowing down, and it pays to take the time to foster relationships with the right social media stars – so buckle up brands, it’s time to get influencing!

Today time is of the essence with everyone – whether they are looking to learn, do, discover, watch or buy something they want information as quick as Thanos can snaps his fingers!

Coined in 2015 by Google, the not so new consumer behaviour of ‘micro moments’ delves a little deeper into the customer journey and focuses on a critical touchpoint: the split-second intent-rich moment when a need arises, that consumers want to act on immediately, bringing them to turn to the nearest device they own (Google, 2015).

Google’s research shows that customers today work on impulse, and immediacy no longer following a strict path to purchase. They make decisions faster than before, and act on them in these micro moments – much of this change is due to mobile phones. Marketer’s need to tap into this behaviour and revolve their strategies around being there in that moment to deliver what the consumer wants as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

In a world where mobile usage and mobile internet traffic is globally increasing, micro moments are a key to success.

Let’s look at the new campaign from insurance company AAMI. They’ve tapped into the micro-moment’s consumers face whilst behind the wheel – where they reach out to find which route will be the safest, have the least traffic and minimise delays – and used it to their advantage.
In collaboration with Spotify, AAMI has been rolling out warnings for drivers heading into danger zones and ‘accident hotspots’. They have anticipated your needs on the road and are first on the scene when you realise it. By doing so not only have they increased their brand awareness, they have helped bring their business to top of mind when thinking about insurance and road safety.

Have you encountered any brands nailing this not so new trend? If so definitely share below!

We use it every day to shout commands, to ask questions, to greet and even to sing along to the amazing tunes of Ed Sheeran – that’s right it’s your VOICE.

But how many have you used it to do a ‘voice search’?
The option has been around for a long time, but until recently its been sitting quietly as that unused button next to your google search bar. It’s the latest trend marketers are seeing, and it’s changing the way in which people search, where they search (searches with ‘near me’ have grown by one-hundred and fifty percent) and its predicted to only get more and more popular.

Personally, I think voice search is great, it makes searching for the simplest things that much more personal by making the search conversational. It would be just like asking the attendee in 7 Eleven for directions, except you’ll be talking to Google on your phone. And the best part you ask? You won’t have to scroll through pages of results to find your answer, it will be read out to you! Not always, but hey it’s a plus if you ask me 😊

Voice search also reduces how much you have to think about what exact phrase to type into Google to get your desired answer. Instead of having to type ‘open cafes in Caulfield’ you could just ask “Hey Google what cafes are open near me?” and get relevant accurate answers faster than you can hit enter.

The only issues facing this great new trend is the technology – it doesn’t always understand what we say, but that will slowly but surely catch up.

Click here for some fun stats on who, when and where this way to search is used!

It’s a well-known fact that making things personal is one of the best ways to connect with people and grab their attention for more than a mere ten seconds. Its also super fun and makes you feel slightly more important than everyone else when things are tailored just for you.

Look at NETFLIX, SPOTIFY, STAN and many more streaming applications. They use their customer data to create specific suggestions, recommendations of shows and music they are pretty damn sure you would like – I mean they collect information on the daily about your age, gender, hobbies, what you’re watching, googling, liking and sharing so they really should know who your favourite artist is right?

According to the head of globalisation at Spotify, Alex Underwood businesses should use data to serve their customers not themselves. He explains personalisation is about creating authentic experiences for customers that helps to foster an emotional connection to the brand.

I have to say I absolutely LOVE that when I wake up on a Monday morning, feeling far from happy about starting the working week again I can hop onto my app and have a variety of morning playlist options available without having to put in any effort.
It makes me feel like Spotify cares and wants to get me feeling those good morning vibes 🙂

Ever feel like someone or something is looking at you? That inkling is probably right.

Marketers are always on the hunt for the most accurate data and information regarding consumer purchase choices and decisions. Focus groups and surveys have been the go to for a long time; but there is only so much truth to that – you will never really know what a person genuinely thinks/ feels about your brand or product if you ask them directly.

Enter neuromarketing, specifically EYE TRACKING – an implicit way for marketers to get into that subconscious part of your brain that it turns out is responsible for a whopping 95% of your purchase decision making – at least according to professor Gerald Zaltman.

This method allows real time data to be recorded, detailing how cognitively and subconsciously individuals are reacting to specific marketing communications. It allows businesses to identify through monitoring eye movements what components of digital marketing campaigns captures the attention and interest of a consumer, and which parts don’t. The technology in simple words is used to direct the viewers eyes to the most attractive and interesting parts of the message, thereby further encouraging that desire within them to make a purchase.

You know how you think you’re in control over what you buy and when you buy it? Turns out marketers in fact have the upper hand. They know what you like, they know how you behave and now they’re in your heads, learning how you think on an entirely deeper level.

Take a moment to understand a bit more about neuromarketing and tell me how you feel, I know I’m spooked!

ONE billion users and growing , the consumer-generated media platform becoming a core part of every marketing strategy:

INSTAGRAM but now with a twist!

Frankly speaking ‘social media’ really is one of the newest elements we must integrate into our marketing mix. In today’s digitalised world it is only practical to expect every business to explore and utilise this strategy to engage and build its customer base.

It not only reaches millions across the globe, it allows the latest products/ news/ photos and video to be shared in live time.

Instagram TV is a bridging function to allow users to post longer videos and keep them forever. This is a step forward from the successful August 2016 launch of the ‘stories’ update, which let users post only a twenty-four-hour long-lasting snippet of anything they like in video. Fast forward a couple of years and June of 2018 saw the release of the television style function built to lure in users of rival platforms Youtube and Snapchat.

 

So, the real question is, will this latest idea be a successful tool for businesses?
If used properly then YES! Look at Netflix: in order to capture the attention of younger more digitally skilled generation, the company took to IGTV to post exclusive material, behind the scene snippets and purely entertaining footage of some of its most loved stars such as Cole Sprouse. Where else would you send someone eating a burger viral?

Keep your eyes peeled people, IGTV has a bright future!