Know Your Audience with Persona Development
You may think that you already know your target marketing audience, but without persona development, you may be shooting in the dark. It’s marketing 101: The first step to effective branding and advertising is knowing your audience. And there is no better way to fully understand your audience than a well-crafted buyer persona. Forbes Magazine Councils Member and contributing writer Jon Simpson defines buyer personas as “semi-fictional characters that personify your ideal customer” and called them “imperative to having accurate audience insights.” Many business leaders deem the development of buyer personas superfluous, overconfident in their natural ability to connect with existing and prospective customers. But without comprehensive and effective persona development, critical misjudgments can easily occur. And these misjudgments can make the ultimate difference between success and failure. The benefits of persona development It is essential for brand strategy experts and content marketers to draft and refine effective buyer personas. No matter how busy they happen to be and how anxious they are to get on to the content creation stages of marketing campaign development process, they absolutely must make time for this key preparatory measure. Persona development gives direction and focus to all of your marketing efforts by providing a single audience template that everyone in your organization can use when developing overall marketing strategy and spearheading specific advertising efforts. As the independent content marketing resource Content Marketing Institute puts it, “Documenting your personas, even if done quickly, is key to keeping everybody focused on the same audience.” Persona development is particularly useful for companies with multiple stakeholders and/or team members who hold decidedly different opinions when it comes to marketing and branding strategies. By determining buyer personas that epitomize target audiences as a whole, companies can not only structure a unified marketing vision, but make all narratives involving company brand and products/services far more compelling, memorable, and ultimately effective. From your official website and social media pages to your traditional and digital advertising efforts, all elements of your marketing outreach can (and probably will be) refined and optimized to meet the specific wants and needs of your audience as you identify them. However, by creating clearly defined buyer personas ahead of time, you can avoid the tremendous amount of time and monetary expense that go hand in hand with major redesign and redevelopment. How to develop an effective buyer persona Although even a rudimentary buyer persona is better than no buyer persona at all, it goes without saying that putting more forethought and care into the persona development process will inevitably yield better results. For this reason, organizations that are serious about marketing and branding success typically employ the help of a specialized persona development agency when engaging in this process. The Content Marketing Institute breaks the development of an effective buyer persona into five practical steps. Keep in mind that each of these steps is an involved process in and of itself, requiring significant data gathering and analysis using modalities that range from general market research to customer/prospective customer interviews and surveys. Step 1: Visualize the ideal customer. Through extensive research, analysis, and projection, develop a single fictional customer who represents your target audience as a whole. For optimum results, go far beyond basic demographics such as gender and income level to examine the details of this customer’s professional and personal life. Step 2: Consider the customer’s applicable wants and needs. What are the common objectives and responsibilities of your ideal customer? What obstacles might stand in his or her way? Step 3: Characterize that customer’s role in relation to the purchase of products and/or services. What form does your ideal customer’s buying process take? What questions is that customer likely to ask before making a purchase? Step 4: Consider the customer’s communication preferences. What media channels does your ideal customer use on a regular basis? Where does he or she go to get information? Step 5: Marry your buyer persona insights to your strategic company goals. A great way to do this is to craft one or more engagement scenarios that take buyer personas through various prospective consumer interactions with your company. For more information If you want to learn more about the benefits of persona development and/or get professional assistance with the persona development process, contact a skilled and knowledgeable representative of Bigeye today. If you are looking for a persona development agency with a vision, we’d love to show you what we have to offer.
Transmedia Storytelling as an Effective Theme Park Marketing Strategy
In a lot of ways, developing an effective theme park marketing strategy evokes quite the “roller coaster” of experiences. There are highs and lows and oftentimes, it even throws you for a loop! But- it doesn’t have to always be that way, particularly when you have a good sense of what your target audience is looking for in its theme park experience. At our marketing agency in Orlando, we understand that people visit theme parks to be entertained, excited and thrilled, but also to relax and escape everyday life. One of the best ways to get people to choose your park over your competitors’ is to tap into their emotions through emotive storytelling. This isn’t a story with an introduction, a middle and a conclusion like you might’ve been told in your third grade English class. We’re talking about transmedia storytelling, which describes the art of being able to tap into what people are thinking about, and being able to give them great content and visuals to help inspire them. And, by inspiring potential customers through images of what a great vacation could do for them, you’ll hopefully also be able to inspire them to buy plane tickets to Florida to spend a week at a local resort hotel. In telling an emotional story, your imagery and words should reflect your commitment to this appeal. A photo of kids laughing on a double decker carousel in LEGOLAND’S Fun Town is going to grab a child’s attention and make them want to escape in the same way. A bullet-point list of facts about your park? Maybe, but think about how much more the photo might resonate with a parent who has a LEGO- obsessed child. Disney is a master at this, and Universal has appeal through its rides inspired by famous favorite films. A perfect example of incorporating media and other immersive storytelling techniques into a marketing strategy is the soon to be newest Universal Water Park- Volcano Bay. Keep your eyes open for this marketing plan, it’s going to be one for the books (get it? Since we’re telling a story? We think we’re funny.) Unfortunately not every theme park has learned to tap into that universal trigger that keeps people thinking about their experience there through the generations. So if you’re a theme park marketer, one of the most important things you can do is focus on the importance of story in everything that represents your brand. And if you need ideas on how to bring that story to life, contact the expert team at our Orlando ad agency to help you navigate the twists and turns of this exhilarating industry!
How to Make Brand Videos That Move Audiences
If you aren’t taking advantage of the power of brand video, then you’re ceding an important edge to your competitors. Here’s what you need to get started. Let’s say you’ve got an exciting new product and you want to introduce it to consumers in the most impactful way possible. How would you go about it? If you’re not immediately thinking “brand videos,” then we urge you to keep reading. Why Brand Videos Have Become an Indispensable Marketing Tool Right now, you’re reading a blog — and there’s nothing wrong with that. Blogs are a tried-and-true medium for short, informational content. Yet the blog should be merely a single arrow in your quiver. Audiences don’t always have the time or inclination to read, yet they can almost always find time to watch a short video — provided it reaches out and wrests their attention away from the other dozen things competing for it. That’s one reason you’ve likely been deluged lately with explainer videos and all other sorts of branded video content. Videos simply work. People engage with them at higher levels than seen with ads or written content. There’s another factor motivating the brand video proliferation: The learning curve and production costs associated with professional video creation have declined radically in recent years. This means that brands have no reason to avoid joining the revolution. So How Do I Tell My Brand Story Through Video? Here’s the good news: Connecting with audiences via video is relatively simple, provided you can follow a few smart practices. When creating brand videos, here are some key things on which to focus: Story is paramount — and so are people. Creating brand videos simply because “everyone says people prefer video” won’t accomplish much. You still need a compelling narrative that audiences will relate to. Think about a simple yet effective way you can frame your brand story around human characters. Any newspaper editor or photographer will tell you that images of static buildings or landscapes don’t reach people or move copy. As humans, we are naturally drawn to each other, and this extends to our engagement with photos and video. Forego the facts, figures, and product features (or at least consign them to secondary status) and put people front and center in your videos. By focusing on one person, brands can make larger and more complex issues more relatable. Forge an emotional connection. Savvy brands have long known that a true emotional connection with audiences is the gold standard in advertising and marketing. Nothing converts and builds long-term loyalty like sparking a visceral, emotional reaction. Fortunately, brand videos are a fantastic format for forging these kinds of connections. By using images, dialogue and music to full effect, a great brand video can tell an emotionally resonant story in as little as 30 seconds. Reach for the original. Remember how we mentioned that proliferation of video? That’s why it’s essential that you take creative risks and push for something original. Audiences today are extremely savvy and cynical about brand messaging. Yet you can penetrate their defenses by delivering something that delights or inspires. Here’s one great example. It’s important, however, to understand your limitations — nobody is looking for an avant-garde HVAC brand video. Maintain your messaging. Your brand videos are ultimately an extension of your overall brand messaging. They should speak with your voice, project your values, and be calibrated to appeal to your specific audience. While it’s important for your content to reach for creativity and originality, this must still occur within the larger context of your brand messaging. Don’t skimp on video production. This one is easy — there’s no excuse for a cheesy (unintentionally, at least) or cheap-looking brand video. The cost and skill needed to produce respectable content has plummeted. The Benefits of Working With the Right Brand Story Agency At BIGEYE, we’re experts at both brand story and video production, and we can help you take your brand videos to the next creative level. Contact us today for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions on Brand Messaging
Brand messaging is critical to the health of your business. Here’s a closer look at some of the most commonly asked questions about the subject. Every business owner wants to build deep, long-lasting relationships with customers. Brand messaging is the mechanism by which this is accomplished. Every communication an enterprise engages in should be done with proper brand messaging in mind. When done right, it inspires, informs, persuades and catalyzes audiences. When done poorly, it can do serious reputational harm. Now that we’ve understood the stakes involved, let’s take a closer look at some of the most common questions business owners have about brand messaging. Brand Messaging FAQ 1. I’m a brand messaging neophyte — can you explain what it means in two sentences? Sure. Brand messaging is the language, voice, tone, and ideas that a business uses to convey its core value proposition and company values. 2. Can you give me an example? Absolutely. The classic Nike slogan “Just Do It” is a famous example of potent brand messaging. It distills the company’s ethos into three unforgettable words. 3. What are the qualities that make brand messaging effective? The same qualities that make interpersonal communication effective, for the most part. Great brand messaging resonates with audiences and builds a connection. It inspires, catalyzes audiences into action and engenders a sense of personal identification with the brand. It’s how lifestyle brands are created and lifelong customers are made. 4. What happens when brand messaging goes wide of the mark? If you’re lucky, audiences simply won’t respond to it. In situations where brands badly misjudge their voice or misunderstand their audience, poor brand messaging can alienate people, anger them, and turn them into another brand’s loyal customers. 5. So how does one create effective brand messaging? Here’s where things get a bit more challenging. First, brands need to identify and segment their audience. If you don’t know who you’re selling to, you’re just throwing darts in the dark. Do research, identify your audience, and query them. What motivates them? What matters to them? How do they engage with brands? By understanding the answers to these questions, brands can then draw a line between their customers’ motivations and their own products and services, their values, and their unique value proposition. 6. What else is important? One word: Differentiation. When you’re developing a brand messaging strategy, it’s natural to review what your competitors are doing. After all, you’re targeting the same audience, so there should be some overlap between your messaging strategy. That said, it’s critical to differentiate your product or service. Sometimes you can accomplish this through features or innovations, but in many industries, it’s the branding itself that is the primary differentiator. So while you want your messaging to be informed by what your competitors are doing, you don’t want to follow what they are doing. Develop your own unique, differentiated voice and message. 7. Any other tips? Yes. Consumers are inundated by advertising and marketing messages, so it’s important to develop language and themes that stand out. Seek to be compelling and memorable, rather than aiming for a bland, middle of the road voice designed to appeal to the broadest possible demographic. It’s also critically important to be clear and concise — audiences will disengage immediately if you’re sending confusing messages. Place the audience at the center of the story and explain to them exactly what your brand can do for them. Make sure that your messaging comes through in every bit of content or communication you author, and always ensure your brand speaks in a unified and consistent voice. Finding the Right Brand Messaging Agency At BIGEYE, we’re experts when it comes to resonant brand messaging. Whether you’re looking for an innovative approach to brand video or new, tech-forward ways to reach your desired audiences, we can help. Contact us today to learn more about what a sophisticated brand messaging strategy can do for your firm.
The Numbers Every Pet Marketer Must Know
Pet food marketing requires more than creativity – you need hard data to inform an audience analysis. Here’s what the stats say about pet marketing in 2019. If you want to sell pet products, you need to know your audience on a fundamental level. That requires hard data — the raw material that facilitates proper audience segmentation. Without it, your pet food marketing campaigns will be scattershot, poorly targeted and irrelevant to most of the people you reach. Fortunately, we’ve collected the data and consumer insights you need to connect with the right pet-owning audience. The pet-owning audience, by the numbers Audience research can provide us with critical insight. It tells us who pet owners are, how they spend their money and the hobbies, interests and priorities that drive them. Armed with this data, it becomes possible to create finely targeted pet food marketing campaigns that resonate with buyers and spur them into action. This market data can be broken down into three primary categories: Commercial data, demographic data and personal interest data. Let’s take a closer look at all three, beginning with commercial data. What commercial pet owner data tells us Examining how pet owners spend their money gives us clear insight into buyer motivation. Unlike with consumers surveys or interviews, there is little open to interpretation here. These are quantifiable numbers, which makes them highly reliable. Consider the following: 84.6% of pet owners in the U.S. are searching for products or services they want to buy. 93.1% of pet owners in the U.S. are visiting online retail sites such as Amazon. 60.1% of pet owners in the U.S. are the main shoppers in their households. 81.9% of pet owners in the U.S. are always looking for the best deals for products they want to buy. Additionally, free delivery, coupons, and discounts increase the likelihood of U.S. pet owners buying a product online; followed next by reviews from other consumers. Pet owners in the U.S. typically discover new brands and products through TV ads and word-of-mouth recommendations. Search engine recommendations and online ads are next in order of importance. What demographic pet owner data tells us Demographic information also plays a critical role in audience analysis by illuminating who owns pets, the kinds of pets they own and their financial attributes. For example: U.S. pet owners are 51.2% female; 48.8% male. 49% of U.S. pet owners are married; the slight majority are childless. Household incomes of pet owners are in the mid-50th percentile. Dogs are the most common pet (71.8%), followed by cats (49.6%). What personal hobby and interest pet owner data tells us By evaluating how pet owners spend their time and gauging their hobbies and interests, it’s possible to create tailored pet food marketing messages designed to resonate with audiences. Package design, product naming and other creative processes are more informed by analyzing this kind of data. Hobby and interest data shows us the following about today’s pet owners:55.4% of pet owners are interested in wildlife/nature; camping and hiking are their next greatest interests (47%) followed by technology (46.6%). FOX, CNN, ESPN, Food Network, History Channel and HGTV are the most-watched networks by pet owners. U.S. pet owners report being fans of the NFL (55.5%), baseball (42.9%), basketball (40.1%), soccer (38.5%) and hockey (25.6%). Pet owners in the U.S. are most likely to participate in the following sports and activities: swimming, exercise classes such as yoga and spinning, basketball, soccer, and golf. U.S. pet owners enjoy cooking, food & drinks, traveling, DIY and home improvement and gardening more than the average person (and, of course, pets and pet care). Choosing the right pet food marketing firm A great marketing agency uses all tools at its disposal: Hard research data, engaging creative work, deeply informed audience analysis and sophisticated technology. At BIGEYE, we have the tool suite to help you create the kind of compelling pet food marketing campaign that truly moves the needle. Contact us today to learn more about pet food package design, logo design, SEO, TV production, and other services.
What Do Pet Parents Really Want?
The “pet owner” is fast being replaced by the “pet parent”. Let’s discover how smart pet product marketing can reach this key demographic. Pet parent vs. pet owner — it’s a distinction that has launched a million angry polemics in online comment sections. Yet lost in these arguments as to who truly deserves to be called a parent is a key truth: Whether you call it ownership, guardianship or parenthood, the nature of keeping a pet has fundamentally changed. Now it’s up to pet product marketers to define what modern pet parents are really looking for. When developing elements such as pet product package design or brand identity, it’s critically important to consider the evolution that has occurred in the relationship between consumers and their pets. Tracing the evolution of the pet parent relationship A generation or two ago, keeping a pet in the house was a much different experience. A family dog, for example, was often purchased as a gift for kids. That dog would then be given a generic name (Fido, Rover, Lassie, Butch), eat bland, low cost dog food and spend its long, dull and undifferentiated days keeping a lonely vigil for its owners to come home. In other words, the average dog had a pretty rough existence. Contrast that with today: Dogs are often proxy kids or training babies. Pet parents use pet naming apps and websites to discover the perfect, human-sounding name — one trendy and original enough to stand out at the dog park. They throw lavish birthday parties for pets. They spend $100 on a single bag of high-end, grain-free dog food — even though no one is sure whether grains are even something dogs should avoid. Instead of being kenneled for hours, or waiting all day for family members to come home, dog-walking and pet sitting services abound. Pet enrichment activities are everywhere. So no matter the preferred nomenclature, one thing is obvious: The status of pets has become elevated. It’s also likely that this will continue, as Gen Z are even more pet-crazed than millennials, the generation that made pet parenthood go mainstream. What does this mean for pet product marketing? We’ve established that the human/pet relationship has been transformed. So what does that mean for brands engaged in pet product marketing? Consider the following: Millenials and Gen Z are fully invested in the pet parenting concept. Both are less likely to trust mass-marketed pet products sold by major brands. However, there is an important distinction between these groups: Gen Z places far less faith in products tagged natural or organic, believing that these terms have largely become meaningless. Younger pet parents are, however, deeply attracted to highly original brands and stories and products that are perceived to be regional or boutique in nature. This should be a key consideration when working with package design, product naming, etc. Younger buyers are also much more likely to share photos and videos of their pets socially. Brands that place emphasis on engaging via this channel have the opportunity to cultivate loyal lifetime customers. Smart pet product marketing is also informed by the advertising and marketing images used in child/baby marketing campaigns. Pet parents feel many of the same emotional triggers as parents of infants and toddlers. If they think one product offers a better experience or has a health or wellness benefit, pet parents will feel that a higher markup is justified. Unlike in years past, they are more receptive to higher end offerings, and much less likely to justify buying lower-quality merchandise because “it’s just a dog or cat.” Finding the right pet product marketing agency Understanding how people feel about pets on a deep level is a pre-requisite for effective pet product marketing. At BIGEYE, we’re not only pet lovers, we’re also experts in creating the kind of powerful marketing messages that resonate with today’s pet parents. Contact us today for help with TV production, SEO services or any other part of or full service marketing stack.
Pet Food Marketing: Why Millennials Shouldn’t Be The Sole Focus
Millennials are a natural audience for pet food marketing — but they shouldn’t be your sole focus. Let’s find out why casting a wider net is the smarter play. We get it — millennials are the cat’s pajamas. They represent a huge generation with a lot of buying power. Thousands of bloggers have written millions of think pieces examining why millennials are such a critical audience. And — even better — they’re huge pet lovers. So why are we going to tell you to cast your gaze elsewhere when creating your next pet food marketing campaign? Let’s find out. Why millennials should not be your sole marketing focus Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. They own pets at a higher rate than Baby Boomers. Millennials treat their pets as proxy children, showering them with attention and expensive products. A pet food marketing practitioner’s dream, right? Sure — but that dream can quickly turn nightmarish if you develop tunnel vision. Millennials may check all the boxes in terms of a pet marketing audience, but let’s consider a few other facts: 65% of pet owners in the U.S. are not millennials. The average millennial has a net worth of just $8,000. The median net worth for Baby Boomers is $360,000. Gen X has a median annual income that’s 250% higher than millennials. Baby Boomers spend $548 billion on products annually, $200 million more than Gen X, the next closest cohort. Baby Boomers are responsible for 70% of all disposable income in the US. Millennials aren’t looking quite so dreamy now, are they? They love animals — there’s no doubt about that. Yet they pale in comparison to older buyers in terms of raw spending power. Though they haven’t been the subject of countless marketing think pieces, older Americans still control consumer spending in almost every category, including pets. That’s the financial case for diversifying your marketing approach. Yet there’s also a cultural case — and it runs in the opposite direction. Don’t overlook Gen Z…and tailor your messages to the appropriate market The same financial arguments that apply to Millennials apply doubly to Gen Z, whose vanguard are just now reaching their early 20s. Yet brands would be foolish to overlook them: They are another massive cohort with equally massive devotion to their pets. Gen Z pet ownership numbers are expected to eventually exceed those of millennials, who are already the top generation in terms of ownership percentage. Fortunately, there is lots of overlap between the two groups in terms of how they view pets. Both humanize their animals and both are willing to pay more to furnish them with the best products and experiences. However, there are some differences as well. Gen Z members are more skeptical in terms of branding messages and less likely to believe claims that products are special because they are organic or all natural. They tend to dislike overly curated branding and favor a more direct and unmediated approach, and this particularly applies to brand identity. Brands engaged in pet food marketing should also consider the desires and priorities of older buyers. Baby Boomers preceded the pet humanization trend; as such, they are more likely to have conventional notions about pet food and pet care. Older buyers are also receptive to marketing messages that emphasize how pet products will help make their own lives easier. The demands of keeping a pet are often much harder on older consumers, so it’s important that brands consider that angle of the pet ownership experience when marketing products. Finding the right pet marketing agency A smart, forward-thinking marketing agency understands the value of audience analysis. If you’re pitching to one segment to the exclusion of another, you’re hurting your bottom line. At BIGEYE, we can help you create a comprehensive pet food marketing campaign that speaks to all audiences.
What Drones Can Teach Marketers About Knowing Their Audience
Horse races are in the past and drone races are taking over the tech and the advertising world – you’re gonna need an audience segmentation consultant. Any great audience segmentation consultant will tell you it’s essential to know your market. Yet the real challenge often comes next: How do you make your brand stand out to your audience in a cluttered advertising landscape? Given how fractured the industry has become with the emergence of social media and other digital mediums, combining those two objectives is a core challenge — one that often marks the difference between success and failure. If you want to see a current example of brands negotiating this challenge in a lightning-fast, obstacle-filled environment, look no further than professional drone racing. Connecting to audiences via unmanned aerial exhibitions The Drone Racing League (DRL) is a professional league for people who race their drones on real tracks at speeds in excess of 80 miles-per-hour. The league also offers one intriguing example of brands using highly-targeted marketing in a new and unusual setting to reach their desired audience. Why is a relatively niche organization such as the DRL notable in this context? For brands, it’s all about positioning and connection. Telecom giant Cox Communications recently partnered with the DRL to create a Cox marketing campaign that was entirely conceived and executed by the league’s internal media and marketing teams. The goal was simple: Position Cox not as a stodgy legacy cable company, but rather an innovation-focused firm dedicated to building the infrastructure of the future for its audience. Partnering with a cutting-edge sport rooted in innovative technology positioned Cox in a way that a similar partnership with a Madison Avenue ad agency could not. As part of the campaign, Cox sponsored one of the DRL’s top pilots — Nick “Wild Willy” Willard — and created a clever ad focusing on the drone racing star. In the ad, Willard pilots his Cox WiFi-powered drone through his mother’s house, without breaking anything valuable. This ad was used in a multi-channel campaign designed to boost awareness for Cox and the DRL. Advertising at high speed for a skeptical audience As you might imagine, advertising on a drone track comes with some specific challenges. Fans of drone racing tend to skew younger and are highly tech savvy. Unlike NASCAR fans (who don’t mind being barraged with ads), drone racing fans largely recoil at overt marketing. Which is why an audience segmentation consultant is necessary. DRL CEO Nicholas Horbaczewski told Adweek that if he installs a conventional billboard at a drone race, fans would “throw up all over it.” He added that drone racing fans find such advertising displays “offensive” and don’t wish to communicate with brands in this format. To address this preference, the DRL integrates advertising within the course in the form of physical obstacles named for advertisers. Drone pilots must navigate course obstacles such as the “Swatch Gate.” in order to successfully complete the race. An even more ambitious brand integration will occur later in 2019, when the DRL will partner with Lockheed Martin to stage races pitting human drone pilots against drones flown by AI. More than 250 research universities have applied to enter the contest, which will offer more than $2 million in prizes. Looking for a marketing and advertising co-pilot? Once you understand who your audience is — likes, dislikes, interests, habits etc. — then you can devise new and creative ways to reach them. Our team is dedicated to the proposition that it’s not just where you are, it’s who you’re reaching. If you’d like to hear more about what a high-level audience segmentation consultant can do for your brand, don’t wait to contact us today.
Marketing That Connects with Younger Audiences in Three Letters
Get connected with your target market through the power of reaction GIFs and a motion graphics design company to carry your voice in a new dimension. Here’s one rule about online communication: Over time, it will always trend toward the simplest and least work-intensive mode possible. That’s why reaction GIFs have supplanted witty one-liners as the Internet’s retort of choice. For brands seeking to update their marketing efforts with a fresher look (perhaps by hiring a motion graphics design company) it also represents a big opportunity. Why GIFs and motion graphics connect with today’s audiences Just in case you’ve been on a multi-year social media detox, let’s take a moment to explain how GIFs work. If you’ve ever been on Twitter or another social media platform and witnessed someone reply to a questionable comment with a looping video clip of someone else doing an astonished double-take, you’ve seen a reaction GIF in action. GIFs (short for Graphics Interchange Format) have become a dominant mode of expression in social media settings, text applications, and other mediums. The reason is simple: With virtually no effort, you can express a complex (and often quite amusing) message. In a development that should surprise exactly no one, younger people are especially fond of GIFs. In a Time magazine survey, a full two-thirds of millennials claimed that GIFs represent their feelings and thoughts better than written communication. While that is undoubtedly a major blow for idealistic English teachers across the globe, it’s also an opportunity for savvy marketers. Let’s face it: Marketers have been told ad nauseam that appealing to millennials and Generation Z is imperative. And that’s true — there’s no arguing with demographics. Yet despite this urgent task, brands haven’t always covered themselves in glory when it comes to targeting millennials. Even an otherwise sharp outfit like Google stumbled while negotiating this tricky terrain. The search giant created a report advising other businesses on appealing to millennials. This report, hilariously titled “It’s Lit,” featured a design that made it look like an especially flashy Macy’s catalog. Inside things were even direr — Google’s Millennial Research Team maintained that Gen Z members think that Chick-fil-A is the world’s “coolest brand” — ranking higher than famously ultra-cool brands like Vice and Supreme. Much media derision, of course, ensued. So how can a business with fewer resources than Google negotiate this millennial minefield? Through partnering with a motion graphic design company. And GIFs, of course. Integrating GIFs into your marketing GIFs have value because they allow brands to transmit their messages in what is essentially the lingua franca of the youth Internet. Brands that can deploy GIFs in a clever manner will seem more relatable. GIFs have the benefit of being simple to use and hard to misuse. Younger audiences may scorn a business using “It’s lit” non-ironically, but they won’t think twice about a clever GIF deployed via social media marketing. Young people aren’t the only market to target, of course, GIFs can be used to entice customers within marketing messages. Blue Apron uses GIFs in its email marketing campaigns to show consumers the delicious meals they could be making. GIFs can be used in digital ads or integrated into blog posts as instructional elements. They have far more utility than simply being deployed as a witty rejoinder in a social media conversation. Working with a motion graphics design company can help brands optimize their GIF strategy. The right company can help a brand derive maximum value from a small — but powerful — visual message. The takeaway At BIGEYE, we like a great reaction GIF — but we love helping brands develop exceptional marketing campaigns featuring motion graphics. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.
Dramatically Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy in 4 steps
Don’t let your content get the best of you, work with a content marketing agency to take a load off and increase your overall performance. There’s no doubt that content marketing is a critically important differentiator for businesses. The industry is experiencing explosive growth, and top content marketing agencies are busier than ever. Yet many organizations remain dissatisfied with the results their strategies are generating. They watch competitors gain traction, yet can’t replicate their success. Other agencies find initial success, but have difficulty creating a sustainable pipeline of fresh, interesting content. And that’s understandable — the ideation and execution processes aren’t easy, and most content marketing plans require a continuous stream of new material. That’s a stiff — and time sensitive — challenge. Fortunately, jumpstarting a tired or ineffective content process doesn’t typically require a massive overhaul. In many cases, a few relatively minor tweaks can dramatically improve the reach and engagement of your content. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at a few tactics businesses can use to significantly improve results. 1.Explore new content mediums Content diversity is an important part of an overall content marketing agencies strategy. This doesn’t merely apply to idea generation, however; it’s also important to offer audiences a variety of different mediums through which to consume content. Incorporating more videos, infographics, scripted animations, etc. can help break up monotony and engage audiences on a deeper level. You don’t need to be Steven Spielberg or a design wizard to get started, either. Something as simple as a “behind the scenes” video featuring members of your organization can help audiences connect with you and build a stronger bond. 2.Audit existing SEO practices The best practices in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) realm change at a dizzying rate. It’s imperative to stay current, however, as SEO is absolutely critical to any distribution strategy. If you develop the most interesting content in the industry — but nobody sees it — what have you really accomplished? In order to ensure that your content is widely accessible, it’s a smart idea to audit your SEO practices on a rolling basis. While most companies can do simple keyword research and content optimization, it’s necessary to partner with a digital agency with specialized skill and expertise in order to get the most out of your SEO efforts. 3.Target niche audiences Taking an overly broad approach is one of the single biggest mistakes businesses make when it comes to content strategy. When you try to speak to everyone, you often end up speaking to no one. Your content simply isn’t relevant enough to engage and sustain interest. Smart content marketing agencies understand the value of niche audiences. They tend to be highly engaged and motivated, always searching for new and relevant content that falls within their niche. Find out where these audiences live online, create interesting content that’s optimized for their interest — and you’ll be amazed by the reception. 4.Take a more data-driven approach At this point, we’re all aware of the value of data — many of today’s most valuable companies are dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and selling out information. Surprisingly, however, many small to mid-sized businesses fail to adequately leverage data in their content marketing strategies. Evaluating key performance indicators (such as traffic, conversions, engagement rates, etc.) can help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your approach. To maximize the value of a data-driven approach, however, you may need to expand beyond basic indicators by partnering with a top audience segmentation expert — one that specializes in data-driven audience analysis. The takeaway At BIGEYE, we love helping brands create exciting new content marketing strategies that drive real world results. For more information about how we can help improve your content marketing efforts, please contact us today.