How a Video Production Company Can Help with Your LinkedIn Ads
One of the most effective ways to attract, engage, and inform prospective customers is through a chic, trendy video. Written pieces with still photos will always play a big role in content marketing, but time-strapped consumers are increasingly looking to get the information they want and need about a company in video form –- which is where a video production company comes into to play. In many scenarios, it’s just easier to absorb video content. Try to read a brochure or whitepaper when you’re being bounced around on public transportation on your way to the office. But video? That works just about anytime, anywhere. Plus, when video content is done right, it can be both informative and entertaining. Bonus! Of course, nowadays it’s easier than ever to capture and edit video on your own. However, creating a finished piece that really engages your audience and keeps them watching from start to finish is a lot more challenging. Leveraging the expertise of an experienced video production company can be to your advantage in lots of ways. (And you’re looking for an advantage, right?) Quality video is an effective video One benefit of working with a video production company is that the end result will be a polished, professional piece that stands out from the crowd. And make no mistake… there is a crowd. Every marketing pro with a smartphone is a potential video producer/director/editor, but you want your material to adhere to the highest quality standards so it delivers the maximum competitive advantage. Efficient video production is cost-effective video production The more quickly and efficiently a LinkedIn sponsored video ad is produced, the more cost-effective it is. The trial-and-error approach is rarely efficient. Rather than asking your internal team to become video experts, it is typically a smarter choice to connect with a video production company that already has all the skills you need—and many you didn’t know you needed! Innovative video content is the most shared video Creating any kind of video ad for LinkedIn is a start. However, to truly succeed with your video content, you need the assistance of a video production company that can help you capture the attention of business decision makers and move them further along the buyer’s journey using an eye-catching video ad. Experienced video producers know what has and has not been done and what can be done to create a business-building buzz. The takeaway They say “the devil is in the details” and that couldn’t be more true with video production. Luckily, our video production team at BIGEYE absolutely loves being immersed in the details. From initial conception and storyboarding to editing and post-production, we thrive on the challenge of getting every last element right. How can passion for video production help your company get noticed using LinkedIn sponsored video ads? Get in touch with our production team today and let’s start developing a successful strategy for your brand.
The Importance of Voice Commerce for CPG Brands Continues to Spike
Voice commerce may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your CPG brand’s end of year strategy … but it should be. Get ahead of the competition by embracing this trend before it’s too late. In case voice commerce is new to you, here are a few statistics showcasing what voice commerce can do for your brand. Voice commerce is the fastest growing retail channel According to OC&C, voice commerce will represent a $40 billion retail channel by 2022. Despite the prevalence of mobile and e-commerce shopping platforms, consumers cite convenience, speed, and the ability to multitask as reasons why they are beginning to prefer shopping by voice. Although the most common form of voice commerce is creating shopping lists and checking delivery, Amazon Echo’s Alexa users are increasing point of sale conversion metrics exponentially. Amazon’s one-click shopping flow and saved payment options make purchasing by voice frictionless and have helped Echo users become comfortable with voice commerce so the trend can expand. Smart speaker voice commerce outpaces mobile aI assistants Amazon Echo, Google Home, and other smart speaker customers are more likely to shop by voice than those using mobile virtual assistants such as Siri and Cortana. NPR’s Smart Audio Report found that nearly 60% of smart speaker owners have already purchased items using their devices. While another study from Capgemini, indicated that 40% — perhaps the remaining market share — of consumers predict they will be more likely to use voice commerce to make purchases rather than engaging with a retailer’s mobile app or website. If your brand can only invest in one voice commerce platform, we recommend partnering with a digital marketing agency like ours to create baseline integrations for smart speakers. Smart speaker users also represent higher AOV Due to the socioeconomic demographics of smart speaker owners who tend to be wealthier and more tech-savvy, shoppers using Amazon Echo tend more on CPG products than consumers without speakers. A consumer report by InfoScout in collaboration with Alpine.ai saw a 29% lift in consumers’ year over year CPG product purchases who had smart speakers, and only a 19% lift in those that did not. While this metric does not show causality, the correlation between speaker owners and higher AOV’s signal digital marketers to begin investing in this trend as a way to access a more desirable customer base. Voice commerce is critical for standardized CPG products Before the end of 2018, 55% of retailers plan to have voice assistance integrations on their roadmap, 60% plan to have mobile voice search, and 58% plan to have desktop voice search, according to a study by Onespace. Staying in line or ahead of this digital trend is important for CPG brands, especially those that sell standardized products and have few opportunities to differentiate themselves beyond price and placement within the market. While it may not give you an immediate leg up, no CPG brand can afford to fall behind. Connect with us to learn more about voice commerce and other cutting-edge technology that BIGEYE uses to transform our clients’ brands. When you reach out to our team, we’ll work with you to create a custom digital transformation strategy that puts your products everywhere your clients are shopping.
Tips to Transform Your Graphic Packaging Within Pharmaceuticals
Although science, robust clinical trials, and the FDA get most of the credit for emerging products in the pharmaceutical market, your brand should not underestimate the importance of graphic packaging. These three tips will transform how you think about your brand’s packaging design and highlight why this critical capability is worth investing in. 1.Packaging design is your reputation’s first line of defense Your packaging is your customers’ first impression of your product. The style of your label, drug information, ingredients, and packaging materials all provide clues into your brand’s quality. Packaging should protect both your products during transportation and distribution, as well as your reputation. Cheap, misleading, or confusing packaging can lead to customer frustration, resistance taking their medication, or liability issues if dosing is unclear. 2.Graphic packaging can increase patient adherence According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, only 25-30% of patients take their medication as indicated. Most often, these patients cite confusion over how they were intended to take a drug. Packaging plays an important role in communicating a drug’s indications, benefits, risks, and interactions with other substances and could have the potential to dramatically improve patient adherence. Graphic packaging and infographics are a great way to build knowledge about complicated products or drugs. They also improve clarity for the medication being distributed among low-income demographics where literacy is low. 3.Flawless packaging doesn’t need to break your budget The good news is that high-quality, informative packaging can be achieved on almost any budget by partnering with a specialized graphic packaging agency. When looking for a digital marketing agency like ours to support your pharmaceutical packaging design needs, make sure they understand your specific industry requirements and can design within those guidelines while creating a memorable and functional final product. While your drug’s packaging may not be the most glamorous part of your product marketing mix, it can make or break your pharmaceutical’s success once it enters the market. Contact our team to learn more about how we have partnered with pharmaceutical companies like yours to build a comprehensive brand strategy that includes naming, packaging, and marketing support.
3 Marketing Tactics Every Vocational School Needs to Start Doing Today
College expenses have increased more than 260% over the past 50 years, according to Business Insider, making space for vocational schools to shine in the market. As more students opt out of four years (or more) of student loan debt and seek educational opportunities that will help them get highly skilled jobs quicker and more cost-effectively, vocational school marketing is becoming increasingly important. These three tactics are the easiest, most effective way to market a vocational college in today’s high volume school zones. Invest in valuable content Prospective students are interested in what your school can do for them. Rich, detailed content and photography are the best ways to accomplish this goal and market technical college. Use content to make a memorable, inviting first impression that entices students to reach out to your admissions team and begin the enrollment process. If your site is outdated or you don’t have a budget to hire a full-time content team, work with an agency like BIGEYE to create student personas based on the areas of expertise your school offers. By layering in targeted content, blog posts, and case studies that will appeal to your ideal candidates, your vocational school will make its mark on the map. Streamline information Once students believe your school is a good fit, they will want to know the facts, such as how flexible scheduling can be, whether online classes are available, what tuition costs look like, whether there are course requirements, and how many accreditations your institution offers. Vocational school marketing hinges on building trust in your brand, so don’t hide these critical details behind a gated form or require students to call to learn more as this can become a barrier when comparing other schools that show this information. Create easy-to-navigate landing pages and a strong information architecture to signal to students that you have nothing to hide and are a strong option for their future. Leverage social media Over 70% of students use social media to research college, and three out of four of them cite it as being “very influential” in their decision to enroll according to the Social Admissions Report. Social media helps prospects understand what type of students enroll and how they can expect your experience to fit into their lives. Enlist the help of current students to share their experiences online so you can promote key cultural drivers such as flexibility or job training. Learn more about how a digital marketing agency can help attract the right students for your school or let BIGEYE help you create a vocational school marketing plan that fits your needs and budget by reaching out to our team today.
How a Credit Union Marketing Agency Can Put You One Step Ahead
When most people hear the word “credit union,” they usually don’t rush to their car with enthusiasm for a visit — yet credit unions and banks are important pillars of commerce, stability, and success in most communities. Just because credit unions play a highly functional role in most people’s day-to-day lives, doesn’t mean your brand can’t speak to your community’s values and become an icon people look forward to engaging with. A credit union marketing agency can transform your business – and your band – quickly and easily. Here’s how: Break outside the box with fresh credit union design ideas After the 2008 financial crisis, many credit unions and banks struggled to rebuild consumer trust. Using social media, creative advertising, and generating thought-provoking or helpful blog content can strengthen your customers’ trust. As an example, Wells Fargo’s “Earning Back Your Trust” campaign features billboards, YouTube videos, and social media posts all aimed at acknowledging and addressing why their customers stopped trusting them after the crisis. Efforts like these humanize your brand and make complicated subject matter more accessible for the average person. To strike the right tone for your campaigns to ensure your credit union is still professional and educational while showcasing your human side, partner with a credit union marketing agency like BIGEYE to create unbeatable content. Freshen up your user experience with new content Partner with an agency to take a quick pulse check on your website and highlight low word count or low-traffic site pages. Once you’ve identified these weak areas, decide whether content could be combined into another page or expanded upon. As a rule of thumb, most pages should have 1,000 (or more) words to ensure each digital touchpoint is meaty and meaningful for visitors. This deep content also signals to search engines that your brand is an authoritative voice in the space and that it should be ranked higher in search results. Provide valuable services online This last recommendation may be a little more difficult to implement, but worth the effort. Whether you use a website or app to accomplish this goal, make sure your customers can perform some services online without visiting your brick and mortar location. For new or lapsed customers, this is a way to entice them to choose or return to your brand. Once you have them hooked, they will keep coming back for your services. While it may be unrealistic for your credit union to adopt Bank of America’s complete digital banking style, a top Florida marketing agency can help you determine what services you can provide that will be of value to your customers and then successfully market those within your community. Contact us today for a free consultation on how our credit union marketing agency can help make your credit union more engaging than ever.
Why Working With a Technical College Marketing Agency Is Essential
Over the past decade, the higher education system has changed dramatically. Courses are offered online, highly competitive schools allow students to work full time while pursuing their degrees, technical skills are more valuable than ever, and real-life work experience or work-study programs have become the norm. These changes allow students to become skilled employees faster, while building communities through the talent that fuels their economy. Technical colleges play an important role in this evolution, which is why getting the word out with the help of a technical college marketing agency is so important. Help students discover important educational alternatives High school diplomas no longer hold the same weight they used to, and most high school graduates feel pressured to pursue a college degree. The growing expectations that all students will attend college delays skilled employees from entering the workforce and can lead to an unsuccessful college experience for those who are either disinterested or unequipped to participate in a four-year program. According to the Institute of Education Statistics, 40% of students drop out of four-year degree programs, and 60% of those that do complete their degree take longer than four years to graduate. Ensuring your technical college is easy to find and learn about empowers students to explore alternatives to a prescriptive college experience. A technical college marketing agency can help your school become more search-friendly by enhancing your SEO presence and building a robust content strategy that answers your future students’ questions at every stage in the exploration process, on any device, at any time. Become a building block of your community Technical colleges are no longer a fallback option for high school dropouts. They help talented students who need more scheduling flexibility or more economic education options to get a college degree without strapping themselves with debt. Allowing them to enter the workforce faster and start earning a meaningful wage. But don’t take our word for it. The average earnings for a new technical graduate are $55,270 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is on par with post other college degrees. Because most technical degrees are two-year programs, enrollment in your school will push skilled labor into the economy faster each year. This creates a dynamic job market for both employers and employees. On average, technical colleges are also less expensive than four year programs — which have increased 260% in cost over the past decade. Use a technical college marketing agency like ours to help you build strong relationships between major employers and high schools in your area that will break down outdated stigma about technical colleges. Your program deserves to be top of mind within your community and seen as an affordable, expeditious source of talent in your community. The takeaway Learn more about why a digital marketing agency is a critical partner in building these relationships and recruiting the next wave of talent by clicking here to contact our team. We will share case studies and success stories from educational institutes just like yours and help you build a strong digital footprint to drive success.
The only guide you & your content marketing agency should use
Faced with an ever changing landscape of marketing trends, keeping your content fresh can feel like a daunting task. We’ve seen many brands reach out to a top Florida advertising agency when they hit a breaking point and their content has become unmanageable, but we want to share an effective how-to guide that will make your (and your content marketing agency’s) life much easier. By following these simple steps, you can keep your content fresh … without the stress. 1. Create a foundation of evergreen content While current news, timely statistics, and cutting-edge trends all have a place in your arsenal of content, evergreen material that never goes out of style or “ages” should be the foundation of your digital footprint. This content should anchor your search strategy with keywords that will always be relevant to your brand. Many companies shy away from creating evergreen content in fear that all the related, popular topics have already been covered. Even if that were true, you can leverage your team’s unique voice or expertise to add a brand-specific spin that will freshen up timeless topics. Your brand should also consider developing content for secondary, or long-tail, topics and keywords that will still drive site traffic, but have less competition against them 2. Repurpose your best material Partner with a content marketing agency or use a search tracking tool such as Ahrefs to monitor how your content is performing in search. If you see a certain keyword ranking drop, it’s time to refresh your material on that topic. Repurpose your best features by punctuating evergreen content with links to news or new statistics. In addition to strengthening your brand’s position on a certain topic, this also helps build backlinks within your site, establishing your credibility in the search ecosystem and bolstering your ranking. Remember, you aren’t the only person speaking about a certain topic, so just because you’ve said it once, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t revisit the topic with relevant updates for your ever-growing audience. 3. Let your content marketing agency spice up your content type You may also want to republish popular topics in a new format. While you may be great at writing blog posts, that same content could capture a different audience if it were translated into an infographic, how-to guide, or formal whitepage. Most people gravitate toward the type of content they create best, so we recommend using a digital agency to help break out of your routine and reframe pieces into new formats. Learn more about how our team can translate content into new and engaging styles here. 4. Don’t forget about User Generated Content (UGC) If you have awesome followers and influencers engaging with your brand, let them shine. Share and promote your users’ good content. Contributors love to be recognized and will probably consider being featured on your social media, blog, or page as a tremendous compliment. UGC also has the added benefit of generating over four times the clickthrough rate of brand content according to Shopify, so you can’t go wrong. Once you’ve mastered these simple steps, you should be well on your way to a maintainable content strategy that serves your brand and your customers. Click here to contact our team and get started on refreshing your content today.
3 Crucial video marketing strategy tips you probably didn’t know
Video is one of the most ubiquitous marketing tools available. YouTube users watch over 500 million hours of video and over half a billion people watch videos on Facebook each day. This broad reach makes your video marketing strategy critically important when driving top-of-funnel awareness and keeping loyal customers connected to your brand. We know that video marketing can be a daunting prospect, so our video team has compiled three foundational principles that will help guide your strategy. Use your video marketing strategy to tell a story Last year, the most watched video ads were from Samsung India’s customer service team and app-based gaming company Clash Roayle, with 150.5M and 110.7M views respectively. Neither ad spends time discussing price or features. They simply tell compelling stories. While this isn’t to say that educating your customers or taking them behind the scenes isn’t valuable, these statistics support growing evidence that consumers don’t respond as well to “hard sales pitches” as they do to emotionally engaging content. Infuse your video marketing strategy with strong story narratives to set yourself apart in saturated or mature markets where your competitors have similar feature sets and pricing margins. By sharing unique customer stories or communicating something meaningful about your brand values, you can appeal to customers in a way that transcends ever-changing price and feature wars. Know which channel your video is intended for There is no one-size-fits-all channel strategy. Facebook ads are known for their viral, often educational or humorous content, while Instagram ads are usually silent, dreamy appeals. YouTube is the single biggest video-based search platform in the world, while a brand’s Snapchat account can offer a raw, unfiltered look into their values and products. Although a single concept or storyline may be appropriate for all of these channels, the video itself should be edited to fit the tone, average length, and style of the channel where it will appear. If you aren’t an editing expert, don’t worry! Learn more about how our team can help you storyboard and script, manage talent, stitch together and refine your videos to fit perfectly — wherever and whenever your audience needs to find them. Introductions and endings are important Your videos should always be bookended by an attention-grabbing introduction and a concise ending that features a clear call to action (CTA). The average person spends less than 5 seconds deciding whether a video is worth watching, so the first three seconds should provide viewers with an emotional hook or value proposition to keep watching. The meat of your video needs to keep viewers engaged while reinforcing important information about your product or brand, then signal when your viewers should start paying attention to contact details such as your URL or a special offer that will take them to your app or website. The goal of any video is not to keep them there, but encourage viewers to transition to a platform where they can learn more and make purchases. Make sure your CTA is short and sweet so viewers don’t have a difficult time remembering the exact details to make that jump. When leveraged properly, video can be a powerful appeal to new and existing customers that highlights what makes your company unique and special. Reach out to our team today for a free consultation on your current video marketing strategy and learn how we can transform your brand together.
How packaging design services can transform your brand
95% of new products fail every year according to Forbes. And we want to help change that statistic through our revolutionary packaging design services. Aside from keeping your products safe for shipping and distribution, packaging is the calling card of your brand. Packaging helps customers decide whether they want to buy your product before they try it, which is why we don’t recommend skimping on this important extension of your brand. When partnering with a creative agency to help bring your vision to life, make sure they have a deep understanding of the following four packing success indicators: function, cost, scalability, and brand alignment. Function: Your packaging should keep your products fresh, safe, and clean — based on the goods you’re selling, how fragile they are, and whether or not they have a shelf life. Packaging design services agencies should have unbeatable, niche insight into the types of materials best suited to protect your product, whether there are any government restrictions or guidelines for shipping and packing, and how to mitigate any risks your products may be exposed to while reaching their final destination. Cost: The quality of your packaging is a direct reflection of the quality of your brand. With that in mind, high-quality packaging does not always need to be expensive. Your creative agency can help you identify areas to cut cost, without sacrificing quality. They will work with you to understand what trends and design techniques will give you the look you want for less, and how shipping costs might factor into your total budget. Scalability: While sending a personalized note with every shipment may seem like a charming, high-quality touch, this is not scalable as your business grows. New businesses dazzle customers early with unique, memorable packaging, but lose an edge when cost and time forces them to cut back on the experience. Packaging design services experts will help you create packaging that is personal, on-brand, and scalable by volume. Brand Alignment: Tiffany’s & Co signature blue boxes and Apple’s sleek, streamlined containers are almost as recognizable as their products themselves. This level of brand alignment helps potential customers understand your products more deeply and determine whether your brand values are aligned with their lifestyle. Signature packaging, like Tiffany’s, can also become a draw for your customers when leveraged properly across channels to tell a unique story about your brand. Nailing these four guidelines doesn’t guarantee your packaging won’t need some fine tuning, or that you won’t want to update your look as your brand evolves. Your agency partner will work alongside your brand to ensure your packaging stays current through testing with small focus groups, experimenting with cheap-chic materials, and gathering customer feedback about how durable and sustainable your packaging really is. This process is a foundational part of the product lifestyle for CPG and luxury brands. Learn more about how something as simple as a box can transform your brand by contacting our team for a free consultation about your packaging design.
Going beyond clickbait: How to really create a high impact ad
Digital ads sometimes get a bad reputation for relying on clickbait to generate views. However, we believe that a true high impact ad can drive consumer engagement and build a relationship with your brand. Successful high impact ad units are easier to build than you think once you know the types of content that motivate and inspire your audience. Our team can help you create engaging, content-rich ads that entice your audience to learn more. For inspiration, we want to share a few of our favorite high impact ad formats and when to use them. Pre-Roll High Impact Ads: There’s nothing new about pre-roll ads. They were one of the first high impact ad formats to hit the scene in 2007, just three years after YouTube.com web live. But they work. Pre-roll ads appear before a viewer watches streaming content such as a YouTube video, or a show on Hulu or Netflix. Because consumers are used to seeing previews before movies, the format isn’t jarring or unexpected. Most viewers have to wait a before they click out of an ad, giving your team an opportunity to show off their creative chops with something that will grab viewers’ attention before the dreaded “skip ad” button appears. If your content is good enough, viewers will want to share – not skip – your ad. Reactive Animation, Takeovers, and Splash Screens: Banner ads and pop ups appear statically and can be removed or avoided with the simple scroll of a mouse or or click of an “X.” By simply replacing these weak advertising tools with high impact ads you can lift viewer engagement by 67%, similar to a recent study done by Yahoo. Reactive animations (which slide down the screen in line with your content), takeovers (which disrupt the entire surface of the user’s tablet, phone, or monitor), and splash screens (which overlay a page’s content), are all more immersive options that force the user to take a pause and digest your content — hopefully deciding that it is worth their time — and exploring further. Push Advertisements: On the other end of the spectrum, push ads make advertising less intrusive by allowing the viewer to slide down a page’s content with a standard accordion or shelf feature. Viewers can open and close the ad depending on how relevant it is or how much time they want to spend on that content. Because this UX feature is common on many websites and apps as a way to organize information, it creates viewing consistency with whatever your audience is already looking at and makes ad content feel more natural. While making ads blend into the background may seem counterintuitive, this practice reduces negative feelings triggered by traditional ad units, making viewers more likely to focus on your message rather than automatically tuning out ad content. Interactive Banner Ads: In your next ad, try using gamification, allow users to drag and drop information in the ad field, or create a playful, interactive call to action that focuses on sharing knowledge rather than making a sale. Over 63% of consumers said they were annoyed by ads featuring overt sales pitches according to a study by HubSpot. Instead, viewers opted for ads embedded in rich imagery and interactive content. Interactive ads allow you to create a warm, welcoming experience rather than a transactional pitch, which will increase qualified leads and reduce bounce rate. Because clicks will result from genuine interest in our brand and content rather than a short-term promotion or sale, these visitors are also more likely to return to your site again. So, forget those static ad campaigns and get creative! If you need help generating ideas for your next high impact ad, contact our team for creative support or case studies showcasing what’s worked for businesses just like yours.
