Why Digital Marketers Should Prepare for the End of IE
Microsoft withdraws support for Internet Explorer. Do you know which browser your customers are using and what that tells you? At about 25 years of age, or about an eon in internet years, Microsoft recently announced the upcoming retirement of Internet Explorer. While the news should not entirely surprise most internet users, especially since Microsoft rolled out Microsoft Edge about five years ago, some people have concerns about Explorer web apps that businesses may still rely upon. Take a moment to learn about the solutions Microsoft has introduced to bridge the gap left by IE and the concerns a digital marketing agency may have about losing this old and established browser for good. Most of all, understand why marketers should keep track of the browsers their customers prefer in order to glean some useful data. How businesses can run IE legacy apps without IE support from Microsoft Microsoft announced their upcoming withdrawal of technical support for Internet Explorer. This also includes having Microsoft apps, like Windows 365 supporting the aged browser. Some businesses made sizable investments in developing their own web apps for IE, and Microsoft acknowledged that. Also, Internet Explorer has been around for decades, and many people have even used the latest version for a few years, so this announcement has caused some concern over having to change. In particular, businesses didn’t want to have to rely upon different browsers for access to various apps. Microsoft has a plan to bridge the gap and reassure users in two ways: Even though Microsoft won’t support IE, they said they had no plans to remove it from Windows at this time. Microsoft Edge, the company’s more modern browser, can run in “Explorer Mode.” Legacy apps should still work fine. Prudent businesses should probably not wait until the last minute to test that theory on their own custom apps. Why a digital marketing agency cares about retired browsers According to ZDNet, no third-party has successfully gathered precise or reliable information about the total share of internet traffic for each browser. Because of this, they trusted the official numbers for U.S. government websites as a fair sample. These are the ranks they came up with: Chrome ranked first with almost 50 percent of the federal traffic. Even so, it still didn’t rank as well as IE did 20 years earlier. Safari ranked second with about 30 percent of the government traffic, indicating that a good share probably originated from phones. IE ranked in third place, even just ahead of Edge. Surprisingly, Firefox came in fifth on this list with only 3.6 percent. Except for those who rely on apps developed for IE, marketers might not have thought to base digital media targeting by web browsers. Personal preferences or exceptional requirements aside, they all do just about the same thing for average users. Still, Marketing Experiments presented a case study that demonstrated the possibility of gleaning marketing data from browser choices. As an example, users of their desktop app tended to prefer different browsers than their cloud app users. After looking at the analytics, the market researcher noticed over half of the traditional software users favored IE; however, IE only accounted for about one-third of the web app users. How can the end of IE disrupt businesses? Even with the end of IE looming, lots of people still use it. Digital target marketing should include checking browser preferences and preparing for some disruption. The researcher did speculate that the people who tended to favor both traditional software and IE may have been older than the web app users. After all, Baby Boomers and older Millennials have matured right along with the internet, and for many, they also grew up with IE and installed software. Companies with a lot of IE traffic might want to test that theory with a survey of their own audience. In particular, businesses that target older or more traditional customers should anticipate the change. Reaching out to customers about the end of IE can even provide a good opportunity to provide some useful customer engagement. For instance, customers might appreciate having a business contact them with helpful suggestions about transitioning to a different browser or better yet, the company’s app. The king is (almost) dead; long live the king Once the declining IE user base evaporates, no clear browser winner may emerge. As an example, many people prefer one browser on their phone and another on their laptop. While Safari powers a lot of Apple phone searchers, it’s not so dominant with Apple laptop owners. The Samsung browser for phones ranked right behind Firefox, and that’s obviously from mobile users. Anyway, marketers probably won’t care so much about which browser gets the most overall traffic; instead, they will focus upon trends among their own site visitors and customers. Most of all, businesses can use this information to ensure customers keep enjoying a good experience and to understand them better.
10 Top Influencer Marketing Campaigns from a CPG Agency
See and understand ten examples of great influencer marketing campaigns for a variety of CPG companies, from Diet Coke to underwear. According to Martech Advisor, almost 90 percent of CPG marketers include influencer marketing in their promotional campaigns. To gain some inspiration about successful campaigns for a variety of CPG products and brands, look at brief summaries for a variety of examples. CPG Marketing Agency Picks for Examples of Successful Influencer Ad Campaigns To understand how a CPG marketing agency might plan to maximize the ROI from influencer marketing for a specific type of product, it should help to consider these diverse examples. 1. Fiji Water This bottled water company sponsored workout videos on Instagram with Danielle Bernstein. They hoped to emphasize the company’s focus upon keeping fitness buffs well hydrated, while they’re working to look as good as Ms. Bernstein. View this post on Instagram Feelin’ fit, lookin’ fancy. #FIJIFit. ? @weworewhat #bodyworewhat A post shared by FIJI Water (@fijiwater) on Aug 29, 2017 at 9:46am PDT 2. Diageo whiskey As the parent company, Diageo produces Lagavulin and Oban whiskey brands. This campaign featured Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation, mostly just sitting by the fire with his glass of whiskey. It even won an award as the best influencer marketing campaign in the celebrity category. 3. Stride gum Lots of people recognize DJ Khaled as a hip hop artist and producer. He’s fairly famous on Snapchat and partnered with Stride for some fun channel takeovers. In many cases, influencers post on their own channels; however, in this case, Khaled performed on Stride’s network to provide CPG advertising. In this way, he could engage both his and Stride’s existing audience. Stride Gum – DJ Khaled Snapchat Day from Mark and Paddy on Vimeo. 4. Naked Juice bottled smoothies Naked Juice wanted to position themselves in the sphere of beauty, health, and fashion. To that end, they engaged Kate La Vie, a lifestyle blogger. She basically shared posts of her daily essentials. Of course, these included sunglasses, a makeup kit, and a bottled smoothie from Naked Juice. View this post on Instagram Post gym fuel + today’s outfit details! @nakedjuiceuk #ad A post shared by Kate Spiers (@kate.lavie) on Feb 20, 2017 at 8:54am PST 5. Glossier beauty products Instead of relying upon a social media star or celebrity, Glossier ran a campaign called Regular Women. The company motivated women to share images of their beauty products by offering them the chance to offer product discounts to their own social circles. This example might particularly interest a consumer package goods agency with a tight budget. View this post on Instagram ? A post shared by Glossier (@glossier) on Sep 13, 2017 at 5:10am PDT 6. Kraft food products Most people probably associate Kraft with at least some types of common food products. According to Tap Influencer, 98 percent of North American households have at least one Kraft product in their pantry or fridge right now. Still, the company wanted to better connect with a customer base that increasingly turns online for information about products. They “crafted” their influencer marketing around high-quality content, such as recipes and cooking demos that incorporated Kraft products, and earned a considerable amount of exposure in the process. 7. Persona vitamins Persona markets Vitamin Packs to consumers. They first developed software called the “Vitamin Advisory System” nearly two decades ago. They began to perform much better when Dr. Andrew Weil and Drugstore.com used this software on their own websites. Dr. Weil has a popular health and nutrition site, and Drugstore.com is a big eCommerce site. In both cases, the vitamin maker offered something of value in exchange for exposure. Since then, their model has been used by other vitamin companies. 8. Diet Coke soda Apparently, the color scheme of a Coke can is so familiar that Diet Coke ran their campaign without using labels. Actually, the purpose of the campaign was to start discussions about labels, and they even tagged it #unlabeled. They partnered with a diverse set of influencers, who all talked about obstacles they needed to overcome because they believed they had been stereotyped. In this case, Coca-Cola did a good job of connecting with their audience over values. View this post on Instagram we’re removing our labels, to start a conversation about yours. see how we’re celebrating individuals and their stories at dietcoke.com/unlabeled. #unlabeled A post shared by Diet Coke (@dietcoke) on Jul 17, 2019 at 9:13am PDT 9. Stance underwear and socks Stance wanted to establish an identity for their brand as comfortable, carefree, and active. Known as a sock company, they are also branching into underwear. They had the idea to engage influencers to perform a wild activity in their underwear in order to encourage their audience to do the same — and have a chance to win cash prizes. They hoped to highlight high-quality, engaging content in order to visually connect with customers. View this post on Instagram | By far, these are my favorite pair of @stancesocks ?| . . . . #stancesocks #socks #photo #photooftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #travel #traveler #traveling #travelersnotebook #travelogue #travelphotography #travelbug #traveljunkie #traveladdict #travelstories #traveldiaries #traveljournal #ootd #instadaily A post shared by Stance Socks (@iwearstance) on Aug 5, 2019 at 7:05pm PDT 10. Sperry shoes Sperry noted that some influencers already wore their shoe brands on social media, so they worked with them to create more engaging content to attract an audience. Sperry looked for micro-influencers and not major social stars, offered them assistance, and hoped to reap the benefits while the influencers also grew their audience. View this post on Instagram Soar to new heights and set sail on new adventures. #odysseysawait @slavatheshrimp A post shared by Sperry (@sperry) on Feb 15, 2016 at 3:33pm PST Obstacles an influencer marketing agency can help CPG businesses overcome Done right, using influencers for CPG marketing can produce great results. At the same time, HubSpot pointed out that many businesses struggle with at least a few
Adjusting Your Hotel Digital Marketing Strategy During COVID-19
When it comes hotel digital marketing during COVID-19, here are some tips on rethinking messaging, audience targeting, and marketing platforms. Rosie Sparks of Skift may have had one of the best introductory takes for tourism digital marketing during the coronavirus outbreak. To paraphrase, she said that hospitality marketers will have to walk a fine line to develop hotel and resort marketing plans during the crisis. Naturally, potential guests have grown increasingly and understandably cautious about leaving their homes for non-necessary travel. On the other hand, some relatively low-risk marketing tactics could attract the revunue that hotels and other travel businesses need to stave off disaster. So, what are low-risk digital marketing tactics? Skift mostly focused upon marketing isolated or outbreak-free destinations to help allay tourists fears about traveling during a pandemic. For instance, they published examples of a social and display advertising strategy that consisted of showing idyllic pictures and videos of fairly isolated places that hadn’t been touched by the coronavirus outbreak. These included African savannas, smaller European cities, and remote jungles. Other marketers have also highlighted the ideas of staycations that can give travelers a way to give into their understandable urge to simply get away from it all. Is promoting virus-free staycations a viable digital marketing tactic for hotel marketing? The publication noted that government and health organizations from all over the world have urged people to stay home during the outbreak. Right now, they admitted that promoting any tourism at all can damage brands. While some destinations have enjoyed a certain amount of success with this tactic, it’s risky because it’s controversial and also, won’t work for everybody. For instance, residents of some of these mostly virus-free places have protested against attracting too many out-of-towners to their location for fear they may bring the disease with them. People who agree that it’s best to shelter in place as much as possible may also resent this kind of messaging during a crisis, even if they don’t personally have anything to lose. Most of all, not every hospitality marketer has the luxury to promise a place to escape that’s far from the pandemic. Suggestions for a better digital advertising strategy for the pandemic So how can resort and hotel marketing companies best use their precious marketing budgets productively during the coronavirus outbreak? Mostly, you have to find ways to adjust your audience targeting for the times. Because you’ve changed your audience, you should also recognize their needs and concerns within your messaging. To understand how to proceed, dig deeper into some examples. Rethink your display advertising strategy budget You may have to work with a lean marketing budget while your business slumps. You can take heart from knowing that your competitors also have to trim expenses, so you may have opportunities to enjoy some bargain placements from publishers, search, and social platforms. For example, Skift noted that Google’s typically robust travel search has almost become unrecognizable because of the lack of ads. Once you narrow down your message and target audience, you should have plenty of opportunities to test your marketing for much lower rates than you paid a few months ago. Uncover low-hanging fruit to target Figure out which people still might visit your business. Even though most people have chosen to stay chose to home, some hotels have managed to keep a steady flow of bookings with visitors like these: According to USA Today, thousands of hotels have signed up with an organization called Hospitality for Hope. This matches hotels with agencies in need of lodging. An obvious example of guests this can attract would include healthcare workers who have ventured into cities to help with coronavirus hotspots. Similarly, hotels have worked with hospitals, city or county governments, and individuals to help house medical workers, loved ones of patients in hospitals, or even people who don’t need medical care but still need a comfortable place to self-quarantine away from family. For instance, many doctors and nurses have chosen to isolate themselves in hotel rooms for the durations to reduce the risk of infecting their families. Besides essential businesspeople who still need to travel for important work, local remote workers have checked into hotels as alternative workspaces. For instance, a parent with a house full of kids may need a quiet place to attend to a day full of video conferencing meetings. With typical work-sharing venues closed down, a hotel can typically provide the amenities these employees need. The idea of offering staycations may still work, but instead of trying to attract international travelers to exotic destinations, any city or suburban motel could offer staycations to people who just want to leave home but not travel very far. Hotels and resorts can offer room service, in-room entertainment, and other amenities to help attract guests who live nearby but still want to feel like they’re getting away from it all. Some hotels have worked with local restaurants to promote gourmet weekends with a variety of meals that get delivered right to the front door. Naturally, once you uncover an existing demand, you may want to tailor packages that will appeal to these people. Whslasile most marketers caution against slashing rates too low to attract guests, you might consider ways you can add value to your packages without reducing revenues too much. Some ideas that other hotels have promoted include discounts for long-term stays, packages that include room service and other upgraded amenities, and of course, relaxed cancellation policies. Choosing tourism digital marketing platforms Naturally, you should maintain your presence on any robust social sites you already inhabit. Some content ideas might include: Use graphics and videos to demonstrate the extra steps you have taken to protect the health of your guests and employees during the outbreak. For instance, you might even produce a video of your cleaning staff working to sanitize a room for new guests. If you do have rooms for people who need to self-quarantine, you might demonstrate that you have established this block of
Restaurant Marketing and Customer Acquisition After Coronavirus
Restaurants affected by COVID-19 are getting creative with their customer acquisition strategies. Read our restaurant marketing tips for inspiration. The restaurant industry has been singled out as one of the kinds of businesses most impacted by the coronavirus crisis. Government orders have closed dining rooms across the country. At the same time, many eateries have struggled to hang on with delivery and takeout — and some have even done quite well. Thus, it’s still not time to abandon the restaurant customer acquisition ideas that can bring in revenue now and help you emerge even stronger after the coronavirus outbreak finally passes. Restaurant customer acquisition ideas for during and after coronavirus Pre-coronavirus, the National Restaurant Association projected almost $900 billion in revenues for American restaurants in 2020. In March, out of about 700,000 jobs lost, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of the laid off employees came from the hospitality and restaurant industry. John Harkey Jr., the CEO of Consolidated Restaurant Operations, called this crisis a financial tsunami for the restaurant business. In any case, it’s clear that the restaurant customer acquisition and marketing plans that businesses had before the shut-down and stay-at-home orders will need to change quickly. Consider online ordering, pickup, and delivery With the growth of delivery services and consumers’ growing desire for convenience, delivered, takeout, or drive-through meals already accounted for a significant and growing percentage of overall restaurant revenue. Some kinds of restaurants, like pizza places and fast food, had already based a large portion of their business around delivery and takeout. Still, as various state and local governments began to close dining rooms, some restaurants had to scramble to put online ordering in place. Sometimes, they did not have time to do much more than post a menu on their website and social sites and offer customers a phone number to call for curbside pickup orders. Still, depending upon the existing following these restaurants had, they still managed to keep a steady flow of customers. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Orlando restaurant marketing has focused upon delivery to offset the loss of in-store business. They gained assistance in their efforts when Uber Eats, one of the largest delivery companies, waived their fees for any orders from independent restaurant businesses. Some of the larger chains already offered their own delivery, and they’ve also begun to stop charging fees as a gesture of goodwill to their patrons and an incentive for more people to order. Exercise enlightened self interest Pickup won’t work for all restaurants. Harkey, the CEO mentioned above, said that they operated most of their restaurants out of malls, and since the malls have closed, they can’t easily offer pickup and don’t really have the structure in place for deliveries. At the same time, delivery companies like DoorDash are heavily promoting an #OpenforDelivery campaign that pushed their services, the restaurants they work with, and even such competitors as GrubHub and Uber Eats. Some restaurants have balked at using these kinds of services because of the extra delivery charges, but for restaurants without capacity to offer certain services, they might serve as a handy option in more ways than one. In addition to pushing national chains, they’ve also helped promote local restaurants they deliver from. Another example of related businesses sharing resources includes a group of businesses that agreed to donate a percentage of revenue to coronavirus-relief charities. As they all promote the relief effort and their own struggles to keep employees working, the digital presence of the charitable organization also promotes the companies that sponsor it. Create compelling digital content for your restaurant Certainly, you attracted diners because they loved your food. Even better, you may have retained business because your customers loved your facility and even you. With that in mind, you can develop content that helps strengthen your connection. You could give your audience a behind-the-scenes video tour of your kitchen. Introduce them to your staff or let them watch you prepare one of your specialties. For example, one high-quality Italian restaurant shared an engaging recipe of the process they used to make, cut, and cook their homemade pasta. Another produced a series of cooking videos. Don’t overlook introducing your audience to your hard-working employees in order to remind customers that their patronage helps keep people working. These kinds of content tend to do very well on Facebook, YouTube, and other social platforms. Don’t worry about giving away all of your secrets, you’re probably just going to make more of your audience hungry than eager to attempt your recipes. If you need extra revenue, you can even monetize your content with ads and sponsors on some platforms. Don’t worry if you don’t have any production experience. While you should strive for quality, you can find cell phone apps that will allow you to shoot, edit, and upload decent videos. Don’t abandon marketing and advertising Plenty of research from other downturns demonstrates the wisdom of maintaining a marketing budget. Business that do tend to weather the crisis and emerge even stronger. As with other hospitality businesses, you might need to adjust your restaurant customer acquisition strategy a bit, but you certainly should not abandon it. Realistically, you may have to trim your budget, but you may find that some advertising platforms have grown less competitive as your competitors have done the same. You may also find you can do more with less as you focus upon satisfying existing demand within your community. Geo-fencing for restaurants Geo-fencing refers to setting a perimeter around your physical restaurant. For instance, you might use this technique to connect with people who are within the same shopping center, at work in a nearby essential business, or even just passing by your door. When they pass within the perimeter, this technology can alert them with a ping from a social network advertising platform, text, or message from a mobile app. Geo-fencing for restaurants has proven to convert really well. It might offer you the perfect way to
Why the Best Time to Invest in OTT and Digital Media is Now
Consumers are cutting cable but still watch favorite shows by streaming them. Invest in CTV and Local OTT Media to maximize your marketing investment. Even some researchers who conducted a recent survey of cord-cutters expressed surprise at their study results. Cord cutting refers to people who have canceled their cable TV accounts but kept internet as a way to access streaming content. This content may include their favorite TV shows and streaming-only programs. People still watch television shows, but far less of them watch via cable these days. While it’s obvious that regular TV ads won’t reach as many people as they used to, you can find out how savvy marketers can enjoy even better returns from accessing local OTT media and CTV advertising. These kinds of ads reach the viewers that cable cannot and offer plenty of benefits. The importance of digital media for advertising The survey mentioned above occurred last year and involved 5,000 Americans. The survey takers believed that their demographics tended to skew a bit younger and more budget-conscious than average, but they still included residents of each state and people from age 18 to 69. The results uncovered surprising insights and trends: Almost 60 percent of the respondents had already canceled their cable service. Meanwhile, almost 30 percent said they had not yet cut the cord but were actively considering it. In summary, about 90 percent of survey respondents had already canceled their cable TV subscriptions or planned to do it in the future. Meanwhile, industry analysts expect the trend to continue. Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon already offer billions of dollars worth of content. Such devices as Roku Streaming Stick and Google Chromecast let viewers access multiple services from older TVs, and newer sets often come with built-in internet connectivity. Of course, people can also watch content from their laptop, mobile phone, or tablet, so they really don’t need a television at all. Rather than choosing an expensive cable package, many consumers have found they can get more content for less money by streaming. Even cable companies recognize the trend and have begun to offer stream-only accounts that give customers internet access to basic and some premium cable stations. In addition, most cable and network stations offer free and paid plans to let viewers watch their favorite shows through an internet connection. Also, you can only access some new network programs from, like the new Star Trek series, through a paid app. With that CBS app, for example, the basic paid plan still shows ads, and viewers need to pay more to remove them. As another example, you have to have paid cable access to see some AMC shows, and you still have to pay more to remove advertisements. In any case, the numbers from the survey may not exactly illustrate the behavior of all Americans. Still, they represent a large population of internet-aware, budget-conscious consumers. If that sounds like your market audience, you should consider the digital media marketing options that will let you reach them. What is OTT Vs. CTV advertising? Very often, OTT and CTV advertising get used interchangeably. More precisely, CTV refers to connected TV or even any device used to watch content through an internet connection. OTT stands for “over the top” and refers to using a service to access content from the internet. For instance, people still need to get bandwidth from their cable company, but they may need a subscription to such OTT providers as Hulu and Netflix to watch a particular show. The anachronistic origins of over the top came from the days when people usually placed their gaming or streaming device physically over the top of their cable box. Anyway, you can usually think of OTT and CTV advertising as having a similar meaning, depending upon context, but they may not always exactly mean the same thing. So, you might see CTV and OTT advertising more precisely described like this: CTV advertising: CTC advertisements generally describe short-form, professional video ads that marketers can offer to targeted audiences of people who use connected TV. OTT advertising: Advertisers can have OTT ads inserted inside of OTT content in much the same way that viewers are used to seeing ads on network shows. Subscribers will not see ads for external businesses on Netflix or the HBO app. However, some services have subscription levels, so the provider will display ads to bring in additional revenue for the cheaper plans. Examples of these services include Hulu and the CBS and AMC streaming apps. Benefits of OTT and CTV advertising Before discussing the benefits of digital media advertising, it’s a good idea to consider the drawbacks of traditional media: Targeting: Traditional TV, radio, and even print ads generally cast a wide net. You may have had some ability to target an audience by choosing time slots or media; however, you can’t tune that well enough to target things like your previous website visitors or people who have or haven’t seen your ads before. Analytics: After your ads ran, you may have figured out how to gather some rough metrics. For instance, you might have asked viewers to call a particular phone number or ask for a specific TV-only deal. Still, you had no way to track the buyer’s journey or know exactly which of your efforts effectively gave you the best returns. Besides knowing that you’ll gain an increasingly larger audience by targeting online content, you should understand the rich features of streaming ad platforms. Targeting Sophisticated digital media marketing platforms offer these kinds of popular targeting options: Geographic location: In the past year, local OTT media marketing grew by 127 percent, which amounted to seven times the increase for all digital media marketing put together. You can also use IP targeting to find customers in specific geographic locations. Your own insights: You can use your own website visitor tracking, subscriber list, and other first-party data to find your audience. Demographics: As with other kinds of ad platforms,
Utilizing Geofencing to Improve Local Business Marketing
Geofencing is crucial for local business marketing because it allows you to reach the people who are around you and interested in what you sell. A geofence refers to a virtual boundary around a real-world area. It’s helpful for marketing a local business because it allows for hyperlocal targeting of people in a very specific location. Combined with other marketing tactics, you will also reach people who are not just nearby but also interested in what you offer. Find out how you can benefit from geofencing to market a local business. Using Geofencing to Market My Local Business Again, geofencing isn’t limited to just marketing or even cell phones. For instance, some companies use it to monitor activity in specific locations. The U.S. government relies upon it for security around military installations and even the White House. Still, you will find this tech heavily associated with mobile, local marketing. Geofencing apps rely upon Wi-Fi, GPS, RFID, or other device information to pinpoint the location of the user. The apps might either use proximity to a business or specific coordinates to decide if the mobile user has entered the boundaries of the geofence. Since there are about 7.8 million people in the world and five billion mobile users, this technology has the ability to reach many potential customers. Generally, business access this technology through their own in-store apps, social medial sites, or advertising platforms. Imagine, for instance, you sell vegetarian lunches within a large city. Simply targeting your city or part of the city won’t give you the same results as having the luxury of targeting hungry vegetarians who are only a couple of blocks away or even walking past your front door. When people approach your restaurant, you could offer them a mobile discount or BOGO coupon. When nearby workers start to look forward to lunchtime, you might send them a free delivery coupon. You can expect to enjoy much better conversions than by using promotions, coupon codes, and other ads that simply target people who happen to live within the same ZIP code or city and especially without any geographic targeting at all. Benefits of Hyper-Targeting Local Audiences With Geofencing Look at some encouraging statistics to see how you can improve your own local business marketing with geofencing: Adding geofencing to mobile advertisements will double a typical click-through rate. Over two-thirds of consumers say that they prefer personalized marketing experiences, and geofencing helps deliver that experience with its just-in-time messaging. Even more, geofencing tech works with over 90 percent of today’s smart phones. Also, people almost always have their phones with them when they’re out and about, and they spend an average of five hours each day actively using them. Your own business can benefit from geofencing with: Improved marketing returns: You can assume that customers will prefer to visit a nearby business, so you can enjoy better conversions. With some advertising platforms, better conversions will even translate into cheaper bids. You can spend less money on ads and earn more in revenue. Better data collection: You have a chance to adjust and test the virtual perimeter of your geofence and the kinds of offers and messages that you send. You should also add this information from other data you collect online and locally to gain a better understanding of customer behavior. Improved customer experience: Truly, you will use geofencing to provide your customers with a better experience. You can deliver exactly what they want at the time when they’re nearby and ready to obtain it. Common Ways Local Businesses Use Geofencing for Local Business Marketing Marketers use geofencing in a number of different ways. Common applications include: Business apps: These days, lots of businesses develop apps for consumers to use. Besides the other benefits of having consumers download your business app, you can also include geofencing to send notifications when users enter your defined locations. Text messages: Along with email lists, it’s great to get permission to send text messages to your customers. You can use software to automatically send pre-written text messages when users step inside your zone. Third-party applications: You may not have the resources to develop your own apps yet; however, you can find third-party coupon and promo apps that give you access to geofencing technology and very often, a wide audience. Social media: Twitter, Facebook, and most other large social platforms have advertising programs that will allow you to use their geofencing capabilities. Search and other internet ads: Advertising platforms, like Google, will let you define geofencing locations for displaying ads. Tips to Maximize the Benefits of Local Business Marketing With Geofencing As with most marketing, you should include a clear call to action. In this case, your call to action should emphasize immediate action because you’re taking advantage of the fact that your customers have moved close to your brick-and-mortar office or store. You don’t want to tell these customers that they can save money all month. Instead, you want to let them know that they’re lucky enough to be close just when they have the chance to take advantage of your deal. Also, you’ll enjoy the best results if you mix geofencing with other marketing techniques, like search, demographic targeting, and so on. You probably don’t want to target everybody who happens to wander near your business but those who are most likely to want what you’re offering.
The Tiger King’s Questionable SEO Tactics
The Tiger King Joe Exotic used blackhat SEO tactics to take revenge on Carole Baskin. We break down why blackhat SEO doesn’t work, even for Joe Exotic. If you’re one of the millions of Americans with a Netflix subscription and nowhere to go because of the pandemic, there’s a good chance you’ve watched at least part of Tiger King. According to both Netflix and Rotten Tomatoes, this documentary has generated enough attention to become America’s most popular TV show at the moment. The series largely focuses upon the rivalry between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin, rivals in the business of keeping big cats and other wildlife. Some characters in the series have been described as appalling, cruel, and of course, oddly mesmerizing. During this time of national crisis, why are we highlighting a show that documents mistreatment of beautiful animals, hypocrisy, and even attempted murder? Well, among Joe Exotic’s other questionable actions, he employed illicit SEO tactics to try to improve his business at Carol Baskin’s expense. While this TV show can provide so many morality lessons, it’s also instructive about blackhat SEO tactics that you should never rely upon. Blackhat SEO: the Tiger King way Before explaining Tiger King SEO, it’s helpful to make sure you understand a little background of the story. Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin appear very different on the surface. For instance, Joe openly ran his zoo to earn money and often appeared short of cash. On the other hand, Ms. Baskin has lots of money and says she runs her nonprofit to help protect endangered animals. At the same time, they do have a few things in common. Baskin runs a nonprofit animal sanctuary called Big Cat Rescue in Florida. Exotic owned the Garold Wayne Zoo in Oklahoma, now known as the Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park and under different ownership. The feud between the two them began when Baskin claimed that Exotic’s animal conditions, breeding programs, and practice of charging visitors to pet cubs were abusive to the captive wildlife. She embarked upon a mission to end all private ownership of big cats and in particular, Joe Exotic’s zoo. In turn, Exotic claimed that Baskin did not provide good conditions for the captive animals in her own refuge. He said that she waged a hypocritical war against his zoo by encouraging PETA to track him, badgering prospective clients, and even creating websites that called him out for animal abuse. How does Tiger King employ SEO? Another series character, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, owned a South Carolina animal preserve. He mentioned that Baskin always ranked at the top of search engines. Joe Exotic must have also known about Baskin’s SEO success. In order to gain more visibility for his business, Exotic figured he could ride on Baskin’s SEO coattails by registering his business and online properties as Big Cat Rescue Entertainment, instead of Big Cat Rescue. Even Baskin admitted that Joe Exotic enjoyed some initial success with this tactic. She would sometimes get phone calls from people who wanted to find Big Cat Rescue Entertainment. She sued Exotic in 2012 with a claim of copyright infringement. In the end, she won a settlement of almost $1 million. Some evidence her lawyers used to help her win her case included Big Cat Rescue Entertainment advertisements with the same Florida area code that Baskin’s organization used, even though Exotic had his business based in Oklahoma. Having similar business names doesn’t necessarily imply copyright infringement; however, a deliberate attempt to masquerade as another organization might. Don’t be like Tiger King Naturally, nobody wants to suffer the same fate as Joe Exotic. He had to sell his business. He also ended up in prison for trying to hire somebody to kill Carol Baskin. Nobody thinks that blackhat SEO is as bad as trying to murder somebody. Still, attempting to misrepresent yourself or your business through gaming search engines and misleading customers won’t lead to long-term prosperity, and that’s true even if you enjoy any success with it at all. Here are at least three takeaways you should learn from Tiger King’s blackhat SEO: For one thing, major search engines have gotten much better about catching misbehavior like this. According to Search Engine Watch, search engines will penalize or even delist businesses that attempt to fool them and their users. Even if you get away with it for a short time, your rankings will rarely last as long as your penalties. Even more important, companies that get caught employing these sorts of tactics suffer from terrible damage to their brand reputations. No business wants potential customers to think of them as a company that lied about their own address or other important business details. Of course, you should not overlook the fact that a court awarded Baskin nearly a million dollars after she proved that Joe Exotic tried to gain search engine visibility by spoofing her organization. If you have to start hiring lawyers, you know that’s going to make a big dent in any potential profits. Anyway, if they ever make a documentary about your life and your business, you don’t want to gain an audience for the same reasons that Tiger King did. You can speak proudly about your prominent business and website when you know that you gained that popularity by adding value and not through deceit.
Marketing AFTER the Coronavirus
As the coronavirus continues to grip the world, companies must act now to ensure marketing campaigns are able to weather the crisis. The effects of COVID-19 on business and business marketing From the plummeting Dow Jones averages that are rocking Wall Street to the forced closures and loss of consumer activity that are devastating Main Street, businesses of all sizes are on shaky ground during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. As social distancing continues to force events to cancel and bring face-to-face interaction to a grinding halt, certain industries have already suffered catastrophic damage. And other industries are bound to follow as factories shut down and companies fall into dormancy. As they lose customers to the terrible but temporary chaos of COVID-19, business must take care to ensure that these customers ultimately return to them when the crisis is over. This typically means significantly altering, if not entirely redesigning, their marketing efforts with a dual focus on immediate risk management and long-term goals. Wise companies are already getting ahead of this issue by taking immediate and comprehensive action. Take, for example, the recently launched ad campaign of the fast food giant Chipotle. Like other major restaurant chains, it has rapidly created, produced, and distributed, television and digital video commercials that stress the safety and reliability of take-out and home food delivery. As you formulate and execute your response to the coronavirus crisis, make sure that you are retooling your marketing campaign to meet the demands of the present and look forward to the opportunities of the future. Here are just a few tips and guidelines to help you bring your business through these uncertain and difficult times. Managing your marketing efforts to survive the coronavirus 1. Put Safety First Few industries have faced as much immediate damage from the COVID-19 outbreak as the global tourism industry. This makes the words of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) all the more urgent as its stresses putting safety first. By stressing customer safety, the HSMAI strives to protect overall company reputation as well as individual guest health. Businesses that do so earn “trust, respect, and loyalty.” A big part of putting safety first is keeping customers well-informed of relevant coronavirus facts and response protocols, particularly those that may affect your company’s operational processes and/or the goods/services that you offer. When providing this information, it is important to refer to and cite respected authorities such as the Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and the various local public health agencies at work in your area. Think carefully about the ways in which COVID-19 is likely to impact your specific industry specifically as well as the greater community at large. What value you can provide as an organization to help keep people safe? As you contemplate this question, remember that this crisis is evolving rapidly and will probably continue to do so for the foreseeable future. This means that your commitment to safety will require flexible planning and your marketing plan must adapt to the moment as conditions continue to fluctuate. 2. Assemble Your Crisis Management Team If your company is exceptionally large or specialized to deal with a specific type of risk, you may already have a dedicated crisis response team in place. Most companies, however, fail to prioritize crisis management and have never even considered developing a valid crisis plan. Well, now is certainly the time to do so. Gather functional leaders from across your organization under the leadership of its top communications executive or chief executive officer. Other crisis team members to consider for inclusion might be legal counsel, human resources professionals, operations/facility managers, sales/customer service directors, and any leaders in the fields of public relations marketing, and communications. All team member should clearly understand their specific responsibilities and areas of concern. For smaller companies without a dedicated PR or marketing team, MarTech Advisor contributor Indrajeet Deshpande recommends contracting with a qualified outside agency. In any case, your business should have in-house spokespersons at the ready in case you are approached by any independent media outlet or news publication. These spokespersons must be property trained to faithfully and effectively answer any question that they are asked. 3. Choose the Proper Media Mix As part of your crisis response and overall marketing plan, you must remember the famous words of Marshall McLuhan: “the medium is the message.” In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, choosing the right media channel for your public outreach is more important than ever. In other words, if you fail to choose the right forms of communication to deliver it, your marketing message will likely fall on deaf ears. In his March 20 article “Why Companies Turn To Digital Marketing To Survive COVID-19,” Forbes writer Bernard Marr points out that businesses will have to become more and more reliant on digital media channels. “Without wanting to sound too alarmist, he states, “in many cases it will be the deciding factor in whether they make it through the tough times ahead.” As people continue to practice social distancing, they will connect more than ever via the Internet. This makes leveraging your online marketing capabilities absolutely essential over the comping months. Ensure that your company website and social media pages contain helpful information and present a positive brand image at all times. While emphasizing digital marketing channels that range from banner ads to email newsletters, remember to keep an appropriate amount of traditional media outlets in your media mix. 4. Practice Careful Media Buying As part of your media mix planning, don’t fail to consider the supreme importance of cost. If it is to survive the COVID-19 crisis, your business will likely need to implement some fairly austere budgetary restrictions in the short term. Simply put, you will have to use every one of your marketing dollars wisely and make it count. The Wall Street Journal reports that companies looking to mitigate immediate risk often cut advertising spending first and foremost. “With the coming U.S. presidential
Don’t Ignore Influencer Marketing for Your Pet Products
Don’t knock influencer marketing when building your strategy for pet products. This type of marketing amplifies word-of-mouth marketing through social media. Do you trust a random TV actor pitching a product? What about a celebrity pitch person — someone you’re familiar with? Would you trust this person more? How about a close personal friend whose opinions you respect? Does their product recommendation carry even greater weight? In most cases, the answer to these questions are all in the affirmative. There is a definite spectrum in terms of whom we trust — that’s one reason why word-of-mouth marketing has historically been so effective. People trust friends, family members and people they respect more than faceless corporations. Influencer content marketing offers many of the same benefits associated with word-of-mouth marketing, and amplifies those benefits by including the reach of social media. Let’s take a closer look at the current state of influencer marketing, how it can specifically be used to sell pet products more effectively, and the benefits of working with an influencer marketing agency. Influencer marketing: a maturing market The growth of influencer marketing has been nothing short of astonishing over the last few years. Just consider these statistics from Influencer Marketing Hub’s “The State of Influencer Marketing in 2020” report: The industry is worth nearly $10 billion, growing from $1.6 billion in 2016. Average earned media value per $1 spent has jumped to more than $5. The number of micro-influencers used by large companies has tripled in three years. 80% of respondents plan to have a dedicated influencer marketing budget in 2020. 91% of respondents believe influencer marketing is an effective tactic for growing a customer base. 2020 Influencer Trends As those statistics show, it’s on a rapid growth trajectory. Yet to get the most out of your influencer marketing campaigns, it’s essential to have your finger on the pulse of evolving trends. eMarketer’s recently published “2018 Influencer Marketing Report” cites the following trends for 2020: 48% of businesses plan on using celebrity (or “macro”) influencers, while 45% will use micro influencers. Instagram is the preferred platform for influencer marketing, with 100% of report respondents using it. 85% use Facebook, 67% reported using YouTube, Snapchat 44% and Twitter 33%. TikTok, which is seeing some of the fastest growth among social platforms, is expected to be a major player in influencer campaigns in 2020. Influencers will continue to cross-over from having niche social media followings to being full-fledged celebrities. While this will give the most prominent macro influencers more leverage with businesses seeking to work with them, it also greatly expands their potential orbit of influence. How can this be applied to pet products? The pet industry is a natural home for influencers. People are devoted to their animals and love to consume and share pet-related content over social media. It’s estimated that one-quarter of all social content is pet-related and that one-fifth of pet owners have created a social media account specifically for their animal. The #dogsofinstagram hashtag alone is closing in on 200 million posts. Social media influencer marketing agencies that are solely dedicated to working with famous animal accounts have sprung up in the last couple of years, attesting to the power of this phenomenon. Companies seeking to sell pet products, therefore, have a powerful advantage relative to businesses in other industries: An army of potential influencers waiting to be leveraged. Pet bloggers and owners of pet social media accounts number in the millions, which means that the pool of available influencer talent is vast. Given that the ability to source influencers is perennially ranked as one of the most difficult challenges for firms engaged in influencer marketing, this is a considerable advantage. There is an obvious parallel to be drawn here: Mommy bloggers. Brands, over the last ten years, profited enormously from their partnership with high-profile mommy bloggers, who were able to build vast and deeply engaged audiences across various social platforms and websites. Parent-focused social media marketing become a core strategy for countless brands, and helped generate billions in new revenue. Pet industry brands have a similar opportunity to leverage pet bloggers in the same way, given their sizable numbers and considerable reach. Pairing this approach with some of the trends we’ve cited above is a winning strategy for 2020 (we especially encourage brands to focus on integrating TikTok into their influencer marketing strategy, as that platform is poised to become perhaps only second to Instagram in terms of cultural cachet and reach). Finding the right influencer marketing agency At Bigeye, we are experts at crafting compelling influencer marketing campaigns rooted in a deep understanding of the latest trends and technologies. If your pet product campaign needs a boost, we encourage you to reach out to us today — and learn what the right influencer marketing campaign can do for your brand.
What Brands Can Do During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Pivot your marketing strategy to handle coronavirus by producing digital content, airing television ads and OTT ads, and a communication strategy. Shift focus from events to digital On top of major events like NBA games and Coachella being cancelled or postponed indefinitely, conferences, expos, and trade shows have also been cancelled. According to a Demand Gen Report, 53% of B2B marketers say in-person events are the most effective channel for driving conversions, so many marketers are now searching for new channels to connect with target audiences. Google Cloud Next, Adobe Summit, Y Combinator Demo Day and more have opted for a digital-only approach. Although digital-only events do not offer the same traditional networking opportunities as in-person events, marketers can experiment with their event strategies to still capture those audiences. Consider these tactics: Produce digital content that can still influence your intended audience. Even though your company will not be able to interact with your audience in person, you can still reach them through digital channels. Target attendees with email campaigns or direct-mail. These channels provide the personal messaging that audiences look for while attending events. A/B test everything to measure the effectiveness of attending events in the future. You could find valuable insights from changing your strategy this year. Opportunity for television and OTT advertising Social distancing and work from home mandates mean more people will be at home watching television and streaming content. Audiences are tuning in to reporting on the coronavirus pandemic and searching for ways to stay entertained while limiting contact with potentially affected areas. Although ad spending is projected to slump across the board, reallocating budget to television and OTT advertising could pay off. Many brands are cutting ad spend in preparation for lower sales projections, which means there could more inventory available. Between self-quarantines, cancelled events, and precautionary measures, potential consumers are on the couch in front of the television as a captive audience. Communicate any service disruptions to the customer In the event your supply chain is disrupted, you have to cancel your event, or any other major changes, clearly communicate to your consumers why your regular service may be affected. Your customer will understand if your company has to make changes in the current situation as long as you are clear on why the package is taking longer to arrive or you are issuing a refund. The last thing the consumer wants is to be left in the dark and without the proper information. Dispel misinformation about your brand Misinformation about COVID-19 is multiplying across all social media channels. In-depth social listening for mentions about your brand will help you monitor untrue information that could be harmful to many people. For example, some people are attempting to make their own hand sanitizer using Tito’s Handmade Vodka and aloe. However, the CDC recommends that hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol and Tito’s only has 40%. To stop this unsafe information from spreading, Tito’s is replying to all tweets with a statement disproving it and recommendations from the CDC. Don’t sacrifice safety for the bottom line It’s hard to predict what kind of long-term impact coronavirus will have on our economy, but it’s important to keep acting with brand values in mind. At the end of the day, the safety of the public is the most important thing and companies should act accordingly.
