5 you may have missed in April
Here’s a round up of what’s caught our eye in the world of marketing communications. This month we have:
#1 – Attack of the micro-brands
In a recent article, author and investor Scott Belsky talks about the rise and success of micro-brands. Tiny brands with low overheads who understand customer needs and are very efficient with customer acquisition tactics. Micro-brands are not new but social platforms like Instagram have accelerated their popularity. Indeed it is now very easy and cost-effective for the creators of these brands to target prospective customers using data such as demographics, geography and interests and even gauge the popularity of products before producing them. What can more established brands learn from this? Concentrate efforts on building a loyal customer base.
#2 – A road map to establishing genuine emotional loyalty at scale
Talking about loyalty, brand loyalty is evolving and companies need to start establishing genuine emotional loyalty if they want to survive in this extremely competitive marketplace. This research piece by CRM company Olson 1to1 explains why building emotional loyalty is more critical than ever to create an unbreakable bond with your customers. How to get there? A high level of personalisation combined with other important attributes (which they call ‘delighters’). This includes great customer service as well as rewards that people care about and are attainable. Find out what the other ‘delighters’ are here.
#3 – The rise of vertical videos
Did you know that we hold our phones vertically 94% of the time? Well, now you do! Holding your phone upright with your left hand gives you the opportunity to interact with your right. Social channels have quickly embraced this ergonomic way of using our phones and consuming content. Snapchat was the first platform to offer vertical videos, quickly followed by Instagram Stories and Facebook. As explained in this article by Forbes, the rise of vertical video presents both opportunities and challenges when it comes to brand storytelling. The vertical format inherently requires a closer cropped, more refined take, but at the same time, it also brings a more intimate view and interactivity from the viewer. The rise of vertical videos doesn’t imply the death of horizontal videos (no one wants to watch TV vertically), however, brands need to adapt to this trend as well as understand that these videos are often consumed without sound too!
#4 – The 2018 state of influencer marketing study
This study by technology platform Activate compiles the experiences of more than 800 influencers and 100 marketers to compare and contrast their unique perspectives on the industry. Some of the findings while predictable, are good to be reminded of. Instagram and blogs are the two most popular platforms for partnership activities between brands and influencers. Both parties are looking for long term partnerships (actually almost 50% of marketers are now working with influencers for six months or longer). Too often influencers are not consulted before the content strategy and design direction is agreed. Content aesthetic is now the top consideration when selecting influencers (even before followers count). And finally engagement rate is the number one KPI when assessing the success of a campaign.
#5 – State of digital advertising 2018
The annual State of Digital Advertising study has just been released by Adobe and once again it’s full of interesting findings. For example, half of Generation Z (50%) and 42% of Millennials identify social media as the most relevant channel in advertising, while Generation Xers and Baby Boomers overwhelmingly prefer TV. TV emerges as a digital device as it becomes the living room internet portal and therefore this further blurs the line between TV and digital space. Finally, non-customers are three times more likely to visit retailers from social media than customers – proving the importance for brands to maintain a strong organic social media presence. Read more here.
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