Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018
Influencers, or opinion leaders as they are also called, can generate excitement for your brand and help to sell products and services. They build relationships for your brand via social media, reaching customers thought targeted posts and blogs. Influencer marketing content is thought to deliver 10 times higher ROI than other forms of digital marketing. If influencers are successful in helping to build sales, and many are, then they are a worthwhile investment for your brand. They key is influencer content that converts to greater awareness or better yet, a sale.
Why are influencer posts more effective than yours?
Influencers have a great understanding of social media and relating to their fan base. They earn the trust of their followers and speak directly to your targeted buyers. Consumers crave authenticity. An influencer may have less followers than a large brand, but influencer followers are often much more loyal. Influencers also discuss their experience with brands and products. They may also review products, providing valuable firsthand insight to consumers. Most importantly, they accomplish this in creative ways.
A Nielson study found that 83 percent of online responders said they trust referrals from people they know. Simply put, influencer marketing generates referrals. Because of their experiences with a brand and its products, influencer posts and blogs are often much more engaging and authentic than brand posts.
Traditional advertising vs. Influencer Marketing
Many companies are spending less on traditional advertising mediums, such as TV, radio and newspaper. Instead, they are focusing their attention on social media and social media influencers to reach their target market. They are discovering it can better target their ideal consumer. Social media influencers are also perceived to be much more trustworthy than an ad. Influencer marketing content can provide a much grater return on investment than traditional advertising.
The best platforms for influencer marketing are Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Blogs are also a powerful way to influence the public. Your ideal influencer is one that shares your key messaging and is knowledgeable of your industry. You will need to help develop usable content and graphics to assist an influencer in providing the information necessary to his or her followers. They will couple this with their own insight, life experiences, photos and videos. It’s a much more personal way of indirect advertising.
Internet & Social media statistics
Statistics prove that people are online all the time. They are searching, logging on to social media platforms and browsing the worldwide web all day, every day. Social media influence is poised to grow and if you have a well-planned influencer program in place, your sales can grow with it. An influencer can aid in your SEO efforts and help boost rankings. Here are some statistics from WorldStream and internetstats that showcase the power of social online and social media influence.
- Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second, which translates to 3.5 billion searches per day.
- Approximately half of the world’s 7.5 billion people are Internet users.
- 83% of female and 75% of male Internet users are on Facebook.
- There are nearly 2 billion users on Facebook.
- YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.
- 100 million hours of video content is watched on Facebook daily.
Start growing your social media interest now
Social media is the ideal spot for word of mouth marketing. Gain more interest in your brand and your products by building a greater social media presence. It will help you stay ahead of the competition and secure a loyal following. To be effective, brands need to begin authentic conversations. Media influencers are an excellent way to start these conversations and expand your social media presence in a meaningful way. They will help influence others in our target market to support your brand. Influencers will get your message out to the masses quickly and creatively. They are also an excellent value for your marketing dollar. Remember, the power of social media is in its ability to immediately reach the your target market. Exposure and awareness is imperative for a brand’s success. With the right social media influencer plan, you can achieve your sales goals starting today. If you’re interested in learning more about influencer marketing read another of our blogs. Have questions? Contact Corcoran Communications social media marketers today by emailing ruth@corcoranpr.com.
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Tuesday, April 17th, 2018
We as active people are on the move all the time. Fast is also the way we conduct business and gather information. Mobile devices are becoming our number one source for instantaneous content. Smartphones have become an important part of our every day life and many of the decisions we make are made in a micro-moment. We turn to our phones to research everything from new cars to new products. According to the 2018 Digital Suite of Reports from Hootsuite and We Are Social, mobile phones lead all other devices in share of web traffic. This includes laptops, desktops and tablets. It’s important to realize, that at 52%, mobile phones accounts for a greater share of web traffic than all of these other devices combined. In addition, Google reported that in the past two years, mobile searches for product reviews have grown over 35%. Searches for local places have grown 150%.
What is a Micro-Moment?
Consumers experience what Google refers to as “micro-moments” every day related to their mobile devices. They have identified four micro-moments of users, which include:
- I want to know.
- I want to go.
- I want to do.
- I want to buy.
These moments not only include research for information, inspiration, searching businesses or products, but also learning how to do things or making mobile purchases. Many decisions are made and preferences shaped in these micro-moments. They are an ideal opportunity for a brand to engage. Micro-moments happen quickly. Marketers and brands have mere seconds to capture and keep the attention of a consumer. It’s definitely changing face of digital and social media marketing.
Capturing the Attention of a mobile society
We go right to the palm of our hand in our quest for immediate answers. Who of us hasn’t turned to our mobile device for inspiration for our weekend plans or to search for restaurants. We seek out travel ideas, weather updates, answers and we make purchases. As digital marketers, we need to capitalize on mobile search and more specifically, these micro-moments.
First and foremost, consumers want value. This can include valuable educational content and exclusive information. It can also include discounts and quick and easy purchase opportunities. Did you realize that more than 80% of smartphone users report consulting their phones in-store when making a purchase decision? Imagine the opportunities both gained and lost in those split seconds.
Opportunity can be Gone in a Micro-Moment
Google recognized the increase in mobile searches and reacted with a change in algorithm. Just last month, the company announced that “mobile-first” indexing of the web is finally starting to roll out. Mobile-first indexing means that Google will use the mobile version of a web page for indexing and ranking. The goal is to better help primary mobile users find what they are searching for.
Expectations are higher than ever, so user experience needs to be a top priority in mobile marketing. Equally important, the load time of a site can spell death for a retailer. You only have a few short seconds before a mobile user decides to move on to another site. Give them what they want and give it to them right away. What’s going to reach out and grab attention? Videos and imagery that wows is a great start. Furthermore, valuable content is a must. Useless fluff is a thing of the past.
Raise the bar and follow your own vision. Be the go to site and source for authenticity and original information. Exert your influence by being the fastest in your industry out of the gate and capitalize on consumer micro-moments.
Five Ways to Leverage a Micro-Moment
- First and foremost, understand your consumer. They expect information of value and to have more personal experiences tailored just for them. To deliver this, you need to know your consumer. This includes their wants and needs. Knowing this will help you create more effective digital content. It will also help you to better understand when and where your consumers are searching. Once you know, you’ll want to be sure you’re there as well.
- Be sure you have high-quality content that is readily available and easy to access. Significant content is what’s going to help you take advantage of consumer micro-moments. Google will still put a priority on indexing useful content first. Think short, attention-grabbing headlines and engaging visuals. Easily accessible useful content is the name of the game if you’re going to succeed in a mobile world.
- If you haven’t already done so, optimize your site for mobile devices. Implement design changes to ensure mobile usability. This should include utilizing flexible text and images that are easily adaptable. Mobile visibility is critical to achieving your digital marketing goals. Responsive design is imperative if you want to provide a mobile-friendly experience. Be sure to optimize content for readability. Another key point, responsive sites that change based on the immediate needs of the users and the device they are viewing on are imperative.
- Focus on the user experience. You want every experience a mobile user has with your brand to be a content rich, positive experience. You want them to come back for more. Don’t make mobile users search endlessly or go through multiple steps. By all means, simplify your navigation and highlight clear calls to action.
- Optimize site speed. Speed it’s crucial when you’re dealing with a mobile micro-moment. Page loading speed is not only important for a better user experience, but also to your search rankings. A delay is just a few seconds can make a user move on to another site. A report by DoubleClick found that 53% of users would bounce from a mobile site that takes more than three seconds to load. With this in mind, if you’re selling something, simplify your purchase process. Limit the number of clicks it takes to reach checkout. You want consumers to finish that purchase every time they shop your site.
Time for a Mobile Marketing Strategy
Someone once told me that I had the attention span of a gnat. Apparently, I’m not alone. Consumers are living in the moment. As a business or brand, you need to as well. Consumers want and need answers at their fingertips. It may be the right time to begin developing a mobile marketing plan. Understanding those important micro-moment opportunities for your business is key. Your goal is to provide the information consumers need when they need it. Keep in mind, when it comes to mobile search, speed can save the day and your sale! To read more articles on various topics and trends of digital and social media marketing, follow Corcoran Communications on Facebook or Instagram. You can also subscribe below to be notified as new informational marketing blogs are posted.
Contact the digital marketing team at Corcoran Communications for helping develop a mobile marketing strategy today.
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