Month: February 2018

Marketing Your Product on Instagram

Posted on by Peter Mendez

Social media has done wonders for marketing and one platform that’s living up to that statement is Instagram. Instagram is home to millions of users and a large number of them follow their favorite brands on it.

Instagram is a great platform where you can market your products effectively using tools such as sponsored posts. In fact, you can even test out your campaigns with an audience using the shopping platform.

Statistics tell us that around 80% of Instagram’s users follow a business profile. So, the point being made here is that Instagram is a tried and tested platform that offers plenty of potential in terms of capturing an audience’s attention and boosting the bottom line.

However, there are challenges. The way we market a product or a service today has changed a lot, especially with the advent of social media. There’s a lot more you need in your arsenal now to bring in sales, and Instagram marketing is a worthy addition.

Now, technology evolves and that applies to social media as much as it does to pretty much everything else. So, it’s better to be a few steps ahead when you can. So, let’s look at how you can leverage Instagram to the maximum.

What’s so “Hot” about Instagram Marketing?

Instagram’s strongest characteristic is that it allows the brand and the customer to engage almost naturally. When a business sets up an Instagram profile, it manages to create awareness about the brand. But, that’s not all. The business also gets to share its story. So, the business is basically engaging with its customer base on a much deeper level.

Instagram has over 500 million active users

According to a study done by Statista, the social media platform has over 500 million active users, which indicates the kind of marketing potential it possesses. Interestingly enough, ever since Instagram came into existence, the number of advertisers on it has doubled in the last 6 months alone.

In another study conducted by Bloglovin’ in 2016, it was found that Instagram was a favorite among influencers. They described it as the number one platform for increased customer engagement. In fact, only 18% of the respondents said the same about Facebook.

Case in point

As stated earlier, customer-business relations are optimized by Instagram. One e-Marketer study found that over 84% of Americans using mobile devices used them to shop online via apps like Instagram. These apps are known to simplify the shopping experience and boost the general level of convenience.

Madewell and Bandier are two brands that are using this photography-oriented social media platform effectively. The former is a large, well-known retailer, while the latter is a much smaller name in the business landscape. However, they both prove that there is a lot to benefit from Instagram.

Something as simple as posting images of people using their products has been known to have a tremendous effect. By displaying the product in use, these brands are able to show customers what they’re exactly getting and how it’s likely to benefit them.

The fact that two businesses, on the opposite ends of the size spectrum, are able to do this is an indication of how universal Instagram is in its appeal.

Now, there are two primary ways in which you can market on Instagram. You have Sponsored Posts and the Shoppable Platform.

Sponsored posts basically allow brands to post images of their products. Interested customers can tap on the image to activate a tag, which then provides more information about the product. You even have a “Buy Now” link that takes the user directly to the brand’s web page.

The shoppable platform is similar. However, the key difference is that the image contains multiple links to products, which are hosted on an e-commerce site.

Getting started with Instagram Marketing

The first step is to actually create an account, which is easy and self-explanatory. Just follow the instructions once you open the application or site. Once you’re in, make sure your profile is set up to function as a business profile.

Now, connect your Instagram profile with your Facebook profile and whichever e-commerce platform you’re using. After this, all you have to do is make sure your product catalog is integrated into the profile. You need to do this if you want to tag your products.

Now, for the actual marketing part, here are a few tips.

  • Set up a content calendar to help your marketing team schedule and organize content.
  • Download or design templates for your stories and posts. It’s fairly easy to do this and the task can be delegated to your creative team. If you don’t have one, outsource the task. Make sure the templates are consistent with your brand image.
  • Create a mood board that’s consistent with your brand as well.
  • Initially, post as often as possible and measure the response. This is to know when your audience is most active on the platform.
  • Make use of Instagram’s own analytics feature. Get a clear picture of your demographic. This will help you develop targeted marketing messages in the future.
  • Hire the skills of a digital agency for a better perspective on things, especially if you are a non-tech brand. Your digital agency will take care of your Instagram marketing for you.
  • Identify influencers in your industry and engage with them. Develop a relationship and leverage it in your favor. Make sure the influencer gets something in return too. This could either be a straightforward payment or the free use of your products. However, if you can’t afford the most influential ones, settle for the ones lower on the list.
  • Test new markets. Look at what your competitors are doing and get an idea of the kind of demographic they’re catering to. Check your follower’s demographics as well. Break down the market according to age, gender, and location. You can use Instagram’s own analytics do this or use an external application.
  • Carry out a keyword analysis. Find out what keywords your target audience is likely to use and incorporate them into your Instagram posts.

The primary point is that social media marketing is here to stay and Instagram is definitely one of the top platforms. So, do explore it. What we’ve offered is just a basic guideline. There is so much more you can learn and use once you actually start experimenting with Instagram Marketing.

About Crafted

Crafted is one of the top-ranked digital agencies in NYC. Established in 2011, Crafted made a name for itself in a very short span of time; today, it is the ‘go to’ destination of a number of reputed companies for all their digital marketing needs. Make it yours too!

The Road to An Effective Content Marketing Strategy

Posted on by Greg Valvano

Recent statistics from the Content Marketing Institute tell us that around 88% of B2B companies and 86% of B2C companies rely on a content market strategy.

Content has become a core part of a business’s overall strategy for success and survival and there is no reason why it shouldn’t. After all, the results are undoubtedly fantastic. In fact, when some of the respondent businesses were asked whether their respective content marketing strategies were successful, 97% of them (B2C and B2B) responded with a “yes”.

You see, content plays a major role in the overall marketing and branding process. This is even more obvious when you start considering the world of digital marketing.

Think about it. What do you do when you want to know about, let’s say, the latest iPhone? Well, you Google it. That’s the thing. You can search and find all the information you need on the internet.

So, if you want to make it in the current business landscape, you have to go online and that means a content strategy is a must.

But, more importantly, your content strategy must be effective. You see, the web is already filled with enough content from rival businesses. In other words, the content marketing arena is an extremely competitive one. This is exactly why we stress the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. You need to produce content that’s creative, smart, useful, and relevant. Focus on the quality of your content more than you do on the quantity.

Whether you’re dependent on webinars, infographics, videos, ebooks, white papers, tutorials or blogs, your content needs to fit the criteria we just listed above. That’s the only way you’re going to make an impact.

The primary purpose of content is to create awareness. You need to get the word out about your product. That’s what creates value and ensures sales. By creating outstanding content, you’re allowing your brand to become recognizable and easy to recollect.

So, if you’re just stepping on to the content marketing path and are confused about how to go further, here are a few tips that can help you out.

List Out Your Goals

One of the first things to do when developing a content marketing strategy is to have a set of goals. You have to know what you’re going after. Is it awareness? Are you looking to just boost sales? These are examples of the kind of questions you need to be asking.

Once you come closer to figuring out your goals, make sure they are specific. Specificity is very important when it comes to goal setting. You can’t just say “make more profit” and expect it to make sense. You have to know exactly what you want.

Is it a 10% boost in profit or a 20% boost in profit?

Some of your other goals can be customer engagement, a boost in lead generation, or more customer retention etc.

Once the goals are listed, you can move to the next step.

Also, on a side note, make sure the goals are measurable.

Understand the Market

The next step is to focus on getting to know the market or markets you’re catering to. There are several elements to focus on in this phase. This typically includes demographic traits such as occupation, age, and gender etc. But, you need to go much further than that.

For instance, consider developing audience personas that alert you to daily tasks, pain points, job details, schedules, and expectations.

But, getting to know your customers is just the first step. You also need to know how to connect with them. Identify the influencers. Find out what they’re talking about or what they’re doing on the internet. Are there any specific relationships that you need to leverage in order to make contact with your target audience?

Think about what kind of content that would be relevant in this context.

Also, don’t forget to study and monitor your competitors. Look at the content marketing strategies they’re using and how effective they have been. Competitors are excellent case studies. What they do will give you an idea of what will work for you as well.

At the same time, you can also identify opportunities based on what your competitor isn’t doing. For instance, are they ignoring blogs, which are relevant to your target demographic? If yes, seize the opportunity immediately.

Use What You Already Have

Do you have content already? If yes, stop wasting your efforts trying to create fresh content. Create an inventory of what you have at present and see if some of it can be used. However, don’t just look at relevance.

Make sure you take the time to measure the content’s effectiveness. This should be easy considering that most of the stuff has already been used in older campaigns. Find out how the content performed in terms of goals such as engagement, revenue generation, or sales etc.

Based on the insights you gain, you can make the content even more effective by using it strategically and even tweaking it a little bit.

Establish Relationships

The success of your content marketing strategy also depends on the number of relationships you build, as well as the quality of those relationships. The modern customer engages with you first via content. The salesperson comes only after that.

So, try to offer an experience that the customer finds memorable or satisfactory. Make sure that the first line the customer reads is inviting enough.

Once you’ve established your credibility, it is much easier to progress up the content strategy ladder.

Promote the Content

Content is what helps you promote your product, service, or brand. However, for that to happen, your content itself needs a bit of a push. If your content isn’t being pushed, your target audience is going to ignore it, especially due to the fact that content is present everywhere today.

Consider utilizing both paid and organic promotion. Leverage channels such as social media and tactics such as search engine optimization.

You can even try getting in touch with the influencers in your industry.

About Crafted

Is your company struggling to get its content marketing perfected? Well, as a leading digital marketing agency in New York, Crafted has the right people and the right tools to help you out.

Video Marketing Trends for 2018

Posted on by Greg Valvano

We’ve already established that videos are an important tool in the marketing arsenal today. Just take a look at the statistics for video marketing effectiveness and you’ll know we aren’t kidding. So, it’s obvious that things aren’t going to change anytime.

But, the way we record video or distribute it is constantly changing due to the changes occurring on the technology side of things, as well as the business side.

We are in 2018 now and a lot has already happened within the video marketing arena. We’re starting to see all kinds of trends popping up.

So, if you’re a business that wants to keep its video marketing relevant, we suggest you keep an eye on these trends.

Square Resolution Videos

We are typically used to viewing videos in the rectangle format. However, this was due to the fact that most of us viewed them on TV or computer screens. But, thanks to the proliferation of mobile phones, there’s been a change in preferences.

Viewers want to see videos in a square resolution now. This is primarily driven by the fact that everybody uses their mobile devices to view videos.

Statistics tell us that 80% of users watch videos on social media sites via their smartphones or tablets.

In fact, it has been found that social media video posts enjoyed more engagement when displayed in a square resolution. So, we’re likely to see more square videos in 2018.

Live Video

Around 13% of the video traffic on the web is live video traffic. Live video is another video marketing trend that has grown immensely in the last few years and it’s only going to get more popular in 2018. This is because there are significant advantages to live video marketing.

For starters, it’s far more cost-effective because of the simple fact that everything is recorded live. You have no editing or production to pay for. Plus, live videos are recorded on the platform by default, which means you don’t have to bother about continued access.

Consumers like and prefer live videos as they appear more genuine, in the moment, and authentic.

Statistics tell us that people spend more time viewing live videos than they do viewing recorded videos. To be more specific, three times the number of hours spent watching recorded videos.

360-Degree Videos

360-Degree videos aren’t completely new, but they aren’t too old either. We saw them gaining some traction in 2017, but 2018 might be the year where they join the list of standard video formats.

Last year, it was found that around 86% of businesses had used 360-degree videos as part of their respective marketing campaigns. We will see more businesses doing that in 2018 and they’ll be doing it more often.

Though there is some level of complexity involved in creating these videos, things are likely to get simpler as technology evolves and costs drop.

Video First

Video Frist is a term that Facebook came up with to refer to a new phenomenon. The phenomenon being that a lot of consumers weren’t just okay with viewing videos, they also wanted to create their own videos.

Video is now, pretty much, the primary way through which information is sent and received. It’s also the most popular medium for expressing oneself. Not text.

This is exactly why a lot of social media sites including Facebook, of course, making it easier for users to view, share and even create videos. Facebook’s live video platform is an excellent example of this.

Video Mapping

Video mapping might sound like a new term, but it has been a thing for quite some time. However, it remained unheard because of its lack of applicability with regard to mainstream functions. However, changes in technology have now eliminated that limitation.

Video mapping is basically a technique that allows users to render 3D projections onto flat surfaces. You’ve likely seen this in a few sci-fi movies. Firms such as Disney and Coca-Cola have already used it in some of their experimental campaigns.

But, it might just gain some traction in 2018 due to the reason which we just mentioned above.

VR Video Marketing

Virtual Reality (VR) still remains an area that’s largely unexplored. Of course, a few strides have been made in the past, but, there remain a few roadblocks that prevent companies from leveraging this wonderful technology. The biggest problem is that VR technology is dependent on a peripheral device, which is the VR Glass.

Unless and until every customer out there starts using VR glasses, it’s going to be impossible to use it as a mainstream marketing tool. However, this doesn’t mean experimentation has to stop. Neil Patel, a digital marketing expert, suggests that brands leverage VR in their own unique ways to engage customers.

He gives the example of e-commerce brands using VR to create virtual stores. Customers can be exposed to simulations where they walk into the digital store and browse around like they would in an actual brick and mortar store.

There are rumors that a few big corporations are investing in VR-based marketing. So, we may just see a few key developments in this particular area in the near future.

Video is Still the Rage

Based on the trends that we’ve just read about, it’s quite clear that video isn’t going to go anywhere soon. In fact, it’s going to become a critical part of the digital marketing strategy. However, to excel at it, businesses will have to start thinking a little creatively and adapt to changes in the market.

For instance, who would have thought that Facebook would start dominating the video arena?

So, don’t think twice about using video marketing for your campaigns. However, make sure you’re smart about it.

About Crafted

Interested in creating a video for your latest marketing campaign? Well, get in touch with Crafted. We’re a digital marketing agency that specializes in video production for businesses of all sizes. We have the expertise and the imagination to provide you with a perfectly crafted video that meets your branding and marketing needs.