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Influencer marketing is a hybrid of two positioning strategies. The first being celebrity endorsements. The second being social media. The influencer – who generally isn’t a celebrity but has a large following on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. – promotes a company’s product or services.

So why does this work?

The influencer provides the brand with instant, 24/7 access to an already captive audience… their loyal fans. It’s an unspoken rule that influencers only promote the brands they believe in. This goes a long way in compelling their followers to buy in. Some reports show as high as 49% of Twitter users rely on influencer recommendations when making a buying decision.

There are two different ways that a brand can curate a relationship with a digital marketing influencer. The first is to formally contact them and send “free” products in exchange for a quick plug on their social media feeds. Keep in mind, there’s no certainty this approach will work in your brand’s favor. If a product is blindly sent as part of a PR push, the influencer could opt to focus on the negatives. Since they’ve worked hard to earn the trust of their audience, most aren’t scared to call out flaws in their effort to present authentic information.

The second, and more sure-fire, way to build a relationship is for the brand to actually employ the influencer. The brand pays them for so many endorsements. In these cases, terms can be more defined because the influencer is under contract.

In either case, it’s important to seek an influencer that aligns with your brand’s personality and offerings. You wouldn’t want someone with an older following advertising products designed for younger consumers. To that same point, you would not want someone with questionable character representing your brand.

If you decide to engage with an influencer, the great ones will be able to tell you:

1. Number of followers
2. Their conversion rate (how many purchases associated with their posts)
3. Post frequency
4. Other products they represent

Influencer marketing is hardly a fleeting trend. In fact, some celebrities have cashed in big time, using it as a side stream of revenue. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, Kim Kardashian makes roughly $270,000 per post. While that might not be the route for your brand, remembering these few simple points can help you in getting the most out of your influencer experience.

According to the New York times, we’re exposed to roughly 5,000 ads per day. With Facebook being a key player among the platforms pushing those promotions, it can be hard for a brand to rise above with an offer that’s appealing, different and click-worthy. So, we’ve cooked up six ways to create an effective Facebook ad that won’t get lost in the noise.

Identify the Need

What’s the point of advertising a product if the consumer doesn’t know the need it fulfills? Educate your audience on “Why” it makes sense for them to take action. You can encourage them along with exclusive deals or timely sales to create a sense of urgency. However, make sure the ad clearly spells out the problem, then offers the solution.

Less is More

Your copy should be precise and easy to understand. Too many words not only will confuse, but also will defy Facebook’s advertising policies. In other words, the posting could be denied. A strong visual and simple, but compelling, call to action works best when trying to get attention as people scroll.

Target Audience

Why advertise a popular teen clothing item to a middle-aged man? Taking a broad stroke approach with your audience segmentation could lead to just that. Don’t simply boost without considering basic demographics and habits. Use Facebook’s Insights to first understand your audience’s location, gender, language. Then through Facebook’s targeting features, pick behaviors and interests that resonate with the folks you want to reach.

Timing

Facebook allows you to track usage times of your audience and coordinate your ad post to run during peak hours when you’re most likely to get in front of them. If you’re a brick and mortar business and your call to action requires them to stop by or pick up the phone, make sure your ad only runs when your doors are open. Post during peak hours so you’re sure to get in their feed when they’re looking.

Aesthetic

Your ads’ appearance should be cohesive, pairing the right look with the right message at the right time.

Test Formats

Try testing various formats to see how your audience responds. For example, certain products or services might present better in a short ten second video, while others get the point across in a still graphic. In certain cases where the focus is selling multiple products, interactive ads that allow you to swipe left let the audience navigate quickly and on their terms to view the full spectrum of offerings.

Whatever the pitch, the same underlying ad rules apply. Make it target specific, cut down on clutter, position it at the right time, and test responses.

There are lots of ways to get people to your website. Retargeting, influencer marketing, Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Youtube ads, boosted organic posts, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Google Adwords…

These are just a few SEO (Search Engine Optimization) vehicles in a large fleet designed to move crowds to your digital digs. Some businesses only need one to drive audiences, while others rely on a whole convoy. With so many online marketing strategies, figuring out How to get them there has become much easier. The challenge now is figuring out What will compel them to stay.

Look, every brand is trying to carve out a share of market awareness. We all crave the same thing: popularity. It only makes sense that ears perk up when a digital marketer sells the idea of $5 into a vehicle to reach 200 leads in return. It’s quantifiable and we get excited about the certainty of it all, but is that really true value? In a lot of cases, we find out after the fact that it’s not.

Bon’s Eye has talked with many prospects that suddenly realized their online marketing equation was lopsided and ineffective. In some cases, they had poured upwards of 90 percent of the budget into positioning, leaving only 10 percent to create an experience worth a damn.

Our first question is always, “How did you wind up at this point?” The answer is usually the same. They were sold on the tangibility of SEO lead generation. Someone told them they can increase traffic, and it was a done deal. For months, these brands rode the euphoria of spiked page lands. Each passing week they’d stare into the deep abyss of puffed-up analytics. Lots of traffic, but no steady conversions from visitors to customers. Sales headed in the wrong direction while the website stayed busy. Then one day it dawned on them, “We’ve built a bridge to nowhere.”

They look at their website and see a static wasteland, littered with weak content and void of resonation on any level. There’s nothing to influence a reaction… Nothing to call people back for more… Nothing to inspire guests to invite others to the party.

Over the years, we’ve dissected what makes a website magnetic. We’ve identified 5 common characteristics. Sticky websites:

• Greet visitors with a clean landing page. They’re not too heavy with words, have high-quality aesthetic, are a breeze to explore, and point visitors to specific actions.
• Provide a valuable narrative. The content either informs visitors on something relevant or is outright entertaining.
• Deliver a parting gift. This is sometimes difficult to maintain, but websites that offer takeaways to their visitors immediately boost lasting power. Sign up options for e-books, coupon codes, prizes, etc. help land a second encounter and build audience contacts.
• Give visitors a reason to come back. They offer up quality content that changes regularly. Blogs, vlogs, podcasts all serve as spaces to tell an evolving story.
• Show personality. They show the folks behind the brand – staff, customers, community. People gravitate towards other people… the same goes online.

It’s wonderful to be widely seen. In fact, that’s a big part of digital marketing, and SEO can help. But just because you have their attention, doesn’t mean you have their respect. Website’s must be built to constantly compel anticipation and buy-in. The best one’s are the last stop on the digital journey – destinations so rich, authentic and relevant, they immediately inspire trust and likeability.

When bread goes stale in the food industry, many restaurants cut it into cubes and drop it in the deep fryer. Instant gourmet croutons. That’s how fine dining takes a $3 salad and turns into a $12 garden bowl.

Chefs are the masters of reinvention. They must be. Their medium carries such a short shelf life. The best ones know how to squeeze every ounce of opportunity out of a product.

We see similarities in today’s marketing, where the key ingredient – content – also has a quick “Eat By” date. Brand developers find themselves constantly redefining and justifying content’s value in generating sales. They must quantify how images and words lead directly to dollars. At the same time, they’re feverishly whipping up narratives to feed the public’s insatiable appetite for new, stimulating bites.

So, from the creative kitchen they find shortcuts – semi home cooked tricks to try and satisfy everyone. They come up with muffin tops like Woke Advertising to seem fresh. It’s a modern term used to describe conscious-driven messaging. Lots of marketers are throwing it around, pushing it as the next craving-buster for millennials who seek greater responsibility from the brands they support.

Gillette, Facebook, Budweiser… they’ve all put Woke Advertising to the test. But is it really an edgy, new flavor or just doctored-up leftovers? Flip over to the ingredients label, and it sounds a hell of lot like repackaged Social Branding – and that even had a familiar taste. When a company breaks away from pitching product to raise awareness on a universal issue, it used to be called a PSA. Not each of these is the exact same, but, they’re certainly not all that different. So, what are the prep directions for a tasty woke campaign?

12 ounces of Cause:

What’s the universal challenge to overcome?

6 ounces of Brand Correlation:

How does your business relate to the cause and change it for the better?

3 ounces of Example:

What has your brand done to start the change? What could the world look like if others joined in?

Optional:

Garnish with a percentage of revenue going to a related charity.

New takes on old marketing concepts – like Woke Advertising – are inevitable. It’s a product of these fast, saturated promotional times. Every minute “Order Up!” is being shouted from the wait station. However, as others sell you on the newest marketing dish, “You simply must try,” it’s smart to know what you’re tabling up to. Are you paying for true innovation or yesterday’s special with a fresh name? Is it branding or noise? The answer most likely will determine your satisfaction after delving in.

See us in action

When it comes to developing marketing campaigns, that early rush of concepts can quickly build up to a soupy sludge of terrible ideas. Before you know it, the production pipeline is mucked up to the point of total impasse. Brainstorm sessions run rampant, responsibility confusion befalls the team, executive leadership starts micromanaging, everyone despises the project.

That’s because there’s a lot of space for creative in a campaign, and creative represents a rather subjective thing that comes from an emotional part of our brains. There’s vulnerability in expressing our imaginations. It’s even more heightened in a group setting, where folks pile on judgement, opinions, expectation of ROI, etc. We hold on tightly to our ideas, and when we bring them to the table only to have to loosen our grip, it’s extremely difficult.

So, how do you keep everyone involved, excited and unified? Set some basic ground rules from the outset. We use the following guiding points to provide structure and keep things flowing in one direction when building marketing campaigns. If need be, we pull them out at the beginning of each creative swap, progress report, update session, etc. They’re a reminder that the campaign is bigger than one person’s ego, and with everyone onboard, success will be greater.

Explore options for marketing campaigns

Early in the process, map out various marketing campaign ideas before selecting a final direction. This is the metaphorical Petri dish phase. Consider different combinations of creative and delivery strategies, weighing the pros / cons of each. Don’t be scared to brainstorm out loud and with an open mind. The best campaigns are a hybrid of a few original concepts.

Create to suit your audience

Don’t get hung up exclusively on your team’s personal preferences. Rather, consider what will resonate with your target market(s). As a team, develop a customer persona, then craft a unique personality, look and message that will intrigue that person. Step outside of yourselves.

Commit to progress

Set timelines. Allow space for fleshing out best steps forward, but don’t succumb to analysis paralysis. Brainstorm with endpoints in mind and execute next moves at a clearly-defined time. Know that your marketing campaigns will – and should – evolve post launch. Don’t delay advancement waiting on greatness. Instead, make bold progress forward in the project, anticipating change as the campaign gains steam.

Be harmonious

Across the board, develop campaign assets that are cohesive and not overly-complicated to understand. They should be unified in visual, message, attitude and timing. The most effective campaigns are memorable, in-sync and easy to implement.

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Know what you’re brewing in the New Year.

It’s the morning of 2019. In this rise-and-shine stage of the New Year, we’re faced with fresh opportunity. At businesses all over, there are percolating marketing ideas and plans for breakout sales. For most of us, there’s an urgency to throw on our brand’s best, get moving and be noticed. But before you potentially bolt into the marketplace with your zipper down, slow your roll just a smidge.

Pour a cup of coffee, and your energy into a simple strategy. Take this time to consider where you’ve been and where you want to be.

Revisit all of the positioning tools that tell your brand story.

Identify:

• What brand assets exist?
• How are we measuring them?
• Are they still relevant?
• Could they be better aligned?
• Do we need more?

Now’s that crack-of-dawn moment to map out the metaphorical day ahead. In this case, the next 12 months. You’ve got so much untapped potential waiting for you out there. Make sure you approach it with tact, purpose and understanding. The other option is to blast ahead in spaz mode, and that just sends people running away.

Bon’s Eye uses this Brand Checklist to help clients take inventory on all the tools that influence their audience’s decisions. If anything, it’s a good quick read over a cup of joe for early mornings just like this.

Brand checklist  Watch us in action