Hasta La Creative!

Every media company is pushing against an ocean right now, bracing itself for when the coronavirus wave crashes upon the shores of its business. Over the past several weeks, countless media professionals–from journalists to ad-tech staffers and sales reps to ad-sales marketers–have been furloughed or laid off. Those most affected, so far, have been local…

Group Nine Media, whose digital media properties include PopSugar, The Dodo and NowThis, laid off dozens of employees, or 7% of its more than 700-person staff, across the company. It’s the latest publisher to take drastic action as COVID-19 has drastically altered the media landscape. As the first quarter just wrapped, media companies including Bustle…

For most people, virtual reality sounds like an imaginary concept from science fiction, but in reality, VR has been present on the market for quite some time.

By definition, virtual reality is “computer-simulated surroundings which have the capacity to simulate physical presence in real or imaginary worlds”.

Virtual reality (VR) is predicted to completely disrupt the shopping experience. According to Goldman Sachs, the estimates of VR investments (including augmented reality) will reach 1.6 billion dollars until 2025.

While many brands are making an effort to become a part of the VR ecosystem, they are not quite familiar with the ways of improving the brand experience for all consumers and with the contexts where VR technology could and should be used. At the same time, many marketers wonder whether now is the right time to invest in VR.

VR apps include automated virtual environments (AVEs), such as headsets, virtual glasses, games, 360 computer simulations and the virtual world such as Second Life.

For example, Swarovski partnered up with Mastercard to create a virtual atelier which anyone can access after downloading the app. Next to getting information about a particular collection or a product, customers can also do virtual shopping.

Recent research pointed out that marketers should have different approaches to VR depending on their industry or sector. For example, apps that completely captivate the user into a virtual world are better for consumer education, such as Lowe’s DIY Holoroom, or to create a relationship with the brand, such as in the case of a virtual shopping consultant in Second Life.

Here are some of the best examples of the use of VR in marketing:

Tesco – Virtual Store Browsing

Investing in physical space takes a lot of time and money, so the possibility of understanding customers, their needs and desires (regarding layout, colors, offer, etc.) at a low price is the dream of every retailer.

British supermarket chain Tesco enabled its shoppers to browse around their virtual storebefore they have actually built the object.

The goal of this marketing project was to study customer behavior as they “wander” the e-store. Tesco managed to find out numerous useful pieces of information which served them through better strategic planning of shelves, layout and more.

Using virtual reality technology, Tesco saved money and time necessary to plan the element layout within a retail store.

If we look at the achievement of this project as a big picture, it shows that VR could easily replace physical shopping and make the process of grocery shopping much easier for customers and cost-effective for the company.

Product Customization

Furniture manufacturer IKEA already took advantage of the new VR trend to provide an unforgettable experience for their customers.

IKEA shoppers can view their desired kitchen in natural size and use the versatile options and settings to independently design the final product.

The same strategy is obviously very applicable in other sectors, as well. For example, the fashion industry could be the first to widely accept VR in product customization.

Coca-Cola – Virtual Sleigh Ride

In 2015, Coca-Cola experimented with VR technology and enabled passers-by to experience a virtual sleigh ride. The crowd was absolutely thrilled with the project and the feeling of being Santa, even for a little while.

This modern approach to marketing enabled Coca-Cola to strengthen its brand position and awareness, and to provide a completely new experience for users who had a chance to see Christmas from another perspective.

“The same approach could be used in games, prize raffles and sweepstakes: using virtual reality, brands can present games that will include products, discounts and other prizes for their great score,” says Estelle Leotard, a contributing writer for Subjecto and Studyker.

Volvo XC90 – Test Drive

In 2019, Volvo allowed potential shoppers to see the car in a completely different light by enabling a virtual test drive of the new model through a VR app.

Even though the cutthroat, competitive automotive industry doesn’t regard Volvo as among the most “cutting-edge” marketers, the VR experiment definitely proved to be a step forward which made Volvo stand out from its competitors.

VR in Mobile Apps

There is also huge potential in implementing VR in mobile apps on smartphones. Using this technology, brands could get an additional possibility of communicating with shoppers in a unique way.

Conclusion: Why is VR Effective in Marketing?

Marketing agencies have started opening specialized departments for virtual reality. But, is it still too early to implement this technology in marketing?

VR in marketing provides a physical experience for shoppers and enables them to simulate the use of a product before deciding to buy it. Therefore, VR is a significant opportunity both for manufacturers and shoppers, and offers limitless possibilities.

The efficiency of VR depends on the app itself and consumer behavior. One of the key aspects is fluidity – creating an environment where customers feel completely submerged and active in a virtual world.

This guest article was written by Bridgette Hernandez, a Master in Anthropology who is interested in writing and is planning to publish her own book in the near future. She works with professional writing companies such as TopEssayWritings and ClassyEssay and as a writer, Brid also does some editing work WriteScout.

Twitter marked World Health Day Tuesday by teaming up with the World Health Organization on a question-and-answer session covering the most commonly asked questions about the coronavirus pandemic. Over the past few weeks, there have been more than 6 million questions Tweeted about coronavirus/COVID-19. For #WorldHealthDay, we partnered with the @WHO to provide answers to…

Over 10 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in March. As layoffs and salary cuts earthquake through nearly every industry, some would say launching a new business right now is straight-up crazy. But for the team at North Carolina agency Walk West, there’s no better time for businesses to commit to diversity and inclusion. That’s…

Por conta da pandemia do novo coronavírus, a Apple está implementando algumas alterações no sistema do seu aplicativo de mapas, o Apple Maps. Segundo o Engadget, a prioridade nas categorias de busca foi alterada, colocando restaurantes que operam com delivery, mercearias e serviços de saúde no topo. O principal concorrente, o Google Maps, também fez …

O post Apple Maps prioriza mercearias, entregas de comida e farmácia em buscas apareceu primeiro em B9.

For decades, businesses have relied exclusively on the most conventional forms of marketing. But today, most of their audience uses digital media platforms.

The Digital 2020 report by The Next Web found that nearly 60 percent of the world population is online, while the number of social media users have reached 3.80 billion by Jan 2020.

Unfortunately, most of the brands have either failed to explore social media in this context or utilize it to its full potential.

In this blog post, we explore key social media strategies amidst the ever-evolving trends and algorithm updates. We will walk you through the best practices that you can use to understand and engage your customers on social media. But you won’t put your heart into it unless you truly understand the importance of social media.

Importance of social media in customer engagement:

Social media is becoming an indispensable tool for users and businesses as we move towards a social-driven world. More and more people now hang out on social media platforms to stay updated and search whatever they need.

The daily time spent on social media forums is also on the rise, with people now spending 2 hours and 33 minutes on social networking.

Most of the social media users (1 in 3) prefer social media customer service over phone or mail. Moreover, they will spend 20 to 40 percent more with a business that engages and responds to them through social media.

But how exactly do you engage your customers on digital media and provide them a pleasurable experience? Here are the tips that can get you on the right track.

1. Use customer analytics tools:

With so many resources at our disposal today, connecting with the audience is easier than ever. Use tools like SEMrush and Google Analytics to discover information about your customers and develop personalized connections with them.

To make your relationship with customers more meaningful, you have to know them on a personal level. This includes knowledge about:

• Demographics: Age, gender, location, etc.
• Interests and hobbies
• Shopping patterns
• Pain points

Once you know who your customers are and what they like (or don’t like), you can tailor your content and services to meet their needs. The data will also help you serve your customers with promotions on the right channels at the right time.

2. Develop a content strategy for social media:

Content is the holy grail of any successful marketing strategy. Good content will not only engage existing customers but also attract a multitude of new prospects. However, not all content you post will produce the desired results.

You need content that can garner likes, retweets, shares, subscribers, engagement, and all the good things that social media marketing promises.

So, the question is, what sort of social media content can procure such a reaction from the audience. Let’s look at the data and find out.

i. Share image-rich content:

This does not come as a surprise that content with quality images gets the most shares on social media. Buffer’s research found that tweets that contain images increase retweets by 150 percent on Twitter.

Similarly, HubSpot reported that photos on Facebook received 53 percent more likes and attracted 104 percent more comments than the average post. These findings can be applied to all the major social media platforms.

ii Focus on emotional content:

Emotion is a universal language, and it is found that content with an emotional appeal can produce valuable results. If you want to generate activity and spark customer engagement, share content with a higher positive emotional value.

iii Infographics:

Infographics are among the most socially engaging form of content on social media. BuzzSumo and OkDork studied 100 million articles and found that people love to share infographics.

3 Take a cross-channel approach:

Content that ends up successful shall engage customers across multiple channels. After all, why should a valuable piece of content be limited to prospects on a single platform? Instead, share it on all the leading forums, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, or anywhere your customers hang out. This will maximize your exposure and improve your brand visibility on the web.

4. Keep customers in the loop:

A primary part of great customer service is that you constantly keep them in the loop. Whether you are promoting a new product or making a major announcement, it is imperative that you reach out to your customers and keep them informed about the events.

Luckily, there are many tools that help you in managing and updating your social media channels. You can use them to automatically schedule your posts across multiple social accounts and keep a 24/7 social presence across the web.

5. Create a social media advertising plan:

You don’t always have to sit in front of the screen, sharing blogs, sending emails and messages to customers to maximize your reach. If you have the budget, let the platforms work for you. Before you invest in an advertising strategy, understand where the majority of your customers hang out.

In most cases, you may begin with Facebook ads, since more than 40 percent of the referral traffic comes from the site. However, platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube are also worth considering.

Respond to customers’ feedback:

Few things can be as crucial to your business as customer review and feedback. Prospects give huge importance to online customer reviews before purchasing a product or service. In fact, stats on online reviews posted on broadly, state that 84 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from people they know.

Hence, you need to listen to your customers and ensure that you procure positive reviews. If a customer leaves a negative review or raises a concern, try to address their issue as soon as possible. Take the conversation to a private channel because even a single bad review can devastate your business.

Do everything that is in your power to resolve negative customer experiences before they vent their feelings on social media or review forums.

Wrapping up:

Customer engagement is going to be the primary driver of growth in the highly interactive economy. It can be quite a challenge to engage your customers in a busy world. But challenging does not mean impossible. Follow these practices to know your customers and leverage social media to mobilize customer engagement.

This guest article was written by Mary Warner a blogger who loves to share her views related to latest trends in marketing, technology, ecommerce, and the like.

The Facebook Journalism Project will begin accepting applications from news organizations Monday, April 13, for funds from its FJP Covid-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program. The program is part of efforts revealed by Facebook last week to invest $100 million in the news industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Grant amounts will range from $25,000…

Ian Sohn is a global client lead at WPP. Formerly, Sohn was CEO, Wunderman Thompson (Central Region), and before that Managing Director at SapientRazorfish. He is also one of the advertising professionals who I most want to hear from on Twitter each day. This is the case because I value calm, patient people with an […]

The post The Adpulp Interview: Ian Sohn appeared first on Adpulp.