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Instagram’s Teenage Temper Tantrum

 

Over the past several weeks, Instagram’s latest changes have wreaked havoc on users and advertisers. With the chatter and debate intensifying, I sat down to take a look at the historical context, examine how we got here and contemplate its future.

The birth of Instagram 

Instagram was launched in 2010 as a simple way to edit and share photographs. The first iPhone had been introduced just three years prior. Although some early-model smartphones had the ability to take photos, the quality for the most part wasn’t that great. Additionally, there was no universally loved platform for sharing images of quality. Enter Instagram, which sought to overcome those two obstacles.  

In fact, as a result of the enhanced editing capabilities and filters, the phrase “Instagram vs. reality” was coined because the images posted were a stark contrast from reality. The new social media darling started to gain traction to the tune of a million users in the first few months.

The timeline of a child left unchecked 

By the time Instagram was only two years old it was acquired by Facebook for $1B. That’s when many folks in the industry began sounding alarm bells about the potential monstrosity that it could become, while others lauded the potential to monetize and grow it. 

Over the years, with little resistance from its users, Instagram began to behave as a child left unchecked. Optimizing and creating new revenue became top priority, which led to the highly criticized debut of Instagram Ads in 2015. Despite that, it pushed onward. After all, analysts had predicted that ads would help it to churn out over $2B in revenue, more than double the amount paid to acquire Instagram a half a decade earlier.

In 2018, Instagram’s user base had soared to a whipping 1B users and its revenues surpassed $6B. By the summer of 2020, it would introduce reels in an attempt to counter the growing popularity of its market rival, Tik Tok.  

Where we are now: the obnoxious teenage years

Now, at the age of 12, Instagram is estimated to be worth $100B. It’s like the obnoxious high school sports star. It seems to be able to get by with what it wants to because it is popular, but how long will that popularity last? 

Over half of the world now uses social media to communicate, and according to the Search Engine Journal, 84% of the population in the USA uses at least one. I have always recommended to focus primarily on one or two social media outlets, whether it is for a client or even in my own personal life. It’s simply not realistic that one will gain significant traction, or even utility, when trying to perform well across all social media platforms. 

And therein lies the rub: my preferred social media platform has always been Instagram, not TikTok. So it’s no surprise that weeks ago when Instagram started adjusting its algorithm that social media users revolted. Video content began to carry more weight, in addition to a plethora of unwanted ads and strangers showing up in our feeds. All of this was in a banal effort to become more like the competition, to be more like TikTok. If I wanted to dance around in my pajamas, film and share it, I’d be on TikTok.  

Even Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, with their combined hundreds of millions of followers, posted a plea to “Make Instagram Instagram Again.” 

Source: Vulture

What it means for the future

There is absolutely no doubt among my colleagues and industry experts that the trend toward everything video will continue to take center stage. There will continue to be a strong focus on reels and ways for users to even more simply and intuitively create and share video content. 

I believe that in the coming years, for advertisers and influencers, Instagram will still continue to be a channel of choice for particular industries like architecture, travel and design. However, industries like fashion and entertainment will continue to see explosive growth on TikTok.  

While Instagram isn’t going away any time soon, if it doesn’t find a more effective way to differentiate itself from the competition while increasing its value proposition and relevance, the long-term future looks bumpy. On its current trajectory, it can only make incremental changes. These kinds of changes, like the recent introduction of favorites, an upcoming experiment with testing ultra-tall 9:16 photos in post feeds and even the possible introduction of NFT avatars for profiles may satisfy current users, but will not do anything to attract new users. 

In light of Instagram’s recent adjustments to its algorithm that made it appear more like a TikTok clone, it’s apparent that the social media industry is quickly becoming not only a competitive, bloody red ocean, but a sea of sameness where it is nearly impossible to differentiate between products. 

It leaves one to wonder if Instagram will make it through the rest of its bumpy teen years and live to become 20? 

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advertia digital named Top 2022 B2B Company by Clutch

advertia digital clutch top 2022 b2b company

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve been recognized as a Clutch Leader in 2022. According to the ratings and reviews platform, we’re among the top B2B companies in the Czech Republic this year!

  • #1 Top Advertising Agencies in the Czech Republic
  • #1 Top Branding Agencies in the Czech Republic
  • #1 Top Digital Agencies in Prague

Here at advertia digital, we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver results-driven marketing, branding, and digital solutions that create impactful, effective and memorable client experiences. We’re a team of skilled strategists and creatives driven by a mission to lead global businesses toward digital transformation and excellence.

“It is an honor for us to receive this award. My colleagues work tirelessly to provide our clients with top-notch service and solutions. This recognition is also reflective of the EUR 40 million in  revenue we have helped to generate for our clients. I am thrilled to share the news of this award with all of them.”    

— Daniel Votruba

Business Director & Marketing Strategist

About Clutch

Clutch is a market research resource that aims to connect small, midmarket and enterprise businesses with the best-fit services that will help them tackle their challenges. Each year, Clutch highlights the highest-performing service providers in an industry and location based on their impact on their clientele’s operations.

Check out the latest feedback we’ve acquired through Clutch:

“They’re professionals with excellent knowledge in graphic design and advertising texts.”

— Martin Svoboda

Head of Marketing, Uni-max

“They had a good touch for their craft, and I was impressed with their job.”

— Richard Wurst

Managing Director, Meadow

A special thanks to our partners

We want to thank our partners for leaving their honest feedback about our projects. You can check out the full case studies on our Clutch profile for an in-depth read of their comments.

Explore opportunities

For inquiries about our solutions, get in touch, and let’s talk about how we can help you grow! Contact Daniel Votruba via email

 

#ClutchLeader #marketingagency #brandingagency #designagency #digitalagency #digitaleducation



 

 

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Are you ready for the NFT tsunami?

And we are off to the races, folks! 

Recently, Binance introduced Binance NFT, a marketplace for NFTs and digital collectibles. As a part of this initiative, it launched the “100 Creators“ program to spotlight local talent from around the world. 

Yet on that very same day, Michael Winkelmann, the American digital artist known as Beeple, introduced the cleverly named WENEW platform with the aim of becoming the “premier curator and provisioner of iconic moments.” WENEW is auctioning off historic and iconic moments across categories like sports, politics, history and fashion. The first auction, featuring NFTs as well as tangibles from tennis legend Andy Murray, generated over a quarter a million dollars in sales.  

Even the Israeli parliament has jumped on the bandwagon. It will become the first to lend the elected president the oath of office declaration in the form of an NFT. The country’s new president is set to receive the digital version of the original oath signed by his father.

How are NFTs unlocking new value? 

Blockchain technology allows a digital asset to be unique and not interchangeable or, importantly, counterfeitable. Therefore, NFTs represent a significant advancement for the preservation and sale of items such as photos, video, audio or any other type of digital work. Because still to this day digital works have been easy to copy, transfer and sell. And, most oftentimes, this hasn’t done anything to benefit the original artist or creator. With the introduction of NFTs, new value has been created for artists and creators because their original works cannot be digitally pirated. 

For the end-consumer value is created through the resulting uniqueness and authenticity that has been previously unavailable with any digital product. As Beeple himself said in a recent interview: “Everybody’s [asking], What gives NFTs value? And it’s really no different than any other medium, whether that be music or paintings. It’s the emotional connections we have that gets to people.”

Everybody’s [asking], What gives NFTs value? And it’s really no different than any other medium, whether that be music or paintings. It’s the emotional connections we have that gets to people.

—Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple

Global is the new local.

NFTs have opened up a whole new frontier of possibilities across myriad industries. And, in many ways, it is remindful of the initial propagation of the Internet: similarly, crypto and NFT early adopters and first-movers will be poised to become the biggest and most successful.

At advertia digital, we are currently working on several NFT projects, primarily related to branding and web design. Alongside this, however, we are starting to experiment more and more through space_pace, our startup and idea studio, and a dedicated NFTLABS division. 

NFTLABS was created in response to several projects we are either helping with or inventing within the NFT sphere. Some, like iMucha, are dedicated to art, some to collecting, but we also see a lot of potential in 3D design and interactivity itself. Having the opportunity to work with Binance NFT and its 100 Creators program has helped give us a great overview and helpful insights. 

Perhaps most importantly, all of these projects are always built as global — which is a huge strength of all digital projects — as it seems that global is indeed the new local. 

Not for everyone.

Just like one shoe does not fit all, NFTs are not for everyone. They just don’t fit into certain business models or types of communication.

What are some of the most popular NFTs?

Here’s a brief snapshot of some of the industries that have jumped on the trend and the products they are creating: 

Art

iMucha 

Alphonse Mucha leapt to fame in Paris in 1895 where he became recognized as the pre-eminent exponent of French Art Nouveau. Now his works are being given new life, prominence and value through NFTs.

Filip Hodas 

Also known as Hoodass, this popular Czech artist has subtly worked his way to the top of the world in 3- and 4-D visuals. He mints on prestigious platforms such as SuperRare or Nifty Gateway. Nowadays, their wait lists amount to several months and his NFTs sell for tens of ETH.

Pablo & Frida

Pablo & Frida creates 3-D renders of gallery exhibitions for their reuse in virtual reality. In the future, galleries will be empty and visitors will be able to choose an exhibition through which they can virtually tour and walk.

Entertainment and Gaming

Cryptokitties 

Tapping into the cat craze, Cryptokitties allows players to purchase, collect, breed and sell virtual cats. It has generated tens of millions of dollars in transactions. 

Decentraland 

Decentraland is an online space that combines virtual reality with blockchain technology. Players have direct control over the rules of the online world. NFTs represent in-game commodities like art, as well as clothes and other items like virtual real estate.

Merchandise and collectibles

LVMH

The LVMH group is looking to NFTs as a way to confirm the authenticity of luxury goods. 

Nike

Nike has patented CryptoKicks: digital sneakers that could function as NFTs. 

Travel

Although something we’ve yet to see implemented, NFTs could be used as vessels for delivering items of value that are related to travel and tourism brands. Such a line of  NFTs would serve as a type of permanent souvenir that generates an air of brand nostalgia, uniqueness and even demand. Travel and tourism NFTs could be distributed to those who are currently traveling as a symbol of appreciation as well as to loyalty club members and even armchair travelers. Alternatively, it could be utilized to incentivize travel or simply offered for sale as a limited edition item. Think of it as the future version of the KLM porcelain Delft houses. 

I personally see NFT as the standard for the future. It can be expected that when real icons enter the NFT space, the whole ecosystem will suddenly have a quality, vision and direction.

—Honza Borysek, CEO & Strategy, advertia digital
All artwork obtained from sister company space_pace’s NFTLABS web page at: https://www.nftlabs.cz/.

In the very near future, amazing projects will arise.

The digital playing field of the future looks very different than that of today. It will not consist of a rigid hybrid of winners and losers. Rather, it will consist of multiple, large distribution platforms like Amazon where millions of merchant creators will distribute and sell their NFT-based products.  

And with the inevitable introduction of new cryptocurrencies like Worldcoin, which aims to make crypto accessible to every individual on the planet, NFT-based products and services are destined to become more readily available, more intuitive, more interesting and, of course, more lucrative. 

The NFT tsunami is coming. Are you prepared? 

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Is Apple still a technology company?

If you were asked what industry Apple belongs to, what would be your response? As a producer of a wide array of electronic products, ranging from the iMac all the way to AirPods, most would simply refer to it as a technology company. Yet, that hasn’t been the case for some time now. 

After its start with desktop computing and laptops in the 1980s, Apple introduced iTunes as a source of music in 2003, followed by the best-selling touchscreen phone of all time, the iPhone in 2007. With the rise of music, Apple acquired Beats by Dre in 2014 for a cool US$ 3.2 billion signaling that it was more than dipping its toes into the music industry. Apple’s dive into entertainment was rounded out in 2016, when it began to produce and distribute its own original content, including tv shows and movies. Of course, there is also Apple’s move into the health sector with the release of the Apple Watch in 2015. 

In 2008, iconic gangsta rapper Dr. Dre introduced the Beats line of headphones with the mission to allow one to „hear what the artists hear.“ It was acquired by Apple in 2014 for US$ 3.2 billion.

Reflecting upon all these developments at Apple over the years, one can observe that it has leapfrogged from a simple technology company and maker of the iPhone to a lifestyle brand that is closely intertwined in multiple aspects of its customers‘ lives. As Tim Cook says, “Apple is in the business of creating products and services that are easier, better and more enjoyable.” Implementing this company mantra has helped Apple to ensure that more than one billion people around the world continue to use an Apple device each day.

So what if one were to say that Apple is more than just a technology company or a lifestyle brand, but that it is also an influential financial industry powerhouse that is reshaping the future of finance? In the Apple Event from April 2021, Tim Cook talked  about two major initiatives within the first four minutes of a sixty-one minute presentation. First was Apple’s carbon neutral initiative followed closely by Apple Card, revealing some of the foremost priorities of the folks there in Cupertino.

“Apple is in the business of creating products and services that are easier, better and more enjoyable.”

— Tim Cook

Just how is Apple reshaping the future of finance and what are the benefits to consumers when using the Apple Card? One of the most unique features is that it has no annual, over-the-limit, foreign-transaction, or late fees. However, with the potential for financial powerhouses, banks and even credit unions to begin offering a comparable product, Apple pushed to reinvent the credit industry entirely. 

The titanium Apple Card is laser-etched with the card holder’s name and the Apple logo. A white finish is achieved through a multi-layer coating process that’s added to the titanium base material.

Previously, when there were two holders of a credit card, one got the benefit of building a good credit history and the other did not. So if a couple were to divorce, the viable credit history would typically remain with only one of them. Apple Card allows spouses and partners to share and merge their credit lines, have equal rights on their account and build credit equally. This simple move provides women and minorities in particular the opportunity to build credit with the assurance that the health of their credit profile will not be impacted by a life change like a split or break in the relationship. Additionally, in what is called the Apple Card Family, the Card may now be used by any family member over the age of 13, with optional spending limits and controls for kids. 

Although Apple Card clearly is a winner for those in countries where it is available (currently only in the USA), it might just even be a bigger winner for Apple. By allowing those 13 years and older to use the card, Apple will begin collecting a treasure trove of metadata giving it insight on consumer habits and spending for a segment of the population that includes over 30 million youth in the USA alone. And when this segment grows up using perhaps at least one Apple device and a service from Apple’s wide array, what incentive would one in this segment of the population have to switch to a competitor? 

Last, there is Apple Pay, introduced in 2014. It is set to become a multi-billion dollar business annually for Apple within just a few years. Apple enthusiast website 9to5mac breaks down the juicy math based on figures from credit card transactions in the USA alone: 

Call it $7T in round numbers. If 5% of those payments are made via Apple Pay, then that’s $350B worth of transactions. If Apple takes 0.15% of that, then it made a cool $525M in 2018. If Bernstein is right that the percentage doubles to 10% by 2025, then that’s a billion-dollar business – from one country in one year.

By re-inventing the credit card as well as how payments are made in general, Apple has opened the door to a new and almost guaranteed swath of loyal consumers and cemented its place as a leader that is reshaping the future of finance.

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Murals: Prague’s hottest asset

What is one of the hottest, most valuable pieces of marketing real estate in the Czech Republic these days? Large surfaces within Prague 7 that can be repurposed for visually stimulating murals. 

Tucked in between the meandering Vltava River and Stromovka, Prague’s largest park,  sits the 7,1 square kilometer, appropriately numbered 7th district of Prague. Evolving  from a district known for manufacturing and labor in the era of World War II and Communism, today its surfaces are highly sought-after chunks of marketing real estate.  And, perhaps rather ironically, Prague 7 is also punctuated by the headquarters of some of the world’s most well-known marketing and advertising agencies as well as the trendy coffee shops and loft flats that provide workers  with all the necessary creature comforts.

“Let the hunger games begin.”

— David Strauss, popular mural painter.

Mural mania begins

Created by Michal Škapa and Ondřej Vyhnánek, this mural called Jiskra at the Prague Exhibition Grounds, raised CZK 353,000 (≈ USD 17,000) in December 2020. Funds went to the Pink Bubble Foundation supporting teenagers and young adults with cancer and the Single Mothers Club helping mothers and fathers who are on their own. 

In the past several years murals have been popping up with increasing frequency in Prague, particularly in the 7th district. They are large canvases for a locale to illustrate its story and to engage with its citizens by creating a new, unique experience. Murals increase the potential for attracting foot traffic to local businesses as well as tourism, and even to shine a spotlight on a shared community theme or concern. Perhaps, most surprisingly, they can even have a positive impact on the environment. So it is no wonder that murals, which can cost a few thousand to a few million Dollars to create,  continue to become such a popular experiential marketing vehicle. As famed mural painter David Strauss said in a recent chat with Honza Borysek, our CEO: “Let the hunger games begin.” 

Murals in marketing

From a marketing industry perspective, murals are highly-impactful, memorable and cost-effective. Murals don’t get swiped away in one’s Facebook or Instagram feed. Rather, they tend to generate a level of interest and media buzz that could not be similarly achieved through a simple pay-per-click (PPC) campaign. Their impact is lengthy and memorable as they tend to disappear only after a span of time because of natural elements or a repurposing of the surface which they adorn. And they tend to attract high-profile sponsors like @Nike.  

Murals for our environment

In May, disruptive painter David Strauzz unveiled his latest contribution to the Prague 7 mural scene with We Share The Same Future. It is sponsored by @nike, @footshop and @airlite. Photo by @kubokrizo.

Murals are typically divided into three categories, including: photography, scenery and abstract. Murals can be much more sophisticated and create new value in more ways than one might typically think, including for our environment. The We Share The Same Future mural created by David Strauss located on an about to be reconstructed building near the Maniny tram stop in Prague 7 makes use of Airlite paint technology. Airlite paints generate negative ions on the surface where they are applied so that when they touch the surface, the air is purified in a natural way. 

Why Prague 7 vs. other Prague districts?

Prague is one of few European cities to have survived continuously since the Middle Ages. The entire central district is blanketed under a UNESCO World Heritage designation. And although Prague ranks amongst the world’s best cities for street art, rivaling Berlin, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, New York City, Paris and Philadelphia, it is still hamstrung to some extent by the UNESCO designation. Introducing larger works of art, like murals for example, is nearly impossible — that is if one is to comply with the regulations. 

This has led to a gold rush of sorts in Prague 7 for artists, collaborators and their sponsors. Within Prague 7 there is the hope of discovering even larger canvases that are free of the bureaucracy and restrictions found elsewhere in the city. The receptivity to murals in Prague 7 is even reflected in its designation by the district as the official Art District of Prague. In a further sign of its support and enthusiasm, Prague 7 even has an Instagram account dedicated to highlighting culture and the arts. 

The future of murals

Jan Kaláb, who is now venturing beyond murals and into NFTs, once painted a wall alongside a popular tram line in Prague 7 that used to be an old leather factory dating back from the early 1900s. 

So it’s only natural, as in any situation where demand exceeds supply, that these surfaces in Prague 7 have become some of the most valuable pieces of marketing real estate in the country today. Like in our previous article about cryptocurrencies and, with Bitcoin in particular, when the supply is limited and demand is high, the value will only continue to rise. 

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Spotify acquisition of Joe Rogan’s podcast: a brief note of what future holds

Reported acquisition of more than $100 million dollars for exclusive podcast content which is generally ranked as the most popular around the world. At least in terms of downloads, views or searches. Pretty huge number one might say. But what it really means? There are at least two perspectives on how to look on it. Joe’s and Spotify’s.

source: Spotify

And let’s start with putting aside the question of whether the move could be considered as wise, both financially and in terms of growth of listeners, for Rogan himself. Some rather convincing napkin math already done shows that Joe could have just blew it up (for more see Supercast article). He might stay independent in speech, but with the cost of losing some connection to his audience (comment section on Spotify still does not exist), shrinking the audience he already has due to full exclusivity and leaving the business itself and recording revenue to historically known greedy middlemen. 

Winner winner, chicken dinner

Even when we do not have a precise overlap of Joe’s listeners and Spotify users, it is fair to say that the idea behind the acquisition is pretty simple and straight forward. Offer more nuanced content (such as podcasts which are still on the rise and are so damn profitable) and in outcome profit on people pulled into the platform. Cash both on free users by offering them ads as well as premium users and their subscriptions (not talking about the fact, that eve premium users can hear ads within podcasts streams). Again and again. Reoccurring monetization stripped of Joe. Does not seem like a long-term win for Rogan anymore, right? 

In the new wallet ecosystem, Spotify not only offers people a platform, where they can share their content and listen to the content of others, but it also creates and curates its own content, while running ads or another kind of monetization through their own ads management platform. On top of that, pulling data about all of the processes. 

Yet, the most interesting thing out of the acquisition that might help us foresee the future direction of the platform is still to come. Just look on some key facts and let it sit for a bit: 

1. In the last year, Spotify also acquired two podcast networks (Gimlet Media, Parcat), podcast creation company Anchor and The Ringer, a podcast show. 

2. Joe Rogan Experience is not just a podcast to listen. People love to see it. It is a multimodal podcast – both audio and video. How else could we know about Elon Musk smoking a blunt? Spotify knows that and the deal states, that by the end of the year, the exclusive content will also include video versions of the podcast. 

3. According to The Verge, Spotify is globally a/b testing video podcast formats on its platform. 

source: Joe Rogan Experience #1169 – Elon Musk

It is not rocket science, nor it was not obvious before. But with all of the moves put together, we could see a transition towards a more audiovisual platform. Yes, Spotify has fooled around with some video options in the past. For example, some songs have their clips or video montages, but now comes the real need to actually push the video aspect of the platform in order to have a winning strategy for the market of podcasts.  

source: Ashley Carman / The Verge

It is left to speculations to what degree might Spotify become somewhat similar to YouTube, especially when it comes to audiovisual content. But it will surely try to take as many people as it can during its gentle transformation. Just imagine watching a new video clip of your favourite band on Spotify rather than YouTube. At the end of the day, it is again about time spent on a platform times number of people there. In order to fuel this equation, Spotify has definitely devised a plan of attack: welcome video. In this context, let us phrase the Big Short movie here: „we smell money“!

So if you feel like you might get a bit lost in the jungle podcasts or you would like to know how to integrate them into your marketing strategies, let us know. We have a fully operational studio and a strategic team ready to help you.

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Community Meetup 11 – Market shifts: From paid to creative.

Due to the threats affecting the economy, companies all over the world are cutting down budgets of ad promotion, which puts them in a difficult situation to reach both new and existing customers. So they find themselves in the need to adapt fast to the new threats affecting the market. 

In your strategy meetings, you’re probably thinking about how to mitigate the impact of cutting down your advertising budget, while still attracting new customers. The trend is to stop paid advertising and shift towards generating creative ways to create customer relationships. 

So what has changed since the crisis began? This is what we see lately:

Less Push
Companies have stopped overselling and using hard selling techniques on digital platforms. It is simply not well seen by the market to be pushing your products down their throats during times of crisis.

Customer Relationship
Companies are focusing now on building stronger relationships with their customers. The brands realize that in these times of crisis a helping, caring hand is the best way to build trust with their customers. 

Boost of Creativity
Companies are adapting and even switching to new business models, creating new products and services and making the best out of the current situation. 

We have also identified four different types of companies, depending on the way that they are responding to the crisis. 

So, how are companies acting differently?

Innovators

“This is a great opportunity, let’s adapt as first ones.”

Big Companies

“We need to keep our market share, no matter what.”

Digital Dinosaurs

“Oh shit, the internet is a real deal, we have to be there in a week!” 

Passive Mainstream

“Let’s wait until it’s over … hopefully we don’t go bankrupt in the meantime.”

How is your brand reacting?

To close we would like to leave you with the best quote that summarizes what winning companies are doing and how they are shifting their marketing strategies. This is a quote from Mark Ritson:

“Great brands build their equity during crises like this. They stand out by actually exemplifying their brand values in the face of the crisis that surrounds it. They take care of their own and eschew shorter-term profits in favor of ensuring that their people are looked after. And they invest in brand-building media because, with many of their competitors losing their mind and their share of voice, there is a rare opportunity to come out of the crisis not just alive, but ahead.”

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Community Meetup 10: Digital Marketing Trends 2020

on the edge

👆👆👆 Join our Facebook group

New threats and opportunities are bubbling up for businesses, brands, and individuals. In order not to be affected by the current threats and to make the best of the few opportunities in the market, you most likely need to pay close attention to the digital marketing trends developing during #coronatimes. 

During the last Community Meetup (CM10), we discussed social commerce, direct messaging, micro-influencers, interactive emails, live streaming, influencers and more trends that can help you navigate with your business during the crisis. 

Livestreaming

Videos enhance engagement and increase the likelihood of your audience engaging with your content. The surveys are clear: 80% of consumers said they’d rather watch live video than read a blog post. So what to do for your business?  Consider “micro live streams” where you go online more frequently but for shorter bursts of 2-5 minutes to share, inform, engage, and connect with your fans and followers.  

Btw, remember to be where your audience is the most whether that is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

AR & Mobile

AR has disrupted digital experiences in mobile devices. It increases both user engagement and brand recognition. It is a high-end tool that gives you another tool when it comes to driving sales and enhancing brand value through mobile devices.

Shoppable Socials 

Instagram launched “Checkout” in 2019, and it allows you to connect with your e-commerce platform, ideally Shopify. With this game-changer feature, you can sell directly on the social media platform, which decreases the chances of sales abandonment by your target audience. Snapchat and Pinterest are two other social media platforms that enable shoppable posts. 

If you have a Shopify store, it’s as easy as linking accounts (for Instagram) or installing a plugin (for Snapchat). 

Direct Customer Care

Direct messaging is a new means of streamlining customer service and assisting in sales. With Apps like WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger, or through PMs on social media like Instagram or TikTok, you can establish meaningful relationships with your customers. 

Now, don’t be pushy, and remember that a customer DMing you first is worlds apart from you DMing them first. So what are you going to do for them to reach out first? 😉  

Micro-influencers

Your target audience right now is looking for the advice of close friends and family on what to do next, what the future is going to look like. Micro-influencers have narrower niches and are popular enough to be influential in their audience’s life. Plus, they, and are not overloaded with sponsorship offers. Reach out to them if you feel your company can bring something positive to their target audience and they will consider working with you. 

Interactive Newsletters

Email is still one of the best digital channels, and now is evolving in its form into something that looks and functions more like web pages, including clickable buttons and other interactions. Now, combine a beautifully designed email layout, with video… it can increase your click rates up to 300% if done right. 

Customer Data Platforms

These are digital tools that help you analyze the reactions of users and customers to a solution, typically on social media or other places online. This practice is called sentiment analysis usually involving data-collecting tools and complicated algorithms that look at online responses to your brand and evaluate them.

You can then use that data to fine-tune not just your products, but also your strategies for sales, marketing, social media, and content.

Global > Local

Now is the time for your brand to go truly global. Internet usage is increasing by the roof, as well as the time spent on social media platforms. People are at home and they are either looking at their computer screens or their phones. 
Your digital footprint can be there, connecting your products/services to the world. If you know your target audience, find that global niche, anywhere they are. 

Watch the Livestream:

Even before the Corona Virus pandemic disrupted the market, the digital marketing trends that we were taking place, paradoxically, are both more human and more technical. It seems the general pull of digital marketing goes in the direction of more personal relationships with more targeted niches, but the means of making those connections rely on automation and new technology.

BTW, we miss networking with you, so we created a Facebook group to network virtually and discuss digital marketing strategy. Join here.

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Community Meetup 07: Content Marketing Strategy

Yesterday we meet to discuss “content marketing strategy” with the community, to share our experiences, look at some case studies and debate the present and future of content marketing.  This is a small summary of what we talked about. 

First, it is important to start with a definition we can all agree on so we are all on the same page. What we found to be the most important thing within this definition is that it clarifies the most relevant aspects of a content strategy, it puts it in the frame of strategic work rather than tactical, it mentions the qualities of the content to be distributed and what are the objectives of such effort. 

What we like the most about this definition is that frames content within a strategic intent defines the type of content that should be distributed, or at least the characteristics that should hold on the eyes of the audience, and ultimately provides the goals of any content strategy.

So if content marketing should be strategic in nature, the first thing to do in order to launch a successful content strategy is to do so by defining the strategy. 

  1. Start with “why”. Here it is very important to define the goal and to make it clear for everyone involved. Answer the question: Why are we producing this piece of content? Why do we need content marketing? What are the real motivations behind this effort? It is important to go as deep as possible. We recommend at advertia to use the “5 WHYS” method in order to arrive at the root of what you need your content marketing strategy. Is it because you want to reach out to a new audience? Is it because you want to consolidate your brand values? Is it to present a new product? Go deep.
  2. What type of content will fulfill the goal? Are you going to produce video, photo, text, audio or a combination of all of them? Remember that the ultimate goal of your campaign is to capture attention amongst the vast river of content that is being thrown to the market. You must stand out from the noise and be relevant, valuable and consistent… so what type of content will fulfill your goal?
  3. Last but not least, you always have to be aware of who are you directing your content to. This, along with your “WHY” is the most important part to solve when creating your content strategy. If you have these two questions answered, then your “What” will fall into place much easier and will make sense for your customers. Try to define who you’re talking to in a very specific way. Do your research right. 

Once you have your strategy in place, is time to structure your content plan. The way we do it at advertia is that we define the channels, the different topics of communication, the frequency in which we will deliver each type of content. Once the plan rolls out on a weekly and monthly bases, we take a moment to analyze retrospectively the strategy and make the updates necessary based on the feedback from the audience.  

Finally, we examined some of the trends affecting content marketing, including interactive content, influencers, live video, automatization and other new possibilities that have the potential to transform the way content is produced and consumed. 

We would love to hear from you which trends are the most important ones in shaping content marketing in the future, what are the limitations that we face when producing engaging content and what is your personal definition of content marketing. 

Is content still king? Let us know in the comments. 

BTW, don’t forget to join our Facebook Group in order to keep in touch with the rest of the community and help grow the discussion around the new ways to do marketing.

Rubriky
English Posts

Community Meetup 06: Personal Branding and Influencers

Yesterday, Wednesday 21st of August we got together for the sixth consecutive community meetup organized by advertia digital. This time we met to talk and discuss our thoughts and impact on business and society of the growing industry of personal branding and influencers. 

One of the things to remark is that it was one of our most attended meetups, giving us a full-house and having a bit of trouble to accommodate everyone, even though at the end everything worked out. This is a short summary of what was discussed during the meetup.

As the markets have shifted through the mass expansion of the internet, social media and it’s many communication possibilities, more and more has become important the role of personal branding. However, personal branding is not something new, it’s what in old-school terms we used to refer to as “reputation”. If your reputation was good, business was good. If your reputation was bad, then well, you know the answer.

Now, with the expansion of internet and social media, personal branding has turned into influence when it gathers enough audience in order to make an impact and change consumer behavior.  We have seen the rise of these so-called influencers around the world. 

Personal branding, however, is not only relevant to influencers. Employees and CEO’s as well have pressure to maintain a certain level of reputation. And that’s not even mentioning free-lancers and independent business owners. In this world of interconnectedness, social media and hashtags, we’re all in the personal branding game, and our wealth can become highly dependent on that.

How is this shift affecting both society, individuals and businesses? How to cope with social anxiety due to excessive use of social media? Is influencer marketing going anywhere? How can you improve your personal brand? How can you leverage your businesses through personal branding? These are all questions that we discussed during our last community meetup: Personal Branding & Influencers; Thoughts and Impacts on Business and Society.

We also discussed some of the two of the biggest stars of personal branding that have the influencer status within the marketing community who have two completely different perspectives regarding personal branding. Guy Kawasaki is all for it an even advocates it, while Neil Patel claims that he wouldn’t create his personal brand as much as he has if he had to do it all over again.  

Finally, we went through the blueprint proposed by Gary Vaynerchuk’s book “Crushing it” as a roadmap to build your personal brand and develop yourself as a true influencer:

We want to thank everyone who came this Wednesday making it a great learning experience. Don’t forget to join our Facebook Group in order to keep in touch with the rest of the community and to get informed about our next events.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ontheedge.advertia