B2B Influencer Marketing
Outbound vs Inbound Marketing
Outbound marketing: traditional form of marketing in which the company/brand initiates contact with potential customers. Inbound marketing: attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences personalized for them. Both have a place in the marketing world but we do favor inbound over outbound in today’s world.
Content Marketing: The Why, The How and The Where
What in the world is content marketing exactly? What makes it different than traditional marketing? Well, “it’s a strategic approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience” (Content Marketing Institute). Think of it this way. It’s much less spammy than traditional ads and doesn’t really pitch your product or services. Instead, it presents your audience with content that helps them solve their issues through the use of videos, blogs, social media, infographics, etc. with the intention of stimulating interest. But why is this type of marketing more prevalent now than it was 20 years ago?
Friday Fun Favorite 8/26/22
This week is a fun one from European Legal Group ARAG called, “Legal Needs Are in Your Future.” Featuring the infamous Sanderson sister, Mary from Hocus Pocus, Kathy Najimy, as she acts as a comedic fortune teller giving out legal warnings to her clientele.
Pareto Principle
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the 80/20 rule but probably not in the way we mean for this article in terms of economics. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of your results come from 20% of causes. It was observed by a man named Vilfredo Pareto in 1896. This principle explains the correlation between effort and outcome. So, how can this be applied to business? Using this technique can help prioritize tasks that are of highest impact throughout your work day. Here are a few detailed ways that you can use the Pareto Principle in your business.
Marketing Myopia
You might be asking yourself right now, what in the world is myopia let alone marketing myopia. The term originated at Harvard Business School by Theodore Levitt who was a professor there in the 1960’s. The term, coined by Levitt, is defined as a short-sighted and inward approach to marketing that has little imagination, foresight, intellectual insight while focusing on the needs of the business rather than on the needs of the customer. There are a few key reasons why this happens within a business.
Video Content Consumption Trends
What’s the main reason you watch video content? Is it to be entertained? To escape from your daily life? To learn about a new brand or product? If you said any of the above, you’re not alone. The answers from most people are all of the above. Turns out that 32.8% of consumers watch videos to help them relax and unwind followed by 26.3% who want to be entertained or laugh, according to HubSpot. Video content has changed so drastically since the creation of the internet. It’s really hard to believe that it’s only been around for 30 years or so. Wrap your mind around that for a second!
Gestalt Principle for Advertising Design
We know, we know. This already sounds like a very fancy, difficult to read article. Well, let us tell you that it’s not. We’re going to explain this design principle in laymen’s terms for those who may not be familiar with it. We don’t have degrees in psychology, so our understanding of it is at the surface level to be used for the ad industry. So, what is the Gestalt Principle?
Friday Favorite 8/19/22
“The Monster” campaign was created from the region of Attica, Greece where the recycling rate is only 19%, and 79% of their waste ends up in landfills. So much plastic ends up in the ocean, killing sea life all over the world. Geologists are seeing plastic become part of rock formations. It’s absolutely maddening. This campaign is to raise awareness on the importance of recycling.
Layout Design for Advertising
There is so much that goes on behind the scenes for designing an ad before the final product, that you see as the viewer. One of those processes is design layout. The process may be slightly different for each company. Approvals for each step in the process are required before moving on to the next and the first is a thumbnail sketch. This is a small and rough drawing that artists use to visualize different layout approaches. The second phase is the rough layout. This is the to scale for the ad where illustrations, text and photos are sketched in. The next step is comprehensive with an elaborate layout where all visuals are final. Fourth, the dummy. This is done with color markers and or/computer proofs. This will look like the finished ad. Paste-up comes next where text and visuals are placed in their exact positions to reproduced in printing. The last step is final approval. This is done by the copywriter and director. Although all of the steps are a required part of the process how do you know what layout to use for your ad?
Don’t Sweat the Technique: Common Visual Advertising Techniques
Chances are that if you’re in the ad industry, you went to college for it. However, some people landed in this industry who didn’t perhaps major in that field of study, say communications for example. For those of you who are familiar with advertising techniques and have studied this area of expertise or been the industry for as long as you can remember, then this article really isn’t for you. It will cover basic, common visual advertising techniques that are used. Some you may know and some may be new to you. We’ve talked about emotional advertising in one of our past articles but there are so many, many more. This list is in no particular order and does not include the entirety of ad techniques.
The Future of Video Content Creation
Epic Fails: Top Reasons Why Ad Campaigns Fail
Let’s be honest, epic fails are only funny when no one gets hurt and in the advertising business, if your ad campaign flops, your brand suffers. There’s definitely no single recipe for an ad campaign to succeed there are some top reasons that it won’t. Don’t fall victim to an ad that falls short of the mark. Do the research and understand what to do and especially what not to do. Here are our top reasons that we believe some ad campaigns fail epically. While, this list is nowhere near exhaustive, it’s a place to start.
Friday Favorite 8/12/22
This week’s favorite should resonate with any working professional in today’s society. The print ad for the new Adsum + Timex MK1 watch takes a jab at the Apple watch stating, “Know the time without seeing you have 1,249 unanswered emails.” In the world of digital everything, this ad is spot on in the emphasis of digital detox. The sleek and simple watch design looks as though it could be a smart watch at first glance. We love this campaign and it definitely resonated with us. We hope you like it just as much as we do!
"More Human Than Human" Humanizing Your Brand Voice
Consumer trust is one of the most important aspects for the success of your business. Your brand voice is one way to secure this. Of course, UGC being the first. Wink, Wink. People respond to real people. Authentic people. This also adds to the personalization that everyone now expects in their customer experiences. So, having a unique voice that resonates with your audience is a way to create transparency but how do you do that? Think of your brand as an entity. A person. Who is this person who represents your business? What is their personality? What do they care about? Make sure that their tone is approachable and engaging that speaks your customer’s language. Here are some more tips on ways to humanize your brand’s voice.
Content Creators vs Influencers
Statistics & Their Importance for Business Leaders
Statistics. Everyone reading this probably just had a nightmarish flashback of being in their college stats course. It’s a difficult subject. But why is statistical research important in business in the real world? Well, it’s because it enables brands to analyze past performances, predict future trends and utilize critical thinking with data-driven decision making.
Trending: The Importance of Keeping Up with Industry Trends
Trending [tren-din] adjective: 1. Emerging as a popular trend. 2. Widely mentioned or discussed on the internet, especially on social media websites (dictionary.com). This popular term is quite new, but we’ve all heard it by now. Being a successful brand leader in your industry means being adaptable and open to change. This is why following what’s trending is important.
Friday Fun Favorite 8/5/22
This week we’re taking a different direction with the fun favorite going to Zippo. We’re going to talk about two different campaigns. One print and one video. One old and one new. But both creatively badass. The first talks of the amazing story of a Zippo that worked after being taken from the belly of a fish. This throwback was done in the 1960’s when a man was fishing for pike.
