$$$ Social Media Marketing $$$

According to Duke University Fuqua School of Business, businesses are increasing their social media marketing budgets, with it expecting to grow on average from 9.4% to 13.2% within the next year and 21.4% within the next five years. Now businesses are faced with the challenge of how to determine their social media marketing budget amount compared to the rest of their marketing budget. They must evaluate a relatively new sector and determine the value of this strategy. This will be based on the size of the business, how long the business has been around, and the expenses and profitability of the business.

The Content Factory completed an analysis on social marketing and determined the amount an average business spends on their social marketing to be $200 to $350 a day. A social media marketing strategy will cost an average of $4,000-$7,000 for at least two social networks.

Businesses will need to determine which method they will use for their approach. They could hire an intern and/or train existing staff. This puts it in the hands of a non-specialist but allows you to have a social media presence at a low cost. Hire a freelancer costing about $900 per month. Hire a full-time professional social media specialist which will cost around $3,200 per month. Hire a small marketing firm costing approximately $400 to $1,500 a month. They could also hire a corporate marketing agency costing about $20,000 minimum a year.

After determining the process a company will use to manage their social marketing strategy, they must determine which social networks to utilize. This includes everything from Facebook to YouTube, SnapChat to Twitter, and LinkedIn to Reditt. All social networks are adding advertising to their websites so it’s up to businesses to determine what network is right for them and their desired market. By understanding your companies budget and target market you can fortify an effective social media presence.

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/05/12/how-to-determine-your-social-media-marketing-budget/#gref

 

Convenience Marketing

How can we better assist our customers and make their lives easier?

This is the question many companies are having right now. As a culture we have shifted to a more convenience driven lifestyle. The challenge for companies is how utilize this to their advantage.

Amazon has been in the forefront in this competition by finding new ways to make their customers’ lives easier. They have Prime Pantry, which allows customers to purchase items normally found in grocery stores, online. This is available for Amazon Prime Members, adding one of many benefits for their Prime Customers.

Now they have added Amazondash, this offers many products found in Prime Pantry with an easier method of shopping. After ordering and setting up a Dash Button, you just hit a button and an order will be processed. For example, if you have a Dash Button for Tide then you could place it near the laundry room and when you are running low you hit the button. In 2 days you will have the product you need before running out and without going to the store.

Now you can purchase most non-perishable food online through Amazon or other stores but what about other groceries? It has become more common to have grocery stores offer delivery or pick-up for their customers. Hanford to-go allows customers to purchase their orders online and schedule a time to pick up their orders. In return, they are able to charge a fee for the service and reduce lines at their stores. It also separates themselves from stores like Walmart or Target that don’t offer this service.

Companies are forced to analyze their customers’ utility, what they value the most. By adding convenience to their business they appeal to the customers and separate themselves from other companies, improving their competitive advantage.

The Power of Reviews and Social Media

On a rainy Wednesday morning you wake up from an amazing night sleep and begin your morning routine of getting ready for work. While you are drinking the world’s best cup of coffee, it hits you…the best idea of all time! This is the invention that will change your life forever. Every customers would want this product.

So, now what? Well, you decide you are going to design and produce this product. you market it effectively and even get it on Amazon for distribution. After a week of selling the product consistently, the reviews start pouring in. Unfortunately these were not as good as you were hoping, most were negative. Now you have to come up with your next steps: rebranding, redoing, or worse removing your product.

This is the reality for many products that are sold online, more notably through Amazon. This is because Amazon allows the users to provide reviews on their products. Most customers refer to those before finalizing a purchase. If a product doesn’t have a review they may avoid purchasing it. Now other reviewers take the comedic approach in their reviews. If these shine your product in a good light it may offer extra exposure you otherwise wouldn’t have received. For the shirt below, the comment didn’t necessarily hurt the product brand but may have enhanced it through sarcasm.

Now some companies will not succeed at promoting their products through humor while others do. Groupon allows companies to promote their products or services by offering deals for their customers. Groupon promoted a product known as the Banana Bunker on their website and Facebook page. People then responded with questions about this product, as shown below. What Groupon did well was staying informative but offering a humorous twists. This was social media gold and was promoted all across the internet. Groupon posted a simple image and then allowed their existing following to share and comment. This provided additional visibility to Groupon as a whole.

The key is to use reviews and questions to your benefit. When in doubt use sarcasm and let social media to provide free advertising. So even if you have a product that has bad comments, utilize social media and sarcasm to promote your product. Many individuals will purchase for the “gag” gift factor.

bureaucRATS a Subliminal Message?

Everyday doctors and scientists are learning something new about the brain. I am constantly surprised about how powerful the brain really is. It’s remarkable how little we knew 10, 20, or 30 years ago compared to today. In this class I’ve learned how much we can relate psychology to our actions as consumers. As active shoppers we are constantly seeing ads and products through various kinds of media yet we have the ability to make our own decisions and comprehend what we’ve seen. In the past this wasn’t always the case.

The idea of subliminal messaging first came out in 1957 but that study was proven to be fabricated. In 1973, the book Subliminal Seduction was published and the concern became so popularized that the FCC ruled it to be “contrary to the public interest”. The amount a message was comprehended was researched, to determine if subliminal content existed. The influence of subliminal messages could be from the the ability to circumvent the critical functions of the conscious mind. Since the FCC regulates the use of subliminal messaging it is in the marketing teams best interest to not utilize it. It could cause them to be fined but the impact to their brand could be devastating. The public does not react well to not being in control of what they’re viewing or understanding. With this in mind, the word subliminal was given a corrupt connotation.

In 2000 the U.S. presidential campaign had the word subliminal thrown around to describe a commercial aired by the Republican party. While describing Al Gore the commercial showed the word Bureaucrats but only the last four letters appeared, “RATS”. Once discovered this immediately sparked the attention of the Democratic party and an investigation by the FCC. Although the FCC did not issue any penalties it didn’t do a favor for either party. This instance didn’t qualify as subliminal since the viewer is aware of the information provided and it is not viewed in only the subconscious. Regardless, even the term subliminal sparked public interest and causing a negative connotation to the brand.

 

https://www.psychologistworld.com/influence_personality/subliminalads.php

The Marketing Color Wheel

Everyday we spend so much time looking at various advertisements and marketing via the internet, television, magazines, mobile devices, and etc. Something I didn’t realize was the amount of thought that was used in just the color of the advertisement and logos. Company logos are so memorable for any kind of brand. Most consumers can pick out the most popular company logos, such as McDonald’s, Pepsi, Nike, and AT&T. You can even take a quiz on Sporcle to test your knowledge of Company Logos. We have all become so used to a company logo that when they update it companies must properly market their new logo to get consumer buy in.

Can you imagine a day where Facebook was red instead of blue, Wikipedia was pink, or Apple was orange? Different colors are useful for different organizations. Colors are associated with different emotions too. Yellow is linked to optimism, clarity, and warmth while red is linked to excitement, youthful, and bold. On the other hand, utilizing multiple colors is linked to diversity. Different brands will seek out certain colors to link with their consumer demographic. Colors are also used for what kind of product we will purchase. Purple items tend to be seen in beauty or anti-aging products while black is used for luxury products.

When companies go through any sort of change or upgrade to their logos or products, they must go through the proper research to make sure it is a good fit. This can be done with in-depth interviews, focus groups, nominal groups, cases analyses, ethnography, or observations and audits. These tools will allow a company decide if their product should be in a red, blue, or yellow packaging. This could be the deciding factor between a customer noticing a new product or purchasing the same product they usually do.

Shopping for Milk & Eggs

This past week I needed to go to Stewart’s to get milk and eggs. I knew traveling home from work that I only needed milk and eggs. I would walk into Stewart’s and pay for only milk and eggs. After purchasing my items and exiting the store I walked out with four items, milk, eggs, ice cream, and a lotto ticket.

Did I plan on getting the ice cream or lotto ticket? No. Do I regret? Well I’m not a millionaire but the ice cream was delicious.

The question I have is how did Stewart’s get a person going to buy two things go and buy four. The flow of the store and the use of eye-level marketing is the answer. At this store the milk was located in the back but you had to walk past the ice cream, frozen food, or snack food aisles to get there. I choose the ice cream aisle, hence why I walked out with ice cream. With some self control I didn’t purchase the cookies located right above the ice cream. Then I made my way to the register, conveniently the lotto ticket machines are placed right next to it.

Stewart’s isn’t the only store to use these characteristics to their benefit, all supermarkets also use this strategy. Most will have their bakery or florists located near the entrance to add the fresh scents. Also near the entrance is produce, all colorful and healthy products. From here your cart is empty so you feel you can buy the flowers and spend the extra money. Also, if you buy some vegetables you are more likely to fill your cart with baked goods, or snack foods found later in the store. As stated with Stewart’s, dairy products are found in the back so you have to walk through the entire store first. Once in the store, customers will walk up and down every aisle moving from the right side of the store to the left. Stores will place the more expensive items at eye level with the favored items at the end of the aisles. The unhealthy items are found at a child’s eye level to entice their children to ask for the sugary items. A store’s decoration is important too with warm colors attracting people to a store while cool colors discourage this. Similar to Stewart’s your shopping trip ends at the register where customers contemplate purchasing candy or magazines while they wait in line.

All of these actions allow grocery stores to exploit the common human traits of their customers while keeping their customers happy about their purchases. Now that we know the truth about grocery stores will you try to beat the system and stick to your list or succumb to temptation and spend more money?