Infographic: Digital Marketing 101
Top 5 Digital Marketing Insights
All posts filed under: Digital Marketing
The Secret to Uncovering Great Insight
The 1968 classic film Powers of Ten directed by Charles and Ray Eames depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of ten. Every ten seconds we view the starting point from ten times farther out until the galaxy appears as a speck of light, following this, the camera moves inward, with ten times more magnification every ten seconds. Not only is the cinematography beautiful and technically brilliant, the film offers valuable insight that can be applied to all aspects of our life and society. How is this film relevant you ask? As Tim Brown notes, “it is a wonderful reminder of one of the most important principles in design – reframing the question.” In the digital age, the need for marketers to be creative is more important than ever. We live in an era where consumers are constantly bombarded by advertising messages and marketers from every direction are vying for consumers’ attention. To exacerbate the issue, our attention span has been reduced to a mere 9 seconds. Given this cultural landscape, in order to …
What Lies Beyond the Pay Wall
In the digital age, new issues arise almost as fast as technology develops. The advent of the Internet has irrevocably altered the way in which people consume media and the news. The newspaper industry in particular has been severely affected, with newspaper companies struggling to find a revenue model that is sustainable and profitable in the long run. In response to the shifting media landscape, a popular digital tactic employed by news companies is the pay wall strategy. I believe that pay walls, especially “soft pay walls” which allows free access to select content whilst keeping premium content behind a pay wall (as opposed to no access to content without subscription) are effective strategies for the following reasons: Advantages Effective way to monetize content: While an online display ad only produces 10-20% of the revenue of its print counterpart, a pay wall can be set at a desired value, delivering short-term revenues. Offers possibility to vary the degree of impenetrability: The pay wall is a great way to hook users on basic information and charge …
Not All Attention Is Good Attention
In the 21st century, brands must be agile and dynamic because we live in a fleeting age where public discourse is dynamic, trends are constantly changing and news travels faster than ever before. In light of these cultural changes, the landscape of marketing is shifting and techniques such as real-time marketing are increasing in popularity. Real-time marketing refers to marketing performed “on-the-fly” to determine an appropriate or optimal approach to a particular customer at a particular time and place. Newsjacking is a specific form of real-time marketing, which is becoming in vogue amongst marketers. Newsjacking, which is a term coined by David Meerman Scott, refers to the process by which you inject your ideas or angles into breaking news. It is a means through which you can generate media coverage for your business and attract the attention of large audiences by leveraging on breaking news and injecting your ideas into the marketplace. This technique allows you to bring a unique spin to a topic that is on the top of many people’s minds. Moreover by newsjacking, you are …
It’s Time to Rethink your Social Strategy
In the digital age, consumers feel overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of advertising messages by marketers who are relentlessly vying for their attention. In order for marketers to captivate the attention of consumers, simplicity is key. Simplicity not only in terms of the delivery of a marketing message, but when it comes to purchasing, marketers should simplify their decision-making process. Although simplicity is indeed important in captivating a consumer’s attention and securing a transaction, I believe that simplicity alone is not enough. Ultimately, companies that invest and make a concerted effort in developing authentic relationships with consumers will enjoy long-term loyalty. Keep it simple, stupid Due to the over excess of information and our hyper connectivity, our attention spans are now shorter than ever before – a mere 9 seconds. Image Source Our short attention span scans through a barrage of information to land on what is most relevant to us personally. Although consumers can access marketing messages 24/7, their hyper connectivity leaves them in a state of perpetual partial attention. As such, when crafting messages, …
The Buzz on Big Data
In a world that is becoming progressively digital, the term “big data” is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. In 2001, industry analyst Doug Laney articulated the widely accepted definition of big data as the 3 V’s: Velocity, Variety and Volume. Velocity refers to the unprecedented speed at which data is streamed, variety relates to the way in which data today comes in a range of formats and volume alludes to the sheer volume of incoming data online. Indeed big data is so “big”, marketers simply can’t afford to ignore it. Big data is transforming our world and revolutionizing the landscape of marketing in the process. Big data presents both invaluable opportunities and advantages for marketers as well as obstacles. According to a study conducted by eMarketer, 61% of those surveyed claimed that big data is both an opportunity and an obstacle, and for many there is still a long way to go when it comes to harnessing big data and using it in the decision making process Lets start with the benefits and opportunities of big data. …
Mastering the Art of UX Design
In the digital age, User Experience Design is playing an increasingly prominent role in the art of branding. As activity in the digital and social space is growing at an unprecedented pace, brands must learn to adapt to the growth in digital activity. Brands should no longer only focus on the in-store experience, but the online experience too. Red Mango, the popular smoothies and frozen yogurt chain, is a brand that has recognized and embraced the value of creating a great user experience for customers. The user experience across their website and mobile platforms is characterized by simplicity, ease of use, and usefulness. By evaluating the UX of Red Mango across digital platforms, I’ll shed light on what works and what doesn’t. When it comes to UX, there are a few points to consider… 1. Keep it simple stupid (K.I.S.S) The Red Mango website embraces a sleek and simple design that is pleasant to the eye, whilst being functional and practical. In terms of aesthetics across digital devices, the color palette of red, white and green …
What’s your Story?
The most successful brands are born from a compelling story. One of my favorite TED Talks of all time is by Simon Sinek on “How great leaders inspire action”. During his talk, he sheds light on a very interesting, yet often overlooked insight: “People Don’t Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It”. Simon Sinek posits that inspirational leadership and successful brands start with the golden circle. Contrary to popular belief, companies should start by asking the question “Why?” (their story and core beliefs) instead of “What?” (their product or service). Indeed, if companies start with the “Why” and focus on their story first, they will win over the hearts of consumers. Planet Smoothie is a great example of a company who identified it’s “why” from the get-go and whose success is largely contingent upon their desire to share their story. The Why? Planet Smoothie was born in 1995 in Atlanta. The founder created Planet smoothie with the mission to revolutionize and “change the way the planet eats” with smoothies, supplements, snacks and smiles. The How and …
How do you Fascinate Others?
I have always been intrigued by personality tests so when I heard about Sally Hogshead’s Fascination Advantage test, I was instantly curious. The Fascination Advantage test is the first science-based personality brand assessment test. The test reveals how your personality adds distinct value and determines your fascination triggers. In the context of a flailing job market, a rapidly growing population, and a society that is more educated than ever before, our lives are becoming fiercely competitive. To compound this issue, the rapid dissemination of information and multitude of media channels in the digital age has ensued in another problem – diminishing attention spans. According to Sally Hogshead, our attention span now lasts a mere 9 seconds – equivalent to that of a gold fish. In a competitive and distracting world, it has become of particular importance for us to understand what it is about us that sets us apart from everyone else? What exactly is it about us that fascinates others? In the context of marketing, what is our unique value proposition? I took to Hogshead’s Fascination test to …
Kraft gets Krafty with Smartphone App
Our lives are becoming increasingly digital. With mobile now accounting for approximately 10% of our media consumption, our phones are occupying a more central role in our lives. In response to the steady rise of mobile usage, marketers are allocating more of their marketing budgets to mobile. Whilst it is certainly true that mobile is a marketing gold mine, many marketers fall into the trap of assuming that mobile marketing is limited to display ads and text messaging ads. This is simply not the case. I personally find display ads and text messaging ads to be intrusive, disruptive and uninteresting. The moment I see an unwanted text from a brand, I automatically switch off and lose interest. What many marketers have yet to realize is that the true potential of mobile marketing lies in apps, not ads. The beauty of branded apps lies in the fact that consumers don’t perceive them to be advertising. People use apps for a variety of reasons – for entertainment, functional, or social purposes. Whatever the reason is, one thing …
Sarah Ong 