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The Future is Electric

The plug-in vehicle industry is booming, with new models and technologies being released all the time. Here are some of the latest trends in the industry:

  • Increased range: Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are now available with ranges of over 300 miles, making them a viable option for even long-distance driving.
  • Lower prices: The cost of plug-in vehicles has been steadily decreasing, making them more affordable for consumers.
  • More charging options: There are now more public charging stations available, making it easier for plug-in vehicle owners to charge their cars.
  • Government incentives: Many governments offer incentives, such as tax breaks and rebates, to encourage people to buy plug-in vehicles.

These trends are making plug-in vehicles a more attractive option for consumers. As the technology continues to improve and the cost of ownership continues to decrease, we can expect to see even more plug-in vehicles on the road in the years to come.

In addition to plug-in vehicles, there are a number of other trends in the sustainable energy industry.

These include:

  • Increased use of renewable energy: Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are becoming more and more popular. This is due to a number of factors, including the decreasing cost of renewable energy technologies and the increasing awareness of climate change.
  • Improved energy efficiency: Energy efficiency is another important trend in the sustainable energy industry. This refers to the use of less energy to provide the same level of service. Energy efficiency can be achieved through a number of measures, such as using more efficient appliances and lighting, and weatherizing homes and businesses.
  • Demand-side management: Demand-side management is a strategy that involves shifting energy demand from peak periods to off-peak periods. This can be done by using energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and by using time-of-use rates. Demand-side management can help to reduce the strain on the electricity grid and lower energy costs.

These are just a few of the latest trends in the sustainable energy industry. As the world moves towards a more sustainable future, we can expect to see even more innovation and progress in this area.

Here are some of the exciting challenges that the sustainable energy industry faces:

  • The cost of renewable energy: Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are still relatively expensive compared to traditional fossil fuels. However, the cost of renewable energy is decreasing all the time, and it is expected to become more cost-competitive with fossil fuels in the future.
  • Intermittency of renewable energy: Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are intermittent, meaning that they do not produce electricity all the time. This can be a challenge for the electricity grid, which needs to be able to provide a steady supply of electricity at all times. However, there are a number of ways to address this challenge, such as using energy storage and demand-side management.
  • Public acceptance: There is still some public resistance to renewable energy, particularly in the form of wind turbines. This is due to a number of factors, including concerns about noise and visual impact. However, public acceptance of renewable energy is increasing as people become more aware of the benefits of these technologies.

Despite these challenges, the sustainable energy industry is making great progress. As the technology continues to improve and the cost of renewable energy decreases, we can expect to see even more adoption of these technologies in the years to come.

Suffice to say, it looks like we are up to challenge and –if we may – the future looks bright!

 

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Going Live – A Guide to Livestreaming Platforms for Cutting Edge Brands

Livestreaming has become an increasingly popular way for people to connect with audiences and share their content online. With so many different platforms available, it can be difficult to decide which one is best for your needs. In this blog post, we’ll explore the pros and cons of some of the most popular livestreaming platforms.

Twitch

Twitch is a livestreaming platform that was originally created for gamers but has since expanded to include content creators of all kinds. One of the biggest advantages of Twitch is its large and dedicated user base. If your content is gaming or esports related, Twitch is definitely the platform for you.

Pros:

  • Dedicated user base of gamers and esports fans.
  • Integrated chat and emote features for audience interaction.
  • Flexible monetization options, including subscriptions, donations, and ads.
  • Built-in tools for moderation and community management.

Cons:

  • Primarily focused on gaming and esports, so may not be the best fit for non-gaming content creators.
  • Can be difficult to grow an audience due to the platform’s saturation and competition.
  • Strict content moderation policies may limit the types of content that can be streamed.

 

YouTube Live

YouTube Live is a livestreaming feature within the larger YouTube platform. As one of the largest video sharing platforms in the world, YouTube Live offers a lot of potential for content creators.

Pros:

  • Large and diverse user base with potential for viral reach.
  • Easy integration with other YouTube content.
  • Monetization options include ads, sponsorships, and merchandise.
  • Built-in tools for content discovery and optimization.

Cons:

  • Limited interaction with audience compared to other platforms.
  • Strict content moderation policies may limit the types of content that can be streamed.
  • High competition from other creators may make it difficult to stand out.

 

Facebook Live

Facebook Live is a livestreaming feature within the larger Facebook platform. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook Live offers a large and diverse audience for content creators.

Pros:

  • Large and diverse user base with potential for viral reach.
  • Easy integration with other Facebook content.
  • Built-in tools for audience interaction and engagement.
  • Flexible monetization options, including ads, sponsorships, and donations.

Cons:

  • Limited discoverability compared to other platforms.
  • May be difficult to grow an audience without an existing Facebook following.
  • Limited tools for content optimization and discovery.

 

Instagram Live

Instagram Live is a livestreaming feature within the larger Instagram platform. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram Live offers a large and engaged audience for content creators.

Pros:

  • Large and engaged user base with potential for viral reach.
  • Easy integration with other Instagram content.
  • Built-in tools for audience interaction and engagement.
  • Flexible monetization options, including sponsorships and donations.

Cons:

  • Limited discoverability compared to other platforms.
  • May be difficult to grow an audience without an existing Instagram following.
  • Limited tools for content optimization and discovery.

 

Zoom

Zoom is a video conferencing platform that also offers livestreaming capabilities. While not specifically designed for livestreaming, Zoom offers a lot of potential for businesses and organizations that want to host webinars, virtual events, or meetings.

Pros:

  • Easy integration with other business and productivity tools.
  • Built-in tools for screen sharing, collaboration, and interactivity.
  • Advanced security and privacy features.
  • No audience size limits.

Cons:

  • Not specifically designed for livestreaming, so may lack some features compared to other platforms.
  • Limited monetization options.
  • Limited discoverability compared to other platforms.

 

There are pros and cons to each livestreaming platform, and the best choice depends on your specific needs and goals as a content creator. Twitch is great for gaming and esports content, while YouTube Live offers potential for viral reach and diverse content. Facebook Live and Instagram Live offer large and engaged audiences, with built-in tools for audience interaction and engagement. Zoom is a great option for businesses and organizations that want to host virtual events or meetings.

When choosing a livestreaming platform, it’s important to consider factors such as audience, monetization options, discoverability, and content moderation policies. It’s also worth considering which platforms your target audience is most likely to use.

With so many options available, it’s worth exploring different platforms and experimenting with different formats and approaches to find what works best for you. While ultimately, the best platform for your livestreaming needs will depend on your specific goals and content, we wanted to highlight one of our favorites here:

TikTok Takes the Livestreaming Lead

TikTok is one of the platforms leading the way in this trend. Here are some of the benefits of livestream shopping on TikTok:

  1. Directly reach your audience: Livestream shopping on TikTok allows you to connect directly with your audience in real-time, providing a more personal and engaging experience. You can interact with viewers, answer their questions, and get instant feedback on your products.

  2. Increased sales: Livestream shopping has been shown to increase sales for businesses. With TikTok’s large user base, you have the potential to reach a large audience and convert them into customers.

  3. Creative freedom: TikTok is known for its creative and playful content, and livestream shopping is no exception. You can use filters, effects, and music to make your livestreams more engaging and fun.

  4. Collaborations: TikTok offers the opportunity for collaborations with other businesses or influencers, which can help increase your reach and credibility.

  5. Data and analytics: TikTok offers data and analytics tools to help you track engagement, views, and sales from your livestream shopping events. This can help you make data-driven decisions to improve your strategy and increase sales.

In summary, livestream shopping and the advanced e-commerce feature set on TikTok offers a unique and engaging way to connect with your audience, increase sales, and showcase your brand’s personality and creativity. By taking advantage of the platform’s features and tools, you can create a successful livestream shopping experience for your business.

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TikTok Livestreaming as Community Engagement – Our Tips and Tricks

This article is part 3 in a series on connecting your brand to your communities. Last time we looked at ad targeting and experience management as a way to calibrate your brand compass and use data to connect to your community.

Today we’ll cover livestreaming via social media – TikTok in particular – as a fun and high touch way to engage your community and bring them your brands offerings.

Why Go Live?

Livestream shopping is on the rise. With rising investments from Amazon, YouTube, and TikTok – the big platforms are betting on the ability to create unique and rare shopping experiences for customers. There are also a handful of platforms emerging to cover specialized categories – like clothing, shoes, collectibles, etc. – where even mega big-box retailers like Walmart are hosting live shopping events.

TikTok just recently launched livestream shopping in the United States. Now you can sell directly to customers through a store connected to your TikTok account. How it works: Your brand’s fans and followers are notified when you go live, and when they queue up the livestream, they will see a shop button at the bottom left of the screen. Here, your followers can peruse the items that you have up for sale, and you can feature specific deals and discounts and then, of course, provide a direct link to your sales page.

Brands would be smart to capitalize on this trend.

Upgrade your KOLs

A winning strategy on how to do this is to engage your KOLs and give them a new platform to connect to audiences. After you have found and connected to your community – see our previous post on targeting through platforms like our Adtarg here – you can upgrade your relationship with your KOLs by knighting them as potential live streamer sellers. Now when you begin to cultivate relationships, you can give them another option of how to engage with your brand. You can have the KOL feature your product on their own livestreaming account for exposure and then offer them an affiliate code where they can earn a commission and also provide a discount to their audience. Or, if you want to do your livestreaming in-house, you can hire KOLs with livestreaming experience to come be hosts on your own platform. This adds credibility to your brand. You can invite them as guests to talk about different products and trends. Treat it like you are creating a TV show or podcast! You can feature the products but not make them the center of attention and then later go in for the hard sale. Either way – by recruiting affiliate live streamers or by inviting them to talk to your audience – you create a win-win scenario for the KOL and your brand, giving you increased brand coverage by tapping into their audience in a fun, engaging and meaningful way. Plus you have a lot more control than just shipping out your products for reviews hoping that the KOL will get back to you or be favorable with their feedback. In others words, think of this as a great way to get close with your KOLs and build those close bonds.

Our Best Strategies for TikTok Livestreaming

1. Repurpose Content

Platforms like TikTok will save your livestream to your devices. One tip is to comb through the footage and cut clips from your favorite moments – maybe an unexpected comment or interaction with an audience member, or even a blooper. These make fun clips that you can post later as short video that both get a laugh as well as underscore your brand’s offerings.

2. The Hosts with the Most

Choosing a host is a key decision. This person will be the face of your brand on your channel. Best to find someone relatable to your community – someone your audience will identity with. You have a range of options here. It could be the product developer or designer themselves, the CEO or founder, or you can hire someone to represent your brand, a brand ambassador.

3. Spruce it up with a Digital Overlay

One way to look extra professional is to create a cstomized backdrop for your stream. Not only does this make for a cleaner presentation for your live stream but you can also do handy things like display prices right on the screen when viewers first log on – giving them an immediate impression of what you’re up to and hooking into their attention without them having to spend too much time figuring out the conversation. You can also get creative by creating different environments for your product suites – living rooms, kitchens, etc. – based on the theme of your brand. Here you can express the visual identity of your brand while still streaming on another platform like TikTok.

4. Be Authentic – Show Your Fans How the Sauce is Made

Another way to get your fans and community more invested in your brand is to bring them into YOUR world. You remember in our previous post we talked about the world of your brands story. Well, here you can literally bring them into your world – your physical store, the laboratory or production room of your company, your warehouse, etc. Many successful live streamers go live right from their own IRL shops and show you all their merchandise, right as it comes out of the box. This kind of “welcome into my world” shows a level of intimacy and authenticity that customers in your community crave.

5. Interact, Interact, Interact

By far the most powerful to engage your community is by having more in depth interactions with them. Livestreaming lets you easily talk in real time forging real bonds and connections with customers in the moment. You can also ask them questions to learn more about your community – consider this a kind of direct form of customer feedback or surveys. After all the best form of feedback is a live conversation.

Summary

TikTok livestreaming and live stream shopping are an exciting new trend that give you another opportunity for high touch engagement with your community. You can interact directly with people and build brand loyalty and you can also strengthen the bonds with community leaders by inviting them into the fun.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to go live!

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Customer Targeting as Community Engagement

Intro

This article is part 2 in a series on connecting brand to your communities. Last time, we looked at affiliate marketing through the lens of community engagement for your brand. Today we’ll cover targeting your advertisements as a way of finding your community.

Customer Personas, Upgraded

The first question we need to answer is: Who are your customers – that is – who exactly is the community your brand wants to connect with?

Most entrepreneurs are familiar with customers personas at a basic level. Most people know them as descriptions of your target customer, including basic demographics (age, sex/gender, geographical location, education level, job title, income, etc.). What if we take a step further?

There are at least two kinds of customers – the ones you have and the ones you want.

The second is the domain of brand growth. If you are a rebranding your company, restructuring your offer, introducing a new product line or series of products – you are in the realm of brand growth. In reality, your brand should always be growing, and attempting to reach more and more of your target community. In this view, a target customer is always an aspiration, something to grow into – a potential or possibility. In other words, yesterday’s customer is not the challenge, you probably already know who you easily connect with – the real way to grow your brand is to find tomorrow’s customer.

So what is a customer persona really? A window into the mind and heart of a real human being you long to serve.

As we discussed in a previous post – a customer is a character in your brand’s story. And characters have an inner life, including:

  • What they want
  • What they need (underneath the want)
  • What they fear most
  • What their biggest dreams and aspirations are
  • Their sensory world: What they see, hear, smell, taste, feel on a daily basis
  • Who they listen to and respect
  • How they behave under stress, comfort
  • What persistent thoughts run through their mind

Essentially, a real customer persona, is an inner map of your customer’s experience. Doing this well requires creativity and empathy.

Ad Targeting and Experience Management is Your Brand’s Compass

Now that you have your goal in mind – you know your ideal customer, you have a clear and detailed picture of WHO your community really is, you have your map and you can set out on your quest. The search is on!

But what’s the best way to go about it? You need a powerful and accurate compass.

That’s where a data-driven targeting system – like our Adtarg system – comes into play.

With sophisticated targeted and customer experience management, you can find the most accurate and accessible method through comparative analysis of different business stages and affinity groups to optimize your reach. A good market listening system – like the eye and ears of your brand – monitors social channels in real time, tracks every mention of your brand, delivering valuable insights into how customers feel about your products and services, what their pain points are and what they would like to see in the future. It also allows you to track your competitors and trending content, giving you a comprehensive view of the market landscape, and allowing you to make smarter, data-driven decisions that will have a positive impact on your bottom line.

Enhancing your powerful brand storytelling, with things like Multi-Dimensional User Profiles, Group Segmentation Analysis, Market Material Recommendation, and Professional Diagnostic Reports, adds precision and accuracy to your quest. In other words, your brand story stays intact, and reaches the ears of people who want to hear it.

Summary: 3 Best Practices for Finding Your Brand Community

Now that we have combined deep psychological insights with sophisticated technology, a few pointers to take with you:

1. Make Time to Empathize with Your Customers

Spend time in this step. It’s important to really get into the world, mind, and heart of your ideal customers. This formulation stage will ensure you either have a clear navigational pathway ahead of you – clear waters and smooth sailing – or whether you set out into the dark forest, leading to frustration and confusion. Budget the time to do this first step justice.

2. Targeting is a Creative Art

View targeting and customer personas as creative process. Any good creative process is free from judgements, and even the wildest ideas can be entertained and lead to gold. Allow yourself to be surprised. Start from a place not knowing. Give up your assumptions and really get into the world of the customer. Most important to any creative endeavor: Have fun with it!

3. Left and Right Brain – Combine Art with Data + Science

Remember, even the most sophisticated technologies – AI based targeting systems included – need to be pointed in the right direction – towards your brand’s aspirations, your true ideal community. This is a creative act. Only you as the brand leader can determine where to point your vessel. When you are ready to begin your search, then good technology becomes crucial.

I mean, would you rather set out in a wooden sailboat on the wide ocean finding your way through the dark for months, or would you rather be in the Starship Enterprise, with its sophisticated and precise navigational control at the click of button?

Art and science together make for a powerful brand.

Of course, being a creative act, it’s always valuable to have someone guide you through the process.

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Affiliate Marketing as Community Engagement

Intro

Welcome to a new series on ways to engage your community. Here we’re going to focus on affiliate marketing as one way to engage your community. We’ll be looking at affiliate marketing through the lens of community engagement – meaningfully connecting your customers in a way that they actually want to be associated with your brand and, more importantly, get excited and are satisfied with being related to your brand. This is the holy grail of all marketing – to create a context where your customers seek you out and naturally want to come to you. How can we do that? Let’s take a look.

5 Ways To Best Engage Your Community Affiliate Marketing

As we covered in our previous post, affiliate marketing is a performance-based model that uses revenue sharing. Brands reward third-party publishers or affiliates when they successfully generate traffic, leads, or sales to the brand’s products or services. Spending in the United States increased from $5.4 billion in 2017 to $8.2 billion in 2022.

But what’s the best way to go about it? Here are some strategies for your brand to stand out as you build affiliates.

1. Get Related and Be Relatable

Gaining trusted and valuable affiliates is all about building relationships. Start by making a target list of the influencers and opinion leaders in your community. Ask: Who do my target customers trust? Who do they actually listen to? Next, begin to cultivate relationships with these people. Follow their channels, comment, like, DM and let you know how much you appreciate what they’re doing and the content they’re creating, show up to their events and livestreams – anything you can do to really connect. Start to view them as potential partners. Spend time learning how they think, feel, speak and act. In other words, the first step here is to find and begin to be in the community. The worst way to build a relationship is to ask for something or make a request right away. This is akin to walking in the office first thing in the morning and immediately talking about a project that is due. It turns people off. Start by getting related, as people, as members of the same community.

2. Be Authentic

Now that you found it, and created an opening, begin to spend time in the community – either in real life or in the digital space. Here, what you say and what you contribute to the conversation matters. People can easily tell the difference between when you really care about your product and brand and whether you just are out to make a buck. They can easily tell where you stand. Authenticity is about creating an inspiring possibility for everyone involved. So when engaging potential affiliates, look for the win-win. Start with sharing how passionate you are about your brand and your vision – the problem you are solving. Authenticity has the effect of moving, touching, and inspiring others. It makes them want to share what you are up to. That is the heart of all good marketing.

3. Do It With Integrity

Integrity is about keeping your promises – doing what you said you would, and doing it on time. Integrity is also about doing things as you know they should be done – that is being 100% rather than acquiescing over time to 65%. Set a high bar from the beginning. In practice, this means making a goal to get back to all your affiliates on time and let them know when you expect to hear back, when they can expect payment, what percentage, and so on. In other words, be clear and upfront about what potential partners can expect when choosing to do business with you. This will create a good experience where everyone is satisfied, and relationships will strengthen over time instead of evaporate quickly.

4. Be Generous

We all have competing commitments. One of the reasons why people may not follow through or pay attention is the incentive just isn’t important or valuable enough. Put yourself in the shoes of the KOL/influencer. They get many requests to work with various brands. Why should they rep yours? More importantly, why should they prioritize their partnership with you over other brands? Airtime and communications real estate is limited in our attention economy. One easy practice is to be generous. Offer incentives – a percentage of sales, bonuses, etc. – that make it worth their while. This makes it easy for potential partners to choose and keep choosing you. Of course, given the chance to work with comparable brands for the same return, there is another edge, another value you can offer. Which brings us to..

5. Be Up to Something Bigger

Once you have connections, and have done the work to build relationships, you will need to keep your new community inspired. One powerful way to do this is to share with them and continue to remind them of the “inspiring future” that you are creating together – in other words the bigger vision. It’s one thing to get excited about a new brand of cosmetics. It’s an entirely different and more energizing possibility to get connected to a cosmetics brand that sources ingredients sustainably and provides career development opportunities to young women in a developing country, for example. In the latter case, the “inspiring future” – the vision – is a word where we can look/feel good and take care of the environment, and where the most vulnerable in our global community can help meet their needs. Give your affiliates, influencers, a reason to want to connect, and feel good about associating with your brand.

Summary

Affiliate marketing should be viewed as yet another opportunity to strengthen your relationships with the communities your brand engages. There are plenty of ways to go about it – from low-liability and having it be an afterthought – to engaging fully, 100%, with integrity, and leading with purpose. The latter are ways of being that will not only fulfill orders but also leave everyone – the real life human beings – fulfilled in the process.

One last tip: Finding the right affiliates that are aligned with your brand can take a lot of energy if you go it alone. A smart way to go is using data-driven targeting analysis like our new Adtarg Compass+ system which builds a vertical labeling system for major categories, integrating multi-country sales, user reviews, media evaluation and other data that helps global companies see regional market opportunities and establish localized management benchmarks.

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4 Marketing Trends You Need to Implement in 2023

It’s 2023 – that means it’s out with the old marketing strategies and in with the new. Well, not exactly. Most to all of the marketing trends that made our 2023 list are not ground-breaking ideas you’ve never heard of (hopefully), but they are the strategies that will end up having some of the highest success rates for marketers this year – there’s no doubt about it in our minds.

For legal purposes, our lawyers have advised us to remind you that WBG or any of its affiliates    are not legally held responsible if you invest all of your company’s or personal life’s savings into one of the marketing trends mentioned below and lose all of it.

We are completely kidding; we don’t have lawyers – just a copywriter who makes terrible jokes. Anyways, let’s dive right into it and talk strategies for 2023.

User generated content & influencers

Influencer marketing really took off in 2022, but a lot of marketers question whether or not it’s worth the money. Well, thankfully, Harvard Business Review conducted a study at the end of 2022 and proved on average companies/brands found a 1% increase in influencer marketing spend led to an increase in engagement of 0.46%, suggesting that the strategy can in fact yield a positive ROI.

What’s even more interesting is HBR found the average firm in their dataset could have achieved a 16.6% increase in engagement simply by optimizing how they allocated their influencer marketing budgets.

So what exactly does it mean to optimize the way you allocate your influencer marketing budget? It means if you want to find success in the influencer market, you need to understand it better, just like any other marketing tool.

You don’t need to afford to hire a celebrity influencer with a million followers. In fact, micro-influencers often pack more punch because they are still considered ‘everyday’ people, and audiences are more likely to trust their opinions and recommendations.

Again, this form of social media marketing isn’t new to 2023, but it is becoming painfully evident that people want more authentic connections from brands, and word of mouth from influencers is a perfect way to promote those desired connections.

Improving the consumer experience

This may be our biggest and most important trend to follow for 2023. Consumers have always held the power to make or break brands, but now it’s more prominent than ever.

Being able to identify and improve consumer pain points throughout the customer journey is the easiest way to increase spending.

But how do we improve the consumer experience? A great way to start is by simply listening to what they have to say. VOC and Social Listening systems are some of the most helpful tools to find out more about your customer.

They can aid you in understanding what frustrates or appeals to your customers, what makes them give up during the purchasing process, and what they think of your brand overall.

By taking the necessary steps to start valuing your customer’s feedback, you can begin to return that value in the form of improved products and customer support, which ultimately builds brand loyalty.

Short Video Content

Video has been king for a while now – we all know that, but with the help of social media platforms and their algorithms, video is becoming not only the norm but a more tailored experience.

Audiences want to engage with relatable content to entertain them that they don’t have to actively seek out. Thanks to machine learning, viewers are now getting their own curated feed of personalized content that they can choose to engage or not engage with.

For content providers, this means two things. First, you need to provide value or entertainment before you try to sell your service or product. Viewers do not want to attend a timeshare meeting from the comfort of their homes. If you want potential consumers to engage, you must first give them what they want.

Secondly, content providers need to be ready to change up their content at a moment’s notice to serve a variety of audiences. This goes back to the idea of listening to what your consumer wants.

So remember, the human attention span has shrunk to that of a goldfish, which is a win for marketers since short-form videos can easily fit into your day-to-day marketing strategy thanks to little cost and convenience to make.

AI to better understand trends/behaviors

AI and machine learning are more powerful than ever and according to a study conducted by Razorfish, three-quarters of marketers are failing to implement behavioral data for targeted marketing. 

These new technologies are more accessible and reliable than ever, and yet few are utilizing them.

AI/machine learning is great because it helps you make more targeted advertisements and campaigns by better understanding your buyers behaviors, likes, and aversions. Having data that precisely defines consumer demographics makes upscaling easier than ever.

And if you haven’t made the connection yet, this helps with creating a more authentic connection between brand and buyer. Nobody wants to see ads, but viewing an ad that feels like it was created specifically for you is a surefire way to build loyalty and retention.

Stay ahead of your competitors

Staying up to date with the latest marketing trends is pivotal for any brand. We don’t only talk about these trends, but we follow them ourselves. If you’re interested in learning how we implement these marketing strategies go ahead and visit Adtarg.

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Story Architecture: Element #1: Your Brand is a Character

A powerful brand tells a powerful story. Companies that understand and utilize the fundamentals of storytelling create emotional experiences for their customers and build trust and connect with communities of real life people.

But what exactly makes a good story? Let’s take a look at some of the fundamental elements of stories.

It all begins with a character – a person — who starts out living in their comfortable world.  Every good story involves characters – the actual people involved – who have certain fears and desires; people who want something deep in their heart and struggle to pursue their goal against the obstacles.

Characters Have a Role

In the context of branding, there are 3 what we can call “main characters.” In reality there are dozens of characters in a brand’s story-including the people who supply raw materials for products, manufacture, right up to the person who delivers it to your door. Basically everyone involved in any of the business activity or product development is considered a minor character. But that is too vast a network and the roles are less central, so we’ll focus on the main cast of characters for now.

Main Character #1: The Company
These include the actual real-life human beings that make up the company. Some examples are: the founders, a visionary behind the business or product idea, CEO and other leadership who run the day to day business, and any other essential or public facing employees. The company forms the basis of the story – the real-life human actors and activity that the brand story builds upon.

Main Character #2: The Customer
These include the people currently and potentially out there in the world who the company wishes to connect with and sell to. This is the community of people who share a common challenge or need. They may already be organized into associations and interest groups—they may already know each other—or they may be mostly separate and unaffiliated.

Main Character #3: The Brand
The brand functions as a persona of your company, like an emergent property. It cannot exist without the company yet it is distinct. The brand is its own person – complete with desires, needs, fears, hopes and personality. It is the invention of good brand storytelling.

Characters Have a Type

In a good story, each character plays a particular role, and there are 6 basic character types.* They serve as the archetypes needed to make the story engaging and have forward motion.

  1. The Hero. The hero is the protagonist, the main character in your brand story. This is going to be the customer.
  2. The Villain. The foil to and opposite of the hero. These people will actively work against your customer to stop them from getting what they want.
  3. The Sidekick. The hero’s helper. They live to support the hero and help them to get what they want by being by their side. This could be your best friend who buys you a gift you didn’t even know you needed.
  4. The Mentor. The one who has the wisdom and ability to help the hero. Most often this is going to be your brand. The mentor finds the customer and gives them what they need to get what they want.
  5. The Tempter. Their job is to distract the hero from their goal. They create diversions and distracting conversations to knock your hero, your customer, off track. They create confusion.
  6. The Heart. The opposite of the tempter. They empathize with your hero and lead
  7. The Skeptic. They work to question your hero and sow doubt. They make your hero overthink, procrastinate, and fail to act on getting what they want.
  8. The Mind. The opposite of the skeptic. The mind supports your hero intellectually, and helps them think through considerations in a productive way and bust through doubt.

In the context of branding, your brand will likely assume the roles of the mentor, the sidekick, the heart, and the mind, depending on the place and time they encounter the customer.

Characters Have a Desire

Good, believable characters are driven by a strong desire. This works on two levels. They have something that they want, and they have something that they need.

The job of the brand is to supply what they need. Characters typically already know what they want. What they want is more hidden from them – it exists underneath the want. E.g. I know I want to feel better and be healthy. I do not yet know that I need a new probiotic health drink in order to feel better and be healthy. (Note: If I do already know I need the new health drink, then the story is complete, and the job of branding has already been accomplished – the customer is seeking you and wants to make a purchase.)

So the real job is to connect the NEED and the WANT together in the mind of the customer. When they make that connection in their mind, they will be willing to connect with you, and invite you to help them – sell to them.

Characters Have a Personality

It’s not enough for characters to play a role. Strong characters are also unique individuals – they have a personality, style, tone, voice, and look. It’s the expression of the role. When you combine the role with the personality, your brand becomes unique and starts to stand out with the customer. Connection becomes natural and easy. E.g. Your brand as a mentor could be a Gandalf the Great type (they have the secret knowledge, and they will be humorous and sly and confident in how they give it to you slowly over time. Or, a mentor could be more of a mad scientist – emerging from the lab with advanced technology, and constantly informing you and directly teaching you proudly about it’s benefits.

Summary

Viewing your company, customer, and brand as characters in a story makes possible powerful storytelling. And customers love a good story – even better, they love to be INVOLVED IN and playing an good role good a story!

Next up in Part 2, we will take a look at Setting, building the World where the brand story takes place.

 

 

Citation:

*Charles Euchner: https://theelementsofwriting.com/spinning-the-wheel-change-your-characters-roles/

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How to Market Your Brand in the Virtual Reality

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How to Market Your Brand in the Virtual Reality

In 1972, the world was introduced to video games with Atari’s Pong – a simple yet revolutionary game that involved two paddles (they were just horizontal lines) moving back and forth to hit a ball. Now, only in the span of 50 years, we have unprecedented graphics, the ability to play online withone another across the globe, and are on the precipice of making virtual reality a household commodity.

Virtual and augmented reality will have a large presence in our future; there is no doubt about that. It’s expected to hit a global market size of $296.9 billion in 2024. This is almost ten times the $30.7 billion market size registered in 2021. That’s why it’s important from a marketing perspective to be an early adopter and understand how to market in the virtual space.

In this post, we’ll highlight ways brands are already implementing virtual reality in their own marketing efforts and ways we think will be effective marketing methods in the future. We’re particularly going to focus on how virtual reality can offer unique product experiences, improve customer service, enhance
online events, and give marketers endless possibilities for creative advertising.

Virtually Experience Products 

Virtual reality will take the old adage try before you buy to a whole different level. There are already forward-thinking companies, like IKEA, implementing this marketing tactic that gives consumers unique
experiences and insights into products they would never have been able to test out and experience in
their own home before. The possibilities are endless for brands of any industry to allow potential consumers to try out their products in inventive ways.

Imagine this, you’ve picked a vacation destination for you and your loved one(s), and all that’s left now is to book the hotel. It’s happened to all of us at one point or another when we’ve booked a hotel room, and it wasn’t exactly what we were promised, or maybe the photos gave a false perspective on the size of the room. With VR, you can virtually tour any hotel, apartment, or home before being met with any unexpected surprises.

Virtual reality lets you showcase your product in a new light that stands apart from your competitors. By allowing potential customers to interact with your product, you can create a memorable experience that will stay with them when they are ready to purchase.

Improve Customer Experience

Over the last few years, there has been a major shift in power for customers, which has created a customer-centric marketplace. Brands have learned to start listening and putting the customers’ needs first, which, we know especially well, ultimately drives brand, development and service improvements for an unbeatable customer experience.

Already, brands like Gucci and Etsy have set up virtual storefronts people can interact with. This allows them to not only introduce their products to new and younger audiences, but also tell their brand story in a unique and fun way that resonates with customers. With the help of virtual reality, memorable customer journeys can become more frequent and, ultimately, the norm.

Picture one day virtually walking into a store that has everything and more than its brick-and-mortar counterpart without having to leave the convenience of your home. You can interact with a variety of products and services in an unlimited amount of imaginative ways – and if you need help, you can ask for a virtual assistant (a real-life worker) at any time to offer their expertise. This is just one of many ways the customer experience can be improved by virtual reality, and we’re sure in the near future, brands will adopt even more inventive & creative ways to create a more seamless customer experience.

Online Events

As it’s becoming a more common occurrence to connect with people, places, and brands online, it only makes sense for virtual events to become the next big thing in the virtual space. You’ve probably already attended a virtual event at some point of time during the height of the pandemic and noticed the sense of community is still there as a traditional inperson event would possess.

A great example of a successful online event, which showed the massive opportunity for virtual concerts, was Travis Scott debuting a new song of his on Fortnite that was attended by over 12 million people. Since then, several artists like Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion, and Billie Eilish have started hosting virtual concerts with great success.

It’s important to note that you or your brand don’t need to be rock stars to successfully host a virtual reality event. If you look on any of the event-sharing apps, like Eventbrite, and search for virtual reality events, you will find pages of interesting things going on in the virtual space, like immersive language exchanges, sculpting classes, and much more. 

Maybe you’re a fashion brand that wants to host a virtual runway show or an automotive brand that virtually shows people how to fix their car, you can even be an architecture firm showcasing wonky building designs – the moral of the story is as long as you can offer people a unique, memorable experience where they can take away something from it, you’ve successfully built brand awareness.

Creative, Fun Advertising

We believe this is the most important aspect when approaching marketing in the virtual space. People are putting on their VR goggles to escape their troubles and have fun, not experience the same mundane everyday occurrences such as traditional advertisements. Spammy ads like pop-up ads will not work in the virtual space – you’re going to have to get more creative than that, but that shouldn’t be too hard in a world where the possibilities are endless.


Maybe you want prospective customers to go on an adventure and slay a dragon or go on a scavenger hunt through different periods of time for a 20% off coupon to your store.


Honestly, no one can predict what virtual reality will truly look like in the future, but like the internet – most people who adopt future technologies early on put themselves in advantageous positions and reap the benefits with financial success.

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Print Ads Aren’t Dead, You’re Just Not Using Them Right

Print Ads Aren’t Dead, You’re Just Not Using Them Right

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The phrase ‘print is dead’ is something we’ve all repeatedly heard over the last decade. Repeatedly might not even be strong enough a word as opposed to beaten over the head. Although some of these industry professionals and marketers are correct in some regard, they are concerningly off-base in terms of overall marketing strategy.

Today we’re going to review why we still implement print ads as a part of our marketing strategies and why print ads may be beneficial for your brand.

Let’s Start with the Facts

The idea that print is dead has been vastly exaggerated. Have major news outlets lost a serious amount of revenue through advertisement? Of course, but as you can see in the chart below, direct mail vastly outweighs its counterparts in terms of response rates from your target audience.

Another incredibly insightful infographic is one that was made by USPS and the data they were able to gather.

Print Ads Have a Sense of Credibility

Print publications that have been around for decades, some well over a century and have developed a reputation and a higher level of consumer trust compared to their online counterparts. There is a standard that news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post must adhere to. Because of this, consumers tend to trust ads in print about 34 percent more than ads found on search engines when making decisions regarding conversions, including when it’s time to make a purchase, according to Relevance.

To further prove this point, let’s briefly disregard the overwhelming proof and statistics that print ads still make sense. Right now, the United States is grappling with a serious issue: fake news. Completely fabricated and misleading information that is presented to audiences with an ulterior motive. You can find it virtually everywhere online. On Facebook, in pop-up ads, and even from sources that seem, at first glance, credible. It seems inescapable and has begun to taint the reputation of the internet as a whole.

This is increasingly important information to know as a marketer who is trying to sell someone on the idea of buying their product. People have become more hesitant with what they see online, and the fact remains they trust print more.

Print Ads Last Longer

We all know what happens when you run out of marketing dollars for your digital ad campaign. Your ads literally cease to exist and are deleted from the internet forever without a trace.

But what about print ads? Although you can’t measure engagements and conversions as easily as digital advertising, print ads give you the best ROI with their shelf life. Consumers online can see hundreds of ads within a short period of time and oftentimes try to avoid them with the help of ad blockers. But print ads create an entirely different kind of experience for your audience by resonating with them over a longer period of time – thus making them more likely to respond to your advertisement.

Think about one of the magazines you have sitting on the coffee table in your living room. It’s last month’s issue, and you still have another week until the latest one comes in. Since then, you’ve looked through it yourself a few times, but you also have had friends and family over a few times for get-togethers, and they trust you – therefore, they trust what you read and have picked up the magazine too. Already, multiple people have looked at the advertisements within the magazine with a sense of trust they would not have with a digital advertisement.

Remember, this is only one magazine in a private residence. Just think about how many people would see your ad if the magazine was placed in a more public setting like a doctor’s office, the lobby of a building, or a salon.

Target Your Audience Better

With the help of modern-day technologies like data analysis tools, you can better find your target groups when utilizing print advertisements in your marketing strategy. Analytic insights can help you curate a better list for your next print mailer. The right analytics mixed with the most impressionable from of advertising is a recipe for success.

Not only that, but print media audiences, especially within a certain niche, tend to have more spending money. Did you know that 70% of households with an income of over $100,000 are newspaper readers?

Yes, digital advertising can effectively get your brand’s name out there, but you also want to make sure you’re targeting consumers with spending power.

Print and Digital Working Together

Putting all your marketing dollars into print or digital advertising is not a good idea, but a healthy mix of both working together is a great one. By investing in both, you can amplify and elevate your call to action by creating multiple streams or journeys for your audience members to buy into what you’re selling. Additionally, by implementing both forms of advertisement, you’re separating yourself from what is considered ‘traditional’ marketing strategies now.

Say Hello.

Want to become our client, global consultant, designer, or corporate partner? Feel free to contact us. We would love to hear from you!

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JOBS

Come work with us! We are always looking for great talent to join our global teams. Please email us at job@we-branding.com

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Why Your Brand Needs to Utilize Affiliate Marketing in 2022

Why Your Brand Needs to Utilize Affiliate Marketing in 2022

Marketing is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the consumer. With so many different ways to market your product or services, it’s tough to decide which ones are the most profitable for your brand.

Now, there never is one correct answer, but with the direction of how marketing as an industry is going, it’s safe to make some calculated assumptions – one being affiliate marketing. According to Statista, affiliate marketing spending in the United States increased from $5.4 billion in 2017 to $8.2 billion in 2022.

Today we’ll be reviewing why affiliate marketing is beneficial to your brand.

 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a performance- based model of marketing revolving around revenue sharing. Brands reward third-party publishers or affiliates when they successfully generate traffic, leads, or sales to the brand’s products or services.

Most affiliate marketers share the same tactics to generate revenue for the brands they are partnering with, but it is important to know the several different marketing channels available to help advertise your products or services.

Benefits of affiliate marketing

  • Avoid up-front costs and decrease risk

A lot of brands that are still finding their footing in the marketplace do not have the financial resources for a full-fledged marketing or advertising department within their company – so you have to get creative sometimes. Affiliate marketing offers a cost-effective approach to getting your brands name out there without having to spend a fortune. Since affiliate marketing is based on a performance-based model, you only have to spend or compensate your affiliates when they generate a sale or lead.

  • Boost brand awareness

When you begin working with affiliates, you begin to open new doors for consumers to know what your brand is. Your affiliate’s main goal is to use their own following or audience they’ve already established to, at the very least, drive more traffic to your website. With other marketing and advertising strategies, you may not get the results you were looking for, but with affiliates and their pre-established following, the likelihood of establishing a presence for your brand is much easier and geared more toward the type of consumer who is more likely to purchase your product or service.

  • Better understand your customer

After working with affiliate marketers, you can begin collecting data to gain unique insights into who your ideal customer is. Where did they come from? Why are they buying? What are their needs/desires/interests and other demographics? All  of  this information can be compiled together to develop better ways to market and strategize your brand for the future to improve conversions.

  • Flexibility with marketing needs

Unlike other marketing tactics, affiliate marketing allows you to scale up or down your marketing efforts with little to no cost whatsoever. Since affiliate marketing is based on a performance model, you don’t have to worry about being locked into a service or spending X amount of dollars within a certain period  of  time for advertisements. As your brand’s marketing needs change, so can your affiliate program with no hesitation.

  • Higher ROI

Due to affiliate marketing’s low start-up and ongoing costs, it tends to have a much higher return on investment than a majority of other marketing strategies. This is in part because consumers are learning about your product from an affiliate they have come to trust, which also ties back into boosting your brand’s awareness.

The reality of affiliate marketing

With the unfortunate gaining traction of fake news or fake Amazon reviews, consumers are looking for someone to trust and look out for their best interest when purchasing a new product.

Due to this, affiliate marketing has quickly become a key component of brand’s marketing strategies. As the industry continues to grow and the benefits become apparent to businesses (no matter their size), you can anticipate seeing more brands implementing this strategy in their marketing methods in the near future.

Say Hello.

Want to become our client, global consultant, designer, or corporate partner? Feel free to contact us. We would love to hear from you!

info@we-branding.com

JOBS

Come work with us! We are always looking for great talent to join our global teams. Please email us at job@we-branding.com

Want to know more about our data services? Please check our adtarg official website

1412 Broadway New York, NY 10018

© 2022 WEBRANDING GLOBAL

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