Tips For Successful Influencer Marketing.

Influencer marketing has become so common in today’s digital marketing world and it is a great tool for driving brand awareness. To get the best results from this strategy, you need to put some effort and optimize your campaign. So how do you do this? Read on to find out...

1.       Determine your goals

Do not start influencer marketing without knowing what exactly you want to achieve, have a clear idea of your goals from the outset. This will go a long way in ensuring that you plan your campaign more effectively. You may have various goals for your brand e.g. increasing brand awareness, getting more revenue, or even generating leads.

2.       Define Your Target Audience

This is one of the most basic yet so important influencer marketing tips. Based on your target audience you will be able to strategize your campaign. You may need to consider many factors when identifying your target audience. This may include their age, gender, interests, location, etc. Defining your target audience will help you when choosing your influencers and ensuring that your campaign reaches the right people.

3.       Find the right influencers

After you have identified your target audience you now need to choose the influencers to partner with. You are supposed to perform thorough background research about them and their social media profiles. Here you look at the following

         i.            Engagement rate- this will give you an indication of how engaged their followers are. To calculate this, select a recent post and take the number of likes/comments divided by the number of followers.

       ii.            The range of topics they cover- this will help you to determine whether your brand falls on their niche.

      iii.            Look at the important metrics - A large number of followers doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is paying attention. An influencer with a lower number of followers may have a more active group that has a higher engagement rate compared to a person with a big number of followers. A good way to evaluate engagement is to measure click-throughs to know how many people bother to click on links on posts.

4.       Define your budget

Creating a realistic influencer marketing campaign budget is so vital. You need to define the total influencer budget ahead of time in order to reach your targets. You may also consider giving product freebies to influencers or even inviting them for an industry event as your guest as a way of enhancing your relationship with them. You will also find that micro influencers are more expensive than macro influencers. If you are working on a small budget you might find it more compelling to work with several macro influencers who charge a lower fee, rather than spending your budget on one micro influencer.

5.       Give influencers creative freedom

Influencer marketing is so different from traditional marketing,  while in  traditional advertising  you take total control over all aspects of the campaign,  influencer marketing requires you to leave the content creation bit to the influencer. They are creatives and they resonate with their audience and it would be good to let them fly free. All you need to do is to optimize the content to ensure the message is clear and all the facts are included.

6.       Measure results

You must track your metrics so that you can change or adjust your strategy accordingly. Based on your goals, you can plan which metrics you’ll use to gauge your performance. For example, if you’re goal was to increase brand awareness, then you might look at the number of people reached, and the rate of engagement. You can use different automated softwares such as Google Analytics to know where you’re getting most traffic from. If your goal is to generate revenue, you can create custom affiliate links for each influencer so that you can easily keep track of purchases made using their links. This can help you calculate the ROI of your campaign.

Do you have other tips to share?  Well, we’d love to hear them in the comment section below.

Importance of Using Videos on Social Media.

Social media platforms are a fantastic option to reach millions  of people all around the world and it  offers one of the best ways to  interact with target audiences. It  also provides a number of opportunities for growth and it helps businesses raise awareness and build  stronger brands. However, many companies who heavily invest in social media are missing a trick by failing to make video a mainstay of their social strategy. Leveraging video on social media is necessary to capture and satisfy a content-hungry audience.

 Come to think of it, if a picture is worth a thousand words then a video must be worth a million words, right? Video content is one of the most impactful, adaptable and profitable digital marketing tool at your disposal, you’ll want to make it a key part of your social media marketing strategy.
Social media habits are changing and all of a sudden the old tricks are not working as they used to. Video content marketing is becoming more and more popular and it has become the key to success for many brands. Through video content brands are able to break through the latest algorithm of changes and grow their businesses. If you are planning to start or revamp your digital marketing strategy then you will need to focus on video content creation, it will definitely be worth your time. The reach of video content is farfetched.

Here are a few things you will need to keep in mind as you create your video content.

1. The quality of the videos
It goes without saying that quality matters over quantity— and it's no different when it comes to video content. You want people to fully consume your videos, the only way to get them to do so, is to create a high quality video.

2. Catch the attention of your target audience
People flock to social media to get informed and most importantly, entertained. Make sure that your, videos are fun, engaging  and enjoyable enough to  capture and retain the audience’s  attention.

3. Shoot your videos horizontally
 Horizontal format videos are more superior to vertical videos. Also, most people these days are using widescreens eg laptops and TVs and horizontal videos would be more appealing.

4. Upload native video content
So you have created your video, uploaded it on You Tube and now you want to share the link on other social media pages.  No, that’s not right; you will be sabotaging your video’s probability of being seen. Native videos get more views than shared video links.

5. Make the first  10 seconds count
Research shows that the average concentration span of human beings is 8 seconds; this means that people may not have the patience to watch long comprehensive content   and that is why you need to make your videos as interesting as possible and pass your message within the first ten seconds.

6. Add a call to action
In order to get a good ROI from your social media video marketing efforts, you need to have a strong and clear call to action. If you are not encouraging your audience to act, then what’s the use of creating social media video content for your brand?

If you haven’t incorporated video content marketing into your social media l marketing campaign, now you know that you should. You will also need the tools to get you started. If you’re more of hands off kind of person that doesn’t like to get too technical, then consider hiring a social media management agency to help you create and promote your video content.

Using IGTV for PR and Marketing

If you are a fervent Instagram user, I believe you are familiar with IGTV,  This is a standalone video application  by Instagram   for smartphones whose basic functionalities can also be accessed on the  Instagram app. It supports long-form vertical videos. IGTV videos are designed to be longer than Instagram stories and it allows uploads of up to 10 minutes in length with a file size of up to 650 MB, but verified users  are allowed to upload videos of up to 60 minutes in length with a file size of up to 3.6 GB.  The service was launched on June 20, 2018, but still, brands have been relatively slow to adopt IGTV whereas, there are plenty of benefits brands can get from incorporating IGTV in their marketing strategies since right now, it is not oversaturated with marketers competing for attention. Now here are reasons why your need to incorporate IGTV in you marketing strategies.

1.       You need to be where your audience is.

Instagram is one of the most popular and fast growing social media platforms worldwide. According to statistics, Instagram had  reached 1 billion active monthly users in 2018.  The number of online video users is also steadily increasing and this means that more people are now looking for video content and IGTV can go a long way in helping businesses extend their social media and video marketing effort and reach. Brands should make the most of  this opportunity by creating content that connects with their audiences on a more meaningful level. 

2.       You  will be  ahead of your competitor

IGTV is still a fairly new concept, it has not yet been flooded with content and chances are that your competitors have not yet used the platform. Therefore, you can gain visibility and get ahead of you competitors by being the first to engage audiences using IGTV content. 

3.       You can easily connect with Millennials and Gen Z

Instagram is designed to appeal to the younger generations who favor social media over other traditional media channels. This means that marketers who need to entice Millenials and Gen Z need to include IGTV in their marketing strategies  because  IGTV offers marketers an opportunity to engage with this particular audience in a creative, and at the same time, profound way.

4.       You  can feature your happy clients

Nothing is more convincing to consumers than seeing other customers talking about why they like your brand.  So, its time you feature some of your loyal customers on IGTV. Invite them to be highlighted in the videos and let them tell viewers why they love to use your product instead of the usual, promotional videos where you showcase your new products.

BOTTOM LINE: Be sure to check IGTV’s video requirements before uploading, your videos should be vertical, not landscape, with an aspect ratio of 9:16, since videos on IGTV are optimized for mobile viewing.

How to Overcome Writers Block

As a PR pro, you will come across tasks that require you to write, whether it is press release, emails to clients or journalists, social media content, infographics, blog posts, the list is extensive. Writing is a crucial and valuable skill in the field of PR you will need to be creative so that you can so express your thoughts and tell your story in an easily understood and acceptable way. But many times, we find ourselves in a creative slowdown and we are unable produce any new work and not because we lack the skill or the passion.

You may find yourself staring at that blank page, you brain is cluttered and thinking becomes hard. When that happens we say we’ve got a writer’s block,

 I wouldn’t be wrong to say that there’s nothing like writers block it is just an excuse. It is a condition that only exists in your head, you think you are blocked; you become blocked, it becomes real. But you can easily overcome this and get back to your writing groove, read on and know how.

1.       Know the cause. Writer’s block is brought about by so many things including, fear, exhaustion etc. Once you have known what is causing the block then you can go ahead and try these other

tips.

2.       Mind mapping- Go get a piece of paper and put down what comes to your head about the topic. Write your main topic in the center of the paper, and then connect it to subtopics that branch out from the center. Continue adding subtopics that branch out like a tree.

3.       Do your research. You may experience a block if you don’t have enough information on what you are writing about. People sometimes write before they’ve gathered the raw materials.  Do enough research to answer the as many questions on the topic. At the same time, beware of paralysis by analysis – that is, continuing to conduct research when you already have enough information. Start with what you have and fill in details later.

4.       Use a different writing tool: You can try switching from Microsoft Word to Google Docs or from a serif to a non-serif font. Or try a script font and change your font color to blue. It seems trivial, but it’s amazing how those small changes can cure writer’s block and make writing interesting again. Also you can just shut down your computer. Get a pen and paper and free write. When you do this, you get the feeling that you’re making something. It will inspire you.

5.       Take a break. Take a walk and get some fresh air, read a few pages of a book, get some coffee or try some stretching exercises. Research has it that breaks, especially those that are regularly scheduled, have been proven to increase productivity and focus.

6.       Try writing at a different time. Sometimes, it’s simply not the right time to write. Your ideas may need to brew a little longer before you can put them down them down. You can try writing at an odd hour. It works.

Bottom line; You overcome writes block by writing so the  next time you feel blocked, don’t go and watch tv, or sleep or procrastinating or read articles on how to overcome writer’s block ( huh, yeah). Follow the above tips and voila! Your creative juices will be flowing again.

Top 4 Social Media Trends in 2020

These days, you cannot separate people from social media, it’s so clear that many people spend a good part of their days on social media trying to stay up to date with things they care about and that is why marketers have flocked to social media to connect with potential customers.  As a marketer, you need to know that social media is dynamic and there is a need to keep up with the trends. This will help you come up with a social media strategy that ensures your brand stands out from the rest. Now here are the 4 hottest social media trends to get excited about in 2020.

Trend number 1- Removal of likes from Instagram

I don’t know about you but personally, every time I see a post on Instagram I must check how many likes it has attracted leave alone the comments. Now imagine not being able to see the likes on other people’s posts.

Instagram has already experimented with removing likes in seven countries. This is meant to change the users’ focus to the photos and videos and not on the likes.  Luckily, likes haven’t been scrapped off completely, you will still be able to see likes in your own posts just not other people’s posts

On the other side, I think that if Instagram removes likes then brands won’t be able to measure the direct impact of their campaigns as easily as they do now. This might force brands to invest in Instagram Ads which they can easily track their ROI.

Trend number 2: From Facebook News Feed to Facebook Stories

After over a decade of Facebook's News Feed, Facebook is now turning it’s the focus to stories. Facebook Stories are typically News Feeds that rely on visual information rather than written. They are  full-screen photos, videos that are only available for 24 hours, photos play for five seconds, while videos play for 20 seconds

When Facebook first launched Stories, a lot of people didn’t see the point because that’s what Snapchat and Instagram were for. But the numbers don’t lie: over 500 million people are engaging with this feature and the numbers are rising.

 As a marketer if you want your brand to be seen then it’s the high time you delight your customers with some visual content on Facebook then once you know who is  watching your stories it will be easier to adjust your targeting efforts

Trend number 3- video content continues to dominate

In the past, we have witnessed trends come and we get thrilled about them but they don’t last. On the other hand, some trends like video marketing are here to stay; it is a complete game changer. Today it is the preferred medium by most marketers seeking to put their content out there and increase their engagement. Consumers want to see the product in action. An information-rich, accessible, and user-friendly video content can build a great online following and boost your ROI.

Trend number 4 - Influencer marketing continues to boom

Have you recently purchased a certain product just because a certain person you admire is using it?

Influencer marketing uses popular content creators to create brand awareness through different channels such as YouTube, Instagram etc. The influencer can influence his/her followers purchasing decisions.

Before the advent of social media, traditional marketing ruled but now influencer marketing has become so popular that brands are reallocating their advertising budget from traditional marketing methods like advertising to digital channels in order to increase reach. This is not going to change in 2020, we expect to see the influencer marketing industry grow more this year.

And with that, we wrap up the most recent new and shiny social media trends in 2020. Don’t forget to evaluate a trend to ensure it is right for your brand before incorporating it into your social media marketing strategy.