Posts tagged branding
The Fickle Nature of Film Promotion and How to Work in It
Jan 18
What’s the best film promotion strategy?
Film promotion is a lucrative business. Big movie studios pay billions of dollars a year just to get people to pay $15 to see their movie. It’s confusing, it’s random, and it’s spread across a wide variety of platforms.
This can overwhelm both marketers and their desired audience. But when done right, it could help a movie become a box office hit. That’s the reason film promotion has reached all these platforms in the first place. Each customer gets wowed in different ways. And when one platform works, it really works. Who hasn’t been persuaded into seeing a movie by a particularly clever billboard or trailer?
The Difficulties of Movie Marketing
Be warned; this is not a science. You can run a by-the-books ad campaign filled with compelling ads and big stars who are engaging on all the big late night shows. The movie might still wind up being a flop. Hey, that’s why they call it Show Business and not Show Science. That’s how the saying goes, right?
This post isn’t intended to break any spirits out there. If anything, it’s meant to show any down-on-their-luck movie marketers out there that it’s okay. Failure happens in this business all the time.
Atypical Tips for Film Promotion
2+2 does not always equal 4 in this industry. Because of this, new ideas shouldn’t be shunned. Customers crave experience more than anything nowadays. And sometimes, they want more from a movie than just experiencing the movie itself.
That’s when you can expand the movie to other online entertainment platforms. Make a fun video game app if the movie’s action-packed enough. Or maybe go above and beyond with social media marketing. Give one of the lead characters a Twitter page that conveys their tone. The Twitter page helps because unlike a trailer, it shows people what to expect from the movie without giving any information away.
Like with any type of marketing, saturation has to be accounted for. So, the cross-platforms need to feel organic. Getting engaged with your target audience benefits the movie, though. They like feeling as though they’re part of a product’s success now. Giving a movie an identity that goes beyond the screen gives yours a leg up on the competition.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on January 18, 2017 at 11:00 am, and is filed under Branding. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Creating Successful Advertising Campaigns
Nov 30
What are you doing to make your advertising campaigns successful?
With the emergence of digital, online, and mobile devices, the advertising world has dramatically changed over the years. However, the goal has not changed. Advertising campaigns will always be a means to sell different products and services. With that in mind, here are a few principles you should follow to create successful, engaging campaigns.
Research, Research, Research
You not only have to believe in what you are selling, but you also have to become intimate with the finer details of a product or service. Doing your research makes you confident about a specific project. It also helps you generate ideas. If you want to sell, then discover the strengths of your product. Finding out one small, interesting fact can be the driving force behind your campaign.
Focus Groups
While you may believe in your product, customers are a completely different story. Some research is required to understand their wants and needs. More importantly, it is needed if you want some idea of how they are going to react to a product. Focus groups can help you with this task.
Having a test group grants you direct contact to your target audience. This gives you a chance to see what they like about the product, if they care about it, or if they feel like it appeals to them. These insights will help you craft campaigns that appeal to your audience.
Branding Your Advertising Campaigns
A brand means something. It distinguishes a product from others and cements its identity in the minds of consumers. That last part is crucial to advertising. A brand set the tone and personality of a product, which resonates with a consumer. Consider if your campaign fits your product’s brand. If it does, you’ll have an easier time connecting with customers.
Be Competitive
Your product is not the only one in its field. You have competitors. Consider their place in the market, and how they advertise. Look at their strengths and weaknesses, and compare them to your product. Once you have done that extensive research, show the world why your product is better than theirs.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on November 30, 2016 at 11:00 am, and is filed under Online Advertising. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Best Practices for Your Brand’s Social Media Accounts (Part 1)
May 25
Social media can be a slippery slope for businesses that are just getting their feet wet. How can you navigate the social norms and come out ahead? Here are some tips that will help your social media accounts create engagement without causing controversy.
Choosing Social Media Accounts Wisely
It’s a bad idea to try and keep up with a social media account on every service available. First of all, this will pull your content in too many different directions. Second, it can be tough to keep up a dozen accounts properly, and the only thing worse than no account is a stagnant social media account that doesn’t gets updated regularly. Having said that…
Post Regularly and at the Right Time
Depending on the social media accounts you choose to use, it may vary what is considered an average amount of times between posts. However, the point of being social is to communicate, so daily posts are the norm on almost any platform. Check to see how your posts perform, and you can eventually post only at the times you see the most interactions.
Maintain One Voice
If you have more than one social media account, make sure that all of your accounts accurately convey brand values. While consumers may expect your accounts to have different people running them, it shouldn’t be obvious when a different user is at the helm. Content, comments, and even whom you choose to follow back should be consistent. This builds trust in your brand.
Be Engaging
In the social media world, companies have two primary options—you can entertain your audience, or you can educate them. No one wants to be sold to while on social media, so don’t be pushy. Entertaining and informative posts will move consumers to interact with your brand and can lead to loyal customers.
Have Real Conversations
Real people can tell when they are communicating with an autoresponder. Have an actual person available to read and respond to comments or to comment on your fans’ posts. That kind of social interaction is what this medium is all about. The worst thing you can do is to ignore messages. Responding within a day is an important rule of thumb to show that your company cares.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on May 25, 2016 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Social Media. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
5 Things Your Brand Must Focus on in 2016
Mar 9
In the ever-changing world of digital marketing, it can be tough to stay ahead of the curve. Here are some forecasts for 2016 that can help your brand keep a leg up on the competition.
Branding – A Key Focus
To consumers, many businesses are starting to blend together. It’s not enough to run a catchy ad or put forward a strong social media campaign. Now is the time for differentiation.
What makes your company unique? It’s time to clarify in the minds of consumers what your organization stands for. Reevaluate brand values, goals, and mission to make your name stand out.
Focus on Consumer Relationships
Consumers often base decisions on trust. Mass marketing is giving way to targeted campaigns. Buyers want to see that your brand knows what they want and when they want it. Focus on creating a customer for life rather than on making a quick sale. 2016 is the year to look ahead to a lifetime value.
Improve the Customer Experience of Your Brand
Customers are demanding experiences over products. That means selling a product involves creating an experience for the consumer to enjoy it in. The value of consumer experience cannot be overstated.
More people than ever are looking at online reviews to make good purchasing decisions. Those reviews are being made by customers, so be sure the experience is worth a positive review.
“Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain”
Those are words no consumer wants to hear. They want to see the Wizard, as it were, and that means complete transparency. If your brand portrays its values one way but resorts to practice that are not in harmony with those values, consumers will look for a more genuine seller. The fact is that the truth behind scandals will find its way to the news and online. Brands need to be ready to be honest with consumers.
Content, Content, Content
2016 is the year of content. If it was king before, now content is the whole royal family. The key focus in 2016 is to make your brand the expert in your field. Quality means authority and search ranking, so don’t skimp. Also, be sure to use content to develop your brand’s community, even fostering consumer creation.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on March 9, 2016 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Branding. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Photography Tips That Will Help Improve Social Media Content
Sep 3
When it comes to social media content, there is a strong focus on the visual. Whether you are using YouTube and Instagram or are posting pictures and videos on Facebook or Twitter, thinking like a photo editor can help you to make practical decisions, especially if you happen to be a digital marketer, too. Here are a few ideas that are standard in the photography industry but that need to resonate with digital marketers as well. Use these methods to improve your social media content.
A Picture Tells a Thousand Words. A good picture, that is. The photos and videos that you post need to tell a story to the viewer. Make sure that even the little details are important.
Lights, Camera, Action! Did you notice what comes first? Lighting is incredibly important to how well your video clip or image is received by the public. If you are trying to draw in customers, do not try to do it with dark images that evoke negative feelings. Take a lesson from the pharmaceutical industry that primarily portrays someone walking in a grassy field or on the beach in every commercial to create a sense of well-being for the viewer.
Make Those Colors Pop. Warm colors such as red and orange (or whites and grays that are tinted with red or orange rather than blue or purple) also attract consumers. Make sure that whatever colors you feature in your videos or images complement each other. Contrasting colors can make someone dislike your post without even consciously knowing why.
No One Likes a Thief. Use original art only. Do not take someone else’s creative work, even by accident. Not only could that be a costly mistake due to fines, but consumers who recognize the image will immediately feel like they are wasting their time by viewing your content. After all, no one likes a repost.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on September 3, 2015 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Branding, Marketing Strategies. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Tips for Managing Your Brand Development More Effectively
Aug 20
Brand development has been one of the most vital forms of customer engagement for several years, and its value is only growing in our modern marketplace. Content is now your brand’s number one opportunity to improve brand perception and interact with your customers on a personal level. With that in mind, how can you manage your brand’s content so as to create the greatest impact?
First of all, ensure that any material leaving your company and being passed onto the public is in harmony with the values that you want associated with your business. Consumers appreciate consistency.
Second, be sure that you are engaging the interest of consumers. Your content should resonate with individuals in every part of the sales pipeline, whether they are just becoming aware of your brand or have recently made a purchase.
Finally, your content should have a goal as its objective. That goal should be in harmony with the company’s objectives, whether that be customer acquisition and retention, increase in sales, or a mix.
So how does brand development build content that meets those three needs?
It is vital that you know your target audience well. Give them what they want. You also need to engage your consumers in any place that they are. That means content for desktops, mobile devices, and across social media platforms. Make sure that your content is being delivered consistently. Make a workable schedule and deliver on time so that your consumers know when to return for the latest content. Be sure to analyze how people are responding to the content that you deliver, and make adjustments accordingly. Further campaigns that are doing well, and revamp ones that consumers seem less interested in.
By improving the experience of your customers every time that they come in contact with your brand, you will be developing a perception that fosters loyalty.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on August 20, 2015 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Branding. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Breaking Down Barriers Between TV and Digital Advertising
Jul 16
It is clear that the focus of the digital advertising world has shifted to digital. That having been said, TV ads are still relevant. How can your team bridge the gap between TV and digital to create a cohesive marketing strategy? Here are a few ways to get your department thinking as a team instead of feeling like you are a part of two different worlds.
Communication is the first key to getting TV and digital marketers to work together as a single unit. In the past, the objectives and approaches of the two departments were too different for teamwork. Now consumers often treat TV and digital ads the same way. They may have their tablet out while they are watching TV. Just like a digital video may get skipped if it does not attract attention immediately, a TV ad may lose out to a mobile device that steals a viewer’s attention. The advantage for your company is that the convergence of TV and digital media means that long-term cooperation on marketing campaigns is now possible. This allows the brand to put forth a united front in exposing the public to the company’s values.
Sometimes your digital viewers will need to receive a unique message. Ninety percent of the time, however, a digital ad can simply be a modified version of a TV spot. The truth is that it is not cost efficient to have an entirely separate creative team to develop the same kind of material. The main reason the TV team needs to communicate with the digital team is to ensure that their videos will display well on devices of various sizes and screen resolutions.
Communication of goals is vital so that both TV and digital departments can track the right metrics and compare notes to ensure that the maximum number of consumers are being reached with the right message. ROI is always the goal when it comes to marketing strategy, and while the convergence of TV and digital may pose challenges, there are also benefits to be had in the terms of bottom line.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on July 16, 2015 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Mobile Marketing, Online Advertising. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Use Social Media to Give Your Company Blog a Boost in Readership
Jul 2
Facebook and Twitter have an enormous presence in online marketing, and other social sites—such as Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube—are becoming increasingly popular for branding and marketing purposes. Video and images are powerful ways to reach your audience. You can use this to your advantage by directing viewers to your company blog. After all, no matter how authoritative and engaging your blog is, it is only as good as the number of readers you have.
First of all, do not give up. If the readership does not spike immediately upon trying to direct traffic from social media, it does not mean that the campaign has failed. Sometimes it can take months to see positive results from a method like this. Once people see that your blog has substantial content, individuals will share it on their own social media and perpetuate the cycle. Just be sure to keep posting on a regular basis, and let everyone know the new post is up. Consistency is the key.
Next, be sure not to waste words. People are really into images and video content, and many will ignore a lengthy description unless they are already interested in the topic. This is where your social media comes in. Use as few words as possible (think Tweet) to describe your blog post. Make it enticing enough for someone to want to read a few hundred words on the subject. Once consumers know that your blog content is worth reading, they will return without much convincing needed.
Be sure that your content is unique and eye-catching. If they recognize your image as a stock photo that they have seen over and over again, they will assume that your content is cookie-cutter boring stuff too. Do not be afraid to use photos that you have taken yourself to make the content more personal for the reader. People love companies that they can connect with. That is why social media has been so powerful for businesses.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on July 2, 2015 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Digital Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Online Advertising. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Website Faux Pas
Feb 5
Website Faux Pas: Don’t Let It Hurt Conversions
Periodically checking out the analytics on your site can provide you with some very telling figures. For example, your sales may have tapered, or even suddenly dropped off. Maybe the bounce rate has increased dramatically. What’s going wrong? Is there suddenly less demand for your products? Was the brand reputation sullied, causing consumers to migrate to a competitor? It may be something far more simple and easy to fix. Make sure you aren’t a victim of website faux pas and, if you are, that it isn’t hurting your conversion rate by chasing off customers. Here are some things to look out for.
The experience of site users is actually key to conversions. If your site is difficult to navigate, consumers can’t find the products they want with a few clicks or a simple search, or the shopping cart is complicated, you are likely to lose customers. When consumers encounter this, they will try and find the products they need at a more user-friendly site. Make sure that your site and cart are simple and intuitive for new users and repeat customers.
Also, even on a shopping site, users still expect high quality content. Make sure that the written and visual content on your site is top quality. There’s no room for spelling errors or blurry pictures. Double-checked content and high res photos and videos are a must. Make sure that your site looks and functions just as well for users of mobile devices, since that’s where many people are doing their online shopping.
Finally, be sure that you are giving consumers enough information to make an informed decision. This is a big part of the reason people love shopping online. They can see photos of a product from every side, view the exact specs, watch a video of it in use, and read user reviews. Product comparisons not only save consumers a lot of time, it encourages them to make your site their go-to site anytime they are shopping for items that they know little to nothing about.
In short, if your e-commerce site isn’t doing well, it could well be because of a website faux pas. It may be happening because your site needs to be more professional looking, while providing higher quality content and user engagement.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on February 5, 2015 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Online Advertising. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
Connect With Your Consumers
Jan 8
Connect With Your Consumers: Some Social Media Tips
Pretty much everyone uses social media nowadays, which means most of your customers and potential customers do too. Just because social media is crowded, however, it doesn’t mean personal bonds go unformed. In this medium, this includes relationships with brands. However, as just about every brand is now on social media, how can you stand out from the morass of business accounts and connect with your consumers?
The number one way is by having genuine conversations with your friends and followers. This is a much better approach to using social accounts to push your product or service on people. Here are a few suggestions for using social media as a connection building medium (which is what it is meant to be), instead of just another sales forum that chases off users.
First of all, don’t constantly try to sell to your followers and friends. That’s not what they are on social media for. If you keep the tone conversational, instead of sales oriented, you can create a real rapport with people. That sort of engagement will ultimately do more for brand perception, and that’s one of the key elements in engaging consumers, especially in the long term.
Keep an eye out for people who mention your brand, but don’t comment every time the company name comes up. Moreover, don’t feel the need to defend the brand every time someone makes a negative remark. Make sure you have alerts set so that you can respond at appropriate times. After all, if you make the last comment in a conversation, only the original poster will see it.
If you are going to mention special sales or provide a discount/incentive for social media activity (follows, likes, etc.) then you need to create a CTA that lets people know exactly what you want them to do. Also, always be sure to follow up on any interest that people exhibit in you company. You can be persistent, without looking like you are stalking someone who simply asked a generalized question a few weeks back. To connect with your consumers, then, requires an aptitude for using social media to your advantage.
| No comments | This entry was posted by EIC Social Media Team on January 8, 2015 at 4:30 pm, and is filed under Social Media. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. |
