Using the Zeitgeist on Social Media

The 2018 World Cup. Love Island. Wimbledon. Queer Eye.

If you haven’t heard of any of these events or programs over the last month then where the hell have you been?!

Only joking…slightly!

There’s nothing wrong with having zero personal interest in some, or all, of the above but there is something to be said in following the current cultural zeitgeist if you manage social media channels for your business, or someone else’s.

Mainstream Audiences

I completely understand if you have zero interest in all of the above from a personal perspective but if you’re marketing to a mainstream B2C audience between the ages of 18 – 50 you can guarantee a lot of them do.

A quick walk down any street, head-pop into any workplace or brief glance at social media would reveal as much.

The UK and Ireland was awash with Love Island drama, last minute World Cup goals, the will-he-won’t-he play Andy Murray saga, and the joy of a rebooted series on Netflix.

Obviously much more was happening but that’s beside the point. From a social media marketing point of view this was all great content fodder brimming with potential. There were countless angles on which to grab attention and create humour, debate, emotion, news etc.

Multiple brands and businesses, local and national, jumped on board with plenty of success and the last 4-6 weeks is a mini case study in the power of the zeitgeist, especially when it comes to social media.

Industry Specific

All of that might seem fun but completely distant, almost untouchable, for B2B or niche industry marketers out there, however the lesson is still applicable.

In every industry there are news stories, waves, trends and points of discussion that represent the mini zeitgeist of that market.

Just this week the ridiculously successful children’s SLIME market (seriously, slime?!) was rocked with news of potentially dangerous chemicals.

Maybe this represents the perfect opportunity for someone producing hand-crafted, 100% organic, locally sourced slime…

If that isn’t yet a thing then get in touch (if you can make slime) and we’ll make a fortune together!

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Moving swiftly on…

This isn’t a catchall silver bullet, simply another tactic or mindset that can be incorporated into an overarching social media strategy to great effect.

The power of the zeitgeist isn’t new in marketing or social media but this summer has been another reminder that “trending” is important for a reason.  

Branding is More Important than ever in the Internet of Things

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who was eulogising about the benefits of having an Amazon Dash Button connected to their fridge at home.

For the uninitiated, the Amazon Dash Button is the latest brainchild of Jeff Bezos’ team and falls under the category of an “Internet of Things” product. Essentially this button lets any user simply reorder a product with one simple click – nothing more, nothing less.

A general rule of thumb in the web 2.0 world is that a customer should be no-more than “three clicks” away from exactly what they want on your website at any one time. The Amazon Dash Button crushes that level of efficiency and thus pushes the consumer journey on yet another step.

Amazon Dash Button.jpg

So far so good. Right?

From a practical point of view this sounds perfect for the consumer. They get exactly what they want with minimal fuss.

The dark side, however, is that we enter product or brand echo chambers from which we never escape without proactive action.

Think of the echo chamber issue that’s currently impacting social media, news and politics and then multiply it into every other facet of your life and beyond.

Products of the Near Future

As briefly mentioned above, the Amazon Dash Button is already here. You can buy multiple variations for different parts of your home (fridge, washing machine, bathroom etc.), set it up via your smart device and Amazon account, and never again go without your favourite brands.

Current options include the ability to re-order Heineken beers, Dettol bleach, Duracell batteries, Listerine mouthwash and so much more.

Next up is British Gas’ Hive product. Hive is a smart home heating system that, once installed, allows you to control your home temperature, turn heating on and off and control hot water all from the screen of your smart device, no matter where you are.

Another interesting smart, Internet of Things, product is the FitBark.

It might be pretty obvious but, if you haven't already guessed it, the FitBark is essentially the FitBit for dogs and it’s yet another example of smart products entering every facet of our lives, and this is just the beginning! 

Why Branding is Critical

With all of that in mind, branding is becoming even more crucial than ever before.

Imagine a world where a household only drinks and reorders (through one simple button click) one type of beer. No more competition for shelf space at the supermarket or local off-license, no-more price promotions to entice new customers…

Just one beer bought over and over again through the power of that one initial message, campaign or advertisement that cut through the noise and converted.

That’s what we’re potentially talking about in a product echo chamber world and the same scenario can be replicated over and over again. One gas supplier, one toothpaste, one mouthwash, one dog product brand, on and on and on…

Product and brand monopolies aren’t new ideas but this level of convenience paired with the monopolisation of our data, on personal, public and societal scales, means top-level branding and consumer awareness is becoming even more important than ever before.

Moving Forward

Feeling gloomy? Don’t be!

This is just the latest business challenge and the best always overcome and succeed.

This new and developing Internet of Things reality simply means a re-focusing and doubling down on branding is an essential part of any consumer brand strategy.

From a practical point of view it means focusing on developing brand, creating awareness and capturing attention via social media (where modern attention primarily exists) and other key channels. It means tapping into consumer wants and needs more than ever before, delivering a brand story that aligns with customer values and resonates over time, and it means providing the highest quality possible because these product echo chambers will most likely reward quality alongside, or potentially above, price.

The Internet of Things is here, the first and second waves of products is also here but in the fantastic words of Ray Dalio (billionaire investor) just remember - “If you worry, don’t worry and if you don’t worry, worry!”

Learning from Deliveroo’s Belfast Content Marketing

It doesn’t happen as often as it should but, every now and then, I’ll scroll through my Facebook newsfeed and stumble across some social media marketing that actually makes me stop, read, listen or watch…

Happily, that happened recently when I was targeted with a Deliveroo Facebook ad.

The fast-food delivery tech giant (bit of a weird phrase that…) aren’t strangers to moving with marketing trends and recently launched a #BestofBelfast campaign that thankfully let content marketing do the talking and selling.

What is Content Marketing?

Before we look at the Deliveroo ad let's just confirm what content marketing actually is.

According to Google, content marketing is “a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services” so that’s that then.

For me, I see content marketing as one of the more interesting sides to marketing in general.

Instead of a simple “here we are, this is what we do and this is how much it costs” message you focus on providing value as a hook to draw the customer in.

This value could be to inform, educate, humour, provide a cause for thought or countless other variations and it is paired with creative text, images or video to cut through the noise of everything else out there in the ether.

Deliveroo and John Long’s Fish & Chips

In the case of Deliveroo, they caught my eye by telling me a short story (in a video under 1 minute) about John Long’s Fish & Chips, a staple of the Belfast food scene for decades that I’d never even heard of!

Now I’m interested.

Not once did the video say “buy now” or talk about an “evening special”. Instead, the video told me that John Long keeps things traditional, that he hasn’t changed his batter recipe in over 100 years and that his patrons love it. That’s what hooked me in.

Obviously it helped that the video looked and sounded great as well and you can easily see a difference between the John Long's content ad above and the more regular "order from us" ad seen below.

Image uploaded from iOS (2).jpg

Lessons to Learn

So, with all that in mind what can we learn and how can we apply it to our own businesses?

The formula is simple…

Decide what type of value you want to bring to the table. Think about what is going to truly interest your target customer and then combine that with eye-catching creative that makes them stop and listen to you and you alone.

See? Simple.

It’s the application and creation that’s the hard part.

For more on content marketing contact me here.

A Quick Example of How Online Advertising Can Go Wrong...

One evening last week I was scrolling through my personal Instagram newsfeed, like any other night really, and something stuck out like a massive sore thumb.

As everyone knows online attention spans have plummeted over the last decade and grabbing anyone’s attention can be a seriously difficult job but Lovin Dublin caught my eye instantly. Unfortunately for them, it was for all the wrong reasons.

As I scrolled through my feed their Ulster Bank advertisement, and the comments that followed, stood out like a red herring and as you can see from the image below, the Lovin Dublin audience wasn’t happy. 

Know Your Audience

To give you some context Lovin Dublin, part of the larger Lovin Group, which also features in other cities, is a food, lifestyle and culture blog aimed at promoting all things Dublin primarily for locals to enjoy. The target audience is generally anyone from late teens through to early thirties and this is reflected in the channels they use: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc.

Despite growing into one of Ireland’s larger media brands, and generally doing a great job under founder Niall Harbison, this time they got it wrong when they thought they were executing perfectly.

On the face of it young men and women, over a range of ages from teens to those in their thirties, seem like the perfect audience for a first home advertisement but the reality in a post-financial crisis world is very different. Especially in Ireland.

Due to ridiculous mismanagement, fraud and blatant criminal behaviour during the heady days of the Celtic Tiger today’s young Irish people are extremely weary, negative or downright disdainful of banks and other bailed out financial institutions. With all of that in mind the comments in the above picture really aren’t that surprising.

Think you know your audience or marketplace? Did a little deeper.

React in Real Time

When I stumbled across the Instagram advertisement in question it had already been a few hours since it was first posted and a few hundred comments had rolled in without reply from the brand.

They eventually deleted the post completely, which probably didn’t go down too well with Ulster Bank, but the damage was already done as far as those annoyed were concerned.

An alternative approach, requiring closer monitoring, could have been to reply to angry comments and show that Ulster Bank had learned lessons from the crash, that there were stricter regulations now in place and that the bank were their to help and educate rather than steal, plunder and ruin.

Learn and Move On

This isn’t necessarily a dig at the Lovin brand or Ulster Bank, because plenty of other banks globally were far more culpable, but more a focus, and a warning for myself and anyone reading this, that things can go wrong even when you think you’ve got it just right.

A quick glance at the Lovin Dublin Instagram account will reveal that things have moved on and the majority of their followers have also either moved on or never even seen the ad in the first place. However, those that did might not come back and too many mistakes can start the hollowing out process that eventually leads brands to crumble…

As always the best thing to do is to learn and move on.

That being said, I’ll be keeping an eye out for their next ad or sponsored post…

Why You Should Be Using Segmentation on Facebook Advertising

Taking the time and effort to take a step back and think about who your customer is and what they really want should be at the forefront of every marketer and business owner’s mind.

It can be a struggle but honing in on exactly who you want to speak to and what you want to say can save a lot of time, effort, tears and money!

With that in mind, Facebook’s Advertising platform really allows you to take advantage of that insight and clear thinking.

Targeted Messaging

Within Facebook’s Advertising platform you will be able to create custom audiences that match exactly, or very closely, to your ideal customer groups.

By taking this customer-first approach you’re effectively trimming away the fat and this in turn saves you money, as you’re no longer targeting uninterested demographics.

Perfect!

If, for example, you only wanted to put your message in front of women, aged 25-35, living in the Ballymena area with an interest in pets, you could do that.

However, if you wanted to target a broad spectrum of women from right across Northern Ireland you could still create location or age specific ads, within your campaign, to give you a clearer indication of which demographics respond better than others.

Measured Marketing

The second major benefit to segmenting your customer groups within Facebook Advertising is that you can closely measure everything.

This allows you to quickly kill, improve or double-down on the ads (and groups) that are performing or not performing.

Everything can be measured and over time this will give you a clearer picture of who your customer is and what they really want to see, hear and buy!

You might even get a few surprises!