Autumn is officially here! And a new season calls for many changes to our favourite social media platforms.
Check out this month’s breakdown of what happened in September and what to expect in the the month of October on all relevant social media platforms.
Instagram
Instagram has remained relatively silent update-wise since its infamous Tiktok-style update back in the summer, which ultimately resulted in the app shifting back to its original layout due to the backlash. However, this has not stopped Instagram from focusing on video-based content in other avenues…
In a recent announcement, any videos uploaded/recorded via stories will no longer be split into 15-second segments and you will be able to record up to 60 seconds of content before the video is broken up.
“Instagram’s beentesting the update with selected users over the past year, as part of its broader process to integrate its video options, in line with the short-form video shift and general engagement trends.” (Source: Social Media today).
Tiktok
Tiktok has launched a new feature called Tiktok Now, which seems to be inspired by the
rising star Bereal. As featured in one of our previous blog posts – 5 Up & Coming Social Media Platforms,Bereal has seen a huge surge in popularity during 2022, being the self-proclaimed ‘authentic’ social media.
And if we’ve learnt one thing this year, 2022 is seemingly the year of social media copycats…
“TikTok Now invites you and your friends to capture what you’re doing at the moment using your device’s front and back camera,” thecompany’s blog reads. “You’ll receive a daily prompt to capture a 10-second video or a static photo to easily share what you’re up to.” (source: Social Media Today)
Competitor apps, Snapchat and Instagram have also attempted to replicate the front and back camera which Bereal is renowned for, with rumours that Instagram is looking to create a ‘timer-specific’ feature itself.
Facebook/Meta
Facebook is testing out anew post option which would enable you to restrict access to your post to subscribers only for an initial period after publishing – be that 24 hours, 48 hours, or a week.
“Some users now have access to an ‘Early Access for Subscribers’ toggle in their post settings, which enables you to limit access to that post for a chosen period of time.” (source: Social Media Today).
This is being tested in efforts to increase the appeal for creators on the platform and give the spotlight to emerging stars looking to build a community via Meta.
Twitter
After years of waiting, the infamous update everyone’s been waiting for is finally in live testing.
Twitter has confirmed that it has entered the first testing stage for its tweet editing feature. So far, the feature involves users receiving a notification stating that they will only have 30 minutes to amend their tweet once it is made live – with an extra icon added to any edited tweets.
Users will be able to view the original tweet (even once edited) by clicking on the edit icon – a similar process to Facebook & Instagram comments.
The topic of Twitter introducing an edit button has been a huge talk of debate for over 5 years, with many deeming the feature ‘dangerous’ and fearing being used in instances of hate speech and trolling – whereas many simply want a quick and easy way to amend their embarrassing spelling mistakes…
And there you have it! What are your thoughts on these latest features and updates?
Here at Social Nucleus, we have an expert team of dedicated Account Managers and Creative Executives who thrive in making your business’s social media presence as successful as possible, no matter the platform. Book a call with us today and find out more 🚀
When it comes to marketing communications, your brand’s tone of voice is one of the most important aspects to consider. It’s not just a tool used to appeal to potential customers. It’s an integral part of your business that conveys your values and makes your brand stand out to everyone from prospective partners to the rival brands you’re competing against.
In this blog, we’ll cover what a brand’s voice is and the reasons why establishing a strong one is so vital.
What is a Brand’s Tone of Voice?
Before we look at why this is such an important part of your marketing, let’s delve into what a tone of voice actually is. Put simply, your TOV is the way in which your brand conveys itself to the world, both written and spoken. It’s not necessarily about what you say, but more about how you say it and the impression this will have on your audience. To craft an effective, engaging tone of voice, you need to know who your audience is and what they want to see in a brand.
For example, a B2B brand operating in the engineering sector will target fellow professionals who know what they’re talking about. Colourful language, colloquialisms and other techniques you see in broader marketing won’t be applicable here. Instead, a mature, technical tone of voice is required, one that speaks the same language as those who are reading.
This encompasses everything you put out, both spoken, written and even visual content. Whether it’s Facebook ad copy or internal presentations, consistency is key. Your voice needs to be distinctive and present in order to increase brand establishment. Trying to be as broad as possible and change the tone of your marketing for different audiences could be a hindrance and set your brand development back significantly.
Why is Brand Tone of Voice so Important?
Personification
Imagine for a moment that the audience isn’t reading your copy on a phone or laptop, but that they are instead listening to a person. If there is no recognisable personality or consistency to what they are saying, do you think your audience is likely to trust them or take on the message being conveyed? No.
When you have a strong, recognisable voice, your audience will build a character and view messaging as a conversation, rather than a piece of standard advertising.
In short, it makes your brand more personable. People don’t want to feel like they’re just getting information relayed to them or, on the other end of the spectrum, that they’re being fed lots of unnecessary filler. By creating a distinctive tone of voice, you’re making it easier for them to relate to your brand and ultimately see themselves become a part of it.
Reliability
We have already touched on the idea of consistency. When building a tone of voice, you have the chance to bring stability to your brand’s messaging. If your audience sees conflicting messaging, then they will view your brand as fractured and lacking any identity.
However, if consumers can see a clear ‘theme’ in your messaging, then this will reassure them that you know what you’re talking about. The importance of consistency in the type of content, ad copy and the way it is delivered cannot be overstated.
Authority
The tone of voice doesn’t just help to make you appear reliable in the eyes of potential customers, it can also make you seem more authoritative. However, this requires both personality and deep knowledge of the subject or industry you’re working in.
When we talk about authority, this doesn’t necessarily mean bombarding your audience with a lot of jargon and technical talk. Instead, it’s about being confident in your messaging and having the intuition to know when and when not to use specific terminology.
Originality
This is quite basic, but it is still a hugely important part to consider. When you have a good tone of voice, it sets your brand apart from the rest. As we’ve already mentioned, it’s a great tool to help craft a unique identity, making both copy ad and content instantly recognisable as belonging to your brand.
This can be incredibly valuable, as once you have set a tone that connects with your consumer base, it means they’ll remember your brand. You won’t just be a random company in the field, instead, you’ll be a name they link to your industry. The important thing to remember is that, while you can of course take inspiration from competitors, you shouldn’t try to emulate them. You need to craft a truly unique voice that represents your brand.
Communication
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, tone of voice can massively improve your relationship with the audience and how you communicate to them. An effective tone of voice can cut through the endless sea of online content available, clearly conveying your message in a way other brands can’t.
It can also help focus your campaigns and marketing angles. Instead of coming up with loads of content and copy to test that might not produce results, you can follow a theme and slightly adjust what’s working. Don’t be afraid to turn away from the broad appeal, some of the most successful campaigns work because they operate in a niche.
Build a Better Voice with Social Nucleus
Knowing that tone of voice is important and being able to effectively craft one are two very different things. If you’re struggling to convey your brand in the best way through messaging, why not get help from the experts. At Social Nucleus, we work to establish a consistent tone of voice from the get-go that can be used in all aspects of your campaigns, from ad copy to email marketing and beyond. If you’d like to take your advertising to the next level,get in touch and start connecting with your audience now.
It goes without saying, Q4 is the busiest time of the year for many businesses and the build-up can undoubtedly be overwhelming, especially when you’re unsure where to start or what to focus on.
But with all the pressure put to the side, Q4 is the best time to see a significant increase in overall brand revenue and finish the year off on a positive note!
To help you prepare your business for the quarter ahead, we’ve compiled the ultimate checklist so your brand can put its best foot forward for this final quarter.
Define Goals
It’s time to think SMART:
Specific- Set goals specific to what you want your brand to accomplish during Q4, and clearly lay these out using organisational tools.
Measure – Are you able to measure your goals? Ensure you have appropriate tracking and events set up in advance.
Attainable – Are you being realistic with your goals and targets? Take time to investigate budgets, resources and prioritise quality over quantity.
Relevant – Are your specific goals relevant to your business (and competitors!)
Time bound – It goes without saying, start planning ASAP! Ensure all targets, goals and content is prepared in advance, therefore you can execute all ideas to the highest standard and keep things running smoothly over the busy quarter.
Website Audit
Ensuring your website is at its peak performance is always vital, however, it’s particularly important when going into Q4. It’s recommended to have your website audited at least twice a year or on a quarterly basis. With the increase in store traffic, having a site that runs at a high speed with effective branding, imagery and copy will guarantee an increase in sales.
Tip: when onboarding with Social Nucleus, you will have an in-depth website audit performed by your dedicated Account Manager.
Email
It’s time for a glow up…with your email marketing. Having consistent and well communicated email flows prepped prior to Q4 could be vital for retargeting potential customers. We recommend creating a series of automated email flows triggered by the most common actions taken by your audience.
Welcome flow
Abandoned cart
Thank you/post-purchase flow
Instructional
Product review
Personalised flows (i.e birthday or anniversary)
Tip: Creating a simple pop up on your site to encourage signups is a great way to grow your mailing list.
Social Media
Keep the same level of consistency on your site and email campaigns throughout your social media platforms, to build hype around product discounts and anticipated sales.
This may call for an increase in overall social presence on your brand’s social platforms, for example creating original and trendy content that both advertises your promotions/deals and appeals to your current target audience.
Tip: Take extra time to create content that will increase user engagement during this preparation, as this will organically grow your social presence and appeal to a wider audience (as well as the algorithm!).
Plan for Q1
Planning for Q1? An obscene thought to many, but consistency is key in the world of digital marketing and keeping the same level of organisation and preparation will allow a smooth transition into the new year – set goals and keep your brand to the same standard.
And there you have it! We hope our checklist has helped make the Q4 planning process a little easier, so you can unleash your business’ full potential for this final quarter.
Looking to level up your quarterly planning? Book a call with Social Nucleus today – we’re ready to take your digital marketing to the next level for this quarter and beyond 🚀
Read on to find out how a marketing growth partner could help your brand reach new heights this Q4.
The busiest time of the marketing calendar year is coming up – the run up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s a whole host of marketing activities to do to ensure this period is a successful one for your business.
If you’re unsure of where to start, it’s worth investing in a team of marketing experts to get your brand out there, ready for Black Friday.
Sometimes a helping hand can work wonders for your online reach and brand awareness, especially if you need time to clue up on the world of social media marketing, paid social advertising, or email marketing, before you can get stuck in to strategy and content creation.
It’s more important than ever to establish an online presence for your brand, to get your message out there and reach your target audience. And there’s experts out there who can jump straight onboard and help you achieve your goals.
Like us, for example (!).
What’s a growth partner?
Unlike an agency, we don’t consider ourselves an ‘external source’ for marketing services. We’re a dedicated partner to your brand, working with you, not external to you, to achieve success.
By collaborating with you and your goals, we’ll draw from our experience of scaling brands to help you grow and achieve your vision. Our success truly is your success – that’s what a partnership with us means.
We’re here to work together, as an extension of your business, to strive for your growth. We constantly innovate, testing new ideas and optimising the tests that work.
Call us your fully-functioning marketing department. We completely integrate with the way your business works, instead of operating from the sidelines.
You can leave it to us to fire up your marketing strategy, clued up on all the industry knowledge and expertise that will help you get the results you’re looking for.
How we can help
Let’s break down the variety of services you might consider for Black Friday :
Paid Social Ads –
Reach new and retargeted audiences and optimise your success on the daily. By the time Black Friday rolls around, we’ll have a good idea of the type of copy and content that stops scrolls and gets clicks.
Paid Google Ads –
Build your brand awareness and boost website traffic with paid search. Make it easier for your customers to find your brand when they search for the products you sell.
Email Marketing –
Nurture a loyal customer base with email campaigns that engage, reward and bring value. Make sure your customers remember your offers and discounts when Black Friday arrives.
Social Media Marketing –
Take your social media output to the next level with content that gets you noticed and trusted- from Instagram to TikTok. Build your brand awareness and engage your audience with dynamic video, imagery and graphics that creatively capitalise on trends.
Brand Management –
Elevate your brand identity and build your customer base with a recognisable tone of voice, visual branding and messaging across your marketing channels. As it’s not just about short-term efforts to get conversions, but long-term trust-building.
How does a growth partnership work?
When you get started on your onboarding, we’ll get stuck into getting to know your brand, inside out. We’re talking competitor research, TOV research, and full audits across your ad accounts and content output.
We’ll get to know your brand culture, what’s important to you, and what you’re determined to achieve in both the near and distant future. Then you can be sure your new growth partner is fully onboard with your brand and can create the kind of content you’d love to see.
In the weeks leading up to Black Friday, we’ll be testing what works best, so we’re ready to build on this when it counts the most.
What are my next steps?
Why not get in touch and find out more about how we can help your brand this quarter?
We’re an innovative, creative and ambitious growth partner, ready to help you scale up 🚀
Want to start prepping for Black Friday, but unsure where to start or what’s best to focus on?
As we all know, Black Friday is the biggest time of the year for businesses and with this comes a lot of prepping and strategic planning to get the most out of it. In this article we will help clear up a few important focusses pre-Black Friday.
Pre Black Friday build up – Building up your traffic
Black Friday sales and traffic won’t appear out of nowhere, which is why building up your re-engagement and retargeting audiences is so important pre-Black Friday (the earlier you start, the better).
These specific audiences are already warmed up to your brand and products, therefore come Black Friday when presented with your best promotions these specific audiences are much more likely to convert, in comparison to an audience that has never seen your products before.
So, what are re-engagement and retargeting audiences?
Re-engagement audiences are people who interacted with your brand through watching or engaging with your brand’s social media content, profiles or ads, but haven’t visited your site.
Retargeting audiences are people who have visited/interacted with your website.
In addition to these audiences, you should also be building an email list. This can be done by offering your website visitors a newsletter, ebook, webinar, discount or something else of value in exchange for their email address.
An email list is another excellent way to present your Black Friday promotions to customers who are engaged with your brand, making them a warm prospect for conversion. This is also a different approach, as some potential customers may be more receptive with email marketing compared to Facebook advertising.
Know who to target during Black Friday
After building up your traffic before Black Friday, you may be thinking ‘who should see my ads on Black Friday itself?’ As mentioned above we recommend running ads prior to building up warm audiences to retarget, however there is more.
Alongside this, it’s a good idea to optimise Facebook’s lookalike audiences, which, in short, takes data from Facebook to create the best possible audiences you are trying to create. For example you can create a lookalike audience for:
– Your buyers from the previous Black Friday
– Purchasers from the last 30, 60, 90 or 180 days
– Ad engagers
– Social media engagement from the last 30, 60, 90 or 180 days
– Website visitors from the last 30, 60, 90 or 180 days
Facebook will then take existing data from customers who have taken the action you want, in order to find more people who may be similar to them, based on Facebook data.
To further optimise your audiences, you could narrow down these lookalike audiences with interests (depending how big your lookalike audiences are). For example if you were selling running trainers and wanted to build out a lookalike audience of people who have visited your website in the last 180 days, you may want to add an additional audience of people who are interested in ‘running’ or ‘Nike’ (or another running/fitness brand). We would usually only recommend adding one additional audience so that you can work out which interest/audience is performing best and why. If you add to many additional interests you will struggle to narrow down which is working.
Additionally you could also use the existing results you have from the ads you’ve run prior to Black Friday to determine which ads to run over the upcoming Black Friday weekend. If they’ve been profitable, you may wish to increase the budgets for this specific time to get the best results.
Make your creatives stand out
When data is scarce, time is limited and cost for ads are high, your creatives will be your best shot at efficiently converting your audiences on Black Friday.
Your creatives don’t just act as the main scroll stopper- they’re a way of telling your brand’s story and the way of visualising the solution you can provide to your customers. Promoting how your brand solves your customers’ problems instead of being solely product focussed is a good way to attract them.
During Black Friday, you’ll be competing with other brands for attention, so you want to stand out by being the best solution people are looking for. Just remember: be clear, get to the point fast, and offer your Black Friday deals.
Aside from painting your brand as the solution, it will also help to inform consumers about free shipping, discounts, and any other promotions you are running. So make sure your free shipping offers and discounts are visible to make your products more attractive at first glance.
Creatives aren’t all about crystal clear images, they’re about the message they deliver to people.
Reform your formats
During the build up to Black Friday is the perfect time to test & reform your formats & come up with creative ways to get potential customers’ attention. When it comes to ad formats, you can experiment and test new, scroll-stopping ads. If you have always stuck to using single images as your Facebook ads, it may be time to experiment with other methods.
– Video ads: Did you know 85% of social media users want to see more video content from brands? That’s no wonder, especially when you look at the drastic rise of TikTok, it’s not hard to see the way social media consumers are preferring to see their content and this is the same when it comes to advertising to, as we want our creatives to fit right in with the customers feed.
– Carousel ads: Allow you to have multiple images per ad, allowing you to showcase more products and/or go into further detail about the products you are selling, while expressing your brand across multiple images.
– Dynamic Product Ads: These particular ads allow you to show your desired website visitors the exact products they viewed or added to cart. Therefore this particular ad can be a reminder for those warmer audiences who have shown interest but haven’t quite purchased yet.
Tip: Every format and placement has its size and design requirements, so make sure your ads comply with these & also double check the ads are formatted correctly before publishing.
We hope this helps you kickstart your Black Friday marketing strategy and preparation before the big day!
However, if you still feel a bit lost or you think you need additional help with Black Friday advertising this year then you are in the right place!
Our team of marketing experts have experienced many Black Fridays and understand what’s needed to have the most successful Black Friday possible.
Want to start creating engaging email campaigns, but not sure where to start? You’ve come to the right place 🙌
In this article, we’ll show you how to create email campaigns that stand out in your audience’s inboxes – and ultimately, get clicks and conversions.
In the run up to Black Friday, email marketing is an important channel to be investing time in to elevate your sales.
No matter the email marketing platform you use, professionally-created email campaigns are a great way to creatively advertise your products with an audience that’s already invested in your business, and nurture strong customer relationships with a clear brand identity.
How can you ensure your emails stand out from the rest?
Building a strong campaign
So, what are the key elements you need to be paying attention to?
1. Subject line (/preview line)
This is the first thing your audience will see from your campaign, and it’s vital you ensure it entices your audience to click on the email and view it- so make it count!
Here’s some examples of email subject lines – which ones stand out from the rest?
Consider what would attract your audience’s attention as they scroll through their inbox and see your brand’s email. Have you got any promotions running? If so, include how much your products currently cost (for a limited time only!), or how much they could save.
Alternatively, use a powerful CTA to compel your audience to click – this could evoke a sense of ‘fear of missing out’ if they don’t click, eg:
Subject lines that create a sudden surge of interest, but don’t disclose all information unless the recipient clicks to read it, is a great way to raise your open rate.
Your email’s copy is the perfect place to communicate your brand’s personality and encourage conversions in a creative way.
Keep copy punchy and easy to read, to communicate your message in an engaging way.
An example of simple, punchy copy from H&M’s email marketing – smoothly leading to a CTA.
Bear in mind that most recipients will be checking their inboxes on their phones – ensure you get to the point in a few lines to sustain their interest.
Draw attention to any offers or discounts with bold text that the audience will see in an instant.
Include link buttons with CTAs to take them to relevant product page- these can appear more than once if your email is longer, to ensure your audience always has an opportunity to click and visit your site.
3. Imagery and graphics
Great, memorable emails include attractive graphics with eye-catching headlines, that show off featured products in their best light.
Even just a simple image and headline, like Schuh’s here, is a great way to communicate your brand identity and create an engaging send.
Aim to keep your recipients scrolling through your email without getting disengaged and clicking away. This might mean summing up copy in an easily-digestible infographic if you wish to communicate more information (eg a list of USPs).
Your audiences are unlikely to stick around and read large chunks of text. Break them up with professional imagery, text-based graphics and links, to keep your campaign engaging.
If you’ve got a larger product offering, it might be worth creating a product catalogue at the end of each send – so recipients can easily see your new/bestselling product lines.
Here’s an example of a simple product catalogue by Monki, which allows recipients to browse a portion of the product offering before clicking to view the site.
To make your sends more dynamic, consider creating GIFs that flicks between images, or simple animated graphics featuring moving objects.
These may take more time to create, but they could be a great way to elevate your campaigns and engage your audience.
Now we’ve gone through the essential elements you need for a good campaign – how can you get started on your email planning?
It’s definitely advisable to plan your email calendar in advance- for example, planning the month ahead each month, or even the next few months.
Campaign planning
Now Black Friday’s coming up, it’s more important than ever to plan ahead to achieve a higher volume of sales. Email marketing is one key factor in the effort to engage customers and boost your conversions.
Decide how many campaigns you’d like to send out each week, and what you’ll include in each of them. If you’re building a business, we’d suggest at least 2 a week to gain an inbox presence.
As part of the planning process, visualise what you want your emails’ layouts to look like, and what content you’d like to include.
We’d advise splitting your sends between sales-focussed campaigns and community-building campaigns.
With the latter, prepare short blog-style articles that would interest your audience – whether that’s telling your brand story, discussing a subject of interest to your niche, or giving product-based advice.
This is a great way to add value to your subscribers’ experience with your brand – making them more likely to purchase from you down the line.
For the remainder of your sends, focus on your products’ USPs (unique selling points) and features, and utilise persuasive, creative language to drive clicks and conversions on your site.
But when should you send emails for the highest click and conversion rates? Let’s find out…
Optimising your campaigns
By scheduling sends in advance, you can ensure you send out emails when your audience is most likely to open them, and buy from you.
Consider your target audience’s lifestyles and habits – when are they going to be checking their inboxes, their phones, or working on their laptop?
Target their lunch break, commute and after-work leisure time during the working week. Evenings are a particularly golden time for online purchases; your audience is often scrolling through their phone and catching up with their notifications after a busy day.
With blog-style campaigns, consider when recipients will more likely commit to reading your content. Perhaps steer clear from later on in the evening, to avoid tired brains that don’t wish to commit to a longer read!
As you begin sending out campaigns, you can start paying attention to the analytics- when are more customers opening, clicking, converting from your campaigns?
Send campaigns again at high-performing times for your audience, and test new times to see what the stats are like.
Keep an eye on your CVR (conversation rate), open rate, click rate and recipient activity (What are they clicking on? What are they responding well to?)
We hope this helps as you begin your email marketing journey! 💪
With Summer soon coming to a close, you’ll have likely seen both minor and subtle updates to your favourite social media apps, as the developers prepare for Q4.
Check out this month’s breakdown of what happened in August and what to expect in the month of September on all relevant social media platforms.
Instagram
Instagram has taken a step back from its numerous controversial updates and seems to be working on more back-end-related features that improve the app’s overall safety.
This was initially seen in an update which allowed users to block message requests from accounts they do not follow, as well as the feature which launched in 2021 whereby you could ‘restrict’ a certain user rather than blocking them overall.
This improvement in user safety is now being seen in their latest update, whereby all accounts under the age of 16 will automatically be put in a ‘restrictive exposure category’ – unless changed manually in settings.
Instagram’s reasoning behind this update is simply to limit any under 16’s exposure to potentially harmful content – after Meta’s own internal reportage published that Instagram can have (and is having) a detrimental effect on the mental health of many teens.
Snapchat
If you checked out one of our latest blogs – 5 Up & Coming Social Media Platforms – you will be familiar with the app BeReal, which has officially risen to 10 million users as of August 2022!
In the year whereby many apps have been accused of taking “heavy inspiration” from a certain popular video app…we are seeing this once again with Snapchat (and no we’re not talking about their ‘Spotlight’ feature).
Snapchat has launched its Dual camera option, which has been outlined as “With Dual Camera, Snapchatters can create content using their front and back-facing cameras simultaneously.”
Although the feature is clearly inspired by the popularity of BeReal (which many have described as “the new Snapchat”) Snapchat have made it clear that this will not be accompanied by a timer notification, and is free to use at any time like other Snapchat features.
Tiktok
With the new school year quickly approaching, Tiktok has launched a new cyber safety awareness campaign, in an attempt to educate young people about the potential dangers of online interactions.
This campaign includes partnerships with GCA to develop an ‘interactive Cyber Security Toolkit’, as well as a one-page overview of how people can improve their online safety.
With this in mind, Tiktok has also revealed that it will be raising awareness for cybersecurity jobs – and in particular, the need for more diverse representation in cybersecurity.
Twitter
Twitter is currently testing a new format for publishing links through tweets, calling it “Tweet Tiles”. The tiles show a larger image with a more detailed description and a prominent CTA to increase Twitter’s overall link clicks.
As explained by Twitter:
“Right now, people on iOS and web may see and interact with Tweet Tiles that include text, images, videos, or other elements like a button from people in the initial test group. These formats are designed to easily engage with content and make your timeline more dynamic and visual.”
This update could be hugely beneficial to marketers, as it allows you to stand out on a users fast-moving feed, increasing the likelihood of higher engagement and overall CTR.
And that’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these latest features and updates?
Here at Social Nucleus, we have an expert team of dedicated Account Managers and creative executives who thrive in making your business’s social media presence as successful as possible, no matter the platform. Book a call with us today 🚀
It might seem like a long way off, but Black Friday is fast approaching. It’s a date that you, as a brand owner, need to be paying attention to, right now.
Black Friday is on Friday 25th November this year, and it’s one of the most important dates in your marketing calendar.
By planning ahead with your marketing efforts, you’ll make sure you’re fully prepped to get your products/services out there, generate hype around your offering and spur the Black Friday shopper to buy from you.
Planning ahead is key to succeed on Black Friday
Up the awareness
In the months leading up to Black Friday, it’s crucial to build awareness in your brand and product offering. This first step of the customer journey is where an exciting customer journey begins.
Many potential customers won’t be ready to buy when they first encounter your brand – but you can make sure they’re set on purchasing from you when Black Friday rolls around.
Utilise your social media channels and content marketing to build that awareness and put your brand out there. Create engaging content featuring your products, communicate their USPs and features to stem the desire to buy from you.
You want customers to add your product to their wishlists, and communicating your brand personality and story helps to cultivate a stronger customer relationship. Relate to your target audience and their pain points to connect with them.
Reels = bigger reach – and that’s what you need to build your brand awareness.
Get noticed on Instagram with Reels – right now, it’s the best way to reach your audience and find new followers
It’s also worth investing in paid social media ads to get your brand onto your audience’s social media feeds – this can include boosting organic content to reach a wider audience.
Boost your sales
When the all-important date rolls around, you want to make sure your site is fully optimised for maximum sales, and all your media channels are pushing customers onto your site.
Offer exclusive discounts with your email marketing, scheduling sends in advance in the lead up to Black Friday, with persuasive copy that builds hype and generates an urgency to buy from you.
In the week before Black Friday and on the day, ensure you stand out in inboxes with eye-catching subject lines that include your discounts.
Think about how your emails can stand out in an inbox – what will create interest and prompt an open?
It’s also worth investing in paid Google Search ads, no matter your budget (PPC ads). Bid on relevant keywords so you’ll appear in your target audience’s search results. Make sure you boost those site clicks on the day your audience is more ready than ever to buy.
Now let’s consider their experience once they reach your site on Black Friday. We recommend investing time in site maintenance, ready for your influx of customers.
When customers arrive on your website, you want to ensure their journey to complete checkout is as clear and smooth as possible. Make sure your site is easily navigable, with engaging copy that persuades them to add to cart.
Optimise your site speed to avoid slow-loading webpages dissuading impatient customers to go elsewhere. Use sites like www.seoptimer.com to gain valuable insights in your site performance, and where you could improve.
Is your site fully optimised to take your customer through to checkout in the smoothest way possible?
Considering site content, update your product descriptions – make them punchy, so the customer quickly accesses the key information they need before they buy. Think bullet points, short phrases and broken-down sections.
Get ready to add statements that generate a sense of urgency on Black Friday, eg ‘Selling Out Fast!’ Your customers won’t want to miss out on products that look popular and seem limited in stock.
Another way to tap into the customer’s sense of urgency is to build a countdown timer on your landing page – which can repeat on webpage banners.
Think about how your product page can best push a customer to add to cart and purchase.
Phew- there’s a lot to do to secure your highest performing Black Friday yet.
Feeling overwhelmed? We can help. We’re well-versed in Black Friday preparation – and we’re ready to scale up your marketing efforts, ready for the big day.
From paid social media ads to content creation to SEO optimisation, we’re your growth partner with rich experience in helping brands soar to new heights.
And the run-up to Black Friday couldn’t be a better time to enlist our help.
Give us a call now to discuss your goals- and see how we can help you achieve Black Friday success 🚀
Not even 5 years ago we would not have been able to imagine more prominent social media platforms than Facebook, Twitter & Instagram – and then came along Tiktok which changed the trajectory of social media for the foreseeable future.
Every single one of our favourite social platforms had to start somewhere before becoming the essential apps we know them as today – with the rise of niche versions of the platforms becoming more popular as the years go on – and as business owners know, getting ahead of the trends could be crucial for the growth of your brand.
In this week’s blog post, we will be breaking down 5 up & coming social media platforms.
Bereal
Launched in 2020, Bereal has made quite the name for itself in recent months, with the app’s main notification feature becoming a viral meme – which we have been finding hilarious.
BeReal features a daily notification, at any time in the day which then gives you a 2-minute countdown to capture your ‘unedited’ face & surroundings – The app has been praised by its users for taking social media back to its authentic roots, in a world where we feel socially obligated to share only the highlights & polished versions of our lives – BeReal encourages you to simply: be real.
However, unfortunately, due to the app’s emphasis on being ‘the only real social media platform,’ it does not currently prohibit advertising for business’ – but many have used it in an interesting way to authentically connect with their audiences.
BopDrop
‘The Community for music lovers’ – BopDrop is a music-based social media platform which launched in 2020 but has gained notable popularity in 2022. The app expands on the likes of Spotify & Apple Music by combining an engaging user experience and allowing you to discover new music based on the users you follow.
It functions similar to Instagram in regards to the interface & discoverability system – making it easier than ever for users to explore new music & independent artists reaching a wider audience.
SuperNova
Branded as ‘The Social Network that gives back’, Supernova claims to be the ethical alternative to Facebook & Instagram – with the majority of ad revenue going to charity. To accompany this ethical take on social media, SuperNova currently only uses human moderators to combat trolling & hate speech, which is a prevalent issue on competitor platforms.
Although the ad revenue situation may deter some brands from advertising on the app, this would be the ideal occasion to reach a new audience as well as, give your brand a positive reputation for businesses looking to give back to charity.
Polywork
On the more professional end of the scale, Polywork is a social media platform similar to the likes of Linkedin – without solely relying on the ‘likes’ & ‘connection’ and aims to show that people are more than simply the roles they hold.
Essentially, Polywork takes a more relaxed approach to its competitor, being the social media equivalent of “smart-casual”. You can discuss potential collaborations & simply just things that bring you joy in the workplace – which if this fits your business’s branding, maybe the perfect alternative to represent yourself professionally online.
Locket
Finally, the most unique contender on this list: Locket turns your home screen widgets into a social media platform – allowing users to share live photos with their friends, similar to the likes of Snapchat & Bereal but on a more personal level.
From an advertising perspective, similar to Bereal this opens the door for allowing your brand to think outside the box & have fun with marketing ideas using the widget space.
The world of Social Media will forever be an interesting place to be, with every niche or hobby slowly being transformed into a platform where others then connect & share what they love. Who knows, maybe we will soon see Tiktok de-throned in the next coming years by an unexpected contestant!
If you need assistance growing organically on any relevant social platform, We’re a team of digital marketing experts ready to help you take your brand to the next level – book a call with us now to discuss your strategy and goals 🚀
If you’re creating paid Facebook ads or planning to test on the platform, it’s crucial to ensure your ads will succeed in capturing the attention of your audience.
Picture this – your target audience is scrolling through Facebook and browsing their feed. Your ads need to stand out – so eye-catching creatives and copy are the way to go.
To use the platform to your advantage, it’s important to always consider this audience and how you can quickly gain their attention as they scroll.
We’ve pulled together 5 ways to make sure your ads are more likely to deliver on clicks and conversions on Facebook :
1- Use attention-grabbing creatives
Depending on your brand image and style, prepare graphics that showcase your products in the best light possible.
Create graphics that are engaging to look at, pull in attention and quickly give your audience all the key information they need to know. That might be USPS, product features or ratings.
Whether it’s raw imagery or lifestyle imagery, your ad creatives should convey your brand personality and grow your audience’s interest.
Just be sure to avoid adding too much text – ‘busy’ graphics can cause information overload and prompt Facebook users to keep on scrolling past.
Keep things simple- your audience can find out more about your product offering on your site.
2- Craft up short headlines
A great way to communicate your brand identity and assert your product as a key market contender, as well as pause a Facebook user’s scroll, is to include an eye-catching headline within your graphic.
These could be a short phrase about a featured product/collection or a punchy customer review that creates a strong first impression.
Consider the reading experience here if there’s more than one section of text overlay. The viewer is more likely to begin at the top left and work across/down, so make sure they read the most important message first.
3- Test short, punchy captions
Captions appear above your ad creative on Facebook – but it’s likely your audience will view your eye-catching creative first.
Your caption provides further, and sometimes more detailed, information about your range, or a bestselling/new product featured in your ad.
It’s tempting to give your audience everything they need to know here – but it’s best to be selective. Communicate those key USPs/features, describe your product in a sentence or two- then entice the audience to visit the site to find out more/make a purchase.
Don’t write a lengthy paragraph for your caption – on first impression, these are rather overwhelming sights. Consider the experience of your audience and keep captions punchy and easily digestible.
Whether you break captions down into many lines or stick to one short section, they’re more likely to be read if they seem easy to read on first glance.
4- Add emoji in captions
If including a few emoji would match your brand identity and the personality you wish to convey in ads, then this is a great practice for drawing eyes to your captions.
Emoji are colourful, expressive and can communicate key messages in one simple image. Whether you prefer facial expressions, objects or emoji that encourage actions (like arrows, shopping carts or timers), add a few to your captions to aid the reading experience.
Just be careful not to overdo it – more than 3 or 4 different emoji can make your ads appear ‘shouty’ and communicate the wrong message.
Emoji like 🔥, ⚡️, 👀 and 💥 are popular choices for attracting attention and building hype, as are expressions like 😍, 🤩 and 😱.
Alternatively, choose emoji that tie in with your product offering and represent your brand identity. For example, if you’re selling natural produce, using emoji like 🌿, 🌱 and 💚 can communicate this characteristic in an instant.
5- Try video content
We’re seeing the growing use of video content on Facebook ads, as a more dynamic option than imagery. This could be a short animated GIF, or TikTok-style UGC showing your product in use.
With video content, you’re able to communicate more about your product offering without overwhelming your audience. With shorter attention spans, your audience will often respond well to video content that shows your brand personality.
Why not vary up your content in ad testing with video and imagery?
If you’re needing some assistance with implementing and testing your ads for maximised results, our marketing specialists are here to help.
With weekly testing of new content, plus expert insights on all things paid social, you’ve come to the right place for Facebook ad creation.
