Authenticity is in, Artificiality is out.
We are back with our monthly GoViral blog and this month, we are delving into the topic surrounding how businesses that are value-driven and have strong brand messaging are maximizing their brand loyalty. People are sick of being sold to and want to feel seen and heard. Most businesses continue to miss the mark, updating people about product features but fail to show the true value and people behind the brand. People buy from people. We share four simple but effective strategies that your business needs to implement if it wants to thrive this year. Let’s get into it!
How businesses are missing the mark
Traditional marketing techniques were straight to the point and created for the masses. There wasn’t a specific target audience they wanted to target, it was for everyone and anyone.
Marketing to the masses has proved costly to businesses and takes up valuable time that can be better spent elsewhere. Businesses that cut costs on marketing are missing out on maximizing their brand loyalty through engaging with their community and having strong brand messaging.
People are more interested in the people behind the brand than the products.
People crave connection
The rise of social media and apps such as TikTok during the pandemic saw a huge increase in people spending more time on their phones to stay connected to their family and friends. When was the last time you looked at your screen time?
With businesses, hospitality and other establishments closed down because of coronavirus, people wanted to stay connected more than ever.
What once was an app for teenagers showing off their best moves has exploded into a platform where social issues such as equality, diversity, and inclusion are spoken about daily. The pandemic, along with the rise of TikTok, opened up a platform for people to speak up and stand up for what they believe in.
A piece of content or a story that invokes an emotion in the person reading causes people to act out an action. This can be reposting to their story for their followers or sharing directly with their family members because they know they’ll appreciate the content. People like to share content that aligns with their values.
The power of storytelling
The rise of social media and apps such as TikTok during the pandemic saw a huge increase in people spending more time on their phones to stay connected to their family and friends. When was the last time you looked at your screen time?
With businesses, hospitality and other establishments closed down because of coronavirus, people wanted to stay connected more than ever.
What once was an app for teenagers showing off their best moves has exploded into a platform where social issues such as equality, diversity, and inclusion are spoken about daily. The pandemic, along with the rise of TikTok, opened up a platform for people to speak up and stand up for what they believe in.
A piece of content or a story that invokes an emotion in the person reading causes people to act out an action. This can be reposting to their story for their followers or sharing directly with their family members because they know they’ll appreciate the content. People like to share content that aligns with their values.
How Gen Z’s Values are Shaping the Content Industry
Companies know what products they sell but do they know the values that represent the business? The term “value statement” is used in marketing strategy because of its importance to the all-over success of a business. If you don’t know what your value statement is, start writing one.
One of the most important cohorts that are value-driven are Gen Z.
They are the first generation to grow up with the internet compared to Millennials and Gen X.
This means they’re more clued in on what’s happening in the world and are more involved in social issues, not afraid to speak up on certain issues especially if it involves a business.
Gen Z’s values are centred around diversity, inclusion, equality, and sustainability. Fast fashion brands have come under fire for unethical labor practices and disregard for the environmental impact it has. They aren’t afraid to boycott a business if they fail to explain their reasoning behind unfavorable conditions.
Stories captivate customers and build brands
Let’s look at some examples of businesses that have set the bar for having strong brand messaging and clear values.
Take a look at the image below. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Nike.
If you guessed correctly, then you know how powerful brand messaging can be. Coupled with their slogan “Just do it”, people KNOW who Nike is and what they stand for.
Collaborating with influential athletes such as Michael B. Jordan and Simone Biles and sharing inspiring and motivational stories of people who just DID it, people resonate with the brand and feel inspired.
Nike is much more than a shoe company, they are a performance company that makes shoes as a way to inspire and enable people to perform at their very best.
Overcoming challenges is a big part of life and people find this concept relatable, therefore, strengthening the relationship between Nike and its customers.
Understanding your audience
Jabra, one of our clients at GoViral, is another great example of having strong brand messaging and clear values.
Their technology has evolved beyond the workplace to everywhere on the go. Changes in how people work after the pandemic pushed Jabra to adapt to the current situation. With many workplaces changing to remote or hybrid work, Jabra understood the difficulties that you encounter with technology.
Jabra understands exactly who their audience is and speaks directly to them about the problems they face. Not afraid to create something new and experiment with their technology, they are always seeking to improve to better serve their audience.
Now that we have learnt that traditional marketing is dead and how Gen Z are shaping the content industry, let’s dive into strategies to start creating content that will get people to buy.
1. Craft your story
No business starts with loyal customers or high revenue returns. Every business started from the bottom and made its way to the top. That story is what gets people to buy.
What’s the businesses’ origin story? What values does the business believe in? What struggles did it encounter? What transformation or journey did your product or service bring you on?
2. Connect emotionally to your audience
Don’t tell them about the product. Tell them how it will make them feel. If we take a pair of headphones, no one is going to connect with the product if you tell me it has great sound. Go deeper than that.
Block the whole world out with our noise-canceling headphones to wind down after a stressful day at work… you get the point.
Give them an experience and how they will feel when they buy the product
3. Show, don’t tell.
A business can say its product is amazing but the consumer is in charge of making that decision. If a customer isn’t happy with a product, they aren’t going to shy away from speaking about it on social media. The product or service needs to help fix a problem. A skincare product that gets rid of acne. A pair of shoes with insoles that make you feel like you are walking on clouds. A jacket that feels like your grandparent’s hug.
Let the product speak for itself. Customers won’t have a problem telling everyone about the impact it had on them.
4. Call to action
Customers can resonate with your story and connect to the product but fail to act because they don’t know what the next step is. Be clear on what you want them to do. Whether it is subscribing to your product launch, attending an event, or making a purchase, there needs to be a clear call to action and a reason WHY.
GoViral conclusion
We can all learn something from Nike and Jabra regarding their strong brand messaging and clear values that resonate with their target audience. People don’t want to hear about the next product launch if it isn’t solving a problem for them. Get clear on what your business stands for and show up as that every time your audience sees you online. It’s harder to grab people’s attention but with strong brand messaging, your business will be top of mind for them. Don’t blend in, stand out amongst the crowd.
Contact GoViral Digital today to learn how our expertise in inbound marketing can enhance your brands presence and help tell your brands story.
Leveraging PPC Campaigns for Maximum Event Exposure
When hosting a large-scale event, gaining significant exposure to your target audience and attracting attendees are the top priorities. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful tool that amplifies your event’s visibility and boosts ticket sales effectively. Below we will discuss strategic tips and tactics for using PPC campaigns so you can ensure your event not only reaches but resonates with your target audience.
PPC advertising offers a unique advantage in that it places your event in front of the right audience at the right time. With the ability to target specific demographics, interests, and geographical locations, PPC campaigns are tailored to speak directly to people most likely to be interested in your event. Effective PPC campaigns allow you to cut through the digital noise and reach potential attendees that drive both awareness and conversions. In the following sections, we explore how to utilize the full potential of PPC to create impactful campaigns that capture attention and convert leads into event attendees.
Define Clear Objectives
When launching a PPC campaign, it’s important to gain clarity on what you hope to achieve. For events, objectives and goals can range from increasing brand awareness to driving ticket sales or encouraging sign-ups for a webinar about the event. It’s important to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to guide your campaign structure and implementation.
Understand Your Audience
Detailed knowledge of your audience’s demographics, interests, and online behaviors will help you to create specifically targeted ads that have a much higher likelihood of conversion. Using data from past events, website analytics, and social media insights to build a comprehensive audience profile will help you to understand and choose your keyword selection, ad copy, and targeting options.
Choose the Right Platforms
There are several different PPC platforms and they all offer different advantages depending on your event type and target audience.
Google Ads:
- High intent targeting: Google Ads operates on the principle of search intent, meaning your ads appear to people actively searching for your product or service leading to higher conversion rates.
- Vast reach: Google provides a vast reach online with millions of searches per day. This can significantly increase your visibility across a range of demographics.
- Flexible budget options: With Google Ads, you’re able to adjust your budget based on your financial constraints and goals. With options like cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) pricing models, you can choose the campaign that best suites your objectives.
- Robust analytics: Google Ads offers comprehensive analytics that help you track metrics, such as, clicks, impressions, and conversions.
- Geotargeting capabilities: Because you can target your ads to specific geographic locations, you are also able to promote local events or segment your campaigns based on where your target audience lives for better accuracy.
- Ad formats: Google Ads provides a variety of ad formats, including text ads, image ads, video ads, product listing ads, performance max, etc. All of these allow for versatile marketing strategies with the ability to test different content types to see what works best.
Social Media Ads:
- Advanced targeting options: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer precise targeting options based on user demographics, behaviors, interests, and connections.
- Visual engagement: As social media is inherently visual, it is an excellent platform for engaging potential customers with eye-catching images, videos, and interactive content.
- Brand engagement: Due to the nature of social media, two-way interaction between you and your audience allows for relationship and community building through increasing loyalty and engagement around the event.
- Retargeting capabilities: Social media platforms excel at retargeting; this allows you to present ads to users who have visited your website but haven’t converted. This is a great way to remind those users about your event and encourage them to buy tickets, register, or book a demonstration.
- Real-time adjustments: Social ads can be tweaked in real-time based on performance data and this allows for dynamic adjustments to maximize your campaign’s effectiveness.
Craft Compelling Ad Copy
While writing your ad copy, be sure you are clear, concise, and compelling. It’s important to include essential details about the event, such as what, when, and where, and make sure to highlight unique selling points that make your event unique. Using strong call-to-actions (CTAs) like “Register Now”, “Book Your Seat”, or “Get Tickets” drives urgency and improves conversion rates. Make sure to test different versions of the ad copy to see what resonates best with your target audience.
Utilize Engaging Visuals
As mentioned above, visual ad platforms like Facebook and Instagram use eye-catching graphics or videos which can significantly enhance your ad’s performance. When creating your ad visuals, ensure you’re appropriately reflecting the theme of the event and create an appeal to the emotions of potential attendees. Short, engaging videos, typically under one minute long, that give a sneak peek of the event highlights can be particularly effective.
Optimize for Keywords
When building out your PPC campaign, keyword optimization is vital for success. Ensure you conduct thorough keyword research to identify terms that potential attendees might use to find events like yours. Include event-specific keywords, such as “tech conferences in 2024” or “virtual marketing summit” and broader terms that relate to the industry or interests aligned with your event. Using negative keywords is also beneficial to prevent your ads from appearing in irrelevant searches, which in turn saves your budget for more qualified leads.
Implement Geo-Targeting
Geo-targeting allows you to tailor your PPC campaigns to reach people in specific locations when you have physical events. For global events, you could consider targeting key cities or regions where your potential attendees are based. For virtual events, you can target a broader geographic area but focus on regions with a higher concentration of your target audience.
Set a Smart Bidding Strategy
PPC platforms offer a variety of bidding strategies that can help you maximize returns on your ad spend. Automated bidding strategies like “Maximize Conversions” in Google Ads can optimize your bids in real-time to get the most conversions for your budget. It’s important to regularly review and adjust your bids based on how your ads and campaigns are performing so you ensure optimal results.
Track and Analyze Performance
Tracking and analyzing your results is crucial to understanding the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns. Set up tracking for key conversion points, such as registration completions or ticket purchases and use analytics to monitor which ads are performing well and why and adjust your strategies accordingly. Doing this will not only help you optimize ongoing campaigns, but it will also provide valuable insights for future event marketing strategies.
Conclusion
PPC campaigns are a dynamic tool that seeks to maximize exposure and drive attendance for all variations of events. Understanding your audience, crafting targeted ads, and continuously optimizing based on ad performance allows you to significantly enhance the reach and success of your global events. As you prepare for your next big event, integrate these PPC strategies to not only meet but exceed your marketing objectives, ensuring your event gets the attendance it deserves!
Are you ready to boost your event’s visibility with powerful PPC campaigns? Whether you’re new to PPC or looking to enhance your existing campaigns, GoViral is here to help! If you have any questions or need more information on how to effectively leverage PPC for maximum event exposure, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Contact GoViral Digital today to learn how our expertise can bring PPC campaigns and event management to the next level.