Marketing, like all endeavors, evolves over time. The mom and pop stores and the Sears catalog gave way to downtown shopping districts and, later, shopping malls. Many brands adapted, transitioning from small footprints and mail order, to large showcase stores. Then came big box outlets, a discount version of mall department stores where you could buy just about anything.

In the early 2000s, as more consumers logged onto the internet and stayed, retailers and marketers saw something new coming over the horizon, but it would have to be built largely from scratch. Consumers would need to be taught how to search for what they wanted and how to use the software that allowed them to buy those products and services. Thanks, in large part, to Apple and Microsoft, that hurdle was leapt over fast and easy.

Less than a decade after the first iPhone was released, nearly everyone was carrying a smartphone and shopping malls across the country were closing up as major U.S. department store brands struggled to stay afloat or closed forever. It became crystal clear that digital marketing was no longer an add-on or a luxury option. It was fast becoming the consumer go-to, which meant brands and businesses had to adapt or die.

The question is: how to stand out in a crowded and noisy internet marketplace? Some of the answer to that lies in applying a good, old fashioned brick-and-mortar approach to consumer service.

Successful merchants are realize that experience is still the key to success. It doesn’t matter if the business is in a building or on the web, customers will come back if they have a good experience – and they will leave if they don’t. If it’s easy to find items, the prices are clearly marked, and the item is clearly described, consumers are happy. If they can’t navigate the site, or if the item description leaves them with more questions than answers, it’s easy for them to click away.

Another winning strategy is adding a personal touch. One of the lost experiences of shopping at a mom and pop store is entering a place where everyone knows your name, where the consumer is greeted warmly by people they recognize who clearly appreciate their business. Thanks to smart search and big data engines, online merchants have the ability to instantly customize every shopper’s experience, whether it’s curating the product options based on previous visits or connecting the consumer with a personal shopper to help answer their questions.

Cross-promotion is another tactic that worked in stores and will work online. Leveraging social media and similar products offerings, online stores can connect customers with their brand in a way that is non-intrusive and often welcomed, even if the customer isn’t in the market at that time.

In the end, nothing trumps experience. Even if the customer is shopping on price, they want to find the lowest price or the best value quickly. Ease of use, combined with a friendly, personal greeting, can bring the brick-and-mortar experience online, increasing customer loyalty in the process in an age when being spoiled for options makes it challenging to keep them coming back.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations. 5W PR is a leading digital pr and influencer marketing agency.

“Who is the customer,” and “what do they want?” Boil all the jargon and these are the two most vital questions every marketer needs to answer. The process of finding the answers to these questions is called marketing orientation.

The point of this process is to develop a strategy that places the brand in a better position to find the right customers, connect with those customers, and meet their needs. Four vital elements of this process are identification, explanation, assimilation, and direction.

Identification

This is the step during which stakeholders within the business or brand identify and clearly define the challenge the brand is facing. Examples might include, shifting consumer tastes, changing trends, new competition, market confusion, growth problems, disconnection, or a host of other issues. These challenges should be informed by and filtered through company values and overarching goals.

Assumptions here can cause failure to launch. The answers to “what’s wrong” or “what are we facing” must be clear, solid, and backed by hard data. Otherwise, any subsequent action plans will be vague and less effective.

Explanation

Once the challenge has been clearly defined, and a plan has been crafted to meet this challenge, it must be properly and accurately communicated to the rest of the team. Believe it or not, this is where many well-crafted, well-intentioned plans go off the rails. Poor or insufficient internal communication.

This stage isn’t just about getting everyone on the same page – though that’s part of it – a key goal here is to connect everyone on the team to the plan in a specific way. Give them something to work toward and for, as well as a goal that, when accomplished, they can be proud of. There is often a weeding out process implicit in this step. Some folks may not be interested in getting on board, and they may have to go, but if this is the direction the brand is going in, they need all hands rowing in the same direction.

Assimilation

That collective will to work towards the same goal is vital because the next stage – assimilation – will likely require some changes in protocols, responsibilities, and day-to-day work. Not change for the sake of change, but shifts to better implement or “assimilate” the new plan and goals into the work the brand is already doing.

Expect to do some training, create some reward or incentive structure, and open opportunities for people to shine. Expect some employees to surprise you while others will need some extra help or encouragement. There will likely be similar shifts with customer-facing operations as new or improved ways to connect, create value, and meet needs. 

Direction

No marketing plan should ever be considered a “set it and forget it” exercise. Every operation will need review and maintenance. The need for course corrections will arise, so the ways and means of building momentum and keeping it going will require direction long after the launch. New people may need to be brought on, new ideas heard and tried, new information gathered, and new metrics measured. This will be an ongoing process.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations. 5W PR is a leading digital pr and influencer marketing agency.

The world of social media is an ever-evolving beast, so it helps to get an update on the current state of affairs from time to time. Here are the six primary categories of social media as of 2020, each with their own unique characteristics and marketing strengths.

Social Networks

When most people think of social media, they tend to imagine social networking sites. A social networking site is a platform that allows people from similar backgrounds or with similar interests to connect online. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the top three social network platforms for the time being, though 2020 may be a pivotal year for several new contenders in the market. 

Social News

Social news sites are aggregators that allow users to post news links to external sites, on which other users can then vote submissions up or down in a way that affects their overall exposure. In practice, this means that links with the highest number of votes are the most prominently displayed.

Reddit is an excellent example of a social news platform that has weathered the ages. Members of the reddit platform submit content like links, text posts or images, organised into separate, user-created boards called “subreddits.” As of 2019, the site ranked as the fifth most visited website in the US.

Microblogging

Microblogging platforms are sites that allow users to post short written entries, which can include links to product and service sites, or links to other social media platforms. Microblogging sites typically build a “wall” or “newsfeed” to allow for specific sharing with followers.

The most well-known microblogging platform is Twitter, with more than 321 million monthly active users. The first tweet was sent in March 2006, when co-founder Jack Dorsey posted “just setting up my twttr.”

Bookmarking Sites

Bookmarking sites are used to save and organize links from the internet’s plethora of online resources and websites. These sites typically allow users to “tag” or categorize these links, making it easier to share with specific groups of followers.

Pinterest is a great example of a hugely successful bookmarking site, with more than 300 million active monthly users, though Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann has described the site as more of a “catalogue of ideas” than a social network.

Media Sharing

Media sharing platforms allow users to share a range of media online; in practice, images and video dominate these sites. YouTube has been one of the world’s most well-known media sharing platforms since its launch in 2005. In 2019, more than 500 hours of video content were being uploaded to the platform every minute.

Community Blogs

Oftentimes, sharing a core message online without maintaining a self-hosted website or outlet is more than enough for a brand. This is where community blogging platforms can provide an essential service, and help communicators reach audiences with minimal fuss.

Some examples of community blogs include Medium, a relatively new online publishing platform dedicated to so-called “social journalism,” and Tumblr, a microblogging platform designed for the sharing of multimedia and short-form blogging.

As with all things in the digital marketing market, the realm of social media shifts and changes by the day. This list may look completely different a year from now.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations. 5W PR is a leading digital pr and influencer marketing agency.

Influencer marketing continues to grow in popularity as its effectiveness is proven, time and time again. The number of personalities working as influencers continues to increase, offering smart marketers real-life and real-time examples of what to do and what not to do when attempting to employ influencers in marketing campaigns.

Here are some of the best practices marketers and brand managers should use to get the most out of their influencer marketing campaigns.

Consider Clout, Not Just Numbers

The key to success with most influencers is finding the right niche. Going off the number of followers or scope of influence alone does not necessarily guarantee results. The most important metric for influencers is, indeed, influence. How well and how often do they cause their fans to make buying decisions or to choose one brand or product over another? How much trust has been cultivated between the fan and influencer, and how eager are those followers to emulate that influencer?

Consider, if you have two influencers, one with an audience of 10,000 committed fans, and one with an audience of 100,000 casual followers, who has the most influence? The answer to that question is really in the question: “how many move when the influencer suggests?”

Choose an Influencer Who Represents the Vision

Brands are not just promoting their products, they are promoting the experience that goes with their products. If an influencer lives and acts in a way that lessens that experience or tarnishes that vision, they can create a net loss for the brand, even if some of their fans end up buying. Influencers are most effective when they are living the lifestyle represented by the brand, when their shared content paints a complementary picture of a life including what matters to the owners and users of that brand.

Create a Collaborative Plan

Brands that just hire an influencer and turn them loose can see their good intentions implode all around them. Influencer campaigns work best when the influencer works with the brand to create a campaign that works for both the brand and the influencer. That way, each person understands their role and responsibility, and the influencer is working from a script with built-in brand protections.

Offer Easily Shareable Value

Brands that give influencers something to share with their audience, that the audience can then easily promote on their accounts, create an exponentially-spreading web of positive responses to their brand or product. It’s a simple, easy step that’s so obvious some brand managers just miss it. Don’t just depend on the influencer to spread the story, give their fans something to say, to do, and to interact with.

While following these guidelines cannot guarantee success, this template offers a strong beginning to a successful influencer marketing effort.