Business customers do the majority of their decision-making online. Gartner research shows that in 2019 27% of buying groups’ time was spent researching independently online.
This figure has now increased, with Hubspot’s research suggesting that “58% of consumers say they’ve discovered at least one new product by searching the internet in 2022, and 44% say they’ve done so in the past three months.”
But a buyer’s time is precious and it’s important you aren’t cold calling or interrupting their workday, you want to meet them at a time that is convenient for them.
Digital marketing meets prospects where they are, whether that’s via their browser, their favourite sites or on social media channels such as LinkedIn. It can put your product or services in front of the right people, at the right time.
“86% of marketers increased brand awareness using one or more digital marketing channel” – Hubspot
While it presents great opportunities, the digital landscape is unique and ever-changing. It’s constantly evolving and updating to offer new ways of reaching your target audience.
So, with that in mind, we’ve put this guide together to help you efficiently create, optimise and maintain your all-important digital marketing strategy in just a few easy steps.
When it comes to digital marketing strategy, one size really doesn’t fit all. So, before you get started, it’s important to tailor your approach for your audience.
Using an analytics platform, you can answer the crucial questions that will inform your marketing strategy and ensure you’re targeting the right people. With platforms like GA4 (previously Google Analytics) you can learn who your target audience is and how current website visitors are engaging with your content.
Using the information you’ve gathered from your analytics platform, you can enhance your strategy with detailed buyer personas. Getting to the heart of your audience and their needs is vital. You need to work out where they are most likely to spend their time and how they prefer to digest digital content. This will give you a benchmark on how to create yours.
You will need to review your existing digital marketing channels. We recommend using the paid-earned-owned media framework.
This will ensure you can maximise value from existing assets and fill in the gaps where needed.
Review and rank all your existing content according to what has previously performed well. The idea here is to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, so you can set yourself up for success when planning new content. You’ll then need to identify the gaps and build out a new content plan.
“Worldwide ad spending in the digital market is projected to reach 679.80 billion USD in 2023″ – Statista
Once all the planning is out of the way, it’s time to define your digital marketing toolkit. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a go-to selection to get the wheels of change in motion (and by change, we mean growth).
The first thing you’ll want to get right is your website. How is it ranking in organic search results? What keywords are your competitors ranking for that you’re not? Is the user journey working well? Are your CTAs converting? Does your website meet accessibility standards and user experience (UX) best practices? These are all questions you’ll want to ask yourself before working to get more traffic to your site.
A great, well-written blog that solves a customer problem is a great way to attract new audiences with a genuine interest in your products and services. And because you’ve crafted your personas and drilled down into the pain points of your target audience, you’re fully prepped to write or commission highly targeted content that’s helpful for your reader.
Social media advertising can drive leads, boost revenue, increase brand awareness and more. It’s where your customers feel most at home, and where they prefer to spend their free time. This creates an opportunity to engage more authentically and have more meaningful interactions.
Did you know according to Hubspot research there are over 2.38 billion monthly active users on Facebook? And 500 million daily Instagram users?
Social media has an impressive reach and great effectiveness, it allows you to nurture leads in real time. With social ads, you can set your budget and easily adjust it within the platform you’re using.
PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is a highly favoured part of the digital marketer’s toolkit. This is because it can have a big impact in the short-term and show clear results. But it’s worth noting that it’s most effective in combination with always-on brand activity and well-optimised organic content.
PPC (pay-per click) is a form of advertising that allows you to pay a fee each time a user clicks through to your website from another platform.
Typically, when we talk about PPC, we mean advertising on the search engine results page (SERP). PPC advertising is commonly seen on Google results, showing up like this:
View image in blog here.
“63% of people have clicked on a Google ad” – Statista. How can PPC boost your digital presence? PPC advertising increases the number of leads and customers you’re reaching, unlocking otherwise untapped potential.
Google Ads is one of the most recommended tools for lead generation. If your campaigns are set up properly with a clear user journey, it has the potential to send extremely targeted leads to your website, opt-in form or other online property.
Google Ads allows you to focus on the people who are searching for the exact services your business offers, it’s also flexible. You can easily customise campaigns to focus on specific demographics of online users. For example, you can target people by location, the type of device they’re using, and the Google-owned websites they’re accessing (e.g. Google search, Google Maps, YouTube).
You can even set your own budget for specific parts of a campaign. For example, you can set daily budgets, or limits on the amount you’re willing to spend on clicks for specific keywords.
“The average cost per click on google ads is £0.75-£1.50″ – Demandsage
But you won’t get far on spending alone.
To get a clearer picture of what will give you the best results, you must continually test, track and optimise your campaigns.
“The average conversion rate on Google Ads is 4.40%” – Consolidata
So, now you know how to prepare a digital marketing strategy. And all the key components that will help you grow your online presence.
But as every marketer knows, the proof is in the pudding. By which we mean, growth relies on constant trial and error, A/B testing, research, analytics, and a constant stream of top-quality content that brings all your goals to fruition.
And that’s a hell of a lot to implement – even for a whole team of marketers.
That’s why we’re offering a free, no obligations consultation on your digital marketing strategy and marketing automation potential.
In uncertain economies, it’s understandable that businesses review their budgets. Often, marketing spend is one of the first costs to be slashed – part of a defensive, cost-cutting strategy.
This ‘batten down the hatches’ approach is an instinctive reaction. Why keep spending when every penny counts? But the data speaks for itself. This is a time for marketers to be proactive, not reactive.
A Harvard Business School study of 4,700 businesses during past recessions found that those who reduced costs selectively were 37% more likely to come out of the period in a stronger position than their competitors. By focusing more on operational efficiency, while investing in marketing, R&D, and new assets, these businesses could stay ahead of the competition and hit the ground running when the economy bounced back.
“…those who reduced costs selectively were 37% more likely to come out of the period in a stronger position than their competitors…”
To many, this may feel counter-intuitive. But brand growth is driven by an investment in long-lasting commercial impact. And, as any professional investor will tell you, success lies in buying low and selling high. In times of recession, media is cheaper, and the landscape is quieter as your competitors begin to retreat. So, the longer-term impact – as we come out of recession – should be greater.
That’s the theory anyway.
Luckily, there’s robust data to support this theory. The WPP Centre for Research and Development provides us with important insights from the past into the performance of brands through a downturn. It bases its analysis on data from the Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS) database.
The PIMS database is the only source from the past that contains both marketing data and financial information for the same brands throughout the period of the study.
It’s tempting for businesses to show bottom-line results by cutting advertising spend in a downturn, especially when under pressure to report short-term quarterly results to investors.
However, the PIMS data shows that cutting advertising spend in a downturn doesn’t increase your short-term profits.
The WPP paper concludes: “Those that cut their advertising expenditure in a recession lose no less in terms of profitability than those who actually increase spending by an average of 10%. In other words, cutting advertising spend to increase short-term profits doesn’t seem to work.”
Whilst it might seem risky to increase spend in a challenging economy, the data from the PIMS database shows that it’s easier to gain market share in a downturn than it is in better market conditions.
“businesses in the PIMS database enjoy a higher rate of share growth during downturns, and a lower rate of share increase during stable periods and periods of growth.”
View image 1 in blog here.
View image 2 in blog here.
Increasing market share increases marketing ROI in the long run.
Increasing marketing spend in a downturn will naturally show a short-term fall in ROI for most businesses, depending on their sector. Figure 3 shows, on average a reduction of 1.9%.
However, there’s only a 0.1% difference between those cutting their spend by an average of 11%, and those increasing spend by an average of 10%.
View image 3 in blog here.
As we’ve seen from the data in Figure 1, even a moderate increase in spend resulted, on average, in an increased market share during a downturn.
For larger increases in investment, the WPP paper comments: “Brands increasing their spending by an average of 48% during a recession win virtually double the share gains of those who increase their expenditures more modestly. While this aggressive increase in advertising is associated with a drop in return on investment of 2.7% in the short term, it may nevertheless be acceptable to the marketer looking ahead to post-recession growth.”
Further, as demonstrated in figure 4, there’s a substantial body of evidence to show that a larger share of the market generally leads to a higher return on marketing investment in the longer term.
View image 4 in blog here.
So, we know there’s a case for being especially intentional about marketing during a downturn. But what should that look like?
A proactive approach to marketing during a recession should focus on maintaining a consistent and confident presence. This means keeping up with brand awareness campaigns and ensuring your identity, messaging and value proposition stay true, relevant and strong. It’s the wrong time to shy away from stand-out, brand-led marketing.
As The Drum puts it: “All these brand DNA pieces need to be considered and are valuable in building strong, long-lasting relationships with customers – especially during tough economic times where they are more cautious with where and how they are spending their money.”
So even scaling back on advertising could be a mistake if you want to gain market share and a competitive advantage. And while investing in SEO, PPC and lead generation might seem more pressing than brand and awareness, a strong, visible presence might just be the key to long-term success.
Don’t dismiss this case study because P&G is a large consumer brand. Studies by Binet & Field show that the principles of B2C brand building apply equally to B2B brands.
Without a doubt, the decisions we make today will affect the health of our businesses substantially for the longer term. So now, more than ever, we should ground our strategies in empirical data to avoid strategies based on fear and emotion.
So, while we’re all under considerable pressure to revisit our marketing strategies, remember the evidence from the past:
Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)117 923 2282
Love your brand? Thank the copywriter.
At Proctor + Stevenson we celebrate all creative work, and it’s all about the collaboration. Each successful campaign is a brilliant balancing act of copy, design, digital ingenuity, expert project management and the client’s goals. But we’ve noticed, outside of our creative bubble, that copy’s involvement is often sadly underestimated.
Now, before you get your tiny violin out for our copywriters, they’re doing fine. In fact, we’ve got a thriving team here at P+S that takes care of everything from UX, SEO and content creation to brand positioning, ad concepts and video scripts.
But there often seems to be a misconception that copywriters are, first and foremost, content creators, blog writers or comms specialists. Our clients are often surprised (and hopefully delighted) by how heavily involved our copywriters are – in everything from information architecture and UX design to brand strategy and campaign concepting.
We often think of brand as a congregation of visual elements – logos, fonts, colour palettes etc. And these are critical components. But good branding is more than just a pretty face – it’s strategic, carefully considered messaging.
It’s your company’s personality – bridging the gap between head and heart. Which is why it can have such an impact on your performance and position within the market.
“…good branding is more than just a pretty face – it’s strategic, carefully considered messaging…”
Think of your brand as a 3D reflection of your business with many different faces – like a Rubik’s cube. Along with the logo, colour palette, fonts and marks, your brand is represented by your mission, vision, purpose and your voice – the elements our copywriters craft with care behind the scenes. And all things that should shine through consistently across every touchpoint.
“…a copywriter builds the foundation for your brand, without which it wouldn’t even stand up, never mind standing out…”
With the visual elements of your brand – you attract, entice and captivate. But with your voice, you engage, persuade and compel. And engagement is what humanises, builds trust and – ultimately – makes the sale. If branding is about connecting with your audience, the way you communicate, or your tone of voice, is just as important as your visual identity. A copywriter builds the foundation for your brand, without which it wouldn’t even stand up, never mind standing out.
It’s exactly what it sounds like. Your tone of voice (ToV) is the way your brand speaks to its audience – the unique characteristics that set your communications apart.
Are you bold and confident like Apple? Motivational and inspiring like Nike? Are you adventurous and rebellious like RedBull?
Just like when you meet a person for the first time, the way a business communicates can seriously impact a consumer’s first impression. It can also become the foundation for your ongoing relationship. In both B2C and B2B marketing, ToV is what keeps your company communications authentic, trustworthy and engaging.
“…a first-class ToV guide is what keeps your brand feeling, and sounding, real. It’s the basis of all the conversations you have with your customers going forward…”
A first-rate ToV guide is what keeps your brand feeling, and sounding, real. It’s the basis of all the conversations you have with your customers going forward. When putting your tone of voice guidelines together, the copywriter will ensure your business can consistently represent itself in a way that gives the right first impression, builds trust, and nurtures relationships. It will also help you stand out in your market for the right reasons – whether that’s because you’re more disruptive, more reliable or more knowledgeable than competitors, for example.
When it comes to building trust with your audience, consistency is key. And unfortunately, visual consistency just won’t cut it. So we pack our guidelines with clear and useful information, making sure anyone who speaks on behalf of your brand can talk the talk.
You might have studied English at university. You’re probably well read. You’re certainly intelligent. Maybe you’ve worked in marketing for many years, writing a vast proportion of the comms and content. So why would you trust a copywriter to do it better than you?
It’s simple really – because copywriters are the experts. They know what sells. They know what compels. They know what converts. That’s what they’re trained to do.
“…from your USPs to your KPIs, we’ve always got your best interests at heart – and we know what interests your target audience…”
In the same way that anyone can create a Squarespace website or an AI-generated image, anyone can write copy. But if you want a site that’s tailored to your needs and built with your business in mind, you need a great digital designer or UX expert. If you need a unique graphic language to set your brand apart, you need a graphic designer. Your brand’s story and tone of voice are no different – you need a copywriter.
Imagine Nike without ‘Just do it.’ Remember Specsavers before ‘should’ve gone to…’?
And what if L’Oreal hadn’t told you ‘you’re worth it.’ Sure, these brands would all still exist, but there’s no doubt their success, memorability and share of market is, in part, down to clever copywriting and brilliant brand-led campaigns.
And here’s one from the history books. In 1911, Morton began adding an anti-caking agent to their salt, making it what the brand called the ‘first free-flowing salt.’ Presumably what came before was prone to clumping, shortening its useful shelf life.
Three years later, the brand came out with the slogan: ‘When it rains, it pours’ and introduced the Morton Salt Girl.
On its website, Morton notes that many branding enthusiasts and authorities called this combination ‘one of the greatest branding triumphs of all time’.
Very often, it’s the copywriter who writes your mission, vision and purpose statements. They often write your values, capture your personality – which will later be visualised by our designers – and craft your tone of voice.
Without all of this, your brand would be a hollow shell – beautiful on the outside, but with no signs of life or pearls of wisdom to offer. And your audience will see right through it.
“Copywriters at Proctor + Stevenson wear many hats. We write marketing material, of course –ads, brochures, e-books, newsletters, video scripts. If there are words, we’ve written them. But we also strategise, plan content, craft creative concepts for ad campaigns, and we play a pivotal role in branding projects.”
Our team gets involved from the outset of a branding campaign, gathering insight on your company’s (current and aspirational) personality, values, mission and modus operandi. From your USPs to your KPIs, they get to know your business inside-out.
Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)117 923 2282
Internal branding and communication are a critical part of the marketing mix for any company. Your business needs to be a place people want to work. And that goes beyond simply listing the benefits and occasionally posting something on the intranet.
Your employees need to understand your purpose and ambition, and why it should matter to them. They need to consistently feel engaged and be kept in the loop. Engaged employees become advocates for the brand, which can have a tangible impact.
And why do you need them?
Engaging ‘brand ambassadors’ within an organisation can ensure your brand is communicated effectively and consistently between employees, leadership and the business itself. Whether it’s through workshop events, campaigns, or organically through your culture, it’s important to educate employees on your brand, its values and what’s expected of them.
“…engaged employees become advocates for the brand, and that can have a tangible impact…”
According to Deloitte, 73% of employees are more engaged when they believe they work for a purpose-driven company. And, as the Hinge Research Institute states:
“A formal employee advocacy program helps shorten the sales cycle. Nearly 64% of advocates in a formal program credited employee advocacy with attracting and developing new business, and nearly 45% attribute new revenue streams to employee advocacy.”
Prysmian Group is a global manufacturing giant, with over 28,000 employees worldwide. Sometimes that means that, when an opportunity comes up, the best person for the job already works for the company. But they might be on the other side of the world.
Prysmian’s HR and internal communications team needed a way to let the whole company know about these vacancies. It had to be distinct from other internal communications and stand out on the intranet.
“…a tried and tested model, all wrapped up with an eye-catching, stand-out brand campaign across various digital touchpoints…”
So we took the idea of ‘Internal Job Posting’ and made the IJP brand and campaign. By including real Prysmian people and sharing their internal recruitment story with the rest of the company, we were able to paint those who had already successfully used the service as champions, advocates and advisors.
Knowing that people you know or recognise have already been through the process builds trust. We were able to take away the ‘leap of faith’ feeling – delivering a tried and tested model, all wrapped up with an eye-catching, stand-out brand campaign across various digital touchpoints.
View video in blog here.
Prysmian Group also has a programme called YES, which stands for Your Employee Shares, which gives a discounted rate to employees wanting to invest in the company, plus some free additional shares that can be sold for the full rate 36 months later. The aim is simple – reward and encourage loyalty.
In 2018, Prysmian Group acquired its American competitor, General Cable. There was some resistance to this from the new American team, as there often is when competitors merge. So Prysmian wanted the newly expanded group of companies to get off on the right foot, and to welcome the new General Cable employees in with open arms (and a new perk).
We updated the YES brand to make new and existing shareholders the spokespeople for the programme, with their ‘signatures’ all over the campaign. This meant we needed lots of original footage of those enrolled in the programme emphatically showing their support.
“…the results exceeded all expectations, doubling the number of employee shareholders in just 12 months…”
There are only small windows where people have the chance to buy into the scheme, so we had to get our timings, impact and delivery methods spot on. Lots of Prysmian’s workers don’t regularly need to use a computer for work, so the approach needed to be hybrid – on and offline – and cohesive throughout.
The results exceeded all expectations, doubling the number of employee shareholders in just 12 months.
The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) was in desperate need of a brand that reflected the ambitious and aspirational aims of the fund – to reduce poverty in member countries.
The brand needed to be something the internal team understood and could rally behind and be proud of. And it needed to be more clearly in line with the rest of the IsDB Group, which holds a lot of political capital.
As part of the discovery process, which is critical to the success of any branding and change-communication piece, we gathered inputs from a cross-section of the organisation, as well as some of the external bodies they work with in the NGO and not-for-profit sector. This meant we could accurately address the needs of the wider team.
So one of the core deliverables of our branding process was a simplified strategy document, an employee handbook, a poster with the key themes of the new brand, and a simplified version of the brand guidelines, which will all be used at ISFD’s ‘launch’ day.
This would give the whole team the understanding and the knowledge to apply and represent the brand in the best and most accurate way possible, and articulate why it is so important.
The success of each of the projects we’ve highlighted relied on getting the right information to the right people, at the right time. This is the core principle of all good marketing.
You need to bang the drum. Communicate your values and your mission – share the reason your team should be as passionate as you are.
Internal marketing has impact from the top down. Deloitte finds that “82 percent of leaders who say their companies have a strong sense of purpose expect to grow […] compared to just 67 percent of leaders who didn’t feel that sense.”
“…you need to bang the drum. Communicate your values and your mission – share the reason your team should be as passionate as you are…”
If your colleagues are singing from the same hymn sheet, they will feel more engaged, more included, and more supportive of your common goals. And the way they speak to external partners, suppliers and customers will align seamlessly with your outbound marketing and brand messaging.
Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)117 923 2282
2023 was something of a wild ride.
Google gave us more core updates than ever before, the AI conversation reached a media fever pitch, all the while businesses continued to navigate economically uncertain times.
When it comes to looking ahead to the rest of the year, one thing that we can always be certain of is uncertainty. But embracing change can be a tightrope walk.
On one hand, you want to push the envelope, grow, and embrace new things. But on the other, you want to be cautious and only fully adopt those changes that bring you actual benefits and results.
The only way to be able to manage change is to be open-minded. Be quick to try new things but be even quicker to move on from those that do not serve your needs.
Our annual Communications Trends and How to Spend report explores what’s on the horizon; looking at everything from AI to ESG and sustainability, how client servicing is shifting and why Google’s next core update, might just be its most impactful to date.
The rise of AI over the last 12 months has been nothing short of sensational. But there have been some high-profile blunders, that we all should learn from.
A lot of the discourse around AI has been centred around it ‘replacing’ creatives. But we need only look to Google’s launch of Bard to see that this isn’t, or shouldn’t, be the case.
In being overly reliant on the accuracy of its own AI, Google wiped a huge amount off its share value overnight. This is proof enough that human involvement in the creative process isn’t at risk of being replaced. As Izzy, our content manager explains:
“Despite concerns regarding its impact on creativity, the reception of AI in content creation is largely contingent on how we use it. Creators will have more time to refine their ideas in areas where human ingenuity remains indispensable as AI becomes an ally to tasks.”
AI is where we should be the most inquisitive. Many platforms are now caveating that their results may not always be accurate. Being over-reliant on its outputs may not be best for business.
Video remains king of the hill when it comes to content, that’s not a ground-breaking statement.
But where businesses can and will find greater success, particularly with their owned content, is recognising that production value is not the marker for success, authenticity is.
“There is still a place for larger-scale production and video content. Audiences still want to be wowed by content. But that kind of strategy can’t really be maintained.” Says Simon, our Marketing Operations Manager.
Creating content is no longer about those big, expensive content set pieces. Look at TikTok, we’re now seeing more businesses and corporates taking up the platform. But the big lesson here is not trying to force your will upon the platform.
Those who are leaning into the platform, keeping it low-key and light-hearted are the ones getting noticed… and will continue to do so.
In the longer term, as both potential customer bases and workforces become younger and even more digitally native, this kind of authentic content-driven presence will be the difference maker when it comes to brand loyalty from within and without.
Whatever product or service you’re delivering, client servicing is now up for scrutiny, like it never has been before. As our client services director, Helen explains:
“It’s no longer sufficient to be seen to be helpful, responsive and good to work with. Clients want to better understand the how.”
This could be anything from clients wanting to understand your ways of working. They’ll want to get under the skin of your processes and your best practices. The agency/client relationship now goes far deeper than just service provision.
Shared ethos is now crucial and there’s a new level of transparency, particularly around planning and measuring success, that needs to be considered. Particularly for those seeking to build long-term relationships built on mutual success.
It’s a question that’s been asked many times in the last 12 months.
The search giant usually puts out one core update per year. Last year, they put out four. As our strategy lead, Joe explains:
“A lot of this has been around Google’s ever-impactful E-E-A-T guidelines. Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness are all key things that content needs to showcase to get ranked highly.”
For a lot of businesses, this was a lot of change in a short space of time. These updates had immediate effects on content and web traffic. Many businesses are still clawing back the online reputations they’d built before these core updates.
But Google is set to roll out perhaps its most impactful ‘hidden gem’ update this year.
“This update will seek to showcase personal opinions on the SERP (search engine results pages), which means that we could see social media accounts getting airtime on SERPs, blog posts being returned, and even forums such as Reddit could get page one visibility.”
At AMBITIOUS we are committed to staying at the cutting edge of our industry,
With our comprehensive approach that follows our insights, ideas and impact model, we have the structure, expertise and services to ensure resilience to market changes. We also recognise that effective and authentic comms can help businesses stay ahead of the competition, in an increasingly competitive digital and traditional comms landscape.
To read our Communications Trends and How to Spend report in full visit: https://www.ambitiouspr.co.uk/trends-spends-24/
Halo continues to strengthen its strategic offer with the appointment of Matt Crisp.
Matt is a leading creative and strategic thinker, bringing with him brand and commercial management experience from his 9 years at Diageo. He subsequently was MD of Brave, one of the UK’s leading independent creative agencies, growing global brands such as Fever Tree, Adidas, Panasonic and Green & Black’s.
Matt moved from agency life to take on a number of private and public sector advisory roles in smart cities, technology, media and mobility, with a track record in building high growth companies.
Matt will work alongside Halo’s teams and clients to develop insightful strategies and effective creative solutions to improve business performance and audience experience.
Hannah Williams, Halo’s recently appointed MD, says, “we’re thrilled to bring Matt’s level of expertise into Halo at this pivotal point in our agency’s growth. Matt’s appointment will help ignite our 2024 ambitions and build on the excellence of our strategic capabilities”.
Nick Ellis, Creative Partner and Halo co-founder says, “We’ve known Matt for over 10 years and in that time we’ve created significant work for retailer clients and FMCG brands together. Matt joining the team full-time is a natural move for us, and underlines our commitment to further strengthen and grow our strategy practice”.
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About Halo
Halo is a full-service, independent brand agency, partnering with household names evolving and renewing their propositions, challengers disrupting the status quo and start-ups beginning the journey.
We develop strategies to deliver a competitive edge and physical & digital experiences that connect with audiences on-screen and in-person; making sure brands are recognised, remembered and encouraging action.
With joined-up thinking & inspiring, creative energy, we improve audience experience and ultimately business performance.
halostudio.love
Content marketing has become an essential strategy for business growth. But with so many options available, how do you choose the right content formats to achieve your goals?
This comes down to a question of, what do you want to achieve. Because not all content marketing is made equal.
Before you’ve even made a piece of content, let alone published it. You need to consider a number of factors, from your audience and prospective customers, buyer journeys, timeframes and what you want to achieve from your content marketing efforts.
The most successful content marketing examples are built and grounded in this strategic understanding of a business’s audiences and objectives.
Your content strategy should map to your audience’s buyer journey.
Understanding the different stages and how different content marketing formats and types fit within each stage will allow you to make the most of your content marketing strategies.
At this point, content should inform, entertain and engage. The purpose is to hook potential customers, not to sell to them.
Blog posts, whitepapers, and social media help raise awareness of a problem your product solves. Focus on educating your audience at this stage. This isn’t the place for hard sales and conversion CTAs.
This is where things start to get more information and detail-driven. At this point, a potential customer will be more serious and considered about their purchasing. They may not be quite there with a final purchasing decision, so this is the time to start dialling up the informative and story-driven content.
Videos, email marketing, and social media posts can showcase your product benefits and competitive advantages. Make your content informative and story-driven.
We’re at the the end of the funnel now. Buyers are tooled up and informed. Now you have to give them a real reason, and incentive, to buy.
Free trials, coupons, case studies address final questions and objections. Give decision-makers an incentive to choose you over competitors.
The more versatile your content, the more effective and efficient it will be.
You should not be making content solely exclusive to one channel or output. When you’re planning and putting together your content strategy. Consider how you can ‘sweat your assets’ and create a versatile multi-channel content strategy.
As for what adaptable content is, this can really vary. Hero video content can be broken down into smaller pieces of shareable snippets. This can then be used across all of your owned channels.
White papers and reports can be broken up into blog content and multi-channel social media campaigns.
Don’t put the blinkers on your content strategy. Repurpose, reuse and re-engage.
To ensure your content is shareable, ask yourself if the content gives you a reason to be shared.
Does it offer insight into an issue, concern or problem? Does it ignite the imagination and inspire ideas? Or does it show impact and results that really wow?
Then ask yourself, would I share this personally?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a one size fits all approach to creating shareable content. There is no one winning formula. Every business, every audience and every industry is different.
But fundementally, shareable content is interesting content. So prioritize creating content that is interesting.
Your content strategy should but tuned to your business goals. What is the purpose of your content? What output is it aligned too?
Is it brand awareness, pushing certain products or services, or are you looking for lead generation or driving conversations and engagement?
Don’t just create your content and then try to tack activation and strategy on at the point of delivery. Create content to match the desired outcome.
Analyze performance data to see what content resonates best with your audience. Refine your strategy based on insights.
AB test your content, to trial combinations of copy and creative. Take what’s working, remove what isn’t and learn from your analytics. A data-driven approach helps create a content marketing flywheel, where you continually optimize content for impact.
Even the most creative and insightful piece of content marketing can be brought low by bad timing.
Whether this is trying to come in with a hard-line sales message too early in the incubation period, or being unaware of how external factors, such as news agendas, sector-specific or even global issues, may have impacts on your content… external factors can and will impact your content marketing strategy. So there has to be a certain level of pliability in your approach.
From a funnel perspective. The 95-5 rule tells us that 95% of an audience will be ‘out of market’ and AirBnB learned the hard way, how external events can impact your content marketing.
Content creation is so much more than just pumping out images and videos to the world.
Effective content creation and content marketing strategies are built around goals and outcomes. Simply making content, for the sake of making content, will not give you the ROI you desire. So it’s really important to know your audiences and what kinds of content they are most reactive and receptive to.
You also don’t have to have Hollywood-level production, to create content. In fact, in many instances, a more stripped-back production value is more beneficial than something slick and expensive looking… an iPhone can be a content marketer’s best friend.
But, the most important thing to note… make interesting content.
Everyone is looking for reach, shares and engagement. You won’t get any of this with uninteresting content. You can force all the messaging and calls to action you can in there, but if the crux of your content is boring to your audience, it isn’t going to work.
So, the next time you’re in a content planning session, or strategising for the year ahead before you’ve shot a frame. Think about about what you want to get out of this content, and what would be the most interesting way to achieve this.
Bristol Creative Industries is supporting jfdi with the 7th annual jfdi/Opinium New Business Barometer. This report is an absolute necessity for anyone who has a focus on building their agency’s new business as it will arm you with valuable insights and industry-wide stats to benchmark your performance.
If you’re an agency owner, managing director or part of your agency’s senior management team, please take a few minutes to complete the survey and you’ll receive a copy of the unique report as soon as it’s available in the new year.
In return, as well as the free report, you’ll:
jfdi will run a dedicated online roundtable for the BCI community if we get 30 responses from the region, so we encourage you to complete the survey and help make this happen.
jfdi help agencies grow by winning new business. The team are privileged to have worked with over 1000 agencies – both large and small and across marketing disciplines. The one thing they all have in common is their ambition to grow. For these bold and ambitious agencies, jfdi offer a mix of strategy, creativity and action that works in the real world not just in workshops and away-days.
The marketing sector would not exist as it does today were it not for third-party cookies. Over the past two decades, businesses have developed a heavy reliance on these bite-sized chunks of data for user insights, audience analysis and strategy development.
However, this method has faced frequent controversies and raised countless concerns regarding user privacy. As a result, the digital hemisphere is shifting, with tighter GDPR regulations leading to a future free from third-party cookies; by the end of 2024, this method of data collection may be a thing of the past.
In light of this change, alternative methods of data collection, prediction and analysis must be harnessed, filling the gap left by cookies. Machine learning algorithms, particularly those within Google Analytics 4, will play a significant role in compensating for this loss.
Before exploring the key components of this so-called ‘cookieless’ future, it is important to clarify the difference between first and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are accessible only by a website’s owner and play a vital role in collecting analytical data and optimising site functionality. In contrast, third-party cookies, created by separate domains, track a user’s behaviour across the internet. In this context, ‘cookieless’ refers to eliminating third-party tracking by internet service providers (ISPs).
Eliminating third-party cookies is certain to leave voids in online marketing. Google heavily relies on cookies for its advertising platform. However, to ensure privacy compliance, alternative methods must fill these gaps; tools such as statistical modelling, predictive analytics, and machine learning will play critical roles.
As of July 2023, Google permanently retired Universal Analytics, replacing it with Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a property now used by over 20 million websites worldwide. This transition brings significant changes for digital marketers. With a focus on user privacy, GA4 utilises AI algorithms to connect data points without third-party cookies.
By blending directly observed and modelled data, GA4 builds comprehensive and accurate datasets while complying with user privacy regulations. Moreover, AI integration and machine learning enable more precise data collection than third-party cookies, utilising predictive analytics, analytics intelligence, and behaviour modelling to compensate for cookieless browsing data loss. Below, we delve into the specifics of these features.
Among GA4’s many innovative features is the property’s capacity to predict future metrics and audiences through machine learning algorithms. As soon as data collection begins, GA4’s algorithms start learning from the information gathered, enabling the generation of projections like revenue, events, and trends based on account-specific datasets.
Additionally, GA4 utilises the data from its machine learning algorithm to create predictive audiences, forecasting which of your audience is likely to churn based on past events. This information is set to prove infinitely valuable in the development of remarketing strategies.
Moreover, GA4’s ‘consent mode’ is vital for data compliance. This feature allows businesses to create predictive data even when a user doesn’t consent to data collection. When consent is declined, GA4 uses relevant existing data to predict the user’s behaviour.
This method of behavioural modelling fills data gaps when direct observations are lacking or non-existent. Instead of cookie-shaped voids, GA4 combines observed data with behaviour models, offering comprehensive insights into user journeys and site interactions.
Alongside the above, GA4’s Analytics Intelligence functionality is set to play an important part in navigating a cookieless future. As Google describes it, analytics intelligence uses machine learning and custom configurations to understand and act on data effectively. In other words, machine learning can identify anomalies and errors while simultaneously adapting to these variations; as GA4 receives more distinctive data, its ability to detect outliers improves.
This advancement in GA4 distinguishes authentic data from anomalies, reducing reliance on third-party cookies for true ‘insight’. Unlike cookies, which are about 60% accurate at best, machine learning and analytics intelligence offer continuous enhancement opportunities.
As previously mentioned, past iterations of Google Analytics faced scrutiny for their handling and retention of data. GDPR regulations have, naturally, tightened over the past few years; Google has adjusted its software accordingly.
Alongside the implementation of machine learning algorithms, GA4 introduces a host of features focused on data compliance and user privacy. Most notably, IP anonymisation means that IP addresses are neither logged nor stored. In the tech giant’s own words, ‘analytics drops any IP addresses that it collects from EU users before logging that data via EU domains and servers.’ Whereas universal analytics collected IP addresses by default, this is no longer possible in GA4. Regarding EU privacy legislation, this is perhaps the most momentous update.
Of course, this fortification of user privacy is just the tip of the iceberg. Alongside the above mentioned IP anonymisation and consent mode, Google have introduced:
Google Analytics exists as the dominant property for good reason; its newfound capabilities balance cutting edge technologies with tightened data restrictions. That said, GDPR legislation differs in relation to server location. To ensure compliance in your region, it is essential that your property is set up in a way that does not breach privacy laws.
Without a doubt, the accessibility of machine learning in GA4 is an exciting development. Unlike previous instances that required third-party solutions, Google’s integrated features now place AI power in the palm of marketers’ hands.
Machine learning, especially that within GA4, will be crucial in filling the gaps left by third-party cookies. While the property is far from flawless, businesses should not underestimate the potential of machine learning in this platform. In a cookieless future, a certain adaptability and open-mindedness towards technology is essential.
The transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 is complete, marking the end of an era for businesses, marketers and data analysts worldwide. Following this change, it’s only right that we should question its capabilities.
What is Google’s next-generation data property really capable of? How will it change the ways in which we record and utilise data?
Most importantly, can it really predict the future?
Of the many innovative features present within GA4, its predictive capabilities and integrated machine learning algorithms are the most striking. In the right hands, these tools offer enriched data collection and advanced insights for businesses, though there are certain limitations.
Of course it’s important to remember that predicting the future is impossible, even for Google. That said, GA4’s machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics features bring us closer than ever. Using data collected from past user behaviour, the property is able to predict which customers are likely to convert, channels that will lead them there, and the devices they are most likely to browse from.
It is worth noting that these predictions are limited by both the accuracy and totality of the data from which they are drawing. In other words, the better quality the input you give GA4, the more accurate the output.
As it stands, GA4 is able to generate predictions based on three primary metrics: purchase probability, churn probability and predictive revenue.
This metric refers to the probability that a user who was active in the last 28 days will log a specific conversion event within the next 7 days.
As the name suggests, this metric refers to the probability that a user who was active on your app or site within the last 7 days and will not be active within the next 7 days.
Predicted revenue forecasts total revenue from all purchase conversions within the next 28 days from a user who was active in the last 28 days.
As touched upon earlier, future metrics are driven by predictive modelling. What this means, is that by training machine learning algorithms to respond to certain datasets, GA4 is able to forecast activity, behaviour and trends. This information can then be used to create predictive audiences.
In Google’s own words, a ‘predictive audience is an audience with at least one condition based on a predictive metric. For example, you could build an audience for ‘likely 7-day purchasers’ that includes users who are likely to make a purchase in the next 7 days.’
There are a multitude of scenarios in which predictive audiences can be used to enrich data and engage with potential customers, such as remarketing or re-engagement campaigns.
As is the case with all machine learning tools, a certain amount of pre-existing data must be collected in order to generate predictions.
Firstly, you’ll need to have at least 1000 positive and negative samples. In other words, GA4 requires data on at least 1000 purchasers or conversions (positive) and 1000 users who have not purchased (negative). Additionally, the number of non-operative or inactive users on your site must be at least 1000.
Moreover, GA4 requires the above mentioned model quality to be maintained for a certain amount of time. Usually, this is around 28 days. Audiences that do not meet these prerequisites will be deemed ‘not eligible to use’ until sufficient data is gathered.
For those working within data-driven marketing, predictive analytics exist as an opportunity to leverage insights and increase the effectiveness of your campaigns. Whether you’re looking to reduce churn rates, optimise campaign performance or ready yourself for the fast-approaching cookieless future, there are a plethora of ways in which businesses can use predictive analytics to their advantage.
Let’s be real, GA4 is by no means the finished article. Nor is it an omniscient force, here to transform the world of marketing and SEO forever. The property leaves plenty to be desired in terms of user experience and is certain to be refined over the coming months and years. The extent to which these refinements will impact its predictive capabilities is a matter of speculation, though it is safe to assume that they will only get better.
As a data driven SEO agency, we make it one of our primary missions to maintain a comprehensive and up to date understanding of Google’s latest analytics property. To this end, we possess the knowledge and experience required to leverage the full power of GA4’s cutting edge features, granting our clients valuable insights and actionable analytics that help us drive real conversions and sales.