How To Create An Impactful Influencer Marketing Campaign

November 8, 2021 Shannon Collins Influencer Marketing, Social Media  

It’s no secret that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a splash online. With the ever-changing trends and algorithms, even the best content can often fall flat. When it’s harder than ever to stand out on socials, how can you get your business in front of new eyes and potential customers? If your goal is increased brand awareness, online profile growth, and sales, then influencer marketing might be the answer. Although it may seem daunting, the reality is that a strategic influencer marketing campaign can generate incredible results for your brand. 

 

Recently at PFM, we completed an influencer marketing campaign for our client, PriceRunner. We collaborated with a host of Scottish influencers to create a campaign which demonstrated how easy and valuable price comparison really is. We challenged our influencers to create a moment with PriceRunner, showing that price comparison is not just about saving money, it’s about creating and enhancing life experiences. 

As well as some killer content, the #KitOut campaign generated: 

  • 21% increase in IG followers for @pricerunner_com
  • 52.9% increase in brand searches
  • 293k reel views
  • 68k average story reach per influencer

Sounds great, right? But where do you start? To make things a little easier, here are our top 3 tips for creating an impactful influencer marketing campaign. 

 

1. Be Picky 

Do your research and make sure you choose the right people to represent your brand. Followers are great, but engagement metrics are the real indicator of the quality of an influencer’s audience. You can find a host of free platforms and calculators online to help you evaluate these metrics. We love using Not Just Analytics and Social Blade.

As well as making sure they have great metrics, it’s also a good idea to have a look at some of their previous brand work. Is their content high quality and do they show lots of enthusiasm? How have their followers engaged with previous campaigns?

 

2. Have a Strong Concept 

When you find your people, make sure you give them an exciting concept to work with. Influencers are content creation experts and they know their audience better than anyone. They will be thrilled to receive a brief that allows them to get creative and put their own spin on the campaign. The best campaigns tell a story: try to think of a campaign that not only brings your products/service to life, but also speaks directly to the influencer’s audience.

 

3. Don’t Stop There

Now that you have all of this amazing content, it’s time to get the most out of it. The initial campaign is just the first step. Afterwards, it’s crucial to think of other ways that you can repurpose the influencer’s content to maximise your investment. You could reshare the content on your organic platforms, include it in upcoming paid ad campaigns and use it to create long-form blog content for your website – the potential reach and impact is huge! 

 

Need some expert help to make your next influencer campaign a success? Get in touch with me at [email protected], I would love to chat! 

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eCommerce and Social Media: A Look to the Future of Social Shopping

November 1, 2021 Marius Platt eCommerce, Insights, Paid Media, Small business, Social Media  

Hello everyone, my name is Marius and I’m the paid media manager here at Pilot Fish Media. Having worked on marketing campaigns around the world, I’ve found that my passion lies in eCommerce and driving sales through the use of paid ads. eCommerce brands and social media platforms are inherently intertwined. You’d be hard pushed to find any, new or old, who aren’t on social media in some capacity. I’m going to break down why this is the case, and why social media platforms are all moving towards an eCommerce approach.

 

What is an eCommerce brand?

An eCommerce brand is any company that is involved in the buying or selling of products, services, or experiences over the internet. Whenever individuals or companies are buying/selling products, services, or experiences online, they’re engaging in e-commerce. 

 

Why do eCommerce brands use social media?

Social media is an incredibly powerful marketing tool for eCommerce brands to utilise. It not only allows them to send direct traffic to their website, but it also gives them the opportunity to create and foster a community, which they can nurture in order to encourage returning custom. Whether it’s through paid social ads, organic content or influencer marketing, social media is the most important marketing tool currently available to drive sales online.

 

What is social shopping?

Social shopping or social eCommerce is when social media platforms and eCommerce platforms become one. Certain social media platforms have direct integrations with eCommerce sites such as Shopify, which allows a customer to buy products directly from their feed/shopping section. Essentially, social shopping enables social media users to shop for and purchase products on social media.

 

Which social media platforms currently have shopping tools?

Social Shopping is already a popular feature on a range of social platforms and is expected to grow rapidly. But why?

Simply put, it reduces the purchase journey for a customer to 2 steps. They engage with the product on your social media feed and then begin the checkout process. This is now possible on the below platforms who all currently use social shopping in some capacity:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Whatsapp
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • TikTok
  • WeChat

 

What does the future hold for social commerce?

Social commerce is the future and we expect it to be adopted by more platforms going forward. There will be a time in the not-so-distant future when customers in the UK can click on a product on Instagram and purchase directly within the platform. This feature currently only exists in the USA.

If you assume social media is where your target audience spends the majority of their time, then it only makes sense to sell products to them then and there. They’re already engaging actively with your brand, so there will be a sense of trust and you won’t have to move them off the platform onto a separate website. Furthermore, with all of the privacy changes (iOS14.5/death of the cookie) and the shift to ‘walled gardens’ it makes sense for platforms to keep users on the platform. They are unable to track them effectively when they leave and go to a website, and as such, if they keep users on the platform, they can collect first-party data and information.  With one of the main struggles for eCommerce brands being the streamlining of the shopping process, social media and eCommerce integration should help combat that.

China has been the country at the forefront of social commerce through WeChat. WeChat originated as a messaging app and has developed into a unique hybrid platform. Users can do everything from calling a client, or their family group chat, to paying for their taxi or weekly shop. In China where services like Facebook are banned, WeChat is the standard platform for all business and communication. When we look at how important WeChat is, it’s no surprise that such a high percentage of products purchased in China are sold through social media. In fact, in 2019, 11.6% of eCommerce sales came through social commerce.

While China is a very different market to the UK, we can clearly see some similar patterns. There’s a history of copying what works in China: FB Messenger and Whatsapp have already adopted plenty of the features as seen in the chart below on WeChat.

*

It’s clear to see then why the UK and other countries in the West would adopt social commerce going forward. It allows for a streamlined shopping experience, which is beneficial to both the customer and seller. In addition, social platforms keep users on their app and try to keep their attention there, which is every platform’s ultimate aim. They’re trading in attention. Customers will expect to be able to purchase your products on social media with a couple of clicks very soon. So get ahead of the curve and prepare your platforms for social commerce now!  

 

If you’re looking for help moving forward with social commerce, please get in touch with me at [email protected]!

 

Sources:

* https://www.bigcommerce.co.uk/blog/social-commerce/#what-does-the-future-hold-for-social-commerce

 

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Why Your Brand Needs to Find Its Voice

October 25, 2021 Freya Whiteside Branding, Small business  

The importance of speaking your audience’s language 

You never really know someone until you get talking to them, and the same goes for brands and businesses. When your brand looks the part, you want it to sound the part too. But how do you start creating a voice that communicates who you are and what you stand for that really resonates with your audience? 

In this blog, we’re deep diving into why your brand tone of voice is an essential part of helping your customers get to know you.

 

What is a brand tone of voice? 

Your brand’s tone of voice is all about the way your brand talks to your audience. It’s a distinct personality that captures who you are and includes things like the words you use, the way you talk and the tone or emotion behind the messages you’re putting out.

The way you talk tells your audience a little more about what you’re about and helps them get a feeling of the kind of company you are. Think of your brand’s voice as an initial impression, like striking up a chat with someone new: what kind of conversation would get them to stick around?

 

Why is a brand tone of voice so important?

A well defined tone of voice will be used everywhere. From your website to your socials to emails and advertisements, your tone of voice should be front and centre, and is as essential to your branding as a logo or colour palette. 

More than just telling the world about who you are, a tone of voice can also help to build community, especially on social media channels where consumers can opt-in to following your brand. Smart brand positioning, articulated through your brand’s voice, can foster a real connection between your brand, individual customers and a wider community, creating loyalty that goes beyond the quality of your offering.

It’s therefore vital that your tone of voice is right for your audience. You wouldn’t want to buy baby products from a brand that sounded harsh or cold, for example, or alcohol from a brand that reminded you of your old headteacher. But how to get started?

 

How can I define my brand tone of voice?

Your brand’s tone of voice is all about you – your company, your values, your mission and your purpose – so thinking about how to get those on paper is a valuable place to start. Defining your business in a few key words, or thinking about the sort of language your brand brings to mind, can help you start thinking about what your voice could become.

Your voice will be a key touchpoint for your audience, and this is particularly true online. As you start thinking about your tone of voice, consider the purpose your voice will serve as you create an online presence. Will your brand make your audience laugh? Empower your customers to be their best selves? Whatever your message, it’s up to your brand voice to get it across – so you want to get it right!

 

 

Thinking about how to find the right words for your brand? Reach out to me at [email protected] to chat more about copywriting and your brand’s tone of voice.

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The Facebook Ad Funnel: What Is It and How to Make It Work for You

October 18, 2021 Paff Evara Facebook, Paid Media, Small business  

The Facebook Ads Funnel is one of the most powerful tools in helping you generate leads, sales, increase ROI and ultimately grow your business. We want to help you get the most out of the funnel by breaking down what it is and how you can make it work for your business. 

 

Are you ready to start advertising your business on social media? You’ve established your brand identity and your core offering, but now you’re ready to really drive up those conversions. Before you dive into the world of Facebook ads, it’s important to understand how the conversion funnel works and how you can use it to get your message in front of the right people to reach your goals. 

 

 

The Facebook ads funnel is split into three key stages in the buyer journey (Awareness, Consideration, Conversion) and is designed to pull qualified users down the funnel to convert. A conversion is when the recipient of a marketing message performs a desired action, which might look like purchasing a product, booking an appointment or filling out a contact form.  

 

Top of Funnel (TOF) – Awareness

At the top of the funnel is the awareness stage. This is where you target cold audiences, people who are not yet aware of your brand’s products or services, as your ideal customer persona. At this stage, your key focus is to introduce your brand and clearly communicate your brand purpose and offering. The ads you push at this stage should spark curiosity with potential prospects and educate them on your brand through an authoritative tone of voice. 

 

Middle of Funnel (MOF) – Consideration

Moving into the middle of the funnel, you are targeting a warm audience as prospects: people who are aware of your brand and have previously shown some interest but who haven’t taken it further. For example, these prospects may have visited your website previously, engaged with your social media channels or engaged with the ads you are pushing at TOF. 

 

At this stage, you want to push ads that communicate not only the key features of your offering, but also its benefits and how it can help users overcome their pain points. Here, you want to focus on clear and concise ad creative that communicates your core USPs in the first 3 seconds of a user seeing the ad. 

 

Bottom of Funnel (BOF) – Conversion

At the bottom of the funnel is the conversion stage, where your prospects are now a hot audience of users you are retargeting. These users have come close to converting but have pulled back to consider further (e.g., adding product(s) to cart but abandoning before completing their purchase). Therefore, at this stage you want to push strong ad creatives that answer the ‘Why us?’ question and work to push users over the conversion line. You might use techniques such as highlighting social proof, featuring customer testimonials or using an offer (e.g., 10% off code) here.

 

The successful implementation of the full funnel Facebook ads structure works to nurture users and pushes those qualified users down the funnel to convert. It’s important to remember that most users are not going to convert on your core offer at the first touchpoint (particularly with high value conversions) as it’s likely they won’t know or trust you yet. Therefore, users need to interact with your brand over multiple touch points before converting – as the Facebook ads funnel is set up to facilitate.  

 

To maximise the success of your new Facebook ads funnel, it’s important to implement an omnichannel marketing approach that uses various touch points including organic social media, paid social media, email marketing, SEO etc., ensuring an integrated and seamless experience for customers across each. At Pilot Fish Media, we can help you build a successful Facebook ads strategy as well as help you implement a full digital omnichannel marketing strategy to maximise its success.

 

Get in touch at [email protected] to find out about how our creative and strategy teams can help you reach your goals.

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