If you’re scratching your head wondering what’s the difference between a nano and micro influencer or you want to just stay up-to-date on the latest in social media, read this glossary guide on terms you must absolutely know in 2019.
AR/VR content
Instagram and Snapchat filters are examples of augmented and virtual reality tech that have taken the social media world by storm. Apart from keeping engagement rates high, they are truly an innovative and personalised way to put forth content and drive sales.
Ephemeral Content
Short, media rich content that primarily uses FOMO (Fear of missing out) to evoke an immediate response in users. For example, Instagram stories and snaps on Snapchat last for just 24 hours, thereby instilling a sense of urgency in followers to view and react as soon as the content is published.
Micro/ Nano/ Macro influencers
Influencers are netizens who have clout and expertise over a particular subject. They often have a loyal fan following, who also have equal interest in that chosen field or subject.
Nano influencers – Have about 1000 to 10,000 followers
Micro–influencers are individuals that have between 1,000 to 1,000,000 followers
Macro influencers are typically well known in the community – you can think about a macro influencer as a “mini celebrity.” They boast a follower count anywhere between 500K and 1 million.
Chatbot marketing
Facebook Messenger, used by one billion people every month, boasts of 300,000 chatbots. These bots are conversing with leads, prospects and customers without any human or marketing intervention. Simply put, chatbots are programs that are programmed to imitate human conversations. While most are simple with a set number of replies, there exist highly specialised AI powered bots which are adept enough to recognise speech patterns, learn new ways of conversing and much more. In marketing they have been employed to improve user experience and customer service.
5.Content Shock
Everyday, astounding amount of content is generated online. What happens when too much content is created – the quality and more importantly its relevance across the internet is lost. Ever wondered what happens in a minute on facebook? 510,000 comments are posted, 293,000 statuses are updated, and 136,000 photos are uploaded. This is called content shock.
Content calendar
A helpful way to enable social media teams to plan and execute content in advance. By staying ahead of the important days, a content calendar allows you to keep tabs on all your content needs for a specific period (week, month, quarter or even a year), in one place.
Brand Voice
The way your brand is seen in public (by public) is largely affected by how you portray it (duh). The way content is communicated, the tone, design, language, values and attitude constitute a brand’s voice.
Transparency, authenticity and value marketing
A content’s end goal for a business is profits, but the way it is used matters a lot more. These days, online customers will read at least 11 pieces of content before they get in touch with a brand. It is therefore important to not only sell a product/ service, but to communicate your brand’s “why”.
Cross posting
The act of publishing the same post on different social media channels or publishing the same post on the same account at varied intervals. While cross posting or posting the same message on different channels is not encouraged, creating unique posts on different channels might imply a lot of hard work. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just minor tweaks can make a world of difference. For example, you can adjust the content length of a Facebook post to accommodate the 280 character limit of Twitter, or you could also try to publish a single photo on one channel, and a collage, gif or montage on another.
Dark Social
When people share content privately, either through messaging apps or email, it is referred to as dark posts. It accounts for 84% of outbound sharing and this traffic is difficult to track. Content when shared through private chats like WhatsApp, often do not contain a tracking or referrer code, hence it becomes harder to imagine where that content sharing actually originated from.
Cross promoting
Not to be confused with cross posting, social media cross promotion is a smart way to increase the reach of your content to leads and prospects by making use of multiple touch points and multiple social networks. It employs customised content that fits the platform you’re publishing your content in.
Dark Posts
These are posts that appear to a highly selected target audience, and is mostly intended at driving sales. The means used to reach this targeted audience is advertisements. For example, if you don’t want to clutter your news feed with updates or offers your followers already know of, you can use dark posts to identify and narrow down the audience or prospects you’re looking for.
Hyperlocal marketing
Advertising or marketing to a highly specific audience of just a few blocks, miles or streets is called hyperlocal marketing. This type of search is mainly intended for those who are conducting “near me” searches.
Retargeting
A powerful way to bring back the majority of visitors who have abandoned your site. With cookie data you can follow your customer on other sites he visits, enticing him to come back to your site.
Social media KPI
These are few key points that you must track for successful social media campaigns.
Impressions – refers to the number of times a post appears on someone’s news feed, irrespective of whether it is seen or not.
Reach – refers to the number of new people who have seen your posts.
Virality rate – refers to the number of times people shared your posts in comparison to the number of impressions that post got i.e. (shares/impressions) X 100
Social listening
Keeping a check on your social media accounts or your competition accounts, for mentions, tags or relevant keywords so as to analyse and effectively action.
Advertainment
You guessed it right. A hybrid of Advertisement + Entertainment, usually in the form of videos, web series, storytelling and immersive content that will enthrall the audience in the hopes of shaping his emotional connection to the product/ service/ brand, and in turn drive sales.
Newsjack
Tactfully taking advantage of a viral or vigorous story to push your own message or brand, thereby getting max media attention, coverage and engagement.
UGC
User generated content refers to anything posted by users on a social media channel, but more specifically to reviews, mentions etc. When tapped into carefully, UGC can turn the customer into an advertiser and evangelist.
SoLoMo
Short for social-local-mobile, it refers to social media apps that captures a customer’s location from his mobile device and encourages him to check-in, post a status update of a (your) nearby business, or give a rating/ review.
He’s born out of wedlock (well, he doesn’t know who his mother is).
He’s a dwarf.
He’s not very good with the sword.
He curses, drinks, and flirts with ladies of questionable character.
Yet he is one of the most loved characters of Game of Thrones.
Tyrion Lannister is a teacher, and an extremely good one at that!
Don’t believe us? Check out these 5 quotes (from Tyrion) that will help in your everyday Content Marketing.
Alert: If you’ve not seen Game of Thrones yet, it’s probably best you do and then come back here to read this post.
If you have, without further ado here are those 5 quotes we promised.
1. “I drink, and I know things”
This is one of Tyrion’s most famous quotes and you might have seen it stencilled on T-shirts of hardcore GOT fans. Tyrion is famous for his wit and his knowledge of things, and this is what leads him to being an outcast from Westeros, who is hunted down by his own family, before finally being made the queen’s right-hand (by the end of the last GOT season).
As a Content Marketer too, it’s important to drink, and to know things, but not necessarily in that order. Keep improving your knowledge of the world that comprises the content marketing universe – namely digital, content and marketing. Because writing a great piece of content just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Build “topical relevance” by showing how deep you know your subject, and sooner or later, people will respect your knowledge and keep coming back to you to learn more.
2.“A mind needs books, just as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That’s why I read so much Jon Snow.”
Extending Quote #1, if you plan to write great pieces of content, it is imperative you read a lot. And we mean a LOT. Reading can be summarised as 50% of your job. Read everyday to improve your knowledge.
If you are a newbie, we recommend reading Smart Blogger, to learn to blog better. You can also follow famous marketers like Neil Patel and Jeff Bullas, who will teach you the art of selling on the internet.
Happy reading.
3.“Never forget what you are; the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”
One of Tyrion’s defining characteristics is that he accepts himself, knowing fully well who he is and acknowledging it at every chance he gets. He is a dwarf, doesn’t know who his mother is, he is a drinker, among many other things that make him a less than pleasing personality to hang out with. But is he un-original? Hell no!
Being yourself in a world that is constantly telling you to be someone else is an arduous task, and no one knows it better that Tyrion lannister.
As a Content Marketer, don’t lose your originality and compromise your voice while in the race to become more popular.
Remember, originality is rewarded, even by Google in its search results (#SEOtip).
4.“Every time we deal with an enemy, we create two more.”
Tyrion says this about Tywin and Cersei Lannister who bully the other noble houses, just because they (the Lannisters) have more wealth and people. Tyrion is a great strategist, and he knows, it is just a matter of time before the other houses rebel and join the enemy when the Battle for the Iron Throne begins.
What can you, as a Content Marketer, learn from this?
Just like having high-quality content is not enough, having a great content marketing strategy is not enough either, especially when you’ve not accounted for competition. Stay on top of not just your game, but also ahead of competition’s game.
Remember, every time you publish a great piece of content, there are two more brands trying to beat you.
5.“Of course it’s a joke, just not a very funny one.”
And of course, the last quote/lesson we are going to leave you with is to remember to smile every time you write a piece of content. Tyrion loves to give witty remarks, and although his humour is filled with references to women, you can’t help but smile every time he says something funny.
Try and introduce a bit of humour into some of the contents you publish. Your aim, as a Content Marketer, is not only to educate your target audience about your product, but also to entertain them along the way.
So there you go. 5 Content Marketing lessons from an imp! Follow these strategies and we assure you, you will find success in your marketing efforts, or atlleast not be eaten by the dragons of the internet.
For more Marketing lessons, check out our blog, and if you like our posts, make sure to tell your friends.
What happens when you combine a sport that millions of people are passionate about, with a marketing tactic that is out of this world?
You get what has become one of the most defining sporting events in India in the past decade!
The Indian Premier League (IPL) started with a blast, and 10 years later, it continues to reign supreme – in TRP ratings and viewership. The franchise is synonymous with huge brands and big stars, and the money exchanged is billions (Star Sports bought television rights to IPL last year for a staggering $2.55 billion dollars, an equivalent of Rs 16,347 crores).
So why exactly does IPL attract all the big guns and the money? Are there lessons to learn for us in marketing?
Fortunately the answer is YES! So let’s dive straight in (pun intended).
No need to reinvent the wheel
Did the IPL invent the game of cricket? No. Did it invent the twenty-twenty format of the game? No. Did it introduce the concept of franchising of teams, combining local players with international players, or using cheerleaders to grab eyeballs? Definitely not! So what then did the IPL do?
If you guessed, mixing ideas from successful sporting competitions across the globe to form a potent combination, then pat yourself on the back.
Good marketing doesn’t always have to begin with a unique idea. What’s more important is better understanding of your customer. A seasoned digital marketer keeps a keen eye on his audience, and turns his data into strategies that will work uniquely for his mix.
Go big or go home
The word synonymous with IPL is ‘Big’, whether it’s the stature of players, the sponsorship fees or the marketing budget. The folks at IPL like to keep it big, and lucky for us, we can take a leaf out of their pages for our own marketing efforts.
Remember, starting small is not a crime, but staying small is.
When it comes to content, thinking big is usually associated with virality, and making content go viral is about tugging the right emotions. According to Marketing guru, Neil Patel, this can be achieved in 3 ways.
Research the web to see what topics in your space are gaining virality, and then create better versions of those topics, instead of creating entirely new ones.
Once you’ve done all the hard work of researching and writing, promote. Use the 80:20 rule of content marketing which says, 80% of your efforts in creating content must be utilised in promotions, while the remaining 20% must be used for content creation.
Lastly, be consistent with your content and release more and more fresh content, that’s high on quality.
Don’t please everyone
Even though the IPL introduced Indians to a whole new format of their favourite game and became an instant bestseller, there were still puritans who discredited the franchise. Cricket pundits claimed the game was pulling away the attention from test matches and one day internationals, and many opposed to international players hogging all the limelight.
The IPL was garnering attention far more for the controversies than for the quality of cricket involved, and this had some experts worried. But did all the bad press and criticism stop the organizers from going bigger with the game? No.
There is no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to marketing, and you certainly can’t please every customer. It is thus advisable to define a target audience, one that is tightly aligned to your brand’s ethos, values and emotions, than to cast a net that’s wide, thin and not meant for everyone.
Listen to the market
We are leaving you with one last snippet of wisdom that can be picked up from the IPL franchise.
The creators have always been receptive to feedback, and fine-tuned the series incorporating any change they felt would increase their viewership. Whether it is scheduling the matches in the evenings so that people can watch after office hours or introducing innovative photography techniques, the IPL always gave viewers more of what they wanted.
‘Customer is king’ is an adage that will be repeated time and time again in marketing, because simply put, without customers there is no business.
Incorporate consumer feedback into your daily marketing efforts and always be on the lookout for more. Give the consumer what they want, and rest assured, that they will return the favour.
There you go. Those are 4 little snippets of wisdom that every digital marketer can learn from the IPL franchise. Incorporate these learnings into your daily marketing efforts and watch your engagement ratings skyrocket.
Sometime ago, Richard Thaler won the nobel prize for his contributions to behavioral economics. His book ‘Nudge’ talks about why people do what they do when spending money.
It’s not often that we can implement research by a Nobel Prize winner in our marketing strategy, but this one was too good to let go.
Research on behavioral science opens a window into a consumer’s mind, making us witness the thought process that made us buy those pair of skis, which we didn’t need in the first place (because it’s July and, do you even ski)?
Typically, we think we know what our consumer wants and we approach our marketing strategy accordingly. But do we really know what they’re thinking before they buy our product? If we did, we could even successfully sell a pair of skis to a non-skier consumer, during summer!
Here are 5 behavioral science principles that could help bring in more prospects.
#1. Less is More.
Research says that the amount of information a person can hold in working memory is four to five elements at a time.
Research also shows that people rely on unconscious processing and first impressions. To add to that, the first impressions are usually based on aesthetics.
This means, you can afford to cut back on information by limiting it to four or five words or sentences. (PS: that doesn’t mean you cut back on impact). This process is called Chunking.
Chunking: An approach for making more efficient use of short-term memory by grouping information.
Here’s a one line-story that made use of effective chunking, yet retaining impact.
Advertising in the digital media can be tough because people aren’t looking for ads, let alone your ad. But if you did manage to get their attention, make sure your content isn’t bloated with too much information. Further details on your product can be linked with a post.
#2. Don’t Confuse them with choices.
Research says that the presence of too many choices leads to either unhappiness, decision fatigue, going with the default option or deferral – which is the customer walking away from it altogether.
May it be an emailer, or social media post containing products you’re selling, just a few of the best products, or the ones that are trending, can be displayed. If these are appealing enough, your consumer can visit your main product page for more.
E-commerce giant Amazon is a good example for this strategy. It makes use of a clean display that avoids cluttering, confusion and too many choices.
#3. Create an impulsive shopper.
“The combination of loss aversion with mindless choosing implies that if an option is designated as the ‘default,’ it will attract a large market share. Default options thus act as powerful nudges.”
-Richard Thaler, author of ‘Nudge’
On the idea that we humans hate to miss out on things, it is pretty easy to make the consumer believe he wants something. By flashing time sensitive deals and using phrases like ‘while stocks last’, ‘sale ends at 5PM’ or ‘24 hours flash sale’, consumers will have very little time to rationalise.
Also by showcasing products that only have ‘few pieces left’ brings a sense of urgency, leading to impulsive buying.
#4. Make content disfluent.
Making content or matter that is disfluent, makes the person spend a bit more time trying to understand the matter, making it last longer in their memory.
We may think the age old idea of keeping matter easier for the audience to understand might get their attention. But the thing is, you already got their attention, and they might have understood your ‘easy’ content, but would they remember it?
The trick is to challenge them. Or better, let them challenge themselves.
When people see a word or point of matter they can’t comprehend easily, they tend to ponder around it, which is basic human instinct. Our mind tends to wander towards new or unfamiliar elements merely out of curiosity.
Disfluency causes people to process information at a deeper level, making the information more ‘memorable’.
#5. Personalisation rules hearts.
Behavioral science research shows that, in a world awash with generic content, personalisation makes us pay more attention to advertising messages that change behavior. The brain is also drawn to any information that triggers an emotion, be it negative or positive.
Also, the Jivox Benchmark report from 2016 shows that interaction increases significantly by adding geographic and time cues.
Relatability in content and marketing is quite hard because you have to put out a strategy that would hit everyone and still be relatable.
A marketing strategy which is interactive with the audience you’re attracting is the first and easiest way to their heart, and that can be achieved by relatability.
With personalisation, you will be targeting a smaller audience, but you will have undivided attention of the majority from that zone. It’s the kind of personal approach consumers would get drawn into.
Personalisation in content and marketing can also mean quizzes and tests, where the audience can take a quiz to know how much they’re updated on a particular affair, trend or field.
Conclusion.
It may seem like behavioral science and digital marketing are worlds apart. They might be, but with the few tips mentioned here, you might just be able to get a bit closer to your buyers’ thought patterns, so as to let you plan your digital strategy more effectively.
They save the world all the time, looking cool while doing it.
They all have their strengths and know each other’s weaknesses.
They work together as a team to stop villains who threaten to wipe out humanity. Spoiler alert – they actually do in the end.
They don’t get paid to do these things; just the feeling of happiness knowing they’ve served humanity, is enough.
See a pattern? There are Avengers right amongst us! You don’t need to go to a movie theatre to see them. Here are the 5 avengers heroes you will find, or need, for your startup.
1. Captain
Okay, he might not be the strongest (when it comes to skill sets) among the avengers, nor the one with all the cool gadgets or money, but captain is good at one thing, “captaining”. A born leader, captain usually takes the reins and guides the team from one adventure to the next. He manages team efforts, assigns tasks to people based on their strengths, is calm but assertive, and always plans the bigger picture.
Who is the captain in your startup?
Look closely and your CEO might just have all these qualities, plus the uncanny ability to spot risks and opportunities. He need not be good with coding or numbers, but he will almost always know how to “get things done” by the right people.
So look to your captain for inspiration; and, if he doesn’t inspire you, maybe you should jump teams, or change the Captain!!
2. Iron Man
Tony Stark might be richer than all the Avengers combined, and that’s probably because he has a giant-sized brain. Making a flying, rocket firing, beam shooting contraption is not an easy task, but Stark makes it looks like child’s play. He built his first suit while being captive in a cage (while the rest of us find it difficult to even make fire without gas).
So why do you need Tony Stark on your team?
In the early stages of a startup, a good quality product will make your company stand out, and building a good product needs a solid engineering team. These guys are the ones who know the ins and outs of the workings of your app or website (better than everyone else). They have the passion to succeed and the ability to think outside the box. They need not have great people skills like the captain, but they should atleast be able to build and test and see your product through.
So go ahead, hire the queer full stack developer who insists on bringing his cat to work.
3. Black widow
No team is complete without the presence of a strong female character, and the same is true with the avengers. Natasha Romanov brings the much needed balance to the team and acts as the voice of reason in times of crisis. She is the Captain’s go-to person, and although she may not be strong like the Hulk or be able to fly like Iron Man, she is a deadly assassin who is the best at what she does-kicking a**.
Although universally, startups are seen as male dominated territory, I cannot help stress the importance of having female presence in your early team. They provide a whole new perspective for many problems, are usually more creative than their male counterparts, and can help make your startup more gender-equal.
Kick away black widow, kick away!
4. Thor
This avenger is the one with dramatic entrance, who literally brings charm to the entire team. Thor can fly, has a cool hammer that only he can use, and has a quirky dress sense that makes him look like he’s stepped out of a Shakespearean play. In one word, Thor has personality, and that’s the one quality your Marketing Head needs.
Your marketing person breathes life into your team, business and product, and should have ideas that will make your brand propel upwards. The ideal marketer is well rounded (like Thor), has travelled a lot and seen many places (like Thor) and has a hammer of a voice that only he can wield with conviction (again, like Thor). He has to work well in a team and have strong presence. A quirky sense of humour is not a necessity, but definitely a plus. He might also have a crazy half brother whose life mission is to destroy the avengers, but not everything shows up in background checks!
Just make sure your marketer has strong personality and a voice that’s original.
5. The Hulk
The strongest person on the team without any doubt, Hulk is trained to focus on just one thing. Smash things. His alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner, is a brilliant physicist who helps Tony Stark in all things tech. So who is that Dr. Bruce Banner/ Green Monster combo on your team who has enormous potential but also can get the basics right when needed?
The answer? Interns.
That’s right, young fresh minds have a lot of untapped potential. It is up to the Captain, and the entire team, to nurture these young minds and help them unleash their full potential. Interns in your startup need to be highly self-motivated to cope up with challenges of a startup, and yet they must also have the potential to turn into rockstars and get things done when needed. Stay away from those who have anger issues like Hulk.
There you go. These are the 5 kinds of Avengers you need in your startup. Honourable mentions include Hawkeye, Black Panther, Dr Strange, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, but we don’t want our startups to be too crowded 🙂
