Mediaboss Marketing

Panelists included, from left: Matt Pavlick, president at GRO Marketing; Michael Newton, CEO of Swarm; Leslie Cole-Gallant, vice president of strategic initiatives with The Pivotal Cos.; and Alison Slager, national business development executive for LeaseLabs by RealPage.

DALLAS It comes as no surprise that digital marketing and chiefly, marketing via social media is one of the best ways to reach potential new renters in the student housing space. Students spend a massive amount of their downtime scrolling through various social media platforms, from TikTok to Instagram.

And while a focus on digital marketing within the sector has been seen for some time, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an even greater emphasis on the space by eradicating opportunities for traditional marketing methods such as in-person events and tours.

In December, a panel of marketing specialists discussed whats hot and whats not for social media marketing at InterFace Conference Groups third annual LeaseCon/TurnCon conference in Dallas.

According to a 2021 survey noted by panel moderator Alison Slager, national business development executive for LeaseLabs by RealPage, 79 percent of marketers used paid ads across social media platforms. With marketing budgets tightening, its important to know what resonates with todays students to ensure all marketing dollars are well spent.

Instagram

Panelists agreed that the most dominant social media marketing platform is currently Instagram, particularly with its recent addition of Reels, a tool which allows users to post short-form videos.

Instagram is likely going to be the most dominant platform for the foreseeable future, so it is important that owners and operators understand how the platform is evolving while formulating their marketing strategy, said Michael Newton, CEO of Swarm.

Instagram is planning for several changes over the next year, one of which is a transition in how the platform displays content. Theres a huge change coming up where the company is going back to a chronological feed, said Newton. That flips your marketing strategy upside down if youre working with Instagram now, and it will be the biggest change in marketing for the upcoming leasing year.

As it stands currently, the platform utilizes an algorithm that is written to suppress your posts unless youre paying money, according to Newton. With a chronological timeline, the best way to get noticed will be to post as much as possible three to five times a day in order to really create impressions. This reversion back to a chronological feed is going to allow companies to hustle and get their name out there with a huge reach just by putting in the work, he said.

Another recent change is that Instagram will now allow any user to post a link in their story, where in previous years links could only be included if you had over 10,000 followers. Matt Pavlick, president at GRO Marketing, recently utilized this tool while launching the companys new website and was able to garner 380 website hits in a short amount of time.

Its a given that if any of your properties are posting anything, you have to include links, said Pavlick. Instagram has also rolled out a tool where you can collaborate with another account for posts. If your property has 3,000 followers and an influencer has 5,000 followers, the potential reach is 8,000 followers for a collaborative post, so you can more than double your views. Both are free tools that garner exposure.

TikTok

TikTok, a social media platform where viewers can watch short-form personal videos, was noted by the panel as the most up-and-coming marketing platform.

It really has changed the way we consume content, especially for Generation Z, noted Newton. That does not necessarily mean that you need to make TikToks about your property, but quick, short-form videos are how students want to consume your content. Anything that is too long or takes any sort of effort is going to hurt you.

When posting to social media, Leslie Cole-Gallant, vice president of strategic initiatives with The Pivotal Cos., noted that transparency, creating a genuine connection and having a face behind your brand are the most important considerations.

Let residents and potential future residents know that you are their resource and that they can really connect with you when they enter the leasing office, she said. If residents have seen members of your leasing office in funny TikTok videos, theyre going to dart to those people immediately because they know them and have an established connection. Leasing and marketing efforts need to have a bond.

Newton agreed, noting that content personalization makes a huge impact when looking to connect with the current generation of students via social media. There is a strategy that we have rolled out at almost every property weve worked with that was willing to try it and 100 percent of the time it works very well, he said.

If you are doing any sort of organic outbound marketing on social media where you are finding students and sending them direct messages, try having one of your team members who has a happy, outgoing personality send a 10-second video instead mentioning their name, continued Newton.

For example, Hi Ashley, I saw youre a student at UTK. Were having a pool party event. You should swing by. Thats how Gen Z wants to be communicated with. When weve sent out that sort of message, its very rarely seen and ignored. Its often either liked, or sometimes students respond back with a video message, and thats then a very warm, organic contact.

And while conversation regarding marketing often focuses on digital, Pavlick of GRO noted that he anticipates the incorporation of in-person events to be very successful for this upcoming leasing season.

People are absolutely tired of Zoom calls and still appreciate personal touch, he said. I believe in-person events are going to work for this upcoming fall. In a sea of everyone scrapping and clawing to get your attention and buying consideration, reaching out personally, like through a video or through an in-person event, is going to stand out from the pack.

Katie Sloan

Go here to read the rest:
InterFace Panel Names What's Hot for Social Media Marketing in the Student Housing Sector - REBusinessOnline

Unlike other video platforms, which have traditionally emphasized creating for sound off environments in order to maximize your viewing opportunities, TikTok has repeatedly noted that sounds is crucial to the user experience, and that marketers need to consider audio as an equally significant element as the visuals in their clips if not more so in some respects.

Underlining this, TikTok has launched a new insights series that will explore the importance of sound in clips, and provide more context as to how and why brands need to consider sound as a key part of their overall branding effort.

You can read the first post in TikToks Evolution of Sound series here, but in this post, well look at some of the key notes.

First off, TikTok reiterates that 9 out of 10 users view sound as being vital to the TikTok experience. For brands specifically, TikTok says that its research has shown that brand linkage and recall increase by over 8xwhen distinctive brand sounds are leveraged in ads, compared to other elements like slogans and logos.

Thats a hugely significant stat, which clearly underlines why brands need to consider their audio elements, in order to maximize brand awareness and resonance.

TikTok further reiterates this, with internal data showing that sound can boost brand engagement, while music also plays a key role in user response.

Again, if youve been aligning your video creation processes with other platforms, like Facebook, which, in the past, has specifically recommended that brands create for sound off environments, your approach to TikTok needs to be different, as sound is a key element that can significantly boost user response to your content.

Really, youre approach to TikTok should be entirely different, and aligned with the organic content trends in the app. If you want to win on TikTok, the best way to build for the platform is to immerse yourself in the content thats being posted on the platform, so you can get a feel for how people are engaging in the app, specifically, and how your brand messaging will fit.

With this in mind, TikTok poses three key questions for marketers in mapping out an audio-inclusive strategy:

Again, on TikTok, audio should be considered as significant a branding element as your visuals, and TikTok outlines several ways in which you can research and develop your audio branding approach.

Some key considerations for your TikTok branding approach, and with more brands set to add TikTok into their digital marketing mix in 2022, with the app on track to reach 1.5 billion users, its important that if you are looking to stand out to TikTok users, that audio is a top of mind element.

You can read the first post in TikToks Evolution of Sound series here.

More:
TikTok Shares New Insights into the Importance of Audio in Brand Marketing - Social Media Today

To decide on the Creative Marketing honorees, weve assembled a lineup of seasoned and respectedmarketing execs on our jury:

Jury chair: Joan Colletta, senior director of global brand marketing at McDonaldsTim Ellis, chief marketing officer, NFLTanja Grubner, global marketing and communications director, feminine care, global brand, innovation and sustainability, EssityKathleen Hall, corporate VP brand advertising and research, MicrosoftFrancine Li, VP, brand management and marketing, Riot GamesAlex Lopez, global president and chief creative officer, McCann WorldgroupMinjae Ormes, VP of marketing, global brand and consumer, LinkedInNathaniel Ru, co-founder and chief brand officer, SweetgreenRicardo Viramontes, chief creative officer, Springhill CompanyAmy Weisenbach, senior VP, head of marketing, New York Times

The Creative Marketing awards honor the following categories:

Brand CMO of the YearBrand Manager of the YearBrand Chief Creative Officer of the YearSocial Marketer of the YearBest RebrandBest ROI: Work that WorksBest Product Launch of the YearBest Brand Launch of the YearD-to-C Brand of the YearFounder of the Year

The final deadline to submit for both Ad Ages A-List and Creativity Awards is Jan. 11, 2022.

See full descriptions of all the Creativity Awards categories here.

Enter the A-List and Creativity Awards here.

The rest is here:
Creative marketers: Submit now to Ad Age's Creativity Awards - AdAge.com

Whether its International Podcast Day, Hamburger Day, or Eat an Extra Dessert Day (yes, this is a real thing) - these days, there seems to be a celebratory date for everything, and these events can also be valuable prompts for your social media marketing efforts, and aligning your messaging with thematic elements to gain additional traction and traffic.

Keeping tabs on upcoming celebrations can be a great tool for your content planning, providing helpful inspiration to complement your brand messaging, and enhance connection around specific, related themes.

But in order to do this, you need to know when all the various days are coming up which is where this listing from Socialinsiders Maria-Mirabela Ganta comes in.

Maria has provided a handy, quick overview of some of the key events of note throughout the year. Worth keeping on hand, in order to help you map out the key opportunities for your business.

See the rest here:
Key Holidays and Celebrations of Note for 2022 [Infographic] - Social Media Today

Many small and mid-size businesses had to close their doors for good because of the pandemic. With people highly conscious of the need for social distancing and self-quarantining in their homes, an enormous volume of shopping dollars shifted to digital channels. Looking back, we wondered if there were alternatives to this fatal end game.

Imagine if these main street retailers had employed a successful online digital marketing strategy. Could things have been different? Could some of these retailers sustained sufficient volume to cover costs and weather the Covid-19 storm?

According to research published by WebFindYou, the opportunity to create digital strategy exists for all, but92% of businesses in the U.S. dont have the budget to afford what it terms True Digital Marketing.

Apparently, small, and medium-sized companies are losing out to bigger companies with larger budgets and resources to do digital marketing the right way. With inflation just reported to be at a 30 year high, main street retail will struggle even more in the coming months, and the availability of marketing dollars needed to compete with online giants will become even more scarce.

The ability to create and maintain an effective digital strategy is not only about reaching out to customers to generate sales. Another huge benefit is the ability to protect the retailers brand from over reliance on the dominant social media aggregators like Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Recently, these channels experienced a global outage with millions of businesses financially impacted due to their heavy reliance on Facebook and Instagram Ads as their main source of lead generation and Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp as their single line of communication with new and existing clients via their website.

A more holistic approach to digital marketing protects against these outages, meaning when one digital channel goes down, businesses still have other digital channels available to generate leads and maintain communications.

We wanted to dig deeper on the meaning of True Digital Marketing and gain more insights into the research conducted by WebFindYou. We reached out to Robert Blankenship, founder and CEO ofWebFindYou, to get some answers.

Wise Marketer (WM): You did some research which returned many interesting findings, among them: 92% of businesses in the U.S. dont have the budget to afford True Digital Marketing. Can you share more about the research and share key insights?

Robert Blankenship (Robert): According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 30 million businesses in the United States. This number consists of both non-employer businesses (80%) and employer businesses (20%).

Non-employer businesses (80%):

Businesses with 0 to 4 Employees (12%):

Businesses with 5 to 19 Employees (5%):

Businesses with 20 to 500+ Employees (3%):

Doing digital marketing the right way requires the proper resources, people and technologies, which at a minimum will cost an average of $3,000 to $5,000 per month. With this data, it is clear to see why 92 percent of businesses cannot afford True Digital Marketing.

WM: Why is having a well-constructed and executed online digital marketing strategy so important for main street retailers? Could it have really made a difference in their fortunes during the pandemic?

Robert: Having a well-executed online digital marketing strategy makes a huge difference when it comes to increasing leads, sales, conversions, and ultimately, revenues.

Even before the pandemic it was important to have a good online presence. COVID escalated the need for this and in most cases, the businesses that had an established online presence and a solid digital marketing strategy fared better than the ones that didnt.

The problem is, many of these small and mid-size businesses are working with small marketing budgets and cant compete with large companies with large marketing budgets.

The purpose of WebFindYou is to help businesses implement digital marketing in the right way and at a price point that fits their budget. Their budget shouldnt affect their ability to be successful online. My vision when creating WebFindYou was to revolutionize the digital marketing industry because there are too many companies selling a bag of goods to people and not delivering on their promises. I want to help businesses get on the right path with digital marketing.

WM: Tell us a little about WebFindYou. What do you do and how do you do it?

Robert: Our mission is to make successful digital marketing simple and affordable for everyone. Equally, we want to fix the tainted digital marketing industry that often gives businesses only pieces of the complicated digital marketing puzzle based on their budget restrictions.

In our opinion, the digital marketing industry has become complex, time-consuming, costly, and oversaturated with influencers, experts, and gurus who make a lot of promises for a paycheck but often produce little to no results. In short, the digital marketing industry has become tainted. And its only getting worse with more paid ads dominating Google Search, Apple iOS privacy updates making Facebook Ads less efficient, and the list goes on and on.

My vision was to create an affordable technology that small to medium size retailers could understand and easily put into practice, even with no or limited digital marketing experience.

WM: You use the term True Digital Marketing in your work. What does this mean to you and how do you apply it to help small businesses so that when one digital channel goes down, businesses still have other digital channels producing leads?

Robert: True Digital Marketing means doing everything digital, and it is required to maximize the true power of the Internet for any business. This allows each element of the complete digital marketing puzzle to support and help maximize the other. Without True Digital Marketing, businesses miss out on having a steady stream of leads and sales that they can rely on, especially in times of crisis.

As a business owner, you need to make sure to build a solid infrastructure for your business. You never want to put all your eggs in one basket, because when that basket drops, youre left with a mess. In some cases, a mess you cant recover from. If social media is a big part of the day-to-day function of your business, you cant risk these unexpected outages.

We provide tools to ensure that your social media experience will never be interrupted when a social media platform unexpectedly goes down, a post is unexpectedly removed, or a social media account is temporarily suspended.

WM: How can main street retailers learn more about affordable digital marketing?

Robert: True to our digital approach to marketing, we offer online classes. We recently held a Digital Marketing Master Class. Anyone interested in watching the class can get immediate access here. By the way, we will also be hosting classes covering more in-depth information on ecommerce, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, paid search, social media, how to start a digital marketing business and more, with dates to be announced later.

See the rest here:
How True Digital Marketing Could Have Saved Retail During the Pandemic - TheWiseMarketer.com