Mediaboss Marketing

Rob Coyne, GM, EMEA at Hootsuite, discusses the benefits of making social more than just a marketing department.

100% of Fortune 500 organisations maintained a social presence through 2018. For financial services social can bring an organisation closer to its customers, give brand advocates a powerful voice and create a two way dialogue which can increase loyalty. The bottom line is social is no longer a nice to have, but a must have.

However, many financial services businesses are not using social channels to their full advantage as they are failing to innovate. For these organisations to really benefit from social they must make sure their strategies are proactive and adaptable to changing customer needs. This will help them show ROI to the wider organisation, which is critical. The focus should be on demonstrating that social has clear returns; this way the board will have no choice but to continue to invest. This approach will take social beyond the marketing department and make it a key driver for success across every aspect of the business.

Using social data and technology

To develop a mature social strategy, where an entire organisation can benefit, social has to be integrated across the entire customer journey. Start by using social data to create a holistic view of the customer. This will support all departments in understanding customers individual needs and enable them to tailor services and communications accordingly. To create this view, social data must be integrated with existing analytics platforms such as Adobe Analytics, CRM systems such as Salesforce, and customer experience platforms such as Adobe Experience Manager. Joining these sources of data together to create wider insights will allow financial businesses to better adapt to the ever changing needs of the customer.

This cant be achieved by an organisation using legacy technology which silos social data. Within the financial services industry, only 7% of financial organisations report having a highly integrated technology stack. This means many businesses are using fragmented technologies that sit on top of each other, rather than working together. As a result, it makes it almost impossible to bring data together to get a full view of customers and prospects. This is a hugely important hurdle to overcome. Organisations must invest in technology that reduces data clutter, and allows departments to work together to deliver personalised content and tailored customer journeys.

Relatable social content

Once an organisation knows its customers better, it must provide them with the best possible content, but this cant come at the expense of the basics. Financial services businesses need to combine tried and tested processes for responding to customer enquiries by posting timely, relevant and engaging content.

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Organisations have to take a more human approach so they dont come across as a detached corporate voice shouting at their audiences. Thankfully, social provides financial organisations with the opportunity to create real human connections at scale. A good way to do this is through employee advocacy programs, allowing staff to tell their personal stories to highlight the organisations USPs. Facebook has noted the demand for this approach and has updated its algorithm to prioritise content from family, friends and real people over that of businesses and brands. A company taking this forward thinking approach is MAPFRE, a Spanish insurance company, who have rolled out an employee advocacy program powered by Hootsuite Amplify, equipping employees to share approved brand content with friends and colleagues via their personal social media accounts. The program is helping employees build their personal brand with thought leadership and branded content, while at the same time increasing the companys reach and engagement on social media in an authentic way. The sharing of new openings, investment in innovation and feel good stories from across the company on employees own networks allows the company to get their stories out in a way that is organic and relatable. Organisations not looking to capitalise on this trend are missing a trick.

It is also important to note that creating relevant and relatable content will be a step change for some organisations. This is why experimentation is critical. While you cant always get it spot on, you do need an open mind. Trying new things, exploring new trends and then measuring the approach should become more widely adopted.

Wells Fargo is a great example of a brand that has got experimentation right when it comes to social. The brand has created a varied blend of content and has ventured beyond the traditional topics expected from a bank. The range of issues highlighted on its posts interests not only Millennials, but even academic audiences. They have also heavily invested in emerging platforms, ones often not used by traditional players. For example, they use Instagram to show the human side of their organisation through nostalgic photos. Not a typical social strategy for a financial institution.

Video content is another key area for business brands to focus experimentation. Data from LinkedIn shows that videos are five times more likely to start a conversation on LinkedIn than any other content format. This is backed up by recent Hootsuite data that suggested short-form social videos (less than two minutes) were the highest performing content in 2018. Social advertising is another opportunity for innovation. Instagram has grown to 15 percent of Facebook spend, with 25 percent of Instagram advertising shifting to Stories. This means that companies need to think holistically about how they put their message out there and whether it could be done in a less traditional, but more engaging way.

Social helps meet business objectives

As with all new ways of working, if an organisation is to truly embrace social, change needs to be supported from the top. In order for marketing teams to prove the value of social to the decision makers in the business, they need to speak their language. While marketing understands the potential of social media to increase revenue, lower costs and protect the health of the brand, executives need to connect it to concrete business outcomes. To achieve this, the marketing team should mirror the strategies and metrics of high-performing revenue channels, such as email, paid media and website optimisation. By reporting in a language executives are accustomed to, the marketing team stands a much better chance of convincing executives that social is helping to achieve business goals.

The power of social

Social can no longer be viewed as an add-on or afterthought in financial services organisations. These businesses have the opportunity to develop digital ecosystems which not only meet but exceed customer expectations. However, to do so they need to take a holistic approach to social by integrating existing platforms like their CRM, using employee advocacy programmes and experimenting with more engaging content. Winning over the hearts and minds of customers calls for a human approach, and this will only be made easier with the data and insights from an organisation where social isnt confined to the marketing team.

For more information on business topics in the Middle East and Africa, please take a look at the latest edition of Business Chief MEA.

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Make social more than a marketing department to reap the benefits | Leadership - African Business Chief

By: Chelsea Malacara, Sustainability Education & Outreach Coordinator

Since the end of last semester, the Winter Solstice has passed and a new decade has begun.

This time of year sparks a time when many of us are looking forward to new possibilities,reassessing our past, and setting new goals. Every spring semester, the Office of Sustainabilitystaff and Eco-Reps commit to a new sustainability goal for the spring semester. For some, it isas small as cutting out meat once a week, for others it is as large as managing their timedifferently so they can catch the bus or carpool instead of driving. At our weekly meetings wecheck in with each other asking questions like what are the challenges, what have been thebenefits, can you encourage others to do the same and how? As the Sustainability Education &Outreach Coordinator at USM, I sometimes struggle with this effort. The things I could dodifferently sometimes insurmountable yet, I have to remind myself, as I want to remind you thateven the smallest, seemingly insignificant changes, add up and make a big impact.

So what am I committed to doing this year?

This year I have two changes Id like to make that stem from a belief in social equity andcommitment to reducing environmental impact. The first is to buy less from Amazon. I believe infair wages and a healthy work environment, two areas in which Amazon need someimprovement. The second is the environmental impact that buying online has. Often times youritems dont come together in one shipment, there is a lot of unnecessary packaging, and I havebeen known to make multiple orders in one week. Definitely room for improvement.

Secondly, I am committed to only buy clothes second hand, allowing myself three exceptionsthroughout the year. While I have always been big on thrifting for clothes I wear outside theoffice, finding professional wear for work that is in good condition was a challenge last year.

However, I am determined to find the right places and put in the extra effort to source all of myclothes second hand. According to the UN Environment Program, the fashion industry isresponsible for 10% of carbon emissions in addition to several other environmental impacts tothe worlds bodies of water from microplastics and pollution.This semester, the Office of Sustainability would like to challenge you to commit to a sustainablehabit. The Office already has a few resources and programs to get you started.

The Free Store on the Gorham Campus will be open a couple of times a weekand has everything from clothes to school supplies all for free Eco-Reps will be launching a community-based social marketing campaign tosupport the reintroduction of Sodexos Greenwave containers to reducesingle-use plates for food

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Committing to sustainability, one habit at a time - The - The Free Press of the University of Southern Maine

To some degree, people look at massages and other wellness activities as a luxury. Additionally, there can be some level of intimidation in taking an hour or two for ones wellbeing. But at Massage Envy, a facial could very well be the gateway for a stressed-out society to get a little relaxation.

A pair of clever new ads from Fallon, starring SNL alum Vanessa Bayer and actor Arturo Castro (Narcos, Broad City), make this level of pampering much more accessible. Ad-libbing, Bayer and Castro share their experienceswith a healthy dose of humor and witas Massage Envys aestheticians work their magic.

What makes this approach different is that the play-by-play focuses on the experience as much as the product being sold. Its also a clear point of differentiation from other spa marketing, which is generally interchangeable.

Its a sea of sameness, said Kathy Collins, chief brand and innovation officer at the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Massage Envy. If you look at [Massage Envys competitors and massage providers in general], their marketing materials, what you see is a beautiful woman who looks very relaxed on a table. She may or may not be getting a facial. Her eyes are closed. She sometimes has cucumber slices on her eyes, and theres a lotus flower floating next to her. That reinforces the idea that this is a luxury. So we flipped that over and said we need to normalize [these services].

Creatively, Collins, who worked with Fallon during tenures at Lee Jeans and H&R Block, alluded to what late agency founder Pat Fallon called snap your head back marketingthe type of work that makes people stop and want to watch it again.

Ive always used that as a filter, she said. Will this get the consumers attention and make them think about the brand differently?

Indeed, with shooting the ads from above and focusing squarely on the actors faces and dialogue (in an Errol Morris kind of approach), the new spotsdirected by Dave McCary, another SNL alummanage to position pampering in a much different way.

Rather than trying to explain the benefits of the facial, we thought it would be more memorable to show it in a way that no one has seen before, said Joe Johnson, Fallon creative director. We wanted to be as honest as we could and use people who may not be known as skincare influencers.

The choice of Bayer (who worked at DraftFCB when she was beginning her comedy career in Chicago) and Castro was unexpected yet, because of their comedy chops, provided a degree of accessibility.

This kind of actor was perfect, Collins said. If we had used a Brad Pitt, for example, people would say, Of course Brad Pitt gets a facial. I like Vanessa and Arturo because they are a little more down to earth.

Collins also noted that several hours per day of improv resulted in a great deal of material left unused for the ads.

It got funnier and funnierand I think we got punchier as the day went on, she said. But Ive asked Fallon to put together an outtakes reel for our national convention in April because it was so much fun.

But the spirit of the ad is to make the idea of facials and massages far more approachable and part of someones routine, as evidenced by the brands Keep Your Body Working positioning, and a campaign from last year targeting people who are frazzled by hectic work and life schedules.

Some of our research reminded us of the benefits or wellness routines like facials and massages, Collins said. They exceed the physical benefits as well as the mental and emotional ones as well. Weve heard consumers talk about how, before going in for a massage, they are unfocused, scattered and anxious. And, after they come out, feel a reduction in all of those things.

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With Witty New Ads, Massage Envy Wants Pampering to Be a More Accessible Part of Life - Adweek

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call for population control during his Independence Day address last year, data shows a lax implementation of family planning schemes across India, as states spent just 55% of the funds approved by the Centre under that head.

Of the Rs 12,710 crore sanctioned for family planning from 2016-17 to 2019-20, states managed to spend only about Rs 6,995 crore (see box) about Rs 100 crore of which went towards advertisements alone.Yet, the birth rate dropped from 20.4% in 2016-17 to 20.2% in 2017-18, according to the governments sample registration system survey.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, too, had recently expressed concern over the demographic skew, sought revision of the National Population Policy, 2000 and its uniform enforcement across the country.

Officials said under the Central budget for 2019-20, Rs 140 crore was earmarked for free distribution of contraceptives and Rs 100 crore for social marketing of contraceptives.

Various types of spacing methods are offered to all beneficiaries irrespective of marital status in all districts across the country.

Yet, as per National Family Health Survey 4, the use of contraceptives in sexually active unmarried adolescents in India was just 16.4%.

Awareness programmes were also held like the first phase of the 360-degree media campaign launched in 2016 and the second phase comprising TV commercials, posters and hoardings, and a dedicated website on Family Planning was launched in 2017.

Moreover, every year celebrations are held on World Population Day and Vasectomy Fortnight to boost awareness across all states.

However, as per sample registration system survey, the Birth rate in the year 2016-17 was 20.4 which came down by only 0.2 points to 20.2 in the subsequent year 2017-18.

Only Rs 6,995 crore spend

Of the Rs 12,710 crore sanctioned for family planning from 2016-17 to 2019-20, states managed to spend only about Rs 6,995 crore about Rs 100 crore of which went towards advertisements alone.

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States spent just 55 per cent of central family planning funds in four years - The New Indian Express

In 2019, the year that third-wave feminism took on new firepower in light of the #MeToo movement and induction of incredible women like Alexandra Ocasio Cortez into the US political system, the most loved influencer on the internet is a woman obsessed with housework.

In case youve been living under a rock, Mrs Hinch, aka Sophia Hinchliffe, is everywhere - shes a viral Instagram sensation who gained hundreds of thousands of followers very quickly by sharing her cleaning tips. Hinchliffe shot into the public eye (gaining one million followers and becoming verified on Instagram in just three months) in the most sudden, extreme way (and whoever you are, thats never an easy thing to handle or adjust to) but shes taken it in her stride and continues to use her influence for good. Sophies content consists of encouraging people to clean away their blues or even just to gather the motivation to complete one small, but effective task that will bring with it that sense of achievement - the sort we all feel from changing our bedsheets or flipping those diffuser stick things in the loo. Even Mumsnet the lions den of hard-to-please women seems to love her, despite her apparent obsession with Zoflora (whatever that is).

Whether youre into cleaning hacks or not, Mrs Hinch is undeniably addictive, so its no surprise the nation has joined the cleaning revolution that will shine your soul as much as your sink. From an agency perspective, her rise to prominence has been immense to watch there really isnt a week that goes by when a client, prospect client or even your mate in the pub doesnt ask about Mrs Hinch. Shes even started a whole new influencer vertical, with cleanfluencers popping up all over the gram such as @mybudgethome and @cleanmama. Its official, the UK is Hinch-ing mad.

So, apart from her second-to-none cleaning hacks what is it that makes Mrs Hinch the most wanted influencer on the internet? What exactly is it that led to her racking up a near three million following on Instagram, with a whopping 6.7% engagement rate? Most influencers with three million followers are traditional celebrities, whove forged their fame through traditions means, like being an actor, musician, footballer or whatever. This is a woman who became a household name by running a tight ship. For comparison's sake, at three million followers you would usually expect the engagement rate of an influencer to be around 0.5%, not a near 7%. If you need the maths, 500k followers usually equates to around 1% ER, 150k at 2% ER and 75k at 4% ER you get the picture. Hinchliffes engagement rate should be dwindling with every new follower, but instead, its rising.

If the attraction of influencers lies in their ability to create a life you envy or aspire to, then Mrs Hinch is the most accessible version of that she is quite possibly the ultimate, yet most relatable, example of an influencer. In many ways, Mrs Hinch is a fairy-tale story; she is a very normal woman who was anonymous two years ago, and now has three million followers and a significantly more comfortable life. Many would say she won lifes lottery, but in actuality, shes just really good at being herself and in turn, an influencer. She is completely authentic, honest and down to earth, she is the Cinderella who actually loved cleaning the house instead of chasing after princes, and loved it so much she decided to teach all her followers how they too can be the best versions of themselves. Instead of just falling into the princess role, she taught herself how to be one and then gave you the instructions of how to do it yourself. See where Im going with this metaphor? Shes a bargain hunting, easy going, beautiful, kind, self-made star, famous for being a really good egg, easy to love, perfect to work with, and makes you feel like you can do better and be better. Shes the underdog that became the nations sweetheart.

The click-through and conversion rate on Mrs Hinch is like nothing we have seen before. Week-on-week, she is consistently the top performing influencer. Since her rise to prominence, she has grabbed fame by the horns and worked with numerous globally known brands, such as Very.co.uk and P&G, gone on to launch her own loungewear line (which sold out in less than an hour with all proceeds going to charity) and released no less than two books called Hinch Yourself Happy, and Mrs Hinch: The Activity Journal which made it onto Amazons bestseller list two months before it was actually released.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the establishment of Hinchliffes empire, is the invisibility of her face for a while, anyway. On a platform where the algorithm favors beautiful faces, Hinchliffe defied all odds and pretty much everything the industry would advise to grow your following by rising to fame without showing her face, and predominantly posting on Stories, not grid. Stories notoriously give the viewer a more revealing insight into who you are, so Hinchliffe well and truly had her audience hooked on her own very unique brand of content. Again, without banging the drum too loudly, she was authentic from the start and boy has it worked.

While many influencers (and who would blame them, theyve earned the money so why not spend it?) would have bought a huge mansion by now and upgraded to a life their followers could only dream of instead of truly relate to, Mrs Hinch has tried her very best to keep her life as normal as possible. Her home was such a big investment and milestone, that instead of moving house she extended her home just to accommodate her new baby. She still shops in bargain basements, and will most likely continue to because thats what her followers want from her; honesty.

She also understands her audience to the nth degree (something Im sure many influencers would love to be able to claim), as well as understanding the influencer business. The majority of Hinchliffes commercial work operates through brand ambassadorships with (archetypally aligned) key partners on a long term basis.

According to her management team at Gleam Futures, Sophie agreed to do this type of work on the basis that it would maintain integratory and avoid over-saturation things many newly established influencers wouldnt usually have front of mind. Brands know just how much influence she as and therefore how many thousands of items shell be able to sell, and also that the price point of what shes selling is pretty low, so people are likely to take a gamble (although not such a gamble because they do trust her) and buy something just because she recommends it, and is an ambassador for it. Just to prove how influential her recommendations are, one of our homeware clients, who we aligned to work with Mrs Hinch, sold 49 pairs of curtains (the end of the stock) after Mrs Hinchs recommendation and the product became the second-highest viewed page on the entire site that day.

Hinchliffe is the perfect example of an influencer and a role model for us all. Her influence is widespread and addictive, too big to be contained in her own platform even, with Hinchliffes husband whose newly set-up Instagram account (@mrhinchhome, of course) earned him 346K in just 12 weeks. Its no surprise that her fans are an extremely active, love-filled community that shares cleaning tips and appreciation for each others spotless homes; its easy to clean when youve got thousands cheering you on.

Mrs Hinch is knowledgeable, genuinely helpful, unique, authentic, true to herself, approachable and trustworthy. That magic combination is what makes her content such a valuable commodity, and all brands and influencers alike should strive to her level of transparency, honesty and well-thought-through alignment if they too want a slice of the similar success shes earned.

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Why Mrs Hinch is the most loved influencer on the internet - The Drum