Mobile Marketing and the Millennial Generation

Millennials are thought to be the innovators of the marketing world. These are the individuals who make purchasing decisions based more on what their friends recommend and who also think the cronut was the best pastry to ever exist. It is a weird bunch, to say the least. However, this is also a group of individuals who know what they want. Marketers are having a difficult time coming to terms with this idea.

This age group spends more time using mobile apps, more than their younger counterparts (18-24 y/o demographic). What this means for marketers: mobile marketing is going to change in order to get more of these consumers onto a product or service. What makes this all the more difficult is the fact that Millennials usually ignore traditional ways of advertising. This also means that eventually mobile marketing will make its way out and eventually have something to take its place. Sticking with word-of-mouth marketing tactics seems to be what this generation wants more of, rather than anything else.

What this all means for marketers is not that mobile marketing is not working, but new ways of thinking need to start making a name. Millennials want new and interesting tactics to be used.

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Shop Local, Make an Impact

Small businesses have started to make a comeback. Everything between shop local and Small Business Saturday (the day after Black Friday), these businesses are making a name for themselves. Now, thanks to tons of marketing techniques, these small and local businesses are in more control of how new and returning customers find out about the location.

Google offers a wide array of ways businesses can be found by consumers. Google My Business and Google Places are two such web applications that can be used. Google Places allows for customers to see the business when making searches. It allows for search results made for local places to be placed online and visible to consumers. Google Places is also free for use and only requires an account to be made by the business.

When using Google Places:

• Use Keywords: Relevant keywords make it easier for the customer to search.
• Add images and videos: Consumers like to feel like they are transported into a place. Adding images and videos of a business is going to be a major draw for people who may want to visit.
• Encouraging reviews: There are surprisingly a lot of people who look to reviews to make decisions. Letting people know that the business has a place for reviews could draw in more customers, as well.

The fact that Google Places and Google My Business practically work in the same way makes it more likely for a consumer to find a local business. Each works separately but in the same way, but by using both, it increases the business’ likelihood of being found by a new and intrigued customer.

Storytelling: Marketing’s Secret Weapon

Have you ever heard a story that was so enticing that it left you wanting more? That is exactly what marketers today are hoping to give to consumers. People like to feel a connection, this includes a connection with the things they buy. Companies that tell a story that makes the consumer connect on a different level shows a different side to both the consumer and the company.

What happens to our brains when we hear a story is that we are automatically transferred to that point. Whereas, if a person is reading straight facts or seeing general marketing it is less likely to stick out in their minds.

As humans, we spend about a third of our day daydreaming, meaning that our minds are constantly looking to be distracted by something else.

As seen with this year’s Target holiday commercial, a story format is used. Three children are transported to a new world and there their story begins. With commercials like this, it is easy to see where a consumer’s mind roams while watching. This can be said for just about any other storytelling marketing idea.

Where do you see your mind going while watching a commercial?

IoT: A Gateway to Something Greater

Are we slowly becoming a society that George Orwell warned us about? How smart is too smart for technology? Are these the questions we should be asking? For a marketer, the idea of technology taking control over certain parts of a consumer’s life is probably not exactly what was in mind. Looking at the Internet of Things (IoT), this is exactly what is occurring.

The use of high-tech marketing, as it can also be referred, is an offer of objects having personalities, in turn drawing in consumers and their purchasing behaviors. Not only are these objects being purchased by willing consumers, these objects are also able to track the consumer’s behavior with such objects. What marketers are hoping with these objects is that they will be more appealing to consumers from all walks of life. Why have a regular fridge when you could have a smart fridge?!

However, there is the predicament of “What is considered too smart?” Of course, these products are not going to be in everyone’s homes, but those who choose to let this new age idea into their homes may be more helpful than they think. Staying on top of current trends, especially for a business, is more than possible in the world of today. By 2020, over 50 billion objects will have smart characteristics installed.

Protection for this type of data is definitely a concern. So it has some companies and consumers asking: “How much data collection is too much?” Security for this type of information collection is less of an add-on and more integrated, more so that the consumer does not have to worry about the information transferred into the devices.

Of course, IoT is becoming more and more popular with businesses. However, not all technology can keep up with what is being put out. Slowly, but surely, maybe we’ll all encounter something like this in our marketing lives.

Who You Gonna Call?: The Making of a Viral Video

Why do videos become so popular? Usually it’s due to one aspect of the video being catchy and then the sharing begins online. Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ video was one of the videos we are talking about today. As a video that became a hit overnight, making sense of why it is a hit is also an important factor in the IMC world. WE WANT TO CREATE INTERESTING AND COMPELLING VIDEOS, TOO!

The video is about Drake and a recent brakeup who will not return his phone calls. It also includes a lot of Drake dancing in a multicolored cube throughout the song. Mesmerizing, I know.

Some of the tricks that came up in media for this video to go viral was the timeliness of it all. So far, SNL, Ellen Degeneres, and The Daily Show have all chimed in on the action, creating even more buzz for the video. The fact that the video is simple makes no sense, yet it has inspired people to get involved with it and create parodies of their own. That is one of the key factors to creating a viral video.

For IMC, looking to what’s popular at the moment can go a long way, depending on what you are trying to get at with wording and overall messaging.

Periscope and the Changes to Social Media

I first heard, and used, the Periscope app while doing an internship with Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The park had a pair of peregrine falcons that decided to nest on the side of one of the cliffs. As part of the marketing team for the summer, the use of Periscope was primarily a test to see what type of influence it could have on those watching. Interesting enough, people watching were really into what was going on and seeing the falcons come in and out of the cliff nest. Though the video only last a minute or two, it was good to see how interactions happen while using the app.

How Periscope works: as an app that was picked up by Twitter earlier this year, Periscope allows users to broadcast a live stream video. The video is available for up to 24 hours and anyone who has a Twitter account can view what others have recorded. In other words, Periscope is really awesome if you’re into having your life live streamed online.

Recently, Twitter announced that the Periscope app has over 10 million people signed up and using the app. This occurring in little over 4 months. With recent events in the world, such as the terrorist attacks in Paris, Periscope users are able to connect with the world on a completely different level. Recent footage shows that life is slowly, but surely, coming back to the City of Lights.

As of right now, the one competitor that could someday outdo Twitter would be Facebook. For now, Twitter and Periscope are creating a real time social media idea that others will probably try to replicate in the near future.

Making Connections: What Do Consumers Want?

When trying to reach out to a particular audience on social media, where do you begin? Is it important to listen to your consumers? How about adding value to your posts? What is most important for your business, company, or self? Why not all of the above?

Consumers want to know that they are getting more than an expected from something, especially on social media. For example, a brand that connects with consumers via social media by responding to messages, opinions, etc. is more than likely going to get a better response than those companies that don’t participate. However, this does not necessarily mean all connections are worthwhile.

As Susan Gunelius of Entrepreneur points out: “Quality trumps quantity. It’s better to have 1,000 online connections who read, share and talk about your content with their own audiences than 10,000 connections who disappear after connecting with you the first time.”

An audience expects a show. Having fun with social media and understanding the audience that is using it is more reassuring than anything else. Consumers want to see that a brand or company is connecting with them over social media. It makes them feel a sense of involvement and not just another customer.

If nothing else, take this bit of knowledge with you: quality of quantity. It goes without saying in most cases. When getting involved with social media, remember to listen, focus and drive your consumers to a certain point with your brand or act of acknowledgment.

Influencing Consumers: Appealing To Those On Social Media

Why are consumers drawn to some ads more than others? This is a question marketers sometimes find themselves asking, and sure enough there is an answer. According to Fast Company:

“Studies have shown emotional and psychological appeals resonate more with consumers than feature and function appeals. In advertising copy, benefits—which often have a psychological component—generally outsell features. Demonstrating how that new computer will improve a potential customer’s life tends to have more influence rather than explaining how it works.”

Can the same be said for consumers who look to social media for all their answers? Social media can definitely help with the idea of an ad or company coming to life. For example, an advertisement may be featured on a website. The consumer will then either be attached or not to the advertisement after seeing it on social media and hopefully check out the company featured on the ad a little more than before. It is a marketer’s ideal situation. What has been found in recent years is that consumers are not going to social media to look at the latest products. These individuals are casually using social media to connect with other people. This is where marketing can take a turn. As this article suggests, social media and content sharing can be the best of both worlds:

“If you’ve been using social media marketing for even a short period of time, you’ve likely realized that consumers are good at tuning out brand-related content on Facebook and Twitter. You know that social media by itself could never motivate a fan or follower to recommend your brand to others, let alone purchase your products.”

The next time you see content being shared on social media, take note. See what source is being shared and by whom. Maybe it will get you thinking about what marketing on social media is all about.

Emerging Media and Ethical Issues: Where Do We Draw the Line?

Emerging media is brought up at the very least once a month. It seems like there is a news article or TV reporter bringing up what is happening in social media/emerging media. Why is this so relevant? The reason: it is something that is a part of each person’s everyday life. This new media is going to make individuals act in different, yet similar ways, compared to how these individuals already perceive the media already being consumed. What has some concerned are the ethics that go along with this emerging new media.

Example of Disaster on Periscope

The ethics of this newer industry is challenging for most of the game changers. “The rapid rate of contemporary technological change requires that we re-examine our understanding of fundamental human relationships and our assumption about community which form the basis for most practices of ethical decision-making” (Find more on the article here). Depending on the type of media being used also depends on what ethical issues are being questioned.

An issue came up earlier this year with social media, along with the up and coming Periscope, a social media device combined with Twitter to broadcast a live feed right from someone’s phone. “Some people on Twitter took issue with the use of live-streaming apps during the event, arguing that it was distasteful or unethical to do so when people’s lives were still in danger.” Maybe this is more of a part of human nature to want and share information. “The Internet has in many ways erased physical boundaries like neighborhoods, and it is not a bad thing that people are interested in what is happening to strangers across the world” (Find more on the article here).

Are relationships with social media and emerging media more important than the ethical issues at hand?