by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 21, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
With a growing shift toward social messaging platforms, your business needs to find a way to incorporate these apps into your content marketing strategy.
Feel like giving yourself a pat on the back for finally getting a handle on how to effectively use social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Twitter in supply chain marketing? Well, you might not want to celebrate just yet.
In the constantly changing world of online connection, social messaging apps are the new social media. The top four social messaging platforms have overtaken the top four social media networks in terms of monthly active users.
The increasing popularity of social messaging platforms means your business needs to consider how to incorporate social messaging apps into your marketing strategy if you want to continue to best meet your costumers.
Here’s what supply chain businesses need to know about social messaging apps — and why to use them in supply chain management.
What’s a social messaging platform?
Social messaging platforms are exactly as they sound. They are applications that allow people to easily and quickly connect with friends, family, and businesses for personal and professional conversations. They are basically email’s hip, smart, stylish grandchild. Sending text, photos, multimedia files, and even making voice calls are all available options.
Let’s take a closer look at the top four social messaging apps to gain a better sense of what they can do.
- WhatsApp. The enormously popular WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, is the most used social messaging app in the world with more than 1.5 billion users. Easy to understand and designed for smartphones and tablets, users can send text messages, photos, voice recordings and videos and even make voice calls over the internet. And guess what? It’s all free. In addition, WhatsApp lets users set a status for their contacts to see without having to message everyone, use the map function to communicate location info with someone, and share files from a phone or computer.
- Facebook Messenger. Facebook has its own messaging app too, and it’s just behind WhatsApp at 1.3 billion users. This social messaging app builds on Facebook’s user network but the message functionality was separated from the main social networking app a few years ago. Users can send messages and exchange photos, videos, stickers, and audio files, and they can react to other users’ messages too. You can also make free voice and video calls through the app.
- WeChat. With nearly 700 million users, WeChat dominates in China and is making a serious push for global reach. WeChat provides users with free mobile instant messaging, video and voice calls, group chat, and multimedia messaging with images, video, audio, stickers, and more.
- Viber. Viber is another free messaging app that works between phones, tablets, and computers. It currently has 400 million users. Users can send texts, stickers and emoticons, photos, voice and video messages. Viber also has a feature called Communities, which are public chat channels where the user can like and reply to messages in group conversations. It also has a built-in QR code scanner and, like WhatsApp, the ability to share your GPS location in conversations.
Why move to social messaging platforms?
If you’re questioning why to move toward one (or more!) of these four social messaging apps, here’s the short answer: because your customers are.
[bctt tweet=”If you’re questioning why to move towards a social messaging app the answer is that supply chain businesses can use these platforms to deliver content, engage with customers one-on-one, and offer superior personalized customer service.” username=”Fronetics”]
The longer answer is that supply chain businesses can use these platforms to deliver content, engage with customers one-on-one, and offer superior personalized customer service, all of which result in high-quality relationships and leads. And with the successful rise of chatbots in supply chain marketing, this kind of interaction is more feasible than it may initially sound.
If you need more reasons, don’t just take my word for it. Consider these 10 graphs that show why your business should gravitate toward increasing your social messaging presence.
Social messaging apps for the supply chain
So, which social messaging app is best for the supply chain? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. These are the top 4 platforms where your customers and potential customers are spending time, so this is where you should meet them.
But we all know that “doing it all” isn’t always feasible. So, in order to get the most from your time (and budget!), make sure to take the time to choose the best social messaging app for your marketing needs.
Ask these important questions:
- Who is my target audience?
- How will the app add value to my target audiences?
- How do I want to deliver my content?
- Do I want to use more than one app?
- How frequently will I be marketing on the app?
These questions can help you find the social messaging apps that will work best for your marketing campaign and start connecting with customers in a more personalized way.
With the shift toward messaging apps, your business needs to find a way to do the same. But however you plan to incorporate a social messaging app, here’s a final word of caution: you aren’t a friend, and you aren’t family. Be engaging, be helpful, be available. Just don’t be intrusive. The 2018 Sprout Social Index shows that people are still using social media primarily for connecting with friends and family. As businesses consider how to use messaging apps to deliver content and engage with leads, it is very thin line between getting into your costumers’ hearts or getting under their skin.
This post originally appeared on EBN Online.
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by Fronetics | Nov 15, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
The popularity of video marketing is on the rise, and savvy supply chain marketers are using this medium to tell their brand’s story, broaden their audience, and generate leads.
Video is the most popular form of content being consumed online today — and it shows no sign of slowing down. Smart supply chain marketers are developing a visual storytelling strategy that offers consistent delivery of valuable content.
Wyzowl’s The State of Video Marketing in 2018 provides a lot of data and an excellent overview of video marketing. Read on for our key takeaways.
Video usage is continuing to grow
Not only are more and more businesses using video as a marketing tool, and planning to continue to do so, but a majority of businesses that don’t use video plan to start doing so this year. This means that supply chain marketing will continue to expand in this more visual direction. Marketers should adjust their strategies to favor content that lends itself to this kind of storytelling.
Of course, it doesn’t take a survey to know that video is taking over the way we consume content. If you use the internet, you’re bound to have seen the significant uptick in video content over the past three years. This medium is now a central part of how we live, and it’s not going anywhere.
When it comes to user experience, video adds a tremendous amount of value. In fact, when both video and text are available on the same page, Wyzowl found that 72 percent of people reported that they would rather use video to learn about a product or service.
[bctt tweet=”When both video and text are available on the same page, Wyzowl found that 72% of people reported that they would rather use video to learn about a product or service.” username=”Fronetics”]
What does this mean for your marketing strategy? The obvious answer is use more video content. Consider accompanying data-heavy blog posts with explanatory animated videos, conducting and sharing video interviews with executives or industry leaders, or turning a case-study into an animated video presentation.
Sharing is everything
Creating compelling video is only half the battle — the next step is making sure it gets to the widest possible segment of your audience. You might think that it’s just cat videos that get shared on social media, but according to Wyzowl, “if you create video content that your specific audience enjoys, 83 percent of consumers would consider sharing it with their friends.”
So, what makes content share-worthy? There aren’t really any gimmicks here. What you need is quality, well-researched content that visually engages viewers. At Fronetics, we’ve written extensively about video marketing. Here are a few posts that may interest you if you’re curious about how video can fit into your content strategy.
by Fronetics | Nov 12, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Social platforms create an opportunity to connect with prospects but only if your efforts align with customer preferences. Here’s how brands can focus on creating content that customers actually want.
In 2018 social media platforms have made a concerted effort to keep their platforms, well, social. User experience is the top priority, and many brands and businesses feel like they’ve been pushed to the back burner.
Businesses aiming to increase brand awareness must think long-term when it comes to social media. Social media marketers need to engage with users, not simply disrupt the user’s experience. This means that content shared by a brand needs to be relevant, useful, and let’s face it, visually engaging.
The overlap between brands and users
In the 2018 Social Sprout Index, researchers found that 61% of marketers create posts that teach readers something. But that’s not all, 59% of consumers reported wanting to read posts that teach something. The connection is obvious.
[bctt tweet=”In the 2018 Social Sprout Index, researchers found that 61% of marketers create posts that teach readers something. But that’s not all, 59% of consumers reported wanting to read posts that teach something. The connection is obvious.” username=”Fronetics”]
Businesses looking to increase user engagement on social platforms need to focus on providing users with what they want. Users want you to teach them. So, showcase why your brand is a leader in your industry or highlight how your products or services can be the solution to a problem.
Most social media users are still using platforms to connect with friends and family, so it’s imperative for businesses to focus on authentic engagement. This can only be accomplished by connecting readers to useful and informative information.
“The most enlightened social marketing strategy integrates awareness and consideration stage content — opening the door with entertainment and inspiration, then carrying audiences across the threshold with education, information about new product offerings and discounts and sales.” Social Sprout Index 2018
And while 80% of marketers report increasing brand awareness as their primary social media goal, it’s not always easy to know how to get started creating relevant content that will resonate with users. Here is Kettie Laky, Social Media Director, to explain how businesses can be helpful to users on social platforms.
Video: How businesses can be helpful on social platforms
Takeaway: Focus on what’s important
It’s time for marketers to stop wasting time and resources on content that doesn’t resonate with users. Aligning priorities between what users want and what marketers are producing is key to creating long-lasting relationships with prospects. Brands who are actually helpful, not intrusive, will reap the benefits of their hard work.
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by Fronetics | Nov 7, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Companies can reach millennial B2B buyers by partnering with popular social media users who speak with passion and expertise to young professionals.
Numbering 80 million, millennials have become the largest demographic segment in the United States and are expected to command more than $1 trillion in disposable income by the year 2020. As this generation comprises an increasing percentage of the B2B buying landscape, businesses must pay attention to their professional purchasing habits — which, it turns out, bleed over from their personal purchasing patterns.
Millennials are notoriously hard to reach through traditional marketing strategies. But successfully appealing to that demographic is becoming more and more important. Jay I. Sinha and Thomas T. Fung, marketing specialists at Temple University, explain how B2B companies can use “nano-marketing” techniques to generate buzz and build credibility with millennials.
Micro-influencers
Large companies have traditionally used celebrities and recognizable logos to promote their brands. But millennials have turned away from advertising and endorsements that aren’t perceived as authentic or based on expert knowledge.
Millennials have led a surge in the popularity of social media platforms, and companies have found increasing success in using sites like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and YouTube to market to this demographic.
[bctt tweet=”“Micro-influencers,” or social media users whose followers number between 1,000 and 100,000, have proven four times more likely to generate viewer engagement over the products they review than celebrity endorsements.” username=”Fronetics”]
“Micro-influencers,” or social media users whose followers number between 1,000 and 100,000, have proven four times more likely to generate viewer engagement over the products they review than celebrity endorsements. Partnering with micro-influencers is a highly affordable way for companies to make their brands visible and relatable.
Micro-influencers have helped turn start-ups into major brand-names and have helped established companies extend their influence into youthful markets, leading Inc. magazine to declare 2018 the “Year of the Micro-Influencer.”
Strategies for B2B companies
Sinha and Fung argue that this strategy is not just for B2C companies selling products known to appeal to millennial consumers. What’s known as nano-marketing, or partnership with micro-influencers, can be just as effective for B2B.
Sinha and Fung offer four managerial guidelines for B2B companies seeking to partner with micro-influencers.
1. Micro-influencers have specialized and self-selecting audiences.
Picking the right micro-influencer to partner with can help you target the sub-groups you want to reach. For instance, GE uses nano-marketing to help recruit female tech professionals.
2. Recognize the strengths of micro-influencers.
They make products and companies seem relatable to viewers by sharing their personal experiences. Companies can leverage this in their branding.
3. Nano-marketing works best as “a subtle nudge.”
Whereas traditional advertising has to be heavy-handed to be memorable, micro-influencers speak with credibility about brands that they personally have used.
4. Entertainment.
Micro-influencers find innovative ways of producing content that will appeal to their followers and incorporate their brand endorsement in creative formats.
Millennial B2B buyers should be an increasing focus of your targeted marketing activities — if they’re not already. How are you reaching this audience?
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by Fronetics | Oct 31, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Also in social media news, October 2018: Snapchat partners with Amazon on visual search tool, Google Plus is shutting down, and Instagram adds Quick Replies for business accounts.
With the arrival of Halloween, we know that the holidays are quickly approaching. Consumers will be busy making plans and diving into holiday specials. But social networks will also be hard at work trying to stand out against brick and mortar stores as an alternative for holiday preparations.
[bctt tweet=”Businesses looking to gain traction during the holiday season will reap the benefits of social networks, which are including new features and updates that will help brands connect with new (and existing) users.” username=”Fronetics”]
Businesses looking to gain traction during the holiday season will reap the benefits of social networks, which are including new features and updates that will help brands connect with new (and existing) users. With a heavy focus on customer engagement, these new options help businesses stay connected with new features like Quick Replies on Instagram. These small but helpful updates will allow companies to have a greater reach without extra work for their marketers.
Here’s your social media news for October 2018.
Instagram founders leave Facebook
Kevin Systrom, CEO, and Mike Krieger, CTO, resigned from Instagram this week amidst rumors of tension with Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. “We’re planning on leaving Instagram to explore our curiosity and creativity again. Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that’s what we plan to do,” writes Systrom in a statement for Instagram. Bloomberg News reports that tension between co-founders grew over the direction of Instagram. These departures create an opportunity for Facebook to oversee Instagram more directly.
LinkedIn updates Groups
LinkedIn Groups now offer more engaged conversation tools including embedded videos, images, and updates to posts, alerts, and much more. “Over the past year, we’ve focused on bringing conversations to the forefront on LinkedIn, adding new features to make it easy for you to talk to your professional communities. The new Groups experience helps you take advantage of all these conversations tools with a seamless, faster experience so you can easily participate in your groups,” writes Mitali Pattnaik for LinkedIn’s blog. All groups are currently being updated with these features.
Snapchat Partners with Amazon on visual search tool
Snapchat users are going to have a new way to search for products on Amazon, one of the world’s biggest e-commerce corporations. Using the Snapchat app, users can point their camera at a product or barcode and, once recognized, a link will appear to that product (or a similar one) on Amazon. Though the update is currently only available to a small group of users, Snapchat is hoping to roll out the new feature to all users shortly.
Instagram rolls out Quick Replies for business accounts in direct messenger
Instagram introduced Quick Replies for business accounts in direct messenger this month. The new feature allows businesses to create quick responses to frequently asked questions, like shipping rates and contact information. Quick Replies will help businesses communicate quickly and efficiently with users. Instagram tested the new functionality back in May, but just made the update available on all devices and the web.
Google Plus shuts down
Google Plus, Google’s social network, is shutting down for good after a security breach that exposed up to 500,000 users between 2015 and 2018. Ben Smith, Google’s vice president of engineering, acknowledged that Google detected a security issue back in March, but immediately addressed it. In a blog post on October 8, Smith writes, “A review did highlight the significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers’ expectations. Given these challenges and the very low usage of the consumer version of Google+, we decided to sunset the consumer version of Google+. “
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by Fronetics | Oct 24, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Brands need to focus on the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer’s journey to build relationships and boost social media ROI.
Are you focusing on the right phases of the buyer’s journey in your social media strategy? The 2018 Sprout Social Index shows that customers prefer businesses to provide social media content that aids in awareness and consideration, not the end sale.
Misaligned priorities
Sprout Social’s 2018 Index found that users “want brand awareness and consideration stage content from brands on social, but 80% of social marketers are hyper-focused on awareness activities, leaving out the consideration piece of the puzzle.” When brands don’t meet the needs of their audience with consideration stage content, they’re missing out on building relationships and ultimately cutting into social media ROI.
[bctt tweet=”Sprout Social found a great deal of misalignment when it comes to what marketers post versus what consumers want to see on their social media platforms. ” username=”Fronetics”]
Sprout Social found a great deal of misalignment when it comes to what marketers post versus what consumers want to see on their social media platforms. Part of the issue is a failure to define ROI in the most productive way. Thinking about social media’s value in terms of direct attribution leads to a skewed focus on sales, and erodes the effectiveness of brands’ social media efforts. According to Sprout Social, “social’s true value isn’t in direct attribution — it’s in the awareness and consideration stages of the funnel.”
The right kind of content
Despite the misalignment, there is one area of overlap between what marketers focus on and what users want to see: “posts that teach.” Which brings us back to consideration stage content. “If you aren’t already, meet consumers in this sweet spot in the consideration stage,” suggests Sprout Social. This means taking users beyond recognizing your brand and into knowing where your expertise and thought leadership lies.
Educational content is key in the consideration stage. It’s important to remember that this kind of content doesn’t necessarily need to showcase your product to be valuable — it’s all about offering your audience the information and expertise they’re looking for. For B2B businesses, particularly the supply chain, this could mean anything from product demonstrations to think pieces about how to optimize production.
“The most enlightened social marketing strategy integrates awareness and consideration stage content — opening the door with entertainment and inspiration, then carrying audiences across the threshold with education, information about new product offerings, and discounts and sales,” says Sprout Social.
Diversifying focus between awareness and consideration is crucial to getting the most out of your social media efforts. As social networks home in on preserving the social aspects of their platforms, it’s all the more important for brands to align their activities with what users actually want to see, to stay relevant.
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