Social Strategy in the Marketing Mix

Social strategy has become a key component in the marketing mix – but questions still remain as to what platforms should brands be on? What’s the perfect platform mix? Should brands play on all platforms? Does each platform serve a different purpose? Do brands need different communication strategies tailored for each?

Social media is changing every day and the platforms users use continue to grow and therefore I strongly advocate for a nimble social strategy that is rooted in brand objectives and help achieve campaign KPIs. Looking at social strategy as a part of a larger puzzle opens the doors for the inclusion of multiple platforms allowing brands to target their audiences with unique, platform personalized communication tactics.

There are lots of considerations when determining platforms within a strategy – Budget? Buy model? Audience reach on the platform? Creative assets available? Creative assets to create? There are countless elements that could influence ultimately the decision on which platforms to include and which to not. However, if possible. I think brands should be active on any/all relevant social platforms that deliver against their KPIs.

The most important component for determining which platforms to use is understanding the function and use of each.

Facebook

Facebook is the largest social media platform where users consume content, conversate and share their lives. Facebook provides brands a platform to create a visual representation of who they are and to interact with their audience. The pages become a content hub and the insights into the fans of a page are priceless benefits of using Facebook.

Facebook pages also impact SEO so from a web analytic standpoint, utilizing the Facebook platform adds additional benefits.

SEO Tips for Facebook

• ·       The ‘page name’ should be in the brand, business
• ·       The ‘info’ and ‘about’ tabs should be heavy populated
• ·      Link to relevant pages within the brand’s site/landing pages as much as possible
• ·      Add relevant descriptions to photos and events to increase search ability
• ·      All other online initiatives should drive to Facebook – the ‘F’ logo should always be visible to encourage and increase traffic to the page

For reach and frequency it is important to note that Facebook has acquired Instagram which is built in leverage to another extremely successful social platform.

From personal experience Facebook is a great platform to utilize for both awareness and eCommerce campaigns and marketing efforts. As the social platform with the most active users if a brand were to focus on one single platform – I would recommend Facebook.

Pinterest

As Pinterest continues to advance, so do their offerings and I think one of the most recent additions to the platform has a huge potential to boost this platform as an eCommerce driver – buyable pins. “Buyable Pines let people buy your products without ever leaving Pinterest (Buyable Pins, n.d.).” Buyable pins are easily recognizable as they are marked with a blue price. These pins can be found in search results, in related pins and within a business’s profile.

This is a brand new offering and not available to all advertisers yet however, once released, any brand with a presence on the platform working towards eCommerce strategies should implement.

Instagram

“Instagram, with more than 40 billion images shared and 400 million monthly active users, generates an average of 80 million photos per day. The mobile-based photo- and video-sharing social network powers the sharing of images and creation of community among users around the world. At only six years old, the platform has shown significant growth in its overall user base and in almost every demographic group (Johnston, 2016).”

Every platform has the opportunity to be successful, with the right strategy. Johnston, from Sprout Social put together a power strategy guide for Instagram.

·         Determine your objectives

o    What can we achieve on Instagram that we can’t elsewhere?

o    Who is our target audience and who from that audience is active on Instagram?

o    How does Instagram integrate with other networks in the social strategy?

Possible Instagram specific objectives:

§  Increase brand awareness

§  Increase customer engagement and loyalty

§  Showcase products and services

§  Connect with influencers

·         Develop a Content Strategy

o    Build Content Themes

o    Determine types of content and ratio

o    Set a content calendar (but be flexible)

o    Curating User Generated Content

o    Establish Clear Guidelines for Style, Publishing and Workflow

o    Foster Engagement and Set Guidelines for Community Management

§  Optimize Bio Link

§  Manage comments, mentions and direct messages

§  Follow accounts

§  Monitor hashtags and location tags

§  Search and Explore

·         Analyze Results

As previously mentioned since Facebook has purchased Instagram and the two social platforms integrate seamlessly in terms of buying and execution, the power of these tools is only just being realized.

Snapchat

Snapchat is a more recent addition to the advertising landscape in the world of social media, but it is rapidly growing and seeing success early.

Carlo Pacis recognizes separate marketing strategies and their objectives to grow business on Snapchat.

Strategy 1: Snapchat Exclusive Promotions

• ·      Objective: Increase e-commerce sales
• ·      These exclusive promotions rely on the business already having a snapchat following but the more follows the more effective occasional discounts and coupon codes will be.

Strategy 2: Day-to-Day Snaps

• ·         Objective: Increase business & product knowledge
• ·         These daily snaps create top of mind awareness and increase the value offered via social.

Strategy 3: Geofilters

• ·         Objective: Publicize events related to your business

Strategy 4: Influencer Marketing

• ·         Objective: Increase business/product legitimacy + reach
• ·         This can be achieved through sponsored posts, Snapchat takeovers, etc.

Strategy 5: Contests

• ·         Objective: Grow Snapchat following for future marketing
• ·         Contest on any channel are a great way to incentivize people within your   target to follow and engage on social media. 

Each platform can serve a unique purpose in any marketing plan. When building plans with multiple social channels it is imperative that it is understood how they can work together to increase reach, frequency, engagement and amplify the message while driving to the KPI. Social is such a powerful tool and with the capabilities and connectivity rapidly evolving, it will continue to be a foundation in digital strategy.

Web Analytics: Conversion Rate

Engagement. Impressions. Completed Views. In advertising and site evaluation these are important metrics – but ultimately, the one metric that matters, in a world of which sales equate to success is conversions. Businesses have to find ways to influence consumer behavior and convert.

To note, not all conversions have to be sales – it’s not a one KPI kind of metric – conversion simply means that the consumer took a desired action that furthers them down the path-to-purchase.

Looking at conversions as a part of the equation is what leads to the conversion rate – the percentage of users who take the desired action.

As with any metric, conversion rates shouldn’t be the end all be all as there are too many implications as to what causes the ebb and flow as well as to what is determined as successful.

With this in mind, there are ways to use conversion rates in more meaningful ways. Barker, from Smart Insights, provides the following into breaking through conversion rate limitations and making conversion an incredibility powerful tool.

Always take other numbers into account alongside overall conversion rates. Conversion rate is an excellent metric for us to ask, “Why?” Why has the rate increased? Why has it gone down?

Use it for very specific tasks. Landing pages built around a specific conversion tend to have a very high success rate. Email is another channel that has a strong influence on the path-to-purchase.

Break your conversion rate down by channel. Barker has two recommendations for channel breakdown:

• Acquisition channels like non-brand PPC will convert at a lower rate than a site average – these should be looked at individually rather than as an overall conversion.
• Channels should be separated so optimization strategies can be developed and implemented channel specific rather than an overall optimization strategy that may not see the same effect cross platform.

Break conversion rate down by visitor type. New and returning visitors have different motivations – just as we would approach the strategy to communicate to them and influence behavior, we should treat their conversions as too different metrics.

Focus on microconversions. Any problem has a solution but sometimes we look at the final goal and skip the smaller conversions that have to happen in order for the final conversion. It is important to look at the desired conversion in smaller chunks and make sure that you are optimizing and pulling triggers to hit each of those touchpoints. The small moments matter.

When I think of microconversions I relate this idea to consideration. In order to get a consumer to our final conversion we first have to peak their interest and secondly, we have to be in their considered set. Without consideration, we aren’t going to move the needle on any users path-to-purchase.

Google Analytics pinpoints 4 separate microconversions that should be measured and applied to success metrics – used to inform strategy and drive to the larger conversion metric.

• Email Signup
• Created Account
• Browsed Site Extensively
• PDF Downloads

Each of these actions are types of engagement users prior to purchasing. These microconversions are happening all the time, but not necessarily recognized as a key piece to the puzzle – when in reality, they are the puzzle.

Web analytics are a complex word, but when we put all the pieces together they help to inform larger decisions. We will continue to evaluate web analytics, the metrics and how it all comes together to improve strategy and influence behavior. 

Web Analytics: Landing Pages

Landing pages have become an integral part of marketing strategies with one specific key performance indicator (KPI) at their nucleus. Landing pages allow brands to direct their consumers to a separate page increasing the likelihood of them completing an isolated action. These pages are typically very simple and very clear as to what the viewer can get from the page. Ultimately, landing pages allow businesses and brands to target their audience, provide something of value and convert a higher percentage of visitors while capture their information.

Web analytics bring the effect of landing pages to life.  When we look at all the metrics within web analytics – amongst all categories (foundational, visit characterization, visitor characterization, engagement, conversion, etc) – landing pages provide one of the best environments to best understand all metrics and how they work together to inform strategy.

Ellins highlights the following key landing page metrics that should be considered in relation to all metrics within the path-to-conversion funnel:

• ·      Bounce Rate: The percentage of people who enter the website on the landing page and then leave without visiting another webpage.

• ·      Pages/Session: The number of pages each visitor visits on average after landing on the webpage.

• ·      Average Session Duration: The average time a visitor spends on the website after landing on a certain webpage.

• ·      Goal/Ecommerce Conversion Data: If goal tracking or ecommerce tracking is setup correctly then you can see the most valuable metric of all based off each landing page. The conversion rate is the rate of conversions over a relevant denominator.

As with any web initiative, the data exists – usually in abundance – but what qualifies success? What informs strategy? When we look at the data derived from the activity of a landing page we are looking at the past. How do we apply the learnings to the future? How do we grow, change and challenge our current opportunities? Vaughan, from Hubspot, provides actionable insights we can garner from landing pages. 

What is the overall effectiveness of your landing pages? 

As with anything on the web, we are trying to drive traffic and ultimately increase the consideration and conversion of our KPIs. If landing pages are generating little traffic it is imperative to adjust promotional strategy on other channels such as social media, email and blogs. In addition, conversation rate should be a fundamental metric used to determine the success rate of a landing page. Vaughan notes that on average, landing pages generate a 5-15% conversation rate. If the landing page is performing subpar it is imperative other metrics are evaluated to determine the source of the friction and to find solutions optimizing to stronger strategies. 

What landing page elements to test and optimize?

One of the greatest aspects of the web is that we can optimize, in real time. The web analytics of a landing page can help provide direction for testing and optimizing webpages. Evaluating top converting pages can also lead to the development of best practices to follow for the next landing page initiative. 

How are your landing pages are converting over time? 

“Understanding how individual landing pages are converting over time can help you pinpoint the offers that diminish in value. Knowing which landing pages are no longer performing for you can keep you on top of your landing page maintenance (Vaughan, 2012).” Landing pages tend to be a tactic that require goal setting which makes understanding the data and garnering insights much easier – we have an end goal, does the data get us there? So often data is just a heap of numbers with no purpose because we failed to give it one. Setting goals for all aspects of a website is the first step to ensure we are able to successfully evaluate and identify opportunities and challenges.