Digital Strategy | Media Matrix

Digital Space Consul1ng | Media Matrix

Pla$orm Overview When to Use Expected Metrics

Content Marke1ng

Content marke<ng involves the distribu<on of relevant, consistent content to a clearly defined audience. It gives brands the opportunity to share stories and solve customer problems. Content marke<ng can take on many forms including: interac<ve tools, web applica<ons, long form ar<cles, blog posts, infographics, research, reviews or videos. Targe<ng involves a deep understanding of the customer combined with keyword research.

Content marke<ng is oHen the vehicle brands use to influence organic search results, capture website traffic and become an authority. First, gather demographic, psychographic and behavioral data on the customer and understand where and how they interact with your product or service online. Next, iden<fy a problem that is unsolved or solved poorly via current content. Op<mize the solu<on for the customer and get it visible adop<ng social media marke<ng and other paid and organic channels to drive awareness.

Content marke<ng should be used to build a community, increase brand awareness and long term conversion. It is oHen integrated with other pla$orms for maximum reach and market penetra<on including press releases, email marke<ng and social media adver<sing. Content marke<ng is more difficult to hold to an ROI standard, yet web analy<cs can track conversions, traffic and shares.

Display Adver1sing

Display adver<sing is a graphical adver<sement that can appear in a variety of sizes and anima<ons, placed next to content on a vast network of websites opted in to display banner ads. Display or banner adver<sing allows for broad and narrow targe<ng op<ons including: website domains, customer demographics, contextual or content based keyword targe<ng and topic targe<ng.

Ad images and copy can be modified to target customers at any stage of the buying cycle. A majority of display ads are used to drive brand awareness using “click bait” imagery paired with calls to ac<on that provoke a landing page conversion. Display adver<sing is most effec<ve when targe<ng abandon carts through remarke<ng (specific ads shown to site visitors who completed or didn’t complete an ac<on on the site, such as a conversion).

Display adver<sing is one of the oldest forms of online adver<sing and is therefore frequently ignored. Expect lower conversion rates from standalone banner ads. Conversions are much higher when display ads are paired with remarke<ng campaigns. Cost per thousand impression (CPM) is the most common bidding model for display.

Email Marke1ng

Email marke<ng occurs when a business sends a promo<onal message to a list of subscribers. Email marke<ng helps businesses stay connected with customers while further promo<ng products and the business. Targe<ng op<ons are possible through segmenta<on of lists that can include demographic filters, psychographic filters, observed and predicted behavioral ac<ons.

Email marke<ng should be adopted by all brands in the conversion and engagement shopping cycles. Integra<on of email marke<ng into larger web marke<ng and content marke<ng strategies is cri<cal. Segmenta<on of subscribers helps deliver targeted messaging that increases click through rates. Campaigns should focus on the shopping/buyer cycle from brand awareness to conversion to engagement to advocacy.

Email marke<ng is most effec<ve when subscribers have opted-‐in to lists. Otherwise spam can be triggered, preven<ng future campaigns from ever being delivered. Email campaigns can be used to generate new leads, build customer loyalty or contribute to brand recogni<on and site click-‐through-‐rates



Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social networking site used by approximately 1 billion people. Adver<sements are available in a variety of formats and sizes and appear on the side of a user’s page and directly within news feeds. With Facebook ads, businesses can target audiences more deeply then other ad pla$orms including: gender, loca<on, age, likes and interests, workplace, educa<on, even rela<onship status.

Facebook ads are primarily used to increase awareness for B2C brands, although all stages of the shopping cycle are possible to target. Integrate Facebook into larger campaigns and content marke<ng strategies that accomplish one of the following objec<ves: Brand pages can be promoted on Facebook in news feeds to increase likes, brand awareness and engagement. Adroll remarke<ng can be used to effec<vely target abandoned cart or missed conversions through news feed and sidebar ads on Facebook. Ad formats that allow for product purchases without ever leaving the site are also possible on Facebook.

Facebook is considered one of the most expensive social adver<sing pla$orm, which is a_ributed to its ability to deliver hyper targeted ads combined with advanced social metrics. Facebook allows for cost-‐per-‐thousand impressions (CPM), cost-‐per-‐click (CPC), cost-‐per-‐ac<on (CPA) and cost-‐per-‐like (CPL) bidding applied to a growing number of ad formats. Cost-‐per-‐like is unique to Facebook which can occur on ads, promoted posts and pages. Typical outcomes of Facebook adver<sing include increased likes and a variety of offsite ac<ons at every stage of the shopping cycle.

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social network. From a paid media stand point -‐ Instagram only offers sponsored posts to select brands and is in a slow rollout phase to the general market.

Instagram is ideal for B2C brands targe<ng teens and young adults as the pla$orm skews young. It is also an effec<ve pla$orm to share brand stories and personality.

Instagram offers CPM (cost-‐per-‐thousand) bidding models to select brands to drive awareness and profile engagement.

LinkedIn LinkedIn is a pla$orm for professionals from all around the world to connect, network and share content with others in their industry. Individuals and businesses can target audiences based on job <tle, func<on, school, industry, company size, seniority, age range, gender, LinkedIn Groups and more.

LinkedIn is effec<ve at genera<ng leads for B2B brands and for recrui<ng. Ad formats include text based ads, image ads, video ads, sponsored InMail and sponsored updates. Sponsored updates are one of the more effec<ve paid adver<sing opportuni<es on LinkedIn. Updates on company brand pages are promoted to a targeted audience, driving visits, downloads, followers and social metrics.

LinkedIn ads offer cost per click (CPC) and cost per thousand impression (CPM) adver<sing models. Image, text and video ads oHen receive low CTR and are ignored by a majority of site users. Sponsored updates receive more engagement and appear directly on the LinkedIn home screen. Increase brand awareness, whitepaper downloads and long-‐term engagement through this form of LinkedIn adver<sing.



Paid Search If a targeted keyword is searched an ad can appear next to or above search engine results. Keywords allow paid search to be targeted with extreme precision to any type of demographic or customer. Some targe<ng op<ons include: keywords, loca<ons, specific days of the week, hours in a day, or different placements or devices. Google and Bing receive 87% of all search traffic in the U.S. (with Google Adwords being the most popular paid search pla$orm).

Paid Search is effec<ve at all stages of the customer buying cycle, but especially research and conversion. Long tail keywords save budget and target the research phase. Product Lis<ng Ads (PLA’s) are image and product descrip<on ads that appear for keywords aligned with the buying cycle. Deploy separate ad campaigns for each phase of the buying cycle with op<mized keywords, copy and landing pages.

Google Adwords allows for several bidding models: Cost per acquisi<on (CPA), cost per click (CPC) and cost per thousand impressions (CPM). Depending on the bidding model and buying cycle targeted, AdWords can drive targeted website traffic, convert new customers and increase brand awareness cost effec<vely.

Pandora Pandora Internet Radio is a streaming music service that lets users pick a song or ar<st, with the service building a playlist with similar music. Types of adver<sements range from video, audio, banners, to an animated overlay. Audiences are targeted and segmented by age, gender, loca<on, music preferences, interests and psychographics.

Best suited for B2C brands targe<ng customers in the research and engagement stage. Users are on the pla$orm for entertainment. Brands that can align products/services to the listening experience fare best.

Targe<ng on Pandora is advanced with bidding models based on impressions and clicks. Expect higher in-‐store traffic, a liH in site visits for a campaign and increased engagement.

Pinterest Pinterest allows users to have a visual bookmark of stuff they find on the web. Only recently introduced, Pinterest allows for adver<sers to promote pins. With promoted pins, brands can set a target audience, easily track analy<cs and pay only when users click through to a site.

Ideal adver<sing pla$orm for retail and online retailers. The pla$orm is heavily skewed towards women allowing for certain brands to reach niche, targeted audiences. Image driven, effec<ve Pinterest pins can include recipes, high quality product images and infographics. Promoted pins work best for established Pinterest businesses with complete profiles, boards and ac<ve engagement. Tes<ng images and messaging organically is cost effec<ve before rolling out to promoted pins.

Pinterest promoted pins target users on the pla$orm, but through a cost-‐per-‐click model, adver<sers pay only when users click through to the website. Adver<sing on Pinterest can lead to increased brand awareness, higher in-‐store traffic, increased followers, website traffic and even conversion.



Press Release

A press release is an official statement or ar<cle that can be u<lized as a tool to reach both news outlets and consumers. Targe<ng is more broad then other forms of online adver<sing and primarily depends on the channel or news outlet. Audiences can be targeted by demographics and psychographics, based on the readership of the outlet.

Implement press announcements into a content marke<ng strategy. Bring a_en<on to announcements that are newsworthy and <mely such as industry awards, expansion, new products and services, acquisi<on, and more.

Press releases can be measured through the a submission pla$orm (e.g. PR Web) which offers impressions, reads and clicks to any links. Press releases primarily drive brand awareness. PR can be further measured by online pickup, journalist inquiries and more.

Snapchat Snapchat is a photo messaging service that allows users to send pictures, video, text and drawings to other users. AHer the “snap” is viewed, the picture is then deleted from the viewer’s phone. Snapchat is in an early phase of adver<sing. Businesses and brands do not have many targe<ng op<ons, unless they connect with regular Snapchat users.

Select brands are tes<ng Snapchat stories, image slideshows and videos available for 24 hours to a brand’s followers. SnapChat is a new and unique adver<sing pla$orm which can increase brand awareness and engagement through organic followers. Example cases to use Snapchat include during contests, sneak peeks, coupon offers, and behind the scenes exclusives.

Snapchat has fewer metrics then many other paid media pla$orms. Brands that share Snapchat stories can measure views and offline engagement.

TwiFer Twi_er is a microblogging pla$orm that allows anyone to begin and lead conversa<ons, as well as directly interact with other users, companies and brands. Audiences can be targeted on Twi_er based on interests, geography, gender, device, or users similar to exis<ng followers. Companies can adver<se on Twi_er in only two ways, through promoted accounts and tweets.

Twi_er can be used by brands to increase awareness and is ideal for content marketers. Twi_er is a long term conversion, and can be effec<ve when integrated with content marke<ng, broadcast media and print campaigns. Implement Twi_er adver<sing only if ac<ve on the pla$orm with a significant number of followers and tweets.

Twi_er allows for brands to get messages and accounts in front of users that aren’t followers, building a community and word of mouth. Adver<sing formats primarily drive traffic and engagement within the Twi_er ecosystem, making offline conversions difficult to generate. Payment is delivered only when users follow an account or retweet, favorite, reply, or click on a promoted tweet.

Digital Space Consul1ng | Media Matrix Pla$orm Overview When to Use Expected Metrics

YouTube YouTube is the most popular video sharing pla$orm. Adver<sing on YouTube is accomplished through Google Adwords and oHen includes video adver<sements before videos, during videos and aHer videos. In search video ads and banner ads also target users. Targe<ng op<ons are similar to paid search and include by topic, demographics and keywords.

YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet. Video ads are most effec<ve for B2C brands targe<ng customers in the research stage. Users can be broadly or directly targeted through specific placements on other videos or channels and through keywords.

Percentage of video watched is an important metric in YouTube video adver<sing. Cost per View (CPV) occurs aHer 30 seconds or if the end of an ad is reached. Studies have confirmed, adver<sers gain brand awareness even before a CPV payment is oHen triggered.

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Digital Strategy | Media Matrix