All your questions, answered

Word of mouth (WOM) is one of the most powerful marketing channels and whether you realise it or not, you are managing and influencing the power of WOM for your business. The question is, are you doing this well? What inspires people to talk about your business? Are they talking about it positively?

Things that get people talking include customer service, value (or perceived value) you have delivered (tangible or emotional). Channels you need to closely manage to empower positive WOM include, employee training and satisfaction, online and offline publicity, social media and various brand experiences. It is also imperative to note that research shows that 75% of people will research a product or service online prior to purchase, so while WOM might drive them online, you need to ensure your digital presence (website, social media, online reviews etc) also support the endorsement.

Have you ever measured the level of positive WOM and compared it to actual conversions? You might find that WOM is strong but conversions are down because of poor marketing in other areas. Your marketing efforts need to focus on the whole purchasing decision process, not just awareness.

Sometimes we need to just let our minds wander, before we can write or think creatively. Need some inspiration for your inspiration? Look no further…

1. Gravity Points – A PEN BY Akimitsu Hamamuro
2. The Best Magazine Articles Ever 
3. IKEA Hackers
4. The Toast
5. They Shoot Film

You’re welcome.

We hear you, we are all busy and having something else to monitor can be time consuming.  The bottom line is that you might not like it, care for it or want it but rest assured your competitors will and may well be engaging with your customers already. As far as marketing activities go it is one of the most cost effective channels to connect with your market/ customers. The biggest mistake is viewing social media as an opportunity to shout about your product or service. These channels are successful when organisations commit to authentically engaging with the audience and having a two-way conversation. It’s an opportunity to develop a tribe of believers and supporters in your industry, cause, passion or purpose.

Social media allows you to keep your brand top of mind, so long as you provide relevant content for your audience. You will need to enter each channel with clear objectives, which might include increase brand awareness, provide outstanding customer service, employer branding, thought leadership or market research.

It’s not all #IhateMondays, or pictures of meals you’re about to eat –  it’s a real opportunity to connect and more importantly let your customers connect with you the way they want to.

Even if you are still not convinced, we encourage you to check out your competitors’ presence and if it’s rubbish – you’ve just identified an opportunity!

Facebook has a few different requirements for video sizes, here’s what you need to know:
Resolution should be 1080p or less. File sizes up to 10 GB are supported, there may be longer upload times associated with larger files on slower Internet connections. To go over 1 gig file size you must limit a 1080 HD upload file to a max bitrate of 8 Mbps, and a 720 HD file must be limited to a max bitrate of 4 Mbps.

Videos must be less than 240 minutes long. The longer your video is, the larger its file size will be. This may affect the quality of the video and the time it takes to upload. For the best video performance on Facebook, make sure that your videos are 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall. Landscape videos should have an aspect ratio of 16:9, square videos should have an aspect ratio of 1:1, and vertical should have an aspect ratio of 4:5

1. In the <TITLE> element
2. In the <description> element
3. In your content – in the <p> tags
4. In the <alt> text
5. In the URL

Click on the timestamp of the post, then copy the link in the address bar. This is the link to that post, which you can share anywhere.

It’s actually pretty simple. You can do it directly through YouTube – click to edit your Video and click on CC. Try out YouTube’s voice recognition (their automatic version). You can edit directly from here, OR, if it’s incorrect – this awesome YouTube video shows you how. It’s a little out of date – some of the menu items live in different places from when it was first recorded… but it’s a great summary.

An agency will usually have their own Business Manager. Note that inviting the agency to your Business Manager will not grant them the ability to alter any assets or change anything about the business.

The agency will send a request to your Facebook Page. These steps explain how to accept the agency’s invitation:

1. Open your Page and click Settings in the right corner and select Page Roles.
2. A pending request should appear under the Pending Partner Requests section. Click “respond to request”.
3. Click “give (name) access to my page”.
4. Click “approve request”.
5. The user approving the request may be asked to re-enter their password to confirm.

Upon completing the above steps, the agency will now see the Page listed in their Business Manager.

Benefits of marketing

• Reach new audiences
• Increase brand visibility
• Referrals
• Build authority
• Build trust
• Researching our own products and services
• Product development
• Position a brand
• Communicate points of difference
• Direct people to buy
• Education
• Collaboration

Tactical application

• Social media
• Websites
• Direct marketing
• Emails
• Advertising
• Blogging
• Videos
• Brochures
• Events
• Competitions
• Automation
• Displays
• Networking
• Referrals
• SEO
• Sponsorship
• Case studies
• Webinars
• Guerrilla
• Landing pages

A “Persona” is a fictional representation of a purchaser. Personas provide the team with a shared understanding of users in terms of goals and capabilities.

Benefits of using personas:

• Personas give marketers a ‘test case’ for communications. Using Personas to walk through communications allows clarity as to whether the ad, email etc meets the desires or breaks down barriers.
• They help team members share a consistent understanding of the user group: Personas make the stories more compelling and fun, thus making them easier to remember and consider when the team is working towards a solution – together.
• Personas help develop informed wireframes and site architecture: Since Personas focus on the needs of the users, the team can walk through scenarios and determine optimal placement of content to specifically support the goal of the product. This is vital to the success of a website or application, and will save your client thousands of dollars and/or man-hours reworking a product after it’s launched (and “officially” tested by actual users).