As a marketer, you hear the word “journey’ quite a bit. What’s the journey for the consumer across content pieces and/or channels within your distribution model. Where will the consumer touchpoints create an action or point of engagement with the brand that matters? What does the journey truly look like?

So many questions. So where do you start?

The considerations here include:

1. The target market – their behaviors, pain points, where they go online/offline, and what they prefer to consume (from a format and topical perspective).

2. The channels at your brand’s disposal – Just because a new social channel has come up, doesn’t mean it’s right for your brand (and your audience). The key here is focusing on the channels that provide the most bang for your buck, and also ensure your target market can be reached regularly.

3. The content – You start with the consumer need, consider their industry or sentiment (b2b or b2c), and create a content campaign that will resonate with them. That campaign shouldn’t be a one-off piece of content but include both always-on and time-sensitive pieces which may be leveraged in unique/different formats across multiple channels. For example if you have a video ensure you have a cutdown, and/or blog post to embed said video for different avenues to consume said video. Derivative pieces are a huge and easy win, and can help expand your campaign pieces with less lift.

4. The actual journey – Create a journey map which leverages each of the above pieces to demonstrate how your consumer will go from one touchpoint to the next, and to your final destination. There should be multiple routes based on content pieces and channels, with the end result allowing you to engage with your consumer where they prefer, and where your brand can excel.

Note, this is always test and learn, and it’s best to test and optimize, than to let your competition get ahead of you.

Lately all we hear or read about is NFTs and the Metaverse. So what about it? What does it really mean for marketers and brands?

However social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. Whether you want to connect with your friends, share your ideas, check what’s happening around the world, share your recorded video, or anything else, you turn to social media. Applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are some of the most widely used social media platforms these days. Brands have always been proactive in looking out for smarter ways of promoting their products. Those who started using social media for business long ago are already reaping its benefits and have been successful in reaching a wider audience.

WHAT IS IT

The metaverse, founded by Meta -  is a digital location similar to what we had with second place and if you recall the palace from the nineties but more immersive. It uses AR and VR and blockchain, to create a place to interact outside the “real world.” If you have devices like the Oculus, you can see how it’s already starting…

ACCORDING TO ‘THE WIRED’ TO UNDERSTAND THE METAVERSE…

“Mentally replace the phrase “the metaverse” in a sentence with “cyberspace.” Ninety percent of the time, the meaning won’t substantially change, learn about the productivity at work apps. That’s because the term doesn’t really refer to any one specific type of technology, but rather a broad shift in how we interact with technology. And it’s entirely possible that the term itself will eventually become just as antiquated, even as the specific technology it once described becomes commonplace.”

 SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE METAVERSE AND NFTS?

The metaverse gives people a space of their own in the digital sphere for showcasing, having events, and more. While NFTs are how people can price and sell said items such as images you’ve been seeing folks create and sell lately within the art and digital world.

WHY IT MATTERS TO BRANDS

Metaverse participants are able to engage in a new way with an audience who appreciates the online setting as more than just a place. It’s a setting to create another place that is reality, but outside reality at the same time. It’s a new location for experiences, events, content and a way to reach an audience in a way they’re excited about including gaming and more. This includes marketplaces where users can buy, sell and exchange items such as digital items including fashion, NFTs and event tickets. 

EXAMPLES OF BRANDS AND INFLUENCERS PARTICIPATING ALREADY

While the metaverse is still being created, adapted to, and evolving day by day, brands such as Forever 21, Miller Lite, Netflix, Coca-Cola, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Apple and Nike have started creating content, experiences and in turn targeted content for this environment.

Want more examples  - check them out here by digital speaker. 

 EXAMPLES OF WHAT NOT TO DO

Do not treat it as another ad opportunity or place to throw the same content your brand has elsewhere online such as on Twitter or Instagram. It has to be ideated and executed specifically for this environment and experience, even if it’s apart of a larger campaign.

 BEST PRACTICES

• Create for the platform and use of it
• Do not be intrusive or interrupt use of the platform or location within it
• Be apart of the experience that’s immersive or passive

Are you ready?

…what do you do when your story, your brand story, tastes a bit like stale bread? It’s gotten old, people don’t care about it, and are making their own assumptions and their own version of your brand story instead. So…now what? What can your brand do to redeem itself and bring back some fresh, warm, out of the oven, share-worthy bread?

Start with:

• Understanding why your story went stale in the first place – what was the cause, and when did it happen.
• Understanding what your audience really thinks about your brand – what are the emotions and feelings behind that.
• Understanding if your audience still cares, or still has challenges/problems your brand can help with. And if they’ve changed/evolved – can your brand fit there too?
• Understanding the bigger picture, of where your competition has filled your brand’s void while yours went stale.

Then comes the hard work:

• It’s time to take the story that exists, and start to spin it. You may not want to take it backward, because you want to go forward. What’s your evolved story?
• Bring your consumers on your journey with you. Ask for their opinion, and let them help you.
• Work with those who have cache in your field, to help your brand build it’s own cache back.
• It doesn’t have to be overnight, but your brand will need consistent, regular communication with streamlined content across owned and influential distribution channels to confirm and reconfirm the new story.

Note, It’s okay to be the brand that comes after to learn from others mistakes too, so you don’t make them as well. Bread isn’t made easily. And it sure doesn’t taste great cold or stale. So let it bake, and let it bake some more until you’re ready

Gone are the days of just Facebook and Twitter as the main players. Nowadays, there are countless apps popping up, and typically being born from the original pack, or at least being acquired by them.

To date we have: Facebook, Twitter (yes, still here), YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat (in no particular order). The visual platforms with content that lasts temporarily seem to be all the rage. They allow consumers to share with less fear, and feel excited to consume content that is more exclusive by brands. However, it doesn’t mean the players like Pinterest are going anywhere. They have a different focus, and a different purpose for the consumer who uses it. As snapchat is for quick consumption, Pinterest is for taking the time to peruse and discover.

Pinterest has been a contender for a while, being known for it’s pivotal role in referral traffic to websites, and hitting the consumer during moments of discovery and planning, with a visual tool that makes it simple and easy. People (although still mainly female) use it to plan life events (i.e. Marriage, babies) and festivities. They look for large inspiration, as well as daily ones. For example, one person may go on Pinterest to find their meal prep recipes for the week, while another may go on to plan their friend’s bridal shower.

But why should your brand care? According to Social Draft, “nearly 75% of Pinterest users have purchased something on the platform or because of the platform.” So you’re thinking, ok great – but will they look at my product or brand? Considering the average time on the channel is about 15 minutes, there’s a good amount of time to get your brand out there, with the right search optimization (keyword strategy) and frequency of posts (on average 5x a day) with bright, quality images that grab consumer eyes on the channel.

The other cool thing is that according to social marketing writing, 80% of content are re-pins – meaning that people are likely to share your content if they find it beneficial to themselves and their own community. And if you’re in the food and drink category, you’ve basically hit a goldmine as it’s one of the top 3 categories on Pinterest. And some of the most re-pinned words include “bake” and “recipe” … Yes, goldmine.

But if your brand has other categories to consider, think through the trending topics as they’re most likely to get repined, and/or hit up your target audience based on categories and days that hit hardest for them. For example: Fitness (Monday), Fashion (Thursday), and Travel (Saturday).

Still not convinced? According to viral woot:

• A Pinner who close-ups on a pin is 1.6x more likely to sign up or convert.
• A Pinner who saves is 3.9x more likely to sign up and 1.6x more likely to convert.
• A Pinner who clicks thru is 4.5x more likely to sign up and 7x more likely to convert.

But before you go there, remember to focus on your content and the quality of it too. For example, the color tone that does the best is reddish-orange. It’s also good to have a couple dominant colors, rather than the blue/white that works better on Instagram. Lastly, it’s best to have no faces/people as objects with minimal background perform best.

In the end, it’s always about test and learn and seeing what works best for your brand and content strategy. This month, pick five pinterest tactics, that ladder up to your overall channel strategy, and see which ones work best for your brand’s content. Then…do it again.

Originally written for Social Media club.