New Flyer

I've redesigned my original flyers as I wasn't best pleased with them. I've designed these based on a Company advert in one of their magazines. I really like how my adshel and magazine advert looks but I don't want everything to look the same so I've tried to make things look a bit different. These flyers are designed with Company in mind rather than how the app is designed to appeal to Company consumers. These will be handed out at events, given in goody bags and given in with Missguided orders.

Social Media Promotion

I had a lot of fun creating the social media promotion of the Stylist Edit app, although it was difficult to think of different adverts for each different platform. The Facebook page will be the main source of promotion as they have the most outreach visually via this method. In addition, they have the most followers on Facebook hence a bigger reach to different audiences. I drew out all aspects of the Facebook and Twitter Page but simply used a pre made vector for the Instagram feed and added my images into them. I took inspiration for all the posts and captions from Company's current feeds to maintain their style of writing and keeping continuity. 

Social Media Marketing

I got some books from the library about social media marketing in order to help me with my promotion text in my dissertation. The following is some of the key information I sourced from the books.

The Social Media Marketing Book- Dan Zarrella

• Retweets are the most powerful mechanisms for marketers on Twitter
• Between 11am and 6pm is the most popular time for retweeting
• Retweets with links get retweeted more
• Becoming a 'trending topic' will generate more buzz and awareness
• Applications on Facebook are proving popular to attract audiences, whether its an app game or something to enhance the promotional message. It may be something to consider creating an app to promote the service, Rimmel have done this before when they launched a new lipgloss.
• 'Currently, Facebook is the dominant social networking site and it has the most features useful to the social media marketer. It began in universities, so Facebook boasts a commanding percentage of college students as members. Recently, however, it's fastest growing segment has been users older than 35, and recent data suggests that the 35-54 age group has become bigger than the 18-24 age group. For these older users, Facebook presents a middle ground between the stuffiness of Linkedin and the adolescent playground of Myspace, and is a fun but easily navigable place where they can reconnect with old friends.'

Social Media Marketing A Strategic Approach- Melissa Barker, Donald Barker, Nicholas Bormann & Krista Neher

• YouTube reports that their user base is broad in age range, 18-55, evenly divided between males and females and spanning all geographies.
• People over 65 are adopting Facebook quicker than any other accounts
• 48% of people over 55 have Facebook accounts
• Facebook is more popular with younger people but has significant penetration in all age groups. According to Morpace research, 84% of those 18-34 have Facebook pages compared to 61% of those 35-54 and 48% of people over 55.
• Brands that are successful on social media are 'participatory'. They interact with the community, answer questions and thank those who respond.
• Having a personality is key on social media. Sharing personality helps build common ground and trust. A bureaucratic or forced tone is not a very appealing call to interact. Instead building a feeling of trust and common interest makes it more likely that people will find the social media campaign to be engaging and worth participating in.
• Video is a very popular medium because it can create a stronger connection with consumers. For many people, video stimuli are more appealing than dry text or listening to a podcast. Also the more senses that are involved in gathering information, the more engaging the process becomes.
• Marketing with social networks has several advantages for firms, allowing them to find talent, build brand awareness, find new customers and help conduct brand intelligence and market research.
• Social networks allow a brand to engage its target audience in ongoing conversation, which can both draw in new business and increase customer loyalty.
• Twitter users retweet content they enjoy or can vouch for so it is a signal of approval when a retweet occurs.
• Social media measurement is the determination of the volume of the content and the sentiment toward a brand or topic on the social web. The volume of content is a 'quantitative measurement', while judging sentiment is a 'qualitative measurement'. The number of posts, comments, tweets, retweets, likes, and follows are instances of quantitative metrics, while mentions, comments, conversations and feedback about a brand are examples of qualitative metrics.  

Company Magazine Promotion

FACEBOOK

Company post on Facebook up to 5 times a day. Their posts don't solely focus on promoting the magazine either, they range from celebrity gossip, fashion trends, beauty tips, street style and music. Their Facebook page is almost an interactive version of the magazine posting snippets of what content goes in the publication and allowing the followers to comment and interact. All their social media content is more promoting the Company brand rather than the magazine. They post in a colloquial style, giving a really friendly vibe and always with a visual attached to make everything seem more appealing. They do promote the magazine and other extensions of the brand on the Facebook page and make sure that keep promoting the magazine throughout the month so consumers don't forget to grab a copy. The colour palettes of their visuals is also key as the retain the pastels of the magazine.

TWITTER

Company's Twitter feed is a lot more busy than their other social media platforms, this is probably because it is easier to create content on Twitter and it can be deemed less 'annoying' as it's only a tiny 140 character post. On average, Company post about 30/40 times on Twitter on a weekday, with less content being posted at the weekend. Another reason for regular posting may be to attract all audiences- obviously those who check Twitter all the time will catch most of the posts, but those who can only read Twitter at certain parts of the day still get frequent content from the brand. Again the posts aren't always promoting the magazine, however there is more promotional magazine content on their feed. They post the same content as the Facebook page although they have the luxury of being able to repeat posts a few times without it getting annoying to consumers. Most of the tweets they post have links back to the website or other social media platforms, so they are always tying together their forms of brand extension. 

YOUTUBE

The Youtube page isn't used as much as the other social media platforms, however they are beginning to utilise this platform. During the promotion of their most recent cover star (Youtube blogger Zoe Sugg), they used a Youtube video to break the news of their cover star, they also released further videos of behind the scenes, an mini interview with Zoe and other teaser clips surrounding the magazine. Other content on the Youtube channel includes beauty and fashion hauls, Q&As with their staff and more behind the scenes content from the magazine. All their content is very focused on getting interaction from their readers.

INSTAGRAM

Their Instagram feed is another platform whereby the focus a lot of attention on. There is a happy medium between the regularity of posts on Facebook and Twitter here, posting up to 10 times a day unless there is an event on e.g. the Brit Awards. Like their Twitter & Facebook, their posts are concentrated on promoting the brand. There are lot more visuals of behind the scenes, fashion, press days, and beauty, as well as posts of the magazine content and snaps from their office. In the run up to their most recent cover star, they posted snaps building a buzz around who it might be. In addition, following the release of Zoe Sugg being the face of April, they posted lots of images promoting her shoot and the magazine. They also do this regularly with other cover stars as if those who follow the brand's Instagram receive exclusive information about the magazine. As well as their magazine publication they also promote the Weekly Edit App and other brand extensions.   

MAGAZINE

There is some promotion of Company magazine within other magazines usually of the same publisher. Office magazine, Elle and Cosmopolitan often run adverts advertising the magazine. Company also do a lot of self promotion within their publication. They often publicize their bi-annual magazine within the monthly magazine, as well as do a lot of adverts based around their weekly app. Company have begun doing a lot of reader events giving their consumers advice on how to get into the fashion, blogging, beauty and music industry. They run adverts within their magazines as well as sometimes articles about the events to engage more awareness of it. This heightens the fact that Company are a very friendly brand and incredibly focused on having interaction with their readers. As well as promoting their brand extensions within their magazine, they also advertise their website showing the readers there are other platforms to access more Company content on- they aren't simply a monthly magazine and stop there. 

SPONSORSHIPS

Company magazine sponsors Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model with the winner getting the cover star space on the September issue. They are involved within the programme as well as using social media to interact with fans about it.

New Look also sponsors Company's Blogger Awards and do promotional pieces within the magazine.

EMAIL

Company do send out emails around 3 times a week. The majority of emails are laid out like their website in a newsletter format promoting things going on on their website, social media platforms and magazine. More often they are promoting their website. They also do 'postcard' emails whereby they simply promote their app, shop, and magazine. 

Digital Marketing Talk- 3/3/2014

Social Media Marketing Manager at Pretty Little Thing, Natalie Fahey gave a talk on digital marketing in our lecture today, and the following are the points most useful and relevant to my campaign.

• Having an online campaign/website means graphics can be changed within minutes and can be updated more regularly and easily.
• When launching promotion consider paydays. When do people have money? Most people are most likely to shop for clothes at the start of the week e.g. Sunday-Wednesday in order to obtain them by the weekend. (Although my service doesn't sell clothes, it's important to consider when the consumer will be buying new clothes and how they can style them. Plus the app can recommend clothes to integrate with their wardrobe at the beginning of the week more.)
• When creating key campaign messages, current consumer and competitor behavior and seasonal factors need to be considered.
• Little things like colours and different fonts attract audiences and get them to click on adverts.
• Clickable links shouldn't have anything around them in order not to distract
• People are drawn to the colour blue
• Social media needs to support the brand but equally the brand needs to support the social media- they need to work together in harmony
• Posts on social media are most effective when done first thing in the morning (usually with something to gauge a reaction e.g. a quote), then around lunchtime when they are at a desktop (consumer can access the website much easier), then again at night. POST NO MORE THAN 5-7 TIMES A DAY
• Sunday is the best day to send emails. Most people spend time reading their emails on a Sunday
• Different types of emails do different things e.g. newsletters are detailed, postcards emails are short, usually reminding the consumer of something.
• Always consider the frequency of how regularly you as the brand interacts with the consumer via social media/ email/ talking to them. Don't want the consumer to get annoyed by the brand but equally don't want the consumer to forget the brand.