Katherine Wood, Author at Bluetext

You’ve crafted your brand message, settled on a new visual strategy, or launched your new product. So what’s next? You probably have the urge to shout your new message from the rooftops. But in 2021, you may need a more modern digital media strategy. Paid media is essential to put that message in front of your target audience. While earned media (i.e. public relations, email, organic search, organic social) is also an important part of GTM, paid media can both expand your brand’s current reach and reel in interested parties, and convert them into customers.

A Full-Funnel Approach Drives both Awareness and Acquisition

As a top digital marketing & design agency, we know that the funnel is everything when talking about paid media. Online user behavior is very rarely linear or systematic. Consider how you browse the web. Do you click on the first link you see and immediately start a purchase online? If you’re like most people, you click around, do an informed search, and learn more before making a purchasing decision.

Awareness Builds the Top of the Funnel

When crafting a digital media strategy, we account for user behavior by focusing on the overall user journey. That journey can be broken up into two main parts: awareness and acquisition. Each category has an ideal mix of channels and tactics that accomplish specific key performance indicators (KPIs). At the top of the funnel is awareness: a user’s understanding of your business or specific product. The KPIs for awareness are typically impressions or site visits – really just eyeballs on ads and on your site content.

Channels that we typically include in awareness campaigns include programmatic media (which includes display, native and video ads), paid social, and other advertising (billboards, podcasts, etc.). These ads are meant to capture a broad audience and expand the awareness of the business to new – and potentially lucrative- audiences. Within these channels, we also use tactics that will increase impressions and site visits. Third-party targeting (showing kitchen tool ads to someone marked as interested in cooking) is particularly helpful, as is contextual targeting (showing kitchen tool ads to someone browsing a recipe site).

As a top digital marketing & design agency, we craft awareness ads that grab user attention and build an informed target audience. Our client, Appgate, urgently needed to drive brand awareness traffic to the website, recently redesigned by Bluetext. To do so, our brand creative captured user attention with eye-catching motion and sustained interest with useful and digestible information. It is key your ads give just enough information to be helpful, but also entice someone to click the ad and learn more. Within one month, Appgate’s campaign had increased sessions to the landing page by 17% and drove a 25% increase in site engagement.

Acquisition Tactics Convert Qualified Audiences

While all businesses need to start with an awareness campaign, some also want to focus on the acquisition with lower-funnel tactics and conversion-focused KPIs. KPIs for this part of the campaign include engagements on the site (form fills, content downloads, subscriptions, etc.), conversion rate, and cost per acquisition (CPA).

There are many channels that can be used for acquisition campaigns, but one of the most common is paid search. Others include programmatic channels (display, native, video) and paid social. Account-based marketing – which targets specific businesses – is also more of an acquisition-focused tactic. Within these channels, the tactics that optimize toward acquisition are different. Retargeting (showing specialized ads to users that have visited or engaged with your site) is a commonly used acquisition tactic. All tactics and channels in an acquisition campaign rely on strong brand awareness. Paid search success, for example, regularly relies on traffic searching for a certain business or brand name. In addition, retargeting doesn’t build a new audience – it just converts the audience that has already interacted with your site.

Creative for acquisition campaigns are typically more urgent and action-based. Instead of “Learn More”, CTAs focus on specific actions (downloading a demo, registering for a webinar, etc.). Consider, for example, EXL. For this acquisition campaign, Bluetext focused on highlighting certain webinars and speakers, resulting in a 5% increase in ad click-through rate on programmatic display and a 185% increase on paid LinkedIn.

Upcoming Trends in Paid Media for GTM

All top paid media & content marketing agencies to know what’s ahead for GTM tactics and strategies. One major change on the horizon for paid media is the trend away from cookies and pixels. Though many companies have done internal media campaigns based on retargeting and third party targeting they’ve collected in the past, those tactics will become obsolete by the end of the year.

Privacy laws are becoming more prevalent and Internet browsers are moving away from collecting cookies – retargeting is becoming a thing of the past. In its place are solutions such as Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), among others. Need help navigating the new media landscape? Contact the experts at Bluetext for all of your awareness and acquisition needs.

Have you ever taken a placement quiz on a website to determine which Internet package was right for you? Have you completely filled in your LinkedIn profile to get rid of the accomplishment bar at the top? Have you found something unexpected on a website that caused you to spend more time browsing? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you’ve experienced elements of “gamification” in web design.

What is Gamification?

Gamification is the act of taking a process that already exists (say, filling out a social media profile) and applying game mechanics to make it more engaging. Some examples of game mechanics frequently used in website gamification include:

Points and Achievement – Usesf positive reinforcement that allows website users to set goals, earn badges, and “level up” or gain some sort of elevated status.
Rules of Play – games typically have set rules of play, including fast feedback (i.e. a star for a correct answer, or a slight change in color for a completed answer, etc.).
Competition/ Status – Competition between other users or to get a personal high score, is also a common aspect of gamification. Often, winning will confer some sort of elevated status on users (i.e. a top tier loyalty customer, etc.).
Self-expression – Social aspects or collaboration could also be considered aspects of gamification – a message board, for example, could be gamified.

You may be thinking, “my business is too serious for a silly game!” However, that’s not what we mean by “gamification”. Gamification is about increasing engagement for an existing process. You could use it for everything from encouraging customers to return to your site to onboarding new employees in a fun way that will stick with them.

Why Do People Use Gamification in Websites?

Gamification can have many examples for websites, including higher levels of adoption (for loyalty programs, for example), conversion increases, or decreases in time spent onboarding clients or employees. In fact, even just one element of interactivity on your site can encourage a deeper level of attention and participation from website users because users intrigued by one element of a site are more likely to search for more engaging content.

According to the Peak-End rule in modern psychology, content that sparks moments of joy or discovery, however brief, is much more memorable than other types of content. Gamification can spark these peaks – with something relatively simple like visual storytelling with minimal interactions (like on a marketing website for your complex product set) to a full-on competition with a leaderboard and diverse levels (like on a language learning website).

Gamification Guidelines

While gamification can be a great way to add interest and interactivity to your site, it also can increase the levels of expectation that users have for your site content and overall business. Here are some guidelines to consider when considering gamification in your web design:

Make it more than just a fun add on: Gamification methods can’t just be an add on. They must resonate with your business mission and strategy. Otherwise, they will take away from your site and business message.
Include a way out: Ensure your game elements don’t block users from engaging in other ways with your site. You should use gamified elements to enhance engagement, but make sure you have other options for those who might not want to play or who might be looking for information about you and your products faster.
Follow logic and keep it simple: Knowing basic psychology is important when adding game elements to a site. If these elements don’t make sense to users, the point of gamification is lost. In addition, you need to keep things simple. Remember, you’re not creating an entire game, just using aspects of games to accomplish a business goal. Sudden realizations (sparks of discovery) are better in progression – you shouldn’t expect your users to learn or retain too many things at once.

Gamification Ideas for Your Business

Everyone’s business is different and will have different possible ways to include gamification in their site. Here are a few for different types of businesses:

Quiz Mechanics: A quiz or game to figure out which of your products or packages is right for the user. This can teach the user more about what you do and the differences between your packages in a fun way that will be memorable.
- Real-world example: TravelZoo’s literary map of the UK (to generate buzz for the different cities on the map)
Social Mechanics: A competition that displays rankings of different users so that more users complete reviews, order more, or come back to use your site or resource more often. A message board on your company website can also be implemented so that users can share good (and bad) experiences with friends and family.
- Real-world examples: Citroen’s on-screen test to get users to scroll as fast as they can (to associate Citroen with speed and enjoyment)
Problem Solving: You provide users the tools they need to solve a problem that you pose to them. With more information, users receive more content and more control of the process. (To set up Vive’s VR headset, the company put a game on their site – upon completion of which, the headset will be ready).
Accomplishment and Completion: You encourage users to complete a task that is already halfway done by dangling an accomplishment. (LinkedIn uses a status bar when you’re filling out your profile to encourage you to fill it out more fully and to share on the platform with others).

BadgeOS

A great gamification WordPress plugin that we recommend our clients to consider is BadgeOS. BadgeOS is a fully customizable add-on, allowing you to define an unlimited number of types and customize them as much as you like. Utilizing BadgeOS, company’s can design their own badges, define required steps to achieving specific badges, track achievements via a leaderboard, allow users to share achievements via social media, and so much more.

We Won’t Play Games with Your Site – But We Can Gamify It

Want to explore gamification and its possibilities for your site, but don’t know where to start? We can help! Bluetext has a wealth of experience in creating engaging and successful sites, including gamification, from visual storytelling to quizzes, to choose-your-own-adventure experiences. We won’t play games with your site, but you can bet that we can gamify it.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has expanded the “stay at home” audience for B2C businesses.
The consumer sector has seen changes in how audiences are reacting to content and consuming media.
Capturing these audiences will require businesses to adapt content and tactics to the current climate.

Over the past few months, we have all adjusted to new living and working environments. This means varying working hours, virtual gatherings and different web surfing, streaming and social networking habits. These changes have shifted the traditional marketing audience profile.

If your business is B2C, you should be aware of these audience changes and adapt your marketing tactics to keep up with the current trends. Here are a few ways that you can make sure your message doesn’t fall flat with the new “stay at home” audience.

The concept of a “stay at home” audience is not new. The number of remote workers in the U.S. economy has grown steadily over the past several years. Online graduate and undergraduate programs have grown more popular, and the number of parents staying home with new children was rising even before the pandemic hit. Not to mention the number of companies adopting a digital-first approach and offering remote positions. However, this pandemic has rapidly expanded the “stay at home” audience beyond traditional groups.

It is crucial that all businesses hit the right tone with messaging during the pandemic. This is a different, uncertain and potentially difficult time for everyone, so brands should adjust their tone to one of encouragement and solidarity. No one wants to see pure sales messages at this time. Potential customers need to feel supported and confident that every purchase is essential for them.

Content

There are a few ways that businesses can cater to new stay at home audiences, one of which is content. One way to show solidarity with customers that may be struggling is by providing giveaways or special promotions that you normally wouldn’t – so that customers think of you again when more normal times return. Another way to build a loyal customer base could be to utilize user-generated content. Social proof is powerful, and often someone else’s high opinion of your product or service can make the difference between a static audience and gaining new customers.

It’s a myth that content management can be intensive or even a time burden. Updating your content could be as simple as shifting your product or service message slightly to be more specific to the audience’s changing needs. Some common threads throughout this pandemic are self-care, virtual everything (happy hours, games, workouts, entertainment), home cooking and other hobbies, home design, athleisure, online learning, DIY, gaming and financial services. Even if one of these threads doesn’t match up to your business or services, try to find a way for your business to make home life easier. Stuck on how to adapt your content to resonate with consumers? Consult a content marketing agency, such as Bluetext, to identify trending but relevant topics to focus on.

Shifting Media Channels

Another way you can make sure you’re capturing your audience is shifting the channels you’re using. While traditional channels (including out of home, print and radio) have decreased significantly, digital channels have seen a large boom. According to Nielsen, media consumption rises by as much as 61% when consumers stay at home. This media consumption includes display media, social media, and all forms of TV, including traditional, CTV and OTT.

Recently digital media (and TV) channel inventories have been higher due to increased numbers of people streaming. Like a simple supply and demand equation, this leads to lower-cost opportunities to get in front of your audience. Paid search impressions are decreasing, but digital marketing analysts are seeing higher CTRs and lower CPCs, leading to more efficient media campaigns.

Target Audience Hours

The current pandemic has altered the where and when work takes place. With children home from school and most people working remotely, we’re seeing more employees working outside of 9 to 5 business hours. For consumer-focused businesses, this might mean shifting typical 9-5 workday restrictions so that your campaigns run all day instead of just non-work hours.

While no one is positive how long the effects of this pandemic will last, it is clear that the stay at home orders are changing how both consumer and business audiences are consuming media. Businesses must adapt to these changing audience behaviors and characteristics, not only to survive now but to better understand and cater to their target customers in the future. Need help capturing your changing audience? Call Bluetext.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has expanded the “stay at home” audience for B2B businesses.
The commercial sector has seen changes in how audiences are reacting to content and consuming media.
Capturing these audiences will require businesses to adapt content and tactics to the current climate.

If your business is B2B, you should be aware of these audience changes and adapt your marketing tactics to keep up with the current trends. Here are a few ways that you can make sure your message doesn’t fall flat with the new “stay at home” audience.

If your business is more B2B and your target audience is a specific position type in a company, your audience might have shifted even more than a typical consumer audience. Now, instead of doing research at work, many employees are browsing, doing research and consuming media at all hours at home. This can make it more difficult to target by company IP address, for example, but can make it more likely that you get valuable leads from social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

The common threads that businesses are searching for during this time are supply chain management, eCommerce, website tips and management, point of sale transactions and financial support. Focus not only on your value add for customers, but also on the unique ways you’ll support them during this time.

Lift the Gate!

Just like consumer-focused businesses, it’s a good idea to offer some sort of additional value for business customers. It can be a draw for businesses to find free thought leadership content or resources on your site – even if it’s content that you would normally have gated.

Shifting Media Channels

For B2B businesses, digital media channels are seeing a serious uptick in volume and inventory. This shift may be an even greater shift for B2B industries as channels are seeing more traffic from business-people who would normally not be as active on social media in the middle of the day.

Another result of this pandemic is that trade shows and conferences have been canceled or are going virtual. With 53% of B2B marketers considering in-person events and tradeshows an effective channel for driving conversion according to eMarketer, this can be an important change to take advantage of. Many businesses (28% according to Smart Insights) are putting a positive spin on this shift and reinvesting trade show budgets into digital advertising.

Target Audience Hours

The shift to remote work has made it more likely that employee’s hours will shift from the traditional 9-5. This provides a unique opportunity for hour extensions for both B2C and B2B campaigns.