It’s That Time of Year Again!
September 28, 2021
Fall is finally here! It’s time for fuzzy sweaters, pumpkin lattes, and, starting next month, holiday marketing! October begins the year-end blitz of holidays that doesn’t end till after January 1st, and once again, we’ll be experiencing the holidays under the lifestyle changes wrought by the pandemic. The question that has followed us from 2020 is how do we factor these changes into our holiday marketing? We’ve gathered a few ideas to get you started!
- Start early. The e-commerce season will begin even earlier this year, so make sure your website is up to par before it does. Last year’s holiday shopping began in October – and usually in place of actual Black Friday in-store sales. And since there are still production and supply chain issues in several areas, it’s advisable to start as early as possible in reaching out to customers old and new.
- Embrace the possibilities of online. Since a lot of holiday shopping will be online again, you might want to consider doing a webroom for products. Essentially, it’s a showroom that’s online where people can look at products from all angles. You may also want to consider incorporating how-to videos, fashion shows, product demonstrations, and more across your website and social media to provide a fully immersive experience.
- Remember email marketing is your friend. Pretty much everyone checks their email routinely and during the holidays people are always seeking the best deals, so sliding into their emails with discounts and special offers will make your business more enticing.
- Social media marketing is more important than ever. Grandview Research estimated that buying from social media brought in around $474 billion in revenue last year. More and more, people are turning to places like Facebook and Instagram for curated recommendations, to find reviews from other customers and more. If you aren’t using social media marketing this holiday season, you’re missing out.
- Take advantage of retargeting. Did you know approximately 96% of people who visit a website leave without purchasing? That’s a lot of people! But if you’re retargeting you can up the number of people who buy from you. For example, if someone leaves their cart abandoned but you have their email you can send a follow-up email reminding them about their cart. Or you can retarget customers by having ads for the products they were looking at show up on their social media. One good way to go about this is with the Facebook pixel.
- Use what you can on Facebook. If your business is one Facebook, you should check out their 2021 holiday marketing guide and find out all the many ways you can take advantage of the platform this holiday season.
- Video is still king. We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again. If you aren’t using video in your marketing, you’re missing out on opportunities. 90% of online users said video helped them to make purchasing decisions.
The ways people shop continue to change, but there’s plenty you can do to embrace these changes and make your holiday marketing better than ever. From video to creative demonstrations of your product and more, you can be sure you’re getting the most out of your holiday marketing.
Need a helping hand? Reach out to Social Marketing Solutions today and see how we can help!
What’s the Deal with Social Audio?
March 23, 2021
You’ve probably seen or heard news lately about the growing world of social audio – spaces such as Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces or Fireside. But what’s the deal with social audio? How does it work? Is it better than traditional social media? Most of all, should your business be taking advantage? Here’s what you need to know about the new frontier of social media.
What is Social Audio?
For years social media has consisted of text, images, emojis and video. Now audio is being added into the mix. Unlike podcasts which work as a one way street, social audio offers real-time audio that allows listeners to participate in the conversation going on. Since social audio is voice-only there’s also no need to worry about how you look or what’s in the background of wherever you are, making it less stressful for many.
In a recent article, Jeremiah Owyang called it “the “Goldilocks” medium….Text is not enough, and video is too much; social audio is just right. It represents the opportunity for social connection and empathy without the downsides of video. Why is this use case taking off? – humans, stuck at home during quarantine; readily available smartphones and apps; cloud-based technology and easy integration platforms like Agora; the desire for human connection beyond text; and fatigue from too many video conference calls.”
Not to mention, the intimacy of voice makes audio social that much more appealing in our current climate of social distancing and isolation. It makes sense that people would be drawn to it.
Businesses and Social Audio
How can your business take advantage of social audio? One of the easiest ways to start is with podcasting. It may be a one-way street where you talk to your audience, but take a look at some numbers below:
- 37% of people in the U.S. listened to a podcast in the past month
- 63% of people bought something a podcast host promoted on their show
- By 2022, it’s estimated that podcast listening will grow to 132 million people in the U.S. alone
If you aren’t taking advantage of podcasting, you’re missing out on opportunity! How can you get started?
- Choose a topic you’re an expert on, one you know you can deliver.
- Get a good microphone. Simply using the mic on your computer or phone won’t deliver the best sound quality.
- Get editing software such as Audacity and learn how to use it.
- Decide where your podcast will be uploaded. There are several options for this – from Spotify to iTunes and more. Plus, if you video your podcast you can also upload it to Youtube, Facebook, etc.
You can get more info on starting your podcast HERE.
How can you take advantage of social audio that works as a two-way street such as Clubhouse? You can start by exploring the audio rooms available. Visit different conversations to find the ones that are relevant to you and your business interests and participate. Seek to add value with your questions and comments. Next, host your own conversation. Invite others on the app that you may know who would be interested in speaking or being interviewed.
You can also experiment with:
- Branded clubs
- Promoted rooms
- Ads: banners, text, audio
- Sponsored audio influencers
As the future of social audio grows there are other uses to look forward to such as: 1) the addition of text-based features and emoticons; 2) the ability to record selected social audio conversations and publish them like a podcast; 3) conversations being embedded on your website; and more.
Social Audio Sites
While Clubhouse is likely the most known of social audio sites, there are plenty of others out there to experiment with. In fact, Jeremiah Owyang created this list of 34 sites.
- JoinClubhouse
- Twitter Spaces
- Facebook (reportedly)
- Fireside Chat (Mark Cuban)
- Sonar
- Chalk
- Discord
- Locker Room
- Space
- Roadtrip
- Capiche.fm
- Cappuccino
- Stereo
- Soapbox
- Quilt
- Yalla
- Anchor.FM
- GetRiff
- Seventh Ave
- Yac
- Dialup
- Saga
- Swell
- Lizhiinc
- High Fidelity
- Angle
- Tin Can
- Soundn
- MyWave
- TooDeep
- JoinVocal
- FishBowl
- Listen to Blast
- Eternal
The Downsides
Like all social media sites, there are downsides to social audio – the biggest of which is currently a lack of content moderation. Content moderation in audio is far more difficult than it is in text. Clubhouse, in particular, has been used to spread misinformation and racist and misogynistic content. Discord, another popular site, was used to help plan the recent insurrection in DC.
Privacy is another concern. Clubhouse records all conversations in case an investigation of a reported problem is needed. However, they don’t say how long they keep conversations or who is allowed to listen to them. Also on Clubhouse, you can’t delete information other people share about you. When one signs up for Clubhouse, they are required to upload their entire contact database in order to send invites to others. So, even if you haven’t been invited if someone you know who has your contact info has joined Clubhouse and invited others, Clubhouse has your contact info as well.
In Conclusion
It looks like the future is audio and you’ll want to jump on board at some point. Start with something easy like podcasting, then move up to two-way social audio. Just be aware of potential concerns and as always, use social media responsibly!
Author
- Kelly Jones
Social Media Manager
