Marketers, ever on the lookout for unique ways to make an impact, sometimes attempt to including humour in marketing campaigns. Sometimes it works well. Other times…not so much. Here are four examples where marketers have tried to bring the funny – you be the judge! Humour in marketing – don’t get burnt! The Perth suburb of Cockburn might be pronounced ‘Coburn’, but a local aquatic centre used the way it’s spelt to create a sunscreen awareness sign that said, “It’s not called Cockburn for nothing”. While some people were not amused, others saw it as a clever way to draw attention to an important issue. Certainly demonstrates that your message can hit home, or not – depending on who’s listening! Daylight robbery When robbers broke into Ksubi’s New York store and stole $4,000 worth of clothing, the brand used an image of their getaway with the slogan “These guys robbed us last week but they were a week early….. Run Now” to promote their upcoming sale. Shows they have a sense of humour about the robbery. On the other hand, it could show their approach to being robbed is a bit too laid back – depending on how you look at it. Going too far? Brisbane brand YP Threads sent out emails to users saying it had ‘incriminating’ photos of them which they would publish unless they bought certain items. In the age of online hoaxes and fraud schemes, this probably wasn’t the best idea! The backlash led to the brand’s founder calling it a “bad judgement call” and apologising. Despite all that however, it appears the campaign...
Calling all business owners who are tired of banging their heads against brick walls due to average digital marketing results and lacklustre lead generation. Sound like you? As every business owner knows, sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself…at least until you find (or can afford) an exceptionally competent person or a content marketing agency to take it over. For many businesses, budgets simply don’t allow for outsourcing everything to a digital marketing professional or a content agency. There might be no choice but to dabble in some DIY content marketing strategies. The problem is, when we do attempt our own SEO or Pay Per Click (PPC) tweaking, we often don’t know enough to get the results we’d like. And as they say, a little knowledge can be dangerous! If you’ve been experimenting with your own digital marketing like a nutty cyber professor, and your results have been… well…blah…it might be time to think bigger. Free courses in digital marketing Here’s a list of 8 free digital courses and resources available to amplify your DIY marketing prowess. All of these digital marketing training options can be completed online in your own time. Take your time and investigate them all, or click the link on the list below to jump to the course of most interest. SEO training with Moz Adwords & Digital Marketing training by Google WordStream PPC University Inbound Marketing – HubSpot training Open Universities Australia – Online Advertising GFC Learn Free – Social Media Marketing Canva Tutorials – create fabulous images Wistia Video Tutorials SEO Training by Moz (facilitated by Udemy) Had...
Professional looking visuals to illustrate content are a no-brainer when it comes to standing out from the crowd. But the problem with great design is that it’s traditionally come at a hefty price. Now, thanks to improving technology, there are plenty of online design tools. You can create professional visuals inexpensively or free, from infographics to cartoons and video – and often with only a few minutes work! DIY visual tools for businesses and individuals have really taken off in the last year or two, not only because they’re affordable, but because most are very easy to use. Graphic design skills not required – if you can point a mouse and click, you’re good to go! Here are five of our favourite (inexpensive) design tools. 1. Venngage Infographics are huge at the moment and they’re a fantastic way to present complicated information in an easy to understand, visually appealing format. An infographic can help you grow your social media shares, boost your website visitors and give you a content asset you can use time and time again. Venngage is a handy platform that lets you create infographics on just about any topic you like, for minimal or no cost. How it works Venngage is about as easy as it gets. Sign up for an account and choose your template from the hundreds on offer. Next, input the information you want to display to generate your infographic. Customise with images and icons, and add any extra charts and text needed. Adapt the fonts and colours to match your branding or personal preference, and you’re ready to publish. The Venngage...
Does your social strategy need supercharging? This week we spoke to social business consultant Richard Wolff for his take on how to use social media to create business opportunities. He explains why it’s all about building lists and finding the right way to connect with your audience on each platform. Richard, what are the key areas of your consultancy? I do social media in a way that may not be your ‘101’ type of method. It’s to help people and organisations find out what about LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram is special to them, and to use each platform to create a profile and find ways to truly engage with the community. It’s not about getting the most followers or the most posts. It’s about finding an authentic way to use each platform, not just to send out information, but to listen in on the communities they care about – their clients, their prospective clients and their business community. How do your methods work in the B2B arena? Let’s take the example of a business chamber I worked with. Their social media, their Facebook and Twitter, was as you would expect – just used for a few isolated posts such as their events. When I got involved, I said that if you can harness the energy of your 300-plus members when they post on Facebook and Twitter, we can pick some of that content to share and curate back to the other members. Likewise, if they start to follow our pages and set their notification settings higher, they can get updates in their feeds, engage with the chamber, and...
Tom Skotidas is one of the world’s leading authorities on generating B2B sales leads using social networks. This week he spoke with Andrew Shaw at Article Writers Australia about what it takes to create an effective presence on LinkedIn, and how to avoid mistakes that make your potential business connections hit the spam button. Tom, what was your introduction to the world of LinkedIn social selling? “I realised the power of social media platforms in about 2008. I was head of sales and marketing at an agency that specialised in search engine marketing. I’d used LinkedIn since 2005 the way most people do – as a CV and rolodex. Then in May 2008, I sent my first InMail and realised how powerful LinkedIn could be in helping me generate qualified leads. Between May 2008 and March 2011, I grew that agency from about half a million dollars in annual billings to $7 million a year. Of that amount, half of it was directly attributable to my usage of LinkedIn and Twitter. I resigned from that agency in March 2011 to form Skotidas Consulting Group. Do people need to create content before they begin using LinkedIn? Yes – they must create their personal profile. Your LinkedIn profile is your first– and most important – piece of content. Your profile must have the right picture, the right headline, and the right sales copy. You must also add marketing assets such as videos, presentations, and publications. A professional and impressive LinkedIn profile is your single greatest piece of content on the platform. After building their profile, do people need to share content...
Using marketing content based on imagery rather than words is becoming an increasingly popular strategy for businesses. And it makes a lot of sense in light of the fact that humans are visual creatures, wired to receive information through the sense of sight. After all, the old saying “a picture is worth a thousands words” is a cliché for a reason! Image-based social platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram can provide you with opportunities to take advantage of this natural human response to images to get your message across. In fact, people who are visual learners (those who receive and process information more readily when it is associated with pictures, diagrams or other imagery) are likely to be more responsive to picture marketing than to text alone. The really interesting thing from a marketing point of view is that research indicates around 65% of us are visual learners – representing quite a substantial proportion of the population! MORE: Choosing the Best Channels for Promoting Business Content Here’s why you might want to consider publishing on Pinterest and Instagram, and some tips for using the platforms effectively. The case for Pinterest Pinterest is like a virtual cork board of pinned images and videos relating to interests, hobbies, passions and the like. Common themes include lifestyle, home decorating, gardening, fashion, food, products, travel, and hints and tips on popular topics. The platform is sometimes referred to as a way of bookmarking images, or create a mood board. The pinned items are often accompanied by captions or descriptions and a website link. Pinterest has been growing in popularity in recent years. Statistics show...
