Agency Insights

We tend to think of Small Business Saturday® as a day that exclusively benefits local stores, shops, restaurants, and any type of independent merchant. Yes, benefits abound on this day – and not only for small businesses, but for consumers as well. If you own a local business, keep in mind that Small Business Saturday is the date to shine. This is especially true if consumers take as much a shine to your store as what is sold. Let’s explain…

There’s a lot of truth to the expression “time flies” – especially in marketing and advertising. Rapidly advancing technology, combined with fast-changing trends in how consumers browse, shop and purchase are proof of how fast time is flying. Just think: The holiday marketing season is here. Time is of the essence. What follows are a few effective approaches to making the most of holiday and year-end advertising.

Halloween’s over. Thanksgiving’s coming soon. Then there’s Black Friday, when the gigantic number of sales is outnumbered only by the customers crowding into stores to save on these deals. Then, everyone gets to relax on Saturday and Sunday and recharge for Cyber Monday, where online sales rule. Both days are feasts for buying and selling. Did you ever stop to wonder which of these two days your brand or business should take part in?

Ever use newsjacking to market your brand? Or, are you familiar with what newsjacking is? If not, settle in and take note of this “hot off the presses” online practice that is applied to practically everything – even marketing. You may be surprised at what potential opportunities might literally be happening right now.

Social media platforms – whether Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (or all three, among others) – have benefitted many brands in getting their goods and services before the public. But your social media strategy needs to be carefully curated and tended to. If not, making a great impression and attracting customers will see an about-face and drive them away. What then, should be done – or rather, avoided – to making your social media strategy a success?

No, that is not an accidental repeat of the word “brand” in the title. The use of a brand ambassador has been a popular and powerful marketing tactic since the beginning of advertising. Using a personal touch to promote a particular brand’s goods and services makes impact. But does a business really need this for its brand marketing?

Autumn officially begins this Monday, September 23. With the change of season comes a change in what consumers will be shopping for. Yes, seasonal marketing is upon us, and there are some rules and practices to be mindful of as we ask the question: When it comes time for marketers to prepare for the holiday sale, how soon is too soon?

Video advertising. Its reach is beyond imagination. Video ads – particular YouTube Ads – continue to ride a wave that will extend well into the future. And if you own a business that is not making the use of YouTube Ads, some recent findings and developments may well make you change your mind. This is not the video advertising you “thought” you knew.

Social media has been around for a relatively short while but has brought big changes. Extreme changes is more like it. Take advertising and marketing. Social media is used by brands, businesses and enterprises of all kinds looking to get their names out before potential customers. When impact is positive, the results can extremely exceed the greatest dreams of success. But when impact is negative, extremely unimaginable nightmares come true. How then, can brands navigate a social media crisis  or fallout. Furthermore, what steps can be taken to implement crisis management?

A few weeks ago, news of Instagram’s removal of the number of “likes” every post receives hit the social media world like a tidal wave. Why post to Instagram if content cannot be recognized by how much it is “liked”? While this change has been in action for only a short period of time, the proverbial “big picture” behind Instagram’s disruption is beginning to be seen in a different perspective. Very simply, it’s time for change in social media. This is because what Instagram users are seeking is changing. This, of course, affects social media marketing.