Category: Curated Content

You’d have to be a killjoy to not smile at the tale of Ritz-Carlton hotel workers reuniting a young boy with Joshie, his beloved stuffed giraffe.

The story serves as a stellar example of surprise and delight. When the Ritz-Carlton staffers saw that the young guest had left his favorite toy behind, they decided to take the opportunity to go the extra mile. They took pictures of Joshie enjoying a grand adventure at the hotel, including a spa visit, before returning the toy to its elated owner.

Brands that want to make a splash on social media are increasingly attempting to use surprise and delight as a marketing tactic. These acts of kindness bring plenty of joy to the lucky beneficiaries, and the incidents spark social network buzz for a hot minute. And while everyone might enjoy the tale of a stuffed giraffe finding its way home, this tactic is more of a marketing stunt than a marketing plan. Instead of gambling with your brand, focus your effort on building true talk triggers — stories that people cannot help but share with their networks.

Talk triggers are operational differentiators that all customers are able to experience every single time they interact with your brand. It might be almos… Read More

In the hours that make up your day as a marketer, what percentage of your time and budget goes to advertising?

According to eMarketer, US ad spending was forecasted to grow 6.6% in 2018, reaching $220.96 billion.

With billions of dollars and infinite hours spent on planning and optimizing paid media, it must be the top resource your consumers use when making purchase decisions, right? Okay, maybe it’s not number one, but it has to be in the top three? Top five?

No. Not even close. 

This leads me to today’s number of the day. Eight.

Our recent study, “Chatter Matters: The 2018 Word of Mouth Report,” found that advertising is only the eighth most valued source of information when we make substantial purchases. 

If it’s not advertising that affects consumer decisions, what do consumers actually trust?

Personal experience
Brand familiarity
A word of mouth recommendation from friends and family
Online review from friends and family
Expert reviews
A discount or coupon
News coverage
Brand advertising

Recently, my colleague Zontee Hou shared the psychology about why the higher the stakes, the more important word of mouth becomes. But how much more? Recommendations from friends are valued 27% mo… Read More

Orbis Research estimates that the Global eLearning industry will reach $275 billion by 2022…

That’s an annual growth rate of a staggering 7.5%.

It’s a sitting digital giant with enormous potential, driven by flexible learning environments and increased credibility applied to online learning ecosystems.

With this rapid growth comes a steady rise in competition for innovators, new EduTech players, and old school training facilities that are dipping their toe into online learning.

All of these players are providing online training environments, known as Learning Management Systems (LMS), for the delivery of education at scale. They provide the tech for educators and businesses alike to upload assets, resources, and other educational material, to a cloud-based environment, making them easily accessible for people all over the world.

Here’s the problem: Competition is becoming so fierce, due to an increasingly low barrier to entry for new solutions, that LMS providers are struggling to get noticed.

So what’s the answer? How do they stand out?

The best way to generate qualified traffi… Read More

Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular ways for marketers and their PR agencies to engage consumers—and also one of the most cost-effective. 

As marketers continue to invest more in influencers, they expect more in return. This dynamic is changing the process of contracting with influencer talent.

It’s easier than ever for marketers and their agencies to get caught up in the social media whirlwind. However, it is critical for all involved parties to take a step back and understand the regulatory framework at play, as well as the importance of having robust contracting processes in place. 

In light of recent Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) developments, all involved parties should keep the following 9 best practices in mind: 

1. Define the influencer content. 

According to the most recent batch of FTC warning letters and updated FAQs to its Endorsement Guides, certain hashtags, such as #partner, #ambassador, and #thanks [brand] without further context are not sufficient. Hashtags such as #paid, #ad, and #sponsored are likely to be sufficient, as well as organic disclosures that clearly describe the nature of the material connection. 

2. Keep disclosures “above the fold…. Read More

As an ecommerce shop, you always need to come up with new ways to increase your revenue.

But with that said, it’s a common misconception that you need to find new customers to generate more sales. That’s simply not the case.

In fact, there are plenty of ways to increase revenue without acquiring new customers.

Rather than trying to get more transactions on your ecommerce site, you should be focusing on tactics that increase the amount of each transaction.

Don’t get me wrong. Obviously, new customers and more transactions are great news for your business. But it’s not the only way to make more money.

What’s the average order value on your platform?

This is a metric that you should be tracking at all times. If you’re unfamiliar with average order value, abbreviated as AOV, it’s really easy to calculate.

Tactics that improve your AOV work for new customers and existing customers alike.

It’s all about how you display information on your website.

I know what some of you might be thinking. Your current average order value is adequate. Do you really need to make any changes?

Absolutely.

When it comes to what’s acceptable as an AOV, the sky’s the limit. Don’t settle for anything less. There is always room for improvement.

Use this guide as a reference for in… Read More