Marketing

e-mail marketing

Email Marketing Best Practices

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Email marketing is still the most effective way to reach audience. It is about delivering valuable content to the right person to the right time. In the digital era, however, people are bombarded emails every day and it is challenging for marketers to stand out.

Below are the 5 best practices of email marketing:

  1. Responsive Design

Taking the fact into account that in 2018 50% of emails were opened on mobile device (Campaign Monitor, 2019), it is critical for marketers to understand the importance of responsive email design. According to Adobe Consumer Email Survey 2018, smartphone is the most commonly used device for checking emails. While in 2017 81% of the participants opened their emails on their smartphone, in 2018 this rate was 85%. (Adobe, 2018)

It is also critical for marketers to understand the different age groups of their subscribers. The younger the audience the more likely they use smartphone to check their emails.

Responsive email design

Figure 1: A great example of optimised email. The content is clear, concise and easy to read on the go. CTA (Call-to-action) buttons are big enough on all device to easily be clicked on. Social media share buttons available at the bottom of the email. (Pinterest, 2019)

  1. Segmentation

No matter what a business is selling, it is vital for the business to know their audience, their interests and needs. “Personalization will only work if you’re creating the right message for the right customer.” (Harbin, L., 2019) Segmenting customer base by age, gender, location, interest, purchase history etc. and sending personalised emails to them can make significant impact on the success of an email campaign.

Basic segmentation such as age, gender and location are not enough, however. To increase click through rate, businesses need to learn as much as they can about their audience, for example: what device they primary use, which part of the day they check their emails, previous purchases (if applicable) and so on.

How to get to know more about the audience?

 

  • Ask about preferences in your welcome email
  • Have subscribers complete a user profile
  • Send a new email to existing subscribers asking them to update their preferences
  • Segment based on previous purchases

(Thomsen, R.B., 2019)

 

Asking more information from email subscribers

Figure 2: Campaign Monitor gives us a perfect example (even if a bit lengthy) of how to ask more information from email subscribers about their preferences. (Thomsen, R.B., 2019)

Email asking to fill in a survey

Figure 3: As a subscriber, I have recently received this email from Change Checker, asking me to fill in a short survey about my preferences, so they can provide me better service and more relevant email content. The email is clear and concise. There is a clear CTA button followed by an additional CTA: a linked text.

  1. Unique Subject Line

Subject lines are the first thing recipients see when checking their inboxes. If written well, subject line encourages recipients to open the email and engage; if not, recipients might simply ignore the message or even worse: mark it as spam or unsubscribe from the email list.

To make our email stand out, we should use an impactful and informative subject line that tell the recipient immediately what the email is about and what it is offering. According to Neil Patel, subject lines should:

  1. Generate curiosity (for example: 5 Things You Never Knew About Bali)
  2. Communicate Urgency (for example: Last Chance to Secure the SOLD OUT Military 50p Coin Set)
  3. Include Free Offers (for example: Order Above £20 and Enjoy FREE Delivery)

Note: some words such as “save”, “buy”, “make money” or “earn” in email subject lines can easily mark the email as SPAM and direct the email straight the recipient’s SPAM folder. Find the most common email SPAM words to avoid on HubSpot’s website. (Rubin, K., 2017)

  1. Personalised (for example: Happy Birthday Eva! Claim Your FREE Birthday Bubbles)
  2. Highlight Recent New Topic (for example: Celebrate the Chinese New Year of The Pig with These Coins)
  3. Communicate Social Proof of Concept (for example: Join the More Than 5000 Subscribers and Enjoy Unlimited Next Day Delivery)
  4. Tell a Story (for example: How I Survived 1 Year Without Mobile Phone)
  5. Campaign Retargeting (for example: You Left Something in Your Shopping Cart. Enter Code 123 and Enjoy Free Shipping)
  6. Announcements and Events (for example: The Most Anticipated Event in the Summer 2019! Order You Tickets Online and Save 10%)
  7. Authority and Expertise (for example: Secrets About Blog Writing)

(Neil Patel, n/a)

 

Email services such as Gmail show the first line of the email right next to the subject line allowing recipients to learn immediately what the email is about and decide if they want to open it or not. Therefore, it is wise to include what the email offers in the very first line. 

  1. Actual Person as a Sender

HubSpot researches show that emails sent by an actual person generate more open rate than emails sent by company name. (Georgieva, M., 2019) Avoid send emails from no-repy@phoenixxmarketing.com or info@phoenixxmarketing.com email addresses or using only the company name as sender. Instead, use real person’s name and email address from the marketing team. For example: Eva Paroczai, eva.paroczai@phoenixxmarketing.com.

HubSpot have found that that best practice is to use both the company name and a real person’s name and email address in the email for higher open and click through rate. (Georgieva, M., 2019) For example: Eva Paroczai, Phoenixx Marketing, eva.paroczai@phoenixxmarketing.com.

 

Sender of the email matters

Figure 4: HubSpot’s survey showed that “Control” generated a 0.73% CTR, while “Treatment” generated 0.96% CTR. It means: including both the sender’s name and the company name in the email generate more CTR than including the company name only and send the email from a general email address (for example: info@phoenixxmarketing.com). (Georgieva, M., 2019)

Email

Figure 5: Transport of London’s weekly newsletter contains the Managing Director’s name and signature.

  1. Use Images and Visuals

Use images and visuals and minimise text to make the email easily digestible for recipients. Many people check their email on the go, therefore it is important for the email to be concise and easily scannable. It is important for recipients to immediately understand what the email is about and what it is offering.

Another important thing a marketer should take into an account when designing an email campaign, is the download speed.

  • Make sure the images are all compressed to minimal size because if an email downloads too slow, recipients might skip it.
  • Use image alt texts: some email services do not download images as default to increase speed. It is important for the recipient to understand what the image is about even if it is not downloaded.
  • Do not use videos in the email as it slows down the speed of the download. Instead, link the video from the company’s website or YouTube channel and navigate the recipients to that page.

The importance of alt text

Figure 6: HubSpot shows a brilliant example of image alt texts in emails in one of their articles. (Kolowich, L., 2019) BuzzFeed is masterfully playing with image alt texts in this email. The email grabs attention even if the images are not downloaded thanks to the funny compelling image alt texts.

The importance of image alt text

Figure 7: Here is the same email from Buzzfeed with the images downloaded.

 

3 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Never Buy Email Lists

It might be tempting, especially for new businesses, to buy email lists but, in fact it is the worst thing a business could do when starting its email campaign. Building the business’s own list takes time and effort but cold contacting with people who never showed interest in the products or services a business offers end up with slow or even dead ROI. (Das, S., 2018)

Having an own email list means the subscribers have already shown interest in the business’s products or services and have given their consent to receive emails from the business.

On the other hand, if a business have their own email list they know their audiences’ needs and interests and able to segment them to serve their specific needs and interests.

 

  1. Do Not Send Out Emails Not Optimised for Mobile Devices

Nowadays many people check their emails on their smartphone on the go. Therefore, it is crucial for an email to be well optimised for mobile devices and be easily scannable. If the email is not optimised, recipients have to pinch and zoom to set the optimal size and be able to read the content and see the pictures.

Optimise emails for mobile devices

Figure 8: This picture showcases the difference between mobile-optimised email and non-mobile-optimised email.

The left picture showcases how an email content looks when it is NOT optimised for mobile devices: the image is too big, and recipients cannot read the content without pinching and zooming it. CTA button is not visible at all.

The picture in the right showcases how an email looks when it is optimised for mobile devices: the picture is in optimal size, and the content is easily readable. CTA is clearly visible and easy for recipients to click on it. (Kolowich, L., 2019)

  1. Do Not Send Out Your Email Without Testing Them

Testing is a vital part of email campaigns. Once an email campaign is ready, resist the urge to send it out immediately. Make sure to double check it for grammatical errors and misspelling as sometimes even the smallest mistakes can have significant impact on the effectiveness of the email campaign.

If the email is free from grammatical errors and misspelling, send test emails to co-workers and ask them to check it and give you some feedback in terms of the typos and the layout.

(Mail Chimp, n/a)

Make sure to test the email on different devices (laptop, smartphone, tablet etc.) and open it using different browsers as the same email can look differently when opened in different browsers. Most of the email service websites provide tools to see how your campaign looks in different devices.

References

 

Adobe (2018) ‘2018 Adobe Consumer Email Survey’ [Online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/adobe/2018-adobe-consumer-email-survey?qid=fb898b8e-6761-422a-bfa9-41e55cc84771&v=&b=&from_search=2 [Accessed 02 August 2019]

 

Campaign Monitor (2019) ‘Email Trends Report: Mobile vs. Desktop’ [Online] Available at:

https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-marketing-trends/#one [Accessed 02 August 2019]

 

Das, S. (2018) Digital Doughnut ‘10 Essential Email Marketing Best Practices You Need to Know’ [Online] Available at: https://www.digitaldoughnut.com/articles/2018/january/10-essential-email-marketing-best-practices-yo-(1) [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Georgieva, M. 2019) HubSpot ‘A/B Testing in Action: 3 Real-Life Marketing Experiments’ [Online] Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31634/A-B-Testing-in-Action-3-Real-Life-Marketing-Experiments.aspx [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Harbin, L. (2019) Campaign Monitor ‘How to Create Successful Email Marketing Campaigns in 2019’ [Online] Available at: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2019/01/how-to-create-successful-email-marketing-campaigns-in-2019/ [Accessed 03 August 2019]

 

Kolowich, L. (2019) HubSpot ‘19 Examples of Brilliant Email Marketing Campaigns’ [Online] Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-examples-list [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Kolowich, L. (2019) HubSpot ‘23 Simple Email Marketing Tips to Improve Your Open and Clickthrough Rates’ [Online] Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/make-emails-more-clickable-list [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Mail Chimp (n/a) ‘Email Marketing Guide for Successful Campaigns’ [Online] Available at: https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-field-guide/ [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Neil Patel (n/a) ‘10 Types of Email Subject Lines That Always Produce Clicks’ [Online] Available at: https://neilpatel.com/blog/clickable-email-subject-line-types/ [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Pinterest (2019) Econsultancy.com A great example of optimised email [Online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/564427765770363843/ [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Rubin, K. HubSpot (2017) ‘The Ultimate List of Email SPAM Trigger Words’ [Online] Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30684/the-ultimate-list-of-email-spam-trigger-words.aspx [Accessed 04 August 2019]

 

Thomsen, R. B. 92019) Campaign Monitor ‘Improve Your Email Campaigns with These 8 Best Practices’ [Online] Available at: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2019/01/improve-your-email-campaigns-with-8-best-practices/ [Accessed 04 August 2019]

personal branding

Personal Branding

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The Importance of Personal Branding

Personal branding is different to corporate branding: corporate branding focuses on a product or service whereas personal branding’s focus is on the person. “The unique combination of skills and experiences that make you you.” (Brand Yourself, n/a) In the digital era we are living today, anything can be a brand, even a person. What is more, today the question is not whether you have a personal brand or not. The question is if you want to cultivate it in order to be being perceived as an expert in one field, or two.

When creating our personal brand, we have to think about ourselves as a business. In this case, the business is us. When we think of a brand, we have feelings towards it, either good or bad. When we hear a name, we may have a feeling, too. – explains Gary Vaynerchuk, the well-known public speaker and author. (Vaynerchuk, G., 2019)

In the modern digital world audience has tired and overwhelmed with the constant stream of adverts coming from businesses and corporations trying to sell products and services. Today, audience do not trust corporations anymore. “Personal branding allows you to establish a reputation and an identity while still maintaining a personal level of trust and interaction, usually through social media.” (DeMers, J., 2014) Nowadays, regardless of our age, profession or any other status, someone is screening us online: (Brand Yourself, n/a) our name are googled when applying to a collage, hiring managers search for us on social media before inviting us for an interview and what they find about us they can have massive influence on their final decision.

 

How to Use Social Media for Personal Branding

The very first step of personal branding should be identifying and embracing ourselves. – as Tran Tai, the youngest ‘Forbes Under 30’ says in one of his presentations. (Tran, T. 2017) To start, think about the following questions:

  1. Who you are?
  2. What makes you unique?
  3. What can you offer other people to help?

 

The next step is to define your skills and your target audience. For example, if you are a job seeker, you want to be recognised by HR managers, decision makers and influencers who can help you to reach your goals. (Arruda, W., 2019) After all of these steps, it’s time to define your message and goals and how you want to reach them. Define your unique voice, signature image and colour and build a recognisable standard for your readers. (DeMers, J., 2014)

It is not necessary to be present on all of the social media channels (the more the better, however), on those you have chosen, however, you have to be consistent, stay active and tailor your posts to each channel.

What do all of these mean?

Be consistent:

  • Use the same name, profile picture, colour and design in all of the social media channels.
  • Clear all old irrelevant posts and pictures that are not relevant any more to what you represent (this is very important as some of those content may even cause harm to your reputation).
  • Fully fill out your profile, include relevant keywords and hashtags.

(Brand Yourself, n/a)

 

Stay active:

  • Produce valuable and relevant content and feed your social media channels regularly. Make sure your posts are diverse, interesting and useful to your audience. (text, podcast, video, infographic etc.).
  • It’s a good idea to a use a single content in a multiply way. Gary Vaynerchuk gives us some great examples: if you have a great video content, you can upload it to Facebook and LinkedIn. You can chop that same video to shorter videos to use them on Twitter and Instagram. You can also select a couple of powerful quotes and create pictures. You can write down the content of the video and publish it as a blog post. You can create an eye-catchy and informative infographic that summarise the whole topic. You can transform your video (or part of it) into a podcast. (Vaynerchuk, G., 2019)
  • Search for relevant groups and be an active member.
  • Be approachable and communicate with your audience: ask questions, generate conversations and answer questions and queries coming from your audience.

 

Tailor your posts to each channel:

  • Define your objectives and goals and create contents in line with them while stay relevant to the social media channels. For example, if you are a job seeker, focus on developing your LinkedIn profile first. If you want to sell your artwork, Pinterest and Instagram are the best to choose.
  • Keep in mind that each social media channel has different features. It means, for example you should post at least two times a day on Twitter, once a day on Facebook and LinkedIn, four-five times a day on Snapchat etc. Twitter allows you to share short texts and videos, on Snapchat contents remain visible only for 24 hours, Facebook is suitable for longer content forms etc.
  • Using hashtags on Twitter and Instagram is a great way to help your posts reach large audience. Hashtags on Facebook, however, will not work the same way.

 

Good Examples of Using Social Media for Personal Branding

When the interviewer asked Francisco Crespo, SVP and chief growth officer of Coca-Cola Company on their marketing strategy, Francisco Crespo’s answer was the following: “There are three dimensions in this process. It starts with understanding consumer needs. What problem are they trying to solve? What outcome are they expecting? What are their key occasions, contexts and rituals? Then we must establish what we call our Brand Edge, which is finding the reasons our brand solves consumer needs better.” (Talbot, P., 2019)

Gary Vaynerchuk says: “The best companies in the world don’t sell. They brand. They focus on branding. I do the same.” (Vaynerchuk, G., 2019) Coca-Cola for example do not want to convert you a buyer. Instead, Coca-Cola create a picture of the Coca-Cola experience, which means togetherness, happiness and precious moments in life we experience together. “There is no reason to do anything other than act like a media company in today’s digital age. Instead of selling constantly like businesses used to, you can create helpful, educational, entertaining content and use it to get sales long term. And the amazing thing is, the content you create doesn’t even have to be related to what you’re selling.” – Gary Vaynerchuk continues. (Vaynerchuk, G., 2019)

Figure 1: The Coca-Cola experience of togetherness showcased in ‘Coca-Cola & the Premier League’ campaign video. (YouTube, 2019)

 

“Branding today is about people creating and sharing human experiences. The future of branding is personal, the future of branding is now.” (Waller, T., 2019)

In the following section, I am introducing three good examples of personal branding. I have chosen three different people from three completely different sectors:

  1. Pink – singer, songwriter, actress
  2. Neil Patel – author, web influencer, entrepreneur
  3. Bear Grylls – survival instructor, businessman, adventurer

 

Pink – singer, songwriter, actress

Figure 2: Pink is an extravagant singer, songwriter and actress and this is exactly what her Facebook page shows us: the banner image showcases her new album with a blend of vivid red, pink and orange colours. Her profile picture represents her unique style, dynamic performances and fearlessness. (Facebook, 2019)

Figure 3: On her Facebook page, Pink has an exhausting ‘about’ section, containing the URLs of her other social media channels, her newest albums and their availabilities as well as a long bibliography with quotes and interview fragments. (Facebook, 2019)

Figure 4: Pink regularly shares and updates upcoming events on her Facebook page. (Facebook, 2019)

Figure 5: Pink uses the same profile picture on each of her social media channels making her channels unmissable. (Instagram, 2019)

Figure 6: Instead of sharing the same contents on all of her social media channels, Pink takes the different features of the channels into account, for example short compelling texts on Twitter and eye-catchy photos and short videos on Instagram. (Instagram, 2019)

Figure 7: Emojis and short texts being shared along with compelling contents on Pink’s Twitter page. Pink often retweet and share other users’ posts on her own timeline. (Twitter, 2019)

Figure 8: The profile picture and banner picture make Pink’s YouTube channel unmissbale for users and fans. (YouTube, 2019)

 

Neil Patel – author, web influencer, entrepreneur

 

Figure 9: Neil Patel’s Twitter page is unmissable by it’s orange colour and the well-known profile picture and the orange banner image. (Twitter, 2019)

Figure 10: Visitors find regular, diverse and helpful contents on Neil Patel’s Twitter page. In this screenshot we can see a podcast and a blog post. (Twitter, 2019)

Figure 11: The orange profile picture and banner image appear on Neil’s LinkedIn page along with an informative yet concise summary of his career. Neil’s email address is available at the end of the summary section. (LinkedIn, 2019)

Figure 12: This screenshot showcases a variety of powerful quotes, images and micro videos on Neil Patel’s Instagram page. Orange colour appears in Neil’s every single Intagram post as a trademark. (Instagram, 2019)

Figure 13: Again, the unmissable orange banner image and profile picture on Neil Patel’s YouTube channel. (YouTube, 2019)

Figure 14: We have seen that Neil Patel uses orange tone on not only his banner images, but also in individual Instagram posts. Here we can see the same pattern: all of the videos appear with an unmissable orange background. (YouTube, 2019)

 

Bear Grylls – survival instructor, businessman, adventurer

 

Figure 15: Bear Grylls uses the same banner image on his social media pages: a photo collage with the title ‘The Adventurers’, his official logo and a hashtag #theadventurers. (Facebook, 2019)

Figure 16: The ‘about’ section is fully completed, including awards, website address and Tumblr page address – however, his Tumblr page was last updated two years ago. (Facebook, 2019)

Figure 17: The same banner image apperas on Bear Grylls’ Twitter page as on his Facebook page. The adventurer’s profile photo is, although not the exact same, but very similar to his Facebook profile picture. (Twitter, 2019)

Figure 18: Bear Grylls shares compelling, useful and wide variety of contents on his Twitter page twice a day. (Twitter, 2019)

Figure 19: Wide variety of regular compelling content can be found on Bear Grylls’ Instagram page: videos, images, series of images and quotes. (Instagram, 2019)

 

References

Text

Arruda, W. (2019) “Personal Branding Rocket Fuel for Junior Employees” [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2019/05/30/personal-branding-rocket-fuel-for-junior-employees/#6db1e3252195 [Accessed 31 May 2019]

Brand Yourself (n/a) “The Definitive Guide to Personal Branding” [Online] Available at: https://brandyourself.com/definitive-guide-to-personal-branding [Accessed 31 May 2019]

DeMers, J. (2014) “5 Steps to Building a Personal Brand (and Why You Need One)” [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/5-steps-to-building-a-personal-brand-and-why-you-need-one.html [Accessed 31 May 2019]

Talbot, P. (2019) “Inside Coca-Cola’s Marketing Strategy” [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultalbot/2019/04/26/inside-coca-colas-marketing-strategy/#4865f2731280 [Accessed 03 June 2019]

Tran, T. (2017) YouYube “Designing a purposeful personal brand from zero to infinity | Tai Tran | TEDxBerkeley” [Online]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alqt7pIbp_o [Accessed 31 May 2019]

Vaynerchuk, G. (2019) “9 Strategies for Personal Branding Online in 2019” [Online] Available at: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/5-strategies-for-personal-branding-online/ [Accessed 31 May 2019]

Waller, T. (2018) YouTube “The Future of Branding is Personal | Talaya Waller | TEDxPSU” [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEHL8eLJCkc [Accessed 03 June 2019)

Figures

Figure 1 – Coca-Cola (2019) YouTube “Where Everyone Plays | Coca-Cola & the Premier League” [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_XBxcIoZy0 [Accessed 03 June 2019]

Figure 2 – Facebook (2019) Pink’s Facebook Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/pink/ [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 3 – Facebook (2019) Pink’s Facebook ‘About’ Section [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/pink/about/ [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 4 – Facebook (2019) Pink’s Facebook ‘Upcoming Events’ Section [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/pink/events/ [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 5 – Instagram (2019) Pink’s Instagram Page [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/pink/?fbclid=IwAR10ZejriwuxNb0q5u09QU2Iobdg1J2qkESF8oSSgp8URiv2vSpK_e38arU [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 6 – Instagram (2019) Pink’s Instagram Page [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/pink/?fbclid=IwAR10ZejriwuxNb0q5u09QU2Iobdg1J2qkESF8oSSgp8URiv2vSpK_e38arU [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 7 – Twitter (2019) Pink’s Twitter Page [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/pink?fbclid=IwAR27N-3-eOS_EPDZfuA_KYHJemdbWObFexr23oIbS83TzINthrW9D40wvSU [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 8 – YouTube (2019) Pink’s YouTube Channel [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE5yTn9ljzSnC_oMp9Jnckg [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 9 – Twitter (2019) Neil Patel’s Twitter Page [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/neilpatel [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 10 – Twitter (2019) Neil Patel’s Twitter Page [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/neilpatel [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 11 – LinkedIn (2019) Neil Patel’s LinkedIn Profile [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkpatel [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 12 – Instagram (2019) Neil Patel’s Instagram Profile [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/neilpatel/ [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 13 – YouTube (2019) Neil Patel’s YouTube Channel [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/neilvkpatel/featured [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 14 – YouTube (2019) Neil Patel’s YouTube Channel [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/neilvkpatel/featured [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 15 – Facebook (2019) Bear Grylls’ Facebook Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/RealBearGrylls/ [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 16 – Facebook (2019) Bear Grylls’ Facebook ‘About’ Section [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/RealBearGrylls/about/?ref=page_internal [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 17 – Twitter (2019) Bear Grylls’ Twitter Page [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/BearGrylls [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 18 – Twitter (2019) Bear Grylls’ Twitter Page  [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/BearGrylls [Accessed 01 June 2019]

Figure 19 – Instagram (2019) Bear Grylls’ Instagram Page [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/beargrylls/ [Accessed 01 June 2019]

pexelscom3 resized

An Overview of One Element of Apple’s Extended Marketing Mix – Promotion

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According to Forbes, Apple was the world’s first most valuable brand in 2018. (Forbes, 2018) Apple uses both inbound (such as blogs, videos and social media channels) and outbound (such as TV advertisements, magazine advertisements, billboards and posters) marketing technics to promote and introduce their products. Apple offers a wide variety of innovative hardware and software products to their customers. Apple products are easily recognisable by their simple minimalist design and packaging as well as by the clear brand logo.

Apple and Social Media

Due to their wide range of products, Apple’s targeted market is diverse: different genders, ages, incomes and locations. As a result, Apple needs to utilise a wide range of different channels to reach their audience and stay relevant to them. Although, traditional marketing channels are taking a very important part of Apple’s marketing strategy, the role of inbound marketing channels is getting more and more important in the digital era. Compared to their competitors, Apple joined to social media platforms relatively late, nowadays, however, they rely on them heavily. For example, Apple are running several separate Twitter accounts to support different services: Apple Support, Apple News, Apple Music and working with social media influencers as well. Today Apple’s Twitter account has 2.68 million followers (Twitter, 2019), 13.8 million followers on Instagram (Instagram, 2019) and 8.4 million subscribers on their YouTube channel (YouTube, 2019).

Apple and Influencers

In 2017 Apple started to partner with trusted YouTube influencers to promote the brand and introduce their new products. (Everett, T. 2017) One of Apple’s key YouTube influences, for example, is iJustine (iJustine, 2019) whose YouTube channel has 5.7 million followers. She is creating short videos about unboxing and trying out the latest gadgets such as mobile phones, iPads, cameras and more while sharing her personal experiences.

According to Neil Patel ‘Apple relies most on two completely different strategies: product placement (especially with celebrities and in popular shows) and the buzz created by positive reviews in the media.’ (Patel, N. 2019) It means, instead of spending money for PPC on Facebook or Google, Apple’s aim is to approach positive reviews on the media. Today, Apple are working with trusted influences and celebrities on all of their social media channels such as Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. We can easily search for, compare and even analyse Apple influences by using online tools such as klear.com or followerwonk.com.

Apple and Celebrities

Popular celebrities often appear in Apple’s commercials. For example, Paul McCartney, Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey appear in Apple’s video, entitled ‘Behind the Mac’ launched on YouTube in October 2018. (Apple (United Kingdom), 2018)

‘Shot on iPhone’ Campaign

One of Apple’s most successful campaign from the recent years was the ‘Shot on iPhone’ challenge. The aim of this campaign was to showcase the quality of the iPhone cameras by encouraging iPhone users to use #ShotOniPhone hashtag for a chance for being selected and featured on Apple’s social media channels as well as on giant billboards in the streets.

Keep It Simple

Another effective way Apple take advantage of, is simplification. Rather than using tech jargon or industry terms in their advertisements, website or even in the names of their products (iMac, iWatch, iPad) that can confuse and overwhelm their audience, Apple aspire to keep it simple. Using simple direct language (for example, ‘largest LCD ever on an iPhone’, ‘tap to wake’ function, ‘advanced algorithms to unlock new creative possibilities’ (Apple (United Kingdom) (2019)) in their advertisements and on their website, Apple make their customers feel comfortable by allowing them to scan the product features and easily learn about the benefits of the products. (Patel N., 2019) In this way, Apple’s message is clear and easy to digest. Maybe the best example for this is one of Apple’s latest video about Face ID. The 11-second-long video uses simple old fashioned emojis and a simple, one-sentence message explaining that ‘Face ID doesn’t store a photo of your face on iPhone, only a mathematical representation of it.’ (Apple (United Kingdom) (2019)

To conclude, Apple is using both inbound and outbound marketing channels successfully. Although, Apple joined relatively late to social media channels compared to their competitors, today Apple are utilising those channels very successfully by building community, sharing ‘how to’ videos and other useful contents for their customers and potential customers, collaborating with influencers and launching contests generating thousands of likes, shares and conversations every day.

 

Figure 1 – Apple community platforms are working successfully on Apple’s website. Customers are using these platforms actively to share information and gather useful tips from one another. (Apple, 2019)

Figure 2 – This photo showcases the latest iWatch Nike+, photographed on its own as well as in use, on Apple’s website. The light-coloured Apple iWatch Nike+ is highlighted on the model’s wrist by the dark background and the model’s dark outfit. The model is wearing Nike accessories highlighting the relation between Apple iWatch and Nike. (Apple (United Kingdom) (2019)

Figure 3 – This Apple store is located in Westfield, Stratford City, London. The store represents simple elegance. Apple iconic logo is clearly visible on the store front, which is made of glass, providing a clear view into the store. The interior design is simple wood furniture and displays highlighting the products. (Apple (United Kingdom), 2019)

Figure 4 – Demonstration of Apple’s skimming pricing policy. In September 2018 Apple announced their newest iPhones: iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone X Max. (Apple, 2018)

Figure 5 – Well-trained instore customer support team members are easily recognisable by their branded uniform. They provide quality customer service and support on the spot. (Apple, 2019)

Figure 6 – This image showcases the evolution of Apple iPhones over the years from 2007-2018. (iPhone Life, 2018)

Figure 7 – Here we can see an interesting and innovative way of advertising: an online photo contest appears on billboards. This giant billboard is showcasing a photo taken by an Apple customer using their iPhone and using hashtag #PhotosOniPhone. The campaign’s aim was to demonstrate the outstanding quality of iPhones cameras. (Leswing K., 2019) ‘Photos On iPhone’ contest 2019 was announced on 22nd January 2019 and ended on 7th February 2019. The winning shots came from a wide variety of iPhone models, from iPhone 7 to iPhone X and were announced on Apple’s website. (Apple, 2019)

 

REFERENCE LIST

TEXT

Apple (UK) (2019) YouTube ‘iPhone — Face ID — Apple’ [Online] Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXiNIunCw88 [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Apple (UK) (2018) YouTube ‘Behind the Mac — Make Something Wonderful — Apple’ [Online], Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EJl1b4fZsA [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Apple (UK) (2019) Introducing iPhone XR [Online] Available at:

https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-xr/ [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Everett, T. (2017) LinkedIn ‘4 Brands That Are Killing It With Influencer Marketing’ [Online], Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/4-brands-killing-influencer-marketing-tiffany-everett/ [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Forbes (2018) ‘The World’s Most Valuable Brands – 2018 Ranking’ [Online], Available at:

https://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/#tab:rank [Accessed 26 March 2019]

iJustin (2019) YouTube Social media influencer, Apple fan [Online], Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ijustine/videos [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Instagram (2019) Apple [Online], Available at: https://www.instagram.com/apple/ [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Patel, N. (2019) ‘7 Key Strategies That You Must Learn from Apple’s Marketing’ [Online] Available at:

https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-key-strategies-that-you-must-learn-from-apples-marketing/ [Accessed 26 March 2019]

Twitter (2019) Apple [Online], Available at: https://twitter.com/Apple [Accessed 26 March 2019]

YouTube (2019) Apple [Online], Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/Apple [Accessed 26 March 2019]

 

FIGURES

Figure 1 – Apple (2019) Apple Community platform [Online], Available at: https://discussions.apple.com/community/watch/using_apple_watch [Accessed 25 March 2019]

Figure 2 – Apple (UK) (2019) Apple iWatch Nike+ [Online], Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch-nike [Accessed 25 March 2019]

Figure 3 – Apple (UK) (2019) Apple UK retail store list [Online], Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/retail/stratfordcity/ [Accessed 24 March 2019]

Figure 4 – Apple (2018) ‘Apple Special Event. September 12, 2018.’ [Online], Available at: https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2018/ [Accessed 25 March 2019]

Figure 5 – Apple (2019) Apple support [Online], Available at: https://support.apple.com/repair  [Accessed 25 March 2019]

Figure 6 – iPhone Life (2018) ‘The Evolution of the iPhone: Every Model from 2007–2018’ [Photo], Available at: https://www.iphonelife.com/content/evolution-iphone-every-model-2007-2016 [Accessed 23 March 2019]

Figure 7 – Apple (2019) ‘Apple highlights best photos shot on iPhone around the world’ [Online], Available at: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/02/apple-highlights-best-photos-shot-on-iphone-around-the-world/ [Accessed 25 March 2019]