digital marketing

December 26 2019

Mobile App Review: Zara, Pretty Little Thing & River Island

Phoenixx Digital Marketing, Mobile app, Tech digital marketing, mobile app, mobile app redesign, Pretty Little Thing, River Island, shopping app, Zara 1

Brief

You will advise a successful retailer on how they could use a mobile app to improve their digital marketing. For the purpose of this assignment, you must choose one successful retailer to be your client. The client can a retailer in any category (i.e. a retailer that sells clothes, groceries, shoes, electronics, cosmetics, real estate, jewellery, or cars, etc.)

General Review of 2 Popular Mobile Appp

My Imaginary Client: River Island

Similar Mobile Apps to Review: Zara, Pretty Little Thing

“The best apps only do one thing, but they do it very, very well. It’s important that the app is original, improves on another app, solves a problem or entertains. It must be well designed, both in terms of visuals and the user experience.” – we could read in one of Forbs magazine’s articles back in 2013. (Larizadoh, A., 2013) George Berkowski – one of the inventors of the internationally successful taxi hailing app, Hailo – agrees: a mobile app should solve a problem people face every day. (YouTube, 2015)

Another vital thing every mobile app should take into account: mobile apps have to be personalised. Apps are used by different people with different needs and habits, “you need to take that into account, or else your usage numbers will start dropping quickly.” – says Inkbot Design in one of its articles from this year. (Inkbot Design, 2019)

Zara Mobile App

Strengths

The app and all of its functions load quickly. Loading speed is a critical element of user experience as Inkbot Design explains in one of their articles, “The first aspect of good user experience is making sure that your app loads quickly – if it takes a few seconds to load, that won’t be a problem, but if it loads for five seconds or even more, then many users won’t stick with your application for long.” (Inkbot Design, 2019)
Once a category is selected, it is easy to navigate within the category. Items can be easily opened. Navigating back to the previous page is easy too.
When an item is selected a “match with” category appears on the bottom of the page showcasing other items that match with that particular item.
Users can share the app ether by email, text message or on social media by clicking “recommend this app” button if they go to “My Account”.
The app is free to download and to use.

Figure 1 A “Match with” category appears on the bottom of the page on Zara’s mobile app, showcasing items that match with that particular item the user reached for.

All the photos are high quality.
Buttons are large enough to click on them with fingers.
Image search is available on the app. Users can either upload an image they had previously snapped or searched on the Internet, and search for similar items on Zara’s mobile app.

Weaknesses

According to reviews the app often crushes unexpectedly while shopping.
Many people complained about not being able to sign in.
It is difficult to find some options such as the available sizes of clothes. Users have to click on “add” button to find available sizes and once the size has been selected, the item is added to the shopping cart automatically. This is frustrating and has negative effect on user experience.

Figure 2 If users want to find the available size of a specific item, they have to click on the “add” button. In which case the item is automatically added to the shopping card, regardless the user wanted to add it or not.

In case of the jewellery, the photos are very small. It is difficult to see the details and there is no option to enlarge the image. Users have to use fingers to enlarge photos but even in this way it is impossible to enlarge the photos enough to be able to see details.
When opening the app, users have to scroll down endlessly to find the category they are looking for. Categories available on the top, however those are not the same categories as users can see when scrolling down. This makes the app confusing.

Figure 3 Photos are often too small to see details on Zara’s mobile app. There is no zoom function and photos cannot be enlarged enough using fingers either.

Share button does not appear on every page. Users can only share the app if they go to “My Account” and select “Share this app” Shareability is important when it comes to mobile apps. The most successful mobile apps allow users to share the app itself and/or the products the app sells. A good mobile app should have a feature that rewards users who share the app with their friends. (Vasquez, J., 2017)

Figure 4 Searching on the mobile app is difficult. The app does not show relevant items at all.

Searching for specific items is complicated. Search panel does not work properly. For example: I searched for blue woman dress and the result showed items for all words individually: it showed blue dresses as well as other items in blue colour such as sandals and trousers. It also showed absolutely unrelated items such as black sandals, pink bags and yellow flower-patterned dresses and jewellery.
App does not warn customers if an item is out of stock. It turns out when customer wants to pay.
The names and specifications of the items are often not visible. Visitors can only read a fragment of them and there is no possibility to see the whole text.

Figure 5 Names of specific items are not fully visible when the name of the item is long.

According to recent customer reviews the app often empties shopping cart automatically without warning.
The app does not have “favourite” option to save specific items. Thus, users cannot customise the app.

Figure 6 The above screenshot showcases two recent negative customer reviews of Zara’s mobile app. Users are complaining about no favourite/wish list on the app, items disappearance from basket and difficulties with searching for specific items.

Zara’s mobile app average customer review rate on iOS is 3.6 stars out of 5 stars, according to 1.8K user reviews.

Figure 7 Zara’s mobile app average customer rating on iOS 3.6 stars out of 5. This means, the app is not bad, but there is a lot to improve.

Pretty Little Thing Mobile App

Strengths

The app and all of its functions load quickly.
Easy to navigate within categories. Categories are available when scrolling down and at the bottom of the page as well.
Apart from the classic categories – shoes, dresses, accessories etc. – there are seasonal and more specific subcategories as well to make it easier for users to find particular items. For example: Halloween, Party Wear, Weddings etc. Mobile apps are used on the go. Therefore, it is crucial for a mobile app to reduce navigation as much as possible so users can reach anything with just a few clicks. (Inkbot Design, 2019) Pretty Little Thing mobile app does it well.

Figure 8 This screenshot is showcasing the easy navigation of Pretty Little Thing mobile app. Users can shop by common categories, such as dresses, tops, shoes etc. or by special categories or occasions such as Halloween, party wear or student style. This makes navigation and searching easy and enjoyable for users.

There are big buttons making it easy for users to click on them by finger on mobile device.
The app can be downloaded and used for free.
Pretty and attractive design. Pretty Little Thing is specialised for women clothing and accessories, thus the main colour of the app is pink to make the app standing-out and more attractive and stylish for the ladies. Being memorable, unique, entertaining and fun are all vital features of a successful mobile app. In this case, Pretty Little Thing mobile app’s fresh unique design provides an experience, users will probably not forget and next time they want to order fashion clothes online, this mobile app will come up to their mind. (Vasquez, J., 2017)

Figure 9 As Pretty Little Thing is specialised for ladies clothing, the main colour of the app is pink. The app looks stylish, memorable and professional at the same time.

Figure 10 “Share” and “like” buttons appear next to each item, allowing users to either add an item to their favourites or share it with friends.

The app operates with high quality photos allowing users to be able to see details of the products.
There is a heart shaped “like” button next to each item allowing users to put specific items into “wish list” to be able to easily find them later.
There is a share button next to each product allowing users to share items with friends either via email, text message or on social media.
The app shows recently viewed items on the bottom of the page.

Figure 11 The screenshot above showcases recently viewed items on Pretty Little Thing’s mobile app. This feature helps users with comparing items and prices as well as makes it easier for them to go back to specific items they just viewed.

Searching panel works properly. It is easy to find specific items using the searching panel. For example, I searched for “blue woman dress” and all the results were relevant.

Figure 12 Relevant items appeared when I searched for a specific item using the searching panel.

Figure 13 In this screenshot we can read positive user reviews about Pretty Little Thing mobile app.

Customer reviews are mainly positive.

- Pretty Little Thing’s mobile app average customer review on iOS is 4.8 stars out of 5 stars, according to 108K user reviews. Listening to the users of our products and communicating with them can lower the possibility of unexpected errors as well as help us understand customer needs, fixing problems occur and help us in further developing the app. (ihimobileapps.com, 2019)

Figure 14 Pretty Little Thing’s iOS mobile app has a rating of 4.8 stars out of 5. This means, the app is efficient, easy and enjoyable to use.

Weaknesses

Some customer review says the app sometimes gets slow and keeps freezing. I also experienced the same problems.
Pictures are high quality but zooming or enlarging them is not allowed.
Out of stock items are not flagged. If an item is out of stock, it turns out at the checkout.

New Features Users Could Benefit

My chosen organisation: River Island

Already has mobile app?: Yes

Mobile app’s main function: Sells fashion clothes and accessories for men, women and children

Designing new app or improved app for River Island?: Improved

Short Videos

It would be useful to add short videos of items to give customers an idea how the clothes would look on. Showing videos next to photos could give users a better idea about how the clothes look when wearing and in motion.

How Would It Work?

When viewing an item, users can see photos of it from different perspectives. Usually the clothes in those photos are being worn and shown on models. It would be useful for users, however, if they could click on a “Play” button next to the photos and watch a short video about the clothes on models and see how they actually look in reality and in motion.

How users can benefit from Short Videos?

Photos often cannot give a perfect idea for customers about how clothes look when actually being worn. Videos could help customers to get a better idea on this.

Augmented Reality (AR)

The success of Augmented Reality (AR) started with Pokemon Go. Since than AR apps have emerged, and varieties of fields and industries, such as retail or entertainment, started using them. Using the mobile device’s camera, apps with AR are capable of providing immersive experience. (Charlton, G., 2019) “Visual search allows people to search by taking photos of clothing they like to get suggestions for similar items.” (Charlton, G., 2019) Zara and Boohoo are good examples for Augmented Reality.

“Zara launched an Augmented Reality app which allows consumers who have downloaded the Zara AR app to hold up their phones to selected store windows and view items in motion.” (Charlton, G., 2019)

Shopping with mobile apps means customers cannot try the clothes on before purchasing. They cannot see how an item would look on them when wearing. Thus, another great improvement for River Island’s mobile app could be if users standing in front of a mirror could virtually try on the clothes and see how they would look like on them.

How Would it Work?

All users would need, is their smart phone camera and a mirror or a friend to hold the camera. After selecting an item(s) from the menu, users could click on the “Try on” button. By clicking the button, the smart phone’s camera would switch on automatically. Users could either stand in front of a mirror or ask a friend to hold the camera while the application would automatically scan their body and virtually dress them up with the selected clothes to see how the clothes would look like when wearing. Users could change colours of the clothes and take photos and videos that they could even share on social media, email or other platforms.

How users can benefit from Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality creates a game-link experience for users and boost their shopping experience. Trying on a party dress using a mobile app and a full-length mirror or see Halloween costume in motion for example, is fun and useful at the same time.

Augmented Reality could significantly boost River Island’s customer engagement.

Figure 15 This image showcases how Augmented Reality (AR) could work in real life: the user stands in front of a mirror or ask a friend to hold the smart phone, select the desired clothes from the menu, turn on the camera and see themselves in that clothes. (Photo: Reactive Reality, 2019)

Get Notified When an Item Comes Back in Stock

Notifying customers when an item gets back in stock is a simple but beneficial feature of a mobile app. River Island currently does not have this feature and there are complaints about this in the review of the app.

River Island’s mobile app notifies users if an item is out of stock by a “check stock” button under each item. To improve the app, however, it would be a good idea if customers got notified when an item comes back in stock. Customers could simply hit a “Notify me” button, and if they are registered customers, the app would automatically send them an email notification as soon as the item is back in stock. In case the users has not registered yet, the app would offer them to register.

How Would It Work?

When an item is out of stock, users are notified straight away when they have clicked on the photo of the item: under the photo there could be a notification: “Currently out of stock!” Next to the notification, there could be a “Notify me” button. When clicking on that button a pop-up window would appear informing the user that they will receive an email notification to that email address they had previously given when registering on the mobile app as soon as the item comes back in stock. If the user has not registered yet, the system offers them the option to register.

How users can benefit from getting notified when an item comes back in stock?

This simple notification can boost customer satisfaction and engagement because it saves time for customers. They do not have to search on the app over and over again only to find out the desired item is still out of stock. By getting notified an item is back in stock, customers save time and energy and they can be sure they will never miss an opportunity. This can build trust, satisfaction and engagement.

Design Ideas for River Island Mobile App

Home Page

Figure 16 On the left-hand side: The home page of River Island’s mobile app. I found that

the menu bar at the bottom was confusing: it was not completely clear which pictogram navigates to where. For example, the looking glass pictogram navigates the user to the menu, while the three dots on the left bottom corner navigate to “My Account”.

The arrangement of the photos in the home page were chaotic, making it difficult for users to navigate.

Also, there was no share button that allows users to share the mobile app easily.

On the right-hand side: I built a clear easy-to-understand menu bar at the bottom of the page

to make navigation and searching easier and smooth for users. I redesigned the entire home page: I used one big image for each different menu points. Menu points follow each other in a logical sequence: on the very top there are the actual promotions and offers (in this case: Black Friday), (Pixabay, 2019) followed by “Trending” option (Pixabay, 2019), which shows the most popular seasonal items. The next menu points show the actual seasonal or occasional items (in this case: Christmas), (Pixabay, 2019) followed by the most common menu points, such as “Men”, “Women”, “Children” (although, these menu points are not visible in the picture.)

A search bar is on the top of every page. Visual search is also available.

I have also inserted a share button on the top of the page right next to the brand name. This

appears on every page, allowing users to share the mobile app any time by one click.

Augmented Reality (AR)

River Island mobile app augmented reality idea

Figure 18 These designs are showcasing how Augmented Reality (AR) would look like on River Island’s mobile app. By clicking on “Try Me” button the mobile phone’s camera would open itself automatically. By using a mirror or a asking a friend to hold the camera, the system would scan the customer’s body and shape and dress them up virtually to see how the clothes would look on them. Taking photos and videos would also be allowed, so users could share them with their friends via social media, email or other platforms. While using AR, customers could try the same item in different colours by simply clicking on the available colours on the right-hand side.

This feature is not only beneficial for users who order clothes on mobile app without having a chance to try them beforehand, but also turns the mobile app into a fun game, customers will enjoy using and encourage them to share the experience.

(Photo of Black padded longline faux fur jacket: River Island, 2019)

Viewing a Specific Item

Figure 19 On the left-hand side: This screenshot showcases how a specific item appears in the screen and what options are available for users to learn more about that item. Large images available along with size guide, wish list, share button and check stock.

On the right-hand side: I changed the position of the share button and the wish list button. Instead of placing these buttons on the bottom of the page, I placed them on the image, so users do not have to scroll down to reach these buttons. I also inserted an enlarge button allowing users to take a closer look of the item. Also, there is a “play” button on the top right corner. By clicking this button, users can view a short video about the product.

Along with the size guide, I added a drop-down menu with the available sizes of the product.

I also placed a short description about the item, which users can continue reading by clicking the arrow on the right-hand side. This description not only describes the item, but also give suggestions on how to wear it or what other clothes match with this specific item. (Photo source: Pixabay, 2019)

When an Item is Out of Stock

Figure 20 When an item is out of stock, my redesigned app notifies the user by a “Currently not in stock!” message along with a “Notify me” button. This button allows registered users to get notified by email once the item is back in stock. This saves time and energy for customers as they do not have to check back for the item over and over again. (Photo source: Pixabay, 2019)

REFERENCES

Berkowski G. (2015) YouTube “How to build a Billion Dollar app? | George Berkowski | TEDx City University London” [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwuEwhX1M_M [Accessed 20 November 2019]

ihimobileapps.com (2019) “8 Tips To Make A Successful Mobile App In 2019” [Online] Available at: http://ihimobileapps.com/8-tips-to-make-a-successful-mobile-app-in-2019/ [Accessed 20 November 2019]

Inkbot Design (2019) “7 Key Ingredients of a Successful Mobile App” [Online] Available at: https://inkbotdesign.com/successful-mobile-app/ [Accessed 20 November 2019]

Larizadoh, A. (2013) Forbes “Eight Tips for A Successful App” [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/avidlarizadeh/2013/07/19/eight-tips-for-a-successful-app/#5656f53753e5 [Accessed 20 November 2019]

Vasquez, J. (2017) Huffpost “10 Qualities of Successful Mobile Apps in Startup Tech Companies” [Online] Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-qualities-of-successfu_b_4391550?guccounter=1 [Accessed 20 November 2019]

Charlton, G. (2019) The UK Domain “See it, snap it, shop it – how apps are changing the world of fashion retail” [Online] Available at: https://www.theukdomain.uk/see-it-snap-it-shop-it-how-apps-are-changing-the-world-of-fashion-retail/ [Accessed 24 November 2019]

Reactive Reality (2019) “Fashion Try On” [Online] Available at: https://www.reactivereality.com/solutions.html [Accessed 12December 2019]

River Island (2019) “Black padded longline faux fur jacket” [Online] Available at: https://www.riverisland.com/p/black-padded-longline-faux-fur-jacket-798440 [Accessed 12 December 2019]

Source of other photos used on redesigned mobile app: https://pixabay.com/

June 28 2019

The Best Examples of Content Marketing in the Travel Industry

Phoenixx Content Marketing, Digital Marketing content marketing, digital marketing, travel industry 4

Hello. In this video I am going to show four excellent examples of content marketing. Two of these examples are video content because video content is more and more popular these days and show no sign of slowing down. According to a recent survey by HubSpot, in 2018 more than half of the customers preferred video content followed by text-based content such as blog post. (HubSpot, 2018)

The first example of effective video content I have chosen is from TravelZoo. TravelZoo is running their own YouTube channel where they share not just visually compelling videos, but also educational and useful video contents. Like this one: “Parent Trap Survival Kit”. Travelling with young kids? We all know how difficult it can be to keep them entertained during a long journey. Well, the answer can be the kids’ own mini suitcase packed with his or her favourite toys and colouring books and…well, whatever they want and like. This video is really useful for parents. Compered to TravelZoo’s some other videos showcasing gorgeous landscapes in Switzerland, for example, this video is really useful for visitors. It solves a common problem parents have to face many times.

(TravelZoo 2015, YouTube)

The next video I have chosen is from lastminute.com. Lasminute.com is the only company among the companies I have analysed that has a cabala animal being used in their campaigns. (Yes, TripAdvisor also have an owl in their logo, but they don’t use it neither in their video campaigns, nor in other format of their contents.) Lasminute.com’s cabala animal is an adventurous flamingo who travels the world, falls in love and takes part in all of the fun no matter what that is. Most of lasminute.com’s videos are around this flamingo being shown during taking selfie in Paris, scuba diving in the Maldives or sightseeing in Rome. The videos’ signature colour is pink, making them immediately recognisable for viewers. The videos like this one below are short, funny, compelling and informative at the same time.

(Facebook, 2019)

My next content is from lastminute.com again. This one is an image being shared on Twitter. This post is advertising lasminute.com’s WhatApp channel and offering 20% off of the next booking if someone subscribes. What makes this post standing out is, the visually compelling image composed for the post. The signature pink colour and the cabala flamingo both appear in the picture but not in an overwhelming or irritating way. The flamingo is rising from a smart phone with a beautiful building behind it, suggesting that the information and the offers lasmunute.com will provide by WhatsApp, are almost tangible. “Add a bit of pink to your day.” – says the speech bubble next to the flamingo.

Lastminute.com’s slogan is: ”Whatever makes you pink”. It means, flamingos aren’t born pink, they turn pink by doing what they love the most: eating shrimps. The slogan, “Whatever makes you pink” encourages latminute.com’s audience to do what they love. Whatever that is. In this case, they say: “Add a bit of pink to your day.” Clever isn’t it?

(Twitter, 2019)

The following content was shared on Twitter by lastminute.com.

(Twitter, 2019)

This is a simple blog post with a simple image and a short text followed by a link to the website. If it’s so simple, what makes it standing out? Take a closer look to the image. It’s a nice picture showcasing a woman taking pictures of a temple in the sunset. Nice warm colours…and something else! Pink! Yes, lastminute.com’s signature pink colour appears in the picture, giving the unmissable touch that makes this simple image unmissably belong to lastminute.com. What other companies use pink as signature colour? Barbie? T-Mobile? Well…not too many, right?

The next thing we have to take a look is the content this post is advertising. It’s a guide. “Where to go in March”. A useful guide for those just have started to think about their Spring holiday. The link navigates us to the actual blog post on lasminute.com’s website.

But what we find there is not just a blog post. Right at the beginning of the blog post we can find a short video to help us visualise the alternative destinations and contains a simple call-to-action at the end. The blog post contains stunning images of the different countries and a brief description of the countries and why to visit them particularly in March.

(lastminute.com, 2019)

The blog post includes links to booking landing pages as well as followed by other related blog posts.

(lastminute.com, 2019)

If I want to compare this social media content to the other social media contents I used as examples in my SlideShare presentation, if I want to explain why I have chosen this one and not something else, I would say because this post contains everything it should contain: compelling image, the company’s signature colour, short, compelling text and a link that navigates to a blog post that really serves, in this case, the second stage of the marketing funnel: consideration.

The other posts I used in my SlideShare presentation were all missing something: for example, Airbnb posted an accommodation to Instagram offered by one of their users. There even were a short description why the accommodation would be a perfect choice and also a couple of nearby available activities were listed. But no further information could be found about how to book it, which month and for how long can it be booked, what’s the price etc.

(Instagram, 2019)

Or TravelZoo posted a beautiful image with a special offer on Twitter but they didn’t provide any further information about that particular country, only a link to the booking page.

(Twitter, 2019)

Content is king. But generating great content will not stand on its own. Content must serve the different stages of the buying journey – awareness, consideration and decision – as well as help audience to solve a problem or educate them about something they need more information about. Even if your content – a good image or video for example – gabs your audience’s attention, it also needs to be valuable to your audience and provide more information for them if they need. A photo of a beautiful accommodation and the list of the available activities nearby is nice. But if you don’t let your audience know how to book it, where it is exactly etc., if they have to dig this information by themselves, they will lose interest. We always have to make sure to give valuable content to our customers which is informative, high quality and serve all the stages of the buying journey.

References

HubSpot (2018) “Content Trends: Preferences Emerge Along Generational Fault Lines” [Online] Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/news-trends/content-trends-preferences#LINK2 [Accessed 13 June 2019]

TravelZoo (2015) YouTube “Travelzoo’s Parent Trap Survival Kits” [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Gu7lLx4YQ [Accessed 13 June 2019]

lastminute.com (2019) “Where to Go in March” [Online] Available at: https://www.lastminute.com/holidays/where-to-go/march.html?acntb=holiday&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_org&utm_campaign=WheretogotoMarch_4032019&utm_content=holidays&utm_term=post_linkpreview [Accessed 13 June 2019]

Sources

https://www.facebook.com/lastminute.com

https://twitter.com/lastminute_com

https://www.instagram.com/airbnb/

https://twitter.com/Travelzoo_UK

June 4 2019

Inbound & Social Media Marketing

Phoenixx Digital Marketing digital marketing, inbound marketing, marketing, social media 0

Waterstones’ and The Westminster Collection’s Approach to Inbound Marketing

Waterstones

Clear and logical headings and subheadings with logical subcategories
High-quality images on the website
Variety of call-to-actions (CTA) about new book launches, competitions etc. to attract users’ attention and arouse curiosity
Searching panel is highly visible to search for specific products or information
‘Help’, ‘FAQ’ and Contact pages can easily be found, and contact details are categorised, for example: Event Tickets, Press Office, Book Shops etc.
Regular compelling blog posts with specific CTAs
Opportunity for registered users to rate and comment books and blogs
Regular newsletter with videos, images and CTAs
Waterstones are active on all of the most popular social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. Social media icons appear on the website
One-click buttons available next to every product and event to share
The website is optimised to mobile and tablet
‘Waterstones Plus’ programme to enjoy exclusive offers and benefits
Both short and long-tailed keywords are used to optimise the website
Social media channels are updated regularly with compelling contents such as blog posts, videos, podcasts and images
Use cross-link reference
Use geosocial networks for link building

Figure 1: Main page of Waterstones’ website showcasing clear navigation panel, call-to-action, high-quality image and a searching bar. (Waterstones, 2019)

Figure 2: Logical subcategories make navigation easier for users highlighting the most popular books and authors as well as allowing visitors to search by age groups or even characters. (Waterstones, 2019)

Figure 3: Social media icons can easily be found on Waterstones’ website. (Waterstones, 2019)

Figure 4: One-click social media icons can be found next to each product and blog post on Waterstones’ website allowing users to share the page instantly on their own social media channels. (Waterstones, 2019)

Figure 5: Call-to-action and user comments under a recent blog post on Waterstones’ website. (Waterstones, 2019)

Figure 6: ‘Waterstone Plus’ programme offers exclusive benefits for registered users and students. (Waterstones, 2019)

Figure 7: An author linked Waterstones in one of his posts on Facebook. (Facebook, 2018)

Figure 8: Neatly categorised compelling pinboards on Waterstones’ Pinterest page. (Pinterest, 2019)

Figure 9: Waterstones’ YouTube channel is regularly updated with compelling contents such as interviews with authors, vlogs, book launches and reviews. Playlists are also created with interesting topics such as ‘Food, Drink and Healthy Living’. (YouTube, 2019)

Figure 10: Compelling blog posts with keywords in their titles. (Waterstones, 2019)

The Westminster Collection

Clear, logical headings, subheadings and categorisation on the website
High-quality photos on the website
Mostly vendor provided CTAs throughout the website
Recommendations based on registered user preferences
Searching panel available on every page
Customer service, contact details and ‘FAQ’ are easy to find and varieties of contact details are available. Facebook messenger is embedded in the website
Regular, categorised and compelling blog posts with tags on the website. Registered users are allowed to comment
Regular newsletter with images, embedded videos and simple CTAs
The Westminster Collection are active on all of the most popular social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snap Chat. Social media icons appear on the website as well as one-click icons next to the products
Most of the social media channels are regularly updated with compelling original posts, images and videos to generate conversations
Actively use hashtags, share and retweet other users’ posts
The website is optimised to mobile and tablet
Short and long-tailed specific keywords are used on their website and social media channels, however, the website not always appears on the first page of Google

Figure 11: Clear and logical heading and categories make navigation easy on The Westminster Collection’s website. (The Westminster Collection, 2019)

Figure 12: The website shows recommendations to registered users based on their previous purchases and interests. (The Westminster Collection, 2019)

Figure 13: Several call-to-actions appear on the website’s main page. The latest news and blog posts are highlighted under the main heading. (The Westminster Collection, 2019)

Figure 14: High-quality videos and images show all the significant details of the products on The Westminster Collection’s website. (The Westminster Collection, 2019)

Figure 15: The Westminster Collection deliver regular compelling blog posts on their website to generate conversations. The blog posts are tagged and categorised. Registered users are allowed to comment on each blog posts. Specific CTA appears under each blog post. (The Westminster Collection, 2019)

Figure 16: Regular newsletters are sent by email to promote an offer, for example: to announce the newest coins, blog posts and stamps. The newsletters come with high-quality images, varieties of CTAs and social media icons. The newsletters, however, are neither based on users’ previous purchases or interests nor tailored to different buying personas.

Figure 17: Social media icons appear on the website as well as one-click icons next to each product allowing users to share the content immediately on their own social media platforms. (The Westminster Collection, 2019)

Figure 18: Pay-per-click (PPC) advert on Facebook, showcasing a ‘The First Man on the Moon’ commemorative medal. This advert reminds the targeted audience that the medal is still available for their collections. Similar adverts often navigate the prospects to a landing page giving a special offer, for example: discount or no parcel-and-package (P&P) charge.

Figure 19: The Westminster Collection are able to generate conversations on social media and often participate in them by answering questions or making suggestions. (Instagram, 2019)

Strength and Weaknesses of the Inbound Marketing Approach Used by Each Organisation

Waterstones

Strengths

Clear, professional and easy to navigate website even to first-time users
‘Help’, FAQ and contact details are all in one click away
Chatbot available on the website
Searching panel available on every page
High-quality images illustrate the products all over the website
Registered users can rate and comment on the books
The website contains a blog page which is updated regularly and contain CTAs that are normally a link to a specific book and/or other related books
Active on all of the major social media channels, generating regular compelling original contents and participate in conversations
Wide variety of contents on social media channels such as videos (interviews with authors, book reviews), images, podcasts, polls etc.
Share and retweet other users’ posts and cross-reference, link and mention authors regularly in their posts to contribute a better SEO
CTAs are always used at the end of each post
Regular email campaigns to promote an offer or event
‘Waterstones Plus’ programme offers benefits to those who register

Weaknesses

No contents available on the website other than images and text
Wide variety of contents are available on Waterstones’ social media channels only
Seldom use hashtags in social media posts
Mostly use basic CTAs on their website, newsletters and the social media channels (buy now, pre-order now)
Newsletters are neither tailored to different buyer personas nor to each of the stages of the buying journey

The Westminster Collection

Strengths

The website is clear and easy-to-navigate
A searching panel helps users to find specific items
Simple CTAs appear on the main page along with the highlighted latest blog posts
Product recommendations for registered users on the main page of the website based on their previous purchases and interests
Regular compelling blog posts on the website with images, videos and CTAs
High-quality images and videos to showcase the products on all over the websites
Images and videos are being shared on The Westminster Collection’s social media channels
The Westminster Collection is active on most of their social media channels
Posting and sharing original contents and generating conversations in which actively participate in
Social media icons are available on the website along with instant icons next to each product
Hashtags and cross-referencing are regularly used on all of the social media channels
Regular newsletters sent to registered users
Newsletters usually deliver an image or video and simple CTAs
The website is mobile and tablet compatible

Weaknesses

No opportunity to sign up for a newsletter without registering on the website
The newsletters are not tailored to different buyer personas or to the stages of the buying journey
Not active on all of their social media channels: YouTube was last updated three months ago
No chatbot or live chat services available
Long-tailed and specific keywords are moderately used to keep the website optimised: as a result, the website does not always appear on the first page on Google

Which Organisation Was Best at Inbound Marketing and Why?

Based on my research I found that both of the organisations deliver strong inbound marketing strategy and leverage their useful and compelling contents. Both of the organisations have strong online presence and strong social media activity.

Having learnt more about the organisations’ inbound marketing approach, I found that Waterstones was best in inbound marketing compered to The Westminster Collection.

Why?

I have found that Waterstones’ website is clearer and more professional compered to The Westminster Collection’s website. On Waterstones’ website users have more opportunity to share their opinions by rating the books and blog posts or start conversations.

Waterstones provide multiply contact details on their website: different telephone numbers for customers within the UK and outside the UK, chatbot and other categorised contact details related to gift cards, events or ‘Waterstones Plus’ programme.

Waterstones use a wide variety of content on social media: video interviews, video book reviews, podcasts, images and interesting stories about authors and publishers in history.

‘Waterstones Plus’ programme offers a variety of benefits to prospects to enjoy, for example, discount tickets to author events or unique, no-purchase-necessary prize draws. Student discount also available.

Waterstones are active on all of the social media channels they use and fill them up with attractive and interesting contents such as categorised pinboards on Pinterest, playlists on YouTube or sneak peek into a new audiobook on Facebook.

Waterstones successfully use short, long-tailed and specific keywords for better search engine ranking.

Waterstones has significantly more followers on all of the social media channels than The Westminster Collection, thanks to their well-structured inbound marketing and SEO strategy.

Examples of How Each Organisation Could Improve Its Inbound Marketing

Waterstones

Use specific hashtags in their social media posts to reach audience more effectively
Tailor their email campaigns to different buyer personas and audience on different stages of the buying journey
Use a wider variety of contents on their website
Use a wider variety of CTAs on their website, social media channels and email campaigns
More PPC campaigns on social media channels
Use landing pages created to different buyer personas and different stages of the buying journey

The Westminster Collection

Use more content on their website around keywords
Use a wider variety of contents on their website
Allow prospects to sign up to newsletter without having to register on the website
Tailor their email campaigns to different buyer personas and audience on different stages of the buying journey
Update all of their social media channels regularly
Link and mention other social media users in their posts
Share and retweet more from other relevant social media users

References

Figure 1 – Waterstones (2019) Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/ [Accessed 30 April 2019]

Figure 2 – Waterstones (2019) Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/ [Accessed 30 April 2019]

Figure 3 – Waterstones (2019) Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/ [Accessed 30 April 2019]

Figure 4 – Waterstones (2019) ‘Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change (Hardback) Nathaniel Rich (author)’ [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/book/losing-earth/nathaniel-rich/9781529015829 [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 5 – Waterstones (2019) ‘The Waterstones Interview: Pat Barker on The Silence of the Girls’ [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/blog/the-interview-pat-barker-on-the-silence-of-the-girls [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 6 – Waterstones (2019) Waterstones Plus Programme [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/plus [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 7 – Facebook (2018) Author Robert Galbraith [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/CormoranStrikeNovelsOfficial/ [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 8 – Pinterest (2019) Waterstones’ Pinterest Page [Online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/waterstones/ [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 9 – YouTube (2019) Waterstones’ YouTube Channel [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/Waterstonescom/featured [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 10 – Waterstones (2019) Blog [Online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/blog [Accessed 08 May 2019]

Figure 11 – The Westminster Collection (2019) Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.westminstercollection.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8brl16eO4gIVy0PTCh0W3gXCEAAYASAAEgJc_vD_BwE [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 12 – The Westminster Collection (2019) Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.westminstercollection.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8brl16eO4gIVy0PTCh0W3gXCEAAYASAAEgJc_vD_BwE [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 13 – The Westminster Collection (2019) Main Page [Online] Available at: https://www.westminstercollection.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8brl16eO4gIVy0PTCh0W3gXCEAAYASAAEgJc_vD_BwE [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 14 – The Westminster Collection (2019) ‘The First Ever Spherical Shaped Moon Coin’ [Online] Available at: https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-W145/The-Moon-Landing-50th-Anniversary-Spherical-Coin.aspx [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 15 – The Westminster Collection (2019) Blog Page [Online] Available at: https://blog.westminstercollection.com/category/royalty/ [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 16 – The Westminster Collection (2019) Daily Newsletter Being Sent to My Inbox [Online] Available at: Once a new user registered on The Westminster Collection’s website [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 17 – The Westminster Collection (2019) ‘Faith, Love, Hope, and Luck – send Good Luck to your loved one today’ [Online] Available at: https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-432P/Good-Luck-Gold-Plated-Medal.aspx [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 18 – Facebook (2019) Sponsored PPC Advert [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/westminstercollection/ [Accessed 09 May 2019]

Figure 19 – Instagram (2019) The Westminster Collection’s Instagram Profile [Online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwm3nNyC9fO/ [Accessed 09 May 2019]

June 4 2019

Evolution of Digital Marketing

Phoenixx Digital Marketing digital marketing, internet, marketing, social media 0

Interned has revolutionised not only communication, but our everyday lives. The time of using Internet has significantly increased over the past few years and show no signs of slowing down.

Nowadays Internet has more than 2.5 billion users worldwide and has revolutionised media consumption, accelerated user connection through instant messages, online forums and social networks and reshaped buying habits as well as traditional communications such as television, film and music. (Statista, 2019)

Consumers have access to Internet through different devices for example laptop, tablet or smart phone. Smart phone was the primary device for 77% of British adults in 2017, at the same time however, the usage of computers and tables showed decrease. (Consumer Barometer, 2017)

(Hootsuite, 2019)

An interesting fact that, in 2018, 99% of British adults were internet users. (Office for National Statistics, 2018)

Consumers now can rate the products and services they have bought using online platforms or even create their own stories around a product or service to share, influencing one another.

Almost 70% of buying journey is now completed digitally! (Demerjian, S., 2019)

But consumers don’t buy only physical goods on the Internet. They also download contents such as music, e-book or film, and use online gaming platforms. Video games and mobile games are the largest segments in digital media and expected to show significant increase in the future.

This trend has led marketers to increase their digital marketing budget and advertise more on social media channels, involving social media influencers, share more video contents and use e-commerce.

E-commerce is particularly strong in China and the UK. (Wood, S., Ipsos, 2018)

The largest segment in the e-commerce market has been Fashion, followed by Electronics & Media and Toys, Hobbies & DIY. Even food & personal care retailers, which is currently the smallest group in e-commerce, have started to discover the potential in offering online grocery shopping to their customers. (Statista, 2019) Just think of Tesco or Sainsbury’s online shopping delivery service or Ocado, the world largest online grocery retailer. Ocado don’t have physical stores at all. They offer home delivery of groceries from warehouses.

(Statista, 2019)

Social media has made a huge impact on marketing since it’s the easiest way to target and reach millions of potential customers. Almost half of the social media users use these channels to search for and buy new products and services.

The two most effective ways to reach audience digitally today are: influencer marketing and video marketing.

In this year, 80% of marketers found influencer marketing effective. Influencer marketing has been growing rapidly in the recent years. (mediakix, 2019) Nowadays, there are platforms on the Internet that are specialised in finding top influencers of different brands, products or services, for example Apple influencers, health & fitness influences, travel influencers and so on.

(mediakix, 2019)

In case of video marketing, more than 80% of marketers reported that video marketing has been more and more important. (Carter, J., 2019) Half of the customers reported that they got engaged with a brand after watching a video on social media, and another 50% of consumers find it important to see a video before purchasing a product. (Brightcove, 2018) The vast majority of video contents are published on social media channels and YouTube. (Carter, J. 2018) An impressive 93% of marketers reported that they gained new customers thanks to social media video advertising. (Carter, J. 2019) In 2019 more than half of the marketers are planning to increase their budget on video marketing in the next 12 months. Video contents, however, are used on other platforms such as landing pages or in emails. (Carter, J. 2019)

(Hootsuite, 2019)

To sum up, Internet has revolutionised not only our everyday lives, but marketing as well. Today, it is crucial for a business to utilise digital marketing techniques and channels to reach potential customers and gain audience.

SlideShare Presentation

References

Brightcove (2018) ‘New Research from Brightcove Finds Video Content Impacts Product and Service Purchases, Particularly by Millennial Consumers’ [Online] Available at: https://www.brightcove.com/en/company/press/new-research-brightcove-finds-video-content-impacts-product-and-service-purchases-particularly- [Accessed 07 April 2019]

Carter, J. (2018) ‘Video content for marketing is more important than ever’ [Online] Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-platforms/video-marketing/video-content-marketing-more-important/ [Accessed 07 April 2019]

Carter, J. (2019) ‘Video marketing statistics to know for 2019’ [Online] Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-platforms/video-marketing/video-marketing-statistics-to-know/ [Accessed 07 April 2019]

Consumer Barometer (2017) ‘Which, if any, of the following devices do you currently use?’ [Online] Available at: https://www.consumerbarometer.com/en/graph-builder/?question=M1&filter=country:united_kingdom [Accessed 05 April 2019]

Demerjian, S., (2019) (2019) ‘Understanding Buyer Motivation: Getting More of Your Ecommerce Customers to Checkout’ [Online] Available at: https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/buyer-motivation/#4-ways-to-look-for-buyer-motives [Accessed 04 April 2019]

Mediakix (2019) ‘Influencer Marketing 2019: Key Statistics From Our Influencer Marketing Survey’ [Online] Available at: http://mediakix.com/influencer-marketing-industry-statistics-survey-benchmarks/#gs.3zxgy1 [Accessed 06 April 2019]

Office for National Statistics (2018) ‘Internet users, UK: 2018’ [Online] Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2018 [Accessed 04 April 2019]

Statista (2019) ‘E-commerce’ [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/243/100/ecommerce/worldwide?currency=gbp [Accessed 05 April 2019]

Statista (2019) ‘Internet – Statistics and Market Data about the Internet’ [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/markets/424/internet/ [Accessed 04 April 2019]

Wood, S. Ipsos (2018) ‘The Evolution of Shopper Behaviour’ [Online] Available at: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2018-05/ipsos-views-evolution-of-shopper-behaviour-2018.pdf [Accessed 04 April 2019]