For a long time, the word millennial has conjured up images of young people glued to their phones, with a Starbucks cup stuck to their other hand. But even if that was true in the first place, a lot has happened since the term millennial was first coined — most notably, millennials themselves.

Millennials aren’t the same people they were 10 years ago. They are older. They have new responsibilities and priorities. Rigidly sticking to past techniques and outdated, inaccurate personas are only going to succeed in alienating the most lucrative audience worldwide.

Despite the work-shy avocado-eating stereotype, millennials are the generation that so many marketers globally prioritise over all others. They are the young, ambitious, fresh-faced consumers that practically every brand wants to do business with, and have built entire strategies around – some of which have rarely been updated.

So, how has marketing to millennials changed? What can brands do to stand out among this diverse, sizable crowd?

Why marketing to millennials has changed

First, it would be helpful to define who classes as a millennial. Although that’s a little tricky, as nobody seems to know for certain. As a general rule, people place the span of millennials’ births anywhere between 1980 and 1996.

This means the oldest possible “millennial” is now into their 40s, while the youngest has barely entered their 20s. You can see why trying to appeal to this group as a whole could be perceived as problematic, right?

Many of these millennials are no longer the entry-level, job-hopping, upstarts older generations perceived them to be – they hold a lot of power and influence in their organisations.

They have families, mortgages, investments. Their ambitions, responsibilities, and motivations have evolved hugely since the first millennials started entering the workplace.

Not only do marketers need to be conscious of how grown-up older millennials have become, they also need to be wary of what’s happening at the other end of the spectrum. The world that children born post-1990 grew up in is markedly different from the experience for children of the late 70s and 80s.

This means that old-fashioned perspectives on what older millennials want and need has shifted tremendously since the first strategies were devised to reach this generation. Anyone who still clings to past perspectives is likely failing to engage these groups and, at worst, maybe actively offending them.

Why marketing to millennials is essential right now

Offending the millennial audience is a big problem, as they represent such a huge share of the buying audience for companies. In 2020, approximately 1.8 billion people, or 23% of the world’s population, could be considered millennials (Source: MSCI).

This makes the millennial audience extremely valuable for the vast majority of brands. By not connecting with this generation, they are missing out on a significant amount of consumer spending power – power that will only increase as they age and secure better salaries and job opportunities.

So, even though the task of engaging millennials has, in many ways, become a lot tougher, it is something that all brands should be prioritising now and revisiting over time.

Is it wise to paint millennials with the same brush?

To cut a long story short, treating “millennials” as one group is a one-way ticket to an unfocused and unhelpful marketing strategy. Here are three reasons why:

#1 The substantial age range

As noted, the age range for millennials is so vast that trying to find any unity in their motivations, goals and lifestyles will return an extremely vague result. They are at different milestones in their lives, and they are facing unique challenges.

#2 They are an incredibly diverse audience

The overall millennial audience is far more culturally and ethnically diverse than their predecessors. Take for instance the landscape in the USA – over 72% of the “baby boomer” population is white, compared with just 56% of the millennial generation. To a varying degree, this shift to a more diverse audience can be seen worldwide.

#3 They are more untrustworthy of brands than prior generations

Growing up with more commercial scams and misleading information than any other generation, Millennials are naturally sceptical of any branded communication. They look for authenticity, transparency, and independent reviews before buying products they believe in, from companies they have faith in.

How can marketers continue to capture millennials’ interests?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to capturing the attention of millennials and convincing them that they can benefit from your products or services. But this doesn’t make them impossible to reach or forever disinterested in your brand. 

With thorough and authentic market research, you can break down demographics and better understand them on an individual level. To get started, here are some important points worth exploring:

Keep things simple

Millennials want engaging but digestible information such as blog articles, ebooks, and fun, useful videos. They follow the lives of influencers and appreciate leadership and expertise. Using these simple, but effective marketing techniques, you’ll have a 45% higher chance of engagement than if you communicated your product with just the bare facts.

Champion authenticity

Millennials have become adept at spotting disingenuous marketing tactics. Trying to hide the truth behind a big ad budget is a sure way to lose hard-earned positive brand perception and send millennials shopping elsewhere. Presenting the truth of your brand in a positive way lies at the core of your brand strategy.

Be immediate

Millennials have come to expect pretty much any product and service to be available online, and wherever possible, on-demand. This is evidence of the digital era in which we live and leaves huge potential for innovative new uses of technology and platforms.

Lay-off the avocado

Targeting a whole generation on a stereotype is not only ineffective, it’s counterproductive and sometimes a little insulting. Sure, there are people who are the epitome of the millennial “mold”, but most just want to be treated like normal humans without being expected to adhere to a brand’s outdated projection of them.

Stand for something

If your values align with a customer’s, they’ll be more inclined to support your brand and buy your product. Millennials are more environmentally and socially conscious than any other generation. However, while there are many benefits for brands being onboard with the same values, this strategy can quickly backfire if you don’t practice what you preach.

Communicate

Growing up with the constant emergence of new social media platforms, millennials have access to more means of communication than ever before, so why not join the conversation? Most millennials will be more likely to purchase something if a friend on social media recommends or uses it, and 50% of them trust influencers for brand advice.

Do something to say thanks

According to the Harris Poll, 77% of millennials are happy to join rewards and loyalty programs.

Create a community

Word-of-mouth may sound old-fashioned in this digital age, but it’s still the most trusted source of decision-making. In fact, 68% of millennials say that they won’t make a major decision until they have discussed it with people they trust. An honest review from a credible source will instil more faith in your brand than faceless keyword-targeted ads.

Millennials don’t live (completely) online

While they are the least frequent in-store shoppers – preferring online above anything else – millennials tend to spend larger amounts when they do take to the highstreet.

What’s next for millennials? 

It’s probably worth noting that a very large proportion of marketing professionals are, themselves, millennials. In many ways, they have been responsible for ushering in a new age of digital marketing that has led to new trends, insights and innovations that changed the marketing landscape forever. 

If there is one thing that marketers should take away from this article, it’s that, like everyone, millennials have got older. And with age comes new priorities and interests, career advancement and buying power.

Help your brand grow with confidence

BAM by Papirfly™ is built for your teams to match the pace of change that comes with every generation of consumers. Leave the processes of the past behind you and empower your teams with the freedom to create, store and share from a single location. Book your demo today to find out more. 

You might have finally got the video call down to a fine art, or maybe you’ve only just stopped hearing “you’re on mute” every time you catch up with your team. Either way, the workplace is likely to change once again as many offices are set to be reopening soon (or already have done in some parts of the world).

Among the many things that marketers will be reacquainting themselves with are in-person and hybrid meetings. Here we share some tips for making them a success in 2021.

Plus, as team members might be hesitant to participate in meetings post-lockdown, we’ve put together a handy checklist for you to determine whether a meeting is necessary, and who absolutely needs to be involved based on its particular requirements.

How to nail the hybrid meeting

1 in 4 meetings in 2020 were hybrid meetings and this is very likely to grow as lockdown restrictions are eased. Hybrid meetings bring together a mixture of in-person and remote attendees and are ideal for companies looking to accommodate the individual needs and preferences of employees post-lockdown.

However, according to research by Barco, there is still the general feeling that in-person meetings are still essential for more formal types of discussion, such as important decision-making, or resolving internal conflicts between colleagues.

With the abundance of remote working tools and software available, companies embracing the hybrid meeting have the potential to combine the best of both worlds. However, the data above makes it clear that there are a few extra things for organisers and hosts to consider in order to make sure they are engaging, professional and productive when it really counts for example:

Balance

One of the major challenges of hybrid meetings is keeping them balanced. Because remote speakers are not physically present, they may have less context and it will be harder for them to make their points land with impact. This makes proper introductions (preferably prior to the meeting happening) especially important.

Technology

The variety of tools and software available for hosting and running professional hybrid meetings can get a little overwhelming. Luckily, many software providers offer expert advice on choosing the perfect setup for your needs as well as training for getting the best from it.

Professionalism

To ensure that hybrid meetings run smoothly, appoint a facilitator as well as someone in charge of setting up and resolving any technical issues that occur. This can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining professionalism and keeping attendees fully engaged. It’s also important to make it clear which participants are attending remotely and who are there in person to help establish an existing level of trust and understanding.

8 meetings we still need in 2021

In a recent survey, 58% reported that they have been more productive while working from home. While being far from ideal, lockdown has taught us a lot about not just productivity, but the workplace in general. Reducing time-wasting meetings was one of the more positive lessons to come out of more than a year spent working from home.

According to research by eShare, in 2018, the average office worker spent 10 hours 42 minutes every week, preparing for and attending 4.4 meetings, with 2.6 of those deemed unnecessary. While cutting down on unnecessary meetings is undoubtedly a good thing, there are some that we just can’t do without:

#1 Status Updates

What’s the purpose?
Communicate the progress or state of a project or the current direction of the business as a whole. It’s also a good chance for teams and departments who might be working separately to get aligned on shared goals, priorities and decision making.

How do you make it work?

• Keep it as succinct as possible
• Get input from those directly working on the tasks covered
• Stick to a consistent structure so that teams understand the expected outcomes
• Document the goals put forward for the next meeting

#2 Kick-off meetings

What’s the purpose?
When you’re starting any new project, you need to get your team up to speed. As well as covering long and short term goals, kick-off meetings should let individuals know what part they play in the project and build enthusiasm around the job. Starting a product off on the right foot will make a huge difference to its final outcome.

How do you make it work?

• Agree on the clarity of the project brief
• Get everyone aligned with the goal and scope of the project
• Give them a clear understanding of what needs to be achieved
• Plan how you’ll be working together
• Establish individual roles and responsibilities
• Set timelines, deliverables and workflows

#3 Feedback meetings

What’s the purpose?
Building a culture of continuous feedback is important for growing the skills and performance of an individual, but also for highlighting how your organisation can help them do their job better.

How do you make it work?

• Communicate the purpose of the meeting before you start
• Make sure you have the relevant information as well as input from other team members
• Give employees the chance to share their point of view
• Set actionable goals if necessary 
• Summarise everything you’ve covered to make sure it’s understood

#4 Budget and finance meetings

What’s the purpose?
Holding budget meetings on a regular basis will help prevent any miscommunication regarding marketing finance and spending that could cost your organisation. As well as ensuring that everyone is aligned with how much is being spent, and what it’s being spent on, this is a chance for people to highlight any concerns without them getting lost in email chains.

How do you make it work?

• Allocate the amount that needs to be spent
• Make it clear what the money is to be spent on 
• Communicate the expected return on investment where possible

#5 Decision-making meetings

What’s the purpose?
There are stages in every project where the team needs to get realigned to before moving forward. This is the time to call a decision-making meeting and make the call on the next steps.

How do you make it work?

• Agree on a set course of action
• Gather everything you need to make an informed decision
• Include subject matter experts to ensure that your decision is accurate and feasible (e.g. designers, developers etc…)
• Establish who will be responsible for making the final call

#6 Problem-solving meetings

What’s the purpose?
Problem-solving meetings should have a singular goal in mind. They are appropriate when it’s time to figure out the cause of an issue that’s holding up a project and determine the action needed to resolve it. A problem-solving meeting could have a long term or short term focus, depending on whether the issue can be immediately addressed, or whether it needs strategic thinking to get its route cause.

How do you make it work?

• Establish whether the problem can be immediately addressed or needs further thinking
• Include key stakeholders
• Decide on a clear course of action you’ll be taking and explain why
• Before everyone disperses, assign and notify individuals of their responsibilities in the resolution

#7 Brainstorming meetings

What’s the purpose?
Bring your team together to generate creative ideas for things like advertising campaigns, potential new projects or even in-house initiatives. The key is to create a relatively informal environment where employees can ‘bounce’ ideas off one another and come away with a list of potential directions.

How do you make it work?

• Create a relaxed environment where people feel free to share their thinking
• Aim for quantity over quality at this early stage
• Include thought starters to give some direction at the beginning
• Don’t expect fully-fledged ideas 
• Keep it fast-paced so you don’t lose momentum
• Narrow down your ideas to a shortlist and share them after the meeting

#8 Onboarding meetings

What’s the purpose?
To get new hires up-to-speed while making them feel welcome and enthusiastic about working at your organisation. Onboarding meetings are a chance to start building a positive working relationship, show them where they fit in in the bigger picture and what will be expected of them in their new role.

How do you make it work?

• Don’t leave it too late — it’s important to schedule onboarding meetings on time to make a good first impression.
• Introduce them to the wider team and arrange one-on-one meetings with key team members
• Establish what tools, software and training they’ll need
• Make sure new starters are familiar with HR operations and building facilities

Embrace any working model with BAM by Papirfly™ 

Whether your whole team is back in the office already, you’re implementing the hybrid approach, or you’ve decided to stay remote, BAM by Papirfly™ can align teams across the globe with a centralised location for localised marketing materials, up-to-date guidelines and more. It’s the only tool you need to help your teams:

• Store and share assets from an easy to use dashboard
• Give teams access to the relevant assets they need
• Streamline your and feedback approval processes 

To find out how, book your demo today.

As anyone in the marketing industry will tell you, marketing is a carefully considered process, not just a smorgasbord of knee jerk activities.

Your success hinges on your marketing process, the set of steps that you take to execute your marketing plan, with the overriding goal of attracting interest in your products, services or brand. It is about making sure there’s a clear methodology in place to complete the various goals most seen as critical to successful execution, including: 

• Defining a mission statement
• Setting KPIs and objectives
• Conducting analyses of your offering and audience
• Developing a comprehensive market strategy
• Building your marketing mix
• Executing work across your various channels
• Measuring and reflecting on results

The 5 elements in the marketing process

The marketing process can be divided into a five-step model:

The marketing process model

• Situational Analysis
• Objectives and KPIs
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Mix
• Execution and Adaptation

Situational analysis refers to the foundations of your overall plan – this part of any marketing process is where you scrutinise the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and more across your brand, product or service. This gives you fundamental information which you’ll use to present your offering in the best possible light. 

Your objectives and KPIs are what you hope to achieve as a result of this marketing process.

• What typical increase in sales do you expect for your product or service?
• How many leads do you want to bring in?
• By how much do you want website traffic to increase? What is realistic?

The marketing strategy process is creating a plan of action for how you intend to realise your objectives. This is where you’ll define your audience, consider appropriate activities and position your offering to give it the best chance of succeeding.

The marketing mix process meanwhile refers to how you manage the variables under your control in promoting your offering to your audience. This is of course the famous 7Ps:

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• People
• Process
• Physical

Finally, execution and adaptation is essentially putting the planning and preparation you’ve conducted earlier in the marketing process into action – creating, posting, sharing, sending, installing and uploading everything across your various marketing channels.

Then, it is analysing the impact these had in relation to your objectives, and making recalibrations if and where necessary.

Though there’s a significant number of steps involved in the marketing process, each one lends itself to leaving the biggest positive impact on your audience. 

Subsequently, finding ways to streamline this process, without compromising on the thoroughness or quality of your output, is important to turning around work efficiently as part of your marketing efforts. Below, we break down 9 ways this can be accomplished.

9 ways to streamline the marketing process

1. Create a shared terminology

Within your team, you might refer to certain words and phrases that relate to part of your marketing process. But it’s possible not everyone on your team is clued into this terminology, or the context in which it’s applied.

So, to save you the time of people sending emails questioning an acronym that was used in your last meeting or miscommunicating information because they didn’t understand the term used, devote a window of time to brainstorm and set in stone your terminology for your marketing efforts.

Also, look to encourage a culture of asking more questions. Sometimes people can feel afraid to ask the meaning of something they don’t understand if those around them seem to grasp it. Make sure your team understand that there are no ‘stupid’ questions. It’s much more valuable for everyone to be on the same page, and preventing teams from going down the wrong path because of a blip in communication.

2. Don’t shy away from setting goals

Everyone knows the importance of setting goals as part of the marketing process. But not everyone is as clear about the best way to go about it. Establishing these in a simple yet effective way will help the wider team get to grips with what needs to be achieved. After all, how will you know if your efforts are succeeding or failing?

Establish SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals at the outset of any project to ensure that all actions are working towards a clear objective, keeping everyone’s focus set and making sure all future adjustments are made promptly and smartly.

If your team has clear goals in mind, they can feel empowered to make tweaks that they believe will make a positive impact, rather than shy away. And, not all goals will be achieved overnight, so make sure stakeholders are aware of this and that you can provide them with a timeline of when they can expect to see results.

3. Establish service-level agreements

Developing a service-level agreement (SLA) between your marketing team, third parties and other relevant areas of your organisation documents the objectives each should be fulfilling, so nothing is left open to interpretation.

Again, this small investment of time early saves even more time down the road by keeping every person involved in the various elements of the marketing process in sync and accountable for what they need to deliver.

4. Collaborate at every opportunity…

Collaboration is key. Especially in a multi-location company, maintaining communication between everyone involved in your marketing process is essential to avoiding pieces falling out of place and, consequently, deadlines being missed and work not achieving the correct quality.

Introducing collaboration apps and additional systems across a range of platforms will help make significant time savings and avoid mistakes.

5. …But give your team the tools to work independently

While collaboration is important, having to organise a meeting before every step of the process or cluttering inboxes with emails can be just as big of a drain on time. So, it’s equally as important that members of your team have the capacity to execute each task self-sufficiently, without risk of repercussions.

That is one of the key elements of BAM by Papirfly™ – by establishing clear templates and briefs for your team members on marketing best practice, on-brand content can be delivered day-to-day in line with your visions, without having to resort to lengthy approval processes or futile meetings.

6. Keep key information accessible

Employees not being able to find information like brand guidelines or the assets they need to deliver a project can burn through hours in the working day. In fact, 19% of a typical worker’s time is spent looking for files!

Placing your most crucial documents in a central resource (another strong feature of our solutions) is an effective time-saver, as well as useful to ensure consistency and quality is maintained throughout the steps of your marketing process.

7. Use templates whenever possible

Templates are not a cheat, but a crucial support for both time and consistency reasons. If your marketing teams are commonly using the same type of material as part of your strategy, why constantly go back to square one in regards to content?

Instead, utilise templates and make minor updates to these when required to save time and energy when executing your plan – plus, it will normalise how your audience anticipates content from you.

When we say templates, we aren’t talking about everything looking the same. They need to be intelligent and intuitive to allow you the flexibility to make studio-standard marketing materials, without compromising on things such as culturally appropriate imagery, layout tweaks and resizes.

8. Bring automation tools into the mix 

Investing in marketing automation tools is a valuable way to shed time off your marketing processes. The effort it can take to market your company on the wide range of platforms available these days is difficult enough as it is – and manually it is practically impossible.

If you want to regularly connect with your audiences and work towards your KPIs, automating various aspects of your process, be it emails, social media, lead generation or another component is an increasingly pressing need.

9. Recycle successful material

Finally, in a similar vein to using templates, if a particular piece of content or design you’ve used has delivered results, tweaking this and reusing it at a later date saves time on creating a whole new piece from scratch – especially one that you don’t have solid evidence of it being successful. 

Plus, your audience may have grown significantly since the first time around, or perhaps many of them missed it the first time around, so there’s an opportunity to generate even stronger results.

This alternative approach offers a greater layer of security in terms of success, as well as substantial time savings for your team. 

Maximising your marketing process

Now you have a deeper understanding of the importance of the marketing process and techniques you can use to speed things along, you’re well-positioned to make your approach as efficient as possible. But, while you have the knowledge, it’s essential you also have the tools.

At the heart of Papirfly is a desire to transform the way businesses approach marketing forever, empowering their whole team to turn around studio-quality assets in a matter of minutes. BAM by Papirfly™ gives your team the ability to create, educate, manage, store & share marketing materials on a global scale, helping you accelerate your marketing process.

Get in touch today and find your freedom.

Social media has had its fair share of bad press in recent years, with many claiming it’s turned an entire generation into tech zombies. Whether or not you agree with this, one thing we can say for certain is that social media has become completely embedded into 21st-century culture – it’s as habitual as reading the morning newspaper (albeit several times a day) and its impact on the way we communicate has changed the world forever.

Whether it’s sharing a viral video of a llama on a skateboard or promoting a campaign on the must-have shirts of the season, social media marketing remains one of the most effective, targeted ways to get your brand’s message out there.

What is social media marketing?

The landscape of social media marketing is incredibly broad, with new platforms emerging all the time. The only thing you can ever really guarantee to stay constant in the world of social media is its sheer unpredictability. That said, there are some basic fundamentals that help to shape the way brands communicate with their audiences online.

Depending on your strategy, you will use several channels to communicate with your audiences. It’s a way for you to distribute multiple messages on a regular basis with existing or new prospects.

This can be achieved usually one of two ways:

Organically – a free method to grow, engage with and retain a following using shareable and interesting content.

Paid – Paid social media marketing, which can help support customer acquisition, remarketing and reaching a more specific type of audience.

Organic marketing through social media

Building an organic following is no easy feat, and unless you have unlimited time and resources to dedicate to it, it’s incredibly difficult to deliver on your own and make an impact. Snatching at your content here and there won’t be enough to keep people coming back. And with audience expectations of organic social media marketing becoming more sophisticated (or unsophisticated, depending on how you look at it), brands are now expected to produce gifs, memes, videos, polls, topical content and more.

And the hardest part? Avoiding an approach that’s too self-promotional. Nobody wants to be sold to the entire time. And if you ARE going to ‘sell’ something, it should be done in a way that provides value to your followers.

Do something that’s going to entertain, engage or inform. Surprise, delight or shock them. As long as it falls in line with your strategy and your overall identity as a brand, you can dedicate the time to understand your audience, and what it is they relate to. Not only will it increase your share-ability and the prospect of new people discovering you, but it will also give your existing followers a reason to stay.

Paid marketing through social media

It goes without saying that each social media platform operates very differently. Despite this, algorithms are often analysed and scrutinised by many marketing professionals, with conclusions and advice often drawn that can help loosely guide your individual channel strategies.  

We say loosely because, in reality, determining the exact way to get organic content showing more frequently in news feeds is not very straightforward at all.

Why? 

Because social media marketing is a business. A very lucrative one at that (with social media advertising revenue forecast at $51.3 billion USD for 2018 alone). If we all knew how to hack the system, social media simply wouldn’t work or exist for that matter. Platforms WANT you to pay to get in front of your audience. And in exchange, many of them give highly detailed, targeted demographics – from the more generic ones such as age, gender and location, through to buying habits and interests.

Targeting is one of many reasons why a brand may choose paid social media marketing platforms over more traditional methods. New customer acquisition, increasing web traffic and raising brand awareness are all key objectives for many businesses. And remarketing on these channels can help you reach people already engaged with your brand, to further prompt them into taking action.

How to develop a social media strategy

Whether you work for an in-house team, a marketing agency, or you’re simply trying to set up something for your own business, it’s important you don’t start doing it until you understand why you’re doing it. Your strategy is the what, how, why and when of your social media marketing. It’s your plan of action, a blueprint to success and a guide to make sure you keep focused.

Define your goals

• What do you hope to get out of your social media marketing?
• Would you like to build a following?
• Generate leads?
• Increase conversions?
• Give your brand a stronger presence?
• Or even just provide a platform for customer service?

Be realistic about what you’re going to use social media marketing tools for. And, depending on budget, what can be achieved within your timeframe. Are you using a combination of paid and organic? What are the short-term and long-term goals? Can you break these down into quarterly, more manageable chunks?

Think about your audience<

• Who are they? How old are they?
• Where do they spend their time online and offline?
• Which platforms are they likely to use?
• What are their pain points?
  

Decide on content

• How can you use your audience’s pain points to create useful social media content? Can these pain points be split into overarching themes and topics?
• Are there any awareness days you should incorporate?
• How will your paid advertising support your organic content?
  

Get to planning

Once you have your broader topics in place for your social media marketing, you can start putting together top line calendars and schedules for your team to execute. You’ll need to think about content, design and any scheduling tools you may need.

Determine your process for execution

Give your teams their schedule, their briefs and ensure they have all the right sizes for the different social media channels. And that they understand the nuance of social advertising on individual platforms (for example, the 20% text rule on Facebook ads).

Publishing

Once the content and assets have sign-off from all stakeholders, you can begin publishing. Depending on how many posts you need to schedule, you should consider using a publishing tool so you can automate what time they are released to remove some of the manual tasks

Listening and engagement

Once your posts are out, it’s important to monitor your channels on a daily basis. Multiple times a day if your team has capacity. Being able to listen and engage with your followers is important. Plus if anything negative should be said, you can respond to it quickly before anyone has the chance to form the wrong opinion

Analytics and reporting

Most good publishing tools allow you to automate report generation, so make sure you find the right platform for you. Manually checking each channel can be incredibly time-consuming – particularly if you’re tracking multiple brands.

Advertising

While smaller brands can manage their paid advertising in-house, an expert in paid advertising is always beneficial. Having a specialist to support you helps ensure your campaigns are optimised for the right audiences and your strategy is updated in line with any new insights.

Social media as a marketing tool – B2C

How social media marketing techniques are implemented very much depends on the nature of your business. With business-to-consumer brands, there’s often a lot more scope to be visual. If you have a physical product or a personal service, you know you’re talking to an individual about their specific pain points. Things you yourself should be able to relate to on some level.

While any brand will want to retain a certain level of professionalism, you can really push the boundaries with your brand’s personality. Using humour or trending topics and relating them back to your business can be a sure-fire way to capture the attention of social media users – not just your audience but also those beyond it.

Social media as a marketing tool – B2B 

Business to business marketing techniques traditionally tend to be more information-led. They’re trying to solve problems for business owners and high-level decision-makers. This does strip back the number of channels that can be used effectively for the B2B market, as professional networks greatly differ from accounts for personal use.  

LinkedIn is usually the go-to for B2B social media marketing, either elevating individuals through their personal profiles, LinkedIn advertising or making their company page a source of insight for people’s feeds. That being said, some of the other channels still hold their place for B2B marketers when used in the right way.

Social media marketing on Facebook

Facebook is one of the most widely used platforms in the world. Brands can build organic followings, become content publishers and create highly tailored advertising in the form of videos, static advertising, carousels, slideshows and even Messenger, to name a few.  

Social media marketing on Instagram

Owned by Facebook, Instagram is often used by brands to build a loyal following. A great feature of Instagram is the hashtag function, which makes it much easier to build organic engagement – although the ‘following’ earned is often too broad to be relevant. Brands can also explore Instagram advertising in the form of ads, with the ability to now shop ‘in-app’ by tagging products to your post.

Social media marketing on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has had somewhat of a revival recently, with a wider cross-spectrum of people using the online network to promote their skills or brand. Some of the most effective ways to reach business decision-makers can be found through LinkedIn: the option to create thought leaders via individual profiles, build valuable connections and relationships, create a company page that’s the go-to for industry insight or through the targeted, but sometimes expensive, advertising route.  

Social media marketing on Twitter

While Twitter’s use may have decreased for teens, 80% of its users are considered ‘affluent millennials’, and 75% of businesses can be found on the platform – two incredible opportunities for marketers. Twitter is also a very popular platform for providing personalised customer service, and for many consumers it’s the first port of call when they have a complaint or query about a missing parcel.

But a lot of Twitter’s appeal lies in how current it is; news breaks here, people share their stories first-hand and live events effectively come with a running commentary when televised. In fact, advertising on the platform is considered 11% more effective than TV ads during live events.

Social media influencer marketing

Another strand of social media marketing that can prove successful for brands with particular products, events or services can be the use of social media influencers. This could be in the form of huge celebrity endorsements with millions on the counter or micro-influencers with just 1,000 to 100,000 followers, but with a deeper connection with an audience interested in your niche.

Instagram is the most effective channel for brands looking to promote via those with a big social following. Giving your brand an ambassador in the form of someone your audience can relate to and admire can prove lucrative.

The future of social media marketing…

Even as the world becomes more critical of the role social media plays in shaping minds, opinions, and the way we show off our day-to-day lives, its evolution is one that marketers will be keen to keep up with. Technology is set to become more sophisticated, targeting will get even more precise and brands will continue to raise the bar when it comes to creating quality content.

There’s no way of knowing where social media marketing will be in 10 years, or even 10 months from now. In an age of instant gratification, and readily available information on quite literally anything you could imagine, social media will continue to play a critical role in B2C and B2B communications. Of course, as the amount of brands entering the same space continues to grow, it’s going to take a remarkable strategy and team to be able to shout above the noise.

Papirfly offers Brand Activation Management software that enables companies to create professionally designed printed and digital assets – in-house in under 30 minutes. Social media posts are often hard to keep up with, which is why empowering any employee to effortlessly create social media assets is a client favourite feature. You can also store & share assets in a dedicated Digital Asset Management platform, educate teams on brand guidelines and manage your campaigns from one central login.

Discover what Papirfly’s all-in-one brand management platform can do for you, or visit our complete guide to marketing.

The extent of on-demand media means marketers are spoilt for choice when it comes to inspiration and learning resources. The podcast format started off with humble beginnings and is now over 30 million episodes strong across the world. With so many podcasts to choose from, how do you find the ones that provide the most value?

One way is to sift through the charts, the other is to get recommendations by word-of-mouth. The brilliant team here at Papirfly have taken the time to share their favourites below. With different roles, backgrounds and interests, our top 5 gives you an unbiased, varied selection of some of the best contenders for marketing knowledge.

Sara Picks: Marketing School

Let’s kick off with something effortlessly easy to digest for even the most prominent podcast sceptic. Neil Patel and Eric Siu’s Marketing School delivers useful, actionable digital marketing tips and techniques in bitesize chunks, with episodes never exceeding 10 minutes.

Covering every corner of the digital landscape, the expertise and experience that Neil and Eric offer make this a must-listen for anyone looking to keep on the cutting-edge of this ever-changing space.

What’s so good about it?

• Concise episodes make it easy to fit into your existing routine
• Neil and Eric are two of the most knowledgeable and informed minds in their industry
• Daily opportunities to expand on your existing skillbase
• A back catalogue of over 1,600 episodes to work your way through

Anyone working in digital marketing, be it SEO, content marketing, social media, email marketing or anything online, Marketing School is a can’t-miss.

Frequency: Typically one new episode launches every day

If you only listen to one episode, make it this: How to Rank on Page 1 of Google in 2021

Luke Picks: Marketing Over Coffee

While many other marketing podcasts springboard from one topic to the next, this one is focused on the use of technology within marketing, though the hosts (Christopher Penn and John Wall) frequently talk about the value of traditional campaigns. 

The natural style makes you feel like you’re listening in on someone else’s (very useful) conversation.

What’s so good about it?

• Usually covers the latest updates on social networks
• Lots of great insights on SEO 
• Whilst big on digital, also covers ‘offline’ marketing 
• Gets to the important points quickly

Anyone who is interested in continually hearing opinions and improving upon their understanding of the marketing world. The podcast itself has picked up huge traction and often features some of the most influential marketers of our time, including Simon Sinek and Seth Godin. 

Frequency: Usually once a week, but this can vary.

If you only listen to one episode, make it this: Simon Sinek: Start With Why

Justin Picks: CIM Marketing Podcast

For the latest news and views from throughout the marketing industry, where better to turn than the world’s leading professional marketing body?

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Podcast hones in on relevant, essential stories that are impacting how marketers work right now, and discusses these openly and accessibly, delivering a lot of up-to-date information for listeners.

What’s so good about it?

• Features interviews with leading marketers in globally recognised companies
• Spirited debate and insight from highly experienced professionals in the CIM team
• Covers the length and breadth of the marketing industry

The CIM Marketing Podcast is perfect for anyone interested in getting the latest news and views from the world of marketing, and who want to apply these developments immediately into their own work.

Frequency: They aim for an episode every 2 weeks, but there’s the odd gap here and there.

If you only listen to one episode, make it this: The secrets of great brand storytelling

Phil Picks: Brand Builder

For an in-depth exploration of organisations from all industries who have forged and perfected their brand identity, Brand Builder is the ideal destination for you.

The show’s three hosts, Sean Kelly, Jordan Cohen, and Jeff Murphy, interview business leaders and brand managers from some of the world’s most innovative brands. This gives listeners an unparalleled understanding of their journey to where these companies are today, to inspire their own approaches.

What’s so good about it?

• Interviews with branding experts across a wide range of industries and geographies
• Learn from real people’s experiences in the world of branding to support your own perspectives
• Lengthy interviews really get to the heart of each brand’s techniques, challenges, and unique insights

Brand managers and people fascinated with how brands establish their distinctive identity and tone among their audience and the wider public.

Frequency: There is no set timetable for Brand Builder, but expect at least 1 new episode to drop every month.

If you only listen to one episode, make it this: How to Master Demand Planning in 2021, with Ancient Provisions Founder Alex Duong

James Picks: This Old Marketing

Everything content, social media and the wider media space, Joe Poluzzi and Robert Rose host what could be described as an ‘audio newsletter’ podcast: a round-up of all the best bits, lessons learnt and headlines facing the media and marketing industries.

What’s so good about it?

• Breakdown of industry news and what it means
• Good mix of useful insights and light-hearted rants
• Created by the Content Marketing Institute, so expect everything to be up-to-date

Anyone that wants to keep up-to-date, and hear unbiased views on what’s going on in the marketing, advertising and media world. 

Frequency: At least every other week, but are sometimes released more often.

If you only listen to one episode, make it this: The Greatest Marketing Predictions Episode Ever (2021 version)

We understand that every type of marketer faces a unique set of challenges in their role, which is why our team was tasked with sharing the podcasts they felt would be relevant to people in a wide range of positions. 

The way we consume media is changing, and over the last year podcasts have helped people across many industries stay connected to the things they care about most. 

Whether you’re thinking about starting a branded podcast, are interested in sharpening your marketing skills or just want to discover new opinions on the world, we hope you enjoyed your journey into the world of marketing podcasts, and meeting some of our valued team.

When we talk about brands being brave, we don’t mean the ‘running into burning buildings’ kind of brave. We’re talking about a risky move that has the potential to go very well or horribly wrong. 

Let’s take a look at the reasons why a brand may choose to do something a little on the edgy side, and at some classic and modern examples of where these have paid off.

Why does the potential payoff outweigh the risk?

Even some of the most established brands in the world can fall into the trap of becoming too comfortable, too predictable or too familiar. They need to be consistent, yes, but never dull. 

A move that’s out of the ordinary reawakens an audience to new possibilities and provides them with a fresh perspective or view of the brand. It may reposition them entirely for some or reaffirm what an existing audience already knew. 

When this happens, there’s usually a flurry of free PR that follows. And not just from industry news outlets. Brands doing things out of the ordinary usually gain traction on wider social media and content publishing platforms. Understanding the impact on a brand from a business, customer and marketing level is one thing – how the media spins it is another. So teams need to have a plan in place to cover all eventualities.

What does brand bravery mean?

While in more recent times, brand bravery has shaped itself to be more about taking a stand on a particular topic or movement, historically it has involved doing something controversial or irreverent – which doesn’t fit our definition of brave. It would be great if every campaign has a direct positive impact on society, but this would flood the world with inauthentic attempts to make a difference. 

Below we’ve selected 4 brands that have made distinctly ‘brave’ moves in their marketing…

Guinness took a risk

Guinness advertising has long been iconic. But back in 2019, they took things to the next level. When Guinness cleverly announced that it was launching ‘Guinness Clear’ in a slot before the Six Nations rugby, they sent Twitter into a frenzy with desperate fans scrambling to find the new drink online. 

Of course, many others quickly caught onto the purpose of the ads. Guinness Clear was simply a pint of water. What the drinks giant had done was highlight the need to consume more water in between pints of the black stuff, to reduce overall alcohol consumption for a healthier attitude towards drinking during matches.

The ad was later re-released at Christmas, a time that’s notorious for revellers having more than one too many.

We think out of all the stunts Guinness has pulled, this is the one that sets them apart, and defines them most closely to the term brave. While the concept was lost initially on some people, it eventually got everyone talking and raised awareness of the power of drinking water in between alcohol. Which of course, means buying less Guinness. When a brand prioritises the health and safety of consumers over sales, it’s an unusual and welcome step in the right direction.

Lush turned the light off

While Lush has come under fire in the past for what some have described as “crossing a line” between being a retailer and an advocate for pushing societal issues, the brand seems more than comfortable as a rebellious crusader promoting what’s right.

All the deep and complex issues the handmade cosmetics company manages to address are very impressive, and you’d think that social media would be a great place to amplify the good work you’re doing. 

However, back in 2019 Lush made the announcement it was to stop publishing from its UK social media platforms.

Now the reason behind this was due to how the organic algorithm works on Facebook. The Lush team had become frequently frustrated with pouring their heart and soul into their content, only for the social media platform to make it hard for them to reach many people organically. 

It’s widely known that Facebook has a much more powerful audience reach when you pay-to-play through their advertising services. But Lush took a stand against the tech giant by calling it quits, and as it turned out it has paid off very well for them.

What the data showed them was that their audience was more engaged on their ‘owned’ platforms. So Lush now communicates via its employees and own platforms, to create richer, more authentic experiences and conversations for its customers.

Regardless of your relationship with Facebook, a global brand turning its back on a huge channel in an act of taking the moral high ground is pretty cool. Think of just how many sales they will have lost from the move. What we’re wondering is how long will they be able to keep it up? 

Burger King threw out the rule book

While many of BK’s stunts have been hit and miss, they always garner attention from the media. Whether it’s encouraging customers in Brazil to virtually burn the adverts of its rivals, or highlighting gender disparity in China with its Burger Queen campaign, the Burger King marketing team appear to be working overtime to continually create sometimes regrettable but mostly unforgettable campaigns. 

Here are just some of the bold moves the brand has taken…

They launched a Christmas ad in July

When the world realised 2020 wasn’t quite shaping up to be the year we all expected, Burger King jumped in and transformed one of its stores in the U.S. with Christmas decorations. The advert highlights to customers that they’re doing their bit to help wrap up the negative year by bringing the holidays much earlier. We’re not sure how many additional burgers it helped them sell, but it was a nice move nonetheless. 

They weighed in on British politics 

Driving an iconic red London bus around Westminster (where England’s MPs are based) with a controversial message takes some courage. Burger King’s use of Whopper in this ad not only plays on their product, but it’s also an informal word for a lie in the UK. Make of that what you will.

Credit @stu_bot3000 via Twitter 

They showed their burgers growing mould

Who could forget when Burger King removed artificial preservatives from its burger? They boldly left a Whopper to decay over a period of 34 days and then shared the results with the world. While this was met with some criticism of the ad being more for ‘ad people’ than customers, it certainly seemed to get people talking. Regardless of opinions, in a sea of been-done-before creatives, Burger King burst through with this unexpected and insightful concept. We say, bravo. 

They undertook their first rebrand in 20 years

Burger King’s new logo took everyone by surprise. If you’re in marketing, you’ll understand just how much a rebrand can cost a company, let alone someone that has signage all over the world. The justification behind the move was that the brand wanted to capture more of its characteristics in its identity, big and bold, playful and irreverent. The retro-inspired logo certainly stirs up nostalgia.

Other examples worth mentioning 

Always – Like A Girl campaign

The global personal hygiene company took purpose-driven marketing to a whole new level back in 2014. Always was keen to keep young girls feeling confident through puberty and set out to change perceptions of what it means to ‘be a girl’. They addressed many sexist misconceptions on female abilities all based around the hashtag #LikeAGirl. 

The idea stems from phrases that have been wrongly used as derogatory such as “You throw like a girl”. The creatives behind these realigned perceptions, turning any negative preconceptions about the abilities of girls into positive ones. 

Read about the incredible results here. 

Coca-Cola – One-brand move

Back in 2014, the global drinks brand united 14 of its product family under one aligned campaign. They described the move as “putting the product at the heart of the creative” and it gave them the opportunity to create universal storytelling that would connect consumers from around the world. You can read how it’s benefited the brand here. 

While it isn’t bravery in the traditional sense, from the internal and logistical perspective of their marketing teams, it was a big step. And it paid off well in the short-term – although they have recently decided to change tact to unveil an all-new look for Coca-Cola Zero cans to try and set them apart.

Maersk Line – Learning from a mistake

Also in 2014, Maersk Line made a brave move by sharing a photo of a dead whale on their social media channels that was struck by one of their cargo ships. Maersk did not shy away from this unfortunate accident, and instead highlighted it as a signal of their intention to learn more about whale behaviour and adjust their own practices to ensure this can never happen again.

This open, honest discussion captured worldwide attention and engaged many marine experts offering their advice as to how Maersk’s team can avoid these events in future. Taking this bold step allowed them to control the narrative and shape it as a teachable moment – something they will learn from to better their process in future.

The Met Museum – Ignored traditional design rules 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been a staple institution in society for over 145 years. So when they replaced their logo with one that featured an unusually kerned typeface, it caused a bit of controversy amongst its die-hard fans. When you delve into the reasons behind the move, bringing together serif and sans serif letters to recognise its ability to unify both the classic and the modern, it makes a lot of sense. 

Premier League – No Room for Racism Campaign

What started as bringing together footballers to encourage people to report racism in the stadiums has evolved into a long-standing campaign to try and stamp out discrimination in the football industry. The sporting institution came under fire in 2020 when it publicly showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK. They have since released a statement to say that the support is not in any way political and that it aligns with their objectives of “eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists”. They have stuck by this and continue their support to this day. 

ITV – Mental Wellness Campaign

The television channel used a primetime TV show and ad break to run silent adverts, and encouraging viewers to instead talk to each other about what’s going on in their lives and their minds.

Does it pay to take risks?

Every brand is different, and while taking some of these risks could have gone either way for the mentioned brands, ultimately they stood up, did something different and it paid off. The scale of the risk you take depends on what you’re comfortable with, and how your brand needs to be positioned to the world. 

Not taking any risks at all can be greater than taking them to begin with. Producing stale, uninspiring campaigns could leave you looking predictable. It’s always important to weigh up the pros and cons behind any idea, and be prepared for all eventualities should it not go the way you’d hoped. 

Finally, ensure that any big move you make is grounded in strategy, controversy or bravery for the sake of it could fall flat if there’s no solid direction and reasoning.

90% of all organisations use content as part of their marketing, and 60% of marketers create content on a daily basis. You don’t need to do the maths to know that’s a lot of content. It may come as no surprise to most that keeping it consistently fresh, relevant and creative isn’t easy. In fact, research has shown that content production is the top challenge for 50% of marketers.

The quality of the content that your team produces is a reflection of your brand. A poorly written blog post or a tweet in bad taste has the potential to come back and haunt your brand years down the line.

So, how can you produce quality content at scale – consistently and easily?

Keeping on top of your content production doesn’t have to mean hiring an army of writers and designers. Nor does it mean re-inventing the wheel every time you put something out in the world.

Repurposing content is the smartest way of working that helps you get maximum reach from a concept or message. It’s the process of modifying a piece of content to work in a different format (from an article to a podcast, for example), or adapting the content to make it more relevant to a new audience.

Essentially, content repurposing is a way to squeeze every last drop out of a great idea or important insight, in a meaningful and valuable way.

Aside from saving time and effort, what are the benefits of repurposing content?

Target specific audiences

Reframe your content to make it resonate with a different type of customer. Consider what unique problems your content can help them solve, which formats they respond best to (eg. snappy Instagram posts or in-depth long-reads) and what motivates them to take action.

Reinforce a message

If there’s an idea that you really need to land, repurposing can help you drive it home by presenting it in a number of different ways.

Build your brand’s reputation as an industry thought leader

Highlight your company’s expertise by giving thought leaders within your business a platform to talk further around a subject they specialise in.

Ensuring your audience sees it

There’s no point investing lots of hours into a message that’s only going to be conveyed or posted once. You can never assume your audience has been reached in such a short window of time.

Get more from your best performing content

If you have a piece of content that’s generating lots of traffic, why stop there? Keep up the momentum by resharing the key insights and adapting them to suit as many different formats as possible.

9 ways to repurpose your content

There are many ways to capitalise on your content, and you’ll need to customise your approach in line with your brand positioning and what’s appropriate for your industry. We’ve put together 9 tried-and-tested methods that every brand can sink their teeth into.

#1 Turn a collection of articles into listicles

If you have a number of articles surrounding a particular theme, combine the key takeouts wholly or partially in list form. There’s something naturally appealing to readers about headlines with ‘11 reasons why’ or ‘3 ways to’ formats… They’re clear, concise and tell the reader exactly what they’ll get out of it. 

#2 Share your insights in a podcast

Podcasts offer a more tangible insight into the personality of your brand. With a relatively small investment, they can help your business to speak directly to audiences in order to build trust and garner a following. Not sure who would be suitable within your business? Why not invite clients on to chat?

#3 Create a highlights reel from a webinar

Webinars are ideal for walking people through your products and services in an educational and engaging way, but for those who couldn’t tune in, or who need a recap, highlight reels can help get them up to speed. They also give you the opportunity to answer questions or revisit interesting points raised in the webinar.

#4 Follow up a video with a blog summarising its key points

It’s possible to get across a lot of information through video. To help make sure they effectively deliver your message, and to encourage those who haven’t yet seen your video to press play, create an article that consolidates the most important take-outs.

#5 Present content on Slideshare

Slideshare is one of the top 100 most visited sites in the world and allows you to create concise presentations that help readers quickly catch up on in-depth topics. This format is ideal for highlighting expert quotes, actionable tips and powerful statistics.

#6 Compile a series of blog posts into an ebook

If you already have a backlog of articles that are still relevant, give them new life in a new context by collating them into an insightful long read. Your ebook could become a gated asset and gives you the opportunity to create social posts and emails to promote it.

#7 Visualise your ideas as an infographic 

Take the key points from comprehensive research, white papers or articles and create visual assets to make them more digestible for readers short on time.

#8 Revisit previous learnings

Things change fast in the world of marketing. You’ll often find new angles on previous insights by looking back at your old content in a new context.

#9 Use the power of social media

Social media platforms can be used to repurpose any type of content. Whether it’s focusing on an interesting snippet from an article, asking the audience a question that relates to a longer piece of content, creating short engaging videos that incorporate previous insights, or sharing actionable advice, or key takeouts as a carousel. 

Top tip

Content repurposing can save time and resources, but it shouldn’t be considered a shortcut. It’s important to make sure that you’re clear on what the new piece of content is addressing, how it’s different from the original piece and why. Having a watertight content strategy that does this will help stop your repurposed content from becoming repetitive and irrelevant.

How to decide what content to repurpose

Only use evergreen content

The most crucial factor in determining whether a piece of content is repurposable or not is making sure that it’s evergreen. In essence, this is content that will stay relevant long after it’s published.

Audit your existing content

Conducting a thorough content audit before you begin repurposing will make it easier to gather your evergreen content, see what is performing well, understand which keywords you are ranking for and highlight any gaps in your content strategy.

Review your recent feedback

Make sure you don’t ignore comments, questions and suggestions that your audience have left on your previous content. It’s more than likely that you’ll find useful insights that give you a better idea of what’s landing well and how your repurposed content can add value to their lives.

How BAM by Papirfly™ can help keep your content on track

Today, marketing leaders feel that they create “moderate-to-enormous” volumes of content, according to a report by Accenture. The same study also found that 92% of marketers surveyed said they are producing more content now than they were two years ago, with 90% expecting their output to increase further over the next two years. Upkeeping a steady flow of high-quality content may seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools, you can streamline your processes and maximise your output.

Brand Activation Management, BAM by Papirfly™, brings asset creation in-house. Our all-in-one asset creation suite is full of features that empower your teams to create studio-quality marketing materials with no agency help required. And, because you can set bespoke templates, you can ensure consistency in everything they produce. Here are just some of the digital and print assets your team can create in a matter of minutes:

• Videos
• Social media posts, perfectly sized and formatted
• HTML emails
• Digital signage 
• Localised assets in different languages
• Posters and brochures

Some of the world’s largest global brands, including Coca Cola and Unilever are already seeing the benefits of BAM’s easy-to-use design software. To see how it can propel your content production for your brand, get in touch to arrange a live demo.

As professionals, we’re constantly consuming; videos, podcasts, articles. We just can’t get enough.

As brands, we know that digital platforms are the best way to get in front of our potential customers. But getting to them at the ideal stage of the customer journey and serving them the right piece of content at the best time can be a challenge. 

Now multiply that by several personas, channels, industries and locations, this is the reality that so many teams are facing.

Producing digital content on any scale can be taxing, but on a global scale the process can be even more burdensome.

Today we’re identifying some of the key challenges facing marketing teams worldwide, and what can be done to alleviate some of this pressure, so that teams can keep up, keep evolving and keep producing engaging content.

What are the common challenges and opportunities?

Creating a digital content schedule

Challenge:

Knowing how much to schedule and how frequently

Solution:

No matter how many great ideas you have, it all starts with objectives, budget and capacity. If you don’t have the infrastructure to fulfil all your content needs, you’ll end up putting your team in a compromising position (unless you have BAM by Papirfly™, of course).

If you don’t have a solid grounding of data or strategy to guide your scheduling decisions, take a look at what competitors are doing as a starting point. 

Challenge:

Preparing for reactive content

Solution:

Have a full plan in place should there be an exceptional opportunity to jump on something topical. If your content guidelines require a heavy sign off process, then create a scoring system for your content team to assess the opportunity of the topical piece. If the benefits outweigh the consequences of missing out, they can proceed with an abridged sign-off process.

Or, if this is not an option, explore Brand Activation Management to make sure teams have the tools they need to create the assets they need both quickly and autonomously, as well as to streamline the sign-off process. 

Tips for creating a digital content schedule

• Work backwards from launch deadlines in order to determine feasibility
• Don’t rely too heavily on hard deadlines, give yourself some wiggle room of a day or two
• Check the diaries of those delivering the schedule beforehand to make sure there’s nothing that could affect production

Assigning roles in the process

Challenge:

Knowing who is responsible for what 

Solution:

If there’s confusion or crossover on duties, get everyone to make a list of their skill sets and daily tasks and rate their competency level for each. By doing this, you’ll spot who is doing things within the process that shouldn’t be, and you’ll utilise skill sets you may have not known about.

If you have an internal messaging platform, also ask employees to put their job roles in their names. This helps prevent requests that aren’t relevant coming through to the wrong person, and wasting their time. 

Challenge:

One or two people knowing the process better than others

Solution:

Whilst clear hierarchy is integral to ensuring content production runs smoothly, if all the information is kept under wraps, you could end up stuck if someone leaves. Ensure that every process and guideline is documented and accessible, and make sure your team is kept up-to-date with any changes made to avoid confusion.

Tips for assigning roles

• Assign a primary and secondary person (in case one person goes on holiday)
• Ensure each person knows who they report to and get sign off from
• Give everyone a copy of the production schedule and who is responsible for what

Make your budget go further

Challenge:

Keeping up with volume of demand 

Solution:

Invest in a digital solution that allows you to quickly create, edit, duplicate and deliver at scale. The Brand Activation Management space, home to BAM by Papirfly™, is opening up a whole new world of opportunity for teams to create assets that are tailored for markets, countries and more. 

Challenge:

Utilising skills in-house 

Solution:

Not everyone can be a creative, designer or writer. But it’s not always cost-effective to keep engaging agencies or hiring new team members. Having pre-defined templates that give individuals flexibility in a framework ensures peace of mind and optimal levels of delivery. 

Tips to make your budget go further

• Repurpose content when and where you can
• Revisit and update outdated content if it’s still relevant
• Bring production in-house if it’s still BAM by Papirfly

What is the future of digital content creation?

Like every other area of marketing, it’s only a matter of time before the creation side of content production is automated to some degree. It’s safe to say that Brand Activation Management is here to stay.

The digitisation and centralisation of all brand assets worldwide is a logical next step for the biggest brands across the globe. The likes of Coca-Cola, HSBC, Vodafone and IBM are already using BAM by Papirfly™ to deliver more digital and print assets than they ever thought possible. More empowerment and autonomy for their teams. More output for their budgets. More efficiencies and much less stress. This is the future of digital content creation.

If you would like to learn more about BAM by Papirfly™ and book a demo for you or your team, please get in touch.  

The marketing technology (martech) revolution is part of the imminent move to digital.

Fintech and medtech were just emerging sectors not so long ago, but they are now so commonplace and thriving that it’s hard to remember a time when they were met with scepticism. The next big digital move is already well underway, with the martech landscape now 50 times the size it was back in 2011. See if you can spot our logo in there…

Right now, thousands of solutions are available worldwide, and it’s clear that martech has undergone a seismic shift in the last year. This article delves into some of the ways that leading companies are revolutionising their business with martech, and why it’s no longer an area that can be ignored.

What does martech look like in 2021?

The best place to start is Chiefmartec.com’s Marketing Technology Landscape. Each year, this comprehensive supergraphic shows us the martech tools across every category — 2020’s edition is up 13.6% on last year, with 8000 solutions now available worldwide.

As you can see from the supergraphic, the martech landscape is vast. So to help you make more sense of it, we’ve honed in on 6 key areas and highlighted what we think matters most for marketers:

#1 Advertising and promotion

There are more advertising channels and platforms than any one person can keep track of, let alone manage effectively and consistently. Finding a solution that helps you focus on an approach that’s best for your brand (and your budget) will help you make the most of your resource and keep your output on track.

This year has solidified the already accelerating move to a digital-first marketing strategy. Going forward, martech tools will be essential in maximising the potential for reaching consumers online, without having to rely on agency help.

#2 Content and experience

There’s no point in having all-singing all-dancing campaigns when your customer content and experience is lacking. In order to maintain quality and consistency, it’s important to be on top of everything from video and interactive content, to PIM and MRM.

This is no small task, especially for large global brands, but it’s one that is proven to build trust and connect with new audiences. All-encompassing platforms like BAM by Papirfly™ are the best way to maximise this potential and take control of your brand assets.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 56% of businesses are planning to increase their content creation spending. With more output than ever before, automated content will be pivotal in keeping up with demand across multiple channels.

#3 Social and relationships

To create lasting connections with your audiences, you need a tool that helps you manage the way your brand interacts with customers, employees and the general public. The essentials should be a comprehensive CRM tool that helps you manage new and existing relationships, keeping them engaged on a personal level and converting interest into sales.

You’ll also want to keep the conversation flowing with a solution that helps you monitor your presence on social media and react to feedback and comments on review sites.

Brands can no longer hide behind faceless logos. With social media now ingrained in our everyday lives, consumers expect immediate engagement, a high level of personalisation and two-way conversations from the companies they interact with.

#4 Commercial and sales

The demand for better personalisation and automated sales funnels have surged as customers expect more from their buying experiences. Microsoft and Hubspot are among the solutions offering tools that do just that.

But before investing in a big name, it’s important to understand where you need to implement better personalisation and nurture sales more effectively. This might mean choosing a number of different solutions to cover e-commerce, retail and local marketing, for example, or even one that crosses over all three.

More people are switching to online shopping for good. This has always been expected, but the events of last year have made the move sudden. To facilitate this skyrocketing online demand, a martech tool will help you fulfil orders, create seamless customer journeys and follow up on sales.

#5 Data

As digital marketing channels continue to grow, data, and what companies can do with it, plays a vital role in any digital strategy. For many, this has meant more time agonising over spreadsheets. But when you invest in the right tools, that doesn’t have to be the case. 

Instead of manually collecting data, your time is better spent analysing the numbers. By having a clear view and dashboard of everything that’s happening in real-time, you can make informed decisions about your next marketing move.

With data martech solutions, you’ll see the returns on every penny you spend on marketing. They’ll help you decide which channels to invest in, show you how well your campaigns are working and give you the insights you need for more accurate decision making.

#6 Management

Digital project management software has become a necessity for most teams. While there are many tools out there that concentrate on specific areas of project management, there are many more that continually put in the time and dedication to bolt-on new features as the demand for them arise. They can help with:

•  Budgeting
•  Campaign planning
•  Collaborative working

The best investments for you will depend on which of these things are your top priorities as a business.

If you’re investing in some or all of the martech solutions we’ve discussed above, you’ll need a way to manage all of the moving parts in your campaigns. A digital project management solution will help you centralise your marketing materials, team workflows and project deadlines.

Which solutions are in the spotlight?

In a recent survey, NewsCred asked marketing leaders about the types of martech tools they would actively be investing in over the next 12 months. They found that accelerating campaign execution is a top priority for 70% of them.

With the right martech solution, you can support your teams at every stage of the campaign process. With an increase in demand for collaboration tools, many teams will be focused on finding solutions that will help with visibility, content production and campaign management.

Why now’s the time to invest in martech

We caught up with Papirfly MD Dave Thompson, to get his insights on the martech landscape and why it’s such an important area of investment going into 2021:

“Tech has been intertwined with marketing for a long time, but in 2020 we became reliant on technology in all aspects of business. Companies have had to change the way they reach their audiences and help their teams work together. They suddenly needed new ways to organise, collaborate, communicate and create.

Teams all over the world became more accustomed to working online with less resources and having to react more quickly to changing consumer needs. Martech tools have been instrumental in navigating these unexpected challenges.

It looks like things will take a while to return to some form of normality, but the lockdown restrictions we have seen over the last year paved the way for new martech tools to prove that these new digital-centric ways of working can have major long-term benefits.”

What are you missing out on?

Martech platforms have sped up or completely automated labour-intensive tasks to allow more time for planning and strategy. Far from stifling creativity, this has made routine asset creation an easier, more streamlined process and drastically cut down times-to-market. 

In essence, it means that more can be done with fewer people, and with smart templates from systems like BAM by Papirfly™, you ensure both quality and consistency without the need for agency help.

Finding the best martech solution for you will come down to what you need to achieve and how you can leverage the tools provided by different platforms.

New year, new budget

The annual Gartner CMO Spend Survey for 2019-2020, which collected data from more than 340 marketing decision-makers from North America and the UK, found that martech is now the single most significant area of investment for marketing resources and programmes.

Collaboration tools that support the entire marketing workflow — from ideation, right through to collaboration and roll-out — should expect to see the lion’s share of that spend, as companies look for ways they can fill the gaps in their marketing strategy that have appeared as a result of remote work becoming the norm.

Embrace more of martech with BAM by Papirfly™

While many companies have been focussing on digital by using several tools together, BAM by Papirfly™ gives you access to everything you need from one centralised location.

The all-in-one brand activation software is leading the way in saving time, money and effort when it comes to rolling out local and global campaigns.

Book your live demo today to discover the martech tools from BAM that will empower your teams to deliver more in 2021 and beyond.

Colour’s ability to persuade and influence the feelings of consumers has been a topic of fierce discussion through the years. 

Since Angela Wright’s theories on colour psychology came to the forefront in the 1970s, there has been a tidal wave of information highlighting how colours are perceived, and why this should guide a brand’s chosen colour palette.

There is no question that colour is critical when it comes to building a brand. Research demonstrates that consumers form their immediate opinion of a brand or product within 90 seconds of seeing it, and up to 90% of that judgement is based on colour alone.

• Colour boosts people’s brand recognition by up to 80% (Source University of Loyola, Maryland)
• Colour influences up to 85% of shoppers’ purchase decisions ( Source Suresh Kumar)
• 81% of brands believe their colours give them a competitive advantage (Source Xerox)

And, there wouldn’t be this much discourse on colour psychology in marketing if these insights carried no weight whatsoever. At their core, different colours do evoke different emotions from us, as well as their brightness, hue and shade – and marketers should be aware of these.

But, is the current consensus on colour psychology all it’s cracked up to be? While basic principles do apply, variables such as culture, context and personal preference mean that marketers should be wary of completely buying into colour psychology.

We’ll explain here why you shouldn’t become a slave to the colour wheel, and what to keep in mind when crafting your unique colour palette.

Shattering perceptions: The nuance of colour psychology

There are 4 fundamental factors that need to be considered against these “universal” truths of colour psychology, in order to help ensure your brand colour palette is compiled with the right attention to detail:

• Experience
• Context
• Culture
• Individuality

Experience

What’s your favourite colour? Why is it your favourite?

Most people have a clear answer to this question. A colour that just clicks with them for whatever reason. Likewise, you probably have a colour or two that you just can’t stand, and wouldn’t want around you in any circumstances.

Unsurprisingly, this may play a big factor in the products you buy and the brands you form relationships with. We will naturally gravitate towards those bearing a colour that we like, and consciously avoid those with colours we find displeasing.

There’s nothing brands can do about this – it’s just an indicator that people’s attitudes towards colour can be highly subjective, so always take colour theory with a pinch of salt.

Context

While we may associate colours with particular thoughts and feelings today, that doesn’t mean we will always see them in this light. Attitudes towards colours can change significantly over time, placing them in an entirely different context.

A frequently cited example is that pink, commonly referred to as a feminine colour, was once perceived as a masculine shade due to it deriving from red. Subsequently, blue was viewed as the more feminine hue, linked to its association with The Virgin Mary.

This shows that context is crucial, and it’s vital that you don’t become too closely tied to “conventional” colour theories that you ignore any changes in the landscape around you.

Culture

Did you know that in China, red is a colour closely associated with luck and prosperity, while white is a mourning colour, rather than black?

And green is the colour representing love in Hindu culture, instead of the red we associate it with in the Western world.

You’d be forgiven for not considering these when reading some colour psychology guides online, as they are often deeply rooted in the Western perspective. But, as brands extend their reach further across the globe, they need to consider what their colours are projecting to their audiences, and whether this requires a rethink.

For example, when a US chewing gum company entered the Chinese market, their sales were initially very disappointing. The reason? The green wrapping paper they used. Green is a sacred colour in China, so they found more success when they switched the wrappers to be pink instead for this market.

Individuality

An important reason to cut through the lessons taught by colour psychology is one of the core principles of branding – being unique.

If every financial firm chose blue as their core colour, then that would be a pretty dull, uninspiring landscape. All it would take is for someone to add a splash of red or yellow, and they would immediately stand out from the crowd.

Don’t compromise your individuality by chaining yourself too closely to colour psychology guides. While they can offer a general frame of reference to guide you on forming your brand identity, you should recognise when to deviate from the blueprint in order to express the unique personality and values of your organisation.

Top 10 tips for building your brand colour palette

#1 What makes your brand special

First, consider your brand’s unique values and personality – what qualities and characteristics do you want to project through your colour palette?

#2 Refer back to a colour psychology guide

See what colours correlate to these particular values and emotions. While you shouldn’t stick to these rigidly, this can offer inspiration and a solid frame of reference.

#3 Ask your audience for their perspective

How do they want to feel in relation to your product and services? How do you want them to feel? Do they connect to any colours in particular in the other brands they use?

#4 Check out your competition to make sure you stand out

If there is a general trend of a particular colour across your competitiors, what can you do to set your organisation apart, while still expressing your company’s values?

#5 Choose how you want to present colour in branding

Do you lean towards a monochromatic style, pushing a single colour in various shades to push one particular message? Or would you prefer to mix things up with a complementary or triadic approach?

#6 Look over the latest colour trends

See if anything is in vogue moving forward. For instance, in 2021, muted colours and soft pastels are presenting brands as calmer and more reassuring, ideal for the strange time we find ourselves in.

#7 Stick to the 60-30-10 rule

This well-established design approach helps to balance out colours across your brand collateral, and can be an effective way to accentuate your brand’s primary colour.

#8 Collaborate with an expert

If you’re finding it hard to nail down your palette, consider working with an agency or dedicated design team. This expert, third-party collaboration can offer a fresh, outside perspective on what your brand stands for, and how your colours can best project that.

#9 Get feedback and refine

Once you have ideas for your colour palette, user test it as much as you can, both internally and externally. See which combination gets the best positive response from your colleagues and audiences.

#10 And finally…

Remember that there are no concrete rules to define what your brand colours should and shouldn’t be. Put your brand’s identity first, and use this and your research to guide your choices, rather than become too attached to colour psychology.

Exploring colour psychology: What do different colours mean?

While colour psychology shouldn’t be taken as gospel, it’s important to understand the emotions that each colour is said to inspire in the human psyche:

Blue

There’s a reason why blue is the colour most commonly featured in the logos of Fortune 500 companies – it is considered a beacon of reliability. It is the colour most closely associated with diligence, trust and calmness, which is why it is prioritised by many highly professional firms.

Red

Red is another popular colour featured in brand colour palettes, as it is a powerful attention grabber. The colour is closely associated with passion and energy, and its perceived ability to increase appetites mean it is readily employed in the restaurant industry. However, its association with danger and pain can also be seen as a turn-off.

Yellow

Many consider yellow an inspiration for warmth and positivity, as one of the brightest colours and its association to the sun. In this context it is meant to evoke optimism and happiness in consumers – yet it is also closely connected to warning signs and danger in certain circumstances…

Green

Green is a versatile colour. As the colour most closely connected to nature, many employ it as a sign of eco-friendliness, like McDonald’s employed in their rebrand across Europe. In other situations, it is noted for inspiring feelings of health, vitality and security.

Orange

Orange is tied to emotions of excitement, liveliness and dynamism. Because it doesn’t carry the same intensity as red shades, orange is often viewed as more playful and friendly, ideal for brands appealing to younger audiences.

Purple

Due to purple not being commonly seen in nature, it is often used to depict luxury and exclusiveness. Used throughout the years as a marker of wealth and status, brands employ this colour to illustrate a deeper level of quality and maturity across their offering.

Pink

The impression that pink provides is often associated with feelings of calmness, softness and care, quite far removed from the more in-your-face red shades. It has also in recent decades – rightly or wrongly – been considered a more feminine colour.

Brown

As an earthy colour, brown is often closely tied to nature, and the comfort and familiarity that this offers. While often not the most eye-catching colour, this natural reliability often leads to brown being harnessed by food brands.

Black

Black may be viewed as a polarising colour – stable and sophisticated to some, dark and unnerving to others. But it is a staple colour for many brands in one context or another, and is often considered an indicator of quality.

White

Whether it’s a wedding dress or snow falling down, white has always been closely connected to purity. The simplicity and clarity of this colour has made it a go-to for brand’s who want to project that their offering is simple and untainted.

As we noted earlier, colour is one of the key attention-grabbers behind a consumer’s decision to use a brand’s product or service. And the emotions inspired by the colours listed above are grounded in science – the way our brains take in visual information and interpret it naturally inspires some form of emotional response.

However, relying too closely to these perspectives on colour psychology when building your brand colour palette is a dangerous path to travel. While colour can encourage emotional responses, it isn’t a case of colours flipping a switch in customers’ minds – an impression that far too many colour psychology guides seem to present.

Plus, for as much as it is cited, colour psychology is not backed by a ton of qualitative research, and can sometimes clash with other interpretations. 

The conflict surrounding yellow is a clear sign of this. While it is linked to the release of Serotonin in the brain, encouraging people to feel more optimistic and happy, other research links it to feelings of frustration and anger, judging by the belief babies cry more in yellow rooms.

Applying colour psychology appropriately

We hope this has given you a greater insight into brand colour psychology, from the emotions most closely associated with various colours, to why you should always take these studies with a pinch of salt.

One thing that is undeniable is the importance of colour in branding, and the impression this gives to consumers. While there are no hard-and-fast rules to how you choose to present your brand, your colours will go a long way in how people perceive and recall your brand. 

So, do the research and trialling required to find the ideal colour(s) for your organisation, and apply these consistently throughout your branding.

Consistency is at the core of BAM by Papirfly™. Our platform’s customisable, intelligent templates enable you to lockdown on your defined colour palette, ensuring there is no chance of assets being created that go against your brand’s unique identity.

Discover the faster, simpler and more cost-effective way to own your brand like never before by arranging your demo today.