Facebook’s New Advertising Policy Forces Companies to Improve Customer Service
Facebook’s New Advertising Policy Forces Companies to Improve Customer Service
Facebook has put a new policy in motion to fight against yet another form of advertising abuse in an effort to prevent “bad shopping experiences,” and to avoid consumer frustrations with the Facebook platform. Users will now be surveyed on their experience if, after clicking on a Facebook Ad, they purchase something. If a business continues to receive poor reviews, Facebook could potentially limit or even ban that company from advertising on their platform in the future.
What Does This Mean For Advertisers?
Well, some businesses may see this new policy as a negative, but in reality, this can be an opportunity for companies to improve their customer service and operations. Many organizations may think they are currently serving their customers well, from their perspective, but fail to really analyze their internal processes from their customers’ point of view. That’s why it’s so important that marketing extends from the first customer touchpoint through the entire customer journey and relationship with your brand.
Think Ahead: Marketing Beyond the Ad
At Linx, our Strategic Advisory services approach marketing in a holistic way that includes a deep-dive into every client’s operations and processes – the root of the customer experience. By analyzing and restructuring organizations for optimal marketing success, we are building the foundation for memorable and enjoyable brand experiences that lead to customer retention and brand loyalty. And, your operations and processes must change and evolve as your business grows, and as new and changing marketing trends, and customer needs, develop.
So, Will The New Policy Affect Your Brand Negatively Or Positively?
The answer is… it’s up to you! Companies who have adopted an agile culture in today’s ever-changing world are primed to continuously improve their customer experience and grow their business. These are the brands who are listening to and communicating with their customers, personalizing their experiences and engaging them in more than just their products or services. Companies that are not doing this are risking the retention of customers to those who are!
New Television Audience Data Can Help Marketers Fine-Tune Targeted Ads
Recent research has identified market trends regarding target audiences and the television shows they watch. This information can be leveraged by marketers to help determine where they should place digital campaign ads, while providing the opportunity for marketers to now target and engage with audiences they had not previously targeted.
Marketers can now evaluate data and see if there is a discrepancy between audience search demographics and who is actually tuning into specific television shows. Brands can take this data and fine-tune their targeting with television ads ensuring that they target consumers by advertising to specific interests. Conversely, television show producers will be able to use this information to convert audience that is ready for engagement into viewers.
Here is a sampling of the insights that initial research revealed:
- Home improvement shows tend to draw a 45 and over female audience with an income over $50k. The HGTV show Flip or Flop attracts a 45 and over female audience, with an income of $50-150k who have an interest in celebrity news, restaurants and home furnishings.
- Dramas attracted females primarily in the age range of 18-34. Specifically the NBC show This Is US attracted females ages 18-34, with an income over $100k who have an interested in television, face and body care and travel. Meanwhile the Fox show Empire attracted females, ages 18-34 who made less than$50k and had an interest in shopping, television, and face and body care.
- Late-night television attracts male viewers ages 18-44 with an average income of over $50k. Research confirms that Conan O’Brien’s show has an 18-44 male audience, with an income of $50k-150k, who have an interest in sports, colleges and television.
- Comedies are indexed to 18-34 year old viewers with less than $50k income yearly. Research indicates that The Big Bang Theory of CBS has an 18-24 and 55+ male and female audience, with an income of less than $50k and an interest in television, humor and physics. The ABC show Black-ish draws an primarily female, 18-34 audience who have an income of less than $50k, and an interest in television, face and body care and colleges.
- Crime shows attract more males than females, ages 18-44 with a higher income, typically over $100k. Research indicates that the CBS show NCIS has a male and female audience, ages 18-44, with an income over $100k, and an interest in travel, face and body care and colleges.
- Research indicates that reality television shows tend to attract an 18-34 year old, female audience with an income of less than $50k. The popular ABC show The Bachelor has a female audience ages 25-34 and 45-64 with an income of $100-150k, with an interest in television, celebrity news and restaurants.
Marketers that has access to this sort of research can see where discrepancies lie in initial demographics when placing ads and can adjust their marketing plans to place ads where they will be more likely to reach their target audience. These insights will subsequently help marketers create better content, design the ads to best sell their product and convert potential buyers into customers.
Marketers that has access to this sort of research can see where discrepancies lie in initial demographics when placing ads and can adjust their marketing plans to place ads where they will be more likely to reach their target audience. These insights will subsequently help marketers create better content, design the ads to best sell their product and convert potential buyers into customers.
Think Ahead™ 50 Years
Inspiration Appears in the Most Unusual Places
Have you ever been struck with a genius thought while in the shower? Maybe for you, it’s while you’re taking a leisurely walk, or playing with your kids or grandkids. Perhaps you came up with your newest product or service while doing something that had nothing to do with work at all?
Harvard psychologist Shelley H. Carson, author of “Your Creative Brain,” says that little distractions can actually be a good thing when it comes to creativity. She explains that interruptions and diversions can lead to a creative “incubation period.”
While visiting a client on a recent business trip to California, I experienced what Carson would describe as a creative “incubation period”. While walking through Golden Gate Park in San Francisco with my son, I began to notice artwork and other exhibits promoting the Summer of Love Experience in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
As I walked, I noticed street signs comparing 1967 to 2017. This caused me to pause and reflect back, thinking about the original Summer of Love and the changes the world has seen over the course of 50 years. As I continued to read the street signs I started to notice a trend – though the specific group, community or cause changed over the years, the root of each of these causes remained the same. Social justice, equality, health care, connectivity, personal identity – all of these causes are just as important today as they were 50 years ago – they’re just known by new name. Or from a marketing perspective – they’ve been rebranded.
Which upon reflection brought me back to where the company I founded, Linx, finds ourselves right now – in the middle of a rebranding of our own. We’re giving ourselves a facelift after 22 years in business, as the third generation of our family business begins to lead the company. Because of this and the timing of the Summer of Love experience, my creative incubation period shifted into hyper-drive. Re-branding your image forces you to really evaluate your brand and tests you to make sure you truly know what your company’s core values are and if they can stand the test of time.
During our rebranding our core values will remain the same as they have for the last 22 years. Some of our core values at Linx are:
- We are trusted advisors to our clients
- We adapt faster than the speed of change
- We are accountable to each other’s success and personal growth
- We simplify complexities to maximize communications
- Our financial and personal success are inextricably linked to the results we achieve for our clients
Think Ahead™
Companies with a strong foundation are the ones who last through generations because they recognize that while times change, the root of what your company stands for won’t. Before you even consider re-branding, the first thing you need to do is stop and evaluate your brand as it stands right now.
As I mentioned, the foundational elements of your brand should never change. Look at companies that have stood the test of time – Pepsi, Apple, Target and Burberry for example – and take note of the fact that their core messaging never changes.
For example, over the years Pepsi has acquired various additional brands, expanding their product line and changed their look – but their mission has remained the same. Pepsi purposed themselves to remain relevant with each upcoming generation with advertising campaigns that have evolved throughout the years – first with their Pepsi Generation campaign in 1963 followed by the sub-sequential “The Choice of the Next Generation” and “GenerationNext” campaigns.
A successful brand stands for something fundamental – this bedrock principle must show up at every turn and with every product and service offered. Without strong emotional connections your brand won’t have any traction. Successful brand positioning rejects following the masses and conformity and stands out from the crowd. It stays the same while simultaneously evolving with the changing cultural tide over time.
So how is this accomplished?
At Linx, we’ve been changing the way organizations see the world… and how the world sees them for the past 20 years. But today we’re simplifying our value by helping companies… “Think Ahead™ ”. We recognize that change is guaranteed, which means we need to help our clients stay ahead of it. Typically, a new technology or product is introduced and people are forced to waste valuable time playing catch up to learn how to optimize that change within their company. By default they follow a formula where change drives learning. We have discovered however, that learning must be done at a pace equal to or greater than the rate of change. In other words L≥C. This allows for faster adoption of change and accelerated growth opportunities.
50 Years from Now?
Back to Haight Ashbury. As we are processing through our own rebranding, encountering the Summer of Love Experience forced me to ask myself what the world was going to look like 50 years from now?
Surely social justice, equality, affordable health care, connectivity and personal identity would be just as relevant as it is today, but by what parameters? What challenges will we be facing regarding healthcare or social justice? Who or what will be the new hipster? Is it a word that we’ve even created yet? What about equality or civil rights? With the rise of AI technology, will we find ourselves petitioning for equal rights for them, or will it be for someone or something entirely different?
We may not know these answers yet, but I feel it is our responsibility to begin considering them. Many companies put their trust in us to recognize the upcoming shifts in the market and anticipate new trends before they happen. Which means as a strategic marketing agency – our team must be ready to usher in these changes.
What’s Your Take?
So we decided to ask the question. What will these signs say 50 years from now? We want to hear from the masses. So this summer in honor of the Summer of Love, we will be surveying people across the country asking them this very question.
Please participate in our survey… pass it around and share it and we’ll report back out on the top choices society envisions the world will look like in 2067.
The Future of Your Brand Starts Here
As you and your team begin to ponder how to ensure the relevance of your brand in the near and distant future, remember that the team that stays ahead of change is most able to help you see the future as it will most likely occur, giving you and your company new and significant grow strategies to meet the needs of your customers today… and tomorrow!
Take our survey here.
A Summer of Linx – Our Summer Interns are Hard at Work!
This summer we are pleased to welcome three new faces to our office. Duad, Miles and Zoe have joined our Linx team as a part of our summer internship program!
The interns will spend the summer months working with our marketing, production and design teams to help develop new campaigns and work on existing campaigns as well. Each intern has been placed within our existing teams, and already they are making impactful contributions to our projects. As they continue to work with our teams, they are gaining real-time, real-world experience, while being mentored by some of the industry’s best talent.
Our clients benefit from our internship program with the added value of having a fresh set of eyes looking at their projects from an outsider’s perspective. As with anything, a fresh outlook can often bring exciting, new insight to a project. Our interns bring with them their fresh viewpoints, skill-sets and at times, new technologies they are learning about in school. They keep us young and “hip” and help us take our clients even further than before. We are excited to see what they will bring to the table this summer!
The Future of Video Advertising
The future of video advertising is upon us, with the emergence of a shorter, more concise video format.
The Six Second Video is Upon Us.
Back in January at a six-second hackathon at Sundance hosted by Google, the new format of utilizing the six-second video in advertising has picked up. Both Fox and Facebook have announced their decision to get on board with this format and YouTube has seen brands begin to feature these mini clips calling them “bumper ads”.
Google recently tested over 300 bumper ads, with results indicating that 9 out of 10 drove a significant lift in ad recall and 61% raised brand awareness. These short ads are being used to drive upper-funnel goals like ad recall and awareness. This cost effective approach ensure you can reach your target audience and ensure your message is heard.
These ads can be shown on their own, or paired with a campaign to increase deliverable reach and frequency. Larger companies like Michelin are getting on board with the six-second ad, and testing this new format to measure its success.
Michelin is able to utilize this video format to continue their goal to reach younger demographics – chasing after the elusive Millennials and Generation Z age groups who are known for having shorter attention spans.
For marketers, the six-second ads forces brands to be more specific and focused, there’s no room for excess information and only the most important information. Stories are told in a successive format or through a series, driving customers to come back for more. Facebook also announced in June that they were going to work on their own six-second ad game during their second-quarter earnings call.
Overall, these ads are short on time, but not short on impact.
With technology constantly changing our team has to be ready to take on new challenges for our clients. We recognize that we have to be ahead of the curve, which is why we are always Thinking Ahead. At Linx, we know that learning must be done at a rate greater than or equal to change so when the market shifts and the six-second video emerges, we’re ready for it. We are driving our clients not only understand new marketing approaches like the six-second video, but work with them to utilize these approaches to make their brand thrive.
As we move into the fourth quarter of the year, it’s time to consider your marketing strategy for the coming year and what will be a part of it. Should your business incorporate the six-second video in your marketing plan? Is this format right for your business? These are questions we can help answer as you build your 2018 strategy. Give us a call today.
Summer of Love Press Release Featured on PR Web
We are pleased to announce that our press release discussing our celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love and our own rebranding at Linx has been featured on PR Web.
It’s been 50 years since the original Summer of Love, and to celebrate we are asking people to let us know what they believe America will look like in 50 years. We are looking to have 1 million people respond to our survey and join us in Thinking Ahead to 2067!
If you haven’t already, you can take our survey by visiting www.linx.com/thinkaheadsurvey. Please share this link with you family, friends and colleagues and don’t miss out on this opportunity to be a part of history.
The full press release can be viewed here.
To read the full story behind the survey you can visit our CEO’s blog and read his post here.
Linx Helps Client Celebrate 30 Years of Innovation and Thought Leadership
Linx was excited and honored to help our client, VJ Group, a global leader in x-ray inspection solutions, celebrate 30 years of innovation and thought leadership by planning, producing, managing and promoting “The Future of NDT Symposium” that took place near their headquarters in New York, USA, October 12th – 14th.
The symposium provided the opportunity for the company’s leaders, employees, partners, and customers to come together to look at how technology will impact the NDT industry and the world in the next 30 years and beyond.
Linx worked with VJ Group to create a theme around the event that captured the thought leadership and forward-thinking essence of the brand, complete with imagery and messaging around their newest cutting edge technologies. Planning and managing everything from the email invites to the registration process, and the day-of production to the PR, we were able to witness the event transform from an idea into a milestone for the company and its partners and friends.
Over the length of the 3-Day event – including a networking social, technical presentations from worldwide industry leaders, facility tours, a celebration dinner, and even entertainment and NYC activities – we heard stories from the past 30 years about how VJ Group was started, the heritage of the brand and the vision for the future. It is this emotion that sparks our interest and fuels our passion as we work with our clients to help them communicate their brand’s story to their clients and the world. And, as our clients share with us their visions of the future, we Think Ahead to help them make that vision a reality.
After the event, we developed and presented an analysis document that allowed us to understand the areas of improvement for the next event and we sent a post-event survey to all the attendees to gauge their feedback and ratings. Overall, the event was a huge success!
What happens when you pull your brand out of branded content?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PULL YOUR BRAND OUT OF BRANDED CONTENT?
SEPTEMBER 11, 2017ADVERTISING, BUSINESS, MARKETING, MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA, STRATEGY, UNCATEGORIZEDNO COMMENTS
If you pulled your brand out of your branded content what quality of content are you left with? A strong narrative with a solid story to tell, or a weak sales pitch that isn’t going to catch any potential customer’s attention?
As you ponder this question, take a look at some of your favorite ads and see what happens. For example, if you were to pull a brand name like Delta, Nike or Apple out of one of their latest ads, their content (should) still carry a strong narrative and tell a captivating story. Inserting their brand name into that content should then serve to strengthen that narrative, rather than take away from it. Branded content is increasingly more important because young audiences no longer want to be sold to; they want genuine ads and a reason to connect with your brand. This requires marketers to re-evaluate their approach when writing content.
Brands must learn how to resonate with their audiences in a new way, whether utilizing new video approaches (like the six-second video), social media, retargeting ads or emails – audiences need to make an emotional connection with brands before committing to them.
Your content matters, the intention behind your content matters, as does the story you tell and the voice you use. Being a storyteller requires marketers and brands to think ahead, looking to what consumers are looking for both now and what they will want. It requires your story to constantly stay ahead of the curve, learning how to utilize new technologies and leverage them with their marketing attempts. In this instance, when pulling you brand from your content is necessary to accurately sell a narrative you have to know how to tell the story through the written and visual content. Content is still king, but in today’s world it doesn’t always look the same.
The quality of your content measures the level of your success, which means you need to make sure your content can stand on it’s own two legs. We understand the power of good content and how impactful it is for converting customers.
Linx helps CMF launch new program; Heroes with Heart
Being hospitalized can be scary for anyone, but for a young child it can be traumatizing. That’s why the Children’s Medical Fund works tirelessly every day to bring a smile to the faces of these young patients and their families. Here at linx communications we are excited to launch a new program with our longtime client, Children’s Medical Fund to bring some a happiness and fun to children’s hospitals across Long Island.
The program, Heroes with Heart, is a very unique opportunity in which hospitalized children get to meet their favorite superheroes and have a well-deserved day of fun! These children deal with difficult circumstances every day, which is why we felt it was important to help put a smile on their faces and remind them that they’re not alone in their fight.
This August kicked off the first Heroes with Heart event at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and it was beyond successful. Six superheroes, including Spiderman, Iron Man and Wonder Woman visited Cohen Children’s Medical Center “Patient Party”, interacted with the kids and their families, partook in activities such as games and crafts, took pictures and brought carts full of super hero toys. The children, their parents and families could not stop smiling; they enjoyed every second of the event.
We were able to attend the kickoff event and watch Heroes With Hearts turn into a reality, which was an incredible experience. Being able to see the program in action and witness its success was more then we could have ever imagined.
The Heroes with Heart program would have not been achieved without the help of the generous sponsors that supported this amazing idea and helped make the kick-off event at Cohens Children’s Hospital extremely impacting and memorable. Rubie’s Costume Company donated six super hero costumes for our volunteers to wear as well as donating over 100 children’s costumes for the children to wear on Halloween, this left the children ecstatic. On the day of the event 1Motion Media helped capture all the smiles and fun had by all the children with video production. Overall, here at Linx we are extremely happy with the results the kick- off event. We look forwards to helping CMF launch Heroes with Heart in children’s hospitals across Long Island.
If you would love to learn more or are interesting in donating to Heroes with Heart program, donation options and additional information can be found at http://www.cmfny.org/introducing-heros-with-heart/.
Linx revamps newest client Creme Allure’s branding
Linx’s newest client, Crème Allure, a Gourmet Ice Cream and Ice Cream Gifts retailer, came to us in need of new marketing strategy that would help them accomplish their goals of growing their online business. When they came to us, their website and outreach materials did not accurately represent their brand and unique product offerings.
We started with the company’s branding and positioning to help them elevate their brand look and feel and elevate their brand positioning. With some upgrades to the logo and brand color scheme, we were able to take Crème Allure to the next level.
Next, we created what we call a “mood board” to help us outline the look, feel and inspiration that captures the essence of Crème Allure’s brand. This document then becomes the foundation for all artwork and creative production that we develop.
The next undertaking was the website. As part of the marketing plan Linx created for them, we completely renovated their website to emulate their friendly, bold, fun, and quirky brand persona. But it was more than just a design issue. After analyzing the current user behavior data and online store paths, we discovered that there weremajor flaws in the structure of the UX/UI (user experience/user interface). Like many of our strategies for e-commerce companies, we had to bring the customer to the center of our efforts to create a user-friendly online shopping experience. Part of this strategy included an interactive custom product builder that allows customers to build their own dessert platters and baskets on the website!
While the website is currently in development, we are now preparing our strategies for outreach programs to promote the new website and drive traffic and online sales. A big part of this approach will be social media advertising and promotional tie-ins that the company had not been executing before.
As we help grow the business our goals will lead to enabling Crème Allure to create new distribution channels, better engage with customers tobuild brand loyalty, gain new customers, and ultimately expand their business nationwide.