Category: Paid Social

Moderna’s Influencer Strategy: Redefining Healthcare Marketing Success

Posted on by Coegi

Overcoming Challenges in Healthcare Marketing: Moderna’s Pandemic Response

In 2023, as the world continued to navigate the lingering challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread COVID fatigue set in, with many people growing weary of and resistant to pandemic-related discussions. This shift, compounded by intense competition in the healthcare and pharmaceutical space from a well-funded rival, presented a significant challenge for Moderna as it sought to promote its groundbreaking vaccine, Spikevax, and boost vaccination rates – especially among high-risk individuals.

To navigate these challenges and outpace the competition, Moderna partnered with Coegi, combining their cutting-edge healthcare solutions with our innovative, influencer-driven marketing strategies, tailored for the healthcare industry.

Crafting a Community-Centric Strategy for Healthcare Engagement

Recognizing the critical importance of authenticity and relevance in the healthcare and pharma space, we crafted a strategy that went beyond traditional, promotional messaging. Our approach was centered on connecting with communities to build trust and empower our audience to make Spikevax a routine choice in preventive healthcare. We did this by engaging with influencers who were not just voices, but vital members of the communities we wished to reach.

Leveraging Influencers to Transform Healthcare Marketing Campaigns

Our agency team worked closely with the client to identify the right mix of 150 creators, each representing one of our purposeful persona communities. These collaborations helped us establish the #SpikevaxPartner Community, a groundbreaking healthcare influencer marketing campaign that effectively utilized nano and micro-influencers, setting a new standard in pharma marketing. By leveraging unique personas that resonated with Moderna’s distinct micro-communities, we delivered messages that were more than just heard – they were deeply felt, creating meaningful connections with our audience. We also amplified the strongest content on paid media channels to extend the impact of the authentic Spikevax messaging.

Data-Driven Optimizations: Measuring Success in Healthcare Campaigns

We implemented a comprehensive measurement strategy to assess the quality and impact of our media beyond standard platform metrics, enabling real-time optimizations. We utilized Attention Unit Scoring to gauge the lift in audience attention our content drove and script lift analysis to correlate vaccinations with exposure to influencer media. Additionally, we paired this with audience analysis of emotional response to and intensity perception of the content to predict long-term brand growth and short-term sales effects.

Setting New Benchmarks in Healthcare Marketing Results

The #SpikexaxPartner community led to significant increases in brand awareness, market share, and public engagement, including:

  • Helping drive nearly 24% of all US vaccine conversions
  • Delivering over 503 million impressions across organic and paid channels that surpassed the attention score benchmark by 9%
  • Surpassing engagement rate goals by 484% while also driving nearly 72,000 Spikevax page visits
  • And most notably, driving strong business impact with Spikevax’s market share increasing 23% YoY

Leading the Future of Healthcare Communication Through Innovation

Our innovative approach and strategic partnerships paved the path for new standards in health and community-based communication. Visit coegipartners.com or follow us on our social channels to learn how our breakthrough solutions can benefit your brand. 

5 Social Advertising Trends for 2024

Posted on by Allie Haupt

Advancements in technology and evolving consumer behavior are continuously shaping the social media landscape, presenting brands with an opportunity to evolve alongside the consumer to meet brand goals.

Users are no longer looking to social platforms as only a way to connect with friends, but rather as a mechanism for shopping, searching, and enjoying entertainment.

So what should your brand focus their social media strategy on? Keep reading to discover our top five social media trends for 2024 and tips on how to effectively incorporate them into your strategy.

Social Media Trend #1: Growth of Influencer Marketing

Investment in influencer marketing is expected to see strong growth in the next few years due to its effectiveness in building trust and authenticity for your brand. In 2024, there will be an increased focus on leveraging short-form UGC videos, testing out generative AI, and mindfully selecting creators that foster a diverse and representative social media community. 

What You Need to Know:

Influencer Marketing Tips:

  • Establish clear goals and measurable KPIs before selecting a content creator. For example, if your influencer marketing goal is to drive increased engagement, select a creator that has a loyal and highly engaged audience.
  • Collaborate with content creators that align with your brand’s tone and have a follower community with interests that match your product or service offering.

To learn more about tap into creators for your marketing strategy, check out Coegi’s guide to influencer marketing. 

Social Media Trend #2: Paid Subscription Models

Global governments are continuing to hold social platforms accountable for adhering to user privacy regulations. With the increased regulations, social platforms are looking for solutions to maintain an optimal user experience, including offering paid monthly subscriptions for users to opt out of ads. 

What You Need to Know:

Paid Subscription Model Tips:

  • Influencer marketing is going to become important in a paid subscription model since the content will not be categorized as an ad. Use this time to start honing your influencer marketing strategy to learn what works best for your brand.
  • Organic social will be another effective way to reach users in an ad-free environment. Focus your efforts on building your brand’s following across social media platforms and learning what content resonates well with your core audience.
  • While the development of paid subscription models is currently focused on the EU market, other markets may follow. Be sure to keep up-to-date on the latest platform releases.

Social Media Trend #3: Generative AI

AI had a large impact on the marketing industry in 2023 and is expected to continue with increased momentum in 2024 as social platforms continue rolling out AI features. From AI chatbots directly integrated within the platforms to audio generation tools, the way users and marketers engage with social media will be in a constant state of change.

What You Need to Know:

  • Due to strong user engagement with Snapchat’s My AI, the platform is looking for ways to leverage the chatbot to boost advertising.
  • Meta released two Generative AI tools for audio creation – AudioCraft to create audio and music from a text prompt, and Voicebox to assist with editing audio.
  • Meta AI is a virtual assistant – including 28 familiar individuals, such as Snoop Dog and Kendall Jenner, that users can interact with across Meta platforms.

Generative AI Tips:

  • Generative AI is going to elevate the importance of brand’s maintaining authenticity. As deepfakes and AI assistants circulate across social platforms, users will look to brands to be a source of truth and familiarity.
  • Create internal guidelines and policies for the usage of AI to ensure it is being used ethically and responsibly.
  • Read our article – Do’s and Don’ts of Using Generative AI for Creative – for more information on how to effectively use AI.

Social Media Trend #4: Social Platforms Utilized as a Search Engine

Social media platforms continue to serve a dual purpose, namely among younger users, to connect and engage with friends and to utilize as a search engine for finding products and services. This shift in consumer behavior should be accounted for when planning your marketing strategy.

What You Need to Know:

Social Search Tips:

Social Media Trend #5: AR/VR Advancements

Gone are the days of one-dimensional internet usage as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology advancements are spurring an “immersive internet.” Users are seeking a more engaging experience across the web and social platforms, giving brands an opportunity to better meet their audiences’ needs and preferences.

What You Need to Know: 

AR/VR Tips:

  • Leverage Pinterest Try on product pins to enable users to virtually try on products wherever they are, increasing engagement and attention.
  • Meta augmented reality ads create an engaging and unique experience where users test out products and interact with your brand.
  • It’s important to keep your brand’s product catalog on social platforms updated so users can virtually engage with your brand and build affinity.

If you want to discuss how to apply these trends and tips to your marketing strategy in 2024, reach out to schedule a discovery call with the team at Coegi.

Using Multicultural Influencers to Drive Vaccine Consideration for Moderna

Posted on by Coegi

Brief

Moderna was seeking to drive preference for their COVID-19 booster with multicultural consumers by using authentic, relevant creator-driven storytelling. 

Highlights

28%
lift in vaccine consideration

88%
lift in vaccine discussion intent

7.56%
paid engagement rate compared to 1.86% industry benchmark

Challenge

Moderna’s marketing goal was to drive preference for COVID-19 bivalent booster by leveraging their positioning as the disruptive innovation leader in the space. They wanted to establish an enduring preference for their branded products by: 

  • Educating multicultural consumers
  • Growing urgency and 
  • Increasing uptake of the new COVID-19 booster vaccination

To establish this trust, Moderna needed to provide authenticity in its delivery when communicating with its multicultural audiences. We felt this would be best accomplished through influencer marketing. 

Solution

A key opportunity identified by the Coegi team was that 15.1M people within target DMAs primarily spoke Spanish. To deliver an authentic message, our aim was to support Spanish speakers’ health journeys while driving business impact for the pharmaceutical tech brand. We focused on utilizing booster messaging that was not only in Spanish, but content that was more culturally relevant. 

In order to speak to a Spanish speaking audience, we needed to learn about them in more detail. We started this process by leveraging data technology and intelligence platform, Resonate. Coegi placed an audience learning pixel across digital placements to learn about the Spanish speaking audience and their online behaviors. 

We collaborated with Moderna to identify the top US DMAs by vaccine data in combination with the highest indexing DMAs for Spanish speakers. In doing so, we were able to blend a demographic and geographic targeting strategy in an effort to build trust and affinity with a Spanish speaking audience. 

Coegi carried out a rigorous process to identify a varied mix of macro to micro influencers to generate authentic stories. These influencers were diverse – ranging from health content focused, healthcare workers to the average, lifestyle influencer.  But all were unified by sharing a value of preventative health and translating why vaccination against Covid-19 is important to them. Throughout the campaign, our team partnered with 13 influencers and delivered content to 15M Spanish-speaking individuals across the country.

We asked each creator to generate three pieces of content that authentically communicated the power and benefits of Moderna’s COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster. Focusing on compliance while building the highest level of interest, relatability, and trust, we requested that the messaging of each piece answered these three questions:

  • Why is COVID-19 still relevant?
  • Why get vaccinated or boosted?
  • Why trust this brand’s product?

Results

Our influencer content performed well through multiple measurement perspectives. The content outperformed influencer benchmarks with some of our influencer content going viral – one piece of content earned a total reach of 414,000 which exceeded the influencer’s follower count by 2,000%. 

Coegi also leveraged a post-campaign brand lift study to measure more advanced impact learnings. According to the study, our influencer content delivered a 28% lift in vaccine consideration and a 88% lift in discussion intent, outperforming the Kantar benchmark by 4x. 

Organic Influencer Content

  • 1,447,404 Impressions
  • 732,297 Reach
  • 13,686 Engagements 
  • 6.36% Engagement Rate

Paid Influencer Content

  • 16,942,764 Impressions
  • 13,185,622 Reach 
  • 1,617,533 Post Engagements
  • 7.56% Engagement Rate vs 1.86% industry benchmark 
  • 2.28% Estimated Ad Recall Lift 
  • $5.25 Average CPM vs $8.75 industry benchmark

Key Learnings

We attribute a lot of our success to the authentic and real content created by our partnered influencers. The healthcare and pharmaceutical vertical poses many challenges. But with our focus on producing genuine, authentic messages for the Spanish speaking audience in the United States, we were able to provide engaging content in a form this audience could relate with.  

To learn more, check out Coegi’s guide to influencer marketing. 

The Ultimate TikTok Advertising Strategy Guide

Posted on by Nicole Mackenzie

Interested in TikTok advertising campaigns? That’s no surprise to us. When you consider the massive influence it has on purchasing decisions and behaviors or the incredible time spent on the platform each day, most brands should at least consider having some presence on TikTok.

After reigning as the most downloaded app globally for multiple years, TikTok’s global ad revenue is expected to reach $15 billion in 2023, per a WARC Media report – despite the legal privacy battles and active bans taking place. 

So, What Type of Brands Should Advertise on TikTok?

Beauty, clothing, and food and beverage brands are natural fits for TikTok. Users are able to directly see these products in use, in real time. This reduces the risk of physically investing in and trying out a new product, and builds consumer excitement around new offerings. 

Other industries – from healthcare to travel to sports to finance and technology – can also thrive on TikTok. Why? Because short-form video allows the user to go on a journey. They can visually see travel destinations first hand, view highlights from a sporting event, or hear directly how a product or service changed someone’s life for the better. That can be very persuasive.

At Coegi, we’ve also seen unprecedented success with higher education brands using TikTok to reach college students. You can view one of our case studies here.

Ultimately, TikTok advertising should be considered for nearly every brand. But be sure to check platform guidelines and restrictions, especially for regulated industries and sensitive audience groups.

The 8 Most Important Elements for a Successful TikTok Advertising Strategy

TikTok advertising provides a unique opportunity to engage with potential customers in a highly authentic way. However, strategies that have proven successful on other social platforms won’t necessarily shine on TikTok. It’s important to understand how to adapt your approach to messaging and content to cater to the platform. 

Use these eight key elements to craft a successful TikTok advertising strategy:

#1 – Define your purpose for advertising on TikTok

Enter TikTok with a clear understanding of why your brand is there. 

  • Know what you want to tell consumers
  • Understand what they value and are interested in
  • Learn what kind of messaging they are receptive to 

Without these things in mind, your message may be miscommunicated or lost (the TikTok algorithm can be unforgiving). 

#2 – Partner with relevant creators to build trust

Creators are a priceless resource when it comes to reaching your audience authentically on TikTok. Also, contrary to popular belief, influencer marketing can also drive lower-funnel results, be accessible for all budgets, and be useful for any industry vertical. Micro and nano influencers are especially important on TikTok to boost your brand affinity within niche sub-cultures. 

Some of the core benefits of partnering with TikTok creators include: 

  • Finding engaged followers in specific interest groups
  • Extending organic reach 
  • Learning from their individual platform expertise and trend knowledge
  • Highlighting native-appearing content creation

Check out Coegi’s influencer marketing guide for tips on finding the best creator partners for your brand. 

#3 – Keep creative content casual

Nothing turns users away from a TikTok ad quicker than disruptive ads that feel out of place and display a blatant lack of understanding of trends. The brands driving positive engagement on TikTok are creating sponsored content that looks and feels organic. This is why, per Statista, “Almost 15% of TikTok users struggle to distinguish between advertising and other content.” 

Following these tips from TikTok on  creating authentic branded content: 

  • Go lo-fi (avoid glossiness)
  • Shoot vertical and hi-res
  • Feature real people 
  • Use sound
  • Use TikTok-specific editing techniques
  • Have a narrative
  • Adopt category and vertical norms

In summary, design creatives to seamlessly fit into the ‘For You’ page – don’t be afraid to embrace trends, use humor, or insert your brand into the latest trending sounds or challenges. 

#4 – Encourage audience participation to build community

Authentic community participation is mandatory on TikTok. Brands that only post ads and are not effectively engaging with their audience are missing out on a key benefit of the platform. 

TikTok actively promotes the use of user-generated content (UGC) for brand/creator collaborations. In 2023, they added the ‘Branded Mission’ crowdsourcing platform which enables brands to request UGC submissions from creators to then select and use for TikTok ad campaigns. 

Lean into community-building on TikTok by: 

  • Devoting time to stay in touch with the platform and observe patterns and trends
  • Crafting genuine, on-brand replies to user comments, even looking to these comments to inspire future content 
  • Being approachable as possible to establish a brand rapport 

#5 – Test and learn to refine your TikTok advertising strategy

Dive into TikTok Business Analytics to track which type of content performs best. This is especially useful when trying new tactics or A/B testing messaging to determine what works and what doesn’t. Play around with the style, format, and timing of posts to see which combinations gain the most engagement. 

You should also use audience analytics to understand who your content is reaching. TikTok’s targeting parameters are relatively broad, so this data can provide a better view of who is actually seeing and engaging with your brand. 

#6 – Find your TikTok niche

TikTok’s algorithm is an infamous and mysterious formula that serves content to a user based on their interests and previous engagements. If an individual likes, shares and comments on videos about parenting and gardening, for instance, they’ll continue to see content around those topics of interest. 

TikTok suggests, “Embrace communities and their subcultures—that’s where true inspiration lives. 76% of users say they like it when brands are a part of special interest groups on TikTok.” There are endless sub-cultures such as “book tok”, “mom tok” and “gym tok” which brands can tap into. 

tiktok advertising strategy
Source: Social Media Today

Tailor your content to the niche interests of your target audience, down to the captions, sounds and hashtags.

#7 – Optimize for TikTok search

The ability to find quick, useful information through video, paired with TikTok’s algorithmic power to keep users in-app creates, makes TikTok the perfect search engine for the next generation. 

“40% of Gen-Z uses TikTok as a visual search engine.”

Leaning into the social search trend, TikTok expanded the description field to 2,000 characters to allow more in-depth, keyword-rich content. They are also linking keywords from user comments to search results for greater relevance. 

To find relevant keywords and in-app trends, explore the TikTok Keyword Insights Tool. Then, optimize your video descriptions, brand page, and hashtags around key search terms and queries.

Source: TikTok Keyword Insights Tool

Lean into TikTok Shops

E-commerce is booming on TikTok (just look at the top keywords from the insights tool). The #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend sold out countless products through over 21B video views. 92% of global users take action after watching a video on the platform. Plus, users are 1.5x more likely to immediately buy a product after discovering it on TikTok versus other platforms.  

Explore three of TikTok’s primary ecommerce capabilities: 

  • Product Showcase – Shop directly from a brand or creator account and get access to products within the app
    • Collection Ads: Create a carousel of product cards for your In-Feed Ads featuring your top items. When a user taps, they’ll be brought to a more expansive shopping gallery to browse.
    • Product Links: Make organic videos shoppable with a link driving users to a checkout page of the featured product.
  • Shoppable Videos  – Shop directly from a shoppable in-feed video by tapping the product link & basket icon
    • Dynamic Showcase Ads: Tap into your audience’s interests based on their TikTok activity with dynamically generated video ads.
  • Live Shopping: Show off products in real-time during a TikTok Live and highlight the path to purchase.

Time to Create Your TikTok Advertising Strategy

Successful TikTok advertising can mean different things to each brand. Whether the goal is increased engagement, social buzz, or sales, following these tips will help you move in the right direction. Embrace creativity and innovation to reach your audience in a way that makes a lasting positive impression on the fastest growing social platform. 

Lastly, keep in mind that TikTok is continuously evolving and creating new revenue building opportunities for creators and brands. So, it is vital to keep up with new developments and tools as they are released.  

Looking for a social media agency partner to help set up your next TikTok campaign? Contact Coegi today for a discovery call. 

Building a Brand Performance Strategy for Bread & Butter Wines

Posted on by Coegi

Brief

Coegi partnered with a high-growth wine brand to launch a full-funnel digital campaign to quantify the impact on both brand and performance goals using advanced measurement studies.

 

Highlights

10.6%
Ad Recall Lift

9.1%
Purchase Intent Lift

621%
Site Traffic Lift

Challenge

Bread & Butter Wines came to Coegi in 2020 seeking a stronger marketing strategy to stand apart from the crowd of wine brands. Coegi was asked to provide a holistic, integrated marketing strategy that could reach their full-funnel goals:

  • Drive brand awareness in the US and Canada through emotional connection
  • Via increased brand awareness, drive trial and move brand into selection set within target consumers

Solution

Our targeting strategy reached consumers based on multiple data signals such as demographics, interests, and competitor affinity. This data indicated what was going to drive brand trial. Initially, we created six audience personas to focus on niche competitive opportunities and product use cases. Going into 2023, this was narrowed down to two core personas using purchase behavior data. 

We also used advanced research to understand wine buyers aged 25-54 and living in their top 8 sales states. Using an omni-channel digital strategy, our initial goal was to increase reach and frequency against key audiences. We selected channels offering efficiency and effectiveness, while also balancing lower-funnel ROAS goals. 

Key channels we are prioritizing include: 

  • Influencer and content partnerships to build trust and authenticity
  • Connected TV, display, and Facebook/Instagram to drive reach/frequency and website traffic
  • Instacart, Citrus Ads, and paid search to drive ROAS 

Additionally, we used advanced measurement through Upwave, Facebook, and Nielsen Catalina to understand the full-funnel impact on the brand – from ad recall to purchase intent. 

Throughout our multi-year partnership, we have served billions of cross-channel impressions. In the first three months, we saw a 621% increase in website visitors period over period and 27,000 site actions. 

The first Instacart campaign was especially successful in driving trial, with a nearly 3X ROAS, increasing attributable sales across all varietals. Instacart has continued to have a strong impact. The most recent campaign touts a 4X ROAS, 32% increase in YoY Instacart sales, and an average cost of conversion of $3.73. 

Our campaigns run with Nielsen Catalina were successful at driving incremental value for the brand. The display campaigns helped reclaim former customers with especially strong performance from lost/lapsed customers. The CTV campaign boosted exposure among key audiences and generated $230,101 in sales value of products transferred to their e-commerce cart after seeing an ad. 

The Bread & Butter team continues to be pleased with the Coegi partnership. 

Social Media Marketing for Higher Education Brands

Posted on by Jenny McNamara

Looking for a way to stand out among the sea of colleges and universities competing for the attention of potential students?

Paid social media marketing is one of the most effective tactics you can use for your higher education institute.  

Most higher education marketing plans under-utilize paid social media in favor of more traditional advertising tactics. While these channels can be effective, there is a major opportunity cost in omitting social media channels where potential students are most engaged. 

Social media is a must-have tactic to reach student audiences and revitalize education brands’ market positioning. In this article, you’ll learn Coegi’s key best practices to optimize social media marketing for higher education so you can drive results – from awareness to enrollment. 

Using Social Media to Compliantly Reach Potential Students

Higher education audience targeting strategies can feel fairly prescriptive. Colleges and universities want to reach and engage with prospective students, whether undergraduates, masters, or professional students. This might seem pretty straightforward; however, reaching undergraduate students in a data-driven way is becoming increasingly challenging due privacy laws restricting advertising to minors. 

But, not all hope is lost. The data clearly shows that young adults are highly active on social media. So, while perhaps less frequently targetable by demographics, higher education brands can and should use social platforms to reach these individuals from a contextual standpoint in a compliant and authentic way. 

Tips for Targeting and Resonating with Student Audiences on Social Media

  • Avoid over-segmenting your audience to prevent overlap. For example, an audience of “all prospective students” and an audience of “prospective journalism students” will overlap and compete which will limit performance. 
  • Tailor creative to specific audiences and social media platforms. What performs best on Facebook will be different from what resonates with users on TikTok. 
  • Contextually target student audiences on social media using specific hashtags, TV shows watched, or other relevant interest factors based on research and trends.

Parents are Students Too When It Comes to Vetting Schools (And They’re Also On Social Media)

While paid social media is an excellent tool for reaching young students, focusing solely on students can limit your education campaign’s full potential. Nearly everyone is on social media – not just teens and young adults. Incorporating parents into your audience mix can vastly increase higher education campaign reach and efficacy, whether they are looking into colleges and universities for themselves or on behalf of their children. 

Social media encapsulates a wide demographic range, though the preferred social channel may vary. For example, Facebook and Instagram remain very popular with older generations. Consider leaning into these channels to capture more of your parent and professional student audience.

On the other hand, Snapchat and TikTok have higher usage among younger audiences. By creating a cohesive strategy across multiple social media platforms, you can ensure you’re reaching every potential decision-maker in the school selection process.  

Tips for Advertising to Parents on Social Media 

  • Sprout Social indicates that parents love hearing from other parents. Lean into messaging that focuses on building a community of support and educational resources across social media. 
  • Incorporate parent testimonials or useful statements from school administrators through short-form social media video formats.  
  • Use swipe-thru or animated graphics to highlight job placements, internship rates, and other ways your school can help facilitate their child’s success. 

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment 

Leaning into social media opens the door for innovation within higher education marketing. Young audiences are on the forefront of changes to the social media landscape. This gives higher education advertisers the unique opportunity to test out new tactics and be early movers in the space. Your brand can increase credibility and favorability amongst your key audiences by creating social moments that surprise and engage these individuals.

This also applies to the types of creative you use. Students want to see something engaging and on-trend. TikTok, in particular, is a space to experiment with creative short-form video formats and explore innovative ways to drive leads. Check out these universities who are using TikTok to engage with students: 5 Universities and Colleges Winning on TikTok

Tips for Innovative Higher Education Social Media Campaigns

  • Research current social media trends among your target audience groups and regularly swap creatives to stay fresh and relevant.
  • Try using less formal creative messaging such as meme Reels on Instagram or trending TikTok challenges and hashtags.
  • Ensure your social media ads have a clear call-to-action to lead users towards application. 

Measure the Right Actions

Education brands face a unique challenge with social media marketing because their most critical action, submitted applications, is often not directly measurable. Obstacles, including third-party website domains and pixel data limitations, can complicate attribution. However, there are a number of high-intent actions users can take on your website that are worth measuring in paid social media campaigns. 

First, determine which lower-funnel actions are most important and measurable. Two such examples are clicks to start the application process or clicks to sign up for a campus tour. After determining these KPIs, optimize your social media campaigns for them.

From there, establish a conversion rate between “clicks to apply” and completed applications, for instance. By taking this analysis a step further, education brands can work to create a more complete picture of social media campaign attribution. 

Tips for Measuring Social Media Marketing Success

  • Identify existing data that can inform your measurement baseline. If you can cross reference campus visit button clicks against real campus visit data, you can identify incremental lift attributable to social media ads.
  • Develop data tracking strategies before media launches so you have an accurate picture of performance across the entire social campaign. 
  • Ensure all aspects of your strategy align with key KPIs so your campaigns garner meaningful results. 

Social media marketing for higher education brands offers fresh and engaging opportunities to reach the full spectrum of your target audiences. Think outside the box and explore how your institution can creatively show up on social platforms to drive high-intent actions, while also building greater brand awareness. 

To see some of these strategies in action, view our case study on Using TikTok to Reach College Students.

If you’re looking for a higher education marketing agency partner, contact Coegi today to learn more. 

5 Key Components for Building an Omnichannel Search Strategy

Posted on by Coegi

 

If your search marketing strategy stops at basic Google SEM, you’re missing out on a wealth of opportunity. Paid search is no longer just a straightforward marketing tactic in your media playbook. New technological advancements and shifting consumer behavior are changing the user journey for search.

Sure, Google is a continuously evolving target that requires marketers to dedicate time and energy to evolve with it. But it’s also important to understand the value of leaning into search algorithms on social and e-commerce platforms to promote product discovery. 

So, as search marketing becomes both more multidimensional and omnichannel, how can you use it to your brand’s competitive advantage? 

There are five emerging components of search you can leverage to create a future-proof search marketing strategy:

  1. Social Search
  2. E-Commerce Search
  3. Zero-Click Search
  4. Visual Search
  5. Multisearch

#1 – Social Search

If your goal is to reach new audiences in the Gen Z or Millennial demographics, social media is a must-have component of your search strategy. Social media is Gen Z’s favorite channel to learn about new products, per Semrush survey data. In fact, 28% of Gen Z say the primary way they discover new brands and products is through social media ads versus the 27% who do so through search engines. Even after initial discovery, social media remains the top channel for additional product/service research among both Gen-Z and Millennials. 

Any social platform with a search bar can be a tool for brand discovery. Tap into the search engine optimization elements of social media by implementing a well-researched keyword strategy on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. Develop keywords to promote product discovery and increase conversions, and play to each platform’s unique algorithms. Explore ways to optimize your content – paid or organic – to match what your consumers are looking for. 

Social Search Tip

Optimize everything – your profile description, shopping pages, captions, closed captioning, hashtags, and location – for key search terms. 

#2 – E-Commerce Search

Although search engine marketing is traditionally viewed as a bottom-funnel, conversion-driving tactic, it’s also an excellent tool for initial discovery. What better way to tap into this potential than optimizing for search on e-commerce and retail sites where there is a shorter purchase cycle? 

A MediaPost article reports that, “Amazon, Google, and eBay have become the top three destinations to search for products in the United States.” In fact, 60% of online product searches start on Amazon alone – more than the total of all search engines. Plus, another 35% of consumers start their searches directly on retailer websites. 

Using these platforms, consumers are more likely than ever to discover a product for the first time and immediately purchase it. That’s the beauty of the speed and convenience of e-commerce today. You can tailor your content on shopping channels to rank for product-focused, transactional search queries and drive quick conversions. 

E-Commerce Search Tip

Use the space available on product and brand pages to include a blend of relevant branded and unbranded keywords. This will defend your footprint against competitors and introduce your brand to in-market consumers. 

#3 – Zero-Click Search

Zero-click search refers to search engine queries that do not result in any clicks to other links. Instead, the user is able to find the information they need in the snippets at the top of the search engine results pages. Zero-click search accounts for 25.6% of mobile search queries, per Semrush research. From Google My Business to Rich Answers, brands can provide a wealth of information to consumers without the need for a click, simplifying the user experience.

Google Search Click Thru Rates – Semrush

Let’s address the elephant in the room – losing website traffic sounds like a detriment for brands. So, how do you flip zero-click search to your advantage? Forrester’s 2022 report by Nikhil Lai, Implement Holistic Search Marketing To Win The Search Engine Results Page, states that zero-click search, “challenges marketers who ‘have measured success purely through clicks’ to accurately measure search’s impact, according to Ryan Green, VP of marketing and innovation at Coegi. Without relying on clicks, search practitioners become more like PR directors focused on awareness, visibility, and top-of-funnel strategies.”

So, lean into your content quality. Make sure your technical SEO is optimizing for transactional search queries, and your content and website schema are structured for rich results. If you’re selling a product, you want it to rank in the top Google Shopping results for relevant keywords. Likewise, if you’re trying to rank for informational queries, make sure you have highly useful content on those topics written according to SEO best practices. This will increase your authority and improve your chances of gaining featured snippets. 

Zero-Click Search Tip

Add FAQs on key topics to your website to boost your chances of showing up in Google Rich Answers.  

#4 – Voice Search

Google voice search became available to Android users back in 2012. By 2020, 63% of Americans began using voice assistants in their daily lives – whether it was Siri on iPhones, Cortana on Microsoft devices, Alexa on Amazon Echos, or others (National Public Media, 2020). Today, we are seeing an even greater consumer adoption of connected devices for voice search. This includes hands-free devices like connected cars, voice-activated CTV remotes, and, of course, smart speakers. 

Currently, local search is a leading driver for voice searches beyond basic weather, music, and news queries commonly used with voice assistants. However, the growth of mobile commerce and hands-free search is making voice search a more important player in the search and e-commerce ecosystem. As the technology becomes more responsive and user-friendly, the Internet of Things will help create a wealth of opportunity for more voice search and voice shopping applications. So prepare now – start exploring how to make your content adaptable for voice search and explore connected device integrations. 

Voice Search Tip

The average voice search is 29 words long. Write content in a conversational tone and lean into Q&A formats targeting long-tail keywords. Also lean into broad match terms to allow your keywords to evolve with user queries. 

#5 – Google Multisearch

Multisearch is a new tool from Google allowing mobile app users to search using a combination of text and image. Using this AI-driven technology, users can upload an image and then type an accompanying query into the search bar. A multisearch example Google shares is uploading a picture of a houseplant plus the query “care instructions’.” 

Similarly, you can snap a photo of an item, such as a rug or a sweater, and find it or similar options for sale online. ‘Multisearch near me’ even allows users to snap a photo of an item and then find where it is available nearby. This provides a unique way for local restaurants and brick and mortar retailers to reach new customers via search. Think of the beautiful food pictures you see on Pinterest or Instagram. With multisearch near me, you can upload one of those images and see if a local restaurant has a similar dish to try. 

By layering text and image, multisearch responses can be more relevant to the user, personalized to their wants and needs. Although still a new and evolving tool, it’s clear to see the discovery and commerce potential multisearch offers for brands. 

Multisearch Tip

Develop search content, whether written, video, or image, for humans – not just to appeal to the Google bots. The goal of multisearch is to be as relevant and useful as possible – ensure your content matches these needs. 

Search engines, social media platforms, and e-commerce sites are collectively enhancing what’s possible for search. This means you need to extend both your SEO and SEM strategies to all possible channels in the media mix. To succeed with your search marketing strategy, focus on your audiences’ user journeys and discovery experiences first and foremost, rather than gamification of the SEO system. 

Key Takeaways to Improve Your Search Marketing Strategy: 

  • Think human, while leaning into Google’s emphasis on relevance and usefulness with your content. 
  • Create and structure content for rich results such as images, videos, how-tos, FAQs, charts, and more.
  • Take an omnichannel approach and apply your search strategy to social media channels and digital marketplaces. 

Pinterest Advertising Tips & Best Practices

Posted on by Coegi

Pinterest is a frequently overlooked social platform for advertising, with many marketers defaulting to Facebook and Instagram. However, it can be an excellent tool for brands looking to reach niche audiences in a discovery mindset. Inspiration is a key driver in marketing effectiveness, and Pinterest is where consumers go to be inspired.

Pinterest users are action-takers who intend to make purchases, plan projects, or develop new skills. This sets Pinterest apart from other social media platforms where users just skim through and like friends’ posts or news headlines. In other words, Pinterest is the ideal site to increase brand awareness and consideration.

If you’ve historically been hesitant to use this platform, read on to learn more about how your brand can capitalize on Pinterest ads.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social curation platform that acts as a digital inspiration board. It lets users create, share, and categorize online content per their interests. Marketers should think of Pinterest as a combination of a powerful visual search engine and online social community, making it the perfect place to promote product discovery among potential customers. 

What are pins?

Users can upload and save images from the internet and add captions, descriptions, and links. These are known as pins. Pins can be saved or uploaded to customizable boards on user’s accounts to have multiple points of inspiration. 

What do people use Pinterest for?

85% of Pinterest users use the platform as their first stop before beginning a new project. So, Pinterest is using this intel to lean heavily into commerce, giving users the opportunity to create shoppable pins and shopping lists. These shoppable pins are look native in the user’s feed, creating a less disruptive advertising experience. Additionally, Pinterest has new AR features that allow users to try out products virtually before purchasing. People use the platform to discover and research products and brands, making it the ideal platform to reach your audience before competitors do.

Types of Pins

There is a diverse range of ad formats you can leverage on Pinterest. Idea pins, how-to pins, downloadables, video pins, idea pins, shopping pins, and collection pins are just a few examples. Some of the newer and more valuable formats that marketers can utilize are idea pins, try on pins, and collection pins.

Idea Pins

These pins are Pinterest’s interpretation of the “story” concept that other platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have used. Idea pins are short form video content or a series of images. These pins are usually demonstrations or how-tos. 

Pinterest Idea Pin Example

Try-On Pins

Try-on pins use augmented reality technology to allow the user to test out a product before purchasing. From trying out makeup to seeing how a new couch would look in their living room, try on pins allow users to visualize the product in their life before purchasing. 

Pinterest Try-On Pin Example

Collection Pins

These pins consist of several elements – one large main hero asset and three smaller secondary assets. Once clicked, collection take users to a page where they can view the hero asset up close next to the secondary assets. This can help brands showcase multiple complementary items or highlight different product features in one view.

Pinterest Collections Pin Ad Example

Who Uses Pinterest?

The platform has over 400 million monthly active users, who utilize the platform to plan projects, make purchases, and become inspired. Pinterest’s user base is primarily female, with 60% of their global audience consisting of women. Unsurprisingly, women are also the most likely to make purchases on Pinterest.

However, the user base is steadily diversifying, with male and Gen-Z users growing by 40% this year. Additionally, 45% of social media users who bring in an average household income of over $100K are active Pinterest users, meaning Pinterest users are high earners and high spenders.  People in many different life stages, and with many different interests (from new homeowners to hobbyists to gift shoppers), utilize Pinterest. 

How to Advertise on Pinterest

To start advertising on Pinterest, you must first create a Pinterest Business account. This gives you access to analytics, exclusive pin formats, and the ability to create ad campaigns. From there, you will receive a prompt to select a campaign objective. 

Pinterest advertising objectives include: 

  • Brand awareness – Brand awareness helps consumers to discover your brand, products and services
  • Video views – Video views optimize the quality and duration of views, as well as completion rates
  • Web sessions – Web sessions drive visitors to your website and increase awareness and consideration
  • Conversions – Conversions encourage users to take action, such as signing up for a mailing list, or adding items to their cart
  • Catalog Sales – Catalog sales aide in the discovery process, helping users find products and services

These objectives determine your spend and ad formats, so choosing one that most accurately reflects your company’s business goals is important. 

How to Target on Pinterest

Advertisers have several options when it comes to targeting. You can target users who have already interacted with your brand online, find new customers through lookalike modeling, target by keywords, or even create a target audience by uploading a mailing list.

Pinterest also gives users the ability to target by interest with their premade interest targeting options. For example, if you were advertising a modern chair, you could select “contemporary design” or “modern home aesthetic” in order to refine your audience even further.

4 Pinterest Advertising Tips

Here are four best practices to maximizing your advertising efforts on Pinterest:

  1. Keep it Visual: On Pinterest, visuals are everything, so it is important to tailor your creative to the platform. Users are looking for pins that look good on their boards, so make sure your creative is high quality and aesthetically pleasing. 
  2. Mix it Up: The most successful Pinterest marketing campaigns are experimental, so vary the type of pins you use. Like many other platforms, short-form video content typically performs well on Pinterest. Video ads autoplay on mobile devices, which highlights your ad against other pins. Mix in different styles of content to keep your audience engaged. 
  3. Lean into Analytics: Pinterest ads manager allows advertisers to track their campaigns and access valuable analytics. Use these metrics to understand trends and optimize business goals. 
  4. Be Descriptive: Utilize the description for each pin to give the user helpful, inspiring context and let them know why they should save your pin. 

Pinterest ads offer brands a great opportunity to reach reach and persuade niche audiences. If you’re in search of a new platform to breakthrough the noise and engage consumers, don’t over look Pinterest.

For more tips, view our 2023 Social Media Advertising Trends article here.

How to Level Up Your Instagram Marketing Strategy

Posted on by Julia Read

Instagram is a social media powerhouse which nearly all brands should be using in some way. With 1.4 billion users available to target and a wealth of commerce-focused tools, there are endless opportunities for brands to grow through the platform. 

Instagram has a multitude of capabilities to help businesses grow: Instagram Shops, full-funnel campaign options, integrated commerce websites through Shopify, BigCommerce, Magneto and WooCommerce, as well as multiple ad formats to connect with your brand’s audience.

However, if you’re only leveraging static images in your advertising, and not incorporating new media formats and interactive tools, you may be missing the mark. 

Keep reading to learn what Instagram’s new algorithm changes mean for marketers and key ways to drive your brand goals using Instagram marketing.

What You Need to Know About Instagram’s Algorithm Changes

Instagram recently made two major updates. First, they altered their algorithm to focus on video and reels. Seeing the vast opportunity with the rise of video on platforms like TikTok, the goal of this change was to drive greater interaction with content users interact with rather than content from personal connections and followers. Another change made was regarding the length of video content. Instagram Reels used to be restricted to a 30 second maximum. That has now been extended to 90 seconds. 

After backlash from very popular influencers (The Kardashian-Jenners in particular), Adam Moseri, CEO of Instagram, paused the company’s test of a full-screen video/photo feed layout. They also began decreasing the volume of recommended posts in feed, once again showing more follower content instead. Although the video-heavy test is on hold, the main goal of social platforms is to keep users on the apps for longer. And video content proves time and again to be the most engaging type of media.

The algorithm heavily impacts both users and brands. How can you use these changes to your advantage? We have four tips you can use to lean into these updates and maximize the effect of your Instagram ads on business goals. 

4 Tips to Level Up Your Instagram Marketing Strategy

  1. Lean into video: Although Instagram reverted their video heavy update, 91% of Instagram users watch videos on a weekly basis. Also, Reels now make up over 22% of all posts and receive higher engagement than any other post format. The longer your audience views or interacts with your content, the more likely they are to remember your brand when preparing to make a purchase. 
  2. Understand your audience: Instagram users are looking for quick, emotionally-compelling content. You don’t necessarily need high production value to do this – in fact, authentic marketing is exactly what people want to see. Find what your audience values and speak to their motivations through your ads.
  3. Complement with other marketing channels: Build a strong omni-channel experience for your audience. One of the best ways to improve your Instagram marketing is by supporting it with other channels. Make your brand consistent across multiple social and digital platforms, as well as in-person, to connect the dots in the customer journey. 
  4. Test new tactics: Regularly experiment and test new ad formats such as Instant Experience to increase engagement or a Collection Ad to drive conversions. Or, test first and third-party data segments other than Meta’s demographics and interests to reach a different audience. Find what works best for your brand and use these learnings to your advantage.

As the second largest social media platform in the US, Instagram offers boundless opportunities for advertisers. To take advantage of this, it’s important to stay in tune with platform updates and changes in user behavior. Use these four steps to future-proof your Instagram marketing strategy and start connecting with your customers.

As marketers, it is our responsibility to understand trends and algorithm updates to help grow your business. For help kickstarting your social media strategy, contact Coegi for a discovery call today. 

2023 Video Advertising Trends and Best Practices

Posted on by Coegi

In our Social Media Trends Report, we highlighted that video content is king. Well, that trend is not just across social media, but across most digital channels: programmatic video, Connected TV, YouTube, programmatic out of home, etc. To capitalize on this, brands must approach video marketing with a strategic, omnichannel approach to reach target audiences wherever they are most engaged.

How Have Trends In Video Consumption And Ad Spend Changed?

Social Media Is An Untapped Market For Video Advertising

As a consumer, it feels like videos are everywhere. But as a marketer, video continues to be underutilized. In fact, across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, video content comprises only 14%, 11%, and 5% of each network’s content, respectively. This is largely due to creative costs and misunderstanding about the ROI video offers. 

Social Media Video Marketing Trends For 2023

Social media video advertising spend is continuing to increase. Video ads are expected to account for nearly 35% of social ad spend in 2023. 

Digital channels overall are set to exceed 60% of global ad spend. Since half of social media users prefer video over other types of content and 85% of social media users want more videos from brands, the use of video in social media has never been more important. 

Ready to tap into the opportune video advertising market? Here are four tips for high-performing social video content marketing. 

1) Understand How Social Platforms Are Used

It’s important to keep in mind that social sites are used for different purposes. For example, Instagram is the top platform for viewing photos, Facebook is used most for sharing content, and LinkedIn is used mostly for professional networking. Consider how your brand and your creative messaging fits into the user experience on each platform. 

2) Lean Into Platform Prioritizations

Understanding which formats different platforms prioritize to optimize your ad types for maximum visibility. For example, Instagram stated they are going to “double-down on [their] focus on video and consolidate all video formats around Reels” as they try to keep pace with TikTok. Knowing this, Instagram Reels and Facebook overlay ads in Reels should be utilized for paid media marketing. 

3) Keep It Short And Simple

Videos must be short and to the point as consumers’ attention spans are ever-shortening. According to Vidyard, 60% of all online videos in 2020 were under two minutes long. In 2022, 58% of users indicated that they will watch the entirety of a business’s video if it’s less than 60 seconds long. Even six second advertisements that quickly showcase the brand’s value drive consumer consideration.

4) Always Use Captions

Videos with captions receive 40% more views and make viewers 80% more likely to watch until the end. We should never exclude audiences who are deaf or hard of hearing. Accessibility is key for video across all channels. 

So, Why Is Digital Video Advertising So Effective?

Video is an impactful medium in the art of storytelling, but there’s a deeper neurological reason that compels us to consume. According to research, the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. When you consider we can only process five words per second, and our attention span is roughly eight seconds long, it’s easy to understand the science behind video’s growing popularity. 

In fact, four times as many consumers would prefer to watch a video, rather than read about the same subject. And yes, it’s ironic that I’m writing about this topic.

 

Why You Should Incorporate Social Media Video Into An Agnostic Video Strategy

Despite social media’s massive popularity, putting all your efforts into Facebook video may cause your brand to miss out. Not everyone is active on social media and audiences are fragmented across many disparate social platforms. This is why we encourage our brands to incorporate both programmatic and social channels into an agnostic video advertising strategy. This ensures they are delivering this high-impact creative to their audiences regardless of where they are spending time. 

What Are The Benefits Of An Agnostic Video Marketing Strategy?

  • Ability to repurpose video advertising content across channels
  • Greater audience reach by not excluding certain channels 
  • Improve frequency by retargeting across channels
  • More accurate tracking and measurement capabilities 

Written by Julia Wold, Director of Operations and Anissa Reko, Senior Social Media Specialist

Additional Reading

3 Key Elements for Better Performing Video Content

Why Short Form Video is Critical For Your Brand’s Success

Creating Strategic Opportunities With Connected TV Advertising

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