Category: Marketing Strategy

Create an Omnichannel eCommerce Strategy | Complete How-To Guide

Posted on by Coegi

Create Your Ideal Omnichannel eCommerce Strategy

A successful ecommerce strategy requires an omnichannel presence. It is the new norm for shopping and will continue its upward trajectory. Brands are following suit, investing more than ever in ecommerce advertising.

What does this mean for ecommerce marketers? 

To build consumer relationships and establish brand loyalty, marketers must create a robust online presence that aligns with where their consumers are spending time online. It is critical to show up in multiple digital marketplaces, for product discovery as well as purchase. 

Today’s ecommerce model expands beyond traditional commerce channels. Brands can’t rely on just having a Shopify or Amazon storefront anymore. You can place your product in front of engaged users on social media through social commerce, influencer marketing, social search, and many other paid advertising placements. However, even social is just one piece of the puzzle.

To learn how to craft the optimal omnichannel ecommerce strategy for your brand, download the guide below:

Creating an eCommerce Ecosystem 

The digital world is far more crowded than any physical retail destination. eCommerce is multi-channel, bridging the gap between in-store and online experiences. Over 73% of consumers use multiple channels to make purchasing decisions. And because shoppers are multichannel, brands must be too. 

The eCommerce Ecosystem

eCommerce Statistics 

Understanding the eCommerce Consumer Perspective

The modern consumer is their own salesperson.  They are better informed, armed with reviews, and company and product information.  In fact, 97% of consumers check online reviews before buying a product to get additional insight.

What are today’s consumers looking for from ecommerce brands? 

eCommerce has skyrocketed in popularity. As this medium grows, consumer expectations and shopping behaviors are also changing. 

  • Greater flexibility from payment plans to product availability 
  • More personalized ad targeting and curated content 
  • Convenient and quick delivery options 
  • Continuously cultivated brand relationships 

Customer experience is the ultimate differentiator. Consumers seek quality experiences, with 36% rating experience as critical for them, just behind price and convenience. Positive, personalized brand experiences are what ultimately drive conversions. 

Build Your Connected eCommerce Strategy

eCommerce is social commerce, marketplaces, delivery providers, D2C, retail media, and more –  all wrapped into one connected commerce experience. Skai coined the term “connected commerce”, which simply refers to connecting all points of the customer commerce journey together. It’s important to also connect all digital media tactics with commerce channels to ensure they are synchronously supporting the customer journey to drive optimal return on investment. 

Key Takeaways for Successful eCommerce Marketing: 

You can achieve ecommerce success using three key components: 

  1. Messaging that resonates with and engages target audiences 
  2. A multichannel e-commerce experience with numerous retail touchpoints   
  3. Full-funnel marketing for each stage of the consumer journey 

Coegi can help set up a data-driven strategy to maximize your ecommerce success. Contact us 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. 

2023 Digital Marketing Trends Reshaping the Industry

Posted on by Coegi

 

Looking for ways to advance your digital marketing in 2023? Learn Coegi’s top tips and trends for programmatic marketing as we enter the new year.

On this episode of The Loop Marketing Podcast, Coegi’s President, Sean Cotton, and VP of Marketing & Innovation, Ryan Green, discuss the top digital marketing trends for 2023. Listen, watch, or read below to learn how to level up your advertising campaigns this year.

 

2023 Digital Marketing Trends & Predictions Podcast: Edited Transcript

Elise: Today we are talking about 2023 digital marketing trends and predictions. I’m joined by Sean Cotton, Coegi’s President, as well as Ryan Green, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation. 

I want to start by talking about if your viewpoints to marketing have seen a big change over the year. Ryan, do you wanna start us off?  

Ryan: The thing that I think has changed the most is how important content actually is to media. For several years, we’ve really talked about campaigns – campaign numbers, IOs, and target audiences. But, what’s important going into 2023 is the merging of media, audience, and automation with the content and the message. Those need to be thought of together now, and they have to be part of the media buy.

Leaning into publisher and influencer relationships – sometimes as the creative agency in some ways, right? I think this happened during the pandemic. it was hard to go to production to build an old school campaign. But, you were able to create content. You were able to write. You were able to leverage influencers. And the media agencies started to do a lot more of the work there. So that’s really changed my viewpoint this year.  

Elise: Sean, what about you? Any changes to your personal viewpoints over the last year for marketing?  

Sean: My thoughts are closely related to Ryan’s. At the beginning of last year, there were still a lot of effective things that could be done around audience. And there still is, but that signal is becoming weaker with privacy laws and regulations. 

In 2022, we saw the impact of our audience targeting capabilities lessen – which we expected. So in 2023, we need to continue to lean into research and content as Ryan was discussing. By using tactics such as influencer marketing, we can make sure we’re really engaging our best customers throughout their journey and not relying on the easy button.  

Elise: Right, the audience signal is weaker, so the content has to work even harder to stop the scroll. Plus, personalization is going to change quite a bit.  

Ryan: And I think what content is has changed too. We’ve seen success with shorter content. We’ve also seen success with long-form content. It’s not just the trope that the modern consumer has a three-second attention span. That may be their attention span on TikTok. But, that’s not true when people are watching 30 minute videos on YouTube or reading 10,000 word articles. 

The modern marketing campaign needs to take a broader lens on what content is and where it plays in the consumer journey. And then, we need to amplify it to the right audience using automated tools to make the perfect mix and ultimately achieve business goals.  

2022 Year in Review

Elise: I think that’s a good segue to talk about some of the predictions you had at the start of this year. Sean, you predicted there would be more emphasis on social short-form video across multiple different platforms. So how did that play out in 2022?  

Sean: Well, we certainly saw the growth in short-form video production and distribution with the growth of TikTok, YouTube Shorts and so forth. But, I don’t think brands are capitalizing on short-form video and telling their story. Content needs to be tailored for each platform differently. The social media environment with short-form video requires us to be much more agile. 

Sometimes, it’s better to focus less on quality and more on authenticity in terms of content production. So I think part of that prediction came true.  As users, we are engaging more with short-form content. But, brands and agencies are still trying to catch up as to how to capitalize on that to it’s full potential.

Elise: And then, Ryan, you made a prediction that the metaverse and augmented reality and virtual reality were going to be driving factors in brands’ marketing plans. How did that play out throughout 2022?  

Ryan: It hasn’t, at least not for most marketers. It has for gaming. It has in fashion. But I don’t think anybody could have predicted some of the struggles Meta had. There are some Web3.0 things I’m still bullish on long-term. So, if I could revise my  2022 prediction, I would lean in more to retail media. It certainly has come on as a driving force. There’s been a strengthening of signal from retailer point of sale and media networks that advertisers can really lean into. Retail media needs to be a major part of lower funnel plans for CPG brands and a variety of industries.  

Elise: And then you both predicted that the availability of consumer data was going to be more of a force in terms of ad quality and how we measure marketing. I’d like to hear where you think that is heading as we enter 2023.  

Sean: We spoke a lot about incrementality over attribution last year. I was really surprised at how quickly that approach gained popularity over the course of the year. A lot of other marketers were thinking the same way. The beauty of digital has always been that we could tie together touchpoints and show attribution or ROI. I expected it would take a while longer for people to shift. Even going back to the way we used to measure with advanced forms of media mixed modeling and incrementality. 

So, I think that prediction really came to fruition right before our eyes in 2022. And I think moving forward we’ll see savvy marketers become even more skilled. There’s not a lot of doubt about whether it’s the right approach now. At this point, it’s about perfecting that approach and making it more meaningful when we deliver campaign analysis.  

Ryan: I’ve been pleasantly surprised that, even with cookie deprecation delays, brands and advertisers didn’t fall back on click-based attribution. They did still continue to lean into incrementality, even when they had an excuse not to. I think that goes into reliance on audience targeting as well. It’s not just browsers and cookie deprecation, it’s also legal and regulation that’s coming. Sean mentioned news that came out from the EU on Meta today that potentially is going to nullify personal ad targeting – period . If that does become law there, that’s going to have a trickle down effect across the globe. So, it’s good that brands are moving forward with what modern marketing is going to look like.  

Privacy and Regulation Trends for Digital Marketing in 2023

Elise: So, would you say that regulation is a top challenge brands should be looking to tackle in 2023? How should they be looking at the changes in the privacy landscape?  

Ryan: It depends where they’re transacting. They definitely need to be on more alert if they’re operating in the European Union. The United States is still to be determined, but we have stronger regulation coming out of California. So there’s several different angles, but we have an idea of what’s going to shape out. 

It’s actually an opportunity for brands to put a stake in the ground about their values as it pertains to data collection and regulation. They don’t have to wait to be told what to do. They can decide themselves to continue to have great campaign performance while still clearly defining brand safe data collection.  

Sean: And at this point, we should be implementing best practices around data collection, storage, and security on top of our marketing campaigns. If an advertiser was to find themself with first-party data without a strategy for how to use it, I would suggest they reach out to a professional  as soon as possible.  

Retire These Digital Marketing Trends

Elise: I’d like to hear each of your hard-hitting takes on trends that marketers should retire in 2022?

Ryan: This probably should have been done a couple of years ago. The reliance on Facebook as an easy button and as your primary social platform. That needs to go. Not only has the world diversified in where our consumer’s eyeballs are, but there’s well-noted privacy regulations that Meta is the center of. Their stock went down 80% over the past 10 months for a reason – that’s unprecedented. If that’s not a signal to advertisers that maybe that’s not the one place you want to bet on, it definitely should be.  

Advertisers should have been diversifying their social and digital media spend for a long time.  iOS 14.5 was a wake-up call to brands looking at last click attribution. There was so much shift between what the platform reported versus what their backend sales were showing.

There’s not going to be an easy button. It’s challenging to create content that plays well on a half a dozen different social platforms and screens. This is the time when advertisers that do the hard work are going to be rewarded. The ones that want to make it easy are going to be downstream.   

Sean: If I had to pick one trend to retire, I’d point to viewing CTV/OTT video as simply an incremental video strategy. Historically, brands would view linear as the majority of the big screen budget and carve off maybe 5% for CTV/OTT. There’s still a lot of marketers that approach it that way. Whereas if we analyze a CTV/OTT buy versus a linear buy, we can attain greater reach and a more manageable frequency.   

With linear, we often get high frequency to a very small pool of linear TV watchers. And, all the data shows people are cutting the cord. So CTV/OTT should be a central part of advertising on the big screen. It’s measurable and targetable to attain the appropriate reach and frequency goals. Now, linear TV still has its place without a doubt, but they need to be looked at in tandem  

Ryan: And now you’re seeing the Nielsens of the world coming together and measuring CTV and linear TV in the same language. We’re going to transact on CPMs – not on GRPs. That’s a big step towards a more apples to apples comparison. When there’s two different measurements, they end up naturally going to different places. There’s less excuse now, with measurement partners that are able to translate both. You need to lean into that to be effective in 2023.  

2023 Programmatic Marketing Trend Predictions

Elise: What are some other big digital marketing trends for 2023?  

Ryan: One of the big things we’re going to look at in 2023 is the emergence of retail media as a primary vehicle for digital marketing campaigns. Retail media only emerged in the past two or three years with any real emphasis. It was something experimental. But now it could be the backbone of a CPG marketing campaign. Social may become secondary or tertiary to retail media, and that really flips things on its head. 

Sean: One trend would be redefining what performance marketing and media is, especially as we go into a recession. Every dollar matters, so all media needs to deliver some type of performance. Now typically, when you say performance marketing, people think of lower funnel tactics where you can see a direct conversion. But the fact is – every marketing dollar needs to perform. 

There’s pressure on CMOs and CEOs to show return on all of their marketing investment. So, marketers are challenged for all media to perform. Now, you’re going to measure awareness differently than consideration or intent, but there needs to be some sort of accountability. So a trend we’ll continue to see as marketers embrace incrementality, is looking at performance marketing with a wider lens.  

Ryan: I agree with that. One other thing that’s come up this year is sustainability and the effect of digital marketing on our carbon footprint. We are really starting to dive into supply path optimization – having fewer touchpoints from the ad server to the consumer. I think we’re going to see a lot of brands start to demand this across every third-party partner.  

2023 Social Media Marketing Trend Predictions

Elise: To wrap us up, I want to talk about the future of paid social media and influencer marketing. Are there other 2023 social media trend predictions marketers should be looking out for?  

Ryan: There’s never been so much headwind with social. Social media has always been a growth channel, in every aspect. But, you have headline after headline coming in – from Meta’s demise to Twitter now having 70% less staff. And TikTok is not going to run the way that it is forever, with government regulation coming against China there. Even in the influencer space, we’re starting to see Gen-Z and Gen Alpha rebelling against the perfect influencer lifestyle. We’re seeing less time being given to those platforms.  

A lot of those platforms make it very easy to have great reach. In some ways, this actually may be an opportunity to do more on social media. The billions of logins Facebook has are not suddenly going away. And there’s plenty of people that still use these platforms. But there needs to be balance in your social strategy next to other media.

Balance is going to be a calling card for 2023. The brands that go heavy into search and social are going to be at a disadvantage if they don’t think about all the places it takes to garner attention. Attention is still the number one commodity we’re looking to harness as marketers. And we’re going to have to be more creative in how we message audiences and place ads to be competitive.  

Elise: Well, thank you both for being here today and I’m excited to see how these digital marketing trends play out in 2023. 

 

Listen on Spotify

Top Consumer Trends for 2023: What They Mean For Digital Marketing

Posted on by Coegi

Consumer behavior trends are constantly evolving. This is especially true for shopping preferences in 2023 as 90% of consumers are noticing price increases. Consumers are switching brands more than ever before. Brands must be highly adaptive to consumer trends to keep up with these changes and fend off the competition. 

So, brands, it’s time to meet (and reintroduce yourselves to) your consumers. 

Here are our top six key consumer trends for 2023, and the insights you need to capitalize on these trends for your brand: 

  1. Customer-first approach
  2. Brand loyalty risk
  3. Omni-channel shopping
  4. Social commerce proliferation
  5. Connected device adoption
  6. Influencer growth

Apply these 2023 consumer trends to your brand’s marketing

#1 – Taking a Customer-First Approach

Putting customers first is no longer an added value proposition – it’s an expectation. 19% of marketing executives report ‘fostering relationships with customers and increasing brand loyalty’ is their top priority for 2023. To do so, brands need to find unique ways to engage consumers and authentically insert themselves into their story. As a Netscribes article quotes, brands must, “go beyond the commodity to fuel engagement and advocacy by delivering context-specific interactions at the right junctures of the consumer journey.” 

Key takeaway: Brands must build a relationship with consumers in order to break through the clutter. Prioritize first-party data collection to understand your customers and provide a more personalized experience based on their interests and needs.

#2 – Preventing Brand Loyalty Risk

In the face of an economic downturn, consumers display less brand loyalty. Surveys found nearly 60% of US consumers are less brand loyal due to increasing costs of goods. Household names are losing their power as curious and price-conscious consumers shift towards value, price, and convenience. However, loyalty programs can help. 78% of consumers report that strong loyalty programs make them more likely to purchase from a brand or retailer. 

Key takeaway: Create ways to incentivize customer loyalty, either financially or with exclusivity. Remember – it’s more expensive to win over new customers than invest in your existing ones!

#3 – Optimizing Omni-Channel Shopping

Consumers are split between online and brick-and-mortar shopping. 75% of consumers report purchasing and researching products on both in-store and online channels, per McKinsey’s 2022 Consumer Pulse Survey. So, brands must give both channels attention to ensure they work together seamlessly and enhance the consumer experience. Integrations such as click-and-collect shopping help bridge this gap. 

Key takeaway: Blend traditional and digital channels to be present at every key customer touchpoint. Then, ensure the shopping process is seamless from exposure to check out to shorten the path to conversion.

#4 – Taking Advantage of Social Commerce’s Proliferation

Social commerce is on the rise with platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest adding new in-app shopping features and shoppable ad formats. Through these integrations, brands can engage customers in the moment without disrupting their social experience. E-Marketer forecasts over 50% of US users will make a social commerce purchase in 2023. When done well, social commerce promotes quick product discovery, a simplified shopping experience, and less friction in driving purchase.  

For more on social commerce, view our full 2023 Social Media Advertising Trends article here.

Key takeaway: Explore different tools to utilize social commerce, making it as easy as possible for a customer to add your product to their cart. Consider retargeting audiences from paid social media or influencer campaigns with shoppable ads to build trust and drive ROI.

#5 – Understanding Connected Device Adoption

Expect greater adoption of smart technologies in 2023, including connected cars, connected TVs, and smart speakers. More responsive technology advances, such as click-to-buy CTV ads or seamless re-purchasing through smart home devices, will pave the way for IoT-driven commerce. As these technologies continue to develop, test ways to use these devices to enhance your customer experience and drive e-commerce.

Key takeaway: Do the research to understand if your consumers are taking advantage of these advanced technologies. If they are, test interactive ad formats on connected devices and explore other IoT integrations such as voice shopping applications with smart speakers. 

#6 – Lean Into the Growth of Influencer

Influencer is the new word-of-mouth marketing. Authentic and relatable content from social creators drives full-funnel results for brands who do it well. Social media platforms are making it easier for influencers to monetize content and collaborate with brands, further paving the way for the social commerce boom. In 2023, the influencer market is projected to reach $6.16B, with TikTok on pace to gain the largest share of influencer ad spend by 2024. 

Key takeaway: Blend influencer marketing into your paid social media strategy to build authenticity, grow trust, and boost e-commerce. Adopt an omnichannel influencer strategy across multiple platforms and lean into useful, entertaining short-form video content to maximize exposure and engagement. 

Use these 2023 consumer trends to analyze your current CPG marketing strategy. Take your advertising to the next level by leaning into high growth areas and being the first to adapt to changing consumer preferences in 2023. 

For more marketing trends, view our 2023 Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions podcast episode.

How to Uncover Insights in Marketing Research

Posted on by Savannah Westbrock

The tools we use to conduct marketing research and understand our target audiences and industries are constantly evolving. Traditionally, syndicated research tools have been the go-to resources to understand media consumption and behaviors.

But brand challenges require much more than knowing how many hours a day consumers watch TV to put together a successful marketing strategy. 

How to Find Meaningful Marketing Research Insights

Use both qualitative research and quantitative research to unveil unique marketing trends and audience learnings for brands. From social listening tools to focus groups to macro-level industry reports, you need multiple sources to achieve a 360 degree view with your marketing research. Instead of always turning to the same default tools and platforms, take on a journalistic mentality and get creative to discover unique insights that will differentiate your strategy from competitors. 

Lean into your creative side. Use out of the box tactics to search for answers to questions such as: 

  • What’s the press coverage on this topic? 
  • What changes are happening in the vertical? 
  • What’s happening in adjacent industries? 

From this type of information sourcing, you can then better contextualize the second or third party data embedded in syndicated research and build custom insights for your brand.

It’s also important to look at your own historical first party data, when available. Evaluate what’s been successful and not in order to provide a starting point to build baseline learnings.   

Balancing the Art and Science of Market Research

Marketing research is both an art and a science. You need some specific numbers to justify assumptions and hypotheses. But there’s also an element of simply trusting your intuition. A lot of times it’s right and a lot cheaper than running complex, time consuming studies. Your team’s instinct and experience is going to become increasingly valuable in finding insights and closing the gaps. 

Sometimes, simply putting yourself in your audience’s shoes and mimicking their behaviors reveals more than any survey could tell you. As an example, if your audience are heavy Twitter users and the data indicates they use certain hashtags – actually read through that content. Go to the subreddits they might frequent. Watch the Hulu shows they’re watching. Use this time of exploration to see if you can unveil something new about how your audience is living day to day.  

Avoiding Research Pitfalls

With so much data available, you can use research to essentially prove any point you want. This makes it easy for bias to creep into statistics, intentional or not. If you think the audience is Millennial Moms, there will undoubtedly be evidence somewhere pointing to confirm this assumption.

To avoid this, be transparent when your data does not back up your hypothesis. This is one of the more powerful things you can do to form trusting relationships with your colleagues and clients. It’s okay to admit if the research is refuting your initial assumption. Use this as an opportunity to build a bridge with this learning and adjust your strategy to continue making your marketing smarter.  

Additionally, when using third-party studies, it’s important to remember that people answering surveys aren’t always going to be completely truthful about their media consumption or lifestyle. Take a step back before blindly trusting what you’re reading and hearing.

Watch this video for more tips on avoiding common research mistakes:

Finding the Big Idea

Strategists are always digging for the ‘big idea’. The groundbreaking tactic, message, or plan the world has never seen before and will make you millions. If you have a predestined big idea in your head, don’t let that blind you from finding something even better. You need to ground yourself by exploring a variety of research sources without forcing anything. Allow the data to weave together a story rather than reverse engineering your predetermined story to create a successful path forward for your brand. 

Key Takeaways

In the impending privacy-first marketing landscape, there will be more emphasis on planning and finding the right research. Decision making is coming back to the hands of marketers, rather than left to platform algorithms.

Take a balanced, creative approach to the market research process and unlock the most meaningful insights to improve your bottom line and build customer loyalty. 

To hear more about Coegi’s approach to marketing research, contact us for a discovery call today.

How to Nail Your International Marketing Launch

Posted on by Coegi

In today’s world, we have access to the global marketplace with much less friction than in decades past. Previously, it was very difficult to initiate an international marketing launch without local people on the ground. You had to know who to call to get your ads placed. 

The growth of digital was the biggest catalyst for globalization at the turn of the century. We gained the ability to conduct business, advertise and communicate from one location to another with ease. Access to the international marketplace means boundless opportunity, but can also be overwhelming for brands and marketers. 

Thankfully, digital advertising and content promotion provides the flexibility to test, adjust, and be nimble with your marketing campaigns as you learn the nuances of a new landscape.

Here’s four reasons why digital marketing is an ideal starting point for your international marketing launch:

It allows you to: 

  1. Launch campaigns quickly
  2. Test before you invest
  3. Flexibly adjust media placements 
  4. Track real-time results 

Launch Campaigns Quickly

Taking a digital-first approach lowers many logistical barriers to entry for a new market launch. Oftentimes, traditional advertising mediums involve lengthy contract processes, upfronts and lead times. 

For example, in Japan, one media conglomerate owns the majority of all traditional media in the country. If you want to activate traditional ads in Japan, you must partner with them in order to penetrate the marketplace. On the contrary, digital offers a much quicker way to market, with much less red tape and upfront cost. Once you have digital campaigns up and running and understand what is working, you can begin to supplement with traditional media placements. This allows you to have a well-rounded, data-driven strategy. 

Test Before You Invest

With digital advertising, you can understand your ability to scale with your target audience in a new market before making a major investment in buys that offer little flexibility. To do so, lean into a test and learn approach to allow your marketing initiatives to fail forward. 

However, don’t be too timid. If you only dip your toe in the water, you will not have enough information to know if your campaign is making an impact. Do the upfront research to create a strategic plan and then put mechanisms in place to test and track media success and pivot quickly as needed. 

How to Run a Test Campaign in a New Market

Look at the population of the country and the specific audience you are targeting. The goal is to reach a percentage of the audience at a high enough frequency so they know your brand. Typically this is around 6-12 exposures, depending on creative strength. Once you’ve reached this threshold, use a measurement framework or consumer study to understand the effectiveness of your campaign. Did it create strong brand recall? Was there a lift in brand affinity? 

Some brands will also need to consider non-paid media ways your brand has been exposed to audiences in a given country. Have you had any positive or negative press? Are there any Google trends to inform changes in interest level? 

Flexibly Adjust Media Placements

Another benefit of digital marketing for international brands is the ability to quickly pull media out of market. In today’s climate, certain contexts can quickly become problematic due to changes in current events or world news. Even if there aren’t major world events impacting your marketing ecosystem, be sure you’re staying nimble in your approach to culturally relevant messaging, swapping out creatives based on what is and is not resonating. 

Track Real-Time Results

Comparing marketing metrics across various countries will never be apples to apples. However, digital ads will give you quicker results and show clearer signals of success. Real-time platform data can give you a baseline understanding of what’s working, rather than waiting for post-campaign result readouts. This is especially critical during the testing phase.

To see a more holistic view of your advertising results, aim to have a unified measurement strategy in place to benchmark long-term success. Start by understanding what you can and can’t track in various countries. Then, consider filling in any gaps with these methods for gathering meaningful insights: 

  • Do your own commissioned survey research (ie. brand lift study)
  • Use global market research providers (ie. Harris Poll)
  • Create a cross-country scoring model to normalize data across different geographies

As you plan your international market launch, start with a digital approach to be more nimble, timely and informed.  But, achieving maximum scale across a full country profile will require you to eventually incorporate traditional channels into the marketing mix. 

Ready to Launch?

For help preparing your international marketing launch, contact Coegi today to get started. 

To read more, view Ryan’s second article on The Drum: The Key to Breaking Into International Markets

 

Boost Customer Lifetime Value with Awareness Marketing

Posted on by Maggie Gotszling

Brands, especially those in the ecommerce space, often feel tempted to skip over building awareness and consideration with their marketing efforts and jump straight to conversion-based advertising campaigns. However, brand awareness is a key marketing component to fill the sales funnel that should not be ignored. Keep reading to learn how to optimize awareness campaigns to establish customer lifetime value.  

Start At The Beginning

If your core business goal is to drive sales, you still have to do the work to introduce your brand to new customers and convince them why your offering is worth their money. 

Even on commerce channels like Amazon, Instacart or Shopify storefronts, you must establish baseline awareness before a consumer will be receptive to your product. 

Forrester’s 2021 CPG Digital Go-To Market Review found, “35% of surveyed global CPG marketing decision-makers cite brand awareness as an important metric…brand metrics rank high because CPG/FMCG products are typically low consideration, making it critical for the brand to be top of mind in a category.” So before you begin investing all of your marketing dollars into ROAS focused tactics, put yourself in the consumers’ shoes and consider the information you would want from a brand to take the next steps.

Understand The Customer Journey

To understand how much of your efforts should be allocated across awareness vs consideration vs conversion tactics, look to the purchase journey for guidance. 

  • What is the average timespan from initial awareness to purchase? 
  • How many touchpoints are needed to reach the point of consideration? 
  • How much time does the average consumer spend in the consideration phase? 

If your consumers move from consideration to conversion very quickly while in store or on digital retail platforms, the greatest chance to reach them is within the awareness phase. The media objective in this case is to ensure a consumer recognizes your brand when searching for products in your category.

If they spend longer in the consideration phase, you can nurture leads longer with educational content and community building.  But it all comes down to understanding how your product or service fits in with their behaviors and routines. 

Establish Awareness With An Omni-Channel Media Strategy

Ensure your awareness campaign has broad reach by strategically combining various digital and physical channels. If done right, this will also create a seamless user experience across channels, even with the fragmented media landscape.

How do you know which channel mix will reach your ideal audience? 

  • Leverage syndicated research to understand their media consumption habits
  • Use channels whose userbases broadly match your target demographic
  • Select channels where the typical user behavior aligns with the desired action

Use Branding Campaigns To Create Lifetime Value

Once you’ve established awareness, the value of brand campaigns does not end. Awareness marketing aids in fostering an ongoing relationship that we fondly refer to as the loyalty loop. It initially introduces your product to new users, but then continues to establish lifetime customer value after a purchase is made.  

To establish this loyalty loop, develop a clear path for your customer. Put yourself in their shoes and understand the timing they need before making a repeat or complementary purchase. 

  • Is your product a one-time purchase that typically lasts a lifetime? 
  • Is your product a weekly or monthly staple that is consumed and repurchased? 
  • What products make sense to recommend based on previous purchases? 

Don’t waste money promoting the same product a user has already purchased and is unlikely to purchase again for several years. Instead, remarket them with ads and experiences that reinforce their positive experience with the brand and keep them interested in future purchases. For example: 

  • Personalized ads and email marketing with recommended products 
  • Branding campaigns to reinforce brand loyalty and affinity
  • Special discount codes and alerts about new product drops or sales

Set Clear Expectations With Measurement

We know advertising works, but success doesn’t typically happen over night. Instead, there is a gradual impact on business results that can be tied to marketing initiatives.. It can be especially difficult to see clear and instantaneous results from awareness campaigns. However, there are strategic ways to understand your progress and ensure you’re moving the needle.  

Tracking Short Term Brand Awareness

The primary goal for short-term awareness campaigns is to reach the highest volume of unique users at an effective frequency. Our general understanding is that 2-12 exposures are needed to drive action, which varies depending on effectiveness of creative and the relevancy of the brand. Balance this exposure while being mindful of over saturation. 

Metrics to track that indicate brand awareness results: 

  • Reach: The number of unique users reached, reported by channel and by campaign. 
  • Frequency: The amount of times a user is exposed to an ad, commonly reported as impressions/reach. 
  • CPM: The cost of serving ads.

Measuring Long Term Brand Awareness

When media metrics do not answer your business questions, the next step is to incorporate third party studies that show media impact on business results and consumers’ perceptions. These studies show the true incremental impact of awareness campaigns on business goals – whether in driving brand affinity, site traffic or sales. 

These are not attribution tools, but rather studies that show correlation. The two most impactful studies for e-commerce based brands are: 

  • Brand Lift: Difference between control vs exposed survey responses
  • Sales Lift: Post campaign analysis comparing media activity to sales data sets

Use both short and long term measurement tactics to craft a story using a mix of KPIs that show media efficiency and channel effectiveness in combination with monitoring sales overtime.

Key Takeaways

  • Awareness must come first 
  • Let the consumer inform your strategy 
  • Build your brand to increase customer loyalty
  • Establish a clear measurement plan to create accountability with branding campaigns

Using Facebook Lead Ads to Drive a Sales Pipeline

Posted on by Coegi

The Brief

Using Facebook Lead Ads to Drive a Sales Pipeline

Our client, Grit Moto Adventures, came to us with a unique opportunity to drive sign ups for an exclusive backcountry motorcycle tour. Their unique audience would be given the option to sign up for various tours in a wide time frame. Given the time commitment and niche experienced biker audience requirements, we set a goal of driving 320 leads using Facebook lead ads.

 

Highlights

707
Leads

$0.83
CPC

0.11%
Lead Conv Rate

Challenge

Due to the advanced level of riding experience needed to take part in Grit Moto Adventures tours, the target audience was niche. Interested individuals needed experience in off-road motorcycle riding, the lifestyle flexibility to travel throughout the week, and funds readily available to book a tour. Additionally, Grit Moto Adventures was a newly formed brand with little brand awareness at the time the campaign launched. Our strategy needed to include ways to build scale despite the targeting specificities, and take interested users from awareness to conversion as quickly as possible.

Solution

Our team navigated the audience restrictions by making custom third-party data segments with the largest US consumer panel, Resonate. This tool allowed us to develop and activate a scaled audience within our two primary audience personas: general Motorcycle Riders and Retired Riders with the income required for these trips. For media activation, we chose Facebook for its ability to scale, built-in lead generation functionality, and comprehensive interest targeting.

The resulting campaign drove an engagement rate of 4.54% with an impressive cost-per-click of $0.83. At the campaign’s conclusion, 707 Facebook lead ads were filled. This was a 200%+ increase from our original goal of 320 leads. These metrics demonstrate our success in reaching highly interested people at the right time.

We learned that strategically curated audiences, paired with informative creative, drove numerous leads. This found candidates for the tours while also expanding their email list. As we plan for cookie deprecation, tools such as Facebook lead generation campaigns will be important for building first-party data. This information will be extremely beneficial for Grit Moto Adventures moving forward.

Marketing to Gen Z: Authenticity Over Perfection

Posted on by Samantha Schmidt

Born into the digital era, Gen Z is the first generation to be fully immersed in a world of smartphones, social media, and constant internet access. Because of this, they have higher expectations from brands when it comes to digital advertising. This cohort makes up 27% of the U.S. population, and will soon become the largest group of consumers with significant buying power (Insider Intelligence). 

Brands marketing to Gen Z should prioritize meeting their media preferences, directly communicating to them without abandoning key channels for existing customers. In this article, we will discuss the values of Gen Z and how to best align your marketing strategy with those values. 

Authenticity Matters, Not Perfection

In a crowded media landscape, brands often compete for consumer attention with flashy creatives and mass media placements. With a “best foot forward” mentality, brands can get caught up in trying to show consumers the perfected image of their offerings. However, Gen Z consumers often ignore this type of content because it’s not relatable or different. They care heavily about a genuine showcasing of a brand’s values and offerings. They want to understand why the product matters, not just why they should buy it.

How can you achieve this?

Be Realistic

When using paid, over-glamoured models, Gen Z does not feel a connection with the brand. Gen Z wants to see a representation of themselves in the people showcased in advertisements, choosing brands that feel personable. Make sure your creative feels authentic to get the best attraction from the Gen Z audience. This is especially important considering this generation is the most ethnically diverse in the U.S., and they are passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Make A Stand

Gen Z consumers hold companies to a high standard for corporate social responsibility. These socially responsible individuals go out of their way to support companies that stand for social issues they value. Use marketing to showcase how your brand makes a positive impact on society. Position your brand so that when Gen Z consumers purchase they not only get a useful product but also support the causes or social views they find most meaningful. 

Show Transparency

Gen Z wants to feel involved with its chosen brands and understand how they operate. Be honest with consumers about your practices, and tell a story about why you do what you do. This will inform your audience about your ethical standards and build trust. A lack of transparency can damage a brand’s reputation. In fact, 22% of Gen Zs reported that a lack of transparency reduces their opinion of brands and products, which is more than any other generation. 

Being genuine with Gen Z audiences should be a primary concern when it comes to delivering a marketing message. This authentic approach can be executed by being realistic with your audience, making a stand for a social cause, and showing transparency in brand practices.

How to Reach Gen Z on Social Media

If you want to effectively reach Gen Z consumers, social media is the place to be. Social platforms are a key part of their daily routines. 

On average, Gen Z spends about 8 hours a day online. And 90% of Gen Z are spending a minimum of one hour per day on social media – primarily on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. These platforms are all dominated by user-generated short-form videos, which speaks to the need for brands to focus on creativity and authenticity in their content.

Sourced from E-Marketer

And they’re not just looking for entertainment on social media anymore. 50% of Gen Z make social commerce purchases (along with 51% of Millennials). Social media is a place to authentically reach Gen Z where they are spending time, but it’s also a tool to drive sales conversions.

Here are three tactics to win over Gen-Z consumers on social media:

#1 Short-Form Video

Gen Z spends less time watching TV than any other generation. They’re consuming digital video content on social media platforms instead. In particular, short-form videos have taken off in popularity over the past few years, especially among the Gen Z audiences. 

These 6-30 second videos are great for quick recognition. They require less attention span and quickly convey a message. One can argue that TikTok is the reason for the explosion of short-form video, as the platform continues to rise to the top of popularity rankings. As such, social media apps are redesigning their algorithms to prioritize this content. 

Short-form videos also tend to gain more Gen Z audience engagement, with the average engagement rate at 50%. This level is considerably higher than other generations. With storytelling potential, attention-grabbing power, and virality, short-form video is a must-have tool to drive full-funnel results in nearly all Gen Z marketing campaigns. 

#2 Influencer Marketing

What do Gen Zs want from brands? Honest, relatable, and compelling content. 

Where do Gen Zs spend their time? On social media. 

Influencers offer the best of both worlds – authentic content across various social media platforms. This makes influencer marketing a no-brainer tactic to reach Gen-Z consumers. 

Successful creators have spent time building trust and confidence with consumers, which brings meaning to their name as they hold a high “influence.” According to a GWI Report, “Gen Z puts more stock in the opinions and recommendations of influencers than past generations, and that’s heavily shaping how they approach media in general.” Micro-influencers, with smaller but more dedicated followers, are a great way to gain trust and narrow in on niche Gen-Z segments that best match your brand.

Read more of our best influencer marketing tips here.

#3 High Impact, Interactive Content

Interactive content is growing in popularity among younger audiences, which can boost awareness and engagement with your brand. Users want to engage with content, whether that’s a swipe, tap, click, vote, or like. 

Instagram is known to have highly interactive content such as polls, carousels, quizzes, questions, prompts, and more. TikTok also recently introduced interactive add-ons that allow paid media content to further engage audiences with ad posts. Immersive content such as 3D, AR/VR, and the development of the metaverse introduce innovative ways to reach audiences in a “phygital” way. Interactive content allows your brand to be present with Gen Z as they shift deeper into digital connections and worlds. 

How Coegi Can Help

As a digital marketing agency, Coegi is well equipped to assist you in marketing needs to reach your Gen Z consumers. We ensure each campaign is carefully researched based on data-driven tools to strategically activate across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and many other platforms. Reach out if you are looking for a partner to effectively execute and optimize your campaigns to grow your brand.

How to Build an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy

Posted on by Madeline Martodam

What do the metaverse, Web 3.0 and the cookieless future have in common? They demonstrate the need for agility to build an effective digital marketing strategy. Three years ago, these topics wouldn’t have even crossed our minds. Now they’re in our inboxes on a daily basis.

Now we’re learning the implications they’ll have and adapting our routines to ensure our marketing strategies seamlessly integrate into the changing landscape. By clearly defining the business goals aligned to our strategy, digital marketers can make informed decisions faster than ever before, allowing for real-time adjustments. 

Let’s dive deeper into how you can build an effective marketing strategy with these four key steps. 

Define

Start by outlining your high level business objective. Is it to increase sales by 2X this year? Expand into four new markets? Or increase brand awareness among a new audience group? 

Whatever it may be, clearly establish that overarching goal with all key stakeholders. Then, define marketing’s specific role in supporting that goal. 

  • What are the marketing objectives that level up to the desired business result?
    • All departments in the organization should have a shared vision. Define marketing’s specific role in reaching success. 
  • How will you optimize your marketing efforts towards this goal?
    • If it’s brand awareness, set that expectation from the beginning and maintain focus. This will prevent you from getting sidetracked and optimizing towards tactics that do not ladder up to your primary goal.  
  • What are the key signals you will track to define short-term and long-term success?
    • Decide which KPIs will most accurately indicate your progress. We often choose a cost-based metric paired with an effectiveness metric for each key channel, to make sure we are prioritizing quality for our clients. 

Align

Before you proceed with any advertising campaign, it’s important to check for alignment within your marketing and across the organization. 

  • Does your creative messaging and channel selection align with your target audience?
    • Conduct audience research to understand the places where your audience is most active and receptive to advertising. One of the tools we use at Coegi is Resonate, an AI-powered consumer insights platform which allows us to identify and target audiences on the channels, platforms and sites they over index for. 
  • Do your marketing/media KPIs align with your overall business goals?
    • Ensure all campaign tactics and KPIs support your previously defined marketing objectives and business goals. Be strategic when selecting your target metrics and make sure you are measuring what matters for your brand. 
  • Is your advertising consistent with your brand values and aesthetics?
    • Regularly audit your content for consistency and alignment. Live out your brand values and maintain a cohesive identity across the board. This will establish a positive user experience and strong brand message. 

Activate

Now you understand where to reach your audience. You have impactful creative assets, and are armed with a strong understanding of how you will measure success. It’s time to put your plan into motion. 

  • Define what brand safety means to your organization.
    • Outline the content and topics you are and are not comfortable with your brand being near. Use these to set targeting parameters that ensure your ads are only shown in brand-safe environments.
  • Set guardrails for quality assurance.
    • Maintain updated blacklists and use bid exclusions for brand safety and suspicious activity filtering.
  • Use AI for efficient media buying.
    • Algorithms and machine learning can help personalize ads with dynamic creative optimizations, expand your targeting pool with lookalike audiences, and automate the media buying process. 

Assess & Optimize

Once a campaign is live, your job is not done. You must continuously assess the media mix and channel tactics to see where you can improve. 

  • Understand that what worked last year may not necessarily work this year. 
    • The digital landscape is constantly changing, whether it be due to data privacy laws, emerging platforms, or changing consumer preferences. Be agile and avoid complacency. 
  • Stay curious and open minded.
    • Don’t be afraid to be an early adopter of a new trend – if it makes sense for your brand. 
  • Continuously improve through experimentation.
    • Inform future strategy by testing and learning which messaging and creative imagery resonates with your audience. Place trust in your media experts, and the process, allowing time to try new things and test hypotheses. 

My final words of advice for fellow digital marketers are – be patient. Data trends don’t happen overnight, and neither do results. But by being intentional and strategic at every stage of your marketing process, your brand will be ready to weather whatever trends the industry has coming its way. 

For more insights on how to build an effective digital marketing strategy, contact Coegi today.

Let's work together

We’re passionate about the power of strategy, content, technology and creativity to reach your most valuable audiences. Sound like a match? Reach out to get started.

Coegi Partners

/ Contact - usa

Tell us about your project

Are you interested in gaining the latest marketing insights through Coegi’s newsletter, The Loop?
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Coegi Partners
Skip to content