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Category: Marketing

Category: Marketing

Three Tips to Optimize Audio Ads

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When advertisers are preparing a new spot for an audio advertisement, a lot of time is spent on deciding how long the spot should be. Westwood One wanted to see if spending a significant amount of time on deciding spot length had a strong enough impact to justify the time spent on this otherwise simple decision. What they found was that longer ads do perform better, but they do not always lead to a significant difference in creative scores.

Now that advertisement length is known to not drive a significant impact on the performance of the spot, attention can be turned to finding other ways to optimize audio advertisement performance. Three best practices were identified.

1. Less messages leads to better recall!

Millward Brown, a global leader in brand strategy consulting, advertising development and optimization, media effectiveness, and brand equity research, reports that more messages in an ad leads to a lower likelihood of a single message being recalled. Powerful numbers are provided to prove this point. The first message of an ad with four total messages only has a 43% recall rate compared to an ad with a single message.

This makes sense once you think about it. Cramming a bunch of messages into an ad makes it harder to remember anything that was in the ad. A 15 second ad with one message will likely perform far better than a 30 second ad with three messages.

Instead of taking a 30 or 60 second ad as an opportunity to say everything you can about the brand, take that time to communicate one central idea in an entertaining & memorable way. Think about Snickers’ advertisements. “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” One central idea that is communicated in a consistently entertaining & attention grabbing way. Time is not wasted talking about taste, size, packaging, price, or the myriad of messages they could communicate. Instead, the message is just to eat a Snickers when you’re hungry. Now that’s memorable.

2. Prioritize brand building, not sales activation 

The Head of Effectiveness at adam&eveDDB, Les Binet, and Peter Field, a Marketing Consultant, studied the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) database of case studies to prove this point. They explain that sales activation campaigns focus on customers who are likely to buy in the very near future which is accomplished by leveraging existing brand equity to drive sales.

They make the analogy that sales campaigns are like carbs; they produce a sugar rush-like  short term sales boost followed by a crash. Sales campaigns are easy to measure because results tend to be immediate and direct.

Similarly, branding campaigns are compared to protein; a sustainable and long lasting source of energy. Brand building is more difficult and requires greater investment, however, it is critical. This involves the process of creating mental associations and beliefs that ultimately leads to the preference of one brand compared to the next. To build a brand, mass media like television and radio are necessary. This is because the objective is to communicate to everyone in the category, not just people in the market right now.

The difference compared to sales campaigns is that brand building sales effects grow and compound, becoming a main driver of long term growth. The ideal mix of sales and branding campaigns should be 60% branding and 40% sales. This makes sense because that means more brand equity is being built than being spent on sales activation.

3. Focus Creative on Emotional Claims Instead of Rational

This may sound backwards, but let’s stop and think about it. Becoming top of mind for consumers is an issue of reach. Creating brand likability and understanding is the product of good advertising. Does this sound like a feat that is accomplished through dumping facts or telling a captivating story that touches the heart?

The Binet & Field analysis reveals that emotional branding performs more strongly across all metrics, including: awareness, commitment, trust, differentiation, fame, and image. Emotional advertising and storytelling creates bonds and associations more efficiently than throwing a bunch of facts about the brand or product at the audience. Naturally, these efficiencies translate to an increase in the bottom line. Creating emotional bonds with the target market yields higher long-term sales, share, pricing power, and loyalty.

To sum up, it’s not the spot length that matters. Focus on the number of messages, branding and sales mix, and emotional claims in your audio creative.

Give us a call 562-439-3900 so that we can create high quality audio creative for you and get you great deals on media placement!

Radio is Still Thriving in 2020!

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It’s 2020! And at Media Partners Worldwide we are still experiencing a lot  of interest in radio and audio, and with life life-changing technology at our fingertips like our smartphones, AirPods, voice assistants and smart speakers, it continues to thrive and be the king of mass reach!

According to Nielsen,  Radio is still the #1 reach medium, and has held its top position consistently for 16 quarters. Moreover, mobile devices, streaming, and podcasts have fueled the demand for content that can go wherever the consumer goes.

So what trends do we see in 2020?

Fragmentation of all media not affecting radio

Radio may be the king of mass reach, but it also commands a majority of our attention. In Nielsen’s Total Audience Report Q2 2019, time spent with radio among adults 18 and older is nearly 12 hours per week, while adults spend just under six hours a week with their TV-connected devices. They say we’re living in the golden age of TV, but there are only so many hours in a day one can set aside for binge-watching. Radio is there to entertain and inform when you are in your car, at the gym or wherever you go, helping to keep AM/FM radio as the #1 in-car entertainment choice.

Political Season with News/Talk driving the listening

Even though, pop music and country is reaching more of the younger audience, News/Talk was by far the most listened to genre last year according to Nielsen with a 9.5% share of listeners among persons 6+ in 2019. Though it’s held the top spot among general audiences for almost a decade, listening typically spikes around key election years, and 2020 will be no different. Radio has proven itself as a trustworthy resource for consumers who want to stay informed at the global and community level, and as usual, radio will not disappoint.

Looking to reach loyal, highly-involved listeners? Media Partners owns inventory on many News/Talk network that are jam-packed with top stations across the country.

Demand for Attribution on Radio

Attribution is a buzz word for 2020 and  what everyone is looking for and wants with radio/audio.advertising has made it easy for marketers to precisely track campaign response, and that granular level of detail has raised the bar for other media platforms. At Media Partners Worldwide, we provide our ADTRACTION software so we can measure and pinpoint how your campaigns drive traffic to make smarter creative and media buying decisions, so you can get the most of your dollars spent.

Radio is still relevant as a medium for many advertisers, with less fragmentation, more attention and now attribution is possible.

TV Shifting to Impressions Measurement… Will Radio Follow?

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The Television Bureau of Advertising announced in late 2019 that it is planning to lead an industry wide change involving the transition from a rating-based to an impression-based system of audience measurement for television. Their plan is to implement these changes in 2020. Is it possible that radio will follow in suit?

Many big players in the television world are on board with the change. This includes NBC, CBS, ABC, and other television media giants. Ratings got the job done in an era of limited media platforms, but simply won’t cut it in today’s fragmented and measurable media landscape.

The problem that the TBA is trying to solve stems from the local TV market being based on cost per rating point. This is calculated by taking a program’s Average Quarter Hour Persons and divides them by the population. This is called a rating. These ratings are shrinking. An impression-based system solves this problem by providing more granular measurement that minimizes ratings compression. Costs would then be based on a cost per thousand impressions system. The bottom line is to give media sellers more power when it comes to pricing and simplify the job for advertisers when they are buying media by having everything on a common metric. A large part of this transition is educating key stakeholders on the benefits of the switch.

Now, the radio industry isn’t just closing their eyes and covering their ears while all of this is going on. Brad Kelly, Managing Director of Nielsen Audio says, “Advertisers are telling us having a commonality of metrics would ease cross-media planning and buying, and help remove friction from their processes.” Kelly is not the only decision maker for the whole industry of radio. There needs to be a consensus in the marketplace for any change to start being implemented.

As of now, there are no signs that radio is either for or against a change in metrics in their respective industry. However, one can only imagine they are feeling the pressure to innovate as they watch their fellow traditional media giants make the switch.

Industry leaders like Tom Langmyer say, “TV and radio are the only mediums that typically don’t transact based on CPM calculations, but we have the data.” A metric that can highlight the value of using radio as an advertising platform could be exactly what the industry needs. However, radio “must continue to sell integrated marketing plans, sponsorships, events, and unique experiences that aren’t valued solely on impressions. That’s where smart sales and marketing people provide even more value,” Langmyer states.

This transition allows for simplification when buying and selling media, accurate targeting and evaluation, less friction in media planning. Is this decade going to be the comeback for TV and radio? 

Let’s chat about it! Call us at 800-579-3031

Why Instagram Should be in Your Marketing Plan

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Instagram often gets neglected by marketers because they believe it will be of no use to their respective business or that their target market is not on there. With over one billion monthly active users, it is safe to say that at least some members of the chosen target audience is present. There are five big reasons to start including Instagram in marketing plans.

  1. Target market access: with the one billion monthly users mentioned above, combined with social media’s ability to communicate personable messages, this is a great medium to find your target audience.
  2. Intuitive: Instagram’s user interface is powerful and simple. There is no learning curve or training necessary. For the most part, you can jump right in and get to work. 
  3. Free: It costs nothing to make an Instagram, publish content on it, and see an endless amount of content. There is also an option to do paid advertising on Instagram as well. The core functions are free, though. 
  4. No equipment necessary: Smartphones are sophisticated enough that an expensive camera, studio, or any other content production tools are not necessary. Creativity, patience, and the slightest photography know-how will get the job done at superb quality
  5. Automation capabilities: Adding another platform to the marketing mix can sound like a lot of extra work, but it really isn’t thanks to recent developments from Facebook, Instagram’s owner. There are automation dashboards that allow Instagram posts to be scheduled ahead of time, in bulk with tools such as Buffer, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social. 

To summarize, start using Instagram in your marketing plan because it’s free, easy to use, doesn’t require fancy equipment, and your target market is on there! 

Next, learn how to optimize your Facebook marketing campaign!

5 Reasons To Use Live Streaming Services in Your Marketing Campaign

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So your marketing campaign needs some work. You are seeking new initiatives and tools to boost engagement, expand your marketing plan, accumulate new followers, and of course, sell more products. Well, live streaming may be able to help your business. Here are a few reasons why:

1. It is a natural progression

Since you already know about the advantages of digital and video marketing, live streaming is your next step. Video marketing has become interactive through live streaming. Video currently accounts for half of all Internet traffic, so it makes sense you’d want your business to be a part of that. Videos are accessible, affordable, and their ROI has been tested and proven to work.

It’s opening up an entirely new world of interactivity, and that’s something you should be taking advantage of.

2. It is cost effective

Cost is important especially when you are operating a small business. Well, live streaming is no more expensive than conventional video marketing, which has attributed to its rise in popularity.  All you need to live stream is a stable Internet connection and a good camera that can shoot in HD quality.

3. It creates a community

Live streaming allows people to communicate with each other while watching your video. Your target audience can comment and ask questions, thus forging a type of community guided by you and your brand.

This improves user experience in an organic, natural way that can bring about referrals and recommendations from your audience to boost the number of followers you have.

4. It gives the option to provide education

You are not just selling a product or service. In fact, you are proving education which adds value to your brand. Live streaming can allow you to provide an interactive lesson, seminars or lectures.

Customers can ask questions in real time and those questions can be addressed immediately, which clears up any confusion that blocks a potential sales conversion. This can also nourish your brand’s community and boost your interactions with your target audience.

5. It provides transparency

People want to know what your brand is all about, even behind the scenes. They want to gauge your authenticity. Live streaming makes that easier. Customers can look behind the scenes as part of these special live streaming presentations.

For example, you can show them a demo of your latest product. You can show them around the office and introduce them to some of your staff in real-time. The advantage this has over traditional video marketing is that you are designed to feel like you are in the room with them.

 

For more information about live streaming services for your business, visit us at www.mediapartnersworldwide.comm or call us directly at (562)439-3900

Quick Tips to Improve Your Facebook Marketing Campaign

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Facebook is one of the most under-utilized online advertising channels out there today, despite its popularity as a social media platform. With approximately 1.4 billion active users, it would behoove you to test the Facebook ad waters and build a proper strategy for your business.

In an attempt to help you weed out all the clutter, here are some quick tips to get you started on your Facebook marketing campaign.

Appearance

  • Coordinate your cover photo, profile picture and pinned posts to match your call to action. If you want to maximize engagement with your marketing campaigns, try matching your copy and creative across all three.

  • Use a recognizable profile picture. Since your profile picture is at the top of the page and used as your thumbnail, you want to make sure it’s something that potential customers or fans will recognize, like your logo.

  • Plan your “About” section, carefully. Since a preview of your “about” section is shown beneath your profile picture, it is going to be one of the first things people see. Make sure to write relevant information about your company and include your website.

Posting

  • Think about ways to target your audience, such as by age, gender, interests or education. The more specific with targeting; the stronger your engagement will be.
  • Create original posts, but don’t overwhelm your followers by posting more than a few times a day.
  • Post during peak times. Websites, such as coschedule.com, offer analytics of the best time to post on Facebook and other social media platforms. For example, posts published between 1-4 p.m. usually have the best click-through and share rates.
  • Visual content is essential to succeeding on social media. Research has a shown the use of visual content in Facebook campaigns can generate 65% more engagement after only one month.

Analysis

  • Facebook offers features to track your engagement with followers such as “Insights.”For example, if you are looking for page specific data, like engagement rate per post, “insights” is a great tool to utilize.
  • Use tracking URLs with UTM codes to identify which posts are driving traffic and conversions to your website.
  • Promote your best content, the content that you know works. You don’t have to spend precious time in the beginning completely changing your campaign. If something has worked for you before, try it again.

For more information on using Facebook ads to promote your business, visit us at www.mediapartnersworldwide.comm or call us directly:(562)439-3900

5 Ways to Generate Leads for Small Businesses

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As small business owners know, there are many challenges to be faced when starting your own company. One of those obstacles is generating leads. Finding the unique way to attract people to your business requires strategy, patience, and creativity.

Here are 5 ways to engage potential customers and get them on the path of eventually buying your product or service.

1. Strong Branding

Customers love authentic companies who are strong with their message and consistent with their content. Millennials are typically more likely to support a brand if they feel they are reliable. (Check out our blog on millennials here!) So, don’t try and be everything to everyone.

Keep your brand strong by having a clear definition of who you are and maintain this definition throughout your content, visuals, and products.

2. Newsletter

If you don’t have a newsletter, you are missing out on ample opportunities to engage with potential customers. Make sure you put a newsletter sign up in every possible place that makes sense on your website.

Email campaigns are a great way to fight your way through the internet noise and be seen. Create your newsletters to include industry news, product announcements, and insights from your company. For more tips, check out our post on email marketing here.

3. Blogs

Nowadays, most reliable companies have a blog. It allows your company complete control of what is said on your niche topic and it also allows opportunities to have the undivided attention of your reader.

Create posts with statistics and credible information to authenticate your brand and allow your readers to learn. Give it real value and don’t make it all about you. Of course, there will be room to promote your product or service. But foremost, relay engaging information and join conversations that are prevalent in your field.

4. Networking at Events

Don’t forget about the real world in this predominately digital market. By going to events, you will meet people, expand your network and gain referrals.

Bring business cards and put yourself out there. Even if the event doesn’t directly pertain to your business, go anyway as it can bring about valuable contacts and leads.

5. Offers

You want to get potential customers to visit your website and an offer is a great way to do that. But keep in mind, that the offer must have enough value to a visitor to merit providing their personal information in exchange for access to it. An example of this would be creating an ebook on something prevalent and informative to your niche, or a special coupon code that offers a discount if the customers provide their email address.

Then you can use this information to send out your newsletter or latest blog post via email, which will keep your customers coming back for more.

 

Once you put all these elements together, you will establish brand awareness, connect with the potential customer and find what strategy works best for your company.

For more information on lead generation or how to market your small business, contact us here at Media PartnersWorldwide via phone (562) 439-3900 or email [email protected]

 

 

Marketing and Sales Tips for Startups

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Starting a business can be overwhelming, to say the least. Because small business owners have to be whatever their small business needs, it can be difficult to master all the nuances that go into sales or marketing. And if you are not a salesperson, to begin with, you face an even bigger challenge.

However, innovative marketing ideas that will set you apart from competitors is essential.

Here are some marketing tips and tricks to help you with your startup or small business:

1.Create Credibility 

Networking and sharing your expertise with others can help you prove your abilities to your community. After establishing your niche, channel your energy into assembling a culture around your business. You can do this by offering an insider’s perspective to those on the outside.

Entrepreneur.com gives a few suggestions on how to achieve this: ” A blog can offer laymen the chance to understand your trade with a new perspective. A webinar or a podcast can help viewers (or listeners) feel like experts in your field. Speaking at an incubator, expo or niche event can put you in the role of the teacher and allow you to share your groundbreaking ideas with an immediate audience.”

These methods will establish a level of credibility in your field, which is more apt to generate interested customers.

 

 

2. Get “Out There” 

Allow with establishing your niche and increasing your credibility, you need to “be everywhere.” You want to be that brand that people notice when they’re walking down the streets.Even if they don’t know what your startup does, they’ll recognize your name.

This means going above and beyond blogging and being active on social media. Although these platforms and services are important, you can do more.

According to Forbes.com, “Some examples would be commissioning a mural on building and covering the streets with chalk, paint or displays. You could also make up bumper stickers and t-shirts and give them to employees or as freebies at events. They may not be the most unusual, but a creative shirt not only lets people have the chance to be different, it will make others want to jump on board – think Zaarly shirts floating around the Bay Area.”

This may seem a little “out there” but if you following the same method as everyone else, you could get lost in the crowd. Don’t be invisible.

Also, help the people discover your content by improving your ranking on Google. Use hyper-targeted keywords to power your social media-based audience. There are many platforms that can help you do this, like Socedo, a social media automation tool, where you can, for example, find Twitter users who post content using your niche keywords and engage with them over time.

It will take a little bit of fight to get noticed but it will be worth the hard work in the end.

3. Listen To Your Customer   

Customers may at times defy logic, but they are usually right. If you want to know what your potential audience wants, you need to pay attention to what they are saying. Review data, interview customer service reps, build a rapport through email, create a survey and, above all, be open and ready to listen.

 

4. People and Places 

It never hurts to pair with an unexpected partner or place to promote your product. A great example of this is, “the time M&M’s were offered a starring role in E.T. The offer was turned down, so the film went with Reese’s Pieces instead. While that hiccup didn’t remove M&M’s from grocery store shelves, it did help make Reese’s Pieces an extremely popular candy.”

A risk is involved with every avenue of business. So don’t be afraid to branch out into the unexpected. You could be rewarded in the end.

5. Engage, Don’t Sell 

As a startup business owner and an entrepreneur, your first inclination will be to push a sale to everyone you meet. However, start with engagement first and sales will follow later.

With social media, it’s easy to engage your target demographic without looking like you’re just trying to advertise. Build brand trust by showing your support, whether of your community or your online following. This goes along with previous steps mentioned in this article. Sales will come after customers are listened to, credibility is established and your presence on various social platforms is recognized. In short, engagement.

Pandora Marketing Tips

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As the online and mobile market grows, so do avenues for advertising. Pandora, a music streaming service, offers a number of features to keep listeners happy and connected to their service.

However, as advertisers and marketers, you can use these features to effectively target your audience.

Pandora Features

Pandora plays music for users based on his or her preferences in musical artists. For example, if the user likes Led Zeppelin, they create a “Led Zeppelin” playlist and then Pandora will conclude that the listener wants to listen to classic rock. It will then take this information and play similar artists from that genre. The idea is that the listener will get a variety of music at their fingertips based on their favorite genres and artists.

The playlist is further enhanced by a feature that allows the user to provide positive or negative feedback about each song that the service selects. The system’s algorithm will take that feedback into account when selecting future songs.

These features allow Pandora to fine tune each user’s playlist in an attempt to become the “perfect” radio station.

With 81 million active listeners and almost 5 million subscribers, Pandora is an excellent option in delivering ads to a very specific, highly targeted market.

 

Types of Ads

Pandora is not limited to audio ads as you can run banner and video ads as well. The software can actually determine when the user is interacting with the screen. “This isn’t a difficult feat of engineering in and of itself, but the fact that the company leaders thought it important to determine when users are looking at the screen is a testament to Pandora’s efforts to monetize every aspect of its service.”

Audio

Audio ads expose listeners to your brand. If the user is listening to Pandora’s free service, then he or she can not skip these ads, giving you the opportunity to expose your brand to millions of listeners. And because ads are not allowed to run more than four minutes per hour, listeners will find them less invasive than regular radio.

Banners

Banner ads can help you engage your target market. Since listener are required to input their age, gender and zip code upon signing up for the service, marketers can have access to this information, making it easier to engage the types of listeners that will be interested in their brand. With banners, you have the advantage of creative interesting promotions, offer coupons and other relevant incentives to get potential customers to interact with your website or call center.

Video

There is still an opportunity for video ads as people look at their phones from time to time when Pandora is playing. However, it is advised to keep these ads brief, around 15 seconds. If you choose this options, make these ads entertaining and fresh to keep listeners engaged.

 

Other Facts

Ignite Visibility suggests creating a landing page so that you can track your traffic and click-throughs from the ads. “That way, you’ll know how many people are responding to your Pandora ads and how many of them are becoming paying customers. Use standard Google Analytics URL tagging on that page make sure you associate it with a Pandora campaign.”

Also, ” you need to make sure that you have a solution that tracks and attributes installs to the right partner. Tracking and attribution are complicated, but a deep understanding of how to get it right is crucial for your success,” according to Pandora for Brands.

Advertising on Pandora is affordable for both large and small companies. It costs less than buying a spot with a local radio station. There are approximately seven display ads per hour and two and a half audio ads per hour.

As you can seem between millions of subscribers and its targeting and ad capabilities, Pandora is a great option for your brand.

 

For more information, or how to get your brand set up with Pandora marketing, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us here at Media Partners Worldwide! Send us an email or give us a call! (562) 439-3900

We would love to help your business grow.

 

5 Tips for Improving Your Email Marketing Campaign

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Email is one of the most powerful marketing platforms. While serving a number of purposes, its greatest function is the ability to funnel your audience into one place.

According to Entrepreneur.com, “email is so powerful that the Direct Marketing Association says that you can get a return on investment (ROI) of $38 for every $1 you invest in email marketing.”

However, some email marketers end up narrowing their focus, limiting themselves to one goal: click-throughs. While getting the most traffic you can to your site is extremely important, you need to move a step further to keep your audience loyal to your or your brand.

Here are some tips to spruce up your email marketing campaign and keep your audience coming back for more.

1. Keeping Your Audience Informed 

Your first task is to make sure your email strategy is keeping your audience informed with important updates and reminders. This helps your brand stay fresh in the mind of your subscribers, and demonstrates value to them. Just make sure your announcements have real value and are relevant to your audience.

Don’t just send an email out for the heck of it. Stay focused and narrow your scope to contain what your audience will be interested in receiving.

2. Segment Your Email List 

Instead of lumping all your subscribers into one category and one email, try the segmenting approach. This means categorizing your subscribers based on relevant information, such as age, gender, activity to your site, purchase behavior or interests. People like personalization and feeling important as a customer.

According to a study conducted by Marketing Sherpa, “segmenting emails can boost email conversion rates by up to 208 percent.”

3. Timing 

As the saying goes, timing is everything. This goes for email marketing as well. Research shows that there are better times and days to send emails depending on your goals. According to coschedule.com data, the best time to send an email is between 10 and 11 a.m on Mondays during the week and on Sundays for weekends. Additionally, the best day to send emails to high open rates and clickthrough rates is on Tuesday.

Don’t forget about timezones too. Identify where the majority of your target audience is located and adjust your times and days accordingly.

4. Email Automation is Key 

If any of these steps seem overwhelming, remember that most email platforms have email automation. This makes it possible to send emails to different people at different times based on their time zones.

Familiarize yourself with this feature, as it will make your life easier and your audience reach more accessible.

Some email services are now introducing artificial intelligence for email marketing that will do all of this for you. Services such as Sendpulse, Infusionsoft, Active Campaign, and Ontraport, all offer this feature.

5. Social Media Integration 

Though this may seem simple, but a great way to encourage brand loyalty and keep a connection with your audience is integrating your social media into your email strategy.

According to Small Business Trends, “this mode of cross-pollination encourage some of your already-loyal social media followers to subscribe to your email list and encourages some of your interested email subscribers to get more involved on the social media front.” This way you will be encouraging more user participation, thus establishing stronger brand loyalty.