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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

3 Keys to Designing Effective Online Ads

facebook mobile appNew research from Facebook’s Marketing Science team identifies three keys to designing effective online ads as well as a variety of recommendations and warnings about things to avoid.

The researchers studied 350 brands in 18 industries between October 2013 and March 2014 by recruiting 700 people from around the world to rate more than 1,500 ads that ran in their Facebook News Feeds.

Using the data collected, the team identified the following recommendations for online advertisers to increase conversions:

  • Focus on the product.
  • Provide product information in the ads.
  • Provide a clear directive in the ads.
  • Focus on the brand.
  • Provide a strong link between the brand and the ad.
  • Provide a good fit between the brand’s personality and the ad.
  • Online conversion-focused ads should provide a clear connection to the brand’s personality
  • Single product-focused images should be used in ads to make potential customers perceive the brand as “approachable and accessible.”
  • To increase brick-and-mortar sales, use an iconic product image in the ad that grabs consumers’ attention and enables them to easily identify the brand.

The report repeatedly states that a strong brand link and product placement within online ads are important, but that doesn’t mean that ads that didn’t rank high in each of these elements among consumer participants were failures. Ads with diverse creative or ads that were highly tailored to the brand goals and audience preferences might not score well for all elements but could score very highly for the most important elements.

That brings us to the researchers conclusions. They identified three keys to designing effective online ads:

1. Know your objective because different elements are important for achieving different goals.

The researchers found that brand-focused advertisers consistently scored higher on elements like the link between the ad and brand, the emotional reward delivered by the ad, and the noticeability of the ad. However, direct response-focused advertisers scored higher ratings on call-to-action. These results make complete sense, but some advertisers still use the wrong types of ads for the wrong reasons and audiences, and in the wrong places.

2. For online conversions, focus on product or brand within the ad.

The researchers found that ads that focused on the product with a strong call-to-action and informational reward scored well in online conversions. On the other hand, ads that focused on the brand performed well in online conversions when the ads offered a strong link to the brand and a strong brand personality.

3. For in-store sales, focus on prominent product placement or well-rounded ad creative in the ad.

The researchers found that ads with strong product placement scored well for having a strong brand link, brand personality, and noticeability which successfully drove in-store sales. Similarly, well-rounded ads  that scored high on all elements (or most elements) were successful at driving in-store sales.

While none of these findings are groundbreaking, they do give you some insights into not only how Facebook users rate ads but also how well those ads performed. The researchers compared results of the rating study with previous research that tracked conversions and sales to provide a more comprehensive picture of what’s working (and what isn’t) in online advertising. Therefore, there is value in considering these research results and consumer preferences when you’re planning future online ad creative designs.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Maria Elena licensed CC BY 2.0

What’s Hot in Social Media Marketing in 2014

hot flamesWhen it comes to social media marketing, tools and fads come and go in a heartbeat. What’s hot today, might not be hot tomorrow.

However, in 2014, we’re seeing some trends that won’t go away anytime soon. As truly useful tools rise to the top of the cluttered marketplace, brand marketers are gaining new abilities to drive real results via social media.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what’s hot in social media marketing in 2014. Each of these trends has been growing for years, but finally, brand marketers and corporate leadership teams are prioritizing them and giving them more budget dollars.

1. Incentives

The days of “Like our Facebook Page” are over. The thrill of clicking the Like button disappeared well over a year ago. Today, people aren’t willing to tie themselves to a brand or company unless they get something in return. The promise of great content can be enough of an incentive to get some consumers to Like your Facebook Page or follow your brand on other social media channels, but there is a huge difference between “liking” and engaging.

Incentives work, not only in getting people to take the initial step to “like” your brand across social media channels, but also to engage with your brand. In other words, one time incentives aren’t enough. Incentives should be ongoing to build a new audience and to reward your existing audience. The latter is the part that brands are finally getting better at.

2. Mobile

Finally, brand marketers and corporate leaders are realizing that a “mobile-always” strategy is critical to ongoing success. Content and communications must work effectively or the rapidly growing (and dominating) mobile audience won’t give your brand a second chance. Simply applying an existing online marketing strategy to the mobile world doesn’t work.

3. Hyper-Targeting

Broadcasting and mass communications are taking a back seat to hyper-targeting. Whether brand marketers are pursuing hyper-local targeting strategies or laser-focused targeting based on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral factors, they’re all realizing that the power of social media marketing comes from building one-to-one relationships, not one-to-many relationships. Finding the right audience is an essential step to boosting brand awareness, recognition, sales, loyalty, and advocacy.

What social media marketing trends are you seeing in 2014? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: CaptureQueen licensed CC BY 2.0

Local Marketing and the Effect of Online Consumer Reviews

local marketing business mapLocal marketing is becoming more competitive every day and online consumer reviews play a large part in motivating consumers to make purchase decisions. For the fourth year, BrightLocal conducted its annual Local Consumer Review survey and found that online consumer reviews are critical to small businesses and large businesses operating on a local level.

BrightLocal surveyed 5,000 consumers in its Local Consumer Panel with 2,104 people responding (90% from the U.S. and 10% from Canada). Overall, 57% of respondents search online for a local business more than six times per year, but 39% search online for local businesses at least once per month. Many consumers (15%) search for local businesses online almost every day.

As you might expect, all of this local business searching has increased each year, and online consumer reviews are used by nearly all of the respondents when making purchase decisions. In the last 12 months, nearly nine out of 10 (88%) of respondents had read reviews to gauge the quality of a local business before making a purchase. Furthermore, 39% of respondents read reviews on a regular basis. That’s a significant contrast to the small percentage (12%) who claim to never read online reviews.

All Online Consumer Reviews are Not Equal

Given the fact that so many consumers are taking the time to seek out and read online reviews about local businesses, it’s critical for all businesses that operate at a local level to increase the number of reviews published about their products and services. However, not all online consumer reviews are equal, and consumers know the difference.

Respondents to the BrightLocal survey are reading more online reviews this year than in the past in part because they need to confirm the validity of the reviews they read. In total, 67% of respondents reported that they read up to six reviews before they feel like they can trust a business but 85% read up to 10 reviews and 7% read more than 20 reviews. In other words, it takes a lot of consistent proof before consumers will trust the authenticity of the reviews published about your local business.

Taking a closer look at the data, 72% of survey respondents claim that reviews make them trust a local business more, and 88% claim that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Furthermore, consumers’ trust in online reviews is growing (up from 13% in 2013 to 21% in 2014). Nearly one in three consumers (32%) will trust a consumer review as much as a personal recommendation from someone they know as long as there are multiple positive reviews to read. Similarly, nearly one in three respondents (30%) will trust a consumer review as much as a personal recommendation as long as they believe that the review is authentic.

Bottom-line, online consumer reviews can lead directly to customer action and sales. Of the consumers who responded to the BrightLocal survey, 72% will take some kind of action after reading a positive online review about a local business while 57% will visit a local business website after they read a positive online review. It doesn’t matter if you’re marketing a brand for a local small business or a global company doing business at a local level, online consumer reviews can have a significant effect on awareness, reputation, and sales. Prioritize them!

Image: Vicchi licensed CC BY-SA 2.0

Americans Rank McDonald’s Hamburger the Worst

mcdonalds hamburgerA survey of over 32,000 Consumer Reports magazine subscribers in the United States ranked McDonald’s hamburgers as the worst of 96,200 dining experiences at 65 national and regional fast and casual restaurant chains serving hamburgers, Asian, pizza, sandwich, chicken and Mexican foods.

The most important finding of the study for these restaurant chains is that they’re missing the key to fully satisfying customers today, particularly the millennial audience segment. According to the survey findings, only 20% of consumers consider whether or not a restaurant has healthy menu options when they eat out, and only 19% ordered a healthy menu item the last time they ate out.

Fast and casual restaurant chains are adding to their healthy menus, but that isn’t the top priority for consumers. The survey found that consumers are not concerned about dieting when they eat out. They’re concerned with quality and taste.

Of course, the convenience and affordability of fast and casual restaurants keep consumers coming back again and again, but recent brand strategies seem to be heading in the wrong direction. As sales for fast and casual restaurants decline, it appears to be time to re-strategize and shift priorities for these brands.

Given these important findings, let’s take a look at how the top players in the fast and casual restaurant industry fared in the Consumer Reports survey.

Hamburgers

1st Place: The Habitat Grill
2nd Place: In-n-Out Burger
3rd Place: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Last Place: McDonald’s

Chicken

1st Place: Chick-fil-A
2nd Place: Boston Market
3rd Place: El Pollo Loco

Last Place: KFC

Mexican

1st Place: Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill
2nd Place: Chipotle Mexican Grill
3rd Place: Qdoba Mexican Grill
Last Place: Taco Bell

In a press release, Consumer Reports senior projects editor  Tod Marks called for large fast and casual restaurant chains to take notice of shifting consumer demands saying, “Strong regional players and slightly more upscale fast-casual chains like Chipotle are giving the heavy-hitters in the fast-food business a wake-up call. And our survey clearly shows the big guys need to respond.”

It’s important to remember that many of the restaurant brands that ranked high in this survey don’t necessarily offer healthier menu choices overall. Again, consumers have made it clear that they want quality and taste when they eat out. The opportunity is wide open for these smaller brands to steal market share from the heavy hitters.

What do you think? Do you consider diet and health when choosing a restaurant? Is it the most important consideration or is quality and taste more important?

McDonald’s and similar restaurant brands have experienced negative publicity due to their unhealthy menu options, but based on this study, it appears that the problems these brands face are actually quite different from calorie counting.

Image: Rusty Clark licensed CC BY 2.0

Google’s Project Tango Marries Mobile to Brick and Mortar Retail Shopping Experience

walgreensEarlier this year, Google announced Project Tango, an effort with a specific goal—“to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.”

In partnership with research labs, industrial partners, universities, and more from nine countries, the Project Tango team is using the past decade of work in robotics and computer visioning to develop a mobile phone that can scan and map 3D environments.

Google is also working with professional developers to find innovative ways to turn these new capabilities into useful applications.

For example, the video from Google below suggests using the new technology to assist the blind, to determine if furniture will fit in your house, and more.

Fast forward to this week and Google’s Project Tango is already being used in some Walgreens’ stores in the United States. Retail mapping company, aisle411, developed unique mobile technology with Project Tango that enhances customers’ in-store experiences. Walgreens is the first store to roll out the new technology.

In simplest terms, Walgreens customers can access a mobile device affixed to their shopping carts which maps the entire store and displays discounts and special promotions as shoppers pass them. Customers can also passively earn loyalty rewards when they walk by specific products in the store, and they can actively find products by typing them into the mobile device.

You can see how the technology works in Walgreens stores in the video from aisle411 below.

In Walgreens stores, the technology displays personalized coupons, offers, and rewards as well as standard offers. As a customer walks by an item, it pops out on the device screen, so they can quickly review the offer and determine if it is one they want to purchase or not. What makes this technology so revolutionary is the passive nature of it. Consumers don’t have to do anything except walk up and down the aisles in a Walgreens store to access discounts and earn loyalty rewards.

According to a press release from aisle411, the Project Tango technology is being piloted in a number of major retailer locations (including Walgreens). Each participating store will use the augmented 3D maps as well as in-store experiences that are meant to engage consumers as they’re shopping.

It seems safe to say that this is just the beginning, and the brick-and-mortar retail experience is poised to change significantly in the near future, particularly in terms of the integration of mobile and real-time engagement. The opportunities for brands are significant!

What do you think?

Image: Mike Mozart licensed CC BY 2.0

8 out of 10 Consumers Prefer to Research Products on the Internet

online shopping cart mobileNew research from comScore and UPS reveals that 82% of U.S. consumers prefer to research products online rather than in a brick and mortar store or catalog (18%). When they’re ready to make a purchase, 55% prefer to do so online vs. 45% who prefer to buy in brick and mortar stores or print catalogs.

These are just some of the interesting statistics from the third annual UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper™ Study. A total of 5,800 U.S. online shoppers were surveyed for the 2014 study.

While survey respondents were more likely to research products and buy online, they were still reluctant to do both activities using mobile devices. Respondents ranked four key reasons why they prefer to shop using their computers rather than their mobile devices:

  • Images of products on mobile devices aren’t clear enough or large enough = 43%
  • Information about products cannot be easily viewed on mobile devices = 34%
  • It is hard to compare products using mobile devices = 31%
  • There are concerns about providing credit card information using a mobile connection = 30%

These statistics show that it’s not privacy and security that is keeping many consumers from purchasing online but rather, it is a poor user experience. When asked what mobile shopping-related activities they do using their mobile devices each week, survey respondents ranked the following four activities:

  • Tracked a delivery = 28%
  • Researched products prior to visiting a store = 25%
  • Researched products and alternatives on a mobile device while at a store = 22%
  • Searched for store locations or checked store inventory = 22%

User experience is critical for retailers to motivate consumers to make purchases using their mobile devices, but it’s important to point out that the online shopping experience isn’t perfect yet either. When asked to identify the most important options retailers should provide when checking out online, survey respondents ranked free shipping far above any other option (81%). Coming in second and third were providing estimated delivery data and shipping costs early in the process for convenience (63%) and providing an estimated or guaranteed delivery date (62%).

Overall, the majority of U.S. consumers who participated in the UPS and comScore study were satisfied with the online shopping experiences offered by retailers today, but there is a lot of room for improvement. For example, the highest ranked purchase experience aspect was the ability to see the expected delivery dates of products. A total of 72% of respondents indicated that they are satisfied with this aspect of the online shopping experience offered by retailers today, but that means 28% (nearly 1 out of 3) is not satisfied. Ranked second in terms of consumer satisfaction was ease of checkout (1 or 2 clicks). A total of 68% of respondents were satisfied with the ease of checkout provided through online shopping experiences, but again, that means nearly 1 out of 3 consumers is not satisfied.

Bottom-line, the online shopping experience is far from perfect, which makes the shift to mobile shopping experiences even more challenging for retailers and consumers. Use the data provided in these types of research studies to improve the user experiences delivered by your brand, and online and mobile sales should increase.

Image: Junior Gomes