5 Ways to Use FoMO in Your Online Marketing Strategy
It’s human nature to want to be “connected” or “in the know.” In the past, not knowing where new water and food sources are could result in death. The situation now isn’t as dire as it was before, but the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is causing people to become afraid of missing out on […]
Ask the SMXperts: The latest in advanced technical SEO
SMXperts Dawn Anderson, Bastian Grimm and Brian Weiss answer technical SEO questions on time to first meaningful paint, indexation and crawling controls, challenges associated with voice search and more. The Ask the SMXpert series continues the question and answer (Q&A) segment held during sessions at Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West 2018. Today’s Q&A is from the Latest in […]
Consumers nowadays have become savvier, thanks to the easy accessibility of information via the Internet. They are not easily swayed by false advertising claims and fancy marketing spiels. Younger consumers have become especially more loyal to brands that appear to be transparent in how they do business. But what is brand transparency, exactly? Why is it crucial for companies, and does it really have an effect on consumer behavior and loyalty? Brands are developed as a means to identify and differentiate one business from the other. Effective branding creates inherent value that affects purchasing behavior and consumer preferences. These days, consumers are demanding more detailed information about a product before making a purchase. They want to know all the product specifications, the materials used to make it, where those materials came from, and the actual people who make and distribute the products. For these reasons and more, brand transparency should not be considered just another marketing buzzword; it should be a top priority for businesses. Studies have shown that transparency resulted in increased loyalty and boosted brand worth. A 2016 Label Insight Study, revealed that out of 2000 respondents, 94 percent were likely to be loyal to a brand that commits to full transparency. About 56 percent would remain loyal for life if a company remained open to its disclosures. Of those surveyed, 73 percent were willing to pay more for a brand that is completely transparent. Some consumers will even switch to a brand and consider its entire product portfolio, all because of its openness. Brand transparency builds lifetime loyalty and strengthens trust from consumers. About 58 percent remain distrustful of a brand without ‘real world proof’ of its promised claims. Businesses are seen as ethical if they are truthful in informing people of what to expect from offered products and services. It is a guiding principle for companies and advertising channels alike in their marketing strategy to earn trust. Full transparency requires a conscious effort in disclosing information to the public. It allows companies to prevent mistrust from happening when information is only made available after the incident. There are several ways to promote brand transparency and earn consumer trust. 1. Holding Your Brand Accountable Any lapses in brand standards should be pointed out and serve as an example to do better. A business is responsible for delivering its brand’s promise on products and services. If possible, everyone in the company should share accountability, as behaviors in the workplace also reflect the brand’s values. 2. Focusing on What Your Brand Represents Avoid portraying the company inaccurately. Staying true to what your brand stands will help it to maintain a positive image. Amidst the changing business landscape, companies must remain open with their consumers without losing sight of the brand’s purpose. Core values and a clear mission statement should be communicated and upheld throughout the company. 3. Connecting With Consumers Companies should take advantage of social media in communicating their messages to target markets. With digital-savvy consumers, businesses must turn to social networking platforms and acknowledge feedbacks or queries addressed through these channels. By adjusting how they communicate, companies can establish a recognizable brand voice and encourage engagement with consumers. This builds trust in the brand and establishes a loyal relationship with its customers. Keep in mind that brand trust and loyalty do not happen overnight. There are several factors involved in creating a long-lasting relationship with your customer, but one that stands out is brand transparency. [Featured image via Pexels]
Instagram has expanded its booking and payments feature so that users can make dinner reservations, buy tickets or book a service without leaving the app. Instagram is rolling out new ways for businesses to interact with their followers and is expanding the booking and payments feature it began testing last week. Now, messages to a business will show up […]
Microsoft Pay Streamlines Online Payment in Outlook
Microsoft is integrating its digital wallet service into Outlook, as announced during Build 2018 on Monday. Called Microsoft Pay, users can soon make payments on invoices and bills through emails without leaving Outlook and switching to another app or service. All it takes is a click on an Adaptive Card that details the invoice and payment action. […]
Passing Query Phrase into Document Landing Page
I am sure you have seen this, where you come from a Google search and land on a page and you notice the the keywords you searched on are highlighted within the context of that page you land on. If you haven’t try this search phrase, click on this search phrasethen click on the first result, […]
SEMPO Takes Member Communication Seriously
The past month or so has been filled with controversy not from outside of the SEM industry, but rather within. SEMPO has been the talk of the forums. You can see from my first entry on the SEMPO scandal, and from responses in the forums, my sempo meeting coverage and mike’s follow up that things were hot. On the top of that […]
Snapchat’s Q4 Shows Better Than Expected Revenue and User Growth
In a surprising, but welcomed, development, Snapchat finally pulled out of its slump to post a boost in revenue and new user growth. The increase beat investor expectations and invigorated the company, with stocks going up by as much as 25 percent. Snap’s mother company, Snap Inc., reported on Tuesday a revenue of $285.7 million […]
Facebook to Cut Off Third-Party Data for Targeted Ads
In the midst of the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook recently announced that it will put an end to its Partner Categories program. The move effectively cuts off third-party access to the social media giant’s data. Facebook utilizes data from third-party data collectors to augment its own data pool for ad targeting. The […]
Bing Search Algorithm Update? Nope, Analytics Tracking Issue.
I was all excited, I saw widespread reports of a Bing Search algorithm update at WebmasterWorld and then I dug deeper and it seems it was more related to how Google Analytics reports organic traffic from Bing. Something changed because of several really large sites I track, I saw as much as a 25% decrease in organic […]
How EMVs Made Credit Card Processing More Secure
Due to rising incidents of fraud and data theft, credit card issuers and merchants switched to using EMV technology to authenticate transactions. Taking its name from Europay, Mastercard, and Visa, EMV was developed as far back as the mid-1990s, but the technology was only widely adopted in the US with the advent of the liability shift in October […]