Emma Cameron, Author at Mirza Insider

January 7, 2016May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

The 5 Most Memorable Social Media Marketing Campaigns of 2015

There have been countless unique and successful social media marketing campaigns over the last year, but five really stood out to us. Take a look at the ones we really enjoyed following this past year!

TOMS #WithoutShoes Hashtag on Instagram

TOMS Shoes has been known for their philanthropic efforts ever since the company was started in 2006. The company is known for their goal of donating one pair of shoes to needy children for each pair sold. This year TOMS Shoes extended their philanthropic efforts and used Instagram as their platform to execute their campaign. Every time someone posted an Instagram photo of their bare feet and used the hashtag #withoutshoes, TOMS Shoes would donate a pair of shoes. Through the campaign TOMS was able to donate 296,243 pairs of shoes and really increased their following on social media.

Lowe’s ‘Fix in Six’ Vine Videos

Lowe’s jumped on the Vine bandwagon in 2013, but really made a splash this year on the video sharing app. Lowe’s does a great job of capturing the essence of vine through their six second long DIY videos that are named ‘Fix in Six’ (#lowesfixinsix). While Vine appeals to a younger demographic, it has enabled Lowe’s to position their brand to attract attention from a demographic that they may have not been able to reach before – resulting in a growing following, as well as over 44 million vine loops per video.

HP’s #bendtherules Campaign on Vine

HP took a different route this year when it came to showing off their design of the new HP Pavilion x360 convertible laptop. Instead of buying ads on social media platforms, HP teamed up paid social influencers on the video sharing app Vine. HP picked top vine stars such as Marcus John, Robby Ayala, and others to showcase the product and raise awareness through funny and entertaining short videos. The campaign excelled on the interactive app where some videos earned nearly 250,000 likes and more than 8,000 comments – impressive!

Burberry’s Live-Stream Fashion Show on Periscope and Snapchat

In June 2015, Burberry took live-streaming to the next level by using two powerful social media apps – Periscope and Snapchat- to provide video and photo updates from their menswear fashion show. The use of Periscope and Snapchat was an immediate successful and Burberry received the best digital engagement that the British fashion brand has ever had. Due to their first successful campaign, Burberry tried this type of live engagement once again a month later where they live-streamed their Los Angeles fashion show over Snapchat and Periscope again. This set a record high for their engagement, which brought in over 100 million viewers and proved that Burberry is on top of the live-streaming game!

Taco Bell on Snapchat

Taco Bell has been utilizing Snapchat in many different ways this year to engage followers as well as using Snapchat to market and advertise. Recently, Taco Bell has been using Snapchat to creatively launch new menu items and contests by uploading to their Snapchat story feed – giving exclusive access to just these followers. This type of exclusivity has proven to be very successful because Taco Bell now has a following of over 200,000 on Snapchat, and has a 90% return on engagement from followers – mind-blowing!

Lets see what 2016 has in store for social media marketing campaigns!

January 2, 2016May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

10 Tips to Kick Start 2016!

Now that the new year is here, it is time to get out of holiday mode and start 2016 off with a big bang! Here are 10 simple ways to get an early start to the new year that will benefit you all year long!

Get Your Day Started Early:

There is no doubt that the classic saying “the early bird gets the worm” is a well known fact. Getting up early allows you to get a quick start to your day without distractions and helps you accomplish things early on – resulting in more free time for you to enjoy with friends and family. So this year, start waking up early by utilizing your alarm clock as well as getting to bed at a decent time.

Making Time For Fitness:

Working out is one of the best things you can do for your body and your mind as well. Physical activity releases endorphins and boost your energy levels up which help deliver more oxygen and nutrients throughout your body. Just 30 minutes of exercise a day can benefit your body and help you feel healthier and better about yourself!

Make A To-Do List For Your Day:

If you find yourself stressed and overwhelmed by work piling up, then a to-do list are perfect for you. To-do list exist to help you organize your priorities and help you get things done on time

Write Out Your Goals For The Year Ahead:

Research has shown that physically writing down your goals increases your likelihood of accomplishing them. So grab your favourite notebook, and brainstorm goals and aspirations that you would love to accomplish this year. If you have goals that weren’t accomplish last year but you still would like to achieve, write them down and work towards them with your goals for 2016 – its never too late to achieve them!

Drink More Water:

Research has shown that nearly half of Americans don’t drink enough water everyday. So instead of giving up chocolate or carbs think about about adding more good stuff to your diet like water – it will have a huge impact!

Say ‘Yes’ More:

Take advantage of this year and make it more eventful by saying ‘yes’ more often! Say ‘yes’ to more opportunities that you would normally decline in previous years – you never know where one opportunity that you agree to can lead you!

Take Up A Hobby:

If you have always wanted to start a new hobby or try something new, this is the year to do it! Whether it be learning how to play a new instrument, cooking, painting, or learning how to speak a new language, try it all because you never know what you might enjoy! Plus you might also meet new people who enjoy the same interests as you – double win!

Make More Time For Friends And Family:

One goal we should all have for 2016 is making more time for our loved ones! We are all busy with our daily schedules of work, school, and hobbies, that sometimes we forget about making time for the people that truly matter in our lives. Plan a trip, have a party, or simply go out to coffee with friends and family, and show them how much they mean to you!

Give Back To Your Community:

After a month of receiving from the holidays, give back by helping out your community in different ways! Donate to your favourite charity, or help out a neighbour that is in need. Giving back feels good, and is a perfect way to kick start 2016!

Log Off Your Phone Every Once In A While:

Our smartphones can be a blessing and a curse at times – it keeps us connected with the ones we love, but it can keep us distracted from what really matters in life. Log off your phone and social media accounts every once in a while this year and keep in touch with the finer and simpler things in life that are worth experiencing first hand!

Make 2016 a year to remember by kick starting it with these 10 simple tips! Good luck and have a Happy New Year!

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December 23, 2015May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

How to Grab Your Consumers Attention Within a Few Seconds

The attention span of the average human decreases every year. In only thirteen years, we have gone from an attention span of 12 seconds to a mere 8 seconds. This is due to our fast paced lifestyle, the changing dynamics of technology and advertising clutter. Not only does this have direct consequences, but it is becoming a problem for both brands and marketers who want to grab consumers attention – and keep it! This poses a serious challenge for brands and marketers. However, there are solutions that can help you quickly grab anyone’s attention in just a few seconds.

Let photos speak for you:

Whoever came up with the phrase “a picture is worth a million words” was spot on. Consumer interest and curiosity can be sparked in a matter of seconds with captivating photos. Brands have been moving towards image-centric marketing rather than traditional text-based ever since the rise in the use of social media marketing. This is rather smart due to the fact that between 65 and 85 percent of people describe themselves as visual learners. They digest information more easily by visual stimulation rather than traditional text based. Interesting images spark consumers’ interest just enough to make them want more. This is why many photo and video sharing sites and apps are becoming increasingly popular with consumers and brands. Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr are some of the most popular sites right now where consumers and brands are flocking to. These sites thrive on photo and video sharing, and have become successful due to their simple format, and engaging content that brands are uploading.

Make it personal:

Consumers crave the feeling of brands speaking directly to them. Personalized promotional emails and personalized online advertising techniques are considered the top strategies for this and help encourage consumers to purchase and engage in repeat buying. When you have the tools and processes in place to track individual consumer data, it really goes a long way – minimizing your client acquisition cost!

Furthermore, many companies have embraced this personal tactic in their products and services and have been extremely successful. For example, Coca-Cola introduced their “Share a Coke” campaign last summer after years of falling sales. By simply adding popular names and labels to each bottle, Coca-Cola was able to personalize their product, which resulted in an increase of sales.

Encourage Consumers to Participate on Social Media Channels:

Encouraging consumers to participate in social media campaigns can build personal relationships with your brand and keep you at the forefront of a consumer’s mind. For example, GoPro interacts with consumers on their social media pages, and excels with their engagement on Instagram. This is all due to the campaign “photo of the day” – which has been going on for a few years now – where GoPro features photos that their consumers have taken with their product. This campaign has been very successful for GoPro who has a combined following of over 22 million followers on all their social media channels. This has allowed GoPro to interact with consumers on a regular basis and optimize their brand presence. Encouraging consumers to participate on social media channels is an easy and simple way to draw attention from your consumer(s).

We may never be able to reverse the affects that technology, our lifestyles, and clutter marketing has had on our attention spans. But thankfully, there are still ways to navigate this obstacle when it comes to marketing and advertising!

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December 14, 2015May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

How the Advertising Feature on Instagram Works

Have you ever scrolled through your Instagram feed, and were surprised to see an advertisement from your favourite brand? Have you ever wondered how these advertisements matched your interest or hobbies so well? Well in 2014, Instagram introduced the advertisement feature that allows brands to sponsor ads to their target consumer(s). These ads pop up on the targeted users feed, regardless of if the user is following the brand or not. Brands can pick from three ad formats – photo, video, and carousel ads.

Instagram uses Facebook’s demographic data to present the correct ads to the appropriate demographic. For an example, you would never want a 40 year old male who is interested in sports seeing an ad for beauty products targeted at teens. This is important to ensure that relevant content is being shared with the right audience.

Instagram first tested the advertising feature by selecting specific brands – Taco Bell, Mercedes-Benz, and Chobani were some of the earliest adopters! After a successful run over the course of a few months, the ad feature is now available to businesses big or small! Though the advertising feature appeared to be working successfully, Instagram did fine that they needed to give users the opportunity to mute these sponsored ads. Advertisements are always labeled as sponsored and users have the ability to hide ads if they are not pleased with the disruption on their feed – giving the user control over what they see. Instagram has found this to be successful, and consumers are responding well to this control.

Many brands who have used the advertising feature on Instagram have been more than pleased with the return they have gotten on these ads. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream ad campaign reached an estimated 9.8 million people just in the United States in only eight days – impressive! Mercedes-Benz used Instagram to launch its compact SUV called the “GLA” in collaboration with Facebook last fall and saw an increase of 580 percent to their site! Happn has been using the advertising feature for a month now, and has reached an estimated 3 million users in London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Paulo. The app has seen a conversion rate of 84 percent in terms of app downloads as well as registered users – incredible!

There are over 400 million Instagram users worldwide, and over 70 million photos and videos uploaded everyday – making Instagram the perfect untapped app for advertising and branding! If executed properly, Instagram advertisements can open up a new market and even a new target consumer to businesses!

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November 29, 2015May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

How GoPro Empowers Their Customers

Social media is an amazing new marketing outlet that allows consumers to keep connected and engaged with their favourite brands. Social media not only allows brands to specifically advertise to their demographics, but it is also allows consumers to advertise and promote their favourite brands products and services as well.

GoPro has been doing a success job of empowering their users, while using their content to promote their brand. GoPro allows everyday people the ability to shoot HD footage and capture out of this world photographs on their miniature cameras – no matter what their past experience consists of. Not only are their products successful, but their presence on Instagram is as well. GoPro currently has 7 million followers, and averages about 300,000 “likes” per post. Their following is continuously growing, and so is their social media campaign. The company came up with the campaign “Photo of the Day”, where users upload their HD photographs to their own Instagram accounts, tagging GoPro in these photos. Everyday, GoPro picks a photo to be featured on their own Instagram account and tags the user in the re-uploaded photo. GoPro is not just stopping at photos, they are also promoting users to create extreme videos that they repost on their Youtube page.

This campaign has been extremely successful, and has been going on for years now. This allows GoPro to empower their users and promote their work, while at the same time be able to share these photos and use them as advertising tools. Creating a sort of win-win for both the user and the brand. This is just one of the many brands who are embracing social media, and really allowing consumers to take the reigns on advertising through these platforms.

As more and more brands move towards social media marketing, this tactic will become increasingly popular. Consumers love it and so do brands!

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November 20, 2015May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

How To Use Hashtags Effectively

Hashtags are an important part of our social media and tech culture today. So important that in 2010 the Oxford Dictionary added the word, and the board game Scrabble added it to their dictionary. Though most people in the world have heard of hashtags, or have seen them live in action, many still do not know to how to use them effectively. Hashtags are simple to use and can really drive traffic and engagement to your post or content – making them an important tool to know inside out.

Choosing The Right One:

It is not effective to just pick any word or phrase and proceed to use it as a hashtag. You should research which ones are already in use and in what context they are being used. For an example, if you come up with a hashtag that fits your brand perfectly, you need to make sure that other brands or individuals are not using that same one in a completely different way. This can cause confusion and a loss opportunity for your brand, and it could pick up some unwanted attention.

Pick The Right Social Media Platform:

Different social media platforms yield different returns for your content.

Twitter:

Twitter is the originator of the hashtag, and continues to still be the powerhouse. Tons of research has been done to track the effectiveness of the use of them on Twitter. According to one study, tweets with one or two hashtags can double the chances of engagement. However, if you exceed two per tweet, the chances of engagement actually drops by 17%. Staying within two per tweet limit is crucial. It is also important to note how “engagement” is defined in research. The engagement that is activated by hashtags can include different types of interactions; 22% of engagement comes from replies to brand’s tweets; 78% are retweets; And 92% are link clicks. Depending on the use of them in a tweet, it can either increase or decrease this amount of engagement

Facebook:

Facebook introduced hashtags to their site in 2013, which was a late start for the social media powerhouse. Though Facebook currently ranks the highest for the most used platform in the world, their engagement using hashtags is one of the worst. Studies have shown that Facebook posts with hashtags actually have less engagement than those without. Furthermore, studies have found that Facebook and Twitter are similar in the sense that overuse can also decrease the amount of engagement and interaction. It is more beneficial to keep hashtags down to one or two per post on Facebook in order to receive interaction back.

Instagram:

Instagram is the complete opposite to Twitter and Facebook when it comes to hashtags. Other social media sites diminish your return on engagement with the more hashtags you use per post. Instagram views this in a different light, and the more hashtags that are used the more noticed, liked, shared, and commented your post will get. Post that exceed 11 or more hashtags, are the post that bring in the highest number of interactions. Hashtags can be your best bet for growing a fast following on Instagram.

Timing is Everything:

As with most things in life, everything always comes down to timing. The same can be said with using hashtags on social media sites. There are many different online tools that can help you set up and schedule times to post content to your social media sites. This helps with getting content out during times of high usage, and on significant dates (e.g. holidays, campaign launches, etc). This can really help with getting your hashtag out there, and bringing in traffic.

Hashtags are a huge part of our social media sites today. Hashtags allow brands to reach more followers, give followers the opportunity to engage and interact with their favourite brand. It is one of the greatest inventions and one of the best things for online marketing.

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November 20, 2015May 2, 2016 by Emma Cameron

How To Use Snapchat As A Marketing Tool

For years Facebook and Twitter have been the kings of all social media platforms. Combined, these platforms have over 2 billion users and growing, making these platforms one of the most looked at sites for marketers. Recently however, a new social media king has stepped onto the scene, and is bringing brands along with them. Snapchat reports an estimated 6 billion views daily, and has over 100 million active daily users (65% of which contribute content). This portfolio has brands and marketers not only impressed, but jumping at the opportunity to use it as a marketing tool. There are many benefits to advertising on Snapchat, however it has to be the right fit for your company. If you are looking into using Snapchat for your own business, check out what we think are the 4 best ways to utilize it.

1.Provides Access to Live Events:

Snapchat is one of the best tools for real-time social media marketing due to the fact that is can give audiences around the world access to live events. Companies can use Snapchat for real-time product launches, trade shows, or one-of-a-kind unique events. It allows consumers to feel involved in events, and engaged to be up-to-date on what their favourite brands are doing.

Lives events that have been successfully featured on Snapchat include the American Music Awards, the Westminster Dog Show, and Oktoberfest.

2. Embrace the Time Limit:

Many would say that the time limit that Snapchat offers is a negative for some businesses. However, many marketers and brands do not think this is always the case. The time limit (24 hours) allows for brands to create short videos or photos that last only a few seconds that can be sent to consumers as teasers. These teasers leave viewers wanting more, and creating a demand for these teasers.

Make-up powerhouse brand, NARS, used the app to allow followers an exclusive sneak peek look of their upcoming Guy Bourdin collection. NARS only allowed followers who added their @NARSissist Snapchat the opportunity to preview the collection. Due to the time limit and the ability to send personalized content to followers, this made Snapchat the best possible media for this type of release.

3. Offer Contests, Promotions or Perks:

Online consumers repeatedly check brand’s social medias to score on promotions or perks that not all customers get access to. Snapchat is no exception to this. Many consumers flock to Snapchat for the opportunity to see new promotions and contest that are offered by their favourite brands.

GrubHub excels in the Snapchat community by using different promotions and deals to engage their audience online. Grubhub became the first brand to launch a nationwide scavenger hunt campaign in 2014. The campaign lasted for five days, and each day followers were given a new challenge to complete. The winners of the challenges were given a $50 credit to GrubHub and had access to other promotions. GrubHub saw an increase growth of 20 percent in their followers, and found that more than 30 percent of their followers participated in the challenges.

4. Partner with Individuals with an Audience:

Snapchat can be used to promote brand awareness, brand loyalty, and also be used for product placements. Influencers with a large following can be a vital tool for brands who want to get their product noticed by demographics that are hard to reach through their traditional medias.

During the Superbowl, Audi teamed up with the app and the blog, the Onion, to bring a Snapchat campaign to followers. Photos of “typical things people may exhibit during the game” included humorous captions and drawings. The end result of the 3 hour campaign resulted in an increase of 5,500 new followers to Audi’s Snapchat page, and endless retweets of screen grabs from the campaign.

Snapchat is dominating in the app world, and brands are continuously growing their presence on it. Is your company ready to jump on this Bandwagon?

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