DigiMark

Driving Digital Marketing

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What is holding E-commerce back?

(youtube)

As E-commerce has changed the B2C landscape over the past several years, some experts predicted that online shopping would make over 15% of total consumer purchases by 2014. However, the actual number has been revealed to be as closer to 5% today, so what has been holding E-commerce back from living up to its expectations?

 According to market research company eMarketer, approximately 15% of all online shopping was done through some sort of mobile device in 2013. (eMarketer.com) A study done by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) found that tablet users accounted for 31% of users online in 2012. The study also found that 74% of these tablet users use their tablets at least once a day. (“A Portrait of Today's Tablet User Wave II” 6, 15)

As technology changes, Businesses must keep up with technology trends to be able to reach customers effectively. Given the increase in mobile device users, many retail websites still struggle to optimize their mobile shopping experience for users which ultimately frustrate them. Targeting users on portable devices such as mobile and tablets successfully require online retailers to make the shopping experience user friendly- that means making sure the visual layout of the site, product selection, order placement, ease of payment and order tracking is made to be as smooth as possible for the customer by concentrating on what the customer needs to do next to move forward with the order. Complicated checkout processes and other issues such as slow load times and required user registration will eventually lead to shopping cart abandonment by impatient users.

 Another major factor keeping consumers hesitant from shopping online are security concerns involving financial transactions. According to a survey done by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, “49% of Internet users worldwide felt vulnerable while shopping online or making online transactions, and 42% of users would utilize online payment systems more often if they felt they were protected from cyber fraud.” (Kaspersky.com) The report shed light on justified fears, as it also found that 43% of respondents had come across some kind of financial threat, users of Apple products being the most affected. (Kaspersky.com) While the online marketplace is still evolving, cyber data protection and safety continues to be a real concern for consumers, especially in the wake of events like retail giant Target managing to lose 40 million shopper credit and debit cards in December 2013. (Reuters)

 For products such as clothing, high-end jewelry and handbags, a physical inspection is necessary to complete the sale. Consumers need to try on clothes to make sure the size, fit and feel of the product is adequate before making these types of purchases. Wearable luxury items also require close inspection by the customer to ensure the quality of the good being sold is up to the standard of the customer and no defects are found within the product. Many retailers have begun to include highly detailed images of their products on their websites which allow users to zoom in to examine the product closely; however there is currently no system that can replace physical inspection of actual items being sold to a customer at the point of purchase.

Luxury goods shopping in a brick and mortar store also include a highly personalized customer service experience- which is difficult to replicate in an online environment, especially since there is no human interaction in most e-stores. Many online stores offer customer service in the form of online chat support or 1-800 help lines, yet this still does not measure up to the level of personalized service offered by staff in brick and mortar stores. At the end of the day, customers will end up choosing to go to a physical store to make these kinds of purchases if not for the service, then to see, hold and inspect the product before buying.

Works Cited

 Digital image. YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://img.youtube.com/vi/uOdcn6Q8cVA/0.jpg>.

"Smartphones, Tablets Drive Faster Growth in Ecommerce Sales - EMarketer." Smartphones, Tablets Drive Faster Growth in Ecommerce Sales - EMarketer. EMarketer, 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

A Portrait of Today's Tablet User Wave II. N.p.: Online Publishers Association, June 2012. PDF.

"Security Concerns Holding Back Usage of Online Payment Services, Kaspersky Lab Study Shows." Security Concerns Holding Back Usage of Online Payment Services, Kaspersky Lab. B2B International in Conjunction with Kaspersky Lab, 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

Reuters. "Target Inevitably Loses Shoppers In Wake Of Data Breach." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

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How to maintain a professional image on social media

Many employers have begun turning to social media as an additional tool for screening prospective employees. So what can you do to ensure you maintain a professional image? 

1.      Check for any inappropriate comments or photos on social media pages

Consider un-tagging  or deleting any photos which may affect your professional image 

 2.      Lock down your account settings

Most social media sites allow you to adjust your privacy settings- learn how to play with this and you can adjust settings such as who can find you, who can add you, who can see your posts/photos and who you share with

 3.       Filter out comments and posts made by others

Some sites such as Facebook allow you to review posts made by others first before making them public. This gives you some control over what other post about you and allows you to react, avoiding any unwanted surprises.  We all have that one friend who will say something inappropriate completely out of the blue.

4.       Limit posts

Be conscious about what you are posting to your social network and how others will receive it. If you feel that it should be a private item but you still want to share it, you can always change the settings of specific groups, posts or albums to a private setting where it is only accessible to individuals that you have approved.

 5.       Keep professional profiles up-to-date

Although this is not really a privacy issue, job-seekers should keep their professional information up-to-date. This makes it easier for recruiters or interviewers to get a general idea of your professional background without having to access your resume.

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Choosing a Social Media Dashboard

 Picking from the top 3 dashboards available right now

A Social media dashboard is an online management tool that allows users to manage multiple social media accounts within one interface. These tools are especially helpful for businesses or users who frequently need to switch back and forth between multiple accounts for updates or to monitor the social health of their brand.

Usually, the main features of these tools that users look for is: to monitor multiple streams, schedule multiple posts, and generate analytics reports, although each dashboard is also unique in its own way and offers a variety of additional tools and features to help users meet different goals.

The following is a breakdown & comparison of the top 3 social media management tools currently available and their suitability for different types of users:

1. Hootsuite

Summary:

Powerful, all-in-one social media management; lets you post to a number of different social media platforms at once while monitoring multiple streams in one place. The high level of customization within the user interface and high integration with supported platform’s tools makes this dashboard ideal for users dealing with multiple/large/high-traffic social media accounts and need to deal with a lot of back-and-forth communication throughout the day. Users can group selected streams together to target and monitor them more closely. This tool is versatile enough to perform most simple tasks and transition between different social media accounts seamlessly. However, there is a pretty steep learning curve and some users may feel lost or overwhelmed by the freedom of control provided by the interface. The main drawback though, is the hidden costs associated with using certain Hootsuite features; only 1 additional team member is included in the Pro Plan, additional team members will set you back about $15 each per month. More than 10 members and you will be required to sign up for the Enterprise package which runs upwards of $1500 per month but allows access to unlimited users. On top of that, analytics reports cost about $50 each while other competitors usually include these in their price. Ideally, Hootsuite would probably be best suited for either A) enterprise-level users who rely on large teams to get work done or B) high traffic users who only need Hootsuite for its interactive capacity, paired separately with a cheaper, third-party analytics software.

Advantages:

-Connects to the largest number of social media platforms -Highly versatile -Customize dashboard to group specific streams together -More integration with other social media platforms outside of Twitter -Boasts the most third party apps (118) -Supports large teams of people -Multi-language support -Connects to other important platforms such as Instagram, Youtube, Gmail, Wordpress, etc., however, the level of interactivity with each varies. -Upload Youtube videos and create Wordpress/Tumblr posts directly from Hootsuite

Disadvantages:

-Cluttered/complicated interface can be confusing to some users -Significant additional/hidden costs -Expensive analytics -Expensive custom URL shorteners -Issues with Facebook images and data showing up -Interactivity is limited outside of text communication and posting; cannot view Facebook friends list, add friends on other social media platforms, post images to Instagram account, etc. -Does not post to Instagram

2. Buffer

Summary:

Buffer is designed more as a layer on top of whatever tools you already use, a lot of customers use Buffer together along with other management tools as well. Buffer offers a very simple layout and allows you to post to the most basic accounts: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ and App.net. This is a great system for people who are just starting out and want to get the hang of using a dashboard. It is a very basic system that allows you to schedule timed posts and view analytics without all of the added features and integration that Hootsuite has to offer. The simplistic design makes navigation a lot less confusing than Hootsuite. Buffer’s main focus seems to be simplifying scheduled posts though; users can access Buffer directly from whatever platform they are using at the time: Twitter, Facebook, even directly from websites or e-mail. Using a browser plugin, users can directly add to Buffer whatever website content they come across. This is an ideal tool for beginners or individuals who just want something simple and easy to schedule updates for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin & Google+.

Advantages:

-Post scheduling -Simple navigation/ease of use -Suggested posts -Simple Dashboard/Interface (Ease of use) -No hidden costs

Disadvantages: -Lacks monitoring capabilities; does not show home feed posts from other users -Main dashboard lacks customization and integration features -Only able to access 5 social media platforms -Lacks many of the features that other dashboards offer

3. Sprout Social

Summary:

Functional, simple, easy to use interface. Unlike Hootsuite, Sprout Social displays all social media feeds in one centralized stream, presenting a layout that lets you work very efficiently with almost no learning curve. The overall site offers the best user experience in terms of navigation and usefulness. Sprout Social focuses on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin and Feedly, with no other third party platforms available at this time.

Features such as the Cleanup feature allow you to filter out accounts with irregular activity and the smart search function easily allows you to find conversations to join relevant to your keywords. Although many other dashboards offer similar features, Sprout Social stands out from the rest because everything is so straightforward.

Beautiful reports provide detailed statistical information on user demographic and page analytics. These are some of the best reports, breaking down information into the number of impressions, number of unique visitors, number of interactions, mentions, retweets and so on. With a starting rate of $59 per month, Sprout Social is the most expensive basic plan out of the 3. Users will get the most value for their money if they are individual users or small teams of 5-10 and have a strong focus on analytics & keywords.

Advantages:

-Simple interface/ easy to use -Efficient -Smart Inbox; view all messages from connected social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) in a single, unified stream. -Brand keywords: monitor specific terms; such as business name, common misspellings & more from inbox -Assign tasks to teammates, with private comments to individual posts easily; easily allows team members to collaborate and work on issues -Easier to manage -Better reports -No additional add-on charges Disadvantages:

-Lack of dashboard customization -Does not have the same reach as Hootsuite or Buffer among the number of social media platforms supported -Expensive, especially for multiple users -Not suited for large teams: made for smaller teams of 5-10

Sources: https://hootsuite.com/ https://app.sproutsocial.com https://bufferapp.com/ http://www.business2community.com/social-media/5-top-social-media-dashboard-tools-manage-social-accounts-01015451 http://iag.me/socialmedia/reviews/7-reasons-not-to-use-hootsuite/

[entmagazine]

“It really helps to have a solid friendship with whoever you are doing it with before you start the business.” — Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s 

Read about their partnership here »

[thisisvault]

Microsoft Tried Out Robot Security Guards on Its Silicon Valley Campus

It seems like robots are everywhere these days, and now they’re rolling around Microsofts Silicon Valley campus R2-D2-style to fight crime and keep everyone safe. At least that’s the idea behind a pilot program the company ran last week to test a fleet of five K5 security guard robots.

Read More

[entmagazine]

The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding

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Student convinced family she was on trip around Asia - despite NEVER leaving her bedroom

A STUDENT convinced her family and friends she was on a five-week trip around South East Asia - but, in reality, she had never left her bedroom.

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Social Media as a Marketing Tool: Just how useful is it?

For our Digital Media Marketing class, we were required to read the article Social media vs SEO. 

According the author of the article, social media is not as effective in driving sales as we thought it might be. At least when compared to other tools such as SEO.

However, although I do agree that social media is not as effective in driving new sales as SEO, we should not downplay the fact that social media is also a highly effective tool that enables companies to have direct two-way communication with their customers and build on existing relationships with them like no other platform. Social media is probably one of the best places for companies to publicly interact with their customers directly and although it may not drive new sales immediately, it does help companies to understand their customers and build relationships with them. For example, Old Spice ran a campaign which encouraged customers to ask questions to Isaiah Mustafa (The now iconic Old Spice Man) to which he directly answered through personalized videos posted to YouTube and other social media outlets. this formed an interactive line of 2-way communication between Old Spice and its customers in which Old Spice could pick up on their needs/wants while offering some form of entertainment. Although this may not drive new sales, it will help improve customer loyalty and retention by positioning itself as a trusted brand that understands its core customer base extremely well. (Direct link to playlist of all Old Spice internet responses) 

Basically, social media is good for building & maintaining the PR of a company and If done well, adds to the overall brand value and therefore, the overall value of the company.

sources:

Social Media vs SEO - http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/smallbiz-marketing/social-media-versus-seo-20140812-3dja2.html Old Spice man image - http://www.creativedevelopment.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Untitled-1.jpg

Old Spice man link - http://rolltidepr.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/old-spice-man-isaiah-mustafa_510.jpg Old spice playlist - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL484F058C3EAF7FA6

[swystuncommunications]

Smart concept, well executed. Appeals to me as someone who cannot abide littering. I also get upset about graffiti. Many may not agree but it is not art it is another form of pollution.