The ‘new normal’ of marketing

ISSUE 76 January 2021

The world changed when Covid-19 hit, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the way purchasing decisions are made and marketers connect with their audiences. Marketing experts from the window furnishings sector look at the new and upcoming trends. WFA reports.

BAREFRUIT MARKETING

Evan Harding, Co-Founder of Barefruit Marketing confirms a number of trends look set to become best practice in 2021. 

User Generated Content 

“Since the rise of influencer marketing, user generated content (UGC) has become a highly effective marketing strategy for all brands in every industry,” says Harding. “As such, the value of UGC has increased exponentially due to consumers’ inclination to trust messages from fellow users above messages from brands. The main appeal of UGC is the increased level of authenticity and reliability it provides consumers. Essentially, it’s the new-school word for ‘word of mouth’.” 

“Due to lock-down and social-distancing restrictions, 2020 saw a huge increase in UGC. There were fewer opportunities for expos, photoshoots and filming, so brands got creative and reached out to their following to create content for them. Content was real and raw, which helped to boost consumers’ trust of brand messages. In 2021, we can expect to see the trend continue because, let’s face it, there is nothing more trusting and enticing than to witness a regular person enjoying the product in question.” 

IKEA AR technology

Branded content 

High quality branded content has also been on the rise, says Harding. However, what’s changed is that branded content is no longer a one way conversation. “When brands communicate messages across any channel, consumers are increasingly expecting an experience. They don’t want to be told that something is on sale. Consumers want to connect emotionally with brands and get to know the brand’s personality and values in order to establish a relationship that aids purchase decision-making.” 

“Some brands are using augmented reality (AR) features on social media, websites and apps to give users branded experiences. IKEA released an app that uses AR technology to drop its products into people’s living spaces in real time. It gives a great idea how a couch or table might fit in someone’s home or workspace. Essentially, it’s the ultimate try-before-you-buy.” 

“For window furnishing businesses, this use of technology to enhance consumer experience is highly persuasive when executed correctly.” 

SERP (search engine results pages)  Position Zero 

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) will remain an integral part of a digital marketing strategy in 2021, but due to the increased use of mobile and voice search, the way in which people use search engines is changing. “Think about how you use your phone to search on Google, versus how you use a desktop computer,” says Harding. 

“As such, to rank first on Google search results pages (SERPs) is no longer the ultimate goal. There is now a Position Zero to aim for. Position Zero is when text from a website is shown above search results. This snippet is pulled from Google’s algorithm as it is believed to be the most accurate answer to the certain question being posed. Position Zero is what Google uses to answer voice searches, which is why it is becoming increasingly important. In 2021, ranking first in search results will still be essential to a successful SEO strategy, but being featured in Position Zero will be just as important, if not more so.” 

RENSON

Shading solutions specialist Renson has evolved its marketing strategy in recent years, with a strong focus on social media, particularly driven by Covid-19.

“Over the last three years social media has evolved from a tool that was mainly used for branding into a lead-generating tool and one to create awareness. Due to the Covid-19 crisis this has only intensified,” says Bart Soenens, Renson Social Media Manager. “Now, we do product campaigns that largely focus on social media, social advertising and Google advertising. This is in contrast to three years ago when the main focus was on exhibitions and events to get new leads.”

“Renson was and is a player in the B2B market, and until two years ago the focus was solely on professionals. In the last couple of years this has changed and we now turn to B2C. We want to create and stimulate demand from end users. With this in mind there is now a stronger focus on B2C focused platforms, like Facebook and Instagram. Three years ago LinkedIn was the main social media tool but since the Covid-19 crisis this B2C focus has grown stronger and this won’t stop, which means we will put even more focus on social media.” 

Bart Soenens, Social Media Manager – Renson

A great example was Renson’s outdoor campaign, which took place when the Covid-19 crisis broke out in Belgium and the rest of Europe, he says. “The country was put in lockdown and we were told by the Government that it was unlikely that travelling would be possible over the summer. We took this as an advantage by rapidly launching an outdoor campaign. The message of the campaign was that people would now be able to spend their holidays in their own backyard. Their backyard would become the perfect holiday destination.” 

“The campaign strongly focused on social media, on an organic and paid basis alongside  Google advertising and the results were absolutely astonishing. It’s safe to say that this campaign made 2020 for us.” 

“In short, the focus on social media and digital was already growing for Renson, but due to successful campaigns, and the coronavirus crisis, this has evolved rapidly. Social media and digital are now on the same level as the traditional marketing tools that we use. They have become an integral part of our marketing strategy.”

BLINDWARE

Leonie Cranney, Marketing & Communications Manager at Blindware, says there are a number of winning social media tips for wholesalers:

Focus on a Single Platform

“It’s tempting to create company pages on many different social media platforms, believing that you have to have a presence everywhere, however simply having your company name and logo on a social media account will not benefit your business,” says Cranney. “The reality is, to create content for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, (and the rest), they all require their own tailored content and this would take most of your working week as a limited marketing resource. The best first step to a successful social media strategy is to focus your efforts on a single platform.

The four biggest are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Each has its own unique audience, so you need to decide which suits the unique needs of your business.

Identify your Target Audience

“A useful exercise is to build a target buyer persona. How old are they? Where do they live? What is their income? What are their hobbies and interests? Where do they hang out in social media land? Are they on LinkedIn networking with other professionals, perhaps on Instagram sourcing inspiration for design work or product development, or do they prefer to chat about their own interests and hobbies on Facebook? If you’re a wholesaler looking to engage with your current customers in a meaningful way, and you have the capacity to generate the content, Instagram is a wonderful way to bring your products to life while LinkedIn is a good platform to catch people in ‘work mode’ open to new ideas and connections.”

Create a posting schedule

“Social media is a hungry beast, and requires very regular feeds of content. It’s very easy to slip from the top of your customers’ minds if you’re not posting regularly. This can be a very time consuming and challenging part of having a social media presence, especially for small businesses with limited resources. Original content is best, so ensure you have an image library of your products, and start building a collection of videos showing how your products are used, how to troubleshoot etc. The beauty of social media is that you do not need to use heavily edited, high quality videos. A quick explainer video using your Smart Phone can do the job. You can supplement your original content with curated, relevant ‘inspiration’ pieces, as long as they are appropriately tagged and you’re not trying to pass them off as your own.”

“Create a posting schedule, and stick to it. As a rule of thumb, Twitter requires the most frequent posts (although the least creative content in terms of imagery, video etc), so you’d need to be posting every day at a minimum, whereas LinkedIn requires the least; twice a week would be ideal (however as a minimum every other week would do). You’d ideally be sharing content on Facebook and Instagram every day, however at a minimum twice a week.”

“Remember, the quality and relevance of your social media content to your audience is more important than the quantity you post, as posting for the sake of getting something out there can quickly relegate you to wallpaper, literally becoming invisible to your audience through a lack of engagement (thanks to the various algorithms that filter out accounts with low engagement levels). Whatever content calendar you decide on, ensure it allows you time to put thought into your content to create meaningful, useful posts.”

SOMFY

Somfy Oceania’s Marketing Executive Mary Maidiotis says because Covid-19 made virtual shopping a necessity, it quickly became apparent how important an understanding of social media was for businesses. “The year 2020 was the year of change. We saw changes in the way we work, the way we interact and the way we shop. With these changes came the accelerated digitalisation of many businesses. More than ever before, people turned to the virtual world for product research. If businesses weren’t present, they fell behind. Social media’s power became clear, as a tool that businesses can harness to reach past, present and future customers.”.

“In today’s world, social media can act as an extension of your showroom, helping to educate the customer on the products and giving them the unique ability to see products in action without having to leave their home,” says Maidiotis.

She says Somfy’s number one tip for social media is “be where your customers are.” 

“Social media is not a one-size-fits-all approach, so you need to do the research to find out which platforms your target customers are using. Getting the foundation right makes for efficient use of your time and resources.”

“You don’t want to be putting in effort to platforms your customers are not using, and we found this really early on with Twitter for example. Although many businesses are using Twitter, the platform didn’t fit into what we were doing.”

“Once you have selected your platforms, it’s important to tailor your content to suit. Visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram tend to be the platforms customers turn to for inspiration over information. Informative content such as blog posts are perfect for Facebook and including content that links back to your website will help customers in their research journey.”

“Take the time to think about how you, your friends and colleagues use the platforms. It’s an easy way to get you on the right track when producing content.”

“Experimenting with different content formats, either by testing videos or even the orientation of your photos, will help you find the right formula for your business. It’s no secret these days that customers are consuming more video content than ever before.”

“In our industry, we are in a unique position where video is the best way for customers to see products in motion, particularly with motorisation and voice control.”

“We’ve found that by far, our audience responds to video the most. It doesn’t need to be an expensive production either. Videos from our Somfy Experts showing them in a customer’s home pressing the button on a remote and sending the blinds up are often the most effective.”

“We also encourage you to test new features on platforms such as IGTV and Instagram Reels to keep your content fresh and engaging.”

Last but definitely not least, measuring the results of your social media is a key ingredient to social media success, says Maidiotis. “Although it can take time to review the results of your platforms and their content, it will help put you on the right track and most valuably, give you insights into your audience; easily find out who they are, what they’re interested in and what they’re engaging with most and adapt your content accordingly.”

SOMFY

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