The music industry is forever changing and growing. The way we purchase and listen to music has drastically changed over time. From vinyl, to tape cassette, CD’s, downloaded files and now streaming services. The digital world has made access to music a lot easier with our personal smart devices. Not only that, but the way we connect with our favourite artists has changed. 

We can access music almost anywhere around the world nowadays. With our smart devices, such as phones, tablets, etc, we are able to access and discover new music. Music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music is dominating the music industry as it holds 75% of overall industry revenue. It generates more money than physical CDs, digital downloads and licensing deals combined. The growth of music streaming also benefits artists. Consumers are able to find new music through playlists on these streaming services, therefore increasing exposure for smaller and lesser-known artists. 

The way people interact with artists has also changed. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have made it possible for artists to be more transparent and build trust with their fans. It makes it much easier for them to share content such as new music, sponsored videos, etc. For example, artists can capture a video of their gig and put it up on Insta story or live stream their studio sessions. Consumers find that connecting with artists is just as important as listening to their music.  

Online reviews are one of the first things consumers look at before purchasing a product. It makes a big impact on whether they end up buying the product or not. Reviews not only affect sales and trust between brand and customers, but also digital marketing efforts such as SEO. It is vital for businesses to maintain a positive reputation in order to be successful in the digital age as almost everyone is able to access these reviews via the internet nowadays. 

Businesses should avoid getting negative reviews at all costs because it can damage their reputation, which could lead to a drop in sales. According to ReviewTrackers, 94% of consumers say they avoided a business because of negative reviews. Also, four out of five consumers have changed their minds about a recommended purchase after reading negative reviews online as stated by Cone Communications. Businesses should deliver the best customer service they can to avoid any negative reviews. 

This proves why customer service is so important. Excellent customer service can generate positive word of mouth and attract potential customers, which then leads to an increase in sales. It is so easy to voice your opinion nowadays through the use of our devices. We are able to express our views via social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram), review websites (Zomato and TripAdvisor) and even the company’s own website. Therefore, customers have the power to dictate a business’ success in this digital world of ours. It is important for brands to satisfy the consumers so that they leave positive reviews.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever changed your mind about buying a product after reading a review?

Just how important is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? Does being at the top of the search engine’s results page (SERP) help your brand reach success? SEO is a discipline which focusses on optimising your webpage through organic search engine results. There are many search engines, however, Google is the most popular among them (taking up to over 75% of the market share). 

It is vital for businesses to improve their rank on search engines as majority of consumers only look at the top few websites on the 1^stpage of search results. Therefore, optimising your webpage is a must If you want to generate more website traffic. Another reason why it is important to use natural listings rather than a sponsored (Ad) listing is because generally consumers trust organic results more than paid. In fact, from personal experience, I tend to scroll past websites listed as an “Ad.” 

It can, however, be troublesome to organically rank among the top as Google change their algorithm regularly. The complexity of it includes over 200 factors to determine the rank of webpages. Some major factors include page title, content, quality and relevance, number of sites linking to the page, and more. 

Even though there are many other digital marketing tools and trends nowadays, SEO is still important for those businesses that want to build an online presence. Having a website at the top of the search engine results page helps establish that credibility as a business.

What are your thoughts on SEO?

The world has become a place where we live in an increasingly connected space. The use of digital devices allows us to exchange information in an instant. This means that we store large amounts of data with whatever device we are using. Companies are able to use this data to personalise our interactions with their brand.

Traditional marketing methods are no longer as effective on consumers because they don’t feel “special.” Customers who get a personal experience with a brand are more likely to return. According to studies from SalesForce, 62% of consumers expect companies to send personalised offers or discounts based on previously purchased items. Also, Deloitte’s study found that consumers want products and services tailored to them. 36% of consumers expressed an interest in purchasing personalised products or services, while 48% are willing to wait longer in order to receive it. Some ways that businesses can incorporate to provide a personal shopping experience include: personalised product recommendations, personalised social media messages, targeted and personalised emails, and many more. 

An example of personalisation is Netflix’s movie/TV show recommendations. Their website suggests similar movies that you may also be interested in based on previously watched content. For example, if you are a big Fast and Furious fan, then Need for Speed might be in the recommended category. Their use of personalisation keeps users interested and maintains their subscription to the streaming service. This is vital to their success as 80 percent of watched content comes from recommendations. Netflix also personalises your experience by sending an email with the caption “(first name), we added a movie you might like.” 

Have you ever had a personalised experience with a certain brand? If so, what was it?

Live streaming is becoming an important digital marketing tool for businesses as this trend is rapidly growing. It allows consumers to receive live video and audio over the internet. It enables businesses to be more transparent as viewers may interact with the streamer in real time. Many platforms have jumped on this trend and implemented a live streaming function. There are many ways to integrate this tool in your marketing campaign.

For example, Facebook and Instagram made livestreaming available in 2016. Using a influencer to advertise a product can be more cost-effective compared to other video marketing strategies. It is much cheaper and effective if done right rather than spending big bucks to get a professionally produced video done. Not only are streamers able to reach a large audience, but the human element of a live stream makes the content far richer, as it eliminates capturing the perfect shot and/or video editing. Conducting live Q&As are something businesses should consider when numerous customers have an enquiry or problem with a product or service. 

Businesses have also built theirproductsaround live streaming. Twitch is a huge platform for gamers to live stream. Twitch streamer and internet personality, Ninja, is the biggest live streamer on the internet. He plays many games, but Fortnite is the game that lead him to stardom. Having played Fortnite with Drake, Travis Scott and many more big celebrities has opened up many opportunities for businesses to collaborate with these streamers. For example, Red Bull has an endorsement deal with Ninja. 

Live streaming could be the future of video marketing. It embraces conversation, connects people, and adds a human element to advertising. 

Have you ever watched a live stream? If so, who and what was it?

The use of mobile devices among consumers is rapidly increasing. Smartphones are becoming very popular, the number of global mobile users has surpassed the number of desktop users. This trend is expected to continue even further in the future. Throughout the past 5 years, there has been an increase in smartphone adoption; the share of mobile users with a smartphone has increased  from 74.4% to 84.3%. This is a great opportunity for businesses to incorporate this tool in their customer journey planning.

Apple adopted the strategy of mobile marketing back in 2014 with the introduction of Apple Pay. Consumers were able to pay with just a tap of their phone or touch ID. They took advantage of the continuously growing trend of online shopping and the power of “now”. 

Mobile marketing involves creating customer value on mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, etc. Businesses need to incorporate this in their customer journey in order to stay relevant in the future. There are many ways to do this, however, using an omni-channel rather than a multi-channel is the best option. Omni-channel offers a seamless shopping experience across multiple devices and touch-points. An example is McDonald’s Monopoly promotional campaign. They cooperated with the ever so popular board game “Monopoly” and it was a huge success across the world. Consumers were able to play monopoly as soon as they received their meal by scanning a code on the food’s packaging. 

What do you think? Will mobile marketing continue to grow or are there any other digital marketing strategies on the rise that are more effective?

What is content marketing? Content marketing is when the brand involves consumers in the creation and sharing of valuable online material. It differs from traditional marketing, where they persuade customers via one-way communication marketing strategies (eg. Billboards, flyers, etc). Some examples of content marketing include infographics, webpages, podcasts, videos, etc. All of these can be shared and passed around to different consumers online. 

Content marketing can be very effective if done right. It is significantly cheaper (62% less) than traditional marketing. It can build brand awareness with useful and engaging content as it provides value for target buyers. It also helps to build trust for the target audience and fosters a stronger customer relationship. 

An example of a brand that has successfully utilised content marketing is Coca Cola. Their share a coke campaign won 7 Cannes Lion awards. It aimed to connect with consumers on a personal level by emotionally connecting through personalisation. This encouraged consumers to share their experience online via Facebook, Instagram, etc. Around 76,000 consumers shared their personalised coke cans online. This resulted in an increase in Facebook website traffic by 870% and a 39% increase in likes on the Coca-Cola Facebook page. 

However, content marketing isn’t as easy as you think. There are many challenges that are present. Some of the biggest challenges include time, content quality and creation, idea generation, and distribution. 

Can you think of any brands that have stood out from using content marketing?

Social media is taking a big part in how some of the biggest companies interact with their customers. Social media influencers are dominating the digital marketing space around the world. They assist in increasing brand awareness and encourages engagement among followers. 

So, who are social media influencers? An influencer is someone who has gained a large following from posting content on social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, etc). It takes a lot of time if you want to gather an online audience and convert them into customers of a brand. That’s where social media influencers come in and promote your brand as they already have the attention of a large audience. 

Social media Influencers help build trust between the product and the company’s customers. Influencers connect with their audience by commenting and sharing their opinions and moments from their day. They are able to create strong relationships with their audience. If a product is reviewed by a social media influencer, his/her followers are likely to accept their opinions and reviews. 

An example is the Fyre Festival. Fyre Festival was a disastrous music festival due to management and operation issues. However, it was very successful from a marketing perspective. 63 influencers simultaneously posted a vague orange coloured graphic to social media with the hashtag #FyreFest. Some of these influencers included models with a large following on Instagram such as Kendall Jenner (107m followers), Bella Hadid (23.6m followers) and Emily Ratajkowski (22.2m followers). This promotional campaign amassed over 300 million impressions in 24 hours. The music festival was widely talked about around the world and it generated a lot of hype. 

Brands should be careful as to which social media influencers they want to be associated with. The right influencers don’t necessarily mean the ones with the most followers. 

Have you bought a product because of a social media influencer you follow? If so, who and what product?

Digital marketing is taking a big part in how businesses are structured these days. There are a variety of business models that organisations may consider depending on the value they are trying to offer to their customers. Choosing the right digital business model is vital as it can affect how successful an organisation connects with its potential customers. Organisation’s need to understand their customer’s value proposition and base their structure around that. 

The subscription business model is something that has been on the rise in recent years among businesses. Many companies nowadays are “jumping into the subscription space and seeing incredible growth.” A subscription model is when the customer pays a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. There are many advantages as to why these organisations are adopting this business model.

An example of a successful subscription based business model is Netflix. Netflix offers a wide range of movies and TV shows across different genres. Even though the consumer doesn’t own any of these programs, they are still able to access them anytime. Netflix is the biggest paid streaming service and have over 137 million users. They have grown rapidly in the past 5 years and is expected to continue to grow. 

Despite the fact that the subscription model is highly successful in brands such as Netflix, it may not necessarily work with every business. The way that Netflix is structured allows the subscription model to prosper. 

What other successful subscription model brands can you think of?

Shopping in-stores is becoming less popular among the younger generations as they are choosing to purchase products online. It has made a major impact on how consumers and businesses interact with each other. 

Businesses are capitalising on this opportunity as the world is becoming more digital. Companies such as ASOS (Online clothing retailer) do not have a physical store. Instead they solely focus on selling clothes on their website. The company has grown tremendously as reported sales have increased by 26% in the past year. This seems to be the growing trend among businesses. 

There are multiple reasons as to why consumers are choosing to purchase their products online rather than going in-store. The most important factor that consumers choose to shop online is the ability to shop 24/7. They are able to access the website at any time of the day. Whereas, physical stores are only open during certain hours (eg. 9am – 10pm). There are also many other reasons consumers choose to shop online instead of in stores as shown in the graph below.

However, in-store shopping is not necessarily going to disappear. There will always be customers who seek the experiential value of shopping in-stores.

Do you think online shopping will take over in the future?