Master marketers know thought leadership is principal when it comes to attracting new business, yet many marketers still fail to realize its impact on sales. What gives?

Incredible thought leaders are more than just content mills. They’re relatable; they’re on the pulse of the market; and most importantly, they have a fresh perspective that brings new life to their industry.

Lately, we’ve noticed that fresh perspective is thriving on YouTube. Not only are YouTubers killing their content game, but they have become so valuable brands are vying for their influence to grow their own consumer base.

Read on to see what you can learn from YouTube’s biggest influencers.

Be Relatable

Is your brand’s tone empathic, funny, or sarcastic? It should be. Maybe not all at one time, but if you can find some humanizing aspect of your business to share with people you have a better chance of them valuing your insights and opinions. According to the American Marketing Association, establishing an emotional connection, like empathy, leads to positive interactions and long lasting consumer relationships.

Filmmaker and YouTuber Casey Neistat has more than 9 million subscribers and nearly 2 million Twitter followers. His daily(ish) vlogs capture a range of topics from travel and lifestyle to current events, filmmaking and technology, but one thing that remains constant is his ability to influence his followers. When his UPS guy needed help saving his sister from debilitating kidney disease and diabetes, the plug Neistat gave on his channel helped raise $150,000–$250,000 more than the GoFundMe campaign goal.

Why does Neistat have such influence? It’s simple. People like and admire him. He is very open about who he is: a self-taught guy who quit school, had a kid at 16 and left home. Motivated by his dream to make movies, he taught himself how to be a filmmaker. He has a visual style that’s been consistent since his worked debuted on HBO in 2008. Now he’s a sought-after influencer and produces creative short films for likes of Nike, Samsung and Mercedes-Benz.

His is a story that people not only relate to, but can be inspired by. Just look at his ad for Samsung, titled “Do What You Can’t”; it’s garnered more than 8 million views to date.

Turn It Up a Niche

So many brands try to cover everything, instead of focusing on the core niche that they can position themselves as an expert around. No one cares about your special recipe. Find your niche, and then go even more niche.

– Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute

You know that saying jack of all trades, master of none? Niche marketing is all about standing out and the best way to make yourself memorable is to offer something no one else can.

Take it from fitness entrepreneur and YouTuber Cassey Ho, who has more than 4 million subscribers. Ho has built a business empire from her Blogilates channel. Her weekly vlogs feature her own creative fusion of pilates and pop music workouts including “Want U Back Arms Challenge” and “Call Me Maybe Mighty Squat Challenge Workout.” She’s become so influential that her YouTube channel has spawned an e-commerce business featuring Popflex, a line of fitness clothing and accessories designed by Ho.

Make It Accessible

OK, so this last tip isn’t a shout-out to any one YouTuber in particular. It’s more of an observation about how succinct and accessible YouTube content generally is. Just take a look at its trending page–most of the videos featured there are under 10 minutes long and they have millions of views.

Don’t get us wrong, longform content definitely has its place on the internet. That’s why you’ll find vloggers routinely plugging their websites, podcasts, apps and other social feeds with exclusive info specific to that medium. But that’s just it–YouTubers make themselves accessible everywhere. Beauty vloggers like Estée Lalonde, Tanya Burr and Zoella feature in-depth content on their respective websites. Burr has microsite dedicated exclusively to her cosmetic line. Lalonde sends out a monthly newsletter and started a podcast last year. All of them post regularly on Twitter and Instagram.

So take note, the best way to express your brand and establish your expertise is through your content. Use it gratuitously to demonstrate your expertise and solve your consumers’ problems. Find some common ground with your audience, then position your brand with a unique angle. Deliver insights anywhere your consumers are and with valuable content your consumers need; you’ll start to see your consumer base grow.

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Everything can change in a moment including how consumers feel about your brand, which is why moment marketing is so important. With 76 percent of consumers interacting with brands or products before stepping foot in a store, marketers need to be savvy about offering the information consumers want, when and how they want it. This is where moment marketing comes in.

It’s about creating the content or tools to enable people to accomplish whatever they want in that particular moment. (David Edelman)

Moment Marketing: A Shift In Strategy

Marketers used to struggle with managing real time interactions and engaging consumers in ways that weren’t disruptive to their lives. They needed to attract, then bond with consumers before leading them to the purchase stage. Now that’s all changing. You can do both simultaneously by predicting consumer needs and making valuable solutions easy to access. It’s all about having a sophisticated view of your consumer’s decision journey.

Given their incredible access to information,  consumers need your brand to have information at a moment’s notice. Google calls this a micro moment—when a person turns to their electronic device to act on a need to know, go, do, or buy something. Consumers experience them roughly 150 times a day.

David Edelman, global co-leader of Digital and Marketing & Sales Practice at McKinsey & Company describes these moments as a timely need resolved through smart content or tools:  “Brands can identify micro-moments by recognizing times when someone has a particular type of need. Someone may need to learn something, somebody may need to get something done, or someone may need to buy something. It’s about creating the content or tools to enable people to accomplish whatever they want in that particular moment.”

Moment marketing has given brands a chance to become proactive again. According to research from McKinsey & Company, the key is to eliminate the consideration and evaluation phase of the decision journey altogether. Optimize your brand journey while providing excellent value and your consumer won’t want to go anywhere else.

Image courtesy mattisdovier/GIPHY

What Can Marketers Do?

Nearly 70 percent of online consumers agree that the quality, timing, or relevance of a company’s message influences their perception of a brand. When you consider that more than 2 billion Google searches are made every day; it’s no wonder that 91 percent of smartphone users will look up information while in the middle of a task. Smartphones for example, make it easier to research, review and compare your products before making a purchase. Finding ways to be there in those fleeting moments of inquiry encourage your consumer to stick around.

So how can marketers strategize consumers’ moments of intent?

• Ideate your consumer’s journey. What needs do they have relative to your offering? Determine the micro moments created from that need
• Weave together the important players including marketing, IT, purchasing, etc., to figure out the outcomes you want your brand to achieve
• Create an ecosystem using websites, mobile apps, sales tools, web analytics and automated steps to achieve those outcomes
• Track your outcomes and look for ways to update your strategy. Make branding and consumer personalization an important part of the user experience

The post Why Moment Marketing Matters appeared first on Isadora Digital Agency.

The right type of web animation can encourage purchase, drive action or deliver a more enjoyable user experience. Choosing a specific style of movement helps define a creative direction, from sophisticated to dramatic or humorous. Subtle animated transitions, slide-in effects, fade out or gifs can be also designed to pique curiosity and encourage further exploration.

They snooze, you lose! Try to wake up this site and see the power of interaction combined with web animation.

Marketing’s ultimate purpose is to capture attention, impact behavior, and drive specific action. Movement is a powerful means of completing all those objectives. Combined with interactivity, web animation has the power to amplify engagement exponentially. Exactly how, you ask? Let us review some of the ways:

Video

Video has always been one of the most effective tools of communication. Its use on a web page or featured prominently as a large backdrop is an instant attention grabber. Because it has the capability to incorporate both sound and movement and can be used to tell even the shortest of stories, video is a superb way to connect with audiences on an emotional level.

Shwood is an eyewear company that uses video in the most sparing yet elegant way. This short video does a wonderful job of highlighting the product in context. Switching your static homepage background to one with video is a simple yet effective way to boost conversion. In fact, according to a study conducted by FoodBloggerPro, this swap alone led to a whopping 138% improvement in online conversion.

Sliding

A carousel that rotates automatically, or one with arrows that encourages a user to interact via clicks, is an effective way to share multiple messages, or smaller pieces of a larger story. The interactive PowerSchool website contains one such example. Inside you’ll notice additional movement within the carousel slides that incorporates design elements that fade into view and slide both vertically and horizontally.

Within the PowerSchool site, it’s easy to discover resources for a specific type of user group. Content tailored to your area of interest is generated and served up for viewing upon a simple click of a button. This allows a user to interact with the website seamlessly and allows web designers to create a more personalized experience based on the user group selected.

Consumer surveys suggest that the main reason some people don’t shop online is because of the absence of pleasurable experiences and social interaction. Over the last several years, brands are taking advantage of modern web technologies to change that sentiment. Many of them, including Neiman Marcus and Juice Beauty, are delivering more satisfying shopping experiences that include using functional elements as carousels.

Drag and Drop

Another way to entice interactivity while incorporating web animation, is by using a drag and drop feature. Bernstein Display is one business that makes particularly creative use of this. On their website, users can drag and drop a variety of mannequin parts such as arms, legs, torso and heads to create wild, unexpected combinations. While on the surface it seems that this feature is just for play, Bernstein’s audience can interact deeply with an array of products while learning about the distinct types of customizations available.

Another example of drag and drop functionality can be found on our very own digital agency website under the Work section here.

Transitions

Web page transitions range from simple to intricate, and can enhance a user’s experience by providing context and visual continuity. When done well, page transitions can also reinforce branding and heighten engagement. This French Bose website does a terrific job at drawing you into the world of each set of headphones. Hover over a box on the home page and the headphones come forward. Click on the product, and a box opens to further immerse yourself into product details and the brand itself.

Web Animation

HTML5 and CSS3, can be used to code all sorts of customized movement from scratch. The top of the Bernstein Display website features a highly custom introduction to the brand, services and rich heritage. The web animation is quite compelling, and is used to draw an audience in and dramatically increase online engagement.

Subtle web animation can add interest to your brand, can add character to your company’s identity, and draws attention to what your brand offers. Drybar is another example of a site that uses HTML5 and CSS3 in fresh, inviting ways. In addition to the sliding feature on the homepage, Drybar’s entire website is filled with tiny, gratifying animations. When you move your mouse over the little hairdryer, it bounces. Hover over the icons in the navigation, and each respond with a small visual wink.

Blending web animation with compelling visual design allows the Isadora Agency to personalize experiences for vastly diverse types of consumers. Beyond that, movement can help drive important behaviors like engagement and conversion.

An introductory call with our team will reveal how web animation can improve the user experience and contribute to the success of business objectives and marketing goals.

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Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways we humans can use to communicate our thoughts and ideas. A great story captures the audience’s imagination. It sticks, and it also sells. In today’s digital age, the narrative landscape is shifting. Branded storytelling is less monologue and more dialogue, favoring engagement over just eyeballs. Stories happen across platforms, often in real time. They weave in the emotional with the rational—a significant departure from traditional advertising. And when they’re authentic, relevant and reflect the needs and interests of target audiences, stories have the potential to break through and make genuine connections with the right people at the right time.

Narrative itself has changed, and we are changing with it. Recent studies show that the attention span for millennials is 60% shorter than previous generations. That’s no surprise–endless entertainment options, from smart phones to tablets to television have been with them since birth. And it’s not only millennials that have been affected by digital technology. Since the year 2000, the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds down to 8 (for reference, the average for a goldfish is 9 seconds). As our ability to pay attention continues to shrink, brands must figure out how to establish meaningful connections with their audiences and create loyalty—quickly.

Here are some great examples of brands that are using stories to do just that:

GoPro

When it comes to customer-driven storytelling, GoPro has a winning formula: customers use the product to show off what they personally can do with it, which in turn also shows off the product’s capabilities. GoPro makes it easy for customers to put the spotlight on their stories and then features the best of the best online and in stores.

Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club’s homepage video quickly went viral and has become the gold standard to which all other explanatory videos aspire. It tells the story of the blades and the brand’s mission using irreverent humor and the company’s actual founder. Produced for just $4,500, this story educates, entertains and was largely responsible for the brand’s “overnight” success.

Airbnb

Airbnb’s stories highlight the people who own the homes listed and the travelers who visit there. These emotional videos, seen online and on broadcast television, do a brilliant job of conveying the benefits of using Airbnb while highlighting the human connection between hosts and their visitors.

charity:water

Non-profit charity: water features the stories of the people to whom they bring clean drinking water. They show how donations are transformed into self-sustaining clean water infrastructure in developing communities. charity: water creates further emotional connections by interspersing stories with with beautiful, moving photos from the communities in which they’re working in. The organization offers these powerful assets to those who want to create their own story-driven charity water campaign on social media.

Today’s great brand stories share traits that enable them to engage, educate, entertain and inspire audiences while achieving their marketing objectives. Here are a few to keep in mind when coming up with stories for your brand:

Be human

People don’t necessarily bond with brands alone, but they can deeply connect with the humans who relay the brand’s message. Having your founder, staffers and/or customers help tell your story is a powerful way to accomplish this.

Show us, don’t tell us

Tell someone five great reasons they should buy your product and they will remember nothing. Share a story about how you invented a product that quietly transformed an entire neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and they will remember the product, the name of the town and your URL. Visuals or not, illustrating your point through narrative is much more powerful and memorable. Statistics tell. Stories sell.

Speak to your audience, not every audience

If you try to relate to everyone, you’ll end up connecting with no one. Instead, focus on telling stories that communicate directly to your target. Spend time thinking about what they’d want to hear and why. According to Seth Godin, the most effective stories match the worldview of a tiny audience—and then that tiny audience spreads the story.

Keep it simple

The most successful brand stories aren’t complicated. They are straightforward and easy to “get”. Remember that you don’t have to tell the WHOLE story, just the best part.

Storytelling is an art that has the potential to transform your business. It can help you increase brand loyalty, trust, and connect with customers in meaningful ways. In this multi-platform digital world, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s precisely what’s magical about narrative today. You have the option to explore different methods of content creation and look to those around you for inspiration. Great stories are everywhere; you just need to be on the lookout for them.

The post Storytelling Sells – The power of narration appeared first on Isadora Digital Agency.

The following brands’ accounts will get you inspired!

Etsy

Etsy is a global creative commerce platform. Etsy’s Instagram account has a delicate look and feel, and highlights some of their most unique products. The brand encourages follower engagement through awesome contests tailored to their type of follower (for example: Etsy Kitchen Makover). This account also takes you behind the scenes into some of their most popular sellers’ studios.

West Elm

Followers can find the latest collections as well as helpful home décor tips and ideas. The hashtag #mywestelm connects followers and encourages them to post photos of their homes as a way to share inspiration with other Instagrammers who have similar interests.

Tasty

For all the foodies on Instagram, BuzzFeed’s Tasty dominates the food posts on this social platform. Filled with short, but addictive cooking videos, Tasty gets millions of views and interactions. Part of their success is due to the simplicity of the videos that can be seen without sound. To complete the experience, each video is accompanied by easy instructions with bare minimum text.

Lorna Jane

Lorna Jane’s account bridges the gap between fashion and fitness. By staying true to their active living philosophy, the account provides a burst of motivation and loads of inspiration!

Chobani

With yummy and healthy looking pictures and recipes, Chobani’s  account shares different and unexpected ways to use their products. Jessica Lauria, Director of Brand Communications at Chobani says:

“Instagram is a great platform for Chobani. It allows us to show how people actually use our product and inspires new ways to savor.”

Bloomingdales

Energetic, fun, vibrant! Bloomingdale’s Instagram account is eye candy and makes double-tapping hard to resist.

NASA

Filled with breathtaking shots of space, NASA’s Instagram account is out-of-this-world! NASA’s account is a nice break from product and people focused posts on your feed and a great way to wake up your intellectual curiosity. 

GoPro

GoPro makes “the world’s most versatile cameras” and their Instagram account reflects just that. With their “Photo of the Day” posts, they encourage GoPro lovers to share their adventures for the chance to be featured on the brand’s Instagram account and be seen my GoPro’s 12+ million followers.

TacoBell

TacoBell is a social media sensation and their Instagram profile is no exception! TacoBell shows its personality through their witty responses and captions. In addition to their humor, the account provides value to users by posting about their latest products and discounts.

MailChimp

MailChimp is the world’s leading email marketing platform. Their Instagram account does a good job of turning a serious topic fun and engaging. This account uses playful illustrations, animations, and a featured mascot to leave followers with a good feeling about the company.

Author – Mariana Herrera

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Have you ever been tricked by a website? Most of us can recall when LinkedIn mysteriously bombarded our contacts with emails. Probably the only thing more frustrating than the mass distribution of emails was the mass confusion – why did this happen? As it turned out, LinkedIn utilized tactics to get users to share Google account information during the sign up process. This incident has become a classic case of dark patterns, a not so obvious form of UX strategy practiced by those whose goal is to exploit human behavior for alternative reasons.

Now, LinkedIn is a great social networking platform and their value easily overshadows some of the onboarding tactics displayed. But here’s the thing: the line between what defines a dark pattern and a good strategic user experience is often very thin. As UX strategists and designers, how do we maintain our noble dedication to users while simultaneously coming up with creative ways to drive conversion? Put more simply, when does an idea or design become, well, dark?

Camouflaging Digital Ads

One of the most conspicuous types of dark patterns is known as “disguised ads”. Disguised ads are sneaky web advertisements designed specifically to fool users into clicking them. One way to do this is to camouflage them with other elements of a webpage. Yahoo, for example, has utilized this tactic by intentionally designing ads to look exactly like article elements. In addition, the typical components of an ad are obscured: the “sponsored” text is colored in faint gray font, and the ability to close the ad is only available on hover. It’s clear that these virtual landmines were designed specifically for Yahoo’s website, as these are not the typical digital ads seen on the web.

“Disguised ads” can also imitate important calls-to-action. In the example below, the main call-to-action on the web page is a green download button. But which button is the real one? Notice that there are two neighboring ads that take on a strikingly familiar form. Both have the word “download” and an arrow facing downward, and both are colored in green, just like the real one. Suddenly, a simple task becomes confusing. Is this just a coincidence? Hardly. Dark pattern designers know that by making ads look like important elements, users will click on them.

Now, this isn’t to say that all ads are evil. Many companies use virtual ads to spread brand awareness and drive quality traffic to a web property. But spreading awareness should be done in a more honest and transparent fashion. The image below shows an example of a Microsoft Cloud “disguised ad” on the Forbes website. This ad contains navigation arrows, elements that are commonly found on image carousels. As far as what the ad is trying to portray, these arrows serve absolutely no purpose. Yet, if your curiosity leads to you click on one of them, you’ll immediately be launched into a Microsoft Cloud page.

Pushing Users to an Action…Without Users Noticing

Dark patterns often take advantage of human psychology. What is the one thing that everyone dreads on the web? You guessed it: forms. No one likes to sit around filling out lengthy, life-impeding forms. Dark pattern practitioners understand this, and exploit this psychology in many ways. One of them is purposefully adding text in areas where users are least likely to pay attention. The example below shows the first page in Alibaba’s sign up form. At first glance, it looks harmless. But as you approach the last step – the required checkbox that ensures users abide by a company’s terms and policy – something odd happens. If you were treading carefully through this process, you would notice that the very last line states “Receive emails related to Alibaba.com membership and services.” The dark pattern? Agreeing to Alibaba’s user agreement and receiving promotional emails are part of the same deal – you have no way to opt out of receiving emails if you wish to proceed to the next step. Most people would not care to notice, as it’s carefully tucked under a very familiar looking “agree to terms” checkbox. But even if you did notice, what could you do? As a new user, you are coerced into receiving emails that you may have absolutely no interest in.

Not so optional selections

The last example in this post is known as a roach motel. In a roach motel dark pattern, the design intentionally makes it very easy to get into a situation that is very hard to get out of. The “Add Holding Luggage” functionality on EasyJet’s website illustrates a classic example of this in the buy ticket flow. The process starts off like most travel sites: you fill out a form on the homepage, click a button, and arrive at a multi-step process that eventually leads you to the end of your transaction. However, things quickly start to look suspicious…

First, EasyJet does not clearly communicate if the additional products are required. Title text such as “Add your flight options” and “Select Seats” make it seem more like required customization than optional purchases. The page is also crowded with orange call-to-action buttons, making it harder to discern the “Continue” button. Dark patterns have clearly started to flood in. It’s also evident that EasyJet is trying to push the “hold luggage” product out to the user as much as possible. On this page alone, it’s mentioned in 3 locations in 3 different ways. It becomes obvious that accepting “no” for an answer is not what EasyJet encourages.

The real dark pattern occurs near the end of the buy ticket flow. In the “Your Trip” box on the Checkout page, a large black “X” crossing out a luggage icon immediately draws the user’s attention. The text beside it reads “Pre-holding your hold luggage online is much cheaper than at the airport, and much less hassle.” This seems like an obscure description. How much luggage can I pre-hold? How much would I be saving exactly? Why is this pre-hold luggage feature so important? Is there a luggage weight limit? With all these questions in mind, the user inevitably seeks answers.

The only thread of hope is a mysterious “Add hold luggage” link. Once clicked, however, the ultimate trap is activated. That’s right – clicking this link adds the hold luggage fee to your total. You are now suddenly committed to paying a mysterious fee of $23.40. The only way to get out is to start the entire process over, but dark pattern designers know that people can be impatient, and that there is a good chance they will pay the price because they have invested the time and want to get the process over with.

Think of the user – stay transparent

With great power comes great responsibility. UX strategists and web designers alike have the ability to essentially create and influence the user’s entire experience in various ways. So, it’s our duty to put the user’s interests and concerns in the forefront of everything we do. For the vast majority of us, even in tough times, the thought process needs to always include thinking about what is best for the user. When we start prioritizing business over the ones who give us business, the long-term effects may be devastating. Dark patterns may not always reveal themselves immediately. But sooner or later, they will always be exposed.

Author – Richard Chen

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The power of photography is proved once again in web design. We have selected the following sites because their use of photography will make you stop and pay attention.

What we love: The bold colors and large geometric shapes overlapped with lively photography. Visit this site.

What we love: The memorable angles reflecting the brand logo and reinforcing architectural design elements throughout the site. Visit this site.

What we love: Of course if you are a supplier of stock images with an archive of over 80 million images you’ve got tons of material to play with. But the way this interactive site communicates “endless possibilities” is mind blowing. Visit this site.

What we love: As you see the smooth way in which beautiful photographs are revealed, you can’t help but keep scrolling! Visit this site.

What we love: The photographs on this stunning site truly complete the experience. Clicking through the site, you will feel transported to vineyards from around the globe! Visit this site.

What we love: These headphones seem to pop out of your screen! The product is the central theme of the site and the photography makes this clear. You can even interact with the images and build your dream headphones. Visit this site.

What we love: The oversized product photography and type make this site vibrate with energy!  Visit this site.

What we love: the 3D effect created by the detailed product photography overlapping the text! Visit this site.

What we love: The ice and the fresh ingredients…the photography on the website for this soft drink will make you thirsty! Visit this site.

What we love: This site uses photography in so many different ways, from a large background to the smallest details. The photographs never become distracting- instead they emphasize the main message.  Visit this site.

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If you were to paint a broad picture of who Generation Z is, it would be this: they’re young, decisive, smart and just a little bit vain with plenty of buying power. In just four short years, this demographic will make up nearly half of the U.S. population. While Generation Z shares some similarities with Millennials, the group has some vast differences too. Particularly in their expectations of brands and how they interact with them. Generation Z is poised to make a big impact on the consumer buying space.

Who Is Generation Z?

Loosely characterized as those born after the mid-nineties, Gen Z is maturing in a world where the veil of normalcy has been pulled off. As a result, today’s teens appear to be more level-headed and realistic about the world they live in compared to previous generations. Analysis from the Cassandra report shows that:

• 71 percent of Gen Z respondents expect to experience significant failure before achieving success
• 40 percent say they see failure as an opportunity to try again

Just like generations before them, Gen Z’s world view has been shaped by incredible political and historical events. This generation is growing up in a post-9/11 world. They’ve felt the impact of The Great Recession; watched the unfolding of corporate scandals including Lehman Brothers, Bernie Madoff, Volkswagen and Turing Pharmaceuticals (to name just a few). They have witnessed the legalization of same-sex marriage along with the nomination of America’s first black president and subsequent nomination of its first female presidential nominee.

Consequently, Gen Z thirsts for honesty, candor and social good. Nearly 80 percent of teens surveyed by sparks & honey reported that they are concerned about world hunger; children around the world dying of preventable disease and man’s impact on the planet. It’s no wonder they prefer to shop with brands that exhibit some sense of corporate social responsibility.

Gen Z is also one of the most open and accepting when it comes to gender and racial equality. This is the generation that’s given rise to terms like “gender fluid” and “gender queer”. Notable Gen Zers like Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus and Ruby Rose are emerging as role models for a generation that eschews labels when it comes to gender and sexuality.

They’ve also grown increasingly diverse and tolerant of different races and ethnicities—and will expect as much from the brands they support. By 2020, more than half of American children are expected to be part of a minority race or ethnic group. A figure that is slated to grow as time passes.

The Generation Z Consumer

How much buying power does a Gen Zer really have? JWT Intelligence reports $44 billion annually. This group’s purchasing power extends to their parents’ buying decisions as well. About 93% of Gen Z parents say their children have at least some sway on their family’s spending, including:

• Apparel
• Electronics
• Entertainment
• Toys

It’s estimated that Gen Z spends one in ten of their dollars online. In fact, access to internet is huge when it comes to this generation. Considered the most connected, Gen Z is used to accessing what they need on-the-go. No surprise since nearly three quarters of American teens ages 13 to 17 have smartphones and go online daily.

“Generation Z and Millennials, the digital natives, are voracious consumers of media, and mobile phones are at the center of their lives,” said Megan Clarken, executive vice president, Nielsen Global Watch Product Leadership in Nielsen’s Age of Technology survey. “For younger consumers, the mobile phone is no longer just for use on the go, but everywhere—even their living rooms. Content providers and advertisers need to be flexible with their approaches in order to reach consumers where they are, on the device they are using and during the activities in which they participate.”

Gen Z’s extreme connectivity gives them access to a global community, which they actively engage in—and rely on when it comes to making purchasing decisions. That word-of-mouth pipeline is one of the reasons review sites like Yelp, Zagat and TripAdvisor are so popular—and will be increasingly important to brands.

Not only do Gen Zers look to the internet to discern quality, but it’s made them increasingly aware of other people’s opinions. Almost to a fault, as a Generation Z Entrepreneur Patrick Finnegan puts it in a recent interview with uinterview.com:

“We’re part of a social media generation, so we [want to] look good on social media. When we post a picture… It’s so we get likes on our Instagram. We actually aren’t genuinely as caring as millennials were. We still have that social change aspect to us, but at the same time if that photo can make us look good on social media… I would say it’s about validation.”

What Can Brands Do?

Navigating the Gen Z consumer space may seem like a lot to take on, but luckily millennials have been priming you for the last few years. Just like millennial consumers, Gen Z expects an omnipresent approach to their shopping experience. Nearly 90 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 have or have access to a desktop or laptop computer, and 58% of teens have or have access to a tablet computer (Pew Research Center). Their interaction doesn’t end online either; many Gen Zers will research a brand or a product online, then visit a retail store to make a purchase.

4D is the new norm. Gen Z has been texting, swiping and chatting their whole life. For brands wanting to connect with them, it’s imperative that they have a robust online and offline experience. Immersive and interactive experiences are a must, including:

• Emojis
• Symbols
• Images
• Video
• Live Stream

Living in a highly digital, multi-screen, real-time environment has its drawbacks. By 15 years-old, most Gen Zers will consume at least 200,000 marketing messages. Perhaps, this is why their average attention span is just eight seconds. So, it pays to know where they’re hanging out online and catch them in the moment. It’s typical for this demographic to spread themselves across various social media platforms from YouTube and Snapchat to Facebook and Instagram.

Take a creative and transparent approach. Gen Z is characterized by its desire for corporate responsibility and social inclusiveness. Branding that embraces love, diversity, respect, and positivity are more likely to get their attention. Advertisements that feature a range of ethnicities, body shapes, and sizes are more likely to resonate with Gen Zers, since it’s a closer reflection of the reality they’re living in.

Make social work for your brand. Encourage conversation and suggest that your consumers leave reviews. It’s critical that your social media game is on point. Be sure to respond quickly to consumer feedback and take a proactive approach to any negative reviews. Invest in social listening software to help you keep tabs on the discourse surrounding your products/services.

Find ways to give back. Brands that embrace Gen Z’s mission to do good in the world stand a better chance of earning their trust and loyalty. Find a theme they care about like the environment, poverty, equal rights, etc. and turn that into a cause you stand behind too. Then, make a genuine effort to support it.

It’s not too soon to start thinking about ways to reach this important demographic. While Millennials might have considered these features an impressive nicety; Gen Z will look to it as the norm.

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With influencer marketing the next era of digital marketing has arrived. Although some forms of influencer marketing have been practiced by advertisers for years, the modern use of this promotional strategy is clearly defined in structure and importance.

Influencer Marketing is a marketing strategy by which brands indirectly connect with their audience and convey product concepts via an opinion leader, inspirational person or topic expert.

In 2012, Nielsen reported that only about 35 percent of consumers trust online video and banner ads — yet 92 percent of consumers worldwide trust “recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.” This is the power behind influencer marketing.

Over the past three years, the number of Google searches for the term “influencer marketing” has jumped by nearly 1500 percent. This dramatic increase is no surprise. More and more strategists are employing influencer marketing tactics because:

• it maneuvers around ad blockers
• it can be conducted online or in-person
• it involves mutual benefit
• it relies on someone else who already has a dedicated and established following
• it reaches your target audience with the highest chance of return

While many have already launched influencer marketing campaigns, it’s never too late to join the game. Fast-track your way to marketing success by carefully securing your first few influencers.

Define influencer marketing

First you must use some imagination: What does your overall influencer marketing program look like? What are the business objectives? What social media platforms will be utilized and how will each differ from one another? What does your ideal influencer look like for each of these platforms? As if you are writing a job posting, write out a list of qualifications for your potential candidates.

When considering what traits and criteria your ideal influencer would posses, ask:

• Which industry are they in?
• Where are they located?
• On which social media platforms are they active?
• What do they post about?
• How many followers do they have?
• Who are their followers?
• What is the target audience?
• Who do they follow?
• How would you collaborate in order to benefit both parties?

Identify

Once you have outlined your ideal candidates, search for them. Since most influencer campaigns are executed on social media platforms, you will likely find an influencer on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Tumblr. Here are tools that will help your search run smoothly:

• Facebook Search will show you public posts by individuals and pages. Scan for the ones that earn the engagement you need.
• Twitter’s List feature organizes users within certain categories chosen by users. The right lists will lead you to the perfect influencers.
• Buzzsumo is an online tool that allows you to search for terms and see who is sharing that content alongside how much engagement they receive.
• Look for speeches or topics under TedTalks. Their speakers tend to build a following after their talk is posted on the site.
• Hashtag searches on Instagram will return top and recent posts. See who makes it onto the top posts.

Approach

By now you may have found a list of influencers that look promising. But, before you jump ahead and make the first move, get them to notice you first. Follow them and engage with their posts. Let them notice your brand from their own social platform. Your influencer will be more inclined to help out if they already know of your brand and they feel like they will get something out of the relationship.

Connect

When the first impression has been made, it is time to advance by making a personal connection. Send them a message, and invite them to collaborate. Explain why you believe they are the ideal influencer. Most importantly, write in detail about how working together would be mutually beneficial. No need to be aggressive, as this could turn influencers away. Take it slow, and start on a smaller project before jumping into a full campaign. Test the waters, and take the time to make sure you have found a strong match.

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Cart abandonment is an important topic to consider when working on a new eCommerce web product. Often times clients have put a lot of time, effort, and resources into an existing eCommerce website, but consumers are still dropping off at checkout. This is something our digital agency has seen time and time again. Ecommerce research agency Baymard Institute estimates that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is nearly 70 percent. As consumers increasingly shop online with their mobile devices, brands are struggling to find ways to meet their demand for convenience, immediacy and simplicity. The good news is that a flawless user experience can win them back.

Simplicity is key

Despite the rise of abandoned shopping carts, Business Insider reports that about 63 percent of merchandise can actually be recovered by online retailers. The key is to simplify the checkout process.

A traditional checkout funnel typically consists of at least five steps:

• Checkout
• Shipping
• Billing
• Payment
• Confirmation

With so many steps, it’s easy to see why mobile consumers are getting frustrated. Consumers aren’t abandoning their online shopping carts because of product cost. They just don’t want to fill out tedious and/or time consuming forms. Nearly 40 percent of online shopping cart abandonment is due to lengthy forms prompting consumers to enter shipping and payment information. In fact, four of the top five reasons consumers drop off at checkout are related to entering information.

“The importance of mobile isn’t news anymore. For most brands and marketers, more than half of site visitors are coming from mobile marketers,” said Anthony Nicalo the VP of Platform at Mobify during a recent web payment webinar hosted by Mobify and Google.

Mobile has fractured and fragmented consumer behavior into hundreds of short, fleeting mobile moments. Customer expectations for simplicity and convenience are growing exponentially.

Improve cart abandonment

To prevent online shopping cart abandonment, you need to optimize your checkout process. Make your consumer’s needs, and the devices they frequently use, the centerpiece of your checkout design. Here are a few tips to help you:

1. Enable autofill forms. Mobify surveys revealed that 46 percent of online shoppers site checkout speed as the number one factor in whether a consumer returns to a site. The longer a checkout page takes to process a transaction, the more consumers worry an error has occurred. One easy way to speed things up is to enable auto fill forms so consumers don’t have to manually fill in shipping and payment information. Go one step further and offer to save this information for future purchases.
2. Keep everything on the checkout page. Offering a discount code? Great. Make the code accessible directly on the checkout page. Consumers won’t need to abandon their cart in search of discount codes posted on the web. Many online retailers are starting to offer a “tap it” option where consumers tap a button at the start of their shopping journey to automatically apply the discount to their online shopping cart.
3. Pay attention to visual design. Pay close attention to how color and design affect your consumer. The color red typically flags warnings to consumers, so seeing this color on your checkout page could make them cautious about processing an order.
4. Automate follow up. In a study of more than 200 brands across the country, email marketing company SaleCycle reported 46 percent of all abandoned shopping cart emails (follow up emails to consumers who left items in their cart) were opened by recipients. More than a third of email clicks led shoppers back to purchases on the retailer’s website.

Mobile dominates, so can you

In today’s connected world, it’s no secret that mobile is playing a huge role in how consumers shop. The challenge for marketers is to take their online brand experience to the next level. Marketers now must predict the needs of consumers to make brands more compelling. Simplifying the checkout process is a step in the right direction.

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