As we continue to see social media dominate the narratives around current trends and events, influencer marketing is quickly becoming the best way to grow brands and solidify brand personality. Industries such as fashion, travel, wellness, food, and entertainment are taking advantage of users actively searching for content about these industries, and successfully conveying the key messages directly to the consumer.

Here we look at the main aspects of influencer marketing that agencies and creators will need to address to deliver the best results for their clients in 2022.

Set Clear Goals

Your goals should be broader than elevating brand awareness or increasing sales. You may want to increase your customer base in a younger demographic, or expand into a new user group with a new product. Influencer marketing can realign the perception around a product or service and relate it to your target market’s own needs. 

Accountability

While more brands embrace influencer strategies as a key aspect of growth, it is increasingly important to be able to accurately determine pricing and measurement of results. Influencer marketing requires accountability to gain credibility as a dependable arm of the marketing mix. Engagement metrics are straightforward to obtain, but outcome-based metrics paint a bigger picture about how effective your influencer strategy is. Read how to measure influencer marketing ROI here.

Platform Testing

It was reported that the video-driven social media app TikTok has overtaken Google as the most popular site in 2021, directing competitors to respond with similar features like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Testing and adopting different strategies that match the idiosyncrasies of each individual platform is important, as what works on one platform may flop on another. Audiences are expecting a different experience on different platforms meaning that trial and error with what works is essential.

Going Meta

If you still don’t understand what a blockchain, an NFT, the metaverse, or even cryptocurrency is yet, that’s okay. These terms will start to make more and more sense as they merge with how we experience the online space, creating opportunities for influencers to showcase your brand in a multitude of revolutionary ways. Influencers are already taking advantage of NFTs by creating unique and personalised content which audiences and brands can be a part of.  

Collaboration

No one is interacting with your influencer’s audience more than the influencer themselves. They’re seeing what they get likes on and what types of comments they are getting. Just like the need for trial and error with different platforms, the same goes for testing out different approaches with the influencer(s) you decide to work with. Let them chip in on the key messages and showcase their skills to create engaging content. They have all those followers for a reason!

Conclusion

Once you get started on your influencer marketing strategy, be prepared to adjust for change at all stages of the process as you analyse the reception of the content. No one can predict what platform will blow up this year so stay on top of what’s fresh and topical.

Start your shortlist of influencers that will be a good fit to promote your brand, take the above points into context, and begin your campaign to shape your target audience’s perceptions. 

If you need help with creating your influencer strategy, get in touch with us today!

Congratulations to POPCOM client My Rewards for their successful ASX listing! Like every success story, it has been a long time in the making; in this case, 25 years.

Initially a coupon business – remember those books stapled together? My Rewards has grown to be a successful, home-grown brand, connecting more than 4.6 million members with over 4,500 brands to offer the best deals and perks on products, services, and experiences. Users of their AtWork product – essentially cashback across thousands of brands, save on average $5,000 per year.

They offer an entirely white-labelled service, providing the infrastructure and strategy to delight, reward and enhance customer service and communications.

CEO Maitreyee Khire says that she is thrilled to reach listing status finally and looks forward to getting on with business.

“It has been a lot of work getting to the listing stage, and I am so thrilled to have successfully achieved this milestone. Now, I can focus all of my energy on growing our customer base and our rewards partners.

“We pride ourselves on providing the best corporate solutions and have some bold plans to build on our business model.”

My Rewards clients include Telstra, Rexel, MLC, The Good Guys, RIA and AIG.

POPCOM was engaged by My Rewards in 2020. We helped to develop their communications and branding strategy leading up to the ASX listing.

Find out more on their website, or reach out to amanda@popcom.com.au.

My Rewards, my way.

Visibility. New customers. More sales. The benefits of using social media for a small business are endless.

However, platforms like Instagram and Facebook are also incredibly saturated, which means cutting through the noise and making your brand heard can be difficult.

In this e-bubble life article, Sophie Richardson outlines a couple of tips for businesses to implement into their LinkedIn and Instagram marketing strategies.

To read the full article, click here…

This month, I had the pleasure of chatting with Prati Bhatt, founder of Teaphoria.

Through meeting Prati, I discovered that there is a lot more to the average brew than I realised. Prati’s company Teaphoria is a unique tea experience, driven by five pillars: patience, sustainability, nature, an extraordinary tea tasting experience and good health. The teas combine native Australian ingredients with Ayurveda practice. Prati was trained by a ‘tea master’, which she attributes to much of Teaphoria’s success.

1. Can you tell me more about why are your teas different? 

We create each tea with a purpose – I don’t believe in having a large range. Teaphoria partners with companies, individuals, and health professionals to create a unique blend of signature teas that speak, smell, and taste as what they stand for.

Each creation is executed by me, starting from research to sourcing the teas till the end experience, no matter how extensive and complex.

2. How did you get started – in your passion for tea and also in business – and what has been the biggest obstacle to this point?

My passion began from childhood when I was attached to nature, and I felt like a little scientist at home doing all the alchemy. As I grew, I started having this love for good quality tea, which led to meeting a tea master. He trained me, and I have never looked back. I took the company name in 2016 even when I did not have a business. I knew one day I would grow my passion into a business.

The biggest obstacle has been my own mindset and trusting my instincts. I try not to blame external factors as there are so many things you cannot change, like COVID-19.

When you are facing external challenges, I have found that being adaptable is key. You need to be ready to pivot, like reworking your business strategy – of course, while trying to maintain a positive outlook!

3. Until we met, I had never really considered that different blends of tea can have an impact on your health and diet. What are your favourite blends and why?

My favourite blends are:

1) Workout box – hands down, my favourite tea box. It has Ashwagandha cacao and pure vanilla beans in a latte form. It is yummy and creamy and boosts your energy levels in minutes. It also has muscle relaxant Saffron Turmeric latte. I highly recommend this one as it is very grounding and relaxing – you will go off coffee in no time! I found it helps me perform better in Jiu-Jitsu as it leaves me feeling energised.

2) Premium Teaphoria club Subscription box – this is when we select tea of the month with a surprise gift and sent direct to your doorstep. They are blended as a one-off just for you or chosen from our premium range. Being part of the Teaphoria club means a service tailored with you in mind.

4. What has been a highlight for Teaphoria?

 Hands down my Chai ceremonies are the highlight.

From a business perspective, launching the subscription boxes has been a highlight. It has allowed our business to operate nationally, rather than just locally.

However, it definitely came with challenges! I am constantly trying to create new experiences for people and predicting what they are going to like. Because of this, it has also involved educating others, too.

5. We have spoken in the past about the importance of rituals and taking time just for yourself; an opportunity to mentally and physically reset. I’ve seen some images of traditional chai ceremonies. Watching tea is almost meditative, can you tell me more about what a chai ceremony involves? 

Chai ceremonies are an ancient concept from India. With little uptake in recent years, I decided to bring out the hidden aspects of their importance. With different kinds of chai in India, I have split them into the five pillars of Teaphoria: patience, nature, extraordinary tea tasting experience, sustainability and good health. Each ceremony is different, and you experience a magical world of chai in each one of them. 

 One thing is for certain, during this latest round of lockdown, I am taking the time to enjoy the little things more in life, especially my tea. I can hand on my heart say that the blends I have tried from Teaphoria are excellent.

 If you would like to know more about Teaphoria or the health benefits of tea, visit https://teaphoria.com.au or drop me a line and I will be happy to connect you.

If there is one thing we know about social media, it’s that change is inevitable. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

We have known for a while that the future king of content is video, and platform giants like TikTok and Instagram have confirmed this with recent changes that allow for longer videos across their platforms. 

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, kicked off the conversation by sharing his own video to Instagram and Twitter, explaining what the changes will mean for individuals and businesses. 

The number one takeaway is that Instagram no longer considers itself as a photo-sharing app. It’s time to stop thinking of overhead shots of food and start thinking about transforming your content into entertaining videos. 

 With big hitting competitors like TikTok and Youtube, Instagram has come to terms with the fact that it’s time to embrace video. “The number one reason people use Instagram, from our research, is to be entertained”, said Mosseri. 

Over the coming months, you can expect a full-screen, immersive and entertaining experience on Instagram. 

It is a timely change as competitor TikTok increases their video limit to three minutes long, which is a drastic change from their original 60-second limit. 

So, what does this mean for you? 

Ultimately, it’s time to get comfortable in front of the camera and invest in capturing video content. 

Start identifying the opportunities to capture engaging and entertaining content that is relevant to your audience. Think product explanations, Q&As, interviews and ‘Day in the Life Of’ clips. 

Get creative with it – tell us a story about your day! 

Your audience wants to know about you, the face(s) behind the business, what you do and what you stand for. By sharing this behind-the-scenes content with your audience, you are building trust and awareness, which is invaluable.

If you need help building a digital marketing campaign or some advice on how to capture good video content, then reach out to our team. 

Earned media coverage is essential to building a brand identity, but it must be used as part of a wider PR strategy. This means considering other PR tactics that are often overlooked.

Account Executive Sophie Richardson provides some ideas that businesses might consider implementing.

Read the full article here…

Referred to as ‘Gen Z’, ‘Zoomers’ and even ‘Generation Sensible’, they have become a major buying power, now accounting for 40 percent of consumers worldwide. As the most recent KPMG report accurately states: “It’s time for organisations to take [them] seriously”.

There is some discrepancy on the age of Gen Z, with reports going from anywhere between six and 24 years old. We will be looking specifically at KPMG’s ‘Me, my life, my wallet’ report, which categorises them as between seven and 16.

Far too many businesses have preconceived notions about this generation, executing marketing strategies with no real understanding of what is important to them, and what they want in a brand. KPMG’s report contains some excellent findings that shed a light on all of this. We highly recommend you read it for yourself.

What drives Gen Z

I have had a lot of conversations with people in which they have pigeonholed Gen Z as driven by social media, mainstream trends, and TikTok dances. This is not true.

KPMG’s report found this generation cares less about fashion, music and entertainment, and more about family, friends, work, and wellbeing. Over 60 percent are perturbed by climate change, compared to just over 30 percent that want to be the first to use new technology.

Yes, this generation is influenced by technology, but even at such a young age, they demonstrate strong moral and ethical awareness. Brands that categorise them as primarily motivated by shallow, quick trends online are very incorrect.

The impacts of COVID-19 

As with every generation, the global pandemic has had a big impact on Gen Z.

More than half are worried about their finances, resulting in 48 percent reducing spend and saving more. I’m not sure about you, but when I was 16, saving money was not exactly a top priority. ‘Generation Sensible’ is probably a fair name.

Brands should consider this moving forward. COVID-19 has had a considerable impact on their spending mentality, a behaviour they will likely uphold even when the pandemic is over. Some of their most influential years have been disrupted by witnessing job uncertainty, high unemployment rates, and concerns for health and wellbeing. This is particularly important to consider for global brands: in Australia, we have not felt the same impacts as in other countries. Be mindful that the habits and behaviours of Gen Z consumers will be shaped differently based on where they lived during the pandemic.

What Gen Z want from brands

It is no secret that there is a huge demand from consumers for brands to act ethically and sustainably; we have seen it in the news, from grassroots fundraisers to international protests.

This is a characteristic also seen within Gen Z.

72 percent of consumers in this generation “buy into brands that align with their values”, rating empathy as either ‘important’ or ‘very important’.

Brands cannot expect to create a social media page and resonate with this audience. They also cannot expect to vocalise support for a social issue and leave it there, or worse than this, stay neutral. And remember to show, don’t tell. Drive positive initiatives and use your platform to uphold important messages. Work ethically, morally, and sustainably.

Final thoughts

Gen Z are far more complex and socially aware than many brands give them credit for. To resonate with this demographic, brands must demonstrate strong values with a moral and ethical drive that goes beyond shallow posts on social media.

Written by Sophie Richardson