Digital Advertising

What Not to Wear: A Guide to Dressing for Success when Filming Marketing Videos

Abby Sorensen · December 15, 2022 ·

What Not to Wear: A Guide to Dressing for Success when Filming Marketing Videos

SN:D Blog_What Not to Wear When Filming Marketing Videos

While it’s easier than ever to shoot marketing videos for businesses and brands, there are many moving parts of a video shoot and with that, many things that can go wrong. Planning is key, and from our extensive video production experience, one simple but important thing to plan for is what you wear. While it’s important to be comfortable in your clothes, it is also essential that your clothing choices do not cause issues in the filming and post-production process of making a video.

Check out the top SN:D Agency tips on what NOT to wear and what TO wear when filming your next marketing video.

6 Tips on What Not to Wear When Filming Marketing Videos

It’s easy to prepare yourself for success with your wardrobe, so let’s ensure your wardrobe is NOT a failure on film day. Here are our tips for what not to wear:

Tip 1: Avoid Distracting Clothing When Filming Marketing Videos

No reflective clothing. The lighting can reflect off your clothes into the camera and cause light flares. These flares can be difficult or impossible to remove post-production, adding post-production costs. Reflective clothing can also distract the viewer.
No frills or distractions, like bows or tassels, especially around the arms area.
No clothing that is overly loose, too tight, or revealing.

Tip 2: Colors & Patterns to Avoid On Camera

No Black. Black can cast shadows on your face and dark circles under your eyes. Black also absorbs light, which takes away detail in the subject’s face and washes you out.
No white. White causes issues with cameras because it reflects, exposing your surroundings and drawing attention to your background rather than the subject.
No bright red or magenta. The camera’s sensors don’t translate these colors very well, and they can cause bleeding of color on the film, making it hard to see details.
No green or blue if you use a green or a blue screen when filming). When the editor is trying to take out the background in post-production, if you are wearing the same color as the background, it is difficult for your green or blue clothing to be removed as well, resulting in a floating head.
No tight patterns such as plaid, stripes, checks, herringbone, houndstooth, etc. The patterns and the camera sensors can cause a moiré pattern inside the camera. It’s only noticeable during playback and cannot be fixed in post-production, which can cause a costly loss.

Tip 3: Fabrics to Avoid When Filming Your Marketing Video

No sparkly, shiny, or shimmery fabric because you risk it reflecting into the camera.
No see-through or thin fabrics unless they are layered over other fabrics. If the fabric you wear is see-through, your body can be silhouetted in the shot when under the lights.
No Linen. It wrinkles quickly and easily, and you don’t want to look sloppy and unprofessional or waste time on shoot day using a steamer or iron.
No “loud” fabrics (such as windbreaker-type material)/ The microphone will pick up the noise and detract from the sound quality of the video’s audio.

Tip 4: Accessories to Avoid When Filming Business Videos

Do not wear multiple jewelry pieces, like stacking metal bangles, that can cause a lot of clanking and that could be picked up in audio.
No big earrings or necklaces that will reflect light and cause flashes on the camera.
No hats. A hat will block the light from your face, casting shadows.
No scarves. The scarf can rub against the mic when wearing a lavalier microphone and cause audio issues.

Tip 5: Avoid Other Company Branding or Shirts with Words When Filming

No outside company logos. Wearing a logo that isn’t for the company you’re promoting in the video can confuse your viewers and provide free marketing to an outside company while distracting from your own.
No graphic t-shirts. It may distract the viewers, and you may not have permission from the artist to display the work in a marketing product due to copyright infringement.

4 Tips on What to Wear When Filming Marketing Videos

Our video production team at SN:D have racked their brains for a top list of what to wear on camera. Read on for our tips.

Tip 1: Best Colors to Wear on Camera

Talk to your videographer and production team before the shoot to get a clear picture of what the background will be, as it will affect what colors you should wear.
If you’re NOT using a blue screen, blue is considered the safest color to wear on camera.
Other colors that work well on camera are pastels, jewel tones, and earth tones because they don’t cast shadows and look more natural.
If you want to wear dark clothing, navy blue is an excellent alternative to black because it is dark and looks professional but doesn’t have the same shadow-casting issues as black.

Tip 2: Choose Comfortable Clothing for Filming Your Marketing Video

Wear clothing that you are comfortable in–no one wants to watch a video of someone who is uncomfortable. You’ll be more able to focus on what you have to say when you aren’t distracted by how uncomfortable you feel.

Tip 3: Dress Appropriately for Your Industry

Ensure your clothing matches your brand and industry. Dressing industry appropriately will help make your video more credible, showing that you are an expert in the industry and know what you are talking about.

Tip 4: Wear Your Company Branding

Represent your business when filming a marketing video!
If you have uniforms or shirts that display your company logo, you should wear them (if they are appropriate for the video focus).

This brings brand awareness to your audience and adds credibility and professionalism to your video.

Filming Marketing Videos: 3 Additional Tips for Dressing on Film Day

Here are our additional wardrobe tips for ensuring your shoot goes smoothly.

Tip 1: Have More Than One Outfit

Have options in case of wardrobe malfunction or unforeseen circumstances.
More than one outfit will also allow you to shoot more footage without it looking like it was filmed on the same day, saving you time and money.
Come prepared with two or three outfit options that all follow all the do’s and don’ts that we’ve covered in this article.

Tip 2: Try Outfits on in Advance

Try your outfits on before your shoot. It’s best practice to do this at least a day before the shoot day to allow yourself time to run the errands or do the load of laundry needed to make sure your outfits are in good condition for the shoot.

Tip 3: Have an Emergency Kit for Wardrobe Malfunctions

Have a wardrobe emergency kit with you on video shoot days. Coming prepared will help you look your best and will help you focus on making a great video.

Here are some items to include in your emergency kit to avoid wardrobe malfunctions:

A-Clamps or clips
Bobby pins
Safety pins
Needle and thread
Portable steamer/iron
Stain remover

A lot can go wrong on a marketing video shoot day, so don’t let your wardrobe be one of those things.

From avoiding distracting colors, fabrics, patterns, and accessories, to tips for expanding your brand awareness and representing your business and industry well on video, to how to prepare for malfunctions, and more, we hope you feel equipped to dress for success on your next filming day! Armed with our expert tips on what NOT to wear, what you SHOULD wear, and a few additional best practices, you’ll be all set for a successful video shoot day – at least regarding your look.

So why stop there? At SN:D Agency, we have extensive experience with video shoots, production, and post-production. Stay tuned here on our blog for our upcoming blog posts covering all things video marketing! In the meantime, we’d love to speak with you about your business’s video production needs. Learn all about us here and contact us here!

A Guide to Influencer Marketing During COVID-19

SN:D Agency · November 9, 2020 ·

Can you remember the last time a positive review or referral from a friend impacted your decision to make a purchase? If you acted on the suggestion, it was probably in part because it came from someone you trusted. This authentic word-of-mouth promotion is a powerful tool in the marketing world, and one of the ways you can leverage it is through social media influencers.

A social media influencer is a person who has a large following on social media and influence in their field. With influencer marketing, you can leverage the following of these individuals by using endorsements, product placement, or another form of sponsorship. Influencer marketing, particularly during this time COVID-19, can offer many benefits that go above and beyond regular marketing tactics. At this moment when digital marketing is more vital than ever for reaching your customers, credible influencers can give you a major boost on social media, drive the conversation about your brand, and help boost sales. They are especially helpful during an economic downturn, as they offer a unique funnel to your business, reaching new markets that your business may not otherwise have been noticed in.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the benefits of investing in influencer marketing during COVID-19, how it can help grow your business, and what to do to get started today!

The Benefits of Influencer Marketing During COVID-19

Nothing adds to a brand’s credibility like endorsement from a credible source. People get a sense of security towards a brand when they hear positive things about it from sources they trust, especially when those sources are real people that they feel a connection with or look up to, like their favorite influencer. The benefit to influencer marketing is the opportunity to have a real, trusted person willing to back up your brand publicly using their own experiences with it. A great influencer can endorse a brand in an authentic way by expressing their unique personal insights (i.e. “I’ve tried so many razors but none leave my skin feeling this smooth”) on the brand/product that make it both promotional and credible.

Furthermore, peer influence is proven to be highly impactful on consumer’s purchasing decisions. We tend to trust the opinions of other people in similar positions to us much more than we trust faceless business entities. This becomes especially true when it comes to people we look up to, like influencers. The person is, at least to their audience, like a trusted peer. They can describe the benefits of the product from a consumer perspective, which can be a great boost for your sales and brand reputation.

How Influencer Marketing During COVID-19 Can Grow Your Business

Influencer marketing can be especially effective during COVID-19 because it can boost publicity and help reach new markets. Each influencer offers a unique niche audience, making your brand visible in new circles. This allows for the opportunity to reach potential customers outside of your regular channels. For example, in recent months the Billie razor has become popular on social media, endorsed by several influencers. If the Billie brand had simply advertised from their own channel, their ads might only reach consumers who have shown interest or buying patterns related to razors or hair removal. By having influencers share the product within their travel, health, fitness, or beauty circles, Billie soared in popularity.

Influencers are also highly effective in terms of driving traffic to your website. Because these people often have their own blogs, sites, or even just strong social media platforms, they can easily funnel people into your channels through their own. Plus, the more your website is linked to from other sources, the more relevance search engines attribute to your website, which helps rank you higher in search results. During COVID-19 when many customers are spending less, influencer marketing can help make up for lost traffic and even grow your profits as your audience widens.

How to Get Started with Influencer Marketing During COVID-19 Today

Define Your Influencer Program

The first step to creating an influencer program is to outline your marketing plan, including your objectives and target audience. This will help you discover which influencers would be viable candidates for achieving your goals. Some examples of goals for the program might be increasing new user traffic to your website by 10% each month, doubling user engagement in the next quarter, growing sales by 20% before the end of the year, etc. Whatever your objectives are, they should be used to guide your influencer marketing program.
Once you’ve settled on your influencer marketing plan, the next step is deciding how you will incentivize your influencers. There are many ways to run an influencer program, and they vary by business. You can pay them a certain amount for each post they make about your brand, offer them free products in exchange for them posting a review on their channel, even grant them exclusive offers or deals on your products. We recommend doing some research and deciding what works best for your budget.
Finally, determine how you will track and analyze your metrics. How will you measure the success of your influencer marketing plan? The metrics you choose to use for measurement should be based on the objective you decided on in step 1, whether that’s bringing more people to your website, turning more traffic into conversions, driving sales, etc. Then you can track clicks, impressions, engagement, and/or sales to see how effective the program is in achieving that goal.

Find Your Influencer(s)

Next, make a list of potential influencers to reach out to. You can start with a simple search on social media. Look for users who engage with your content, use your hashtags, mentions or related keywords, or post about your product. Twitter, IG, Facebook groups, SubReddits, and LinkedIn are great places to start.

Once you’ve found a list of potential influencers, review each one and assess based on a few key characteristics:

Content quality: Do they have high-quality posts and would you feel good about them representing your brand? You’ll want to consider everything from their photography, their writing, their videos, their promotional skills, and their overall tone.
Influence: Do they have a lot of followers? If so, do their fans seem to look up to them for their knowledge of the industry? Are they a trusted and credible source? Do they have previous experience representing a brand, and have they been successful in promoting similar products in the past?
Personality: Assess how well their personality matches your brand’s identity. Be sure to check for anything that could damage your brand as well, such as too many political posts, offensive content, or trash-talking other people or brands. Remember, this person will be representing your brand, so ask yourself: Would this person be a good fit to promote the values of your business? Do they represent your voice and product well?

Work With Influencers

When you decide on a person you feel would be a good fit, you can ask them to join your influencer program, usually via email or a direct message on their social media channel. If they accept, you will need to do the following:

Create a contract so you both agree on the terms and conditions, including how they will promote your brand, how long the partnership will last, and how often they should post about it. Include:
- Duties and Responsibilities of the Influencer Partner
- Deliverables and Deadlines
- Payment Details
- Usage, License, and Copyright
Provide them with the resources they need to be successful. Give them a virtual handbook on your influencer partnership program, provide them with the materials they need, and offer dedicated support channels to help them if they have questions.
Empower them! It’s important to keep them excited about the opportunity they are a part of. You can motivate them by getting them information about new products, offering bonuses and/or commission on their sales, offering new specials, and more. Remember that it’s critical that the influencer has a good experience both with your product and your brand, so that they can invoke the same genuine enthusiasm in their audience. Their positive outlook on your brand is vital to the success of the influencer marketing program.

There are many benefits to implementing influencer marketing during COVID-19, but above all, influencers can cultivate a unique enthusiasm about your brand. Their promotion of your products and services engages people in an authentic and meaningful way, helping you to build a relationship of trust with your consumers during a time of uncertainty for many people.

It’s also important to remember that influencers can only promote what is already effective about a brand. So make sure you’ve created a solid digital and social media marketing strategy during COVID-19, so that your influencers can use this as a foundation to strengthen and grow your reputation.

For more tips on creating a successful marketing strategy, read: TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL MARKETING DURING COVID-19

We know introducing new social media marketing tactics like this can seem daunting, and SND Agency is here to help. We are a full-scale social media management agency with expertise in building a strong social media presence and growing businesses through digital marketing. For help growing your businesses now and in the future, contact us today!

Targeting the Right Customers During COVID-19

Emma Kaiser · August 27, 2020 ·

How many people do you know of that have lost their job during COVID-19? During the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in the U.S. has reached the highest it has been since the Great Depression. While writing this, 21 million people in the United States are unemployed, and with so many people out of work, reaching the portion of your brand’s audience who are still in a position to spend money on your product with your marketing is more crucial than ever.

The key to surviving this pandemic lies in being able to identify where viable customers are, and then to reach those customers online. Fortunately, there are tactics you can use to reach the people out there that are still earning money and are looking to spend that money on your business.

Keep reading for our tips on targeting the right customers through marketing during COVID-19.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Determine Who Is Willing to Spend

How can you determine which of your customers are still able to spend money on your products or services? Research by the Harvard Business Review has grouped consumers into four main groups during times of a recession: ”Slam on the Brakes,” “Pained but Patient,” “Comfortably Well Off,” and “Live for Today.” By understanding the demographics of each group, you can be better prepared and informed of who you should be marketing to right now.

Customers Not Spending During COVID-19: Slam on the Brakes

The “Slam on the Brakes” group is the one that is feeling most vulnerable and is the hardest hit financially. This group will reduce spending by eliminating, postponing, decreasing, or substituting purchases, and though it’s typically made up of lower-income consumers, anxious higher-income consumers can fall into this category as well. This group will be limiting spending to the essentials, so don’t look to them for expendable purchases. This is not the group to target if you’re looking for spenders during COVID-19

Customers Spending Less During COVID-19: Pained but Patient

The “Pained but Patient” group will tend to be optimistic about the future but less confident about recovering in the short term or their prospects for maintaining their standard of living. They will also economize in areas of spending, though less than the “Slam on the Brakes” group. This is the largest category of spenders and also includes the majority of households not harmed by unemployment, which means a large range of income. This group may shift from more or less conservative spending depending on how bad or good the news is. They may be more likely to give in to the occasional indulgence, but not larger investments or expendables.

Customers Spending Carefully During COVID-19: Comfortably Well Off

“Comfortably Well Off” consumers are people who feel secure and calm about their place in the economy and their income, and they are going to be a more dependable target market for non-essential purchases. Their spending habits don’t really change, though they may now be more selective about their purchases and drive a harder bargain. This group is made up of consumers in the top 5% income bracket and also those who may be less wealthy but are stable and relatively unscathed in their finances. This often means the retired or investors who already made their profit. This is the group most likely to keep up their spending habits, and a safe group to target with your marketing.

Customers Spending Freely During COVID-19: Live for Today

The “Live for Today” group is one that is essentially carrying on and is less worried about their financial situation. The consumers in this group will respond mainly by extending their timelines for larger purchases. Typically younger and urban, they are more likely to rent, and they prioritize experiences over things (with the exception of electronics). Their consumption habits will likely remain consistent unless they become unemployed, so this is the second group that will likely respond to your marketing strategies.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Market to Those Who Fit Your Business

Now that you have an overview of the four main spending groups and which ones will be most profitable for you, you can use your business’s ad budget to your highest advantage by shifting your marketing towards that audience. There’s no use spending your marketing budget on a target audience that isn’t looking to make purchases right now, so focus on the spending groups who are most open to the service or product you’re selling.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Reaching the Right Spending Demographic

There are several different targeting tools on Facebook that you can use to identify the right kind of spenders and those with income. We’ve broken down these tools for you below:

Location and HouseHold Income Demographics

The Location and HouseHold Income tools work by targeting people within certain ZIP codes and the median income in those areas. This means you can direct your ads to a specific income bracket and those who are less likely to be negatively impacted by the recession. You can also advertise in the cities and communities where you are aiming to do business.

Demographics and Job Types

You can also target your ads to people with specific job titles, meaning you can identify people who are more likely to still be employed and working. This would include people in the healthcare industry, essential workers, pharmacists, senior care providers, etc. You can see more examples of recession-proof jobs and industries to target here. Within Demographics, you can also target people based on age and education level, which is useful if you’re trying to reach millennials who are still spending freely in the “Live For Today” category, or older retirees who are still comfortably well off and financially secure.

Interests and Behavior Demographics

Use the Interests and Behavior tools to focus your ad spending toward people with hobbies and interests that are typically more expensive or associated with higher income. You can do this by targeting Facebook users whose “likes” indicate interests such as frequent travel, luxury brands, the latest technology, high-end restaurants, etc. This strategy isn’t foolproof, however, as anyone can “like” something on Facebook without necessarily being a viable consumer of that product, but with Behavior tools, you can target people based on their past purchases and spending history, meaning you can see if they have or are are likely to spend money on products or services similar to yours.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Reaching the Right Audience

After you have determined which groups are likely to spend their money and figured out how to locate and reach those groups in your marketing strategy, you can go on to target the pockets of people within your already-existing target audiences. Remember–you’re not just trying to reach people with money; you’re trying to reach the people who are most likely to spend their money on your service or product. This means that you shouldn’t target older, comfortably well-off people just because they have money if they are not your target audience. For example, it wouldn’t make sense to market high-intensity recreational gear to retired people in their 70s, just like you probably wouldn’t market cosmeceuticals or specialized medical care to millennials in the “Live for Today” category.

In order to reach the right customers, you have to meet them where they’re at, and right now that means digitally and on social media. You can then direct your ads and messaging to the platforms that contain your target audience.

To figure out which kind of consumers are on each social media platform and which ones you should be taking advantage of during COVID-19, read: WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD BE USING DURING COVID-19 AND BEYOND

It’s also important to remember that your most reliable audience is your already-existing customers. This is especially true during a recession, so don’t ignore those who have already given you their business! Use social media platforms and email marketing to check in with your loyal customers and address their needs and concerns. Now is the time to strengthen that base, not abandon them.

For more tips on strengthening your online community and retaining customer loyalty through your marketing, read: TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL MARKETING DURING COVID-19

Although the economy has suffered drastically the past few months, and your business may be anxious about what’s to come, targeting consumers who are willing and able to spend their money during COVID-19 is an effective way to make sure you are not wasting your (potentially tightened) advertising budget on audiences that don’t have income or are cautious to spend. Let them know how you can still provide your products and services, that you’re still relevant, and most importantly, that you care about meeting their needs and are still worthy of their business during this challenging time.

For more tips on how to successfully market during COVID-19, be sure to check out our other blog posts, and remember that SND Agency is an experienced, results driven full service social media agency who understands that many businesses need extra help during this time. If that sounds like you, we would love to hear from you about partnering with your business to leverage your social media presence for success now and in the future! Contact us today!

Guide to Creating a Successful Digital Advertising Campaign

SN:D Agency · April 17, 2020 ·

Are you looking to create a killer digital advertising campaign for your business? Now is the time. As long as we are stuck in our homes, the focus must be on digital. Gone is the heyday of print advertising, i.e. billboards, flyers, banners. While you have a captive and engaged audience at home and online, now is the time to hook them into your brand through digital advertising.

Now, there is more to creating a digital advertising campaign for your business than just posting about the latest product or service. In order to capture your business’s market and gain customer loyalty, it starts with creating a solid advertising strategy. The best digital ads come from a thorough campaign strategy with a clear marketing goal, defined communications objectives, and an in-depth foundation to guide your understanding of the proposition you are making. Once you create a solid digital advertising strategy using our guide, you can deliver an amazing advertising campaign for your business. We have everything you need below.

Determine the Purpose of Your Digital Advertising Campaign

Before starting to create your campaign, the first step is to come to an understanding of the purpose for making it. It sounds like a no-brainer, but in order to create a thorough campaign with a solid strategy, your business must hone in on one or two specific purposes to drive your campaign. The way we do it is by beginning with a brand problem, and the expected change we hope to see.

You may be thinking “There is no problem, we just want to grow the business online.” But every change you are hoping for starts with a problem of some kind. Remember: the problem doesn’t have to be a crisis. Try to express your purpose in terms of the problem you want to solve for your business, and what you hope to see. This will be one of the primary gauges you will use to measure the outcome of your campaign, so really think about what it is you want to see happen as a result of these ads.

Here are some examples of problems and expected changes:

Sales are low. We hope to re-engage our customer base.
Sales are low. We hope to draw in a new customer base.
We have a strong customer base of people over 50 years of age, but don’t see very much brand recognition among Millennials. We hope to diversify our reach.
Our competition is outselling us. We need to reinvigorate our customers.
We have a new product that few people know about. We need to get the word out.

You might find that once you determine a more precise definition of the problem, it will help you to better understand the results you are seeking for your brand.

Define the Objective of Your Digital Advertising Campaign

Now that you know the business goals of the campaign, you can begin strategizing about what objective you are seeking among your business’s consumers. A problem many businesses run into is solely considering the desired outcome for the company. However, the key to making a great digital advertising campaign is getting into the mind of your consumer and figuring out what their goals are. It’s subtle, but imperative.

Addressing the Customers’ Needs in Your Digital Advertising Campaign

We talk often about how every product or service is a solution to a problem. What problem does the brand, product or service you are advertising solve for your consumer? What need is it filling for them? If you’re not sure, an agency like SN Digital can help your business research your customers and determine their needs. Very often, it is something that they are missing and unaware of. Through your advertising campaign, you are offering to fill a place in their lives that they didn’t even know they needed.

Here are some more examples of different types of products and services, and the problems they could solve:

Over-the-counter pain relief pills: This medicine will relieve your headache
Natural pet food: This food is healthy for your dog, unlike regular processed dog food which can lead to health problems.
An internet service provider: The speed of this internet will save you time that you’re currently wasting waiting for things to load.
An online movie and TV show streaming platform: Don’t pay for hundreds of dollars for channels you don’t even watch. This will give you the movies and shows you love, and save you money.
Senior care services: You’re struggling as the sole caregiver of your aging parents. We can help with their health needs so you can spend that time enjoying their company instead.

Determine the Communications Objectives of Your Digital Advertising Campaign

Once you understand the problem your brand is addressing for your consumers, you can now determine your communications objectives.

Communications objectives are not the same as business objectives or marketing objectives. As we discussed earlier, marketing and business objectives have to do with the business and its sales goals. Those are important, but they are only one side of the strategy. When it comes to creating a great advertising campaign, the focus must be reaching your consumers on their level. Communication objectives vary widely from business to business. That’s why at SN Digital, we have a team of experts with experience in creating effective communications objectives for each digital ad campaign we run.

What do you want your business’s advertising campaign message to say to your current or potential customer? What do you hope to persuade them of, or what truth do you want to illuminate for them?

Let’s think back to when we addressed the purpose of the campaign, and use those examples to create business objectives vs. communications objectives:

Business objective: Sales are low. We hope to re-engage our customer base.
Communications objective: Remind consumers that Product X has higher nutrients AND better flavor than competing products.
Business objective: Sales are low. We hope to draw in a new customer base.
Communications objective: Inspire new consumers to find out why people who use Product Y report having Z% better health in the following months.
Business objective: We have a strong customer base of people over 50, but don’t see very much brand recognition among Millennials. We hope to diversify our reach.
Communications objective: Excite consumers about the versatility and variety of purposes for using Product A.
Business objective: Our competition is outselling us. We need to reinvigorate our customers.
Communications objective: Inform consumers about the superior performance of Service B.
Business objective: We have a new product that few people know about. We need to get the word out.
Communications objective: Instill in consumers the benefits of using the new Product C.

Determine the Target Audience for Your Digital Advertising Campaign

Once you know your campaign’s communications objectives, you can begin determining who it is that you are targeting to. Some people argue that determining your target audience should come first. And in some cases, this could be a more effective approach to take. However, if you already have some idea of who your customers or potential customers are, we suggest doing it in this order. This is because we often need to clarify the communication objectives in order to guide our understanding of who our target audience is. It can be difficult to determine your brand’s audience if you aren’t entirely sure what your business is trying to say.

So who is your advertising campaign intended for? It’s not everyone. A mistake businesses sometimes make is trying to market the campaign to too many people. At SN Digital, when we find the target audience for our clients’ digital advertising campaigns, we focus on reaching one primary audience. Often, we find a secondary market segment materializes organically in the process, but begin with the focus on just one. In our experience, this leads to significantly better results.

Define the Market for Your Digital Advertising Campaign

A great place to start with determining your target audience is defining what the current market around your product or service is. There are a few key demographics and psychographics to pay attention to, which can be collected in a variety of metrics platforms.

Age: This doesn’t need to be an exact number. Determining an age range is important as you can use this information to understand the consumers’ values from a generational perspective.
Stage of Life: The stage of life someone is in can vary, even within the same age group. Are they new parents? Recent college grads? Empty nesters? Determine what important milestones are taking place in the consumer’s life.
Location: This doesn’t necessarily mean what part of the world the consumer lives in (although that could be a factor if its a large, national corporation). This is more about the type of location. Do they live in the city (younger population)? The suburbs (wealthier, older families)? Their location says a lot about a person’s lifestyle and buying patterns.
Income and spending: Speaking of buying patterns, how much disposable income does your consumer base have? More importantly, what do they spend their disposable income on? This is important in determining how to market your product to meet the consumers’ needs.
Values: What is important to this audience? Do they like owning nice things? Do they value eco-friendly products over fancy brand names? Knowing what is important to them can help guide the angle of your campaign.

If you are thorough, you will end with a description that goes something like this: The consumer is a 30-something mom living in the city who makes between $50-$70K and values health and wellbeing. She participates in yoga classes, shops at the co-op, and loves being outdoors.

This is the kind of detailed consumer analysis that SN Digital Agency conducts for our clients. We have years of experience getting to know the minds of the consumers so that the digital advertising campaign can definitively address their needs. If you are stuck in this area, we can help by building a definitive market for your campaign and showing you how to address these consumers.

Find the Opportunity for Your Digital Advertising Campaign

Now that you have some basic data about your consumers, you can begin the creative process of getting to know them. This where you will find the opportunity for your brand.

The process will take some research on your part. Use the above demographic and psychographic determinations to better understand your audience, and get to know them as consumers and as people.

Some questions to ask to learn about your audience:

What are their needs and desires?
What are the needs and desires of the consumer you defined? [i.e. Male, recent college graduate who lives with roommates, working an entry-level position.] What are they missing?
What are their current attitudes about the brand?
Do they know this product or service exists? If so, how do they feel about it? What could make it more exciting to them? If they don’t know about it, what are their attitudes about similar products, and what might motivate them to use your product?
Where can they be reached?
In other words, what digital platforms do these consumers use? This can be determined with some basic market research, which an experienced digital marketing agency like SN Digital can help you with. We have tools to figure out where your consumers are, when they’re online, and what they’re doing when they’re there. Too often, businesses assume their digital advertising campaign should be blasted on every channel. This leads to a waste of resources that could be better allocated by targeting a niche market.
For example, if you’re marketing to a 50-year-old, it would be a waste to put ads on Snapchat or TikTok. Know your audience!

Create Your Digital Advertising Campaign

At this point, you know you know your business problem and expected change, your customer needs and your communications objectives, and your target market. When you have acquired and feel confident in all of this information, you can create your digital advertising campaign.

Determine the Message of Your Digital Advertising Campaign

Always start with the message before making the campaign’s creatives (the artwork, design and materials), as this will drive your entire digital advertising campaign.

After getting to know your campaign’s target audience, you probably have plenty of ideas for how your brand can benefit them, and why they should buy your product or service. That’s great, and you can use some of these in your copy. But in order to make a great digital advertising campaign, your business must create one Single-Minded Proposition, also known as an SMP. This is your short, one-sentence or one-phrase pitch for why your consumer’s life will be improved by your business’s product or service. It should be short and simple, with the focus on a single key factor. This will be the basis for your campaign tagline, and the idea that every ad in the campaign is built upon.

Here are some examples of great SMP’s that became taglines for the brand’s campaign:

M&Ms: The Milk Chocolate Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand.
Diamond Producers Association: Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond.
Expedia: Travel the World Better.
Folgers: Tolerate Mornings.

As you can see, many SMP’s use just a handful of words to drive home one main selling point. Had they tried to include all of their benefits in the SMP, they wouldn’t have the same effect.

Create the Ads for Your Digital Advertising Campaign

If you’re still struggling with the SMP, then writing the copy will be difficult as well. If you aren’t getting the results you want, you may want to consider hiring a copywriter or marketing team like SN Digital Agency, who offers a team of expert copywriters with experience writing clever and compelling copy for businesses.

However, if you feel good about your writing skills, try your hand at writing your own copy for the campaign. Write the body text and headlines for each creative, and use compelling images or graphics. This is a creative process and will take some time brainstorming. Depending on how your business intends to place the ads, these might all look similar, just targeted to different locations, or you might decide to have several unique headlines and copy for each. But every ad should be centered around the single driving message.

As you now realize, creating a digital advertising campaign is more than just coming up with a clever headline or paying for reach. It is about knowing your audience, defining your communication objectives, and implementing your ads in the most effective way based on a thorough understanding of your marketing goal. This will allow your business to communicate to your audience in a way that is most persuasive and compelling. Making a successful digital advertising campaign takes practice, but try out this method for yourself and you will notice the huge difference it makes in achieving your business’s marketing goals.

Or, if you’re still daunted by the idea of digital advertising, let us take it off your hands for you! Contact us today – we are a full-scale social media agency which specializes in digital and social media advertising, and we would love to share our expertise with you.

Best Social Media Campaigns of 2019

SN:D Agency · January 15, 2020 ·

What makes a good social media campaign? If you aren’t aware of the industry lingo, an advertising campaign is a collection of ads, often across a variety of mediums, that revolve around a singular message intended to promote the brand. There are several ways to determine the success of an ad campaign, but typically it is measured by how much buzz it produces, how positively the message is received by the intended market, and whether it generates brand awareness and sales.

In this blog post, we are going to wrap up the year by sharing the most successful social media campaigns of 2019. For each campaign, we will share about the strategies that were implemented, and what made them successful. If you’re looking for inspiration to create an ad campaign for your brand or business, read on to see how these brands killed it this year and how you can use some of their strategies for your own brand in 2020.

Best Social Media Campaigns: Gillette – “The Best Men Can Be”

Gillette released a video spot in early 2019, which showed men in a variety of scenarios standing up against toxic masculinity. They used a strategy that is often implemented by big name brands, in which they made themselves relevant by entering the conversation of the current cultural issues. We’ve seen this tactic used hundreds of times, both successfully (think the “Like a Girl” campaign by Always) and unsuccessfully (think the Kendall Jenner/Pepsi commercial). So what makes this one so effective?

Check out the video here:

In this case, Gillette is responding directly to the growing #MeToo movement, a huge point of controversy and conversation in the social media realm, and offering their endorsement. Many argue it was a risky move for a male-targeted product. But was it? Let’s look at the results.

Gillette’s Twitter feed was flooded with responses, with 1.4 million mentions within the first week alone. The feedback was both positive and negative. It got flak from a portion of its audience, primarily those of the single, middle-aged male demographic who accused the ad of being offensive, degrading to men, and marginalizing of the people who make up its primary consumer base.

However, it received a mainly positive reaction from women and younger men. While many consumers were off-put, research shows women are often the ones who actually buy the grooming products in the household, making this ad extremely effective for that portion of their target audience.

Gillette reported later on that they felt the campaign was successful in achieving their marketing goal. According to the CEO, it was a part of a larger effort to connect with younger consumers and become their trusted brand for grooming. They plan to continue advocating for the values that are important to the younger generation, and gradually take on young adults as their primary consumer base. So although their sales did not budge after this campaign, they were satisfied with the results. This ad was highly effective in increasing brand awareness and brand loyalty among their target audience.

Best Social Media Campaigns: Moon Pie – “#MoonPieToTheMoon2024”

July of 2019 marked 50 years since NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing. To celebrate this huge anniversary, NASA launched a campaign using the hashtag #Apollo50th, posting historical content across social media and digital platforms. The campaign was received well by the public, and out of the millions of responses, 93% were positive.

Shortly afterwards, Vice President Mike Pence met with Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong’s family, and made a speech promoting the trip to the moon coming up in the next 5 years. This publicity led to another hashtag going viral: #Moon2024, which trended on social media for months. Following this, dozens of brands jumped on the opportunity, launching their own social media campaigns related to the upcoming moon trip.

The most successful of these was a campaign created by Moon Pie, a brand of snack cakes of the same name, who took their own spin on the event. They launched #MoonPieToTheMoon2024, a campaign invoking humor, to petition for NASA to take this delicious snack along for the trip. The campaign received overwhelming support, with several Influencers posting their support for NASA bringing a Moon Pie to the moon.

See the video below:

.@NASA let’s put a MoonPie on the dang moon pic.twitter.com/qOjejhaPvZ

— MoonPie (@MoonPie) July 3, 2019

The objective here was to raise brand awareness among their Gen. Z target audience, and the effort was highly successful. This was a great way for the brand to humorously insert themselves in a hot topic of conversation to grow their own brand salience. They capitalized on current events and grew their support.

Well done, Moon Pie!

Best Social Media Campaigns: Dove – “Project #ShowUs”

Dove, a long-time advocate for female empowerment, launched a social media campaign called “Project #ShowUs” across social media platforms. The company partnered with the largest international stock photo distributor, Getty Images, as well as Girlgaze – a collective of female-identifying and non-binary photographers, to create a large photo library of women and non-binary individuals to combat beauty standards and stereotypes.

If you’ve ever used stock images for marketing or blogging (or really anything) before, then you know that the featured models, especially those of women, are almost exclusively white and are always conventionally attractive. The mission of this campaign was to change that.

The initiative was undeniably successful. They got the exact results they had petitioned for: a large database of stock photos on Getty Images representing a diverse, inclusive, and authentic depiction of female beauty. Furthermore, the women and non-binary people depicted in the images were able to choose their own search descriptions and tags for their pictures, effectively allowing them to define their own beauty.

Check out the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0fj2cDtvis&feature=emb_logo

According to Dove’s Global Vice President Sophie Galvani, the marketing goal was “to create a global movement, redefining how women are represented and setting a new standard for the authentic and diverse representation of women across the world.”

This campaign was effective in creating a tangible way for advertisers and media professionals to promote more inclusivity. Dove received thousands of user-generated photos from women around the world, indicating their success in connecting with their target consumer base and raising brand loyalty.

Best Social Media Campaigns: Adidas – “She Breaks Barriers”

It’s not new information that women are not featured in sports media to the same extent that men are. The media promotes men’s sports, while women’s sports repeatedly and consistently fall under the radar. In fact, did you know that only 4% of sports media covered in the U.S. is dedicated to women’s teams? According to Adidas, that’s why this campaign is so important.

Check out the video here:

The initiative began from a social media post, where Adidas asked athletes to use the hashtag #CreatorsUnite and share about the challenges and barriers that they face. Using these responses, they developed the She Breaks Barriers campaign, with one unifying goal: To provide access, remove stereotypes, and address inequality for female athletes at all levels and ages.

The campaign advocates for equal media representation for women. To help jumpstart this initiative, Adidas teamed up with Intersport and Twitter to livestream women’s high school sports on the social media platform for the first time ever.

According to Adidas, the objective of their campaign is to give women in sports more visibility in the media so that young girls would not only stay in sports, but believe that they belong in them just as much as boys do. They were effective in getting women’s sports to be showcased on Twitter, and they received thousands of mentions with a 96% positive reaction. Famous athletes such as Hima Das gave them shoutouts, and the YouTube video became one of the most mentioned on social media.

Way to go, Adidas!

Best Social Media Campaigns: Nike – “Dream Crazier”

That’s right, we saved the best for last. Nike’s “Dream Crazier” campaign took the world by storm in early 2019.

Gender stereotypes in sports have been a problem for, well, as long as sports have existed. Our society frequently idolizes male athletes for being strong, competitive, and determined. On the other hand, when women are “too” competitive, loud, or passionate about their sport, they are often portrayed as “crazy” or “overly emotional” by the media. This is the basis for Nike’s campaign. Female athletes are not given the media credibility that they deserve.

Watch the video spot here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpJ19RJ4JY

Narrated by Serena Williams, the ad addresses double standards for women in sports and speaks out against sexist stereotypes. Rather than allowing it to belittle them, it suggests that women embrace the stereotype of being “crazy,” to reject the trope by receiving it as a synonym for being motivated and passionate.

Some of the dialogue reads:

“When we show emotion, we’re called ‘dramatic’ . . . When we stand for something, we’re ‘unhinged’. . . And if we get angry, we’re ‘hysterical,’ ‘irrational,’ or ‘just being crazy’ . . . So if they want to call you crazy, fine. . . Show them what crazy can do.”

This monologue is played on top of a series of clips of females in sports performing incredible athletic feats. The production of the ad was immaculate. As a result, it was incredibly effective in reaching its intended audience and generating conversation. The video received 11 million views on YouTube, over 20 million on Instagram, and over 32 million on Twitter. After launching the campaign, the stock price of Nike grew by a third, and the spot received $43 million worth of media exposure. Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres even made their own versions of the ad, widening the reach of its audience even further.

It is hard to measure whether this ad will prove effective in transforming the narrative around female athletes, but it was certainly a great start in encouraging young women and girls to stay in sports and to not shy away from their own inner determination and strength. The campaign lays a great foundation for a revolutionary shift in our cultural perspective and the eradication of these gender stereotypes.

Best Social Media Campaigns: Common Themes

So what can you take from all of this to help guide your own advertising strategy? One common theme among all the campaigns is that they used a multi-platform distribution strategy. When you have a great ad or campaign, it is important to post it across all of your platforms, not just one. These brands all shared their campaigns on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. This is imperative because it ensures maximum reach for all of their audiences.

Furthermore, each campaign was built upon a relevant cultural context that evoked powerful feelings in their audience. Not only did they all address current societal issues, they each added something unique and meaningful to the cultural conversation, either with humor, imagery or insight. When creating your campaigns, make sure you are staying aware of the current social issues, whether you use them directly in your campaign or not. Know the culture or sub-culture to which your ad is directed. Often we find that cultural context can be used advantageously to connect with our desired audience.

All of the campaigns here leveraged the power of strong social media influencers and themes to generate buzz. Gillette used the #MeToo movement to propel its message, Moon Pie utilized the re-popularization of NASA, Adidas included the famous and sometimes criticized Serena Williams, and so on. That being said, most of us don’t have a lineup of A-List celebrities at our disposal. But even small, local influencers can greatly enhance the power of a campaign. Research some influencers in your market and reach out to them. These people are usually more than happy to work with brands to further their own values and brand messaging.

Finally, the campaigns all had a strong single-minded proposition. Adidas and Nike, for example, didn’t vaguely address gender inequality in sports; instead, they each had a very specific issue with a clear objective in mind (Adidas addressed lack of female representation, while Nike highlighted sexist gender stereotypes). It is very important that your mission is clear. This doesn’t mean you need to directly state your marketing goal word-for-word (Nike never said in their ad “sexist stereotypes are bad”; instead they showed it with imagery). It means that you should know what exactly your goal is, so that every aspect of your campaign aligns with the singular purpose.

Remember that you may not appeal to everyone. In fact, like Gillette, you may offend people with your proposition, and that’s okay. Copyblogger said it best when they wrote: “You need the courage to alienate the wrong people in order to resonate with the right people . . . The fact is, if no one hates you, you’re doing something wrong.”

Still daunted by the idea of advertising on social media? Let us take it off your hands and do it for you! Contact us today – we are a full-scale social media agency which specializes in social media advertising, and we would love to share our expertise with you.