How does Topshop effectively use social media?

Topshop uses all different kinds of social media platforms, this post will explore what they are and why, including the different types of posts, and how they communicate. Some social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been around for a while now, but recently other platforms such as Snapchat and Pinterest have been attracting the attention of consumers.

Facebook

Arguably the most popular social media platform there is, it is not always the most effective for big brands. Despite this, the target audience for Facebook is 15-30 year olds who are likely to be logging in daily. Facebook allows you to post text, images and videos which can be commented on, liked and shared.  An example of a post Topshop might do would be an outfit post with links to the online store, to encourage people to buy.

Twitter

On Twitter, uses can 'Follow' their favourite brands, and Topshop has a massive 1.2 million followers. Again, they are most likely to post on trend items and pieces that followers can then retweet and 'like'.
Possibly the most effective way of communicating on Twitter is though #hashtags. For example, if Topshop was promoting their Autumn/Winter 15 collection, they might develop the hashtag '#TopshopAW15'.
Also, brands can collaborate with celebrities or bloggers and get them to post on their behalf, which then exposes the celebrity or bloggers audience to the Topshop range too.

 

Snapchat

Snapchat is an up and coming social media platform which brands are now frequently use to communicate with customers. Snapchat is very visual in the way that it uses video, which can be eye catching. It has a certain mystery factor to it that makes the receiver think that they are getting a 'sneak peak'. Snapchat is a cheaper way of advertising products to an engaged audience, and
with most Snapchat users being aged 13-34, this is almost perfect for Topshop.

Topshop Snapchat example

 

Pinterest

Pinterest is a free social media website operating both online and mobile.
The idea behind it is that it is a 'scrapbook' of ideas where users can 'pin' things that inspire them. Users can follow other users that they are interested in, and when the brand posts a picture, for example, if it's Topshop, users can 'pin' a picture of an item they like or want to buy, which would generate more sales for the brand.
Pinterest is particularly good for Topshop because users can create outfit ideas which other users can see and pin. Also because 85% of users are female and this is Topshop's largest market.
Another interesting stat is that Pinterest users tend to be highly based online, with 93% of users shopping online in the last six months. This is good for Topshop because their website is a huge part of where they sell their items.

Women’s fashion is the sixth most popular category for women’s pins on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

What's trendy on Google?

Whilst researching current trends on Google, it has become aparrent that consumers are not searching for generic key words such as; Cadbury's chocolate; wholesale and milk chocolate. Instead terms such as Christmas; cheap; family and chocolate recipes were the most popular results. This suggests that consumers don't search for Cadbury's on Google, this could be mainly due to the fact that it is a readily available product in local shops. 

Christmas is a hot trend, which links to searches such as; chocolate christmas gifts; recipes; chocolate cake; chocolate brownies and christmas day.  Within the research acquired it would seem that peculiar terms were also being used in regards to Cadbury. For example, gorilla, which relates to the famous world wide advert and also Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which relates to the Cadbury's Wonka Bar. 

All companies need to bear in mind the importance of key words when trying to reach their audience.

This demonstrates that cheap and Christmas are higher trending within the UK than Cadbury's and chocolate. 

This demonstrates the correlation between Gorilla and Cadbury's which trended excessively within the year 2008. 

 

Email Marketing

Email Marketing

Email marketing has become one of the prominent marketing tools of the 21st Century. Why? According to Harvard Business insider direct mail marketing costs over $600 per 1000 pieces; it costs virtually nothing to send emails. Whilst the cost of Direct Mail marketing is 600 times more, results and customer response do not reflect this massive cost difference.

This table from Harvard Business looks at the response when a retailer "took a group of 105,000 customers in its loyalty club database, divided them into three groups of 35,000, and marketed to the three groups differently." 
These results show that the minuscule difference in response rate and the dollars made per name, between Direct Mail and Email do not reflect the cost difference.

Heroes Email Marketing Template 

For DMMP the Blue Milk Digital team had to design an example of Email Marketing, BMD decided they would use Cadbury’s Heroes as their product, as the company has a similar ethos to BMD and the Christmas theme also coincides with the time of year. 

The team decided first to find examples of Email Marketing from their own Email inbox's; there was no shortage of inspiration. BMD began by creating a rough template with pen and paper which could then be easily translated into a digital format. Although simplistic, this method proved effective.

BMD split into two sub-groups, this allowed one group to focus on text and the other to focus on design and on the layout of the email. 

The text sub-team agreed that the language should compliment the product as well as grabbing the attention of Heroes target audience. This was done by including phrases such as ‘Save the day’ and ‘keep the family satisfied’.

The design group, after studying other examples of Email Marketing decided it was vital to include - Social Media links, Hyperlinks and smallprint such as terms and conditions. The design team also came to the conclusion - colour schemes are vital whilst designing the email. 

This led the design sub-team to including all of the above, as well as a purple colour scheme to compliment Cadbury’s iconic purple logo. 

To further add to the Email, whilst researching other Emails, the team noticed that banners were employed in almost all of the emails they studied. This led the design team to creating a banner on befunky.com.




Below is the finished product of BMD’s Email Marketing piece:

What Makes A Good Blog?

BLOGGERS ARE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD OF DIGITAL BUSINESS, BUT WHAT MAKES A BLOG GOOD?

A blog is a source of information and inspiration; packed with pictures and bitesize quotes. Blog posts can be a business' mouthpiece, written to inform, engage and succeed. Blue Milk offers a visual source of content with the professional reliability that is the backbone of any marketing agency.

HOW THE PROFESSIONALS DO IT

E-consultancy has a wealth of information and news vital to the professional marketer, and has a great layout; trending posts are in a side column, a big widget for readers to input their email address - they can subscribe while they read! - and the blog posts are split up with headings, and include links and visual examples. With popular websites come pop-ups, and E-consultancy hosts big adverts down the side columns, this can be a distraction to readers.

Wired is a varied, visual blog with subjects on business, design, entertainment, gear, science and security. There are social icons on the side so that blog posts can be shared, latest news is shown in a side column, and quotes stand out in big bold lettering. It's a very smart blog and visual; links are underlined in blue in a unique neat way. Wired is a great source of content, but blog posts can be too long and the 'scroll of death' can kill the best written post.

Vloggers are much more visually stimulating. TED uploads educational talks from professional speakers, all confidently proficient in their subject area, which is clearly split into headings. With hashtags and quick share links on YouTube, it makes it easy to spread the word. The only downside to this great channel is that the videos are very short, approx 15 minutes, like teasers of information.

The references contain fantastic examples of how the blogs achieve to keep their readers engaged: https://econsultancy.com/blog/67048-a-marketer-s-guide-to-instagram-video/ http://www.wired.com/2015/10/facebooks-quest-to-quash-boredom-by-moving-beyond-friends/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUUnT6oDeKwE6v1NGQxug

The origins of 'Blue Milk'

Colourful, fun and relatable. That’s what ‘Blue Milk’ is all about. There are lots of agencies using milk somewhere in their name, but a milkshake is colourful and fun; a little more than just milk on its own.

Trying to name a digital agency wasn’t easy, but milk is something everyone has a personal use for. Milk is also reliable and trustworthy, it’s usually an ingredient to the best things in life, for example chocolate, tea and coffee. Milk is also given to babies to help them to grow and develop, something what a media agency is hired for.

Milkshake goes one step further, even though it is also fun and imaginative, it isn’t just milk in its traditional fashion, it represents a different version of milk and it comes in different flavours and variants. This relates to an agencies desire to use different methods, such as social media, and different marketing styles to put across the message given by the client.

The colour blue is generally seen as a colour of trust, honesty, loyalty, reliability and responsibility. Which is highly sought after when choosing a marketing agency.

An example of similar naming ideas is Fanta, which is derived from the word ‘Fantasie’, the German word for ‘Imagination’. This relates well to the Fanta brand as Fanta generally create different flavours than what is in normal fizzy drinks, for example Fruit Twist, Raspberry and Passionfruit and Apple and Sour Cherry.

In a similar fashion, Nike appeals to athletes who have first place in their sights, the name comes from the Ancient Greek goddess of victory, who was also known as Nike. This loosely relates to the idea of using milk in terms of balance and growth.