Go Niche With Your Press Releases
We all know that PR agencies have limited time and resources to get their client's brand, product, event or campaign on as many media outlets as possible, but when they try to shoot for the mass, they might end up with little or no results. The days of creating a media list and sending a mass email with a copy/paste version of a press release are over; and yet over 90% of PR agencies who try to reach us at LuxeInACity still use this tactic. We have to say to them: STOP! It doesn't work!
Ok, they might get a few bloggers and journalists to republish their client's press release (we have done so ourselves in the past) but ask yourself what the true outcome of using such tactics will be? Will these dry copy/paste type press release articles be shared virally on social media? Nope. Will they reach the client's target audience and make a lasting impression on them? Nope. Will it result in more social fans, website traffic or an increase in sales? Probably not. So why are most PR agencies still using tactics that have not worked since the web has gone social? Why haven't they adapted to the new web etiquette and joined the social wave?
So if sending generic press releases doesn't work, how should a brand get their message out to bloggers? It's actually fairly simple. First pinpoint a short list of bloggers that have real influence in your market. Start interacting with them on social media as a fan or peer but always keep it real, non commercial. Then connect by email with a short, personable and once-again real message. If the blogger decides to work with you, great, but don't harass them every day with requests. Also, if they help you, don't forget to send them a thank you email and help them promote the article with your own social media channels. Finally, stay in touch sporadically in the following months. There is nothing worse than a "fake friend" who only calls out to you when they need something.
So if you have something to send us at LuxeInACity, please-oh-please, don't send us another generic press release! Become our friend, get acquainted and then give us valuable content to work with.
Six Reasons To Get Your Brand Blogging Now
There has been talks around the office about starting a blog but no one has put their foot down and said "let's start today". There is obviously several reasons for this. You don't know where or how to start. You have doubts about the return on investment and the overall results. You might not have a good writer on your team. All excuses are good, but here are a few reasons we think might make you start blogging today.
1. To give your brand a voice
Every brand has a story to tell and there is no better way to start then with a great blog. Share some of your team's highlight such as a community driven action, a new success story or the addition of a new team member. It's your blog, so basically, you can write about anything and everything.
2. To generate traffic with SEO.
If you build a great website but never update it, it basically becomes a forgotten particle of content in an ocean of newly created information. But with a blog, you become pertinent and important every week or, even better, every day. Google continuously rolls out new changes to its algorithms but one thing is for sure, they will always put a great deal of value on fresh original content. You want Google to send traffic your way, right? Then give it some great content to chew on.
3. To establish your brand as an expert
You can't be recognized as an expert is you hide your skills. Think about it, you probably spend at less one hour each day researching a subject or another online. You read dozens of article on any particular subject before you make up your mind. You probably even follow a few bloggers in your industry to get the inside scoop on what's new. What if you turned the table around? What if you shared your knowledge with others and they started to follow you? Wouldn't that be great? Start a blog, share your knowledge and become an industry expert.
4. To become customer focus.
You probably get the same questions from your clients over and over. So why not write a blog post with the answers, given them the information ahead of time. They will love you, follow you, brag about you and most likely, do business with you. And as a side result, Google will see that you create relevant content for your industry and will index you to the top of search results. It's all win-win.
5. To learn something new.
Sounds strange. But really, you can't write a good article without doing a good deal of research on the subject. And as you probably know, reading one good article ultimately leads you to reading 10+ good articles. Also, you will most likely get a few user-generated comments with each new blog posts. Replying to these comments is a fabulous way to dig deeper into a subject.
6. To become social.
Once your brand starts blogging, you will inevitably want to start sharing it too. This is great. The web has become a playground for brands and you will be surprised how easy it is to make new friends when you have something interesting to say. You first have to put yourself out there with awesome content to then be invited in the expert's inner circle. Don't forget that social media is not about self-promoting but about relationship building.
If you are still not convinced and need some numbers about blogging and content marketing, check out our curated list of statistics that might convince you otherwise.
Now, give us one good reason not to start blogging today?
Who Is The Affluencer?
Not all fans are created equal. Some have the resources to support your luxury brand while others can simply admire from a distance. Some will brag about your products and services to everyone that will listens while others simply consume and stay silent. Obviously the more powerful and valuable consumer for a luxury brand is the one that is both affluent and influential. Global digital marketing agency iProspect recently released a study that reveals a new type of market influencer: the Affluent Influencer or “Affluencer”.
So who is the Affluencer? They are affluent with an annual income (HI) of $100K or more with the financial means to consume a luxury brand’s products. They are also influential in their social circle and are recognised by their “star quality”. Often sought-after by friends and family for purchasing advice, these influencers are often called “experts”, “trendsetters” and “cool”.
Therefore they have great impact on the purchasing decisions of others. The affluencers should be targeted by the very marketing effort put forward by your brand.
In its study, iProspect took great care to separate the affluencers within the Millenial, baby Boomer and Gen X generations by uncovering the characteristics of each segment. Check out this great infographic that clearly identifies who your luxury brand should target.
50 Content Marketing Statistics To Get You Started
Content marketing is not a fade since consumers are no longer impressed by flashy websites and expensive campaigns. What they want is simple: information delivered through the channels they regularly monitor. The information found impacts their relationship with your brand and in turn their purchase decisions.
With an approximated $118.4 billion spent on content marketing, video marketing and social media in 2013 (eMarketer), don't you think it is time for your brand to join in? You might not have the in-house resources, but consider this, 62% of companies outsource their content marketing (Mashable) to firms such as Agence:Luxury.
If you need more convincing on the power of content marketing, check out the great list of statistics recently put together by the great people at Salesforces.com. (By the way, this here is a great example of Salesforces content marketing efforts. We found them while writing up this article, we quoted them and have linked back to them.) Content marketing works. So here are 50 content marketing statistics to get you started.
1. B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who don’t. (Social Media B2B)
2. 32 % of B2C marketers consider themselves effective at content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
3. 62% of companies outsource their content marketing. (Mashable)
4. 61% of consumers say they feel better about, and are more likely to buy from, a company that delivers custom content. (Custom Content Council)
5. 61% of B2B marketers rate webinars as the most effective content marketing tactic. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)
6. 55% of B2C marketers plan to increase content marketing spend next year. (Content Marketing Institute)
7. LinkedIn generates more leads for B2B companies than Facebook, Twitter or blogs individually. (Inside View)
8. B2C marketers use about 12 content marketing tactics. (Content Marketing Institute)
9. Interesting content is a top 3 reason people follow brands on social media. (Content+)
10. Social media sites and blogs account for 23% of all time spent online. (Content Marketing Institute)
11. 78% of consumers believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships. (TMG Custom Media)
12. Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages. (Content+)
13. 79% of B2B marketers use content marketing to achieve brand awareness goals. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)
14. The average cost to generate a lead through inbound marketing ($143) is about half the average for outbound marketing ($373). (Hightable)
15. 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
16. Blog give websites 97% more indexed links. (Content+)
17. 78% of CMOs think custom content is the future of marketing. (Hanley-Wood Business Media)
18. 86% of B2C marketers use content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
19. Companies with less than 10 employees allocate 42% of their marketing budget to content. (Content Marketing Institute & Marketing Profs)
20. Interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons people connect with brands on social media. (Content+)
21. Social media sites and blogs reach 8 out of 10 of all U.S. Internet users. (Content Marketing Institute)
22. Organic search leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound marketing leads have a 1.7% close rate. (Hubspot)
23. 47% of B2B marketers say they are actively using LinkedIn. (Inside View)
24. 90% of consumers find custom content useful. (TMG Custom Media)
25. 57% read content marketing titles at least once a month. (CMA)
26. Articles with images get 94% more views. (Jeff Bullas)
27. 85% of B2C content marketers tailor their content. (Content Marketing Institute)
28. 9 in 10 organizations market with content. (Content Marketing Institute)
29. 37% of marketers say blogs are the most valuable type of content marketing.(Content+)
30. Companies with 10,000 or more employees use 18 different content marketing tactics. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)
31. 58% of consumers trust editorial content. (Nielsen)
32. 68% of consumers spend time reading content from a brand they are interested in. (The CMA)
33. 90% of consumers find custom content useful. (TMG Custom Media)
34. 20% of users’ time is spent surfing the Internet on content-led websites. (The CMA)
35. 87% of B2B marketers use social media to distribute content. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)
36. 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement. (Content Marketing Institute)
37. 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site. (Content+)
38. 52% of B2C content marketers feel challenged by their budget. (Content Marketing Institute)
39. Companies with active blogs receive 97% more leads (Content+ 2013)
40. 78% of chief marketing officers think custom media represents the future of marketing. (Hanleywood Business Media)
41. 53% of B2C marketers create content entirely in-house. (Content Marketing Institute)
42. 8 in 10 CMOs believe custom media should be an integral part of a marketing mix. (Hanleywood Business Media)
43. 37% of marketing managers believe the most important channel for engaging customers is content-led websites. (The CMA)
44. 37% visit content marketing websites at least once a month. (The CMA)
45. Content creation is ranked as the single most effective SEO technique (Marketing Sherpa 2013)
46. Marketers spend more than 25% of their marketing budget on content marketing. (B2B Marketing Insider)
37. 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared everyday. (AOL and Nielsen)
48. 60% are more likely to be on the lookout for products when looking at content marketing. (The CMA)
49. Mobile-optimized content marketing increased from 15% in 2011 to 33% in 2012. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)
50. Articles with images get 94% more views (Content+ 2013)
A Color Study: Using Google As A Reference
Color evokes emotions but color in design can be very subjective. Something as simple as changing the precise hue, brightness or saturation in the color scheme of a design can have a great impact on the feelings experienced. Cultural differences can also add an element of surprise when picking a color: some colors can be seen as happy and uplifting in one country while being completely associated with depression in another.
When designing a logo, website, brochure, infographic or banner image, one has to be careful not to simply pick a personal color preference as the primary color. Your favorite color might be canary yellow, but using such a bright hue in your design might not send the right message to your audience.
To make a case for color, we have picked the simple elegant white design of Google.com, one that appeals to everyone from the world over, to give it a color facelift. So here we go:
Red: Passion, Love, Anger
Red is hot. It's exudes both the beauty of love and passion or the violence behind fire, warfare and crime.
In China, red is the color of prosperity and happiness while in North America is is often associated with anger, importance (think red carpets) or danger (warning labels). In South Africa, red is the color of mourning while in some eastern countries it is the color worn by brides on their wedding day.
In design, red is powerful and should be used primarily as an accent color.
Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality
Orange means energy. As a very hot color, orange is often associated with the feelings of enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, encouragement, and stimulation.
Often associated with the fruit of the same name, orange can represent healthy foods and can even stimulate appetite. Orange is also the color of fall and harvest and is used to symbolise change and movement.
In design, orange commands attention without being as overpowering as red. Being very noticeable, it can also be a great highlight color to catch attention.
Yellow: Happiness, Hope, Energy
Yellow is sunshine. Evoking feelings of joy, cheerfulness, happiness, energy and warmth, yellow can be an attention grabber that stands out amongst other colors. Yellow can also be associated with hope, danger (not as strong as red) and with babies and children. In some Egypt, yellow is used for morning, in Japan, it represents courage and in India it's a color for merchant.
In design, avoid using yellow when trying to sell prestigious, expensive products to men; they simply won't buy a yellow business suit.
Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature
Green is nature. As a very down-to-earth color, green can represent many things such as growth, harmony, freshness, fertility, new beginnings, safety (as opposed to red) and even money (dark green). Green can have a balancing and harmonizing effect and have a great healing power. As the most restful color for the human eye, green is appropriate for designs related the wealth, stability, renewal and nature.
Green can also signify a lack of experience (being green), envy or jealousy. In design, use bright green to convey energy and vibrancy, olive greens for nature and dark green for affluence.
Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness
Blue is calmness. Blue is the sky and the sea. Blue symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, onfidence, faith, truth and heaven. Often associated with depth and stability, blue can also be used to represent tranquility, sincerity and responsibility.
As a color that appeals to men, blue, especially dark blue, has become the preferred color for corporate America. Blues can also be used to promote products and services related to cleanliness, air and sky, water and sea, or even high-tech products.
Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth
Purple is royalty. As a combination of red and blue, purple can take the attribute of both colors. Purple is often associated with wealth, extravagance, nobility, power, luxury, ambition, creativity, imagination, wisdom, dignity, independence, mystery and magic.
In design, light purple (such as lavender) evokes romance, spring and nostalgic feelings while darker purple suggest wealth, luxury and royalty.
Brown: Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability
Brown is earth, wood and stone. As a completely natural and warm neutral, brown is often associated with stability, dependability, reliability, earthiness, comfort, endurance and simplicity. Brown can also symbolise home or the great outdoors.
In design, brown can bring a feeling of warmth and wholesomeness. It is often used as a background color to replace black.
Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality
Gray is security. Light grays can replace white in some designs while dark grays can substitute black in others. Gray is often associated with security, reliability, intelligence, modesty, dignity, maturity, conservative and practicality. Gray can also be considered boring, moody or depressing.
In design, gray is often perceived as modern, formal and professional. It is commonly used in corporate designs as in typography.
Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil
Black is strong. Black is commonly associated with power, strength, authority, elegance, formality but it can also evoke death, evil, mourning, rebellion, fear and mystery.
Black is often used to exude both an edgy or elegant, modern or conservative, traditional or unconventional design. A designer must remember that black used as a background diminishes readability. Black might be better served as a highlight color or for typography.
White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue
White is purity. White is mostly associated with coolness, goodness, innocence, virtue, peace, precision, youth, winter, goodness, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), coldness and clinical. In general, white as a positive connotation in comparison to black.
Considered to be the color of perfection, white is often used in design as a neutral backdrop since it lets other colors stand out. White is popular in minimalist, modern designs as it conveys cleanliness and simplicity. White let's everything else around it speak louder, and in design, white is the best color for readability.
Google used white as a background with a combination of the primary colors in its logo to evoke a certain playfulness. What message do you want to send to your fans? A message of coolness or one of earthiness?