With so much attention on social media marketing and the role of influencers it is easy for businesses to overlook email as an important part of their marketing mix.
 
Findings from a recent Adobe survey (​Adobe Consumer Email Survey Report 2017) on email marketing indicate that consumers are sick of branded emails that are hard selling, uninformative and irrelevant.
 
However, there was a positive and that was consumers would still rather get an email offer from brands compared to direct mail, mobile apps or social media. As Adobe puts it, consumers still have a love affair with email, but these days a bit more balance in needed. 

As we hit the tail end of this year, it is nearly time to start evaluating your 2017 content marketing strategy.

​We know—you already know, to really connect and engage with your audience—it takes much more than just a few random minutes across the day—you must produce relevant, targeted, valuable and consistent content.

 So, which of these 2017 content marketing trends did your business embrace?

1. Going mobile
As mobile device users surge and speeds accelerate, people want more than just text-based content. Mobile users want to find mobile compatible content quickly and easily, so make the user experience stress-free with clear headings, bullet points and quality visuals that engage users.
 
2. Going visual
Research shows images/videos perform much better than just words on a screen, but don’t compromise loading time. An easy way to increase loading speed, is to compress/reduce images and videos to ensure audience attention is not lost while waiting around.

3. Going live
With live content marketing becoming more achievable on mobile devices via FacebookLive, SnapChat, PeriscopeTV and Instagram Stories live streaming continues to explode. Both large and small businesses will easily be able to share product launches, new campaigns and branded events.

4. Targeting content
To truly connect and hold audience attention businesses can no longer be everything-to-everyone across multiple channels of communication. With a massive amount of content being published across numerous channels, businesses need to be more targeted with the content they create. 

5. Test driving
Through testing engagement, businesses will start to better identify audience behaviors that will influence the content created and the distribution channels used. Winners in the race of content consumption will be those businesses that conduct A/B testing (split-run testing) of content/channels - measure engagement, analyze results then create content that is personalized.
 
How did your business measure up!
​
Scopic works with businesses to create quality content that grabs attention and delivers a positive user experience, contact us to find out more.

1. You launch your social media platform/s with no (long-term) strategy in place.
​Without a clear long-term strategy in place and a commitment to that strategy you are doomed to fail.
 
Three important components of your social media strategy:

• Clearly define your objective — increase likes/followers, increase website traffic, promote products/services or create sales leads?
• Clearly identify your audience — sex, age, background, interests, location, preferred platform, preferred device (mobile or desktop) and social media habits.
• Clearly plan your guidelines — how many posts per day, what time, content type (text, image, video, audio, live), content length (300 word post, 15 second advertisement or 10 minute video blog) and importantly — who will manage and monitor the platform/s.  

2. You feel that you don't have the budget to go social.
Obviously a bigger marketing budget if implemented correctly — traditional anyway — should provide greater results, but this is where social media is different.
 
If you have an iPhone, an Internet connection and a well-developed social media strategy, you can now communicate with a global audience like a big brand without the obscene marketing budget. 
 
Just remember — keep it real — genuine, informative, entertaining and useful to the audience you want to engage with.
 
3. You feel you don’t need a social media presence.
Sorry, but you are wrong.
 
Social media is not just a passing fad: 

• Every second there are 61,500+ Google searches
• Every day there are 4.5+ billion Likes on Facebook
• Every day there are 500+ million Tweets on Twitter
• Every day there are 95+ million photos and videos uploaded to Instagram

Fact source: www.internetlivestats.com
 
If you are not social — you are not visible!

However, you may prefer spending your marketing budget solely on traditional forms of marketing (print advertising and television spots) that are overpriced with a rapidly eroding (attentive/engaged) audience. If this is the case, it’s your money!
 
Scopic works with your business to craft communications and marketing solutions that drive accelerated growth in a multi-channel world, contact us to find out more.

As we have noted in previous articles on mobile website design, 2017 is the year that website mobility will really start to matter — if you want to provide a positive user experience for your audience.

So this is just a quick reminder — to make sure you regularly test your website is mobile-friendly.
​
Once your website is live (ideally during soft launch) and whenever you make changes to your website — test it — test it across various mobile devices, including smartphones/tablets of all shapes and sizes. Also — test it — across various operating systems like Windows, iOS and Android.

Test every page — test the menu and logo positioning, text formatting, image quality, button and input field location and sizing. Whenever you are testing your website, consider the target audience, or ideally ask a 3rd party to test it for you to gain a real understanding of the user-friendliness of your website.
 
Scopic works with businesses to create quality content that grabs attention and delivers a positive user experience, contact us to find out more.

We have heard countless people tell us about how they have engaged the services of an SEO agency to increase the ranking and exposure of their business online.
 
Unfortunately, many of these experiences with SEO agencies end in negative results with a financial loss.

Like any purchase you make towards growing your business, we recommend you do some basic research first before choosing an SEO agency. Taking the time to watch this short Google video (prefer reading: do you need an SEO?) on choosing an SEO agency may save you thousands. 

Scopic works with your business to create marketing strategies designed to increase your exposure, contact us to find out more.

Color is one of the most effective ways to communicate your brand and products to your audience. Color contributes not only to distinguishing your products from your competitors, but also influences consumer mood and feeling.
 
Research into the impact of color in marketing, appropriately titled Impact of Color on Marketing found that colors really do influence the moods and feelings (positively or negatively) of consumers. This research paper indicated that between 60-90 percent of product evaluation and product purchase is based on color alone. Additional research has also shown in The Interactive Effects of Colors and Products on Perceptions of Brand Logo Appropriateness a correctly chosen color mix for your business logo can bring immediate value to your brand.
 
Effective brands use color to great success to engage and connect with their audience. Before even choosing the color mix for your logo, marketing materials, website or product range it is important to firstly consider some basic points:
 
1. Color is memorable
Color is a central element of your visual identity. Carefully consider your visual identity color mix, as it acts like the personality of your business with your audience. While it is not the only element in your visual identity, it is definitely one of the first things seen and possibly the most memorable of your visual identity. 
 
2. Color is innate
Find out the demographic breakdown of your audience and what color mix may persuade them to act. Defining who you are speaking to will greatly influence your color selection. Now you know your audience, you will be able to choose a color mix that positively influences your audience’s moods and feelings.
 
3. Consider the competition
Check out your competition and consider how you can differentiate your brand and products from your competitors with color. This can be tough, as you will still need to connect with your audience and satisfy marketplace perceptions. A/B testing (split-run testing) of color options with your target audience will help you make an informed decision.
 
4. Consider the platform
Be sure that whatever color mix you choose for your brand and products it can work online as well as in traditional print marketing. What looks great on a computer screen in RGB may not look so great on paper in CMYK. Also, carefully consider the color mix for your online messaging, active text and purchasing buttons, so to complement and at the same time stand out from the other content on the webpage.
 
5. Be consistent with color
Your branding and visual identity needs to be consistent, clear and uncomplicated. When you try to do too much color, your messaging gets lost. By keeping things consistent and clear, you are keeping your visual communications strong and memorable. Color consistency will ensure your audience develops a visual connection and relationship with your brand's personality and products. This will inevitable influence sales. 
 
​Scopic works with businesses to create strong and memorable brands, connect with us to find out more.

ビジネスが複数のチャンネルの世界で国際競争力をつけていくにつれ、顧客を引き付けておくために会社は固定観念の外でものを考えなくてはいけないということを私たちは理解しています。

私たちは日本の企業と連携してより賢いコミュニケーション、マーケティングと販売解決策を作り、露出を増やし、英語圏のマーケットでの成長を促進させます。

見てください:
www.scopiccommunication.com/japanese

より詳しい情報に関してはご連絡ください。
global@scopiccommunication.com

With 1.94 billion monthly active users as of March 31, 2017 Facebook continues to strip away advertising dollars from traditional platforms like television, print and radio.

Boost your Facebook marketing spend for free with these 5 simple tips!

1. Timing is everything 
Research the best times and days to post for your specific target audience and global region. For many businesses, this may be Monday to Friday between traditional trading hours of 9am - 5pm. However, if your audience is working at this time they may not be connected, so this is where researching and A/B testing the social media habits of your target audience will be truly beneficial. 

2. Use more than just words
As mobile device usage grows and speeds continue to take off in 2017 people are wanting more than just words in their feed. Research shows images and videos perform much better than just words on a screen. Remember, if you do use images and videos make sure they add value to the message and are always of a high quality.

3. Provide value for your audience
Take the time to create quality Facebook content that provides value to your specific audience. We are all time poor, so remember, content such as product advice or tips will provide value for your customers. Your target audience will keep coming back to you and potentially share it with “friends” if they discover something interesting, informative, useful and engaging.

4. Take creative risks
Playing it too safe could leave your business coming off as uninteresting, so your Facebook content needs be creative and intriguing. As social media platforms continue to evolve and grow, businesses need to look and think outside the box. If a creatively risky post generates positive engagement and increased exposure, do it again!

5. Make use of an influencer
An influencer will allow your business to communicate in a manner that is more relevant and targeted to a specific audience or demographic. Influencers also have already built an existing relationship through quality content creation that is — liked and shared — this will allow your brand/business to quickly connect with a wider audience.

Scopic works with your business to create effective social media strategies designed to increase your exposure, contact us to find out more.

Over the past couple of years mobile-friendly websites have become a necessity due to the way people now consume content, but knowing where to start can be tough for traditional businesses.

​2017 is the year that accessibility, mobility and speed will really matter. Today, it is also essential that your website content is mobile-friendly-searchable to further improve your online visibility. 
 
Here are 5 basic points to consider when going mobile-friendly.
 
1. Quick and easy
A mobile website must be quick and easy to navigate. Mobile site users want to find information hassle free, so make things easy to find with clear buttons, icons and headings that guide and inform users. The less pinches, swipes and taps the better.
 
2. Short and simple
Users on mobile devices looking for products or services don't want to waste time, and really don't want to scroll, scroll, scroll through long paragraphs. Keep paragraph length to 3-5 lines. Use short, simple, targeted sentences that engage and help users find what they want. Sentence length should range from 10 – 20 words. Also, use keywords your target market uses to find what they are looking for.
 
3. Stay on message
Make sure your brand and communications (logo, colors, copy and style) are consistent across your desktop and mobile platforms. Brand consistency will ensure users develop familiarity with your business — familiarity breeds brand trust and loyalty.
 
4. Minimize input info
Mobile users are working on a small canvas, so limit the amount of information you require them to input when completing forms or purchase orders. Using drop downs instead of input fields will make things much easier. Also, make sure the input font size is readable at least 14 px.
 
5. Time to test
Once your mobile website is live — test it — across various mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets of all shapes and sizes. Also, make sure you test it across various operating systems like Windows, iOS and Android. Finally, when ready to go live, test your page speed with Google PageSpeed Insights.
 
Scopic works with you to build your business exposure online, contact us to find out more.

This shift away from traditional “celebrity endorsement” can boost product exposure and drive sales far more effectively and efficiently than traditional marketing.
 
Influencer marketing has three key benefits:
 
1. Relevance
Influencers communicate in a manner that is more relevant and targeted to a specific audience or demographic.
 
2. Authenticity
Influencers have pre-established credibility with an audience and more importantly across their social media platform.
 
3. Exposure
Influencers directly engage with a targeted audience and have already built an existing relationship through quality content creation that is — shared, liked, followed… 

Scopic helps businesses better understand and engage with their target audience, contact us to find out more.