Bennington Brookstone

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner - have you started mapping out how you plan to reach consumers this year? Instagram should be a platform your business considers for your strategy, as the number of users who use the app to shop is rising. 

As we already know, the way consumers use Instagram and other social platforms are shifting. Now that these platforms offer shop tabs and store displays, users have more ways to connect with products outside of just clicking on ads and seeing organic social posts. 

The more businesses utilize these new offerings and start implementing these tools, consumer expectations will shift, making it crucial to consider platforms like Instagram to highlight your products. 

To help businesses navigate the best way to use the app, Instagram recently published a guide to getting started with social shopping. You can review the full guide here, but we have outlined some of the key points below! 

Preparing your shop for sales:

The first thing you want to do is set up a Catalog in Commerce Manager. Catalogs are containers holding information about all the items you want to promote across Facebook and Instagram. Once a catalog exists, you can use it for ads, selling from your shop, and more. As a business that is constantly evolving, you want to ensure that you maintain your catalog. Providing all available information in you catalog ensures that shoppers can find what they are looking for. Additional tips include: 

Assigning permissions

Make your business the owner of your catalog in Business Manager and assign permissions to others, like your ad agency, that need to update the catalog. 

Using a single catalog

Sticking to one catalog for both ads and shops ensures all products you want to sell from your site are in it.

Uploading high resolution images and video

Ensure you include at least four high resolution photos that are a minimum of 500x500 and accurately showcase your products.

Curating your shop

Control which of your products appear in your shop by hiding or unhiding them in Commerce Manager.

Using Product Tags: 

By tagging your products in multiple formats, you can reach consumers with shoppable content in different places on Instagram, like: 

Reels

Tag up to 30 individual products from a single catalog or collection in a 15, 30, 60, or 90 second video.

Stories

Utilize one product sticker per Story on your photo or video posts.

Feed

Tag up to 5 products from a single catalog on your photos or videos that are less than 60 seconds in length. 

Live

Tag up to 30 individual products from a single catalog or a collection. You can add products before going live and pin products during your stream at the bottom of view. These broadcasts can be 60 seconds to 4 hours in length. 

While this guide from Instagram is short, it gives your business all the basics you need to get started.

As a business trying to further your brand through various marketing efforts, you have probably heard the terms omnichannel and multichannel come up before. Both these marketing methods involve using more than one channel to attract and engage consumers, so it may be hard to tell the difference between them. It is crucial to recognize that these two terms are very different, and there are reasons why businesses and marketers may choose one route over the other. 

At Bennington Brookstone, we believe that omnichannel marketing is the best path to take to grow your business. Why, you ask?! To understand the difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing, keep reading for an in-depth overview. 

Multichannel:

This marketing practice includes using more than one outlet to communicate with current and potential customers. Various outlets can include television, print ads, social media, emails, billboards, Google display ads, and more. 

That sounds like a decent amount of marketing, right? While this type of marketing sounds perfectly fine, each channel is likely not integrated with the next. For example, the content and style of your social media ads might be completely different from what you are sending out in your promotional emails. 

Your products and services are certainly at the center of this marketing plan, but the channels work separately to deliver your message. As a result, consumers will need to look at each outlet to search for the information they are looking to find.

Omnichannel:

Omnichannel marketing also includes multiple outlets for consumer interaction. In this case, however, all outlets are working together to create a unified experience for the customer. Simply put, in this instance, the consumer has a seamless experience with your business across all platforms. The marketing materials they see on your social media profiles, website, ads, and even in your physical store have a single message or concept. 

For example, if a consumer is browsing your site and adds a product to their shopping cart but does not complete the checkout process, they will get retargeted on Instagram with an ad for said product. 

Why Omnichannel:

Omnichannel involves using all available channels - both digital outlets and in-person at your store - and is all about the consumer. Multichannel means using more than one channel but focusing on your product or service rather than the customer.

The reason that omnichannel is more valuable is the concept of brand consistency. Consumers can trust your brand if they see the same messaging across the board, which turns them into loyal customers. If your business lacks consistent messaging, people will think you are unorganized and untrustworthy.

Keeping your marketing channels integrated and unified shows consumers that you care about your brand and maintaining your image! 

The digital landscape is jam-packed with brand competition, making standing out the biggest challenge. For this reason, we cannot stress the importance of omnichannel marketing enough! 

By putting your target audience at the center of everything you do, this type of marketing allows you to offer different kinds of content and incentives for consumers to engage with and convert through. We know it is a massive lift to create personalized messaging, invest in paid advertising, and produce content for social, email, web, etc. that is where our team comes in! 

Lifecycle marketing encompasses all the strategies businesses utilize to attract new customers, convert them, and retain them. These strategies exist to engage consumers throughout the various stages of their buyer journey. When it comes to your business, you must factor in the steps a buyer takes from the first discovery of your products or services through purchase, loyalty, and retention.

A lifecycle can be short or long. Some brands have shorter cycles and need to draw consumers back in directly after they make a purchase. Other companies, however, play the long game of retention and advocacy to encourage repeat customers. Regardless of cycle length, there are stages that make up a lifecycle marketing plan. Knowing what these stages are and understanding how they work will help your business attract and retain consumers.

The stages of lifecycle marketing include:

Awareness

This is the step where consumers first learn about your business. Now is your chance to capture people's attention and draw them further into the funnel! Awareness strategies include: 

Researching and using keywords to help people discover your business while browsing the web.

Sharing your products or services in a visually appealing paid or organic social ad or post.

Partnering with industry influencers to cross-promote content.

Engagement

Consumers begin interacting with your business at this stage. People are interested in your brand and want to learn more about your products or services by subscribing to your email list, following you on social media platforms, and perusing your website. Example strategies include:

Engaging landing pages that are easy to navigate.

Video demonstrations that highlight features of your products or services.

Creating blogs, email blasts, or social posts providing solutions to common customer questions or problems. 

Evaluation

At this stage, consumers are deciding whether or not to purchase from your business. Make this stage easy for them to choose your brand over your competitors by providing them with everything they need to know, from your features, pricing, and value. Strategies for this level can include: 

Ensuring your site outlines clear pricing and feature information so consumers can accurately and quickly review offerings. 

Sharing customer testimonials and user-generated content to build trust in your brand.

Offering discounts for first-time shoppers/clients on products or services to increase confidence in the consumer investment. 

Purchase

Success! Consumers who make it to this stage are officially a customer. At this point, you don't want to promote your brand - you simply want to make purchasing your products or services as easy as possible so that people follow through. 

Support

Now that you have acquired new customers, you need to provide them with excellent service. This stage is focused on following up with shoppers to ensure they are happy with their purchases. Ways to follow up with consumers include: 

Providing always-on community management across all social platforms, website live chat, etc. 

Creating a targeted ad campaign highlighting additional products someone may need based on their previous purchase.

Sending discount codes for future purchases. 

Loyalty

At this stage, happy consumers share with their followers, friends, and family members that they are fans of your business. You want to nurture these individuals so that they continue to be brand loyalists and help draw in new consumers. 

So, how does consumer lifecycle marketing increase marketing profit, you ask? According to Gartner, about 80% of a company’s future profits come from 20% of its existing customers. Retention is so crucial for business growth! Your marketing strategies - especially across digital platforms - that improve loyalty through consumer engagement increase the odds that people will be repeat customers. Ways to encourage loyalty include: 

Providing incentives for users who are sharing social content and written testimonials.

Offering referral programs for customers who bring in new consumers. 

Running reactivation campaigns for customers who drop off. 

When it comes to marketing your business, sharing content organically and through paid ads online to reach new consumers is crucial, but what happens after you have gotten their attention? Nurturing these new prospects is necessary so you can build relationships that last.

We do not have to tell you that social media has revolutionized the ways brands and customers interact with each other. As consumers continue to shift towards digital tendencies, these platforms are the primary outlets for communication and feedback. 

Gaining new followers and customers may prove that your marketing strategies are working, but the effort cannot stop there. Your business must continue to engage with these consumers to ensure that they choose your brand over the competition moving forward. And, when you build strong bonds with your customers, they will start advocating for your brand, which will take your marketing to the next level! 

Consumers today trust the opinion of their peers more than brands. If people share the great experiences they have with your business, it will likely inspire their friends, family, and followers to check out your products or services as well! This is why these relationships are essential for your business and your marketing. 

There are countless ways to build and strengthen consumer relationships through your website, emails, blog, etc., but let us focus on social. Your business has worked long and hard to grow your following on these platforms, so it is worth starting with that audience. If you can convert your social media followers into brand loyalists, you can do anything! 

Here are a few tips to get you started. 

Take advantage of social listening 

Monitoring topics and keywords related to your business allow you to find mentions of your brand and related topics. This information is crucial for your success, as it can help you improve your messaging and marketing campaigns, as you can learn what customers are saying about you or your industry, and create content that relates to these topics. For example, if you discover that consumers have questions about your product, you can create social media posts that solve these inquiries.

Create personalized experiences 

When you interact with consumers on social media, try to make your messages as personalized as possible, so it does not feel like they are getting a generic response. While technology is great, human interaction is still important! By having a person answer DMs and comments, you can call customers by their names and provide a real and genuine experience. 

Act on customer feedback 

Many businesses have a form, email address, etc., where consumers can provide feedback, but how many of these brands truly utilize this information? 

Acting on customer suggestions, complaints, and desires through new products, features, or services shows that you are really listening. This step is necessary for gaining their trust and loyalty, as it shows that your brand cares! 

Offer incentives 

This may come as no surprise, but people love free stuff! Hosting contests and giveaways is a fun and engaging way to get your audience to interact with your brand online. Additionally, you can share discount codes and exclusive sales with your followers to make them feel like they are getting a special deal. 

Take advantage of UGC 

When customers share photos and videos of a brand's products or services, this is called user-generated content, otherwise known as UGC. This type of content is one of the most powerful marketing tactics, as it gives new or prospective consumers the comfort of knowing how much real people like your brand. It does not hurt for your business to have the extra content to add to your monthly calendar, too! Do not forget - it is necessary to get permission from the consumer before you repost their content. Also, here is a pro tip! Develop a brand hashtag and add it to your bio with a note that says, "use [#hashtag] to be featured." 

If you are looking for an easier way to manage your Facebook and Instagram marketing efforts, look no further than Meta Business Suite! This free tool centralizes Facebook, Instagram, and messaging tools in one place so you can save time, connect with more consumers and drive better results. 

Meta Business Suite makes it easy to view notifications and respond to messages quickly, whether you're using it on desktop or mobile. You can create or schedule posts, stories, and ads for your business directly through the tool. 

Key features your business should take advantage of within the Meta Business Suite are: 

The ability to post across platforms

Within the tool, you can share feed posts and stories for both Facebook and Instagram without switching accounts! Additionally, you can schedule your posts and stories, save them as drafts, or upload assets to the media library to use at another time. 

Better manage your inbox

Keeping up with all of your businesses' DMs can be overwhelming. In the tool, you can read and reply to messages and comments across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram in one place. What's more, you can create automated responses to send faster replies.

Create ads

Through the Business Suite, you can generate brand awareness and increase your customer base by boosting a post or creating ads across both Facebook and Instagram.

Keep track of insights and trends

Data is key! Within the tool, you can track how your posts are performing across Instagram and Facebook, track trends, and learn more about your social media audience. 

Review all activity at a glance

Through the notifications tab, you can see all activity for your business on Facebook and Instagram. Via the tool, your business can prioritize unread messages and comments by viewing your To-Do List on the Home screen.

Access helpful tools 

On a desktop computer, you can access other Meta tools like Ads Manager, Commerce Manager, Business Settings, and more.

To get the most out of Meta Business Suite, here are a few tips to follow: 

Post often and be consistent

Schedule posts and stories in advance.

Save time by saving future content as a draft. 

Cross-post on your Facebook and Instagram accounts to save time.

Use the calendar view to build a posting schedule.

Store assets for posts using Albums. You can save them for later when you’re creating content and responding to user comments.

Engage with your followers

Stay up to date via the Notifications tab.

Create auto-responses to messages when answering common user questions.

Post content, view comments, and respond on the go through the app.

Use Inbox to answer customer questions about your products or services. 

Expand your reach through ads 

Discover who is engaging with your brand in the Insights tab and find ways to better define your target audience for future ads.

Review common questions and comments from new customers in the Posts & Stories and Inbox tabs. These can give you clues as to what unfamiliar consumers need to know about your business, which can help inform what to include in your ads.

Determine which of your posts drive the most engagement in the Insights tab.

We recently shared a  blog post about what Omnichannel marketing is and why it’s crucial for your business. As a refresher, omnichannel marketing involves establishing your business across multiple online and offline channels while creating a seamless experience throughout the consumer journey. Your online channels include your website, social media profiles, emails, SMS, WhatsApp, etc. Examples of offline channels are your brick-and-mortar store and in-person events. 

This type of marketing is incredibly important for your business, as it helps you create a positive experience for your customers at every stage of their consumer journey, reduces churn, and builds a stellar reputation for your brand. 

Now that you understand the basics of this type of marketing - let’s dive deeper! 

What exactly defines an excellent omnichannel customer experience? The team at Moengage breaks down the five key ingredients to a successful strategy as

Convenience

Today’s shoppers are busy, meaning convenience is not only helpful - it’s a requirement if you want to win over consumers. These customers expect you to provide brand experience across multiple channels — whether it’s in-store, online, or on social media. 

Consistency 

Consistency is key when building a business that is creating omnichannel experiences. It is also crucial to create experiences based on a unified brand presence that consumers recognize and trust. 

Relevance 

Consumers expect interactions with businesses to be conducted in real-time and that they are highly personalized and tailored to their preferences, transaction history, context, and user behavior. 

Empowerment 

Businesses that empower and inform consumers to make the best purchasing decisions create brand loyalty and generate a higher ROI. 

Agility 

Ready to get started? Call, DM, or email us at [email protected]. We would love to help you with your social media and overall digital marketing strategy. 

According to the Aberdeen Group, companies with a robust omnichannel strategy were able to retain 89% of their customers as compared to the companies that used a single-channel strategy which could retain just 33% of them. 

As we mentioned earlier in the post, this form of marketing, when done right, can help boost your ROI. Here’s how to get started: 

Use consistent messaging

According to data from the Interacting Advertising Bureau,  consistent messaging across multiple channels could increase the purchase intent of consumers by 90%. Consumers will reach out to your business through any channel, so you want your marketing, sales, and customer support teams to all convey the same message. 

Ensure continuity

Yes, consistency in messaging and experience is necessary for the success of your strategy, continuity must also be kept in mind. For example, if a shopper adds an item to their cart but forgets to check out, you can remind that customer via emails and retargeting campaigns to return to the site and complete their transaction. 

Utilize data-driven marketing

Facebook's feed is about to change, AGAIN! Meta is looking to adjust its approach to align more with evolving media consumption behaviors. 

According to information obtained by The Verge, Meta is planning to incorporate more AI-recommended content into Facebook feeds based on engagement and popularity - not your connections. This is similar to how TikTok sources content from a larger pool than just who you follow. Facebook is also planning on streamlining content sharing by introducing more messaging tools into the main feed. 

As explained by Meta: 

“The Home experience will balance both connected content and unconnected content. We’re working to clean up top-of-feed and make it just as easy to see Stories from friends as it is to discover new content in Reels. We’re also exploring a Community Panel to give direct access to the communities you care about most. Finally, we’re testing a product to give you predictable access to your connected Feed, with the ability to sort in chronological order and filter by Groups, Pages, and Friends. ”

The Verge notes that the main feed will become a mix of Stories and Reels at the top, followed by posts its discovery engine recommends from both Instagram and Facebook. Per their team: 

“ It’ll be a more visual, video-heavy experience with clearer prompts to direct message friends a post. To make messaging even more prominent, Facebook is working on placing a user’s Messenger inbox at the top right of the app, undoing the infamous decision to separate the two apps eight years ago.”

This strategic move by Meta is influenced entirely by, you guessed it, TikTok. The trends on this platform are too major to ignore, as attention spans are shrinking and new user habits are emerging. Similar to the TikTok "For You" page, Facebook's AI-fueled content discovery will be based on your interests and not what has been shared by your friends. This shift creates a better experience for both creators and users, as creators can boost their views and users can discover new content. Additionally, Facebook still has the largest user base of any platform by far, so this is an extremely valuable connection tool. 

A key component of this shift is going to be Reels, which comes as no surprise when you think about Meta trying to keep up with TikTok. According to Facebook App chief Tom Alison,

“Today’s genre of public short-form video opens up new ways for people to create and discover content. While Facebook’s discovery engine is designed to support many different formats (text, photos, video, and eventually Metaverse experiences), our biggest gap today is around short-form video and that’s why we’re focused on integrating Reels in Home, Watch, In-Feed Recommendations, and Groups.”

If your business has yet to get on board with short-form video, we cannot stress how important this type of content will be moving forward. Your brand needs to keep up with evolving consumer behaviors, or you risk losing your audience! 

Overall, these changes make a lot of sense considering the current social media landscape. If your business is looking to keep up with the latest content trends, our team is here to help! 

Changes are coming in regards to online privacy. Google is planning on stopping the use of third-party cookies in Chrome by the end of 2023, and Apple has already made changes to its online tracking, as have other browsers. 

What do these changes mean for eCommerce? 

Online retailers have long relied on this type of data to target potential customers. As an online vendor, you will need to rely on first-party data to create meaningful and personalized experiences to ensure shoppers are choosing your brand over the competition. 

While the loss of third-party cookies will make it harder for you to create personalized experiences for consumers, most people value their privacy and want more protection online. 

According to Goolge and Pew Research: 

“72 percent of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and 81 percent say that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits.” 

As a business, you need to adapt to meet the changing expectations of consumers while continuing to create engaging shopping experiences. 

While this change can feel scary, fear not! Your business will simply just need to lean on the information you get directly from your customers. Data you collect via your online marketing efforts across social, email, advertising, etc. is more valuable than ever.

Since the Google change is not going into effect until 2023, now is the time to start growing your database! However, if there is one thing we know about online consumers, it is that they rarely want to give out their personal information without getting anything in return. Ways to get people to share information with your business include: 

Running contests: host giveaways that require users to sign up or follow you before being entered to win a prize. 

Creating exclusive offers: Encourage users to opt-in for emails and other forms of communication by giving them access to early and exclusive product relases or services. You can also create special discounts that customers can only receive if they opt-in on your site via a pop-up. 

Crafting interesting newsletters: Come up with newsletter topics that are not only interesting to your target audience, but includes information they will not be able to receive without signing up. This is another great outlet for your exclusive offers! 

We know change can be scary, but it also has the potential to generate better things for your business - especially when you have the right team in place! We're here to guide you through any digital marketing changes. 

As you may have noticed, we have shifted into an era where video is king. If this type of content is not currently part of your marketing strategy, your business should consider it! Consumers’ needs are shifting, and our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. As a result, people are looking to consume information differently than they have in the past. 

While short-form video is incredibly popular on channels like TikTok and Instagram, long-form content is also important. Did you know that creating long-form video content is beneficial for your SEO efforts? It is true! This type of video content can be found by search engines. When it comes to short vs. long-form videos, you do not need to worry. You can produce long videos that can be cut down and repurposed as shorter content pieces! 

Not sure where to start? Here is a step by step process: 

1 - Define your video topics 

The first step in a good video strategy is to figure out what your target audience wants to see. Think about the questions they are asking, what they are searching for when they turn to Google and YouTube, and the kind of information they need to know about your products or services. 

You can develop content buckets, which are the primary topics you plan on creating content around. Once you have these topics identified, you can zone in further to pick out specific keywords for which you want to rank higher for. 

2 - Create and publish videos to YouTube 

You filmed your first video! Now what? This is where YouTube comes in. This platform is a Google product, so when you upload videos to the site, it is indexed by Google and displayed in search results for the keyword you chose. When producing videos, keep in mind that the ideal length for YouTube is between 7 - 15 minutes long. 

3- Repurpose YouTube content for other platforms 

Now that your long-form video is on YouTube and indexed by Google, you can focus on editing said video for other social platforms. When editing this content, make sure that you are capturing the key moments that users need to see on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. The ideal length for short-form content is 15 seconds - 3 minutes long. You can even add the YouTube link to your bio or the caption of your post to encourage users to click through to watch the full video. 

Have Instagram Stories been a large part of your content strategy? If you said yes, you are going to want to read this. Over the last month, the platform has quietly been testing a new Stories format that hides Stories posts after just three frames.

As spotted on Twitter, the new feature has a tiny “show all” prompt in the top left of the screen. This is concerning, as that button could easily be missed, and even if it is not, will users really go the extra mile to click into someone's full story? Businesses who regularly utilize Stories will see a significant decrease in both views and reach as a result. 

Why would Instagram choose to roll out a feature like this, and will it be rolled out to all users? Social Media Today asked the platform for more insight, and it responded with: 

“This feature is in early development and testing with a very small percentage of people.”

While we still do not know much about this potential change, it seems like it is tied into Instagram’s Reels-first strategy. The platform also recently launched a test of a new, full-screen UI, which incorporates feed posts, Reels, and Stories into a single stream. Sound familiar? If this sounds a lot like TikTok, that is because Instagram is ramping up its efforts to compete with the app. 

In the full-screen iteration of Instagram, Stories will be visible with the frame count along the bottom with the option to swipe left to see more. From the platform’s point of view, in a full-screen format, perhaps they feel like showing too many frames would be off-putting to users. If this change occurs, you can certainly expect your Stories performance to decline, especially in the Story frames that people would need to manually click through. 

While this update is not ideal for brands and marketers, it does make sense considering how hard Instagram is trying to push Reels. Reels is now the biggest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram, so the platform is trying to lean in on that fact. When you think about it, TikTok’s feed is incredibly addicting! As it stands now, Instagram Reels are formatted in the same way, but the platform has not found a way to work the algorithm as effectively as TikTok has. Until now, possibly! 

Since this change is just in the testing phase, there is no need to panic! Continue sharing your content as normal. However, our team is here for you, and we are ready to help you shift your content strategy as needed. 

If you are looking to improve your Google Ads game, Discovery campaigns offer many opportunities that other ad types, like Display, do not. 

What are Discovery ads? This type of Google ad enables you to deliver rich, personalized ad experiences to users who are ready to find and engage with brands - all through a single Google Ads campaign. According to James Anthony, a Google rep: 

“Google is positioning Discovery Ads as an alternative to Facebook and Instagram. Discovery is a browseable, feed-based surface which gives advertisers an opportunity to extend their digital footprint to hundreds of millions of Google users globally — with a single campaign. All while leveraging rich user intent signals to meet users’ expectations when they’re eager to learn more and ready to take action,”

Google states that Discovery campaigns can reach up to 3 billion customers across Google feeds to achieve your performance goals. These ads are based on Google’s signals from website visits, app downloads, videos watched, and map searches. Additionally, these ads are targeted using audiences vs. keywords, and can run across the mobile YouTube home feed and Gmail Social & Promotions tab in addition to the Google Discover feed. 

Before Discovery campaigns, there has never been a way to create an ad group that only targets searchers of specific keywords across YouTube, Gmail, and the Discovery feed. Very Exciting and powerful for your business! 

Still not convinced that these ads are for you? Here are a few reasons why Discovery ads are worth it! These ads: 

Increase brand awareness and user engagement by promoting your products and services 

Capture audience attention through a visually engaging and seamless ad format. 

Simplify campaign management by reaching the right customers on Google at scale within just one asset. 

Here’s what assets are required in order to set up your Discovery campaign: 

Up to 5 Headlines (40 characters)

Up to 4 Descriptions (90 characters)

Business Name (25 characters)

URL

Call-to-Action

Images

Logo

For all specifications, check out Google’s guide here! 

Are you ready to dive into creating Google Discovery campaigns? The Team at Search Engine Journal shared a list of Dos and Don'ts to help you get started. 

 Dos

Utilize the 4:5 aspect ratio

Maximize the images, headlines, and descriptions used for each ad. - The more you can give Google to test, the better! 

Refer to learnings from your social channels, as the mindset of these ad viewers is similar to that of someone scrolling on social.

Use images with people in them to drive better CTAs.

Tie a lead gen form to your ad. 

Monitor your asset level reports to ensure the ads are resonating. 

Don’ts

Imply interactivity - like adding a CTA button -  Google is strict. 

Use much overlay text in your images, as it leads to lower click through rates.

Start running Discovery campaigns before you have conversion tracking set up. 

By following these tips and  keeping marketing best practices top of mind, Discovery ads will soon become a key part of your digital marketing strategy.

Instagram's chief, Adam Mosseri, recently announced that the platform is changing how it ranks content, prioritizing original content. 

According to Mosseri:

“If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else. [As such] we’re going to do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content.”

So what does that mean for your brand? Does this update mean if you share content from other platforms, you will cop a reach penalty on the app? Additionally, does this also mean that if a larger account re-posts your original content, you could be penalized as a result? The answer is complex, and Instagram is not confident that the platform will be able to get it right. 

On Twitter, Mosseri answered users' burning questions, outlined below. 

Content that is edited outside of Instagram and then uploaded to the app, won’t be penalized under this change.

Mosseri stated that “the idea is if you made it, it’s original. It’s okay if you edited it outside of Instagram and then bring it in via the gallery.” Last year, Instagram declared that content re-shared from other platforms, which included visible watermarks, would be downranked. Think: Instagram users re-posting TikTok content to Reels for additional engagement. Any content with logos or watermarks will still be penalized under that policy, specifically in Reels.

Your posting history is factored in. For this update, content curators are the main focus. This means, that if you are re-posting a lot of content from other accounts, you will see your reach decline. For this point, think about meme accounts. Posting viral memes has been an easy way for people to boost their engagement, but it seems that this will no longer be the case. 

Additionally, Mosseri said that Instagram will not be able to know for sure if the content is original or not. He stated: 

“We build classifiers to predict how likely something is to be original, but that’s not knowing. We look at things like who’s in the video, and if we’ve seen the video before.”

Therefore,  if you are posting content from other places, there will be different people in all of your posts, which could tip off Instagram's algorithm. The algorithm will also start looking for duplicated posts. 

This brings up another question - how will the platform know which account is the originator and which is the duplicator?  When each post was shared could be a factor, but the platform states that “if it’s someone pretending to be the original creator, which is less likely but could happen, it’ll be hard for us to know.”

Nothing is perfect, so we anticipate that some creators and brands will suffer unearned penalties because of these changes. However, Instagram will continue to monitor the system and evolve its detection process over time. 

This update could have a big impact on the platform, as there are countless aggregator accounts on the app. Right now, it is too early to tell, but we are curious to see how this update impacts creators. 

For brands, the main downside of this change is regarding UGC. Could Instagram come down on businesses for re-sharing content from customers since the brand post will not be the original? As you know, user-generated content is one of the most important types of content for brands, as it highlights real consumers' opinions. 

We will have to wait and see how the update plays out and adjust our social media strategies if needed. 

Your branding - logo, tone of voice, typography, imagery, and color palette, define you and your product. Creating consistency around all of these elements creates brand recognition and customer connection.

Sometimes, brand inconsistencies come up, and they derail your efforts. These inconsistencies occur when businesses do not have a single source of truth for their messaging and digital assets. For example, many businesses store their logos and assets in Google Drive, but not everyone in the company may have access or the latest files.

This is why your business needs a brand management strategy that gives you an easier, faster, and more reliable way to ensure your message comes through loud and clear. 

From a digital standpoint, inconsistencies can occur when people work in silos. For example, if you have different parties working on email, social, or campaign strategies, the core brand messaging can sometimes get lost. Some of the most common causes of inconsistencies include:

Asset storage: While storing all of your assets may seem like a good thing, it is critical to archive any outdated images, videos, logos, etc., so that your team and marketing partners do not use an old iteration of your branding by mistake.

Frequent social posts: When posting across social media outlets, you might be more laid back and share content multiple times a day, so every post doesn’t go through a thorough review process.

Has your business fallen victim to any of these errors in the past? There are solutions! Taking action to improve your branding can reduce confusion, mistakes, and increased time and cost associated with these issues.

Here are a few ways you can improve brand inconsistencies, according to Canto, starting now!

1 - Create and share clear brand guidelines.

Curate brand guidelines and make them easily accessible to all employees and marketing partners to ensure that all parties have the correct logos, colors, and brand elements. 

2 - Provide specific collateral usage 

Having brand guidelines are important, but it is also critical to inform employees and partners which assets are created for what purpose. Give specific instructions to ensure that there is no confusion! For example, you should share the exact logo, how to use it, and how not to use it. 

3 - Keep collateral in one shared location

Make sure that all of your brand elements are stored in a shared location so that anyone who needs access has it. No one should be storing assets on their personal computers!

4 - Create approval checkpoints

All digital and social assets should be vetted internally and by your marketing partners to ensure everything is correct. 

Did you know that it is common for shoppers to channel-hop across two channels or more? Yes, it is true! Consumers do not just bounce from one store to another - they also jump across multiple channels while shopping. Sometimes, shoppers even make online purchases while they stand in line at a physical store. 

This is why retailers have started to recognize the omnichannel marketing strategy as one that is imperative for their business. These businesses know that if they want to be as successful as possible, they need to offer a superior experience for customers across multiple touchpoints. 

If you are not familiar with omnichannel marketing, we have you covered! Keep reading for everything you need to know. 

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing involves establishing your business across multiple online and offline channels while creating a seamless experience throughout the consumer journey. Your online channels include your website, social media profiles, emails, SMS, WhatsApp, etc. Examples of offline channels are your brick-and-mortar store and in-person events. 

Remember, consumer satisfaction will always be ruled by the level of customer service they receive and the quality of their experiences. If your brand meets or exceeds their expectations, they are likely to become a regular customer, and if you fail to meet them, it may lead to churn. For this reason, your business must take your omnichannel marketing strategy seriously and improve it to offer the most positive customer experience you can to win and keep buyers. 

What a successful omnichannel marketing strategy looks like

Starbucks is one of the best examples of a brand that truly understands omnichannel marketing. The company understands what makes its consumers tick. Think of all the times you have gone to grab a coffee and found that there is an incredibly long line. This situation is always frustrating, but it is even worse when you are in a rush! Consumers are no longer willing to stand in a long line and wait. 

Knowing this pain point, Starbucks introduced mobile ordering, giving consumers the ability to place their coffee and food order in the app and just stop by the store to pick them up. Not only can you order and pay ahead of time, but the Starbucks app also makes personalized recommendations to the consumer based on local inventory, weather, and previous orders. Additionally, rewards members can easily add money to their account and earn loyalty discounts over time, including both free food and drinks. 

According to Starbucks, mobile order transactions now make up 26% of total orders at U.S. company-operated retail stores.

How your business can build a successful omnichannel marketing strategy

1 - Know your target audience

If you do not know or understand your target audience, you cannot craft a winning marketing strategy. Demographics, like age, gender, and location, are valuable in terms of where these people are likely to shop. For example, Gen Z is more likely to prefer shopping on social media, whereas older generations are more comfortable with eCommerce or in-person shopping. Once you know who your target customer is, review your existing buyer journey. From there, you can determine what is most relevant to them and make any necessary tweaks. 

2 - Tailor your content for each channel

Before you can start targeting consumers through various outlets, you need to spend time creating a personalized message for every outlet. For example you do not want to send the same message in a longer-form format like email to customers via text through SMS marketing. 

3- Remember to retarget 

When a consumer checks out your brand for the first time, they may not make a sale, but that does not mean that they will not in the future! To stay top of mind, run retargeting ads through Google and social media - this will increase the chances of conversion. 

4 - Test, track, repeat 

Lastly, ensure that you are running A/B tests and reviewing the data to know what is working best for your business and what is not. 

Curating content on social media is an art, and it is a great skill for your business to have. Not familiar with this term? We have you covered.

Curated content is social media content from other businesses or influencers that you reshare to your profiles. This could be linking to a blog post, referencing a quote from an industry expert, or even just simply reposting someone else's post. While this seems simple, there are actually a lot of layers to this strategy!

You do not want to reshare every piece of content you see online. Your role as the curator is to select the very best and most relevant content to share with your followers. The most important question to ask yourself while sourcing content is: does this post provide value? The curated content you share should build upon your existing brand messaging and serve a purpose for your audience.

Not sure if content curation is for you? Here are a few reasons why your brand would benefit from taking advantage of this marketing tactic.

Save time and money

Coming up with concepts and executing the production of new social media content is time-consuming and expensive. While your business still needs to invest in original content, curated content comes in handy in a pinch. If you need a quick and easy post to fill a space in your content calendar, adding a relevant blog post from another person or business is the perfect solution.

Create valuable relationships

As a business owner, we do not need to tell you how important networking is for your brand - you already know that!

When you share someone else's content, let them know you posted about it. Letting the original creator know you liked their post could spark a conversation that leads to future collaboration.

One thing to note is that you should not ask for anything in return from a creator whose post you have shared. You want to build genuine connections, and you do not want to come off like you are only trying to further your own business.

Position your brand as a thought leader

You may be thinking - "wouldn't sharing my own original content make me a thought leader in my industry?"

Yes, it would! Additionally, though, curating content does as well. Posting valuable content from other businesses and individuals shows that you are in the know about industry trends and best practices.

Shake up your content calendar

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As we mentioned earlier, yes, creating original content is necessary for your business to thrive on social media. However, sharing new and different opinions and ideas adds variety to your content calendar.

That being said, you do not need to share controversial opinions for an engagement boost. Focus on promoting the best content being shared within your industry to offer your followers the value of perspective.

Over one billion people use TikTok to find entertainment, learn new things, share moments of their lives, and make people laugh with their meme-like. content. The platform has learned a great deal about their community, culture, and how brands play a significant role in the app. Small businesses have been able to create authentic, engaging, and fun videos to connect with their target audiences and launch new products and services.

To provide a deep dive into the areas the platform sees driving real-world success and impact for businesses this year, TikTok recently released the What's Next Report 2022. This report previews the app's top-performing categories and case studies to identify ways to be successful on the platform.

Here are some of the takeaways you need to know.

Community Commerce

Community commerce has become incredibly popular, and TikTok has become the primary outlet for product discovery and brands.

According to the platform, 73% of people feel a deeper connection to brands they interact with on TikTok compared to others. Additionally, 67% say that TikTok inspired them to make a purchase even when they weren't looking to do so.

This year is the first full year for TikTok Shopping, a collection of e-commerce tools that turn videos and LIVE into shoppable content. These tools make it easier than ever for brands and creators to take advantage of community commerce, with the resources to help them market their products and make sales directly on the app.

Evolution of Sound

Audio is key to the TikTok experience and is changing the art of storytelling. The platform has seen trending songs on the app come from established, emerging, and breakthrough artists, spanning a variety of genres.

88% of people on TikTok report that sound on the app is critical to the overall experience. As a result, users have started to look up, stream, and purchase songs they discovered while browsing via the platform. This introduces a new way to find new music and drives exposure for both artists and brands. If brands want to push the music culture forward, they need to put artists at the forefront of their marketing efforts.

Music also increases watch times on average and makes users feel more positive by impacting their mood. Brands that lean into immersive audio will win over the TikTok community this year, as music relates to brand likeability.

The New Creative Dream Team

TikTok content creators are the face of the platform. When it comes to connecting with the community, creators boost view-through rates for ads by 193%. Additionally, branded content coming from creator collaborations shows a 27% higher ad recall. Users themselves agree, with 62% saying that creators are the best way for brands to connect with them.

The TikTok Creator Marketplace is the top destination for collaborations and is the best way to discover influencers based on your industry, budget, and overall business goals. Brands can also search for videos mentioning their business to find creators who are familiar with and love their products. This creates a brand integration that feels authentic and resonates with the younger demographics. Within the Marketplace, you can find over 100K content creators across 24 markets.

Building for Brand Safety

One of TikTok's main priorities for 2022 is protecting the community. The platform believes that by taking the safety of creators and the community seriously, they are creating a positive environment for brands.

The platform is introducing a variety of policies, products, and initiatives that reflect their ongoing dedication to the safety of the community. Tiktok has expanded its offerings to advertisers that help ensure branded content shows up next to safe user videos.

This year promises to be a year like no other for brands on TikTok. From the popularity of community commerce to the rise of TikTok creators helping brands tell their stories in authentic ways, there has never been a better time to be a business on the app!

If you asked us a few years ago what social shopping meant, we would probably say shopping with friends. In recent times, that phrase has an entirely different meaning.

Thanks to social media, the way we connect, learn, and become immersed in our communities has been redefined. Now, how we shop is being redefined, too. As consumers continue to shift from in-person shopping to online ordering, customer values and preferences are shifting. Accenture predicts that by 2025 alone, social shopping is on track to become a $1.2 trillion channel.

To see how shopper behavior is changing already, Sprout Social asked 1,000 United States consumers to see how they plan on taking advantage of social shopping in 2022. We've outlined some of their findings below!

Where are consumers shopping on social?

Remember how you used to walk around the mall browsing and window shopping at all the stores? Social shopping is kind of like that! The more time users spend scrolling on social media, the more likely they are to purchase products.

This year, consumers plan on shopping through the apps where they feel the most comfortable. For example, Gen Z shoppers are most excited about platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. The study found that women are more likely to buy on TikTok and Pinterest, while men browse on Twitter and Twitch for their next purchase.

How are consumers finding products to purchase?

Social shoppers use the platforms as a trusted advisor in the same way they'd trust a friend's recommendation before buying something in a physical store.

Before making a purchase, consumers tend to look for more information about a brand or product through Instagram or Reddit to see what others think.

Businesses also play a key role in attracting shoppers to their products. More people find an item directly from a brand that sells it than they do through friends, influencers, or research. Paid ads are important, but remember, organic posts go a long way!

What makes a consumer click the purchase button?

For shoppers between 18-40 years, friends and influencers provide the most guidance. Due to the pandemic lockdowns in the last two years, Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X have learned to trust social media influencers as much as they trust their friends! Baby Boomers, however, trust family and friends the most.

Additionally, 60% of survey respondents say they are more likely to buy from a brand with inclusive marketing. This means a brand's content features people of different races, ethnicities, or gender identities. Shoppers want their digital communities to match the diversity of their real community. Inclusivity is most important to young shoppers, with 73% of Gen Z and 72% of Millennials noting this as a purchase factor.

Social commerce is a critical piece of any digital marketing strategy. With consumer behavior evolving constantly, the opportunity to reach shoppers while they are scrolling is so valuable! Businesses that embrace social are on track to crush the competition in 2022—and beyond.