Fyre Fyre the festival’s on Fyre!
I’m on a roll with the Alan Partridge references now. This one is a little more obscure and perhaps aimed at the 1%. Which could also be said for those who were the main targets for the ill-fated and now infamous Fyre festival. You don’t need me to tell you all about it – just head to Netflix and see it for yourself. (Or head here if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about… https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-46904445)
There’s been a plethora of articles and opinion pieces doing the rounds since the documentary first appeared on the streaming service and many people, much better placed and qualified than me, have had their say. The key thing from my perspective was how much weight and value was placed on key influencers and social media and the extent to which these tools were harnessed. It’s a vital lesson to any brand or retailers or basically anyone who hopes to sell anything to anyone under the age of 30 and anything to anyone in 10 years-time.
Gary Vaynerchuk (twitter: @garyvee), the self-styled guru of digital marketing and social media says a lot of things. Most of them, if I’m being honest, tend to be a mixture of click-bait, BS and inspirational poster quotes. However, he does also often say something insightful. A particular point he often references is that social media is the #1 marketing tool you have at your disposal and yet (like a lot of companies it has to be said) you can talk about it all you want but if you’re not investing in it then you’re not serious about it. If, for example, you spend 5% of your marketing budget on social media and 95% through traditional channels, then you’re not serious about it. If you created a Facebook page and you last posted an update 6 weeks ago, then you’re not serious about it. If you don’t have a google business page, then you’re not serious about it. If you spend 10 hours a day working in your store and spend 2 minutes at the end of it updating your social media, then you’re not serious about it. If you don’t use Instagram AT ALL, then you’re not serious about it.
In 2018, as a prime example, 70% of all Google searches were by mobile and they witnessed a 129% increase in searches for the phrase ‘food near me’. So, I would surmise that if you are a hospitality or retail business and you ARE NOT using google business pages as part of your marketing strategy then you’re missing out. Surely it has to be essential.
Another interesting trend is the rise of ‘low-price’ online only fashion brands – the catalyst for another nail in the high street coffin if recent news stories would have you believe, and certainly one of the main reasons why we see the likes of the once great bastion of youth fashion, Topshop, showing signs of fatigue. Generation Zs and Ys are influenced to make their fashion shopping decisions not through ‘traditional’ marketing but through following Instagram influencers and clicking straight through to purchase what they are wearing from various sites such as Boohoo, Fashion Nova, etc. This trend also has a ‘Royal Family’ as its head, that goes by the name of Kardashian. Fashion Nova, for example, was the most-searched-for fashion brand on Google in the US in 2018. Boohoo’s UK sales rose by a third to £180m in the last four months of 2018, with its strong performance credited in part to a successful collaboration with the eldest Kardashian daughter, Kourtney, who has long championed the brand. The Guardian ran a fantastic article all about this here if you’re interested: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jan/28/they-can-sell-anything-how-the-kardashians-changed-fashion
The bottom line is that social media has the power to revolutionise your marketing strategy and the beauty of it is that it doesn’t matter if you are a retailer with one convenience store or you work for one of the leading UK FMCG brands. If you’re not investing 80% of your time and your money into social media as part of your marketing strategy, then you’re not serious about your future. If you are a store owner and you don’t have a Google business page then you’re not serious about your future. If you created a Facebook page and you last posted an update 6 weeks ago, then you’re not serious about your future.
It’s time to get serious.
Blake Gladman, Strategy & Insight Director, KAM Media
If you feel like you’re not making the most of digital marketing and social media then get in touch as we may be able to help, and if not then we certainly know some people who can
