Social Media

During the pre-launch Light of Life will focus on establishing a presence on various social media platforms, and gathering a following for the brand. This will be the groundwork for spreading the word that Light of Life has something to offer to consumers. During this stage, it will be important for Light of Life to create content that speaks for the brand. The content should be directly related to the image that Light of Life wants to present.

During the hard-launch, social media will take on a different role. At this stage, social media will be used as a way to connect with consumers.

There are quite a few options for social media usage, here we will outline the most effective forms of social media: Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram

This form of social media has the highest engagement rate of all social networks. Having a good Instagram page and a large following can make a huge difference in the success of a brand. Once recognition is gained on Instagram, doors are opened for the brand and products to be viewed by many more consumers than can be reached using other social media platforms.

Instagram Profile Layout

The layout of the brand’s Instagram page is very important, as Instagram is primarily a visual platform. If the profile is not aesthetically appealing, consumers will not be interested in engaging further. So, every aspect of the layout on the page should be purposefully done in a way that will attract consumers and move them into the awareness stages of Light of Life. The profile picture should be directly related to the brand. Preferably, it should be the logo for the brand or a variation. This will provide the page with distinguishability. When people see the logo, they will be able to mentally associate it with other aspects of the brand across all platforms. The “bio” should contain the name of the brand, a tagline, a very short description of the company or product, and a link to the website. The “bio” should be short enough that people will not be tempted to skim it, but have enough information to pique the interest of the consumer. The page should also be set up as a business page. This gives the company the ability to seamlessly incorporate its website and contact information onto the page. By taking advantage of the business page option, social media is not just a platform for advertisement, but also creates a means of selling the product.

Instagram Content

What is posted and when and how often are the most crucial aspects of successfully using instagram as a platform for advertisement. Only high quality images should be posted, as people are much more likely to pass over a post if the image quality is grainy, out of focus, or not aesthetically appealing. There should also be a general theme going for the page. This creates a smooth experience for users who are browsing the page. “All your Instagramming will be for nothing if the pieces don’t easily fit together to show what your brand actually is.” (KissMetrics) To ensure this, avoid posting content that does not relate to the product or brand culture. Posts to the profile’s story feature can be utilized for topics that do not fit clearly with the branding strategy to establish a personal connection with the audience. This will allow it to be seen, without interrupting the flow of the main profile. When  utilizing the story feature, keep in mind that it will be mixed in with followers’ regular feed. The story will be alongside their friends’ and family’s stories as well as other businesses they follow. “To ensure that users don’t swipe away when they realize that post is an advertisement— it’s critical that your content fits in with its surroundings in the feed. To give users sneak peeks of your company culture — or let your followers in on an upcoming event or launch — try creating less polished, more DIY videos.” (AdEspresso).

Instagram Utilization

Due to the algorithms used by Instagram to control the users’ timelines, posting must be done strategically. Interaction is key with Instagram’s algorithms. Only a fraction of the following will be able to see posts initially; if a certain level of interaction is not secured with those that do see the post, then the post may not reach all followers in a timely manner. The post may get sent to the bottom of the timeline. On the other end, the company’s own interaction means a lot as well. The company must interact with other users when utilizing this platform. When people comment on a post, someone should comment back. When profiles and personalities who are aligned with the brand post something, someone should like and comment. This will show people that it is an active page and not a “bot” page. This will also show users that they can benefit from interacting with the company, as they may receive some interaction back.

There are also several tools that can be used to simplify the utilization of Instagram.

Facebook

Facebook will be particularly helpful during the soft launch. Facebook is one the most well established social media platforms of today. With nearly 2 billion active users, Facebook will be particularly useful in spreading awareness of the light of life brand. There are many options available to spread the word about Light of Life through Facebook, such as targeted advertisements, business pages, and word of mouth through established friends and colleagues. Facebook can be used for both promotion of the brand as well as distribution, as there are options for advertisement as well as options to sell the product through links on advertisements and through links posted on the business page.

Facebook Profile Layout

The layout for the Facebook page is important because it will paint a picture of what the Light of Life brand is. Facebook is meant to be a platform for people to create profiles that represent their thoughts, ideas, and feelings, so the business page should do the same. People who come in contact with the page should be able to feel that they understand what Light of Life as a brand wants to say.

When using Facebook, the cover photo will be the first thing that people will see as the begin to engage with the page. A photo that accurately represents the Light of Life brand must be used. Be sure to use a high quality photo that is sized appropriately to avoid it being stretched to fit the full frame. 

The profile picture is the next thing people will notice on the page. This should be the brand logo so that people who are viewing the page are able to associate the page with Light of Life in all its forms. 

The about section should be concise, but informative. It should be a brief description of the business along with contact information and a link to the website. Anyone who reads the about section should feel as if they got enough information to pique their curiosity and also that they were given the tools to find out more.

At the top of the page, just below the cover photo, will be options for a call to action button. There are quite a few options that can be selected, such as “Buy Now” or “Contact Us”. Link these buttons to the website to allow people to further engage with Light of Life.

Facebook Content

A successful business page doesn’t just attract visitors, it retains them and keeps them coming back. The key to this is to have an interesting timeline. Be sure to post regular content that is interesting, useful and easily digestible. Also, link the Instagram feed to the Facebook page so anything posted on Instagram will automatically be posted to Facebook as well. This will supplement the Facebook timeline, as well as creating a cross promote the social media channels used by Light of Life. 

Creating milestones on the business page is another useful tool in attracting consumers and keeping the current following interested. They highlight the important moments in a company’s history, such as partnering with a large retailer, creating a new product, or winning an award. Milestones help the people following to feel more engaged with the inner working of the company, and allows them to make more of a personal attachment to the success of Light of Life.

Direct Marketing/Advertisement

Direct advertisements are advertisements that are delivered to the consumer through more traditional means, such as Google advertisements, magazine advertisements, or through sending an advertisement directly to the consumer through email or paper mail. Light of Life will be able to benefit from these types of advertisements because they will broaden the reach of the Light of Life brand from people who are doing searches for similar products to people who just happen to frequent the places that the advertisements are placed. Light of Life will be able to purchase advertisements through google so that they can appear to people who may be interested as well as purchasing advertisements in magazines that would be read by their target audience. The ability to send out advertising emails can be gained by having people sign up through the website, or by purchasing lists of emails and sending out advertisements. Sending coupons and promotional postcards through the mail would also be a great way to build awareness of the Light of Life brand, however this method is the most expensive and also the least targeted. Reach more customers through business cards, postcards, and flyers.

Google advertisements

Utilizing Google advertisements will allow Light of Life to be seen by consumers the moment they are searching for what Light of Life has to offer. This would be the most cost effective option when it comes to advertising, as payment is only required when people click on the advertisement to visit the website. Budgeting is simple, as it is possible to set a limit for how much is spent per day on these advertisements. The higher the budget, the more potential clicks Light of Life will be able to get. With this option, there is no risk of spending more than what the company is ready to spend, and there is also no risk of spending money on advertisements that may not reach the target audience. Once the advertisements are up and running, Light of Life will be able to measure the success metrics of each advertisement through the Google advertisements platform. By checking the success of certain advertisements, Light of Life will be able to determine what keywords the high potential consumers are using in their searches to tailor the advertisements so that they reach more people who are likely to engage. Google currently offers four kinds of advertisements: Search advertisements, Display advertisements, Video advertisements, and App advertisements.

Search advertisements

These appear next to search results in Google when someone is looking for something similar to what Light of Life has to offer. Design a simple advertisement that tells the consumer a little about the Light of Life Jewel, and it will be posted to searches that it matches with. Be sure to include keywords in the advertisements that when people are using more specific searches Light of Life will be more likely to come up as an ad. 

Display advertisements

These are AdWords advertisements that will be displayed across gmail and many other websites that are partnered with google. These advertisements can be highly targeted towards people based on what is known about the audience the brand wants to attract. Base these specifications on things like demographics or interests. Light of Life will have options of creating different kinds of advertisements.

• Text advertisements, which include a headline, two lines of text and a URL.

• Banner advertisements, which can include images, animation, and interactive elements.

• Gmail advertisements, which shows custom advertisements on gmail so people can save, forward, or expand the advertisement in their inbox.

• App advertisements, which allow the company to create a campaign to target specific mobile app categorizes.

Video advertisements

These are advertisements that will be featured on YouTube, either in the beginning of or next to a related video, or in search results. Light of Life would create a video ad, and then create a YouTube account and post the video. Then, use AdWords to start a campaign on Youtube. Light of Life will be able to target these video advertisements towards the audience that it is looking to attract. There is the option of creating different kinds of advertisements that can be targeted to different kinds of people to ensure that a broad range of consumers is reached.

Email

Email is a great way to promote the product in all stages of the buying cycle. Email can be used to make consumers aware that the company exists and can pique their interest into the Light of Life brand. An initial introduction through email will lead them to the website where the consumer is given the option of signing up for a newsletter, or updates on changes to the product availability. Periodic emails will keep Light of Life in the minds of the consumer so that when the time comes that they need a product like the Light of Life jewel, it will already be at the forefront of their minds. After purchasing the product, emails will be useful in getting feedback on the success of the product. Sending an email with a survey, or a link to the website’s feedback page will help the Light of Life brand to gain credibility. 

Keep in mind, though, do not go overboard with the amount of emails sent. People do not want to be receiving several emails a week with little reason behind them. Emails should be short and purposeful. An update here, a call to action there, but never spam the consumer with many emails that are not necessary. This could get The Light of Life emails banished to the spam box. 

The emails that are sent to people should be treated the same as any form of advertisement. The purpose of it is to lead to engagement with Light of Life. Therefore the emails should include links to the website, a call-to-action, pictures, and catchy subject lines. Also, be sure to keep the actual content short and to the point. When it comes to email, there is always room for more testing and measuring of success.

Magazine advertisements

These are advertisements that will be purchased and published in magazines that align with the brand image of Light of Life. These can range in price based on the popularity of the magazine, the size of the ad, and many other factors. Because this type of advertisement pricing is situational, it is essential that a budget is established first, then compare it with the going rates for different types of advertisements in the magazines that Light of Life would like to be published in.

There are a few different options for the types of magazines that would align with the Light of Life brand image. Due to the broad demographic that the Light of Life brand would like to appeal to, coupled with the aspects that make Light of Life unique, the company would fit with a broad range of magazine brands. Technology magazines, such as Wired, would align with Light of Life based on the custom tech that was used to create the Jewel. On the other hand, fashion magazines, such as Elle magazine, would align with the edgy, stylish image that Light of Life represents. Light of Life would also be able to fit in with the image of a “mommy magazine,” as they will be targeting the main demographic group that the product would appeal to. As the brand gains more product options and a larger following, it will be able to fit into a wide range of magazine brands that appeal to many different demographic groups. 

While magazine advertisements are typically thought of as an advertisement printed in a paper magazine, they also include the more modernized version of magazines, such as online news sites and blogs. These will also be able to help create a following and bring awareness and credibility to Light of Life. Small blogs and online news sites will also be more accessible for doing bigger pieces than just advertisements. Light of Life would be able to reach out directly to bloggers or journalists to write articles for the product or company. Light of Life could also reach out to a technology blog to write a piece on the innovative technology and design that went into the creation of the product. Or someone from the company could speak with a news site to get an article written to promote the launch of the product. Reaching out to bloggers to write an article would be the more cost effective option of the two; however, a news site would be able to garner more attention than a blogger, as they are not always specifically aligned with a certain topic as bloggers are and will have a broader demographic following. 

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is a form of advertising that involves allowing the established customer base to do the advertising. This stage will be useful for the post launch marketing strategy because at this stage Light of Life will be more aware of the ideal brand image and target audience, which is essential to successfully utilizing the strategy. Knowing the brand and knowing the audience will help Light of Life know how to present the product in a way that the audience will appreciate.

Light of Life will need to research their competition for this form of promotion. This will allow Light of Life to know what they can do that is better than the competition, which will encourage consumers to choose Light of Life over any other option. By striving to do things better than the competition, Light of Life will be in the minds of the consumers and they will be more likely to share the experience they had with others.

Another tactic would be to offer exclusive offers to influencers within the target audience. People are more likely to want something that they feel will make them closer to those they admire. By offer exclusive offers to high profile people and influencers, Light of Life will be given the opportunity to have feedback from those whose opinions are coveted. These influencers will also be able to share their experiences with their following and their peers which can help the product go viral.

Light of Life will also need to build an engaged social media following.A tight-knit community on social media is a necessity for successful word of mouth marketing tactics. This is where knowing the audience plays an important role. Understanding the target audience is necessary to determine how they like to communicate online. Once Light of Life establishes the best way to connect with the audience, they will be able to engage with them. Consistent engagement will consist of asking for feedback and  offering discounts as well as actively replying to messages. When consumers engage with Light of Life on social media, it is important to respond so they feel that they are speaking to a brand with personality. When consumers feel that they can connect with a company, they are more likely to recommend it to others.

One of the most important aspects of word of mouth marketing is offering incentives. When consumers are rewarded for engagement, they are more likely to become loyal customers and brand advocates. Incentives can include special offers or exclusive content that would make them feel special and privileged, which in turn will make them want to share with others in their circles how they feel about Light of Life