Primark keeps up the social media marketing momentum

Primark is gearing up for the holidays with all kinds of special merchandise and seasonal items. Its value fashion positioning is a distinct competitive advantage, offering both style and affordability. No wonder Primark's sales are up. And costs stay low because Primark doesn't splash out on flashy TV adverts. Instead, it concentrates on social media marketing, inexpensive and interactive.

A quick look at its social media accounts shows fashions for men, women, children, and home...giving brand fans more reasons to shop at their local Primark store more often.

Above, Primark's Twitter post about its Hogwarts merchandise for home and gifts. With 217k Twitter followers, Primark posts a constant stream of photos and promos to keep consumers excited about what's next.

Primark has an amazing 5.2m Facebook followers. In addition to merchandise promos, the company posts job openings to attract brand fans as employees. Who better to talk with shoppers than brand fans?

Fashion is a natural for Primark's Pinterest boards, which have 86k followers--many repinning Primark fashions for later review or to get hints for how to wear the latest accessories. Similarly, 5.2m people follow Primark's Instagram account. That's a big audience, and because they choose to follow Primark, it's clear that they're interested in the company, its products and its latest promotions.

And of course the company's Primania section of its website continues to attract user-contributed photos of Primark fashions in action, more than 15k photos in all. As 2017 winds down, Primark is well positioned for social media marketing momentum into the new year.

PS: This post, my 802nd post, updates the opening example in Essential Guide to Marketing Planning 4th edn. More posts are on the way!

Nike expands social media marketing strategy

You already know that Nike is one of the most social media-savvy brands on the planet--with 28 million people following it on Facebook and 653k Twitter followers. The US-based company is always expanding its strategy to reach targeted audiences via the latest social media tools.

For example, Nike is the first to have a brand channel linked to Tonsser, a social app for young football (soccer) players. Nike will be posting engaging and informative edutainment, a combination of educational material (how to improve your skills) as well as brand-related content.

Nike is extremely active on Instagram, where it will soon begin selling its products, not just displaying styles and other details. According to one report, Nike has 72 million Instagram followers, making it the most popular 'high street' fashion brand on Instagram (ahead of H&M, Zara and Adidas in that order).

What's next for Nike's high-energy, high-performance social media marketing?

Why Instagram is 'top priority' for some marketers

Not just photos...Instagram is a very important marketing tool for marketers like Fossil (watches) and Leon's (furniture).

Fossil has more than 500k Instagram followers, attracted in less then one year. Its digital brand manager says Instagram is 'top priority' because of its popularity amongst Millennials, a key target audience.

Also, Fossil can post images for all occasions, all product categories and all promotions--and all followers will see them. Finally, the Like2Buy link is actually contributing to sales of pictured products.

Leon's, a Canadian retailer, is using Instagram to reposition itself and emphasise its fashion furniture.

The social media manager says that Instagram is an important marketing medium because the images visually reinforce the retailer's updated fashion image. 'All we did was highlight a style a lot of people didn’t know we had', she explains.

So think visual and think about how your marketing plan can make best use out of Instagram.

Online marketers and ad blockers

Online advertisers and content marketers are unhappy with ad blocking software that so many consumers have installed to filter out, well, ads. Annoyed by non-targeted or simply irrelevant ads, or impatient to see content they are waiting to see, 39% of UK consumers in a recent study were found to be using ad blockers to keep ads out of sight. When Apple recently released an updated iPhone operating system, ad blocker apps skyrocketed to the top of the App store ranking. 

But this means web sites don't have as many visitors who count as 'viewers' or 'exposures' to adverts. As a result, some are fighting back by blocking consumers who use ad blockers. At the very least, a number of sites are explaining why consumers shouldn't use ad blockers--namely, because ad revenue helps support quality content, and blocking those ads means revenue is lost to the sites that need it. With lower revenue, sites may have to reduce the quality content they post or find other revenue sources (such as subscriptions).

Other avenues exist for marketers to reach out to consumers in creative ways, with non-ad messages that build brands and reinforce image. Instagram is increasingly used by Nike and other brands, and Pinterest recently added a 'buy' button to facilitate shipping in the US. 

Watch for more innovations as ad blockers continue to be popular and marketers test ideas for engaging consumers in multiple digital media.