Hello from the other side….

Hi everyone, it really has been a while. Since my last post in October a lot as changed…well firstly I completed my digital marketing unit and my degree. WOOHOO 🎓🙌🏻🎉

Not only so, I also started my first full-time job in a graduate program at the Whitepages, a branch of Sensis 👔 This post is an update of where my marketing career has launched, the advice I would give to those looking for a job and my experience grad job applying.

Firstly…breathe. Looking back it was such an overwhelming experience looking for a job while completing my final year at university. It felt like landing a job was my main priority and would solidify all of my hard work throughout my university experience. What I wish I could of told my job crazed, worrying self was to enjoy the experience. A job will come when it is the right time and as painful as it sounds, grad applying taught me so much about myself and the process. Sometimes, it even comes down to luck. I found that I learnt so much from the many grad positions I applied for, and got better as I practised and went through company after company. Whereas I had a friend that had her first assessment centre and landed the position. Everyone’s experience and journey differs.

My advice throughout the experience would be to stay on top of the deadlines, assessments and timing. Subscribe to gradconnect and book in time to research the company you are applying to, google common interview questions and attend networking events to help you familiarise yourself with the employers.

Some useful tips throughout the process:

• Have a mentor 
  • The best thing I did was join two mentor programs where I was able to meet with industry professionals within the marketing industry and was able to seek advice about working as a marketer and life beyond a grad program.
    • Monash Business school mentoring Program
    • VIC Emerging Marketers Mentoring Program 2018

• Gain experience
  • I found during the video interviews, assessment centres and individual interviews, the questions that were behavioural really required experience in a corporate or team setting and I was able to reflect my answers from the two internships I had, that allowed me to grow and develop.
  • Even if you haven’t had an internship, don’t fret. Use your university experience working in teams and groups, having clients and projects through subjects like MPI and Marketing Communications, as well as using your casual or part-time job.

 

• Be organised
  • You will have multiple companies asking for tests, video interviews and paper work as well as juggling that week 11 essay. Keep a calendar and priorities your time. My Sensis presentation (2nd last interview) was 2 days after an exam so to say I had to pull an all nighter and utilise my time was the least of my worries.

 

• Enjoy the experience
  • I think this only happens to many in hindsight. But I am thankful to have gotten so far in some of the companies recruiting stages and to have learnt along the way to best cope with nerves, presenting, meeting new people and to be confident in my abilities as a marketer.

 

• Celebrate
  • Regardless of if you landed your dream job, are taking a gap year or are looking at entry level positions at your dream firm. Celebrate what you have achieved and enjoy the experience. Only time will tell and I can confidently say during the assessment centres, I competed with people having taken the test and process the year previously, those who had gone back to study their masters/honours or post grad. Or business owners and mature age students all competing for those 2-5 spots at a firm. So take your journey one step at a time 👣

I wish everyone luck in applying for their dream job or that job that will get your foot in the door to cementing your career. I have learnt so much from my first 3 months in a marketing role and am happy to answer any questions and offer advice about my experience going through the grad applying process. Good-luck 💁🏻

20/20 Vision 👓

Hi everyone, my…. is time flying⌛️. I hope everyone is well and for those at university, I am sure you are all just as surprised as me that it is week 12 😳!

Todays blog is actually about a recent purchase I made which was influenced by an Instagram ad by Specsavers promoting their new collaboration with Balmain.

Source

Now, I am a huge fan of Balmain so I was excited to see that their items will be at a store, but the problem was….I don’t wear glasses. However, I was happy to see that they also sold sunglasses, so I still had the thought in mind of checking them out.

As I was aimlessly walking around my local shopping centre, avoiding dropping $100 on unnecessary Kmart buys…I walked past a Specsavers store and thought…why not? So I went into the store and low and behold, tried on a pair of Balmain Sunglasses. I think it is important to note that I actually hate sunglasses as I find I have the face that doesn’t quite suit them. But I was amazed to find I instantly feel in love with a pair and knew I needed them in my life.

So I was greeted by a friendly staff member who after chatting with me, said that I might as well book an eye test as it was free and there was currently a promotion. So I did just that, coming back a few days later and to my surprise, not only did I have such an excellent experience, I ended up needing reading glasses 👓.

 

My new pair

In store picture

Advert

Source

So as a consumer, my customer journey started from that initial Instagram ad, then turned into an in store experience (and 2 item purchase), to me leaving feedback on their Facebook and through an email survey, to me now seeing Specsaver’s adverts everywhere I shop online. It was a great overall experience and really tied in for me all of what I have learnt within my digital marketing class this semester.

Source

So my question to you is, have you ever been persuaded to go into a store or have purchased an item from an Instagram ad? What was your experience like and has it changed how you now view the brand?

-C

You Got Mail 📮

Hello Readers,

I hope everyone is well and rested after their mid semester break. Todays topic is about email marketing and if it is still relevant in generating leads for marketers.

I know for me, I have 3 email addresses. One for my professional endeavours👔 , one for my university🎓 and one for personal emails📦💸.

The one I predominately use is my personal email account, and even with that I have it sub categorised into 3 sections; one for important emails (Primary), one tab for Linkedin & Twitter notifications (Social) and the other for all other promotional emails I receive (Promotions).

I receive hundreds of emails a day (I am an avid shopperholic…) and I find that on a daily basis, I will mark all my unread emails as read and only read the very few that are relevant to me. So I was interested in researching some of the most effective email marketing campaigns & what turns them from a click away from trash to generating user engagement.

Source

A blog recently ranked this campaign as being it’s No.1 email marketing campaign, and it was by charity: water. It highlighted the use of transactional emails which are automated emails you receive after taking an action on a website. The concept behind this campaign was to show the long journey a donation takes, as most charities do not tell you about the journey post donation. Charity: water uses automated emails to show donors how their money is making an impact over time and with the project timeline and accompanying table, you don’t even really need to read the email. It is a fast and effective way of encouraging future donations and keeping an open and honest relationship with the consumer.

 Another great campaign was by Uber, who created a catchy email that played on the humour of those who skim through ads/email. The beauty is in the simplicity, where email subscribers are alerted to deals and promotions. Effective in it’s brief initial description and paired with a very clear call-to-action, this technique is perfect for subscribers who are quickly skimming the email.

Source

With all this in mind, let me know your thoughts. Do you feel as though email marketing is still an effective tool for marketers? Do you have any examples of great email campaigns or recent purchases prompted via an email. Let me know in the comments below.

-C

 

iPhone Fever & Augmented Reality 📲

Hello Readers,

For those at university, I hope everyone is enjoying their much deserved week break and are eagerly awaiting Saturday’s Grand Final 🏈

For my fellow Apple users, today’s blog post is about the much-anticipated release of the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

Source 

Some of the great new features include an edge-to-edge display, an OLED screen, the removal of the home button on the X model and the ability to unlock your phone with your face, known as Face ID.

Source

Face ID will also power Apple’s new “Animojis” which are emojis that will match the expression you’re making with your face. Apple CEO Tim Cook has called it the “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone”.

But what are the marketing implications?

One of the most influential features of the new phone launch is the notion of augmented reality, which was introduced with the iOS 11 software. Augmented reality, unlike virtual reality, doesn’t try to completely recreate everything you see. Instead, AR simply augments what you’re looking at with overlays or 3D models.

As mentioned in the Rolling Stone article, Augmented Reality apps are on the rise with Ikea being a front runner in allowing users to add virtual couches into their real home. Apple executives on stage showed off AR apps, including one built by Major League Baseball that lets spectators attending a live game see player statistics when they hover their phones over a particular athlete.

So my question to you readers is, what are your thoughts on the new iPhone X & 8? Do you think augmented reality will revolutionise digital marketing? Let me know your thoughts.

-C

👻 *Insert Ad*

Hello Readers, I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend 😊

I am sure most, like myself, have the same morning ritual: waking up and immediately checking your phone.📱Gone are the days that the newspaper was your first point of call for all the news you had missed overnight.📰 And for me, I know the first app I open is Snapchat. 💛

Today’s blog post is about the wonderful world of Snapchat, and how I am now noticing more than ever the introduction of Snapchat ads.

 

 

Source 1 & Source 2

I am sure many readers, like myself, have also noticed these ads popping up as we view our Snapchat stories. As a result of this new platform for advertising, Snapchat is expected to earn $770 million in ad revenue by the year’s end.

 

What made this possible was earlier this year, Snapchat partnered with third-party data provider Oracle Data Cloud, in order to offer advertisers access to rich user data to better target specific audiences. Although as seen below, Snapchat is trailing its competitors Google and Facebook and I wanted to explore how this could be so.

Source

A US Snapchat survey outlined how users stated to have never engaged with sponsored filters or lenses on the platform. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they never swipe up on Snapchat ads and another 68% said they never watch video ads on the platform. But Why?

A noticeable downfall for such advertising is that unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where people are able to search for a name of a celebrity, business or page and that account is shown easily in the search results, Snapchat only allows users to add accounts by their unique username, something that isn’t always as easy to access. Other downfalls noted were the short lifespan of snaps, which have made businesses question whether their advertising dollars are producing any benefit.

Another recent study by customer acquisition firm Fluent discovered that 69% of Snapchat users skip ads “always” or “often.” That number rises to 80% with the Millennial demographic, which is currently Snapchat’s largest user base.

 

So my question to you is, have you noticed the brands that are popping up on your Snapchat? Do you feel like this platform for digital marketing is effective? And where can they improve this service to entice more brands to get on board?

🎈 IT IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

Hello Readers, I am sure we are all excited that it is Friday #TGIF and are ready to celebrate the arrival of Spring 🌸

With the Melbourne sun not shining, I though an equally as scary thought as the reality of it being September was to talk about the new guerilla marketing campaign which took Sydney by storm.

@filmink

@DianaDJ7

Source 1 & Source 2

On September the 3rd a number of red balloons appeared around Sydney’s CBD, attached to drainage grates with a stencilled chalk note saying, “It is closer than you think”.

The gorilla marketing campaign was executed by Showtime Marketing, with them stating “The balloons on the drains were another disruption element” … and it is “amazing that sometimes the simplest and cheapest ideas are the most effective.”

“Our strategy was to implement a disruptive campaign geared to generate anticipation of the release and establish a new generation of IT fans.”

An article by the Smartcompany outlined the fact that the hashtag tie-in via the stencils served as a dual purpose; it provided an avenue for viewers to locate more information and also was a way of driving user generated content.

With media and marketing agency Mumbrella even posting about the great campaign, asking in their article for readers to let them know in the comments who deserved the “kudos” for creating such an ad.

With the evolution of digital technology, guerilla marketing is only as effective as its reach on social media, with the intended purpose to create UGC from onlookers.

So my question to you is, what are the risks of guerilla  marketing and do you think it will become more effective than traditional digital marketing campaigns?

-C

Move over Joanne the Scammer and say hello to Social Media Scammers.

Hi readers and welcome back to my blog.  For those at university, I am sure you are all questioning like I am. How is it week 6?⏰ ✈️

Today’s blog was inspired by an advert that appeared on my Facebook which I found quite surprising. It was about paying to gain follower and a social media presence.

Source

With the rise of Instagram and social media stars, I wanted to explore just how easily it was to gain an online presence and showcase the reality behind its falseness.

An interesting article I had found highlighted that with the rise in services like the one above, as well as apps that allow you to buy likes and followers, companies are now looking to move their advertising dollars away from Instagram influencers. They fear that they are no longer getting a return on their investment because of the creation of a “false economy”.

“We’ve had some who’ve had a million followers, but when they promoted our clothes we had literally no sales or feedback,” Ms Efstratiou said.“I started looking over her posts and realising the traction didn’t make sense. She was getting a 1000 likes a minute, which is impossible.”

Another interesting read was from an article which highlighted that from March to July, a company named Mediakix created two Instagram profiles from scratch and secured four paid brand endorsement deals worth over $600 in total.

Source 1 & 2

@wanderingggirl

@calibeachgirl310

So my question to you is, do you think brands will now steer away from using Instagram “influencers” due to the possible inaccuracy of their likes and followers?

Let me know your thoughts?

-C

Driverless cars + Uber = $$$

Hi readers, I hope everyone is feeling well and ready to cure their Mondayitis. I know for me, August has been a month filled with birthday after birthday (mine included). And for me, I have found myself with the constant reliance of my Uber driver, eagerly awaiting the moment I am able to arrive home and take my heels off. 👠

As my chatty friends interrogated the Uber driver with 1001 questions, I found myself the other night realising that having a driver may soon be a thing of the past, with the testing of driverless cars being the transportation of the future. A thought I assumed would be met in the not so near future, I was surprised to find an article detailing how America had already rolled out this feature (Access it here). 

Image: Interior of Mercedes Benz F015 driverless car

With this reality already in its trial stage, it left me wondering how marketers will leverage this opportunity to utilise this empty space as potential to stimulate awareness or even buyers. Again, a thought not shared by just me, a recent article outlined that:

Automated Vehicles could free as much as 50 minutes a day for users, who will be able to spend traveling time working, relaxing, or accessing entertainment.  It could also create a large pool of value, potentially generating global digital-media revenues of €5 billion per year for every additional minute people spend on the mobile Internet while in a car.

Some ideas I had come up with were charging ports in cars with the branding of companies providing the service.🔋 Or attached screens within the car that allowed content to be viewed with adverts (much like tv📺). Or even market research companies providing iPads where users can fill out surveys and in turn instantly receive money off their ride💰. 

Source 1, 2 & 3

Source 1: https://pixabay.com/p-1751308/?no_redirect

Source 2: http://jewelwpg.com/wp-content/uploads/cash-1296584_960_720.png

Source 3: https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/230071/Person-Holding-Tablet.png

So… what are your thoughts? Do you think companies will jump on this opportunity to add advertisements and marketing stimuli within driverless cars? What may some ideas be? Eager to hear your thoughts

-C

Private or Public?

Hey readers I hope you all had a great weekend and are enjoying the pleasant change in Melbourne’s previously gloomy weather.⛅️ Source

Today’s post is about a recent article I came across which I found interesting. The article, which can be viewed here, outlines how the vast majority of employers are now searching through a candidates’ social media accounts as part of the hiring process.

 

A study from CareerBuilder revealed that 70 percent of employers now use social media to screen job candidates before hiring them, with many employers also moving beyond social networks by using online search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. 

What I also found surprising was that the article even had a link to a ‘Best Background Check Services 2017’ article, which outlined paid service providers that help screen candidates. 

Image Source 

As someone who loves to post about my weekend out and food pictures, and also has a Twitter and Pinterest account, I find that I privatise all of these mediums from employers as I like to disconnect this content from my corporate life. 

# Grafali Coffee Roasters

@christinee_f

@itsss_paris

Instagram Source 

Which brings me to my question, should we be completely open when we market ourselves to potential employers ? Or remain private and filtered in our social media approach ?

Let me know your thought? 
-C

Artificial Intelligence, the new buzz word in Marketing 💡

Hello readers😊 and welcome to my second blog post. Today I thought I would kick of the discussion with a topic I found very interesting, and one prevalent in today’s rapidly advancing state of technology, and this is the notion of artificial intelligence. What sparked this discussion was  a recent news article about Facebook shutting down robots as they began to communicate in their own language 👾

This to me sparked the question, Are we relying too heavily on artificial intelligence to bridge the gap of human interaction in sales? Weren’t the robots merely doing their job by communicating… and I guess it raised for me the question of, where do we draw the line?

There is no doubt that technology has influenced the way marketing has evolved, with the use of programmatic marketing and marketing automation revolutionising the industry. Although using the BBC’s search bar, I am assured I have a little chance of automation taking over a marketing associate job. Take the test yourself….

Image: BBC

As a marketer, I need to be aware of the rapid changes of technology and am still sitting on the fence with if the introduction of robotics will better the industry. I mean, as someone who went through the gruelling process of graduate applications for an entry level job, I find it hard to imagine the spectrum of jobs available reduced as robots take over the tasks once bestowed on us graduates.

So I leave you readers with this, do you think artificial intelligence in marketing is a good thing for recent graduates like ourselves? 🎓 

Let me know in the comments

-C