New research by Sefiani has highlighted the importance of a renewed focus on building brand belonging with consumers and employees. 

The study, which investigated understandings and experiences of brand belonging in over 1000 Australian employees and consumers, in addition to 23 senior corporate communicators, found that 46 percent of consumers and 24 percent of employees were more cynical about brands post-COVID.

Brand belonging: the challenge

Communicators now face the challenge of shifting stakeholders’ relationship with brands from transactional to emotional, thereby supporting long-term brand loyalty and belonging. Fostering brand belonging is paramount, with Sefiani’s study finding that 92 percent of employees and 61 percent of consumers agree that feeling a sense of belonging with a brand is important. However, over a third (39 percent) of communicators are unsure if their customers have a sense of brand belonging with their company.

There is also a mismatch between perceived and reported senses of belonging in employees: despite 70 percent of corporate communicators believing their employees have a sense of belonging with the company, almost half reported they were open to moving jobs if presented with the right opportunity.

Fostering expectations

For consumers, who have higher expectations of brands after having turned to them for security and stability during COVID, communicators must deliver personalised and speedy responses. Sefiani’s study found that 45 percent of consumers said brands took too long to respond to issues or trends, with generic communication being the biggest barrier to their belonging.

Communicators must also have a deep, up-to-date understanding of their audience and the socioeconomic conditions affecting them, such as the cost-of-living crisis and job insecurity. This allows businesses to offer fit-for-purpose products tailored to their audience’s personalised needs.

For employees, communicators must facilitate open communication. Transparency of business performance and finances is particularly important for employees, whose livelihoods, already strained by inflated costs of living, rely on these metrics.

Working conditions are also important, with 72 percent of employees believing that the most important factor in belonging was a good relationship with their colleagues and peers.

Implementing research insights

Given the importance of personalised responses for consumers, and their expectation of swift response times, AI presents one opportunity for facilitating brand belonging for consumers. Sefiani’s report noted that AI’s capabilities for predictive analysis, real-time personalisation and hyper-local personalisation were significant draws of the technology. AI is already heavily embedded in marketing, such as in service chat bots.

Social media is another avenue for building brand belonging, with consumer respondents identifying it as their primary channel for meaningfully conversing and sharing feedback with brands. Video content on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram are particularly useful for listening to consumer feedback. 

Listening to feedback is also vital for ensuring a feeling of brand belonging in employees. This communication must be not only transparent but constructive and open. 

Concerningly, however, Sefiani’s report found that only 24 percent of corporate communicators were investing in two-way communication with employees. Two-way communication is especially important in allowing organisations to align their behaviours with the needs and values of their employees, facilitating long-term brand loyalty and belonging.

The full report and its insights can be found here.

In a world that is constantly changing and evolving, businesses must keep up with the times to remain relevant, competitive and to showcase growth. Undergoing a brand refresh can signal to stakeholders that the company is looking to the future and is committed to growth and innovation. It can also help businesses differentiate themselves from the competitors and build stronger brand recognition and loyalty.

In the travel industry, where technology and consumer preferences are constantly changing, businesses must adapt quickly to remain relevant. At Rome2Rio, we recently went through a brand refresh, with an update to our logo. This new logo pays tribute to our heritage while celebrating our community of global travellers, signalling the next phase of growth for us. But what went into the brand refresh process, and what does this transformation mean for our future? 

The state of the travel industry

Let’s take a look at the travel industry as a whole first, delving into how the current state of it shaped our decision. It’s fair to say that in the past few years, the industry has undergone significant changes, with the pandemic causing major disruptions, including lockdowns and travel restrictions. However, as these were lifted, there was a rebound in travel intent with people itching to scratch their wanderlust. Last year, McKinsey & Company predicted that the travel industry will recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. Our recently released Mobility Report shows we’re on track to achieving this, with searches on the website having increased by 133 percent between Q1 2019 and Q1 2023. 

With the current global economic downturn affecting many industries, the transportation sector included, we’re bound to see changes to the way people travel. Whilst we don’t see a slowdown in travel, we will see consumers begin to prioritise saving costs, transport providers having to adapt to rising fuel costs, and pilot/driver shortages. At the same time, technology is altering travel habits and sustainability as a travel consideration is gaining more weight. It’s up to businesses to now shift their perspectives to stay ahead of the curve and cater to the evolving needs of the industry and its customers. 

Why did we choose now to go through a brand refresh? 

In 2010, our founders landed on the name Rome2Rio because it accurately described our original core purpose – helping travellers to get from one place to another. After over a decade of providing travellers with easy and hassle-free planning, we believed now was the right time to make a change and celebrate our milestones at the same time. In 2022 alone, we achieved over 50 million monthly visitors, 200 million monthly page views, and over 475 million yearly visitors. 

However, while our footprint was larger than ever, our research told us that brand recognition wasn’t where it should be. It found that users were unable to read and understand the logo easily, particularly due to the previous cursive font that was used. The brand refresh is the catalyst to announce Rome2Rio’s next phase of growth, as we look to launch a range of new features and further enhance the user experience. 

Thinking behind the new logo 

Honouring the company’s roots while also celebrating our global community of travellers, the new logo was created to be an instantly recognisable look, associated with the easy travel planning experiences of Rome2Rio. 

It is designed to be simple and effective, using two interlocking pins on a map to reflect the start and endpoint of a traveller’s journey and how Rome2Rio connects them. The tick in the middle provides positive reinforcement and reminds users of the satisfaction of checking off an item on a travel planning to-do list. The logo’s geometric shapes mirror the company’s ethos of providing a simple, hassle-free travel experience to users.

The move away from the previous cursive script was a deliberate move to maximise the logo’s readability for our diverse global user base. As more than 50 percent of Rome2Rio’s users are not native English speakers, the new logo’s simplicity and readability are paramount.

Yesh Munnangi is the CEO of Rome2Rio.

I’ve noticed for the past few years – now I’m well into middle age – that sales assistants can’t be bothered helping me any more. The good-looking, young people are getting all their attention. Face-to-face customer service could (and are) missing out on a big slice of the customer pie.

This happened at a health food store that I’ve been going to for more than 10 years. I was in there recently to buy a particular brand of herb tea bag. The (new) young man working there told me the store didn’t have it and it would more likely be found in a health food shop. 

“But isn’t this a health food shop?” was my reply. 

“No,” he responds, “it’s a supplements store.” 

He was desperate to get back to talking to a group of younger women somewhere near the protein supplements, despite the fact that his colleague was already assisting them. He pretended to look in the computer to humour me when I asked him to, saying “no” they definitely didn’t stock it. But obviously he didn’t really look, as the next time I returned to the store they had the product in stock. 

Similarly, when I go to Sephora, Mecca or other beauty emporiums, I sometimes have trouble getting assistance. Hey gals, hey guys: women in my age bracket need help with cosmetics and skin care as well. And, if we’re in the store, we could really do with your help. 

Face-to-face customer service is taking a hit

This type of service, or lack thereof, is detrimental to a store’s sales. The fact is that my generation is used to buying products in a bricks-and-mortar store. Younger people are just as likely to buy online. Which is often what I do now. This is mainly so I don’t get messed around by someone who can’t be bothered looking for a particular lipstick shade I’m after. 

One young female sales assistant obviously couldn’t be bothered helping me in a high-end beauty store, but when I approached another one at the sales desk they said they might have it out the back, which they did. Message: if I hadn’t been pushy the store would have missed out on a sale. 

Money is money is money (no matter who spends it)

Retailers need to wise up. Maybe commissions need to be reintroduced. If a staff member was going to get a percentage of everything a customer bought, they would soon realise that the over-45s tend to have more disposable income, and can be more demanding in what they’re looking for. A bit of positive encouragement and you will sell even more products to this demographic. And most of these beauty products are expensive, so the numbers would quickly add up. 

And this means offering attentive service to everyone. Your front-of-house workers are the lasting memory of your business, so you want to make sure that they’re representing the brand the way you designed.

Back to the man in question. When at another location of the store in the city I asked if they had the herb tea bags that I was after. They said they didn’t as they didn’t have much space, but I should try the Glebe store, which is my local store. I related my experience there and was happy to find out that the person I was speaking to was the manager of both stores. I pointed out to him that this sort of behaviour is turning customers away.

Susi Banks is a newspaper-trained freelance content writer and editor.

TotallyAwesome’s chief operations officer and youth safety advocate, Marcus Herrmann, explores the new Privacy Act Review.

The Australian Privacy Act Review has moved to the next stage, with revisions drafted and one last consultation in place before it moves to the legislator. It has received mixed reviews from marketers with conflicting voices about how much or how little it may affect current targeting approaches. 

One area that has been broadly overlooked by marketers is how the proposed amendments will affect advertising to the under 18 audience. The key changes in relation to this demographic are that profile targeting will no longer be possible, leaving contextual advertising as the only option.

At first glance, marketers might assume that it does not affect them. After all, most brands and agencies who engage with a youth audience already use contextual targeting for this demographic. However, failing to take real notice of the detail within the changes could have consequences.

With that in mind, here are the four questions that every brand who wants to reach an under 18 audience needs to be asking the organisation as well as media partners and digital agencies.  

Are you using any third-party tags or attribution models? 

Even with contextual targeting, ads can still have ad verification tags on them. These tags can collect personal information like device IDs and locations to ascertain its human vs. bot traffic. As a result, you might be in breach of the proposed rules. The same goes for attribution models or retargeting tactics which also use device IDs and are likely to become a hard no.

Are you using programmatic media buys? 

Programmatic is great for reaching audiences at scale. Most programmatic platforms, however, pass on personal information in the bid request. If you are using it to reach the under-18 demographic then it is time to rethink. At Totally Awesome, we invented the world’s first programmatic platform that uses zero personal data – so scale is still possible but you need to choose your partners carefully. 

What creative formats are you using? 

VPAID and MRAID creative formats potentially read personal data from the device. This may steer you into compliance choppy waters and leave you in breach of the proposed regulations.  I’d suggest making sure you choose a creative agency that has experience in creating compliant and safe ad units or if you’re doing it in-house, use clean and safe formats like VAST videos. 

Do you regularly run competitions for your brand? 

Competitions aimed at Under 18s will still be possible but will need a robust mechanism in place to get verifiable guardian consent for their kids to sign up and submit their names and contact details. Moving forward you will need a mechanism in place that contacts guardians and verifies their identity to then ensure they grant consent to the collection of their kids’ personal data.

Our Youth Matter

While the proposed changes to the Privacy Act may mean adjustments to your current media strategy, it is good news for our industry and our youth. 

It doesn’t mean brands should not be marketing to Under 18s. What it does mean is rethinking the approach to how you market to this audience. It means finding ways to build meaningful connections with a Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience that shape future behaviours and long-term loyalty. 

The key is doing it responsibly and, in a brand safe manner. 

Our company was set up with the founding principle of using zero data for marketing to a youth audience so we know it’s both possible and highly effective, as well as the right thing to do. 

I am excited for what the proposed changes mean for the youth of Australia and how, as marketers, we can show up in the best way for this audience.

Many of us have seen how moving from a ‘clean tech stack’ with the likes of Magento – to a flat Shopify structure can result in Organic Search losses. In fact, recent research reveals that almost 80 percent of marketers expect to see some traffic lost when managing a site migration. However, those losses can easily be mitigated if you know what to look for. Here’s some of the SEO fails to recognise and improve.

Loss of website traffic

One of the most significant SEO risks associated with website migration is the loss of website traffic. This can happen for various reasons, including changes to the website’s URL structure, missing pages and broken links to name a few. To mitigate the risk of losing website traffic, you need to conduct a comprehensive website audit before and after the migration process. Consider:

• Performing tech SEO audits bi-monthly, and
• cleaning up soft 404s, deleted product 404s, indexing errors and more.

During the audit, review what landing pages and keywords are working well in Organic Search currently and champion their migration to the new site to help maintain traffic.

Changes in keyword rankings

Another SEO risk associated with website migration is a change in keyword rankings. This can happen if your new website has different content, URL structure or metadata than your old website. To mitigate this risk, you need to conduct comprehensive keyword research before the migration process. Tips to keep in mind: 

• Correct onsite setup of Shopify’s /collections/ with clean URLs and unique H1s to target each keyword cluster,
• migrating blog posts and category page content where of value , and
• add H2 and H3 tags where needed to expand on target keywords for more competitive collections.

During the research, you should identify the keywords that are currently driving traffic to your website and ensure that they are included in your new website’s content, URL structure and metadata. You should also ensure that your new website’s content is of high quality, engaging and optimised for your target keywords.

At the same time, avoid focusing too heavily on consolidating your website and instead look for the opportunity to provide a better user experience. Through this lens, you might discover ways to enhance content or create new pages based on the topics, questions and identified needs that came to light when reviewing search demand.  

Forgetting to optimise your metadata

Keyword research will uncover what your customers are searching for online and is absolutely essential to crushing your SEO. It will assist you in understanding your competitors, identifying low-hanging SEO wins, generating content ideas and understanding searcher (and buyer) intent. Consider:

• Adding a clean, SEO-friendly metadata template for product pages to optimise products in bulk,
• creating custom meta descriptions, explaining each category with unique selling points to drive CTR (click-through rate),
• customising meta/page titles to match keyword variations of the H1 while remaining engaging for users, and
• structuring data edits to fit guidelines and index all product reviews with a fast-loading, fully customisable review app like Judge.me.

Not optimising after re-platforming

SEO should be a permanent, ongoing part of your eCommerce growth strategy since algorithms are continuously changing and updating. So keep up the good SEO practices even after the switch. Remember, even if you think your site is performing well, it can always be better. Keep these tips in mind:

• Think ‘less is more’ when creating user-centric content, keeping it relevant, valuable and to the point,
• make your site trustworthy, using HTTPS,
• keep URLs short and sweet, under 75 characters with strategic use of keywords,
• add internal links into related product pages on collections, helping both bots and users,
• constantly monitor site speed and core web vitals, minimising scripts/apps and compressing files, and
• hold monthly meetings with client to cover new products, collection expansion and future enhancements.

Failing to rely on the experts

Involve your Organic Search partner in discussions around choosing platforms and ongoing capabilities in Organic Search. This is a proven strategy to mitigate any losses from Organic Search at an early stage.

Businesses rely on internal and external partners to advise and navigate them through the treacherous waters of “migration” and the Organic Search challenges that come with it. However, it’s vital to rely on “specialists” – not “generalists”. 

Specialists have been there before. They’ve encountered and importantly, overcome these eCommerce-specific migration challenges before and can best assist you in doing the same. While it may cost more in the beginning to hire the experts, it’s absolutely priceless to comprehensively prepare your business and website in today’s challenging retail environment. 

Roadmap backed by results

As the Search Engine Land 2022 Award Winner for SEO Agency of the Year, we know what it takes to provide meaningful results for eCommerce clients through the implementation of SEO best practices. Through our ongoing work with one of Australia’s largest supplement and sports nutrition retailers, using the tips above, we’ve:

• successfully managed the migration of its site from Magento to Shopify,
• increased its organic rankings 7x since July 2021,
• boosted its new users by 65 percent, and
• achieved the #1 organic ranking nationwide for the incredibly competitive keywords that have extensive monthly search volume.

In this migration from Magento to Shopify, we managed to mitigate the losses more than any other project in the past. Organic keywords temporarily dropped just 10-18 percent post-migration, for only four months before we succeeded in returning the site to growth. Since, the growth has been consistent and constant, which is clearly evident from the ever-growing page 1-5 keyword graph in SEMrush. 

The retailer’s traffic, sales and revenue continue on a +50-100 percent increase year-on-year from Organic Search alone, making it one of our most successful Shopify campaigns to date. 

While it didn’t happen overnight – SEO strategy takes at least six-to-nine months to start seeing results – this popular sports nutrition retailer not only competes organically but stands up above some of the largest players in the market when it comes to various, highly-searched categories across health and supplements. 

Phillip Vo is the head of growth at Megantic.

When looking to gain customer loyalty brands are turning to investing in membership programs more than ever to engage and retain consumers. Ivy Yu looks into two of the best cases in loyalty: The North Face and Royal Canin.

Marquee names from The North Face to Royal Canin are using membership programs to drive repeat purchases. These businesses are offering early access, hard-to-match experiences and community interactions to build a loyal following.

The North Face is one of 82 brands that surpassed $21.3 million AUD in gross merchandise value generated from members on November 1 on Alibaba’s business-to-consumer e-commerce platform Tmall.

“Transforming consumer awareness into customer loyalty is key to generating the best return on investment,” says Chui Xue, president of industry development and operation centre of Alibaba Group’s digital marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall.

Behind the sales

Developing a loyal following on Tmall is a summit that The North Face is working to conquer. For last year’s 11.11, members of the American outdoor recreation brand were able to access exclusive products and gift sets and win attendance at snowboarding events featuring top snowboarders. A lucky few will even be able to take to the slopes themselves. 

But membership is about more than shredding. There’s a strategic imperative to sharpen differentiation as a way of deepening customer loyalty, consultancy Bain & Company noted in its 2022 Singles Day report. Over 40 merchants have attracted over 11 million members on Tmall, and another 600 attained more than one million members in their loyalty membership programs.

“It means that the brand can have very high certainty for its business performance on the Tmall platform,” says Zhang.

Turning a shopper into a member of a Tmall store will increase a brand’s conversion rate – the percentage of people who make a purchase among overall foot traffic – by at least 20 percent, and their total spending on the brand by at least 20 percent, Zhang estimates.

Experiential engagement

The future of retail will see consumers looking beyond discounts and seeking more unique offerings and experiences to develop identification with the brand. California-based haircare brand Olaplex has realised the value in education and effectiveness of products in gaining and retaining loyal customers.

Olaplex’s CEO Jue Wong said consumers are extremely consistent repeat shoppers once they trust a product’s quality and effectiveness. The haircare brand’s recent livestream with China’s lipstick king Austin Li generated more sales than during the 6.18 Mid-Year Shopping Festival and last year’s 11.11.  Wong noted that Austin loves Olaplex because he and his mother are fans of the products. To capture the hearts and minds of consumers, brands need to show care.

The Shanghai-based cosmetics company launched a customised digital calendar for its members on Tmall last 11.11. Consumers can find product recommendations based on their skin conditions, and with each day comes a set of product offerings and tips on the best way to obtain the discount price.

It ensures its members have priority access to try out new brand products. And for members with an upcoming birthday, it will send out greeting cards and gift packs.

This also extends to our fur friends. Royal Canin launched a pet profile feature for its members, numbering over one million. Members can enter the details of their pets, including their breed, age and health conditions to get customised product suggestions specific to their pets.

The brand also offers regular live streaming sessions for its members on science-based pet nutrition and healthcare. Whenever consumers have questions on pet care, they can also turn to one-on-one consultations with pet experts on the brand’s Tmall store.

Omnichannel marketing

Brands are striving to offer consumers an integrated shopping experience across e-commerce sites, bricks-and-mortar stores and social media channels. Olapex said it provides a loyalty membership service on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform, while using key opinion leaders and other platforms to drive brand awareness and education.

The North Face said it integrated its membership system on Tmall with other channels, including its official website, WeChat mini-store, and offline retailer at the end of 2021. Consumers can accumulate loyalty points no matter where they purchased the products and use them to redeem membership benefits on all channels. The omnichannel approach also helps brands deliver a consistent and personalised experience for consumers, which is key to building connections.

As I embarked on the journey home from SXSW 2023 Austin, I started thinking about SXSW Sydney, coming to our shores in October this year. There are no doubt CEO’s, CTO’s and CMO’s all over Australia beginning to ponder on it, wondering exactly what value they’ll get from sending their talent to it.  A festival that celebrates the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture sounds great in principle, but what will they actually bring back from their attendance? 

Much like a yoga retreat or a trip to the Northern Territory, SXSW is a somewhat spiritual experience.  Hard to explain to those who haven’t been and in many ways, as they say; you’ll never never know if you never never go. But for those pondering it, I thought I’d try. 

Luckily, a random session I wandered into on Wednesday afternoon last week will do the job for me.  A session about Space.  More specifically, Space Tourism and The Overview Effect.  

This panel of four was a conversation between two ex-astronauts, an aerospace entrepreneur and an exec for a not-for-profit that sponsors people to go into space.  But whilst coming from quite different angles, they all spoke of Space Tourism as an imperative; for its ability to bring a global perspective.  That the power of a moment in space, whether in the stratosphere or in orbit, gives us a better understanding of the way of the world and the fragility of our planet.  

This Overview Effect is defined on Wikipedia as a cognitive shift reported by astronauts while viewing the Earth from space; a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus.  Which is exactly what the two astronauts had experienced firsthand, sharing how looking back down on Earth from space not only delivers a unique experience but also helps shape a better vision for the future and the important role we all play.  Kathryn Sullivan, former NASA astronaut, talked specifically of how the view back towards Earth creates awe, but more than that it creates a small sense of self.  A greater realisation of our interconnectedness and ripple effects of our actions.  

This was just one of the cross-industry talks I was inspired by at SXSW.  A week of unexpected but widespread collaboration and cooperation across countries, industries and even competitors – all using technology, innovation and creativity to imagine a better future and create proper change.   

My Overview Effect from SXSW might not have come from space, but instead from looking down on Austin from my hotel room on the 14th floor at the end of a week of inspiring, mind-bending presentations and conversations. But I am certainly experiencing awe, realisation and desire to create unexpected connections.  Whilst no astronaut, I do find myself coming back from SXSW feeling a little smaller.  But absolutely, thinking bigger. 

So whilst SXSW Sydney, or even SXSW Austin 2024, might not fit directly into any one specific training objective or organisational skill gap, I think that is exactly why people should go.

A study of over 2000 Australians led by Snapchat has shed light on changing attitudes to work, wellbeing and their social media usage.

Eliminating hustle culture for work-life balance

Local Gen Z-ers are pioneering a new look on work. The study highlighted Australia’s Gen Z as abandoning the once praised ‘hustle culture’, made prominent by their Millennial predecessors. Not only do they not want to be part of the hustle, but they are also rejected the traditional work hours, and don’t want to be involved in a 9-5.

The culture of being busy resulting in burnout has been replaced, with 76 percent of respondents saying that they have replaced being busy with balance and boundaries. Seven in ten respondents also say that they would sacrifice salary for happiness, saying that they’d rather be paid less to have more free time.

However, this isn’t to be conflated with Gen Z completely absolving work. Over 85 percent have said they’re actively seeking new ways to earn money outside of traditional work, with side gigs and passive incomes. Eighty percent want to work for themselves, or work freelance eventually.

Unfiltered authenticity

Privacy is key for the next generation. They’ve grown up in the spotlight, and now they desire intimacy, privacy and authenticity. Three quarters of the respondents say that they value posting less content on social media, and 80 percent said they prefer to DM or private message rather than posting an opinion to a large group on social media.

Two thirds (67 percent) of Australian Gen Z have said that they still use emojis, but the way they use them has evolved – with irony and abstractness embraced to add satire to conversations – while 44 percent have admitted they now prefer to send voice notes and videos to text messages.

Commenting on the report, Julia Berk Snap’s marketing insights says: “Australia’s Gen Z community truly are the future, so we need to work harder to understand the nuances of this generation, what’s important to them, and what they expect from the world around them. This study offers real-world insight directly from the mouths of young people, and highlights how they’re tackling this age of uncertainty head-on by finding new ways to overcome the challenges we face on a regular basis. If anything’s for certain, Gen Z are going to do things differently as they carve their paths in this world.”

To ‘be prepared’ was the motto drilled into my DNA many decades ago as a girl guide alongside having family members in the life insurance sector. This motto has been front of mind recently with the deluge of tech and digital giants laying off large chunks of their workforce in Australia and globally.

Thousands of talented people have woken up to see a ‘locked out login message’ on their computer screen. The shocks have been palpable.  

Being prepared is more than planning for a rainy day. It’s a mindset to acknowledge change can occur in a nanosecond in careers no matter the level or experience.  

From a career perspective, it’s about strategies which give peace of mind and confidence when a proverbial fan is in sight.

Don’t wait for the proverbial fan moment

Every marketing professional (and indeed all other professions) would benefit from a ‘be prepared’ career mindset. But when in a warm comfort zone, it can be almost untenable to consider that a fan is in the midst.  

Unfortunately, a large number of men and women don’t apply career risk mitigation strategies and end up feeling the wind of those fan blades.    

This is evident from the volume of social media posts and the calls and emails I receive with panic and concern. And there is similar sentiment and contact from people after months of frustration in the job search ecosystem.   

Laying a platform of career attraction

What does a platform of career attraction look like? It’s an insurance policy mindset coupled with an intentional and proactive focus to build and feed a digital presence, strong networks and LinkedIn profile and footprint.

It’s about applying the same client marketing strategies to yourself. Your clients advertise and run marketing campaigns for varied goals including protection against market loss, increasing revenue and to build reputation and authority.

For businesses who don’t invest in marketing, the catch cry is often ‘we don’t need marketing at the moment as we have all the work we can handle’ -well, duh!

And this is where many career professionals also get stuck. In the good times, little attention is given to a platform of future career attraction. 

But it’s far better to be in the ‘I would love to, but I am at capacity/not available at present’ camp versus the ‘I wish the phone would ring and email ping’ camp.  

Don’t let fear hold you back

Many don’t pay attention to their LinkedIn profile and activity for a fear it indicates a red flag to the agency or organisation they are on the job hunt or plan to.  

The truth is that every time you raise your own professional visibility and expertise, your employer benefits also.  

Ten LinkedIn essentials

1. Take a marketing approach to your own LinkedIn profile. Be creative and unique to inspire and intrigue.
2. Have a dynamic, interesting banner image. After all, people are visual creatures. It’s your personal brand billboard so don’t leave it blank, one colour or a nature beach scene. Have fun and create something meaningful.
3. Current photograph within the last 12 months. No sunglasses, cartoons or other people.
4. Write a compelling clear and descriptive headline. Include what you do and who you do it for.  Align to your current and future in career keywords and focus.  
5. Always write the ‘Your About’ section in the first person, it just looks pompous and disconnected if in the third person. Showcase what excites you, your career focus and achievements. Weave in your personality. If you’re a quiet mouse, no point inferring you are a bold loud lion and vice versa.
6. LinkedIn is both a reactive and proactive platform. Recruiters use it to search for candidates and so your profile acts as a magnet and reactive tool there. But it’s also a proactive tool to build visibility of your expertise at any time in your market and career cycle. Suppliers and new networks are not just about job hunting but enriching your business in general. 
7. Add new connections to your network with care and focus.  This may include industry and general recruiters, people of interest, referral partners and suppliers.
8. Engage and comment regularly on great content. Look for topics and people of relevance where you can demonstrate your expertise, values and perspectives. An intentional commenting strategy cannot be underestimated. You will be amazed at the conversations that ensue and develop for business and careers when people admire your comments.
9. Not everyone will and can create their own content. But you can share other members and external information. Do think about writing short articles on your expertise and industry perspectives. It is also a great icebreaker for new connections.
10. Ask for testimonials from a range of different people who have experienced working with you. These can be clients, co-workers, direct managers and also suppliers.  

Other tips 

Networking and speaking at events is valuable and often essential. Building media connections in your sector to be a go to media contributor is also a great way to build profile and authority.     

Whilst your CV is a reactive tool when applying for a role, there is another reason to keep it up to date. When you refresh a CV it’s an opportunity to review your career, achievements and what has inspired you. 

The process of updating your CV by virtue builds career and self confidence which is being prepared 101. 

While podcasting is a tantalising addition to the marketing mix, Sophie Walker, host of the popular podcast Australian Birth Stories urges marketers to lead with the ethics

2022 was the year Australians became the biggest podcast listeners in the world. Forty percent of us are tuning in every month, dedicating just over seven hours per week to listening to our favourite podcasts. No matter what you’re into, you’re likely to be spoilt for choice. There’s over two million podcasts to choose from globally and over 73 million episodes. 

Like any trend that captures the public’s imagination, brands have jumped on the bandwagon. From Telstra to Tinder, it seems like every organisation on earth is dipping its toe in podcasting. While some are absolute fizzers (I’m not naming names), others such as Beauty IQ from online beauty retailer Adore Beauty, transcend its marketing purpose and become mainstays in the podcasting landscape. Consistently ranked in the top five in the Apple Australia’s Fashion and Beauty charts, Beauty IQ is an organic extension of the Adore Beauty brand. It perfectly captures the awkward and hilarious side of beauty, capitalising on this authenticity to build trust and community with its audience.       

There’s no denying, podcasts are a good marketing move

They’re a beacon of owned media. It offers control over the marketing message, the opportunity to find new audiences and the space to build engaged communities. While social media often serves up algorithmic whiplash, owned channels such as podcasts, emails and websites take the power away from Zuckerberg and allow for more control over the success of marketing strategy. 

Take BedThreads for instance. By heavily investing in their owned content, BedThreads grew its email database of over 300,000 in four years. Rather than bombard their email list with one sales message after another, it presented beautifully curated lifestyle content that added value to subscribers. Not bad for an online organisation shilling sheets.

Much like email, your podcast subscribers are actively choosing to engage

Podcasts make for a lovely experience when building a community. I’ve been podcasting for seven years, and it’s allowed me to form deep connections with mothers craving connection and a safe space. It’s also acted as a launchpad to other ventures and is still my main marketing channel. 

However for brands looking to add podcasting to the marketing mix: be warned. Brands can’t simply jump behind the podcast mic and wait for the metrics to swing in their favour. Out of respect for the audience, we need to pay particular attention to the ethics of our programming. 

There may be great value in podcasting but with that, comes great responsibility

While the major platforms have content guidelines, there are no specific standards that podcasters have to adhere to. Mostly we’re left to our own devices to make smart decisions around the content we produce. 

Brands, and by extension the podcasts they produce, aren’t journalists. They’re not held to the same ethical standards as a news channel. But they are broadcasting to potentially large audiences that they have a responsibility to protect. Along with a responsibility to the brands they look after. 

For me, this has meant turning down five figure ad deals and deleting podcasts that I’ve felt were at risk of putting mothers in danger. 

Brands need to be even more rigorous with who they partner with and the guest appearance they allow on their podcasts. This means doing the research. Next year, Young Folks is predicting a rise in purpose-led brands investing in ethical marketing practices. But also significant greenwashing. In order to produce responsible and ethical content, brands need to ensure all the components align with their vision and values. 

For anyone that’s not sure where to start, Social Traders, B-Corp and Climate Active are some of the certifications that you can look out for when choosing who to partner with.  

As always, ask yourself ‘what’s in it for the audience?’ 

I get enough targeted ads on social media to know when a brand is adding value and when they’re trying to spray ‘n pray me into (costly) action. If there’s nothing in it for your audience, you have nothing interesting to say and you offer no value, why invest valuable brand spend in this channel? 

Branded podcasts are riding the wave of ethics, audience and commercial decision making. But at the end of the day, it’s not dissimilar to any other marketing channel. As marketing becomes more personalised and content is placed at the forefront of strategy, the brands that put their audience first will be the ones that succeed in 2023. 

Sophie Walker is the founder and host of Australian Birth Stories podcast that has over 11 million downloads and is endorsed by the Australian College of Midwives. Every week on the podcast she shares an interview with a woman who steps into her most vulnerable space to detail all the precious details of her pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience. 

Sophie’s first book, The Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, published by Murdoch Books hits stands in February 2023.