When do you know it’s time to rebrand your business? How do you know what to rebrand your business to?

Both of these are good questions. And questions that are likely to be going through every business owner’s mind if they are considering a rebrand.

Rebranding your business can be difficult to achieve when it’s your first time undergoing this.

You need to make sure that you have a clear vision, a strong concept, and tried and tested marketing strategies in place.

But, most of all, you need to make sure that rebranding is the right idea for your business.

Sometimes people will choose to rebrand their business for the wrong reasons. And this can be costly. Choosing to rebrand your business for the wrong reasons can sometimes result in bigger losses than wins.

Particularly if you’re already a pre-established and well-known business. Generally, the bigger the business you are, the more you have to lose from a bad rebrand strategy.

So, how do you do it?

Continue reading to find out the reasons why you should rebrand, the reasons why you shouldn’t, and companies that succeeded and failed, and what you should learn from them.

Before you decide to undergo a rebrand, you need to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

But what reasons are these?

Well, one of the most common reasons why a business will rebrand is because they want to stand out from the competition. Often, this will mean assessing what it is that your business provides – and more importantly – what it doesn’t provide.

If your business is lacking in originality and isn’t offering consumers something new, then maybe it’s time to revaluate your business.

Evolving beyond your old business image and choosing to change your company’s message and beliefs is a good justification to rebrand your business. You want to shed the old image of your company and demonstrate to your consumers how your new company ethos is reflected in your new company image.

Another reason why you should rebrand your business is if you’re trying to outgrow your poor reputation.

Sometimes, in a business’s lifetime, you may go through a troubling period where you come under fire. This could be for any reason, but it may mean that it’s time for you to change your company image.

Rebranding can be a great way to escape a bad reputation, demonstrate your new company beliefs, and try and beat out the competition.

On the flip side, there are also lots of reasons why you shouldn’t rebrand your business.

As mentioned earlier, rebranding is a risky business. You have a lot to lose if you’re undergoing a rebrand for the wrong reasons.

So, what are they?

Firstly, you should know the difference between rebranding and reorientating.

If your company is completely upheaving your old beliefs and evolving your services for a new audience: a rebrand is a great idea.

But if you’re going through a bit of a rough period and not getting that many sales: a rebrand is not the answer.

Sometimes, businesses will confuse a rebrand with a reorientation. They automatically jump to rebranding their business when their first step should be reorientating their plan.

Consider if your audience and target consumers have changed. Maybe the reason why your sales are falling is that your target demographic isn’t what it used to be, and you need to retarget.

Secondly, you shouldn’t rebrand if your marketing is failing.

You should try and exhaust all other options before undergoing a rebrand, and a change in marketing strategies and marketing teams is something you should try beforehand.

Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh marketing campaign to give your business the boost that you’re seeking with a rebrand.

So, what are some of the things you should know to make sure your rebrand is successful?

Well, changing your logo and slogan is certainly an important factor.

Take Airbnb, for example. Airbnb decided that to distance themselves from competitors, they wanted to undergo a rebrand which would include a change of logo and slogan.

They took their old logo – the word ‘Airbnb’ in simple bubble font – and changed it to the new logo. A sleeker and more iconic design.

The marketing for the rebrand was very successful. They called the symbol for the logo “the belo” and truly reinforced how it was meant to symbolise a sense of belonging.

For a company that operates in every single country across the world, they wanted a logo that would be universal and transcend language. They wanted to be able to convey their message all through one symbol.

It went viral instantly. Although, not for the reason you may think.

Lots of people on social media thought that the logo represented genitalia. For a moment, people thought that Airbnb’s rebrand was a failure.

However, it was not. Airbnb had almost anticipated this response – and set up a separate website called ‘Create Airbnb’ where consumers could design their own logo.

It was a huge hit.

Not only was the brand able to convey their new message and remodel, but they also embraced the controversy and virality the rebrand caused. They leaned into the comedy of the situation, resulting in the joke becoming all the more funny and viral.

As Andrew Leonard from Salon put it, “if Airbnb’s goal was to get people talking about Airbnb, then this campaign is pure genius.”

So, if we’ve seen an example of a business rebrand done well, what’s an example of a rebrand done poorly?

Let’s look at Tropicana.

In 2009 they launched a rebrand for their company which saw a change in their logo and packaging. The original logo – an orange simply with a straw through it – was discarded. In its place was put simple a glass of orange juice.

What could be so wrong about that?

Firstly, the Tropicana logo was iconic. It was instantly recognisable by consumers and set the brand apart from all of its competition.

So the change of the logo was confusing. They say if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, after all. For consumers, there was no reason for the change.

Secondly, the new logo wasn’t good at all. A simple glass of orange juice on their packaging overwhelmed the carton.

What’s more, it became virtually indistinguishable from the competitors. Many consumers cited that they couldn’t even see it amongst all the others in the supermarket.

But how much of an impact did it have?

Well, according to AdAge, Tropicana saw a 20% drop in sales following its rebrand.

The result saw Tropicana abandoning their new brand image, and return to their tried and tested image.

The lesson of this rebrand failure is that sometimes a different marketing tactic is all that’s needed.

Rebranding can go wrong if you haven’t thought it through.

What else do you need to consider when it comes to rebranding?

How about a change in marketing?

This is exactly what IHOP did in 2018. In an attempt to draw attention to their other menu items – burgers – they decided to change their name from the ‘International House Of Pancakes’ to the ‘International House Of Burgers’.

In fact, not only did they change their name, but they changed all of their social media handles, social media profiles, marketing, and advertising.

It seemed for a very long time, that IHOP was going to be IHOB for the foreseeable future.

Social media exploded. Before the pancake house revealed what the ‘b’ stood for, social media users were guessing what the change could mean. And when it was revealed that it stood for burgers – there was even more of a response.

However, it was all a marketing ploy.

IHOP wasn’t undergoing a rebrand and ditching their beloved breakfast food, they were simply performing a rebrand for the sake of drawing attention to their other menu items.

The rebrand campaign was a huge success. In fact, according to CNBC, the pancake house saw burger sales quadruple!

However, the main reason why this rebrand was so successful was that it wasn’t a proper rebrand, really.

IHOP realised that they didn’t need to undergo an entire rebrand to boost their sales. Because they weren’t seeking to change their message, or their target consumers, a full-scale rebrand wasn’t necessary.

Instead, the rebrand-turned-marketing-campaign was the perfect move.

It caught the attention of the public and boosted its sales without totally upheaving its business model.

As mentioned earlier, sometimes rebranding your business just isn’t necessary.

Sometimes you just need to reorientate your brand and change your goals.

Take Uber in 2020, during the national lockdown.

Naturally, with fewer people out and about, Uber saw sales plummet. No one needed a car share service, and uber was struggling to decide what to do.

Meg Donovan, Uber marketing boss, claimed that a decision had to be made to see how the company would survive the period.

And so a massive focus was placed on their food delivery service, Uber Eats.

What’s more, not only did they dial up the marketing for Uber Eats and increased the emphasis on this service, they also introduced a ‘no contact’ delivery model.

The company anticipated the needs of the consumers and introduced measures that would allow them to survive during the lockdown period.

They serve as a great example of how a rebrand isn’t needed to combat falling sales or change in users. Uber didn’t decide to rebrand themselves as something entirely different from their brand, or even introduce new marketing and advertising to try and encourage consumers, they simply reorientated their focus towards other services.

As such, they were able to survive the difficult period without having to undergo irreversible rebranding.

Rebranding your business is a great idea, when necessary.

It can help you overcome negative brand association, shed old business models and ethos, and help yourselves stand out from competitors.

However, sometimes a rebrand isn’t necessary.

Sometimes you simply need to change your marketing strategy and reorientate your business goals.

As such, it’s important to know how and why you’re rebranding your business.

If you need help with marketing your business, check out our services at Shape The Market.

We offer different marketing packages suitable for all size businesses and can help your business grow.

Did you know that 92% of people use emojis in their daily lives?

Whether it’s in an email, a text, a social media post, or a Tweet: emojis have become a huge permanent in our life.

In fact, in 2015, The Oxford English Dictionary’s ‘Word Of The Year’ was the crying laughing emoji!

But how have they gained so much power?

Well, emojis are great because they can convey meanings without having to use words. They can carry tone and language very easily. As such, it’s no surprise that we’ve become dependent on them. 

So, what about emojis in marketing? How effective are they?

Well, according to a study carried out by You.Gov, using an emoji in an Instagram post will increase your engagement by 48%.

And, 57% of Facebook posts see an increase in likes if they’ve got an emoji in them. With 33% of these posts being shared.

What’s more, 25% of Tweets that use emojis see better engagement too.

The numbers don’t lie! Using emojis in marketing can lead to higher engagement, lower costs per engagement and better brand association.

But, that doesn’t mean that using emojis in marketing doesn’t come with pitfalls.

It can be difficult to figure out what they mean, how to use them fluently, and if they’re right for your business. 

So, we’ve put together 5 tips on how to use emojis in marketing.

Continue reading if you want to find out what they are.

This sounds like a very easy question, and it may be very obvious, but it’s true!

If you’re thinking of using emojis in marketing, you need to decide whether or not emojis are right for your business at all.

Nobody wants to see their bank using flirty emojis, or a hospital using funny emojis. It just doesn’t seem appropriate.

Because of this, you need to assess what type of emojis you think are suitable for you. And, you also need to assess why it is you’re using emojis in the first place.

If you’re trying to engage with a younger audience, then using emojis in your marketing campaigns can be a great idea. In fact, according to Hopes & Fears, 72% of people aged 18-25 prefer using emojis to communicate over actual words!

Meaning, that emojis certainly resonate with younger audiences. Because of this, it can be a great way for you to attract a younger target audience.

But, you have to be careful in the ways you use them.

Sometimes, a brand or business using an emoji can seem out of touch or awkward. If anything, it can be a little cringeworthy!

Especially if it’s not relevant to what they’re saying, or is inappropriate considering what they’re discussing.

Because of this, think about whether or not you should be using emojis for your business. Ultimately, it’s okay if emojis aren’t right for your brand. There are plenty of other tools you can use to boost your social media engagement.

I’m sure we’ve all been sent a text with an emoji by someone who doesn’t know what it means. Whether it’s your Uncle or your Grandparents, it can be slightly awkward or embarrassing. Especially when you’re having to explain to them what that emoji really means – and why it probably wasn’t very appropriate for a text about your job.

So, when it comes to using emojis in marketing, make sure that you know what they mean!

The meanings behind emojis can vary for several reasons.

Whether it’s because you’re using different operating systems which display emojis differently, you’ve personally been using emojis to carry different meanings, or even that the intention behind the emoji has changed over time: it’s something you need to consider.

In fact, according to a study from the University of Minnesota, they found that miscommunication through the use of emojis is more common than we think.

The results from participants rating the emotional relevance of an emoji found that there was a 2.04 difference in meaning between users using different platforms. And, a 1.88 difference in meaning for those using the same platform.

Because of this, if you’re thinking of using an emoji for marketing, be mindful of how it can be interpreted by people on different operating systems and how some emojis may even have hidden meanings.

A peach emoji doesn’t necessarily mean ‘fruit’.

A crying emoji can be used to convey sarcasm, not sadness.

And a grin can actually be a grimace depending on who’s viewing it.

When brands rush to the ideas of using emojis in their social media marketing or email marketing, they sometimes can overuse them.

In an attempt to come across as friendly, or engaging, or approachable, they end up looking confusing and disingenuous.

You can feel like you’re trying to decipher hieroglyphics!

So, how do you make sure that you’re using emojis correctly?

Firstly, make sure that your emojis add to what you’re saying and are contextually relevant.

If you’re making a Twitter post about a discount available on your products: a money emoji is appropriate. Or, if you’re sending a marketing email about Christmas offers, a snowflake emoji or Santa emoji makes sense.

Similar to making sure you know what the emojis mean, make sure that you’re only using them if they add to your meaning.

Secondly, realise the limitations of emojis.

Twitter only allows you only 280 characters, and every social media marketer will tell you that there’s a finite number of words you should use on a social media post.

Because of this, lots of marketers will look towards using emojis to convey meaning and communicate instead of words. Which, can be done. But it can also be overdone.

Realise that emojis can be hard to decipher. Whilst they’re great for adding to captions and replacing the occasional word, we’re not at the place yet where emojis can be used instead of words at all.

Emojis can be a fantastic way of marketing your brand or business. So much so that there have been several marketing campaigns launched solely based on an emoji or that heavily feature emojis.

So, how do they do this?

If you’re going to be featuring emojis in your marketing campaign, make sure that they’re relevant to your brand.

Take Taco Bell, for example.

In 2014, Taco Bell called to attention the lack of a taco emoji on mobile phone keyboards and social media platforms around the world.

So, in an instance of excellent marketing, created a petition demanding that a taco emoji be created. The petition gained 33,000 signatures! And, ultimately, was successful. In 2015 the taco emoji was launched, and Taco Bell fans all across the world were able to finally share in their joy.

But the marketing campaign doesn’t end there.

Taco Bell decided to go one step further, and partner with an agency called Deutsch LA. Together, they created a ‘Taco Emoji Engine’ that was built directly into Twitter. Meaning, that users didn’t have to download or install anything if they wanted to take part in the next steps.

Then, Twitter uses could Tweet @ Taco Bell, with an accompanying emoji, and would automatically receive a reply from the engine. The reply would be an image, gif, or graphic of the taco emoji mashed up with whatever emoji was sent to them.

Ultimately, the campaign was a huge success. Within 5 days the original tweet received over half a million tweets.

It’s a great example of how a brand can launch a social media campaign based solely on one emoji associated with their brand and business.

Using emojis in marketing isn’t necessarily limited to only on social media.

Emojis can also be used when it comes to email marketing also.

And, one of the best ways to use emojis in email marketing is through subject lines.

Using an emoji in a subject line can often have the same effect as using the name of the recipient of the email. It can trigger a sense of urgency and importance and can force the recipient to open the email.

In fact, using specific emojis in your email subject lines can have different effects.

A red siren in your subject line can highlight the importance of the email. If you’re talking about a sale, or a limited time deal, for example.

A pumpkin or ghost emoji could be used if you’re sending a Halloween themed email. Seasonal emails often go hand in hand with seasonal emojis, and using a Christmas or Valentine’s emoji is a great way to add context and be relevant.

On the other hand, an email about a discount could use a money bag emoji or dollar sign emoji.

They’re great ways of grabbing your consumer’s attention and standing out amongst the rush of all other boring emails.

Secondly, when you’re using emojis in email marketing you should always send test emails.

As mentioned earlier, emojis can appear differently depending on the operating system used. And the same can be said for emojis being sent through different email services.

Sending test emails is a great way to see how the emojis appear, and if they don’t, how confusing it may look to consumers.

Emojis, unlike images, don’t have alternative text. Meaning that if the emojis aren’t showing on the email, it can be confusing or off-putting to the consumer.

Using emojis in marketing is a really great idea. They drive up engagement, can be done entirely for free given that emojis are universal, and are a great way of conveying meaning when you don’t want to or have to use words.

Hopefully, now you’re aware of the pitfalls to avoid and how you should be launching your emoji marketing campaign, you’re better prepared to take on the world of emojis and start making the most of them.

So, after reading this, will you be using emojis in your social media and emails?

When starting to build a website for your company, WordPress is by far the best option. 

WordPress is essentially a content management system that allows you to bring your website to life. As such, it is the most popular website design platform.

Here at Shape The Market, we recommend that you utilise WordPress to create your website. There are so many possibilities when it comes to choosing how to make your website. However, WordPress makes the process simple and stress-free all without charge. 

In this article, you can learn all the reasons why it is the ideal platform for your website.

WordPress is a free software which means that you are able to download, install, use and modify your website to match your needs.

Having such a powerful tool at your fingertips for free is rare and so it is obviously popular for that reason.

This means that the only costs you’ll have regarding your company’s website will be for a domain name and hosting.

A domain name is the address of your website on the internet and is what users type in their browser’s address bar. This allows them to access your website, and it can be purchased cheaply in many places.

Web hosting is the place where your website’s files are stored and is the power behind your website.

Choosing the right hosting package is essential to the success of your website. This is why Shape The Market’s hosting packages all use solid-state drives. Meaning, they are capable of speeds up to 25x faster than any cloud hosting.

If you have any questions about how hosting and domain names work then feel free to contact us at Shape The Market. We can explain to you why they are essential to the smooth running of your website.

WordPress is an extremely flexible platform and can run all different types of websites. Whether it be for a small blog or a huge multinational corporation’s eCommerce store, it can work for you.

The endless possibilities means that whatever it is that you and your company need, WordPress can supply.

But how do you design it?

The main tools that allow it to be so flexible for all websites are the range of themes and plugins.

Themes are ideal if you are new to website design or simply don’t know where to start. Essentially, they are fully customisable templates.

There are thousands of options provided by for every type of website. These take the stress out of designing and coding from scratch.

What’s more, it allows further customisation through the use of plugins. These are like apps that add different functionalities to your website.

WordPress has a huge range of plugins available. These allow you to add contact forms, galleries, and shopping carts.

By making the most the many themes and plugins available, your website can be easily adapted to your company’s needs.

All companies seek to find the answer to the same question: how can we get discovered?

The most effective way of getting noticed is through search engines such as Google. Because of this, it is important that your website ranks high on search engines.

There are many ways to do this. Through well-written content, paid searches, paid advertising…

But another way is by having a great website.

WordPress is written using standard compliance high-quality code and produces semantic mark-up. This gives it an advantage in terms of where it ranks on search engines.

In addition to the natural SEO-friendliness of WordPress, it has a number of plugins available. These can further boost your website’s ranking and get seen more.

These plugins, like Yoast, can help boost your SEO thanks to their page analysis tools and technical search engine optimisation.

Coupling this with one of our SEO packages at Shape The Market, and it will ensure that your website will be in the perfect place to rank very highly on search engines and therefore get seen more often.

A huge benefit of running your website using WordPress is how quick and easy it is to set up.

The availability of theme templates and plugins speed up this process. They provide the tools at your disposal easily and quickly without the need for complex coding.

WordPress also comes with an automatic update management system which allows you to update WordPress itself as well as your themes and plugins from your dashboard with ease.

Another feature that makes the whole process much easier is the automatic device compatibility that the sites come with.

This means that your website will be adapted for all devices so it will work no matter what the system. From smartphones, to tablets, or computers, your website will always look good.

This will better the return from your website as your search engine ranking will be improved.

Your bounce rate will also be reduced as people will stay on your website longer. Especially if it can perform well on all types of devices.

Another benefit of using WordPress is the huge community of users that provide support for any issue you could encounter.

Over 25% of all websites are made using WordPress. As such, there is a great number of people who understand how WordPress works and can support you on the many blogs and forums that exist.

WordPress is developed with security in mind and it is a very safe and secure platform to run a website.

Obviously, no site is completely secure on the internet as it is a very uncertain place. But WordPress supplies a good base level of security which many other similar platforms do not.

The service promises a good level of security on their part, as long as you follow a good level of precaution on yours. This involves: using safe and pre-approved plugins and themes, keeping a decent password which you regularly update, monitoring your site, and updating your website security regularly.

Luckily for you, Shape The Market’s WordPress packages do a lot of this for you, so you don’t have to worry.

WordPress is an amazing platform for you to run your website through. There are a huge range of options available for your website with much of the stress taken out of the process.

This is why over a quarter of all sites are powered by WordPress. It is designed to make running and designing your website as efficient as possible.

Our tailored WordPress hosting and SEO packages are perfect accompaniments to your WordPress site. They help make the most of the powerful tool. Our packages improve the speed and capabilities of your site and subsequently get your website and company seen more often.

Feel free to contact Shape The Market if any of our services interest you.

When it comes to choosing the website colours for your site, there are a lot of things to consider.

What looks good? What colours will represent your brand? What colours will appeal to your target audience? All of these questions are an important part of one thing: colour psychology.

Colour psychology is the study of how different colours and shades can make a person feel. It’s the reason why ‘danger’ is always represented by the colour red, and ‘happiness’ is always shown as yellow.

But why does this matter for your website?

Well, more and more marketers are starting to take notice of how colour psychology can impact their businesses. From videos, to websites, and also graphic design, the choices we make about the colours we use can have a lasting effect.

In fact, according to the Institute for Color Research, people make a subconscious judgement about the things they see – a website, for example – in only 90 seconds.

And, 62-90% of that decision is based upon the colours they see.

This means that the colours you use in your marketing materials are extremely important when it comes to how your target audience will perceive your business.

If you’re looking to redesign your website or establish your brand through your colour scheme, read on! We’ll tell you what it is you need to know about website colours and colour psychology.

Before we get into why it’s important to carefully choose your website colours, you need to know what each colour means!

Often, how we perceive colours is impacted by personal associations and experiences. However, there are some universal meanings that we all find when looking at colours.

Red: one of the primary colours, it’s very bright and vibrant. When used positively, it can symbolise love and passion. But, when used negatively, it can mean danger or a warning.

Yellow: as stated earlier, yellow can represent concepts like happiness and sunlight. But, just like red, yellow can also symbolise warning too. There’s a reason why all ‘Wet Floor’ signs are yellow – the colour is bright and demands your attention.

Blue: a calming and soothing colour, it makes sense why so many social media companies use blue as their primary colour (think Facebook, Twitter). Blue is a trustworthy colour, when used correctly. But this is where vibrancy and hues come into play: when used in pale shades and hues, blue can look sad. Be mindful of this when using it!

Orange: orange is associated as a fun and exciting colour – after all, we all get excited when opening up the Amazon app. It’s playful and engaging and is a great colour to use as a compliment to others. But, when used on its own, it can be jarring.

Pink: despite technically being a lighter shade of red, pink has separate connotations to that of its more vibrant counterpart. Whilst red can mean love and passion, pink means romance and femininity. As a lighter version of red, it’s often seen as gentle and soft.

Purple: when we use it positively, purple can be regal and elegant. Think of the royal purple shade donned by Kings and Queens around the world. But, purple can also be a relaxing colour – bordering on boredom.

Black and white: like yin and yang, you can’t have one without the other. Black can mean darkness, and white lightness. But black can also mean something sinister, whereas white is innocent and pure.

Knowing what the general associations for each colour are is an important thing to remember. The wording you use on your website, along with your website colours, will determine which association it is you’re evoking.

Not only are colours important when it comes to your website, but it’s also important for building awareness and brand association.

Your website colours need to reflect the aesthetic of your brand – meaning that you need to figure out what your business’s colours are before you start on web design.

In 2012, Cadbury’s long legal battle came to an end when they were able to trademark their famous shade of purple: Panatone 2685C.

Whilst they gave the trademark up in 2019, for the 7 year period it meant that no other confectionery brand was allowed to use that exact shade of purple.

And, it’s no wonder. It’s a very well associated shade, and hard to imagine it being used to market any other product.

Cadbury’s knew the worth of their colour purple and the associations it carried and sought to hold on to that.

But just how important are the colours a brand uses?

There have been multiple studies conducted about the brands that people think of when they see a colour.

When you see red, do you think of Coca-Cola? Or McDonald’s?

When you see blue, do you think of Facebook? Or Twitter?

A study carried out by Strategic Factory found that a whopping 94% of people were able to recognise Coca-Cola’s famous red and white logo.

What’s more, given the longevity of the brand, many people associate said colours with happiness and sentimentality.

Coca-Cola has been able to weaponise its colours to create strong brand awareness across the globe.

Now we’ve established the different meanings with colour psychology, and how colours can help build brand awareness, it’s time to apply this to your website.

Your website colours need to be reflective of your brand and values, so bear this in mind when choosing them.

If you’re an eCommerce store selling a product like a luxury spa item, you want your website to be calming and soothing. You want your website to act as a representation of what you’re selling.

So, you’ll likely lean towards calmer, cooler colours. Shades of white and cream, or blues and purple, will instill a sense of calm and tranquillity.

Conversely, if you’re a travel agency and you want potential customers to be excited about your website and the holidays you can offer them, then you’re going to want to use brighter and more engaging colours.

Something vibrant like orange and red will be able to get your potential customers interested and eager about your services, in comparison to more uninteresting and dull colours like grey, brown, and cream.

Another thing to consider when choosing your website colours is the cohesiveness of the site and how easy it will be for your visitor to read and navigate. Much like when you’re choosing the font for your website, which you can learn about here.

When looking at the colour wheel, you need to think about what colours compliment each other and what colours clash.

There’s an old saying that goes: “blue and green must not be seen unless there’s a colour in between.” There’s a reason why you don’t often see those two colours together alone.

Colour cohesiveness can make or break a website. Having colours that compliment each other well and don’t make it difficult to read text or stare at a screen for too long means you’ll have a smoother user experience.

As a result, you increase the chance that a visitor will stay on your website for longer.

Colours that exist together on the colour wheel can create a soothing gradient effect. The colour red bleeding into pink will look appealing given how closely aligned they are.

On the other end, colours that exist opposite each other can create a sharp and engaging contrast. Blue and orange, like you can see expertly used on our website, can be captivating of your visitor’s attention.

However, you need to be careful about the colours you use and make sure to use them in moderation.

When either technique is used excessively – gradient colours or contrasting colours – they can come across as boring and unengaging, or jarring and clashing respectively.

When choosing the colours for your website, you not only need to think of what colours represent your brand and what will be easy to see, but also what your audience wants to see.

The way to do this is by separating colour associations with how appealing a colour actually is.

But what does this mean?

Well, it’s long been established that the colour pink is associated with femininity and women. It’s the colour that many people dress baby girls in, and is often seen as ‘typically’ the colour for women.

However, that doesn’t actually mean that it’s liked by women.

According to a 2011 Harvard Business Review, plenty of women actively dislike the colour pink. Whether this is because it’s the colour they’re ‘supposed’ to like, or they don’t appreciate the associations the colour holds, it turns out that pink may not be the favourite colour for every woman.

Which means, that it doesn’t necessarily mean that pink is the colour you should use on your website, even if your target audience is women.

Whilst colour associations are important, you have to make sure that your website colours are also what your audience wants to see. Yellow may be a happy colour, but if your target audience finds it garish or childish, then you should steer clear of it.

It’s clear now that the colours you use for your business are extremely important, and not to be underestimated.

This means that they’re something you should certainly consider when bearing in mind the design for your website.

The website colours you ultimately choose have an impact on your website’s user experience, the message you’re relaying about your brand, and the emotions and feelings your visitors have.

Because of this, will you be taking a look at your website and making any changes to your design?

Let us know in the comments below!

What is influencer marketing? Influencer marketing is a way of endorsement and promotion from social media users who have a large following. 

These influencers likely will have gained their following from reality TV, being a blogger, or being a celebrity. They use their platform to share personal information about their lives, but also ‘influence’ a certain way of life. 

And, as a result, will have somewhat of a brand or a niche. 

This could be anything from fashion, home design, technology, or any other area of expertise that makes people to follow them in the first place. 

As a brand, you can use this to your advantage. One of the largest components of influencer marketing is using paid promotion and advertising for products and services. 

What’s more, given that 49% of social media users say that they depend on recommendations from influencers, it’s great to market your products. 

Particularly, influencer marketing is valuable for brands who are looking to market their products to a younger generation.  

With 60% of teens following advice from the influencers they see online, it’s a great marketing technique to successfully attract the younger demographic. 

Influencer marketing is a rather simple and straightforward marketing technique. 

It works by having a social media influencer to promote your product or brand in return for compensation, either monetary or in the form of gifts. 

For example, a company requests that an influencer makes 3 posts about their clothing brand. In return, the brand will gift the influencer some products to show off in their posts, as well as a lump sum for the content they create. 

Naturally, the popularity of influencer marketing has increased as social media marketing itself has increased.  

In fact, 67% of marketers engage in influencer marketing, with a further 71% of marketers saying that influencer marketing is good for their business. 

Meaning, that influencer marketing is being embraced by all industries, not just the ones that are trying to appeal to a younger demographic.  

So just how good is influencer marketing? 

For some marketers within the industry, influencer marketing has surpassed many other marketing techniques like Pay Per Click Advertising and Search Engine Optimisation. 

In fact, according to Media Kix, 89% of marketers saying that the Return on Investment from influencer marketing is comparable, or even better, than other marketing methods. 

As well as this, 71% of marketers say that not only is the ROI from influencer marketing the same or better than other methods, but that the quality of customers and traffic is also the same or better than other methods. 

Meaning, that influencer marketing is also able to rival other marketing methods in terms of the volume of customers engaged, as well as the quality of customers too. 

Because of this, does this now mean that influencer marketing is the only method forward now that social media has become so popular? 

Or, does influencer marketing actually have some areas of problems? 

From the general public, the criticisms surrounding social media influencers have undoubtedly risen, especially during the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown which saw many influencers flee to foreign countries.  

Their reason for doing so was because they claimed their work was “essential”, something that drew a lot of criticism. Following this, accountability for social media influencers rose and many members of the public went as far as to unfollow them. 

Criticisms around social media influencers have long existed, due to some of them promoting products that were deemed ‘harmful’ or ‘toxic’. And with this greater spotlight being shone on them, some people are unsure whether influencers are the way forward. Because of this, you need to be careful of which type of influencer you’re using.

But, if your brand or business does decide to use influencer marketing, how do you begin? 

Firstly, if you’re looking to market your business using influencer marketing, you need to look into what platform you’re going to do this on. 

Facebook has long held the coveted spot as the most influencer social media networking, with a whopping 19% of all purchases being influenced by what’s been seen on Facebook.  

As a result, it makes sense why influencer marketing would be so rife on Facebook given the popularity of the platform. 

But, you’d be surprised to know that influencer marketing is also extremely prominent on Twitter too.  

Despite this being a less visual platform in comparison to apps like Instagram and Facebook, a study conducted by Digital Marketing Institute found that influencer marketing created a 5.2x increase in purchase intent. 

Secondly, you also need to decide who your target demographic is and which sort of influencer will be best for targeting them. 

Are you looking for a micro influencer, someone with less than 2,000 followers to promote your business? Naturally, this will be a more affordable option, but would also potentially restrict your reach. 

Or, do you want a larger influencer, someone with hundreds of thousands of followers, or potentially millions? You’d need a much larger budget for this, but this could potentially pay off when your adverts are being seen by hundreds of thousands of potential consumers. 

It’s certainly something to consider during the research process. 

Speaking of the cost of influencer marketing, the second thing you need to do is figure out your budget. 

Individual influencers will have individual rates. What one person may charge for an Instagram post, another person may charge that for three posts. 

Determining what your budget is will determine what influencers you’ll be able to use. Your budget may dictate that you can have a micro influencer make a series of posts advertising your product, or one macro influencer who can only make one post. 

Research will also be an important task to undertake here as you need to know what the average social media post is worth before you go into negotiations.  

According to Tribe, the amount you pay an influencer isn’t just dependent on their follower count (although that is the largest indicator), but also on their engagement rate, the quality of their content, and how fast they can deliver. 

But, they do give an estimate on how much the average influencer will be charging for each post. 

For an influencer with up to 10k followers, you can expect them to charge between £50-100 per post. For influencers with 25k-50k followers, their average rates will be £180-250. And, for influencers with over 100k followers, they can charge as much as over £350 for one post. 

So, before you go reaching out to influencers, you need to determine how much you’re willing to spend. 

For the large majority of social media influencers, they will work with an agency or have some form of representation. This information can be usually found in their social media profile bios, otherwise, it can also be found researching online. 

Whilst social media influencers will usually have control over the projects they undertake, it’s likely that their agent or manager will vet potential projects beforehand. 

Because of this, it’s important to not only pitch your campaign to the right person but to also make sure it’s appealing enough to warrant their attention. 

But what do you do when you don’t know which influencer to use? 

Firstly, you can try searching for them the same way a potential consumer would. 

Search through hashtags which are similar to your brand or product to see what influencers have used them in the past.  

Not only does this show you influencers who have advertised a service similar to yours before, but it also allows you to check their engagement. 

As well as this, you can also set up a Google alert for when a product name or something similar to your business is mentioned online. 

This allows you to be able to check to see what influential people are talking about services to you, and therefore potential influencers to work with. 

Now that you’ve done your research and found your influencer, what is your creative vision? 

How much room will you be allowing your influencer, or do you have a certain vision that you want to be executed specifically? 

Most of the time, influencers will have some room for interpretation that will allow them to create content to fit their feed and aesthetic.  

This will then be run by the brand, who will approve the content produced. 

But, sometimes, a brand will have a very specific message they want to be promoted and so won’t allow for this. 

Because of this, you need to think exactly about what you want your influencer marketing content to look like. 

Will you be utilising a team of influencers, who will use a specific slogan or hashtag throughout the campaign? Will your influencer marketing have a certain theme?  

Consider these things before you pitch your ideas. You want to make them cohesive and engaging for both the influencers and audience alike. 

When it comes to measuring the success of your influencer marketing campaign, it’s not as hard as you think. 

Firstly, you can track the success of your campaign by seeing how many people are using your allotted hashtag. 

If you’re using a call to action to inspire your consumers to engage with your brand, you’ll be able to see how successful this is by monitoring who and when people using your hashtag. 

As well as this, you can also measure the success of your campaign if you’re running an eCommerce store. 

If, like a large majority of influencer marketing campaigns, you have used a promotional code to market a product, you can track how many people have used this on your website. 

Evaluating how many people have used the promotional code when making a purchase will allow you to see who has bought a product as a result of your campaign, and therefore how successful it is. 

Thirdly, you can simply ask your partnered influencer to share their post insights with you. 

This means that you can see how many people have interacted with the posts, and how this usually compares to both their and your usual content. 

It’s clear that influencer marketing is on the rise and that the potential for its success is increasing. 

But, given the amount of criticism surrounding influencers and the message they promote, you have to be careful that you’re using the right one. 

So, now that you’ve heard about influencer marketing and know how to run a campaign, will you be using it for your business? 

Let us know in the comments below! 

Audio articles are, quite simply, articles that you can listen to instead of reading. And there’s no doubt that they’re on the rise.

Every day, more companies are adding the audio feature that will allow you to listen to your favourite articles whenever and wherever you are.

But, how do they work?

There are lots of different ways companies can introduce audio articles into their content. One of the most affordable and easiest ways to do so, is to simply have your content writers record themselves reading the article.

Then, you can imbed this on your website using a number of ways.

Another option for introducing audio articles can be done using a service that will convert the text into computerised speech. Or, apps like Audm or Curio, which use voice artists to narrate your texts to give a more human and personal experience.

The relationship between audio and marketing has existed for a long time. From radio adverts that would allow companies to market their products to listeners, to sponsored podcasts ran by big businesses, audio has always played a role in marketing.

But now, it seems that audio articles are potentially impacting the future of content marketing.

In an area of marketing that is so reliant on text and the visual, are audio articles changing the game?

Read on to find out.

One of the most obvious benefits of audio articles is that they easily fit into the lifestyle of the average worker.

The common commuter on the way to work can’t read articles as they drive, or may not be able to focus on reading off their phones as they’re standing up in a busy train.

However, it’s a lot more accessible and easier for someone to consume if they can listen to the article as they’re travelling.

What’s more, according to CSS Tricks, 45% of people always listen to music at work, with 24% of people listening to music when they work regularly.

Meaning, that a large number of workers listen to audio content as they’re working – either at home or in the office. Whether that’s because they’re more productive when listening to audio content, or they simply like to be entertained at all times, it would make sense that audio articles would be appealing to a large number of workers.

Not only are audio articles more accessible and easier to consume for those busy working or travelling, but they’re also more accessible to those who are hard of seeing.

For people who cannot read, cannot read easily, or have a disability that impedes their reading, an audio article will make it easier for them to experience your content.

As a result, this opens you up to a larger audience as you are no longer isolating a potential consumer base.

What’s more, there are plenty of apps that already allow users to listen to content rather than reading it. However, these aren’t always compatible with all websites and devices.

By integrating this into your content organically and allowing consumers and customers to listen to your content rather than reading it, you are smoothing out the user experience. This would make it easier for customers to consume your content without being dependent on external apps or services.

Not only could this potentially increase the number of people who are consuming your content, but it is also a step towards making your website more accessible for those who have disabilities or difficulties.

Another benefit of using audio articles is that they make it easier for you to compete with the large companies that are dominating the industry.

Places like BBC, Apple News, and The Washington Post all have options where you can listen to an article instead of reading it.

What’s more, these companies are going above merely listening to an article.

In the instance of the BBC, not only are they allowing consumers to listen to their articles, but they’re also incorporating a more personal element as well. The software that they use to create their audio articles also features cognitive and behavioural integration.

Not only will this track and analyse the types of articles being listened to – in order to suggest to consumers content based on their user preferences along with important news – but this also allows them to pause their listening and return to it later as their listening habits are tracked.

But why does this matter?

Well, if audio articles really are the future of content marketing, it would make sense to get ahead of the game and start incorporating this into your site. Rather than having to play catch-up a few years later, when they have become more mainstream.

As well as this, if you begin integrating audio articles into your content now, it gives you more time to perfect the new medium and include additional bonuses similar to the BBC.

Not only do audio articles allow you to elevate your content, but you can do all this with very little hassle.

In comparison to podcasts that have a higher production quality – soundtracks, music, advertisements – audio articles cost a lot less to create and produce.

One of the biggest reasons why this is, is because you don’t have to undergo any new research or work in comparison to what you’re already doing. Given that the article had already been researched and written, you’re simply just reading it aloud.

This saves you time and money when cutting down on your production costs.

As well as this, you’re also not losing out on any revenue that would have come from ads if you had been running a podcast.

A large portion of audio articles are places behind a paywall or require a monthly fee, and so the revenue that you would be gaining from that could equate to or even surpass what you would have gained from an advertisement.

But your revenue when it comes to audio articles aren’t just from playing your content behind a paywall.

Your revenue can also come from an increase in your conversions, something which you can expect when you implement audio articles on your website.

For one business, Convince and Convert, they found that the average time spent on the pages for their articles went from 4 minutes to 9 minutes.

Why? Because people were actually consuming the entire article.

Rather than having someone read only a few paragraphs from the article and click off, people were actually more engaged with the content and were remaining on the page to listen to the entire thing.

As a result, this boosts your metrics and reduces your bounce rate. Website visitors are more compelled to remain on your page, meaning that there’s more time for them to be drawn in by your products and services.

As everyone knows, the longer someone spends on your website, the more likely they are to buy something.

This increase in engagement will undoubtedly impact your sales, and have a positive effect on your website traffic.

Whilst there are certainly benefits to using audio content on your website, there are some downsides too.

Some businesses don’t have the means or resources to create and produce audio content, which limits them and reduces the number of potential people who are consuming their content.

Converting written articles into audio articles either adds more work for the content team, as they now have to spend time recording the article before they can publish it, or you have to pay for a freelancer or business to do this for you.

This can sometimes be out of budget, particularly for smaller businesses and organisations, and therefore not be a viable option for everyone.

Because of this, you need to decide whether the increased interactions and potential new revenue can fund this cost. Or, if you’re going to be working at a loss by producing so much audio content.

If you’re paying for an AI service to translate your written articles into audio content, like using a service such as Bingewith, then you have to consider important factors such as tone of voice and brand.

Much like how your choice of fonts on your website impacts the perceptions of your business, the type of audio content you use will also do the same.

Say for example you are using a text to audio service that is ran using Artificial Intelligence, the audio may sound robotic or automated.

Whilst this may work for a more serious or factual article for a place like the BBC, it’s likely that this wouldn’t work for a lifestyle magazine or children’s brand.

In fact, this potentially could put some consumers off from using the service and therefore decrease your impressions.

Ultimately, audio articles are making huge waves in the world of content marketing.

It seems that more and more businesses are deciding to implement them on their websites, making them much more mainstream.

It’s safe to say that audio articles will become more popular, and may even come to replace written content at a point in the future.

So, now that you’ve heard about the benefits and downsides of audio articles, will you be introducing them on your website? Let us know in the comments!

And, as always, if you need Shape The Market to help with your content writing, our excellent content writing packages are suitable for any size or type of business. Check them out here.

It’s 2021. How diverse is your workplace?

These days, the call for diversity is greater than ever. A spotlight is being shone on companies across the world, and it’s time to step up to the playing field.

Are you doing the most to make sure your workplace is as diverse and inclusive as can be?

Likely, your answer may be no. Countless surveys and investigations in the UK show that diversity, or the lack thereof, is an issue within workplaces.

But, that doesn’t have to be the end. Thankfully, at Shape The Market, we’re committed to helping other businesses grow.

This is why we’ve compiled this article as a way to help your business become more diverse and welcoming.

So, never fear! Keep reading to find out what it is you need to do.

According to encyclopedia.com, diversity in the workplace means “employing people who may be different from each other and who do not all come from the same background.

The differences may be those of national origin, physical appearance, religion, education, age, gender, or sexual orientation.”

So, simply put, diversity means being able to look around your office and see a wide variety of people: not just people who look like you.

Undoubtedly the calls for diversity in the workplace have been inspired by the recent Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, particularly the Summer of 2020.

In fact, this is an issue specific to the marketing industry too.

Back in June 2020, over 600 Black marketing professionals wrote an open letter, titled ‘A Call For Change’, which demanded that those working within the marketing industry would adopt approaches that would fight “the systemic racism that is afflicting our industry.”

Clearly, it’s a pressing issue.

With so many companies reaching out and declaring their support for the BLM movement, and making vague and often unspecific claims to improve their workplace diversity, it’s important to separate the performative actions from the real ones.

How many of these companies are implementing change in their offices?

And, whilst racial diversity is extremely important, how many companies are making sure their workplaces are inclusive of other types of diversity too?

If you want to see how you can improve your own workplace diversity, continue reading. Here, we break down the simple steps it takes to create an inclusive office space.

There are lots of different reasons why diversity in the workplace is important.

The most obvious is that, as an employer, you need to be including underrepresented people in your workplace.

Perhaps there are candidates from lower income areas, who didn’t go to the top universities, but are just as talented or qualified as the ones who did.

Have you given these people an equal opportunity?

Often, people who are from lower income areas, are People of Colour, women, or identify as having a disability, will claim that they feel like they aren’t given the same opportunities.

This is in comparison to their workplace counterparts who are white, male, upper class, or fall into the categories of those who do not suffer from underrepresentation.

Workplace diversity, particularly diversity in marketing, is also important because it provides many different types of perspectives for your work.

Rather than hearing one type of voice or opinion in the room, having a more diverse and inclusive workplace means that you’re hearing lots of different perspectives from different types of people.

As a result, you’re seeing a more diverse range of talent, and a wider variety of approaches to tasks.

What employer doesn’t want that?

Firstly, if you’re looking to improve the level of diversity in the workplace, you need to take a look at your office space.

Do you see a wide mix of people, or is your team overwhelmingly reflective of only one type of person?

When you make this evaluation, you need to be objective and not defensive.

It’s very likely that your workplace won’t be the most diverse or inclusive. Especially considering that, according to Your Prime Recruitment, in 2018 only 9.7% of executive positions in FTSE 100 companies were held by women.

What’s more, in the same year it was found that the employment rate for ethnic minorities is only 62.8%, compared to 75.6% for white employees.

As well as this, only 46.3% of people with disabilities are employed, in comparison to 76.4% of those without disabilities.

Because of this, it’s very likely that your workplace won’t be very diverse or reflective of other backgrounds and types of people.

But, the most important thing you need to remember is that you need to be objective and honest.

Don’t cast any judgements on the people within your workplace, and don’t get defensive about why you’re lacking diversity in the workplace. Taking an objective approach is the only way to do this. And, if you think that you will struggle to make these kinds of evaluations, outsource it!

There are plenty of companies and businesses that are qualified to do this for you, and who will take a look at your business and evaluate areas in need of improvement.

Now that you or a separate organisation has evaluated your workplace and recognised areas in need of improvement, you need to create some plans.

Do you want to see some more diversity in your employees? Do you think management should have more women in positions?

Whatever your plans are, you need to make sure that they are effective for the long haul. Think about where you want your business to be 6 months from now, a year from now, and three years from now.

By setting targets for the long haul, it makes sure that these steps you’re taking to improve the level of diversity in the workplace aren’t performative or temporary.

What’s more, it’s also important to write down these steps and share them with your employees.

Now that you’re come up with these plans and implemented them, you need to make sure that you’re doing consistent reviews.

Whether it’s by yourself or, even better, an outside and independent source, having someone reviewing your policies ensures that there is consistent improvement.

Diversity in the workplace isn’t something that is simply ‘achieved’ one day when you reach a certain quota. It’s something that needs to be worked on and maintained, and always improving.

So, now that you’ve come up with some goals for your business that you’re going to consistently review, what is it that you can actually do?

Lots of different companies will post job offers that are only open to People of Colour, people with disabilities, or people from low income areas.

These vacancies provide opportunities to those that usually wouldn’t have it, by limiting the application process to only certain types of people.

One such organisation that does this, Creative Access, states that its mission is to “help under-represented communities, not just enter the creative industries, but to thrive when they get in.”

For the businesses they partner with, they only ask of three things: that they hire diverse candidates when recruiting, that they invest in staff from under-represented communities for senior positions, and that they help create an inclusive workplace.

This is just one example of how you can improve the quality of diversity in the workplace, by actively seeking under-represented people during the hiring process for new vacancies.

Just because your workplace is diverse, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s inclusive.

Diversity training educates yourself and your employees on the ways to run and maintain an inclusive workplace, and how to be welcoming of people who are not like you.

Perhaps some of your employees engage in religious practices that impact the way they work. Maybe some of your staff need special allowances, like extra break times, because of a disability they may have.

Whatever the case, there are hundreds of possibilities and reasons why you should consider diversity training for your employees and management.

It helps ensure that your workplace is not only tolerant, but also accepting and safe for people from under-represented backgrounds.

And, considering that according to Stonewall, one in eight Transgender employees have been physically attacked by staff or customers, and 18% of LGBT staff in the UK have been the target of bullying from other colleagues, it’s safe to say that there are still some ways to go to make sure all workplaces are inclusive.

It’s clear to see that there is still a long way to go in improving diversity in the workplace, particularly diversity in the marketing workplace.

From gender or racial discrimination, to a lack of opportunities, and also a lack of representation in management, there are lots of areas in need of addressing and improvement.

And, most importantly, it’s always good to remember the benefits that a more diverse and inclusive workplace will bring. Not only does it boost your company’s representation and ensure for a greater variety of ideas and approaches, it could also boost your revenue too.

According to Market Inspector, increasing diversity in the workplace can boost the UK economy by £24 billion a year.

So, how are you going to be making your workplace more diverse? Let us know in the comments!