and how my time at Salford Business School has prepared me for a career in filmmaking.
Video Content / Short Form
Content creation is undoubtedly on the rise even before Covid, but the pandemic has just helped accelerate it and shown businesses the importance of not only having an online presence but creating their own content. With the rise in popularity of Tik-Tok (short form video content) I want to explore this using Instagram Reels. The reason for using IR is instead of TT is it’s target audience. The target audience for TT is under 18’s whereas 64% of Instagram users are aged between 18-34.
Visualization / Live video
Visuals are easier to remember than written content, adding data visualizations, infographics, video, animation to your text layout will not only make it more attractive and exciting but it will help your message be digested much better too. Research has been shown that customers prefer visual content, 91% of consumers now prefer interactive and visual content over traditional text-based or static media. It only takes looking at the growth of visual focused outlets like Pinterest & Instagram to see the proof of that.
World class customer service / renewed focus on brand experience
The customer experience is more important than ever, especially important when building that long-term brand and the coronavirus outbreak has only enhanced how brands are approaching it. How brands have reacted to the pandemic could make or break it with these new consumer expectations. From bookable shopping times, to at-home fitness classes through zoom, facetime etc to hotels supplying sanitizer stations in every area possible, brands are now offering customers peace of mind. Health considerations impacts brands that don’t usually advertise themselves in that area, health & safety messaging and ‘being creative from your own home’ engagement strategies are only going to become more popular in the upcoming months.
Customers value their experience, they expect a seamless experience from the start, when it’s an interest to the customer service after the purchase. The growth of online content has put the ball in the court for consumers. They’re not waiting around for a brand to tell them the information on a product, they’re ahead of that, they’re doing their own research. “73% of people say that customer experience is an important factor in their buying decisions, but currently only 49% of US consumers say that today's companies provide a good experience”. A good customer experience consists of convenience, efficiency, knowledgeable and a friendly service, and an easy payment option is what customers value the most during their customer experience. Building a relationship with customers that drive loyalty is key, as the management experts Bain & Company state, a 5% boost in customer retention increases profit by 25%.
The business school at the university of Salford have enabled me to look into the data and analytics of my own brand (website & socials) to determine what I need to do next in terms of hitting my target audience and growing 'my brand' into a successful business.