Physically manifesting your campaign to boost your online presence? Try giving this strategy a shot! [Thursdays: FYO!]
Zapatos
―the Spanish word for shoes, footgear, and boots.
For one brand, this word served as quite the inspiration for its one-of-a-kind name.
Zappos.com, an online retailer, has been selling shoes and other items since 1999, expanding its selection over the years to stay updated and create a culture that is well-known around the world.
It’s also known as “a customer-obsessed company.”
That’s what the market calls Zappos.
Let’s find out why!
Launched as ShoeSite.com at first with only selling shoes in mind, Zappos.com has then ventured out to selling more than just that. Now, not only does the company sell clothing, handbags, and accessories, but also continues to provide the best customer service.
The brand maintains itself as a service company that aims to live and deliver WOW, making the most out of their reputation as one of the first online retailers to offer free next-day shipping and free returns.
Zappos also creates quality content to utilize its online presence.
One of the strategies the company uses to reach its customers across various digital platforms?
Online Video Marketing!
Online video marketing is the use of video to raise brand awareness online, create engagement, and drive sales.
This strategy is a part of digital marketing and coincides with content marketing.
Here are some benefits of online video marketing:
- It helps increase your brand’s conversion rate.
According to Hubspot, online video marketing increases conversion rates by 80%, which means it does a good job in capturing the attention of your consumers and influencing their buying behavior.
- It develops consumers’ trust towards your brand.
Online video marketing is a great opportunity to create the best image and personality for your brand.
Use this strategy as an opportunity to show your target market that what you’re offering is actually what they want and need!
- It creates online exposure for your brand.
Creating an online video campaign is a chance to show people what your brand is all about. This type of content helps you establish a connection with your customers.
Additionally, having the right approach towards online video marketing increases your brand’s chances of going viral online. When that happens, you’ll get the exposure your business needs and gain a lot more attention than before!
So… how did Zappos use online video marketing to develop a strong connection with its target audience?
Through the #ImNotABox Campaign!
Launched in June 2016, the campaign was a partnership between Zappos.com and creative collective company Variable to produce “Box Home,” a short film that represented the overall message they wanted to promote.
The film showed a child extending compassion to a homeless man by constructing a makeshift cardboard home for him using household materials.
Through this campaign, Zappos reminded customers of its availability and willingness to offer help and lend a hand to those who are in need.
A touching and inspiring message, right?
… but wait, there’s more!
As a complement to the short film, Zappos also created special edition shipping boxes with an entirely new packaging design concept. This was done to physically bring to life the #ImNotABox campaign.
By widely marketing and promoting the short film and the boxes through social media, Zappos emphasized the meaning of “availability and willingness to lend a hand to customers” and further added to the message’s effect and impact.
The brand also hoped to inspire people to become the best version of themselves and use their creative juices in creating something out of the Zappos box.
… and that was what exactly happened!
The #ImNotABox Campaign’s Impact
According to The Shorty Awards, the online video reached over 113,000 views in less than one month. The video was even featured in the Ace Metrix’s chart of Top Breakthrough Ads of Q2 2016, obtaining the #7 spot!
Meanwhile, the box redesign had over 30 articles published about it just 4 months after the campaign was launched! These articles garnered an overall reach of approximately 27.5 million impressions.
A lot of people also posted their own twists to the Zappos box together with the #ImNotABox hashtag. Here are some of their posts:
The campaign also obtained several awards, ranging from recognizing Zappos’ redesigned boxes to commending the creativeness of the “Box Home” film.
AceMetrix Heartwarming Ads of 2016
Ranked #3 out of the top 5 most heartwarming ads of 2016 by AceMetrix
Best of 2016 Ads
Nominated as one of Film Supply’s “Best of 2016 Ads”
Creativity Awards (2016)
Gold Winner – Repurposed Design
Silver Winner – Retail Packaging
Shorty Awards for Social Good (2016)
Winner – Best Consumer Brand
Winner – Best in Retail & E-Commerce
AdWeek ARC Awards Winner (2017)
Best Use of Short-Form Fiction (Film)
All it took to generate buzz about the #ImNotABox campaign was maximizing online video marketing in the form of a short film and bringing the campaign’s message to life through Zappos’ redesigned boxes.
Online video marketing in general has gone a long way since its first use―rising as one of the top marketing tactics, especially in the year 2017.
According to HubSpot, more than half of consumers in the world want to see videos from brands over other types of content online.
No wonder most businesses are also investing time, effort, and money in this marketing strategy!
Just like what Zappos did, creating videos is a smart and effective way to promote your business and strengthen your brand’s online presence.
This strategy can also help you develop a deeper connection with your target market.
Consider online video marketing in your next digital marketing campaign!
Who knows?
Aside from encouraging people to buy or avail a service from you, you can also make your target market easily FIND YOU and learn more about you online!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: FYO! Find You Optimization”
Why should you stop thinking SEO and start thinking FYO?
We’re not saying that you should abandon Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Don’t get us wrong, of course, we know this is something very important, especially in today’s digital marketing age.
The internet landscape is vast, and a world of its own. You really need to distinguish yourself and make your brand/company/website known and easily searchable.
Better yet, get to the top of page one for Top Results on Google or any other search engine.
However, what is the purpose of SEO? It’s that customers Find You!
That’s what matters. So, while SEO is one factor of FYO… it really is only one, and we ought not to abandon all the myriad of ways digitally and offline for improving your FYO.
How can we look at this from a different and better perspective?
Let’s say you have it in the bag! You and your team are experts in SEO. Awesome. But did you ever wonder what else you could do to push it further and give your SEO skills a boost?
FYO! Find You Optimization!
You need your target audience to FIND YOU—your brand, product, service, or offer. This is SEO plus other tools that increase visibility online (and offline).
Every Thursday, we publish content on how you can get your target market to find you, beyond the typical “type and search.” There are other things you can do along with your SEO to give your online advertising process a boost.
Try considering other tactics beyond it—WOMO (Word Of Mouth Optimization), RO (Referral Optimization), and “All-Other-Means-Of-Getting-Your-Target-Market-To-Find-You” Optimization (AOMOGYTMTFY, if you’d like a long acronym).
Part of a great marketing strategy is knowing how to adapt new methods and make use of different types of marketing and promotion that best fit your business goals and which give you the results you want.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s FYO!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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www.valens-research.com
