The Future Of VR Is Here, Let's Start Using It Properly

Imagine the future of entertainment just a few years from now. Virtual reality (VR) hardware and headsets are finally comfortable and stylish enough for mainstream consumption, and the sound quality is crisp and clear. Imagine yourself settling into your airplane seat as the flight attendant comes down the aisle with drinks, snacks and one of these state-of-the-art headsets, which will immerse you into a world far more visually exciting than the inside of a plane.

Or maybe you slip on your headset in the dentist's office. The sound of the dentist’s drill will fade away, and you’ll be instantly transported to another time and place that’s less uncomfortable. You’ll watch classic movies and television shows that look like an IMAX screen right before your eyes. Concerts and games will surround you in 360 degrees of sound and vision and you can experience a Ted Talk from a front row vantage point.

An Expedia/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital collaboration, “Dream Adventures,” brought hospitalized kids in touch with adventurers and explorers around the world via 360-degree video. But just imagine: what if those children could be completely immersed in the experience and even hear the sounds and see spatially accurate locations in the distance as if they were really there?

The good news is that the technology to create this kind of entertainment experience in VR is advancing almost daily, and now with a combination of the latest binaural audio and photogrammetry, this is all just now becoming truly possible for the first time.

Bringing cinema to life

VR experiences have the power to capture the imagination and draw viewers into an entertaining and immersive experience. In 2012, Coachella crowds were amazed when a computer-generated Tupac Shakur “appeared” on stage with fellow hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg. More recently, Elton John and his team digitally recreated two of his most memorable concert performances from the ground up in VR to promote his upcoming 2018 farewell tour.

For motion storytelling to really take advantage of this new technology, it will have to learn from the past. James Cameron understood and perfected 3D by choosing the right moments to deploy it. Just like too much 3D can be distracting and nauseating, VR should be used carefully to pull viewers into the story in a way that is immersive and compelling. Imagine watching Saving Private Ryan and during the landing on the Normandy beaches, director Steven Spielberg slows everything down for 30 seconds to let viewers look around in 360 degrees at the chaos breaking out around them.

Even though we still have to wait for hardware headsets to become more widespread among entertainment consumers, the rest of the technology is ready now to make 360-degree user interaction available to the home viewer. The technology is there — so let’s start making more engaging channels.

Delivering immersive TV to all

These VR technology solutions could be used to make more engaging channels; why not launch the first 360-degree custom Twitch channel, for example?

Twitch, the popular online service for watching and streaming digital video broadcasts, is the ideal venue for combining state-of-the-art video experiences with community interaction. Originally founded in 2011, Twitch is best known for streaming videogamers, but it more recently added other types of content such as cultural channels for talk shows, cooking shows and even TV series such as the 24-hour Bob Ross Joy of Painting channel.

The service currently has two million unique monthly streamers and more than 17,000 users who earn money through the Twitch Partner program, a service that provides streamers with added features such as paid subscriptions and ad placements. Even though Amazon purchased the service in 2014, it remains free, and users do not have to sign up or log in to enjoy the programming.

The future of home VR entertainment includes 360-degree VR channels on Twitch as an additive technology. This approach will combine a 360-degree experience with Twitch’s interactive streaming platform. Content creators will also be able to leverage Twitch’s monetization features such as advertising, subscriptions, sponsorships, merchandise, real-time chat and on-screen emojis.

They will be able to compile footage to create events from anywhere in the world and bring them to viewers at home anywhere in the world for a 360-degree experience they can enjoy from their couches, coffee shops or cars.

Imagine if a major pop music star wanted to give fans more access to her experience on the road. She could hire someone to film her go about her daily business with state-of-the-art 360 cameras and livestream the footage to Twitch. Fans who tuned in would feel like they were really hanging out backstage with the star, flying with her in her private jet, or sharing a coffee in her kitchen at home. Of course, they'd be able to experience her concerts as if they were standing right there and check out backstage areas at her concerts as well.

There would also be opportunities for fan interaction thanks to Twitch’s Chat on Videos feature  — free-floating bubbles that let fans comment on everything that is happening on screen, from the pop star’s dance routine, to the one fan at the concert who doesn’t know the words to a classic hit.

Venue windows would also be able to take viewers from one moment to another; the user data drawn from this could be used to enhance the experience. A moderator could escort viewers from venue to venue in this 360-degree world. If many viewers in a particular scene look at a particular object — maybe a guitar or even something small in the background — that moderator could direct other viewers’ attention to the same object, encouraging even more interaction among fans.

Of course, there are many technical issues to solve in order to make this vision a reality — but it’s only a matter of time before it happens.

Creating engaging 360-degree content

One could imagine programming a brand new channel on a platform such as Twitch of musical acts performing at one specific bar in Los Angeles, for instance. The channel could be called “Live at the El Rey” and have a curated playlist of musical acts that you could watch and listen in 360 with your headset as if you were in the front row of each amazing performance, even if you’re in a hospital bed in the other side of the country. This requires recording these musical acts in a consistent, high quality manner with technology that already exists and is waiting to be exploited.

In the short term for what it’s worth, along with 360-degree experiential channels, you could also repurpose classic television programming and launch a 24/7 channel similar to Twitch’s existing Bob Ross Joy of Paintingchannel on these social networks. You could repurpose intellectual property that’s not being utilized to bring forgotten favorites to a new generation in 360-degree VR, streaming episodes of the iconic ‘60s pop music sitcom The Monkees on its own Twitch channel, for example. That series honestly lends itself to all the opportunities Twitch provides for home entertainment, so it is only a matter of time before this all happens.

You could then create a whole online ecosystem around the content, starting by building and growing social media pages for the series about four pop musicians living together in a California beach house. Social media will drive the traffic, e-commerce merchandise sales and custom bitmojis on Twitch in addition to advertising and sponsorship opportunities. Long-term plans could include repeating this plan with other IP and other platforms, and then creating spin offs and sequel content that would be shot with VR in mind from the beginning.

Most importantly, this technology can and will transform the nature of both entertainment and education. It won’t be long before 360-degree programming will place viewers in the driver’s seat of a flying car or face-to-face with the “Mona Lisa.” All of these experiences will be available to viewers from the comfort of their couch and the convenience of their phone, tablet or other device. The opportunity to be among the first to bring this type of entertainment experience to home viewers is filled with creative possibilities, both for the viewers and the creators.

Author: Nathan Pettijohn

Article: www.forbes.com

LINK

Insights into the growth of South African eCommerce with payment methods, target audiences, marketing, social media, economy and logistics all profiled

Economy

South Africa is home to 55.91 million people with a total GDP of 294.84 billion USD and is ranked as the 30th richest country, according to the World Bank GDP per capita rankings. South Africa's GDP per capita is currently 4,826 USD and expected to reach 5,352 USD by 2021.

Digital User Insights

There are currently 18.43 million eCommerce users in South Africa, with an additional 6.36 million users expected to be shopping online by 2021. Four years from now, these 24.79 million eCommerce users will spend an average of 189.47 USD online.

7% of South African shoppers spend less than 30 minutes online, compared to 12% who spend up to an hour, 22% who spend 1 to 2 hours, 18% who spend 2 to 3 hours, and 42% who spend 3+ hours online. 

Product Categories

Total South African eCommerce revenue across all product categories is 2.69 billion USD, and is expected to grow to 4.7 billion USD by 2021. Electronics & Media is currently the leading product category in South Africa, accounting for 964.2 million USD market share, followed by Furniture & Appliances, which generates 553.7 million USD in sales.

By 2021, Electronics & Media will still be the most purchased online category, with an estimated value of 1.38 billion USD, and second favorite, Furniture & Appliances, will have an expected worth of 1.07 billion USD.

Logistics

In 2016, South Africa was ranked 20th in the World Bank Logistics ranking.

Preferred Online Payments

54% of South African online shoppers like to pay cash on delivery, and 52% also like to pay with debit card.

Where does South Africa buy from?

China supplies South Africa with 15.5 billion USD in imports – ranging from gold to cars. South Africa's other key import partners are Germany (7.03 billion USD), the US (5.47 billion USD), Nigeria (4.58 billion USD) and India (4.18 billion USD).

Internet and Device Usage

Internet penetration in South Africa is currently 51.9%, and should reach 59.5% by 2021. Smartphone penetration is a lot less (28.6%), but is projected to grow to 37.2% in the next four years.

60% of online shoppers in South Africa buy via desktop, and 55% and 38% often shop via mobile and tablet respectively.

Marketing

In 2015, digital advertising spend in South Africa was estimated to be 284.82 million USD. That same year, 1.22 billion USD was spent on South African television and video advertising.

Social Media

12 million people in South Africa are active monthly social network users, thanks to Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Messenger, which are the leading social networks.

ARTICLE:

Article published on www.eshopworld.com

LINK

The VR MARKET FORECAST

The virtual reality market is expected to grow from USD 7.9 billion in 2018 to USD 44.7 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 33.47% during the forecast period. The penetration of HMDs in the gaming and entertainment sector, huge investments in VR market, advancement of technology and growing digitization, and availability of affordable VR devices are the major factors fueling the growth of the overall market.

Gesture-tracking devices to grow at highest CAGR during forecast period.

Gesture-tracking devices are used as input devices for VR systems. These tracking devices track the user’s movements and enable the user to interact with the virtual environment. Gesture-tracking devices include data gloves, treadmills, and controllers to facilitate gesture and action tracking in VR applications. The use of gesture-tracking devices in gaming and entertainment and healthcare applications will play a crucial role to boost their growth in the VR market.

Retail and ecommerce applications to have significant share in virtual reality market

In the retail sector, virtual reality technology is used in virtual fashion stores for designing virtual avatars for the selection of clothes or accessories, fashion shows, and so on. Virtual environments are used in many applications of marketing as they are helpful in demonstrating and displaying product- and business-related information and creating awareness among potential buyers. Virtual reality can show a 360° view of a product or device (online or at the point of business), by which a potential customer gets a better insight. In online shopping, items such as apparels, jewelry, spectacle frames, and others can be viewed closely by zooming in and out. On a few websites, a user can even virtually try the outfit. Increased use of VR technology will help drive the retail and ecommerce VR market.

North America to account for significant share in virtual reality market during forecast period

North America, being a developed and technologically advanced region, is likely to be one of the key contributors to the overall virtual reality market growth during the forecast period. North America, being technologically advanced and developed, is a leading market for cutting-edge technologies that are used in display devices. The use of VR in various applications, especially in consumer electronics, is helping the growth of the VR market. Applications such as aerospace & defense, healthcare, consumer, and commercial are utilizing VR technologies for further advancements. The US has many global players featuring VR products and solutions. This helps North America stand out as one of the major regions in the global VR market.

Key Market Players

Sony (Japan), Samsung Electronics (South Korea), Google (US), Microsoft (US), HTC (Taiwan), Oculus (US), Eon Reality (US), Vuzix (US), CyberGlove Systems (US), and Leap Motion (US) are among the few key companies in the virtual reality market.

Sony Corporation primarily focuses on premium pricing strategy for all its products in all business segments. In contrast, the pricing of VR PlayStation headset is set to hundreds of dollars lesser than its counterparts. The late entry of Sony with less pricing in the VR market depicts their growth aspects in the VR market. The company would bank on the economies of scale to grow in the VR market to compete with the established headset makers in the VR market. The company currently leads the VR market space with the highest number of shipments with respect to its PlayStation VR headset.

Sony Corporation was among the late entrants in the virtual reality market. The company after the launch of VR devices, VR PlayStation, adopted the strategy of low-pricing as compared with its competitors. The VR device of the company is positioned well so as to be affordable at a low price and is best suited to the consumer applications such as gaming and entertainment. The increased demand for VR HMDs in these sectors will play a crucial role in the growth of the company’s business. The aggressive low-pricing strategy, unlike its premium pricing strategy for other products, with advanced features has helped the company to be one of the major players in the virtual reality market.

Recent Developments

• In January 2018, Oculus made an announcement of its new standalone VR headset in collaboration with Xiaomi and Qualcomm. This headset is mainly targeted for the Chinese market and will have reduced pricing than Rift.
• In November 2017, Microsoft expanded the availability of HoloLens to 29 new European markets. With this expansion, HoloLens is likely to be available in 39 markets in the near future, thereby helping the company to further strengthen its footprint in Europe.
• In October 2017, Sony announced to launch its improved version of PlayStation VR headset. The new headset-CUH-ZVR2-comes with streamlined cables, overall a slimmer build, and integrated stereo headphones.

ARTICLE: From www.marketsandMarkets.com

LINK

The market, drivers, key players, and opportunities in a rising segment of e-commerce.

Online grocery growing rapidly from its small base. Its market value has doubled from 2016 to 2018, suggesting that consumers are starting to get more comfortable ordering essentials and certain foods online — a major barrier to adoption. Meanwhile, one type of product that's popular in online grocery, consumer packaged goods (CPGs), has seen the majority of its growth come from online. Although consumers may not be entirely comfortable buying items like produce online yet, that will likely come as their familiarity and trust in online grocery grows.

Grocers are rushing to take advantage of this potential, resulting in a highly competitive market. Both established grocery players and newcomers to the space are expanding their curbside pickup and delivery offerings — the two basic components of online grocery — in an attempt to grab market share. They're each employing different strategies to find success: Amazon is leaning on its e-commerce and fulfillment capabilities to offer a variety of online grocery services, for example, while Walmart is using its strong brick-and-mortar footprint to its advantage. Still, others, like Kroger and Aldi, are working with third parties such as Instacart to provide their services.

While companies like Instacart exist that offer online grocery services for other grocers, we focus specifically on companies that sell their own products. Finally, we examine different strategies companies can use to optimize the profitability of their online grocery offerings.

• Online grocery currently comprises a small portion of grocery overall but is on a rapid rise. Adoption is still fairly low, with about 10% of US consumers saying that they regularly shop online for groceries, according to NPD.
• However, the value of the US online grocery market has grown from $12 billion in 2016 to $26 billion in 2018 and it has plenty of room to grow, given that the size of the overall grocery market was $632 billion in 2018 according to IBISWorld.
• Both established grocers like Walmart and Kroger and players new to the space like Amazon are rushing to improve their curbside pickup and delivery options and all of them are employing differing strategies suited to their size and strengths.

Regardless of grocers' individual strategies, they will all need to find a way to run their online grocery offerings in a profitable way and to address consumers' barriers to adoption.

FULL REPORT AVAILABLE ON THE FOLLOWING LINK:

The Online Grocery Report

For more information on how to enter this sector please contact us on info@cyberreadystore.co.za

Influencers

Marketers who understand the value of engagement in influencer marketing also understand the power of micro-influencers.

These micro-influencers make up the majority of the influencer marketing community. Unlike celebrities or high-profile influencers, these "average" social media users have a down-to-earth demeanor that makes them relatable. They are regular people with regular social media accounts who are authentically driven to share their passions; in doing so, they have an incredible endorsement power that speeds up the process of building brand trust among consumers.

To get to know them a little bit better and to shed light on their beliefs and preferences surrounding content creation, social media use, and sponsored brand collaborations, we at SocialPubli conducted a global survey with 1,000 vetted micro-influencers registered on our platform. Here's what we found.

1. They are in it for the long haul

Although, at the moment, 62% of respondents receive less than 10% of their annual income from their work as influencers, more than half (52%) of micro-influencers said their professional goal is to become full-time content creators, signaling that there's a clear movement toward professionalization.

Considering that 77% of them publish content on social media daily, it is fair to say micro-influencers are committed and personally invested in their work. For many of them, especially those who have full-time jobs, being influencers is a passion project that allows them to express themselves and connect to a wider community of people with similar interests—to create what some call their online tribe.

That they see influencer marketing as a viable career option means brands should seriously consider long-term partnerships with those who are the best fit for them: An ongoing relationship with multiple micro-influencers will yield higher returns than a one-time endorsement from a celebrity or macro-influencer.

For your influencer marketing program to be successful you should employ a three-tiered pyramid approach: Micro-influencers should make up the majority of your influencers, followed by mid-tier and macro-influencers. Such a strategic mix allows you to tap micro-influencers to generate word-of-mouth at scale among hyper-targeted audiences, but also harness those influencers with larger followings to drive reach and exposure.

Article published:

LINK

Is it difficult to start an online business?

My response to a question on Quora.

I suspect the answer to this question will depend on the person who wants to start the business. It is easy to obtain an online business. There are many companies that would provide you with a readymade business. If you want to attempt to build your own store, this should also not be too hard for somebody of an average level of computer literacy. 

The difficulty lies in running your online business. There are many aspects related to this which include marketing, SEO, your daily administration, financials and more. Just thinking of the vastness involved in social media marketing might be enough to leave people at a lost. You have to understand how different social media platforms work, each with their own strengths and functionality, how to create posts that will engage people, creating sales funnels, email campaigns, newsletters etc.

Then we have not even started to zoom in on other aspects related to online businesses like SEO, analytics etc.

So to conclude, I say again, it is more about the person. Some will have a natural feel for this world, others sadly not. This is not a bad thing. Everybody can’t be a pilot. Luckily for those that really want to pursue this dream, you will find many people out there that would gladly take over many of these key aspects for you.

Getting an online business is an easy part, turning it into a successful business is a different matter. 

How To Write A Drop Shipping Business Plan?

Some Guidance on writing a Business Plan

I found the following article which I think is a good starting place to understand a little more about the importance of writing a business plan.

Every newcomer needs a drop shipping business plan. In a way, it is your roadmap to success: here, you set your goals and decide how to reach them. Our today’s article will explain how to make a solid business plan and stick to it throughout your journey!

If you’re just starting out, you need to draw up a plan you could keep to. Traditionally, writing a business plan is considered something useless, extra or something that is not needed because it is completely divorced from reality.

However, planning is a prerequisite for success. It allows you to find the holes in your thinking and therefore save lots of money.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a roadmap for your business that describes in detail what steps you have to take in order to achieve your business goals. Its main purpose is to help entrepreneurs form a full picture of their business performance and analyze the potential advantages and disadvantages of making certain decisions.

A business plan is not something you create once and then keep it in your bottom drawer. You should regularly update it because your business is growing and the market conditions are changing.
The length of the business plan varies greatly from business to business. As a rule, most business plans cover the first years of the company life and fit into a 10 or 20-page document.

Why do you need a drop shipping business plan?

Developing a business plan takes much time and energy, but it is worth it.

First, it allows you to set direction and priorities. Let’s say, you have already created a drop shipping store and even made some sales. What’s next? What will you focus on? Will you start promoting your store on Facebook or on Instagram? Why? Why not? 

I guess, without a clear strategy, it will be difficult to answer all these questions. Having a business plan allows you to see a complete picture of your business and chart a strategic course for future growth.

Secondly, it helps you identify potential pitfalls in your business and avoid a lot of mistakes most ecommerce entrepreneurs make.

Lastly, it lets you save your money and energy. If you have a plan, it will be easy to ignore unnecessary things that hinder your business development.

How to write a drop shipping business plan?

When writing a business plan for your drop shipping business, you have 2 options: create a traditional business plan or focus on a lean startup format.
The traditional business plan is very detailed and time-consuming. It is about 30 to 40 pages in length and describes every detail that can contribute to the business success. This type of business plans is a must for people who are going to attract investors or get money from different financial institutions such as banks.

The lean startup plan, in turn, requires less time and contains the key elements only. This one is perfect for self-employed entrepreneurs who are just starting out or who have no previous experience in writing any business plans. As for drop shipping, we recommend you to use the lean planning because of its simplicity and convenience. In addition, you can easily and quickly adapt and change it as you want.

Key components of an effective drop shipping business plan

The elements of a good business plan can vary from business to business. However, there are some mandatory parts for any ecommerce business. Let’s look at them
.
#1 Identity

To start with, you should clearly understand who you are, what you do and who you do it for. As you create a lean startup business plan, it’s enough to write some words about your shop, your audience and the products you’re going to dropship.

If you have some difficulties, imagine that you need to answer the question “What do you do?” briefly and plainly.

For example: “I run a drop shipping store called SuperEduToys that offers high-quality educational toys for children aged 3-10”.

#2 Problems and solutions

List here the most important problems that will be solved with your offer. In other words, write why your products will be popular with your customers and what aspects will stimulate them to buy from you.

For example: “The average toys don’t help kids develop their skills. Educational toys allow them to improve the fundamental abilities such as critical thinking or problem solving”.

#3 Customers

Research your target audience and describe your potential customers. Try to find the answers to the following questions:
–  Who are they?
–  Where do they live?
–  What is their income level?

Of course, this list can include much more questions, but try to concentrate only on the most important things that really affect your drop shipping business.

For example: “The target audience is adults from middle-income countries who wish to buy high quality educational toys for their children or grandchildren”.

#4 Competitors

Make a short list of your top competitors, try to determine their strengths and weaknesses and write a few sentences about why you are better than they are. As in the previous example, take care only to write down what’s important.
For example: “Company A offers a wide range of products, but they are very expensive. My price is much lower”.

#5 Channels

Describe how you will reach your potential customers. What channels will you use to attract your website visitors?

If you have some problems in making this list, feel free to read our articles where we describe the most efficient ways to attract new customers.

For example: “The main channels to reach my customers are Facebook, Google ads and YouTube videos”.

#6 Revenue Streams

Describe how your company will actually make money. Will you make a profit only by selling product online, or will you also focus on the revenue streams such as affiliate programs or Google advertising?

You can start with a couple of the most effective revenue streams and add some after a while.
For example: “The main revenue streams: drop shipping store, YouTube Ads. Additional sources: Google Ads”.

#7 Expenses

Try to think of every potential cost and write about how much money you’re ready to spend on it. Will you build a WordPress website on your own or will you order a ready custom store? How much money can you afford to spend on your advertising campaign?

Think about it very carefully!

Original article

Pros and Cons of Dropshipping

Found this great summary of the Pros and cons of drop shipping. 

Taken from https://www.3dcart.co.za/dropshipping.html

Pros of Dropshipping

Dropshipping sounds like a great choice on the surface. But before you jump into building an online store from a dropshipping business model, it's good to look at its strengths.

Inexpensive to get started: You already know dropshipping’s biggest strength -- a low barrier to entry. (We’re guessing you wouldn’t be here otherwise.) With dropshipping, you spend all of your setup time building relationships and creating a great website. Your ecommerce software and website design, are likely to run up the biggest tabs.

Buying raw materials to create your own goods or buying products in bulk outright requires a much larger sum of cash in addition to the cost of your ecommerce software and website. There’s no question you need far less money on average to get up and running with an online store built on dropshipping.

Less supply chain hassle: Retail entrepreneurs who manage the bulk of the supply chain -- from storing goods to shipping them -- have to wear dozens of hats to run a successful business. With dropshipping, you cut out expensive and time-consuming tasks like stocking goods, managing your inventory, renting storage space for your products, and packaging and shipping orders.

Easier to grow: Dropshipping gives you the option to start as small as you want and scale up for many of the reasons we already mentioned. You don’t have sink gobs of money into your store to take it the next level. If you’re selling well, you don’t have to worry about putting out more capital to buy more products. You won’t need to build out more infrastructure around inventory or order management, either.

Cons of Dropshipping

In addition to looking at its strengths, it’s important to know where dropshipping can limit your business. What are some of the knocks against a dropshipping model for your ecommerce business?

Lower profit per sale: With a lower barrier to entry comes a different set of financial limitations. Suppliers, wholesalers, and manufacturers who dropship provide shipping and storage services, which means you have to pay a slight premium as compared to bulk wholesale prices. A higher price per product means less wiggle room on your consumer price point.

What this ultimately means for your business is you’ll have to sell more products to make the same amount of revenue you would if you bought your inventory outright. Your online store has to be a well-oiled machine, running at full steam all the time.

Less control Businesses aren’t perfect. If you trust a third-party with a core part of your business, you have to relinquish some control. That means embracing and fixing mistakes that aren’t necessarily your fault. Because your dropshipper is invisible, it’s your responsibility to make right on any issue the customer experiences -- even if it isn’t your fault.

Tougher to differentiate: Suppliers typically partner with more than one online retailer, which means you aren’t the only one selling their products. The more popular the brand, the stiffer the competition. When you’re selling handmade goods, differentiation is much easier. But one of the most difficult parts of succeeding with a dropshipping business model is getting to customers before the competition does.

Influencer Kids: Marketing to The New Generation on the Block

by Nicolas Kinski | Posted on 9 August 2018 ● Influencer Marketing

How influencer marketing can be used to reach out to one of the fastest growing consumer groups, Generation Z and Alpha.  

For a good few years now, Millennial has been the word on the lips of many marketers but brands may soon have to shift their focus to a younger, more diverse audience that is growing at a rapid pace, Generation Z and Alpha.

Born with smartphones, tablets, and technology at their fingertips, these young consumers are the ones to watch.

A closer look at Generation Z and Alpha

Generation Z, a group of consumers that were born from 1996 onwards and Generation Alpha, born from 2010 onwards, make up the audience that is currently grabbing the attention of marketers everywhere.

Technology has always been front and center for these two generations. With 73% of Generation Z having access to subscription video on demand services and over 90% of them owning a smartphone, this younger generation is unlike any other.

In today’s day and age, it’s not uncommon to see a toddler operating a smartphone. In fact, 55% of pre-schoolers use tablets on a regular basis and 16% own their own tablet. Children generally only start using smartphones in their teens but today, 41% of pre to early teens already use one.
According to a recent study, children between the ages of 5 and 15 now spend at least 15 hours online every week, which is 1 hour and 18 minutes more than they used to but how are they spending their time online exactly?

Surprisingly, social media is not at the top of that list. 73% of children between 5 and 15 use YouTube more than any other online platform. Some even indicated that they would rather watch videos and shows on YouTube than watch TV.

By 2020, this generation will make up 40% of all consumers, which means that brands really need to start paying attention to what makes them tick.

Reaching out to Generation Z and Alpha

While this generation might be made up of youngsters, they already represent a buying power of $44 billion and influence an additional $600 billion of family-related spending, numbers marketers simply can’t ignore.
When it comes to reaching out to these consumers, one thing that marketers definitely shouldn’t do is lump them in with Millennials. The way that this young generation uses technology and perceives marketing is quite different to older generations, something that marketers will need to start exploring and understanding if they want their brands to have any impact in the future.
So what do marketers need to know about Generation Z and Alpha?
• Forget traditional advertising. 
This generation does not respond to advertising in the same way that older generations do. The use of ad blockers is almost a given, which means that marketers need to think of more creative, impactful ways to not only reach this audience but grab their attention too.
• They’re all for community. 
Their peers are important to them and they care about what others have to say. All of their most important conversations happen online and they’re much more likely to respond to brands that are more humanized.
• Optimized browsing is their thing. 
These young online users are used to having to sift through mountains of online content all the time, so while it might seem that this generation has a really short attention span, they’ve really just learned how to assess and recognize the content they really want to consume in a short amount of time.

How influencer marketing can be used to reach a younger generation

Over 40% of Generation Zs say that they’re easily influenced by others and have a tendency to follow celebrities and other local influencers on social media. 57% also said that they’ve watched at least one Vlog in the last month, once again reiterating the importance of video channels such as YouTube
.
A survey by GlobalWebIndex also showed how this generation generally finds out about new brands, products, and services.

Overall it’s clear that an influencer marketing strategy is going to be critical for all marketers who are looking to reach this young group of consumers now and in the future.

If Generations Z and Alpha are going to be or already are a key target audience for your brand, below are a few influencer marketing tips that will help you develop a more effective strategy:

1.Think storytelling. 
Younger internet users want to immerse themselves in a story or experience, which is why it’s important to take a storytelling approach to marketing. You can do this by focusing on platforms such as Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram, all of which offer immediate gratification and creative ways to tell a story. Online influencers, especially those who are popular amongst younger users, are already very prominent on these platforms, making it that much easier to reach this audience through influencer marketing.
2. Celebs aren’t always the answer. 
Far too many brands have taken the celebrity influencer route and while using celebrities to promote your brand can still work, the younger generations would prefer to hear from lesser-known influencers, many of whom they’re already following. These local, low-key influencers are considered more trustworthy and genuine, which in turn will make your brand seem more trustworthy if you’re partnering with them in the right way. Over 60% of Gen Z has said that they would prefer to see social media influencers in ads instead of celebs because these are the people they can relate to; they’re far more realistic. You only have to do some research around specific themes such as fitness or beauty to come across online influencers who are stars in their own right.
3. Give your influencers enough freedom. 
When paying an influencer to assist with content marketing, most brands want to stay in complete control of every aspect of the campaign but this can sometimes lead to unfavorable results. If you want to portray your brand as trustworthy, you need to give your influencers enough freedom to be creative and add their own unique touch to the content that you’re producing. When brands try to exert too much control over the content process, it comes across in the final product. You may even find that many influencers will turn down brands who want to dictate every line or graphic so it’s important to allow for as much creative freedom as possible while still sticking to your brand values and voice.
4. Be in it for the long haul. 
If you really want your influencer marketing campaigns to have an impact, partner with one or two influencers on a long-term basis. This way, more consumers will start keeping your brand top of mind every time they watch a video from their favorite vlogger or comment on an influencer’s Instagram story.

As you develop your content and influencer marketing strategy, keep in mind that these young consumers take note of brands they can relate to, brands that care about a cause and brands that take the time to offer them valuable and entertaining content on a regular basis.

What is Internet Marketing? Your Guide to Today’s Online Marketing

Julia McCoy

Internet marketing is the most inexpensive way to reach your target market, regardless of the size of your business.

But what is internet marketing, really?

Defining Internet Marketing

Also called online marketing, internet marketing is the process of promoting a business or brand and its products or services over the internet using tools that help drive traffic, leads, and sales.

Internet marketing a pretty broad term that encompasses a range of marketing tactics and strategies – including content, email, search, paid media, and more.

These days, though, internet marketing is often used interchangeably with “content marketing.”

Why?

Because content marketing is the internet marketing of the present and future.

Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as:

“A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Think of it like this: content marketing (or inbound marketing) is in direct opposition to traditional advertising (outbound marketing), and in direct integration with the patterns and habits of today’s generation.

We don’t like to be sold to, we have our ad-blockers on, and we barely watch cable anymore.

Content marketing serves up content that addresses our pain points, and is there when we want it.

Here’s a great illustration of that from Voltier Digital:

Content Marketing vs. Traditional Advertising

Here’s the evolutional pathway behind the modernized form of marketing that is most successful today.

Selling no longer works (a.k.a., traditional advertising).

Why?

Traditional advertising focuses on pushing messages at the consumer to get them to buy.

It’s interruptive, obstructive, and intrusive.

It shouts, “Hey, look at me!” while waving its arms.

You may try to avoid eye contact, but traditional ads are persistent.

You know what traditional ads look like because you’re bombarded with them every single day.

Think TV commercials, billboards, magazine ads, radio ads, and web banner ads.

Ads have been around for a long time, as evidenced by this traditional ad for “honest-to-goodness” coffee from the 1950s.

Ads may still work in some strategic places.

But Internet users can just click away from ads if they don’t want to see them.

Which is exactly what happens.

According to a PageFair report, 615 million devices in use today employ ad blockers. Additionally, ad blocker use increased by 30 percent in 2016 alone.

You know it, I know it, everybody knows it.

Ads are annoying.

And, they aren’t the way consumers prefer to learn about new products anymore.

Instead of businesses shoving themselves in consumers’ faces, they need to take a different, gentler approach.

Content marketing is exactly that.

Brands and marketers who use it publish content that teaches, inspires, guides, or solves a problem for their target audience.

With some handy tricks, the targets can find that content on the web without it being pushed at them.

If the prospects gain something useful from the content, they’ll keep coming back for more.

Finally, consumers can interact with the brand organically and share their content on social media.

Trust is forged.

Authority is established.

Connections happen.

These loyal followers can then be converted into leads and sales – naturally.

All of the above happens with a focus on giving value to the user.

Help users – offer them value and they’ll reward you in return.

That is what internet marketing/content marketing is all about at its core.

Why Internet Marketing?

Now that you know what internet marketing is, you still may be wondering why there’s so much hype around it.

Well, the hype is totally founded.

Internet marketing has shown proven success over and over again.

Here are some stats gathered from around the web to help give you an idea of why internet/content marketing stands tall:

• By 2019, content marketing is set to be an industry worth $313 billion.
• 91 percent of businesses already are convinced of its power and have already adopted it as an essential marketing tactic.
• Content marketing costs 62 percent less than traditional, outbound marketing, but pulls in 3x as many leads.
• If you’re a small business with a blog, you’ll rake in 126 percent more lead growth than your competitors without a blog
• If you have a blog and publish content, you’re likely to get 434 percent more indexed pages on Google, on average

And there’s more.

From my own content marketing endeavors, I have seen my small business take off.

With 99 percent of our focus on content marketing, we managed to grow our worth to millions of dollars.

Bottom line: This stuff works.

5 Content Examples: Providing Value for Big Returns

Reading about great content marketing is not enough to truly understand how it works. Instead, you have to see it in action to grasp its fundamental value.

Because when content is really good, it can do amazing things.

Here are some top examples of content types from brands who knocked content creation out of the park.

1. Blog Posts & Articles

One of the most common content types is blog posts and articles.

A blog, in particular, is a great content platform because it gives you a foundation for lots of posts, pages, and content that all point back to your site.

Think of a blog as a tree trunk. Your individual blog posts are the branches that reach out into the corners of the internet and search engines. Users can find your branches and follow them back to your core site. That gives you a greater shot at leads and sales.

For a great example of blogging content, look to Content Marketing Institute. They create troves of valuable, useful content for content marketers in order to teach, instruct, guide, or inspire.

The result?

Devoted fans, followers, and customers for their events, training, and consulting.

2. Infographics

Infographics are fun, visual ways to present valuable information.

They use charts, graphs, pictures, and illustration to explain concepts. This type of content is easily digestible and totally shareable.

Here’s a fantastic example of an infographic about baking bread from RJ Zaworski:

And here’s another highly-shared infographic from Curata about the anatomy of a content marketer:

3. Case Studies

Another popular and effective form of content is a case study.

In general, a case study is an in-depth look at some action your brand or business completed that had measurable results for success.

Usually, this translates into something you accomplished for a client.

Here’s a great example of a case study by Fractl:

In it, the agency showcases how they executed a successful content campaign for a real estate brand. They talk about how it came together, the “whys” of the project, and the results (presented in measurable stats).

This type of content is an awesome trust-builder for obvious reasons.

4. Podcasts

For those of you who shudder at the thought of writing a blog post or in-depth article or case study, there are content mediums out there for you.

Podcasts are huge.

They’re similar to the storytelling and news radio shows of yore, except people can download them and listen to episodes however and whenever they want.

If you are a good speaker or interviewer, this content format can be a great one for sharing valuable information with your audience.

For an example, check out Search Engine Journal’s Search Engine Nerds, about SEO, paid search, social media, and content marketing.

5. Videos

Videos are the hottest content type right now.

The stats are staggering. According to Social Media Today:

• By 2021, videos will grab 82 percent of all internet traffic
• Every single day, over 500 million hours of video is consumed on YouTube

It’s easy to see why videos dominate.

Videos are simple to consume, they’re entertaining, and they appeal to the current attention-span deficit that we suffer from when we surf the web.

For a great example of a marketer making the most of video content, check out Neil Patel’s YouTube channel:

What You Need for Internet Marketing

So, you’re totally on-board for this internet marketing thing.

You love the idea of getting creative, sharing value with your prospects/audience, and building brand loyalty and customer relationships organically.

Hold on a second, though.

You can’t just jump into this blindly.

You need to understand the key pieces of successful internet marketing, first.

They include:

A Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing without a strategy will ultimately fail – it’s just the sad truth.

You must have a direction, a plan, the right tools, and ways to measure your progress if you expect to get anywhere.

Here are the key content marketing strategy fundamentals involved:

• Goals. This is vital. You have to know where you want to go, and what success will look like for you (and you alone), before you can head down the road to get there.
• Your Brand Persona and Target Audience. When you eventually start creating content, you have to know who you’re talking to and tailor your brand voice to appeal to them uniquely. If you aren’t targeting the right audience (those people who will lean in to hear what you’re saying), you won’t find success. And, if you can’t find a way to stand out, you’ll blend into the hordes of other brands competing for attention in your industry.
• Keywords and Research. Once you know the why and the who, you have to address the how. How will you reach your audience? What do they want to learn, what problems do they need to solve? Research keywords to target to get found in search engine results, and find topics that have an inherent interest for your audience before you create any content.
• Content Focus and Commitments. What types of content will you create? How often will you post? Where will you post? You have to nail down these foundations so you can create content with consistency and quality.
• Content Creation. Once you have topics, keywords, a distinct voice, and a target audience, you can create content. However, if your content isn’t really good, you’re wasting your time. Get help if you need it, spend the time to tweak and perfect your output, and always put out the best content you can.
• Content Promotion. Your content will go much farther if you promote it the right ways. Promotion is even more effective if you plan when you publish your pieces, strategize about publishing on your blog and sharing on social media, and build up a community of followers who can help push your engagement over the top.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

When you use SEO with content marketing, it can take you farther, longer.

These two pieces together help power-up your organic (read: free) reach and visibility on the internet.

SEO encompasses a variety of techniques that help get you into prime spots on search engine results pages (SERPs). This means people can find you just by looking up some topic they’re interested in or need help with.

The overarching goal of good SEO is to get your site pages ranked on the first page of Google. (After all, most people rarely, if ever, click to Page 2 on their quest for information.)

Here are some basic SEO techniques that will help your content get indexed and ranked in search results:

• Strategically-placed keywords – You should place your target keyword in the headline, in subheaders, in the content, and in the meta description to help Google immediately pinpoint what it’s about.
• A well-designed, well-organized site – Google looks at how usable your site is, or how easy it is for people to click around, find what they’re looking for, and read your content.
• Clean page URLs – The URL structure for your pages shouldn’t be gibberish (i.e. http://yourdomain.com/blog/content123xyz-asdfkla). They should be simple and easy to read (i.e. http://yourdomain.com/blog/how-to-do-seo).

Of course, this is just bare-bones SEO. To get a better, in-depth look, check out SEJ’s ebook SEO 101: Learn the Basics of Search Engine Optimization.

A Boost from Paid Methods

Organic search can give you great click-through rates. It also gives you the benefit of the inherent trust people have in Google results.

However, sometimes investing in paid search can give you a boost.

Here are some good examples from Search Engine Land:

• Use paid search to remarket to visitors who found your site through organic search, and tailor ads for them based on their experience.
• Test different versions of ad copy (A/B testing) to see which performs better – then use what you learned for your landing pages on your site.
• Paid search can increase your visibility in ways that organic search cannot, such as giving you air-time for high-volume keywords for which you’d have a hard time organically ranking.

The combination of paid search and content marketing gives you a cohesive internet marketing whole.

Organic and paid traffic can merge to net you higher visibility and better results for driving traffic, which can increase your leads and sales.

Patience & Fortitude

Content marketing requires some pieces that are far less tangible than strategy or SEO, but are perhaps the most important.

When it’s truly successful, content marketing is a long-term strategy.

It takes time to start seeing the ROI from your content efforts.

The blog post you publish today will not pay off by tomorrow, next week, or even next month.

Instead, you must have the patience and fortitude to wait months – maybe even up to a year or longer – to start seeing the returns.

The good news?

Content marketing is internet marketing that builds momentum over time. HubSpot calls this phenomenon “compounding.”

High-quality content gets increased visits over time. This helps build the page’s authority, and can increase its reach through the ways people interact with the content as they discover it.

Think linking, sharing, engaging, and more.

Most importantly, all of these compounding returns can help your content climb the Google ranks, which in turn helps it reach more people organically.

Pretty soon, your hard work on that post starts paying off in spades.

It doesn’t happen right away, but it will happen if you set up your content for success, with strategy.

It just takes patience and fortitude to see it through, and to keep putting out content with the months ahead in mind.

What Now? How to Dive into Internet Marketing

By now, you may be hopping with excitement about this thing called content marketing.

You want to dive in, like right now.

If you’re ready and raring to go, here’s what to do next:

1. Pace Yourself & Set Goals

Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Pacing yourself is essential to doing it right – otherwise, you’ll start spinning your wheels, and burnout will be inevitable.

Instead, take stock of where you are in your business.

Think ahead to where you want to go in the next year.

• Do you already have customers?
• Do you have a website?
• Are you starting from square one?

Pick up a pen and paper, or settle yourself in front of your computer, and start formulating some goals for content marketing.

Make your goals achievable (but not too easy), and make them measurable.

Need some guidance about goals?

Here are some tips from CMI on setting goals, including how to tie them to key performance indicators (KPIs).

For ideas about goals to reach for, read this article from Copyblogger on 10 Content Marketing Goals Worth Pursuing.

2. Secure Your Content ‘Home Base’

For content creation, lead gathering, and more, you need a home base on the web.

This is:

• Where your content will live.
• What you’ll link to when you share your content on social.
• Where you’ll gather leads from the traffic you pull in.

If you don’t have a website, start researching options.

If you have a website, make sure it’s optimized, user-friendly, and organized by following SEO and usability best practices.

3. Start Strategizing

Now that you have goals, a home for your content, and enthusiasm, it’s time to surge ahead with the rest of your content marketing strategy.

We’ve already discussed strategy, but here are the actionable steps that make it work:

6 Key, Actionable Steps for Content Strategizing

• Target audience research and brand persona development
• Keyword research and SEO opportunity research
• Topic ideation and content planning
• Creating/writing/producing content
• Community building and nurturing
• Sharing and promoting content on social channels

This is a broad list. Each step has its own set of actions and planning involved.

It’s important not to skip any steps. Each is vital for winning at content marketing.

Yes – this takes time, effort, planning, patience, fortitude, and teamwork to get it all done.

Once you get your internet marketing rolling, though, just one piece of content in your arsenal can have an impact like this:

And that’s just what one piece of content can do.

Imagine if you started up a consistent, quality content publishing schedule and built your cache of content assets.

The possibilities are unreal.

…But only if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.

Dig in, plot your course, get creative, build relationships, and enjoy the internet marketing of today.

It’s different from what you’re used to – it has a beating heart.

But that’s a great thing.

More Content Marketing Resources:

• 
  
• Article from: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/internetmarketing/230047/amp/?__twitter_impression=true