Psychographics sounds like a pretty intense word does it not? It’s not nearly as crazy as it sounds and it is a key component of marketing and advertising strategies. Psychographics uses psychology in conjunction with demographics to create a set of traits to group consumers by what influences their purchasing behaviors. It’s psychological and cognitive traits of consumers that reveals their beliefs, values and goals. There are factors that influence their psychographics such as, personality characteristics, lifestyle, social class, habits, behaviors and interests. So, how do you find the psychographic data from your audience? Well, there are a few ways. Interview existing clients by sending out a survey or asking directly. It’s asking questions like, “what did you do over the weekend?”
Behavioral Marketing
“Organizations that leverage consumer behavior data to generate insight outperform their competitors but 85% in sales growth,” according to Microsoft. Demographics are important for marketing efforts but it won’t be enough to fulfill your business model goals. This is where behavioral marketing can come into play, as well as psychographics. We’ll talk about the latter in tomorrow’s blog. Today, we are focused on behavioral marketing alone. So, what is behavioral marketing? Let’s define it as the method of using behaviors, interests, intentions, locations, etc. to target audiences. Although it may seem similar to psychographics, the difference lies in that this reveals consumer’s beliefs, values and goals to understand purchasing habits. Behavioral marketing is important to helping your brand tailor ads, attract more leads, increase sales and strengthen bonds with your customers. However, that being said, it’s not enough to just understand your audience because they may not all have the same behaviors within their demographics. This is where segmentation comes into play. Some common segmentations are purchasing behavior, engagement levels,
eBooks: What, How, & Why
If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably also read an eBook at some point in your professional or personal life, but have you ever considered writing one for your business or brand? eBooks are a great way to offer information to your audience and gain more followers and to build your mailing list. eBooks give people the full spectrum of the information they are looking for on a particular topic all in one place. I mean think about it, why read your eBook when they can just surf the web for the info they’re curious about? There’s a reason for this. They are fun, easy to read, visual, as well as educational that people actually want to look at. Aside from this, there are other benefits to creating eBooks, such as inexpensive & quick to produce, easy distribution, can be more in depth than blogs, they’re easily accessible to your audience and they increase in brand credibility. Now that we’ve discussed what it is and how it can benefit your brand, let’s talk about how to create one. As with any book you must first start with a good topic and detailed outline. Think about common questions that people may have about your brand. What can you share that other brands haven’t? Second, design the eBook. Length should be somewhere between 5-10K words depending on the topic. It’s important to make sure that it is visually striking so add graphs, case studies, images, links, and graphics. It’s also important to use PDF or HTML for the eBook since it will be searchable on the internet if so. Be consistent with brand voice through text and design here as well. When designing it’s also crucial to place calls-to-action within the document. This is for lead generation, conversion and promotion. Once your eBook is complete, it’s time to start promoting. Best practices can include taking snapshots and sharing on social channels, share on LinkedIn and community groups where your audience hangs out. Happy writing!
Creativity: Different Types of Research Design
In our creativity research, we’ve learned that deliberate and cognitive are types of creativity. Creativity is not limited to the artsy types who are spontaneous and emotional. This style of creativity will require research. Think of Thomas Edison or Albert Einstein. They were creative leaders who were highly deliberate and cognitively creative with their scientific innovative efforts. This is where research design comes into play with creativity. Research design refers to the overall strategy that will be used to integrate the different parts of a study in a coherent and logical way. It’s a blueprint of how you will collect data, measure it and analyze. It allows you to test a hypothesis. It’s important that your research be conducted in a way that is neutral, reliable, validified and generalized. If you’ve ever taken a science class in college, you’ve probably written a research paper or read plenty of them. T
Content Creator Stats 2023
The creator economy is on the rise and if you ask an American kid nowadays what they want to be when they grow up, chances are that they will reply with, an influencer. Actually, it’s 1 in every 4 kids to be exact. The popularity and growth of the creator economy has almost romanticized becoming an influencer. Interestingly enough though, only 11% make between 50K-100K. These numbers can easily be considered a typically “living” in the U.S. for an individual depending on where they’re located.
AI in Advertising
A.I. is all the fuss right now in the advertising community. It’s got a lot of people up in arms who are against it and those who are pro artificial intelligence for advertising, are shouting to the rooftops why it’s a good thing. As with most things, there are positive and negative aspects to this topic. So, in order to understand this more we took a deep dive into Artificial Intelligence in advertising. It seems there are a lot of benefits to using AI in advertising but with even more drawbacks. In this article we won’t take a stance on it just yet. We feel there is much more research to be done in order to completely understand how AI will affect the industry. However, we want to leave you with a pros and cons list so that you can start to make your own viewpoint.
Leadership: Traits to Embody
We recently talked about the different types of a creative leaders and also their habits but what about just their traits in general aside from creativity? Having good leadership qualities is what will set you apart from the rest. Here are some traits that we believe to be of the utmost importance as a leader. These are the traits that we try to live by here at Locomotive.
A/B Testing
What is A/B testing? Well, if you’re in the marketing and advertising world chances are you already know. For those of you that may not it’s also known as split testing or bucket testing. Basically, it’s comparing two versions of something against one another other to determine which one performs better. They’re often used in marketing and advertising but it isn’t limited to these fields. They’re important experiments to determine higher ROI, lower the risk of failure and help strengthen your marketing and advertising efforts to name a few. So, we now know what it is and why they are done but how are they composed? First, you need to know what it is that you want to test. Do you want to test where to place a CTA
Psychology of Creativity
Neurology is intertwined with creativity and how it works within the brain. There is research to show that those who are creative use the three brain systems of neural networks: the default/imagination network, the salience network and the executive network. The salience network is a large-scale neuro network located deep within the brain. It is in charge of complex functions, such as social behavior, communication and self-awareness. This system plays a role in motivation and readiness to act to stimuli. The default mode is one that works when we are in our resting state.
FTC Proposed Ban on Noncompete Clauses: Friend or Foe?
Let’s be real, we’ve all signed one at one point or another in our professional careers whether we wanted to or not. That’s the kicker, right? If you want that bright and shiny new job that you’ve been working for, you really have no choice. Most noncompetes are not overly egregious but they will still enforce some level of restriction on employees who decide to leave a company. The FTC has proposed a ban on noncompetes in advertising that could take a few years to complete. Nonetheless, some are for it and others are up in arms about it. We thought it would be beneficial to list out some pros and cons of a noncompete so you can decide for yourself whether or not you think they should go.
Advertising for Good
We recently read the Adage article on how advertising companies can help with promoting activism. Aka. Advertising for good. It made us think of some of the campaigns we’ve been a part of, one of which was very recent for help during Natural Disasters. Over the span of our time here at Locomotive, we’ve managed to be part of campaigns that really bring out the best in all of us. Our recent work with Home Depot for disaster relief is one we’re very proud of but it’s not just limited to this one campaign. We’ve done campaigns the spotlight human kindness. And one for Comcast called, “Lift Zones,”
Looming Recession and Consumer Spending Trends 2023: Reducing Excess Ad Spend
There is a big public argument right now whether or not we will go into a recession. We don’t have the answers but we can say that inflation is at an extreme high and that is affecting the way that consumers are spending. HubSpot conducted a survey to see how people are responding to the spending habits and %30 are spending less than they previously were. 34% said that if a recession is officially declared then they will decrease their home budget. This survey also included things that consumers spent their money on during financially uncertain times. It’s not surprising that it included: essential gro
Disconnection Crisis: How to Solve with UGC
In an ever-connected world, how is it that brands are more disconnected than ever with their audience? According to Forbes, “only 13% of consumers said that content from a brand is impactful and a mere 8% said influencer-created content would highly impact their purchasing decisions.” So, what’s going on that despite all these digital spaces to meet customers where they are at, brands still can’t connect with their audiences? Well, let’s start with the obvious. The pandemic changed everything. The way we work is no longer a 9-5 in an office and probably won't ever be again. According to HubSpot, “40% o
Creativity Series: Osborn Parnes Creative Problem-Solving Process
You want to stand out from everyone else in the workplace to show your value as an employee. What better way to do this than through creative problem solving!? This week in our creativity series we will be going over the Osborn Parnes creative problem-solving process. It can provide a structural approach to finding resolutions and can result in multiple solutions to your problems. His model is structured as such:
Things to Tell Younger Self for Locomotive
We’ve all heard the saying, “If I knew then what I know now.” That’s the trick to life, right? You learn as you go, so the older you get, the wiser you become. It’s easy to wish that you were wiser when you were younger, but that does take some of the fun out of the journey does it not? However, we thought this was a fun idea to use for a blog topic. What are four things that we wish we would have known when we started this business? So, we asked our founder, Dustin Pagliughi his thoughts and this is what he said.
What People Are Saying About Working with Us
“The team at Locomotive has taken the daunting task of sourcing and licensing UGC content and whipped it into a seamless experience from start to finish. They're experts in their field, allowing me to rest easy in working with them as a partner. I consider them a trusted resource in helping to deliver quality work in a stress-free environment.”
-Annie (Senior Producer, Media Monks)
The Side Hustle: Creator Economy
“Side-hustle ideas” jumped 326% since September 2022, according to Momentum Worldwide Trends. I mean, honestly, who doesn’t have a side hustle in today’s economy? Especially now that hybrid work has become something we’re all very familiar with since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It has enabled a lot of people to pursue other forms of income other than their main stream. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are now offering ways to make money as a brand through promotion or as a creator through reels and partnership collaborations.
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
Importance of Creative Thinking in Business
Brands that embrace creativity are more innovative and resilient. Creative thinking is important in all fields, not just those of art. As we’ve learned from our past articles, we know that creativity is key for all types of business to strive and grow. It allows employees to think outside the box and come up with new solutions. This can create something new from different perspectives. Aside from this there are some key benefits to creative thinking in the workplace. Here are our top picks.
1. Fosters innovation. Outside the box thinking will bring your brand forward with new ideas. You can end up with unexpected opportunities and solutions.
2. Improves collaboration. Bouncing ideas off of one another lends to open-mindedness. They will have to work together with flexibility in mind and hone in on their listening skills. This improved collaboration will inherently happen through creative thinking at the workplace.
3. Increase productivity. Using your creative mind and critical thinking mind allows you to work smarter, not harder.
4. Allows for adaptability. When you have a creative environment at work, it allows your brand and those within it to be more flexible in terms of shifting when unexpected changes happen or need to be made.
5. Growth necessity. We talked about the learn-it-all mindset for growth and have a creative mind at work is no different. Listening to new ideas and learning from others will help your brand grow.
Creativity isn’t limited to the art world. It’s required in all businesses for problem solving. One method of creative problem solving is called the SCAMPER method.
Substitute: What can I substitute to improve product/service?
Combine: How can I combine this product/service with something else to improve?
Adapt: How can I adapt this product/service?
Modify: Can I modify to make better?
Put to Another Use: How else could this be used?
Eliminate: What can I remove or how can I remove costs?
Reverse or Rearrange: Can I rearrange to improve?
There are immense amounts of topics and subjects within business that are perfect for the creative mind. New ideas in any department will make a difference. Thinking differently will open your mind to explore new realms of opportunity. Time to get creative!
The Art of Storytelling
Oral and visual storytelling has been around since the age of the caveman. Around 200BC, written stories began in the era of Shakespeare. This style of written and oral storytelling continued until our digital age when television was born in 1939. Storytelling is definitely an art that will engage consumers, evoke emotional responses and help people remember your brand. Some are great storytellers and others, well, are not so great. The good news is that it is a skill set that can be learned, practiced and improved upon. Good storytelling is about making an emotionally compelling and memorable narrative that ties facts together in an interesting way. And boy do people love to be told a good story! Here are some of our tips to becoming a better storyteller.
