Female Influencers: 3 Tips on How to Cultivate your Social Media Presence while Remaining Authentic

Though many women have cultivated their Instagrams as business platforms, representing both their personal brands as well as influencing others with company products, negative feedback and the constant struggle between remaining true to one's self and selling out are just a few of the difficulties faced by people who put so much of themselves online. As a Northwestern student with interests in marketing and social media, I have found two great articles about how female influencers harness the power of their reach while remaining authentic to their individual values.

Fast Company's Carrie Battan, in her article "The Instagram Trap: Social Influence Is Helping Women Build Brands—as Long as They Follow the Rules," writes about female entrepreneurs who have become influencers themselves by simply sharing live updates of their days on Instagram stories and promoting their companies on various platforms. Battan cites Emily Weiss, founder of the cosmetics and skincare company Glossier, as an epitome of this movement: she is an entrepreneur, active on social media, and has amassed almost 500k followers on her personal Instagram account. However, other female CEOs, like vitamin company Ritual's Katerina Schneider, stay away from all social media platforms. Battan presents this spectrum of online engagement throughout her piece, using quotes from recognizable brand name leaders to explain the positives and negatives of social media consumption. 

Eva Chen at an Instagram event
Image Credit: Women with Drive

Eva Chen is a superwoman. From raising two children, to working at Instagram, to traveling around the world for Fashion Week events, she does all of this and more while brilliantly capturing everything on social media! Claudia Torres Rondon's Hola! interview "Eva Chen Reveals her Instagram Dos and Don'ts" provides an intimate look at Chen's daily life and how she balances her career and social media, with her Instagram account boasting over 1.1 million followers. Rondon provides Chen's top five "expert" Instagram tips that range from authenticity to constant content curation, reinforcing the idea that the most successful type of online presence is one that is honest and dynamic.

After reading these articles and comparing what I have learned with what I study at Northwestern as a media marketing student, I recommend the following tips for developing and maintaining a thriving social media presence on Instagram and other platforms:

• Actively Build Community: Interact and build relationships with engaged members on your social media platform.

• Be the Best You: Do not be afraid to express success or failure online if you feel comfortable, as long as your feelings are authentic.

• Voice Your Thoughts: Social media was designed so everyone can express their thoughts; do this respectfully and thoughtfully.

As both a female Northwestern marketing student and an avid social media user, I urge you to think about these three action items the next time you decide to grow your social media presence and online professional persona.

My name is Laurel Wholihan, and I am a third year student at Northwestern University studying Radio/Television/Film, Spanish, Art History, and Integrated Media Marketing and Communications. I am the current co-editor of my school's chapter of Her Campus, an online news and culture resource for college women. I aim to pursue a career in social media marketing and brand partnerships next spring. Find me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Bloggers and Authors: 3 Tips on the Power of Creative and Visual Storytelling

To increase brand awareness with products and services, an innovative approach to tell brand
stories using consumer insights and product benefits while creating that “eye popping” experience builds measurable results. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill, Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) program with an interest in visual storytelling, I have discovered 2 articles you will find interesting and informative. The best way to increase positive human experience and ongoing dialogue is to tell your story with an impactful visual and creative story. In today’s fast paced digital environment, a good visual story with a good caption serves well as people make decisions within seconds as they surf the web.

In, "8 ways to get likes, followers on Instagram," Hannah Clark, Social Media Coordinator of Hootsuite wants to help marketers through the plateau stage of likes and followers. The article discusses ways to leverage Instagram to increase likes and followers.  Ms. Clark suggests that each photograph carry a theme coupled with awesome content. The captions will need to match the photos. To build loyalty and a relationship with followers, stick to a schedule. To create and maintain brand engagement, use unique hashtags to encourage tagging of their photos. Conversations and comments on photos should be in real time to maintain and increase engagement.

Visualize, Create, Be Authentic

In "5 things to pillage from game of thrones," Digital Strategist and NewsCred Blogger, Lauren B. Mangiaforte shared content on how marketers can learn from the HBO television show; Game of Thrones (GoT) amazing storytelling abilities and applies it to marketing strategies. The Game of Throne‘s social media channels are robust with amazing and engaging content. To successfully create good content with the right images, Ms. Mangiaforte suggests that we define and develop meaningful content matched with awesome visual images. To make a larger impact, include traditional marketing in the mix. Once your target audience responds to content, engage, entertain, monitor and build on-going relationships across all necessary platforms (traditional and social media). To increase brand image, give the audience something meaningful and valuable.

After reading these two articles and from my studies in the Northwestern Medill IMC program, I
have three action items you should consider in your next digital story campaign:

• Visualize- an image that will attract your target audience.

• Tell- a story with awesome and meaningful content.

• Schedule- compelling engagement strategies to build an ongoing relationship with your targeted audience.

Visualizing, creating and telling an authentic brand story is an art form. Integrating digital, social and traditional marketing shapes the experience.

My name is Crystal Tousana and I am a Medill, Integrated Marketing Communications Graduate student at Northwestern University. I graduate August 2015 and am passionate about Consumer/Lifestyle Public Relations, Visual Storytelling, Blogging and Photojournalism. You can follower me on Twitter or get connected on LinkedIn.

Brand Managers: 3 Ways to Really Be Authentic

Brand managers know that target audiences want authentic dialogue. They want to be spoken to directly. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications IMC program, I have found 2 articles that address the need for authenticity and present ways to achieve this in brand communications.

As consumer trust moves increasingly towards peers via reviews and social media, skepticism of advertising is growing. Consumer behavior responds to authentic, one-to-one conversation and referrals from trusted sources. In my graduate coursework, I have explored this changing communication relationship between business and consumer. The following articles address the rising importance of casual language with consumers and the value of an emotional connection, even in situations of extreme consumer skepticism.

In Branding Magazine’s article Scaling Familiarity: How Language Can Help Brands Move Closer to Customers author Chad Cipoletti discusses the importance of the familiar language of brands. With greater access to data and a world of social connectivity, brands are viewed more and more as a familiar relationship. Brands are more like the county grocer than the distant celebrity. The language of companies should reflect that. As customers increasingly view corporations more like other “people” (as described in this Baylor College of Medicine study), there is a greater emphasis on the language of brands. With more brand encounters and more touch points, this requires a concentrated effort but also, opportunity! This article highlights this importance and articulates an effective approach to embracing familiar language.

Source: http://www.leadsius.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Peoplebrand.jpg

In another article, Brandbuilder blog author Olivear Blancard’s Advertising and Skepticism describes the consumer’s current environment and how it leads to greater skepticism of advertising. Traditionally, advertising sought out people, and people did not seek out advertising. Today, that relationship has changed. Consumers are skeptical of the truth in the abundance of advertisements and instead rely on trusted sources via peers, social media, or online reviews. This article points to interesting research from the University of Washington on consumer responses to different types of advertisements. The research reveals how even the most skeptical of consumers will respond to emotional advertising. But there’s a balance in tugging on the heartstrings and executing an emotional branding strategy with the right impact. Emotional connection grabs attention, but can also be distracting. The article quotes Vanderbilt University psychologist David Zald: "We observed that people fail to detect visual images that appeared one-fifth of a second after emotional images, whereas they can detect those images with little problem after viewing neutral images.” Emotion has influence, but the key is in finding the sweet spot where the message is relevant to the consumer and in line with the brand character.

Based on the insights in these articles here are 3 ways for your brand to really be authentic:

1. Be familiar with your target market. Reveal your company’s human side in what you say and how you say it.
2. Communicate relevance to your target market. Create emotional experiences that connect deeply with the consumer.
3. Be realistic about the connections you’re trying to make. Match your product accurately with the emotion you’re trying to evoke. The emotional tie can lose value and lead to skepticism if it doesn't match the identity of your brand. 

More and more, consumers place incredible value on a real brand connection and relationship. Brands face pressure to be authentic. The challenge is in determining what authenticity looks like for each brand and implementing a strategy to communicate it.



Katie Lahti was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN where she received her B.A. in Business Leadership and Management and Business Communications from the University of St. Thomas. She has worked in print, digital, and social media in private education and is focusing on brand strategy, content marketing, and digital and interactive marketing in Medill’s Integrated Marketing Communications program. @katielahti

Automotive Marketer: 3 Ways to Leverage the Millennial Consumer

As an Automotive Marketer, you have probably heard that Millennials have money and want to spend it, specifically on cars! In this marketplace, it is essential to understand the Millennial consumer and begin tailoring marketing messages to this newly financially powerful group. As an Integrated Marketing Communications graduate student at Medill Northwestern, I’m constantly learning about new marketing trends, especially in digital marketing, and I have identified two articles that can help you understand this consumer.

In a news release published by Automotive News, TrueCar: New Vehicle Purchasing Power of Millennials Will Reach $135 Billion in 2015, Millennials are out in full force. TrueCar recently stated that the economic situations of Millennial consumers are improving, which translates into more purchasing power, especially in the new vehicle market. Contrary to previous beliefs, Millennials like cars and enjoy what they symbolize (independence and freedom). Millennials also drive more than their predecessors and are well represented (24.9% in 2014) on TrueCar’s mobile marketplace. Their presence is expected to grow in 2015 and TrueCar equates their new vehicle purchasing power to $135 billion in 2015.

www.thetruthaboutcars.com 

Dan Schawbel, in his article for Forbes, 10 New Findings About The Millennial Consumer, also examines Millennial purchasing. Based on his article, the "Millennial profile" would look like this: there are 80 million Millennials in America and traditional forms of advertising are no longer effective. Millennials are not influenced by advertising because they do not find it authentic; they need to trust the source of information. Essentially, individuals win over brands. Millennials enjoy looking for reviews and consulting with blogs before making purchases, again authenticity is king. However, they are not abandoning brands, but rather, want to connect with brands over social media and be responded to. 60% say that they would consider themselves brand loyal to the brands they are currently purchasing. However, one of the most important statistics for you is that 71% of Millennials want to buy a car. They also want to be part of the creative process and co-create products.  

So what does all this mean? After reading these articles and with my marketing experiences from the Northwestern Medill IMC program, I came up with 3 action items that I feel would really allow you to connect to this consumer. 

• Get Social - Having a social presence is not enough, you need to engage with your consumers on a personal level; be authentic, not an automated robot.
  
• Protect Your Reputation- Any social media mishap can go viral, manage your platforms well and give the bloggers something good to talk about.
  
• Avoid Assuming Homogeneity- A 20 year-old Millennial and a 30 year-old Millennial are not cut from the same cloth; understand their needs and tailor your messages to the audience that you want.

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Millennials have enormous buying power and understanding how to leverage that power is important for any marketer. Millennials want vehicles and by using the three suggestions above you can better understand this very powerful market.

Agnes is an IMC student at Northwestern Medill School of Journalism specializing in digital marketing. She has duel bachelor’s degree in Media Communication Studies and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from Florida State University. Contact Agnes through Twitter @Agnes_Wasilewsk or Linkedin.