Get_Fit_Guide

Let's talk about digitally marketing your own personal brand. Say you are good at something or you have mastered some sort of trade.. make an Instagram account out of it! A good friend of mine recently made an Instagram where she discusses different forms of exercise and the proper ways to perform these exercises. She just graduated PT school and liked to incorporate statistics and studies behind each of her workouts. She is great about showing you what not to do, too! I am not the exercising type but seeing this Instagram and her love for it makes me want to learn more. I can only think of the positive things that will come from this Instagram page she has created. While she doesn't have too many followers, she does have the knowledge and willpower to make this a name the exercise world recognizes. Go follow @get_fit_guide !!!

The Blonde Abroad- A Travel Blog

Recently, I have been really into looking at travel blogs. I like seeing where people are going and what people did with the time they had in that specific location. There are hundreds of things to do in any given city, so when I find a "48 hour travel guide for ___" (<-- insert city here), I get kind of excited to see what they narrowed down as their favorites!
The Blonde Abroad is a travel blog I stumbled upon and quickly fell in love with. The site owner organizes her visits by country, and then organizes those by state. It makes it very easy to navigate and find something that might interest you.
What really excites me about this blog is her digital marketing strategy. She is featured all over Pinterest. It is almost impossible to type something about travel into the search bar without having her blog pop up. This makes her blog very accessible, thus probably making her follower base HUGE. This blog owner has really mastered it. Advertise where people want to see and optimize your own website. It's the perfect recipe for success.

Airbnb

This week, let's talk about the incredible digital marketing efforts of Airbnb. I, personally, have never stayed in an Airbnb, but I have scouted the website countless times looking for just the right home at just the right price. I have been successful in finding these places in the past, but I have just never followed through with booking. Airbnb's digital marketing strategy, especially on Instagram, is one of my favorites. They take consumer's photos, edit them to fit their theme, and then post them on their Instagram for nearly 1.7 million people to see. Airbnb features the most unique (not even the most expensive) locations that are available for rent around the world. From a cozy 1-bedroom in Amsterdam to a high rise apartment in Cuba, Airbnb has really found a way to showcase all kinds of rentals in a new light. With the new feature on Instagram where a single post can depict more than one image, Airbnb is taking advantage of the ways to showcase the beauty of these individual places without spamming their 1.7 million followers.

Up and Vanished

Let's talk about a different kind of digital marketing that, in a way, is sweeping the nation. Podcasts aren't new. They've been around for quite some time, but just recently picked up speed, especially when they are discussing the topics of court cases or murders. There are countless podcasts out there, with hundreds of thousands of viewers, but one that particularly sticks out to me is Up and Vanished. Payne, the producer, has really outdone himself not only on providing listeners with information about a big profile murder case, but also accepting sponsorships from companies. I have been a long time listener to this podcast and have heard plugs from Stamps.com, Blue Apron, Dollar Shave Club... really the list is endless. These minute advertisements from sponsors are unique in the way that the listener cannot really avoid them. They are placed periodically throughout the podcast, spoken in the same tone, almost as if to not allow the listener to know that an advertisement is coming. Talk about a marketing strategy! Uninterrupted advertising time for these companies is getting harder and harder to find and doing so through a podcast could be a wave of the future.

Curtsy

Keeping on the topic of dresses from last week, let's talk about this new app called Curtsy. Some of you may have heard about it, as it has taken over UGA's campus by storm. Curtsy is known for sponsoring young, fashionable girls and having them get the word out about the app. This could include supplying them with freebies to hand out at spring parties or even promoting their own clothing listed on the app through that individuals own social media platforms.
An explanation of Curtsy: Have you ever wanted to wear a dress for a few hours but couldn't justify actually purchasing the dress because you knew you would never wear it again? Ever wanted to rent a dress for an event but waited too late and the shipping time to too long? Curtsy is the app for you if you answered yes to any of the above questions. Curtsy allows you to try on and potentially rent a dress from a student that attends the same university as you. The app uses location services to determine what dresses are near you and then you can select a date to rent the dress, pick it up at a convenient time and simply return it, hassle and shipping free. This app is perfect for the individual wanting to be stylish and fashionable, while still keeping a small budget.

Rent the Runway

Let's talk about the genius idea of Rent the Runway. So, if you don't know, Rent the Runway is a high end clothing store that allowed individuals to rent their dresses (or now any type of clothing) for 4-8 days and simply return it when you are done wearing it. They target women that don't want to wear the same thing twice. It makes sense not to spend so much money on a dress when you know that you are only going to wear it a few times before you retire it out of your closet. Their digital marketing strategy is kind of amazing. They allow customers to write reviews and post pictures of the item of clothing they have worn and then allow future customers to search dresses that people with a similar body type wore and see how it looked on them. More than this, however, they also run promotions relating to the upcoming holiday. For instance, Rent the Runway is allowing any dress to be rented for $65. This is an incredible deal because some of their dresses can range from $150+ to be rented for 4 days (depending on the value and designer of the dress). What a brilliant idea.

Etsy

Let's talk about Etsy. Etsy, if you haven't heard, is a vintage-loving, craft-doing, handmade-seeking person's dream. Almost all of the products are handmade by an individual just like us. For less than $1.00, anyone can start a shop, sell a product and create a profit on this site. It's no question that Etsy has a specific kind of buyer. This buyer is looking for unique pieces with a story to tell. Etsy has really got their digital marketing efforts down pat. Because there are individual sellers, each seller wants to ensure their cover photos for their items are impeccable. These images then float the internet and wind up a variety of places, such as Pinterest. These photos are then linked to the Etsy seller's page, thus not only getting the world out about a particular product, but also allowing more people to be introduced to the seller's page. As you might be able to tell from the image below, I have been really into rings lately. Etsy recognizes my search history and keeps my recently viewed items at the top of the homepage. This is important incase an individual were to forget what seller had the particular item they were considering purchasing. If you love unique products, please support the small business owners on Etsy. 

Vintage Revivals- An Instagram Inspiration

So you have decided to redecorate your home. You have decided on a theme but now you simply need some inspiration. Sure you can look to Pinterest for these one-hit-wonder photos, but it might be beneficial to look at Instagram for a creator you like and then go from there. I found Vintage Revivals and have been a loyal follower since. This company has their digital marketing down to a science. They find individuals with a large social media following and offer to redecorate their home. The service of actually having an interior designer come in can be quite expensive, but they do this FREE OF CHARGE, so long as the individual pays for the items they are installing. What a great business plan. These influential individuals want their house to look perfect for their followers and they will want to show it off. Followers will fall in love with this style, hire Vintage Revivals for their own home and they will spread like wildfire. Their digital marketing costs are so low because really all they are investing is their time. Not to mention, companies then notice that they are using their merchandise and then they offer giveaways. Honestly, what a smart plan.

Aspyn Ovard

You might be wondering, "who is Aspyn Ovard"? Before I explain her specifically, I need to give you some background. Aspyn Ovard is a Youtuber. She makes videos about her daily life on her more personal channel and videos centering around health and beauty on her main channel. With almost 5 MILLION subscribers between the two channels, she has created an empire. Her Youtube channel revenues (estimated at around $1.5 million per year) allow her to travel lavishly with her husband and buy endless amounts of clothes that she then blogs about. Urban Outfitters is actually a sponsor of hers. They send her a box of clothing each month and only expect her to show the clothing on either her blog or her channel. HOW COOL!

Aspyn has got this digital marketing thing down pat. Her countless endeavors with companies (Target, Victoria's Secret, UO, Lulus, Pixi Cosmetics, Royal Caribbean) have really set her over the edge in the world of Youtube. Her Instagram (1.9 million followers) has become a hub for travel/fashion/and makeup lovers to collaborate and inspire. The brand that she has created for herself through specifically digital marketing is absolutely incredible.

Blue Apron- Week 1

Let's discuss the amazing digital marketing efforts of Blue Apron. For those of you that do not know... Blue Apron is a subscription service, aimed at individuals with busy lives, that delivers ALL of the ingredients you will need to make a meal. I am not kidding. Literally every ingredient from the butter to the farm raised meat and organic sweet potatoes. Let's entertain the idea of our audience being busy mothers just trying to get dinner on the table after a long day at work.

With nearly 260K followers on Instagram and a net worth of over $2 billion, Blue Apron seems to have it all figured out. Their digital marketing efforts extend not only from ads on Facebook (see right) to a 45 second ad on a podcast called "Up and Vanished", their customer base must be growing. Targeting individuals listening to a podcast to and from work may allow that individual to realize just how busy they are and just how much this product would benefit them. I have even fallen in the trap of their marketing efforts and I have now been a subscriber for almost 2 months. My tummy is so happy.