At our subscription marketing agency, we understand that an individual can subscribe to a great deal of things. Be it an idea or proposal, or a magazine or subscription box. The market for the latter, however, has grown exponentially in recent years. In fact, projections show that, by 2022, the sector in the UK alone will be worth over £1 billion.
Naturally, this increase in demand introduces more competition as business after business comes searching for their market share. This makes marketing more important, as greater steps must be taken to stand out from the crowd. Whilst marketing plans for businesses within the same industry are often relatively similar, this cannot be said for the subscription box industry. With subscriptions ranging from beer and gin to meal kits; beauty products to collectables and memorabilia, marketing strategies need to be adjusted depending on the type of subscription you’re providing.
That’s not to say there aren’t any universal tips that should be considered, however. VerriBerri’s dedicated marketing and PR team have isolated some essential advice to help you get started.
Design
We think it’s fair to assume that if you’re getting serious about marketing, you already know the kind of thing that will be included in your box. With that out the way, now you need to work out how to make it desirable to your target consumers.
Yes, a cool logo is certainly ideal, but your branding needs to be a whole lot more than that. In fact, you need to carry your chosen design across every aspect of your business. Further to this, even the way your box is packaged, and the materials used, will affect the buying decision of potential customers. With this in mind, ensure the design matches the products inside and the feeling you want your customers to have once they receive it. Does your subscription box offer high-end beauty products, for example? If so, you’ll want your box to radiate a sense of quality and opulence. Craft beer, on the other hand, may call for a more ‘edgy’ feel.
Website and SEO
Your product needs to fit the bill, but make sure your website gets the attention it requires too! It’s essential that it’s not only consistent with your brand but also easy to use. The team at our subscription marketing agency has a great deal of experience here. In order for people to truly appreciate the design choices that went into the box, not to mention its contents, they must first be impressed with the design and functionality of your website. After all, this is where people will be signing up to subscribe! Simply making sure your website looks trustworthy plays a big part in this. Revisiting the high-end beauty box example; the website must match the customer’s expectations. It will be near-impossible for your brand to build a customer base if the product is pushed on an outdated website riddled with substandard content. Okay, so you’re proud of your site… now what?
Well, it’s all well and good having the perfect site, but now it needs to be seen! This can be achieved best by working on your SEO. Following the development and implementation of an SEO strategy, you will see particular keywords and phrases related to your niche start to improve. There are multiple ways you can approach this; but one of the best is to create a blog page on your website. Blogs don’t only provide visitors with valuable tips and knowledge, reflecting the expertise of your brand, but also function as the perfect opportunity to organically include relevant key phrases.
Social Media
As a subscription marketing agency, we are constantly immersed in the ever-changing world of social media. Whether it be our own or a clients’, constant updates and engagement are essential. As you can imagine, doing this daily means our expertise is second to none!
When it comes to marketing a subscription box, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are great tools. With billions of people across the globe using social media each day, finding your target audience is no difficulty. This method of creating brand exposure will provide you with direct access to your potential consumers.
It should go without saying (but we’ll say it anyway), that your branding should be consistent across all your social media channels. Every post should be of a quality that you’re happy to associate with your business. You should also encourage your subscribers to post about their box on their own social media, tagging your page in the process. This provides your brand with more exposure and gives you more content to potentially reuse. In fact, by sharing your subscriber’s posts, your brand will become more personable and your customer relationships will noticeably flourish.
Influencer Marketing
As we’re on the topic of social media, it’s worth going into influencer marketing. Any avid Instagram user will have undoubtedly come across their fair share of this already. We have several working at our subscription marketing agency, in fact! Asking online celebs to endorse your box is a great way to promote your brand to an extended audience, ideally securing a selection of new customers and followers as a result. Don’t ask any tom, dick or harry though!
Make sure to put in the research to ensure the following of your influencers of choice is in line with your target consumer. Once a list has been made you can start to reach out. Obviously, friendliness is key when asking whether they would be happy to post about your box on their social channels. Assuming they’re interested, this is where you can start to negotiate a fee. Depending on the individual, this can range from simply receiving the product for free to paying upwards of £1000 for a video endorsement. The latter may sound a little startling, but that’s the beauty of influencer marketing: there are hundreds of thousands of people to choose from. If you can’t meet the rates of one, simply look for another!
Don’t Forget Public Relations!
You could say, as an encompassing term, that public relations is the complex art of reputation management. As with any B2C business, you will want to ensure your reputation is something to be proud of. Aside from offering an engaging and memorable consumer experience, the best way to gain a great reputation is to secure press exposure. This can be difficult to do without pre-existing connections with media outlets and their journalists.
For this reason, we strongly recommend outsourcing any PR activity to an agency, like VerriBerri, as our connections allow us to guarantee results. When you’re subscription box service features in a large-scale publication, your business will benefit from all the views. This is especially true when you’re able to put a face to the brand and offer a human interest story that delves into any behind-the-scenes action!
Are you looking to grow your customer base through brand exposure? Yes? Then why not give our subscription marketing agency a call on 01376 386 850, or click here to reach the team directly. We would be delighted to help you with any marketing or PR efforts you’re interested in!