{"id":5769,"date":"2020-03-09T08:07:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T13:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.zoha-islands.com\/?p=5769"},"modified":"2020-03-09T08:07:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T13:07:17","slug":"the-heart-science-of-second-life-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/the-heart-science-of-second-life-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Heart &#038; Science of Second Life Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ipsLayout_contentArea\">\n<div id=\"ipsLayout_contentWrapper\">\n<nav class=\"ipsBreadcrumb ipsBreadcrumb_top ipsFaded_withHover\"><\/nav>\n<div id=\"ipsLayout_mainArea\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ipsCoverPhoto_photo\" src=\"https:\/\/content.invisioncic.com\/Mseclife\/monthly_2019_08\/SL_Header3.jpg.f15b2c00ed43789fcbeb5ba00546fd40.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-action=\"toggleCoverPhoto\" data-positioned=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<header>\n<div id=\"elBlogHeader\">\n<div class=\"ipsPageHead_special ipsCoverPhoto\" data-controller=\"core.global.core.coverPhoto\" data-url=\"https:\/\/community.secondlife.com\/blogs\/blog\/4-featured-news\/?csrfKey=0a3e494991e2a15529752ee91693b514\" data-coveroffset=\"100\">\n<div class=\"ipsColumns ipsColumns_collapsePhone\" data-hideoncoveredit=\"\">\n<div class=\"ipsColumn ipsColumn_fluid\">\n<h1 class=\"ipsType_pageTitle ipsType_break ipsContained_container\"><span class=\"ipsPageHead_barText ipsType_break ipsContained\"> Featured News <\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<article class=\"ipsBox ipsPad ipsSpacer_top ipsType_break\">\n<header>\n<div>\n<h1 class=\"ipsType_pageTitle ipsType_largeTitle ipsContained_container\"><span class=\"ipsType_break ipsContained\"> The Heart &amp; Science of Second Life Marketing <\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"ipsPhotoPanel ipsPhotoPanel_tiny ipsSpacer_top\">\n<div class=\"ipsPos_right ipsResponsive_noFloat ipsResponsive_hidePhone\">\n<div data-followapp=\"blog\" data-followarea=\"entry\" data-followid=\"3700\" data-controller=\"core.front.core.followButton\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/article>\n<header>\n<div>\n<div class=\"ipsPhotoPanel ipsPhotoPanel_tiny ipsSpacer_top\">\n<div class=\"ipsPos_right ipsResponsive_noFloat ipsResponsive_hidePhone\"><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"ipsUserPhoto ipsUserPhoto_tiny\" title=\"Go to Brett Linden's profile\" href=\"https:\/\/community.secondlife.com\/profile\/1016888-brett-linden\/\" data-ipshover=\"\" data-ipshover-target=\"https:\/\/community.secondlife.com\/profile\/1016888-brett-linden\/?do=hovercard\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/content.invisioncic.com\/Mseclife\/monthly_2018_06\/brett-new.thumb.jpg.fb9717a715eb4b27fb3984b7a4596cb0.jpg\" alt=\"Brett Linden\" \/> <\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ipsType_light ipsType_reset ipsType_blendLinks\">Entry posted by Brett Linden \u00b7 <time title=\"03\/03\/2020 08:56 PM\" datetime=\"2020-03-04T01:56:00Z\" data-short=\"5 dy\">Tuesday at 08:56 PM<\/time><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ipsTags ipsList_inline \">\n<li>marketing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"ipsSpacer_top ipsSpacer_double ipsType_normal\">\n<div class=\"ipsType_richText ipsType_break ipsContained\">\n<div data-controller=\"core.front.core.lightboxedImages\">\n<p>We\u2019ve gotten quite a few questions lately about how we market Second Life to potential new residents. Insight into our current and future marketing strategies is important because it provides a glimpse into our efforts to help grow the Second Life population and economy as it enters its 17th year of operations. That\u2019s why our current Marketing team has been working hard over the past year to sharpen our growth initiatives with more efficient and targeted campaigns that reach across many paid, organic and social channels. Keep reading to learn what we\u2019re doing now and in the near future &#8211; we\u2019ll be <a href=\"https:\/\/community.secondlife.com\/blogs\/entry\/3698-lab-gab-episode-16-streams-this-friday-at-11am-ptslt-linden-lab-marketing-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">discussing our plans in even more detail this Friday<\/a> on the live video stream of our weekly <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLC31ohsOopvcEe0gx7W65ajzPMpsvf8Ep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u201cLab Gab\u201d<\/a><\/em> program (found on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Secondlife\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/secondlife\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/mixer.com\/SecondLife\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Mixer<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/secondlife\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>).<strong>PAID\/PERFORMANCE MARKETING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the paid\/performance marketing front, we modernized our acquisition efforts last year by putting into place the use of new technologies that allow us to more precisely target new users across numerous themes, communities and genres. As part of this effort, we\u2019ve identified a few dozen strategically-relevant, high-impact community segments and themes &#8212; all of which now have new related display, search and video ad content served against specific matched keyword inquiries and sites. Some ads are also served across social media to those with social profiles that express an interest in some or all of our targeted themes. That means that you might see new sci-fi roleplaying ads appearing on some sci-fi fan sites, social media pages, or new romance ads on long-distance relationship forums &#8211; the list goes on\u2026<\/p>\n<p>In many cases, Second Life ads are also set up as multivariate tests that help us determine which combination of images, text, and call-to-actions perform the strongest for click-through rates and retention. So, some ads may look identical except for one variation in text or imagery as we test and learn which combinations convert best. Among the themes with high traffic volume and interest among potential new residents are those that involve fashion and\/or avatar customization, identity exploration, fun socialization and chat (\u201cmeet new friends,\u201d etc.) and several specific roleplaying communities (with many campaigns going deep into specific areas such as maternity, fantasy, sci-fi and vampire themes). One consistently high-volume (but often polarizing) theme is \u201cromance\u201d as these ads tend to have high click-through rates that ultimately bring a large number of new people into Second Life. However, SL is so much more than a place where you might meet or hook up with a potential partner &#8211; so we aim to balance out the overall portfolio with a range of themes across the overall marketing mix. Striking the right balance with a combination of heart and science in our ad creatives is a key concern and goal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DISPLAY AD CAMPAIGN EXAMPLES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While we have hundreds of ads in rotation at the moment, here are a few examples of some of our more recent ads that are performing particularly well for click-through and conversion rates across multiple languages:<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/content.invisioncic.com\/Mseclife\/monthly_2020_03\/SL-Ads-1.jpg.c76daa5765f0b41bc7959e1eaecf41a4.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" data-fileid=\"90447\" data-ipslightbox=\"\" data-ipslightbox-group=\"g27926\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/content.invisioncic.com\/Mseclife\/monthly_2020_03\/SL-Ads-1.jpg.c76daa5765f0b41bc7959e1eaecf41a4.jpg\" alt=\"SL-Ads-1.jpg\" width=\"585\" height=\"655\" data-fileid=\"90447\" data-ratio=\"111.97\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/content.invisioncic.com\/Mseclife\/monthly_2020_03\/SL-Ads-2.jpg.58c4ed0cb6f2a7b7c9959f3ffd65a797.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" data-fileid=\"90448\" data-ipslightbox=\"\" data-ipslightbox-group=\"g27926\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/content.invisioncic.com\/Mseclife\/monthly_2020_03\/SL-Ads-2.jpg.58c4ed0cb6f2a7b7c9959f3ffd65a797.jpg\" alt=\"SL-Ads-2.jpg\" width=\"580\" height=\"385\" data-fileid=\"90448\" data-ratio=\"66.38\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To be clear, we don\u2019t want to limit our messaging just to those themes that get the most clicks &#8211; that doesn\u2019t do justice to the true creativity and diversity of the Second Life community, culture, and overall experience. That\u2019s why our overall ad strategy includes campaigns that aim to appeal to a more diverse mix of users (even if those themes have a lower volume of potential new users). In fact, some of the most successful retention rates we see come from campaigns with smaller and niche themes.<\/p>\n<p>Further, some communities tend to spend more L$ than others and\/or login more often and for longer periods of time. Among the most promising new and forthcoming campaigns are those targeting themes that better explore issues of identity formation and creative freedom of expression. In particular, we are looking to expand our campaign efforts to further embrace the furry\/anthro, tiny, creator and LGBTQ+ communities. If you think we\u2019re missing the boat on any specific themes or communities and\/or have a question about our segmentation content strategy, then please <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSfoP1oDEhfRV4ksqsIJc6O0DxsWpSuogmrYj_CUZ1P3nZHv0w\/viewform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">give us your feedback<\/a> and we may address your comments in this Friday\u2019s<em> \u201cLab Gab.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>VIDEO ADS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the newer areas of focus in our marketing is the use of paid video advertising. We\u2019re now in the process of developing dozens of new video ads to promote Second Life across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other outlets that support video advertising.<\/p>\n<p>You may have already noticed our recent <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xwncQytr61A&amp;list=PLC31ohsOopveR6dpib2-b1iFvoGioeFsH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u201cSecond Life Destinations\u201d<\/a> <\/em>video series, produced in partnership with Draxtor Despres. This web series, which is distributed across our social media channels, explores a different community or theme each week. While these longer fly-through videos are not intended to be ads, we do simultaneously create shorter ad edits from each episode. That means that each episode is accompanied by shorter fifteen- and thirty-second formats that are used for targeted paid advertisements to non-residents. Here\u2019s a side-by-side comparison of how a longer video about surfing destinations was truncated into a fifteen-second ad edit:<\/p>\n<p><em>Original Social Video &#8211; &#8220;Second Life Destinations &#8211; Surfing Hot Spots&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ips_uid_7004_6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NyOXXImbkzk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>15-Second Ad Edit &#8211; Catch a Wave in Second Life\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ips_uid_7004_6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kYfedl9t6tY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of how our<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLC31ohsOopvdkIsM9wdpNPWyCH6k_gtdR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u201cLove Made in Second Life\u201d<\/a> %<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Featured News &nbsp; The Heart &amp; Science of Second Life Marketing Entry posted by Brett Linden \u00b7 Tuesday at 08:56 PM marketing We\u2019ve gotten quite a few questions lately about how we market Second Life to potential new residents. Insight into our current and future marketing strategies is important because it provides a glimpse &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/the-heart-science-of-second-life-marketing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,3,4,5,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoha-islands.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}