Tested Marketing Tactics with Fiverr
Fiverr’s digital marketplace connects millions of businesses with skilled freelancers from around the world. In 2020 they expanded into ten new countries.
We caught up with Chief Marketing Officer Gali Arnon, to discuss how they pivoted their marketing strategy to thrive amidst the global pandemic:
“If you move fast, and are flexible, agile, it can work to your benefit.”
Gali also shared her views on which marketing channels to use and when, and how to approach personalised and localised marketing.
How has Fiverr reacted to the pandemic?
The changing global scene in March 2020 meant Fiverr’s planned marketing campaigns were no longer relevant, or even logistically possible. As Gali explained, “ultimately we needed to do everything different”.
Using its abundant pool of freelance talent, Fiverr created a video called ‘Working Remotely’, depicting a company tapping into a team of freelancers to create an advertising campaign in response to Covid-19.
Gali and her team also spotted an opportunity in terms of media spend. Perversely, at a time when viewership was increasing, the cost of digital advertising dropped as many companies reigned in their spending.
Fiverr’s 250+ annual events were all moved online, which had a positive knock on effect by driving more traffic and engagement to their site.
They also invested resources into supporting their large community base, creating case studies and new hubs to help businesses make the shift to online.
How do you determine which marketing channels to use?
It depends on your size, industry, and budget. Make sure you tailor your marketing strategy to your business.
For Gali, first and foremost you must be data driven. One of the leading marketing principles at Fiverr is: “Measure everything you do”. Being able to confidently attribute customers to the correct channel is crucial for businesses to maximise their marketing budgets. However, you need to leave enough room for intuition and gut-feeling in decision making. Experience and common-sense should not be undervalued.
According to Gali, the priority for startups should be intent-based marketing: “When people are looking for your product or service you have to be there”. SEO and PPC are great places to start and are where you are going to see the best ROI. For those with tight budgets, focusing on long-tail keywords can be an effective and relatively inexpensive strategy.
Once mastered, companies can consider moving to the next stage – intent-creation. Fiverr has used Social Media and influencers to great effect in their own branding campaigns.
How about personalisation?
Before introducing personalised messaging, companies should identify and gain a deep understanding of their different customer groups.
While harnessing quantifiable customer data is obviously a crucial element here, qualitative data should not be overlooked.
Gali regularly meets with (currently virtually) a range of both freelance and business customers to learn about their experiences using Fiverr. “Their first-hand experience and communication are irreplaceable in the mix”.
A strong piece of advice from Gali: closely monitor the timing and frequency of your personalised ads. “If you bombard your customers with messages, they will stop listening to you”. Timing is key. Real-time and reactive communications using notifications and in-product messaging can be utilised to great effect.
Any advice for launching in a new country?
Every culture is different. What you know for one country is not relevant for another, even if they share a language.
Make sure you do market research.
Before launching in a new market, Fiverr analyses data of existing customers from that country. They also make use of local experts – people who speak the language and have a deep understanding of the culture.
It is critical to have a clear view of aspects such as competitors, market landscape, and audience maturity before you build a plan.
In summary: “Start small, test, see what’s working. And then go”.
