How Rosetta Stone used Mobile Marketing to Increase Site Traffic

According to Fortune Magazine, Gen-Xers (35 to 49 years old) spend more time online than any other group at 7 hours per week. Millennials (18-34 years old) spend 7 hours per week on social. We have seen a rise in companies that have turned to mobile marketing and social media as a way to connect with these demographics. Rosetta Stone saw the trend and tapped into YouTube as a medium that went straight for their target audience. Jumping on the social bandwagon early, Rosetta Stone boosted its brand online.

Leveraging YouTube led to the creation of “Boring Bill,” a character who transforms his boring life into one of excitement by learning a new language. It’s a humorous campaign that shows the target audience how Rosetta Stone could vastly improve their lives. And, it worked. Rosetta Stone reportedly increased its mobile traffic by ten times!

Together we’ll look into Rosetta Stone’s strategy and how it has made a difference for their brand. This will help you create your strategy and position your brand for growth.

About Rosetta Stone

Founder Allen Stoltzfus began Rosetta Stone in 1992 as a way to learn Russian more easily. Since then they have created courses for over 30 languages. Rosetta Stone became one of the most demanded products for language learning. Many people knew who they were, even popular phrases they used in their language classes. But it was only the beginning for the brand.

Initially, courses used CD-ROM, but in 2013 they evolved into cloud-based software solutions to help people interact from anywhere. This made the software more accessible and built for the modern age. Since then, people look to Rosetta Stones for great language learning.

They also provide English literacy products for children from 4 to 18. Students and teachers around the globe can access courses online.

Using Social Media to Sell a Social Product

People don’t want to learn a language to know something extra. It’s about what they will experience and the new doors that will open up for them. It’s opportunities and excitement. Learning a new language is a social endeavor. People want to learn a language to meet new people and visit interesting exotic places. 

These are people that seek to expand their horizons. Rosetta Stone understands its audience and where they like to hang out. They touch them where they live, on social media. People search for travel bloggers, watch tours or cool scenery all over the world, and interact with others in different cultures. They likely try to pick up on a few words through interacting with and consuming content.

Rosetta Stone’s marketing strategy made use of YouTube’s video Masthead and TrueView to increase brand awareness and reach people where they spend the most amount of time, on their phones.

By targeting people where they are, Rosetta Stones spoke to the right audience and moved them to action.

Business Goals

The initial marketing goals that Rosetta Stone had set for themselves included creating brand awareness, increasing website traffic, and motivating visitors to sign up for a free trial.

To accomplish these goals, they successfully connected with their YouTube audience. However, they knew that to increase their online video presence and reach out to their target audience; they had to come up with something creative.

They created several iterations of their campaign using TrueView insights. They used TrueView to gauge what creative ideas had the most significant impact on their target audience.

Aside from this, Rosetta Stone knew they needed content that would grab hold of viewers. So, they decided to engage in a campaign that would show people how Rosetta Stone could change their lives.

Rosetta Stone took advantage of two things. They showed it, not told it. By showing what the program is and what it can do, people could picture themselves doing it too. They wrote Rosetta Stone into their own stories.

The second thing is that the brand highlighted benefits, not features. They knew people didn’t want to learn a language to say that they learned something new, but they wanted to because of the doors it would upon up and the connections they could make with other people. This is what they showed in their campaigns.

Results Of Digital Marketing

Rosetta Stone’s initial campaigns resulted in a ten percent increase in mobile traffic to the site. Also, there was a 51% increase in YouTube channel subscribers due to this two-pronged mobile approach adopted by Rosetta Stone. YouTube search marketing experienced an 89% lift in brand traffic.

YouTube is a powerful resource, often overlooked. It is the 2nd largest search engine, right behind Google. And unlike Google, there are fewer brands that are competing with each other due to barriers of entry like equipment and production costs. Brands can use this to their advantage, just like Rosetta Stone had.

Rosetta Stone was an early adopter of mobile media. It is still a powerful marketing tool that continues to help create brand awareness and increase site traffic.

What You Can Do Today

Decide on what benefits your product gives. What makes someone’s life better? If you sell cars, you don’t sell a machine or transportation. You give someone freedom. You give them opportunities to make a living. You give them family memories. This is what you want to promote when you are spreading the word about your brand. 

Use the latest tools to market your brand. Get creative and find ways you can use a unique advantage to reach your audience. Rosetta Stone has done a great job and by following brands like these, you can model your strategy.

Image Credit: Rosetta Stone