The year is well underway, but if you feel like you’re still doing the same old thing, it’s time to shake up your marketing strategy.
I asked some of my favorite marketing pals how they are changing up their strategies this year. They shared some fantastic insights on how the market is changing and what they are doing to adapt.
Hillary Berman, Popcorn & Ice Cream
2018 is going to be the year of marketing automation.
More and more businesses of all sizes are going beyond basic drip campaigns to convert leads into sales and leveraging martech (the blend of marketing and technology) to encourage greater and more frequent purchases from existing clients, as well as to re-engage legacy clients.
There is definite time and effort required to put systems and campaigns into place, but the benefits can be significant. We recently had a client secure more than $35K in revenue from a client they hadn’t spoken to in years because a re-engagement campaign hit them just at the right time!
www.popcorn-icecream.com or connect with Hillary on LinkedIn
Jake Lloyd, DC SCORES
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about visibility. There is just so, so much content out there. And the average attention span, according to a Microsoft survey in 2016, is 8 seconds. That’s crazy!
So with every Tweet or Instagram post, I ask myself:
- Who do I really want to see this?
- Who will appreciate this and engage with the post?
Once I’ve completed that exercise, I make sure they are appropriately tagged and/or mentioned in the post. That way, my post doesn’t get lost among the clutter and makes it to at least a segment of my intended audience.
Mica Hansen, Cox Reps
Though advertisers have been moving away from television advertising for some time, 2018 may well be the year that content creators finally divorce content providers {traditional media platforms}.
This means advertising will now be based on the viewer instead of the platform.
As users can watch video through mobile, streaming services, full episode players, or on demand – the content (and advertising) will have to accommodate the consumer rather than the other way around.
The takeaway is that your advertising campaigns should be targeted and speak to a specific user base.
Kim Fredrich, The Stylish Marketer
Don’t be afraid to go back to basics.
The key to selling is just having a conversation. A conversation with purpose, but just a conversation. And what’s the best way to do that if you aren’t face to face? On the phone! Yes, business is still done on the phone. So much faster and more effective than email.
www.thestylishmarketer.com or connect with Kim on LinkedIn
Monika Jansen, Jansen Communications
I’m going to shake up my email marketing by ditching a newsletter template and sending a monthly plain-text email instead. This is a trend I’ve noticed, and I really like it.
The emails feel more personal and contain enough information from a blog post that I typically enticed to click over to the company’s website to read more. If it works for others, it might work for me, so hey, why not try it?
www.jansencomm.com or connect with Monika on LinkedIn
Did you notice a trend? I sure did. All of these marketing pros spoke about creating a personal experience for users. Regardless of the technology involved, the underlying message is that each user needs to feel the content is relevant to them.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to these folks with questions, or follow them for more insights!