1) Start with a Goal. Setting goals is crucial to the success of any digital campaign. Before you start your digital journey, you must know your destination. What do you want to accomplish at the end of the campaign? What are the business goals? What results are you expecting? Before getting to the fun tactics like a new website, a mobile app, and a fun video series, STOP and think about what you are trying to accomplish with the tactic. There is a profound bible verse that says where there is no vision, the people perish. I can say the same is true of a marketing campaign without a vision/goal, the campaign is sure to perish/fail.
2) Tell a Meaningful Story. Stories are a powerful way to interact with consumers. We are all shaped by our life experiences, both personal and professional. Story-telling helps companies become more relatable to their consumers. Michael Margolis states in his book Believe Me: a story manifesto for change-makers and innovators, “We are hardwired to seek and make sense of the world through narratives.” In the same book, Margolis states that “Anthropologist content that 70% of everything we learn is through stories”. Customers will share stories that are worth talking about so make sure they have a good story to tell about your brand.
3) Content is King. In the New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott, states that “Content brands an organization as a thought leader”. He goes further to say that instead of just selling something, a great website, blog or podcast series tells the world that you are smart, that you understand the market. “Content turns browsers into buyers.” In today’s marketing environment, you don’t have to be a newspaper, or a consulting firm to provide thought leadership. In fact, companies like Red Bull, a beverage company, are creating compelling content with their key buyers in mind. Content is the meat and potatoes of your digital strategy.
4) Be Flexible. Planning is a crucial step to successful marketing, but you must leave some room for a little spontaneity. Being able to respond to relevant news in real-time is priceless. Just as Oreo responded to the Super Bowl blackout, brands need to have a little fun and allow for some flexibility in their marketing. Developing a real-time marketing mindset enables you not only to capitalize on earned media opportunities but also gives you the ability to stay relevant to your buyers.
5) Make it Simple. My last pearl of wisdom for my client would be to Keep It Simple. Avoid using Gobbledygook. No Marketing Fluff needed. I started my blog exposing the common practice of marketing fluff and I end my blog with giving the ultimate answer to avoiding it - Keep your marketing simple. Make it easy to understand, straightforward, relevant and consistent.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Relationships & Brand Interactions – Are They Different?
I have to agree with the Harvard Business Review article “To Keep Your Customers, Keep it Simple” that consumers don’t want relationships with brands. I personally don’t think we were created to have relationships with our laundry detergent, phone carrier, and/ or favorite clothing company. We are meant to have meaningful relationships with people not things. We are meant to be in relationships with those around us, to love and be loved. Brands can’t give us love, although some may claim, and have claimed they can. That said, I do believe relationships share some strong similarities with the way consumers interact with brands. Below are my top 3 similarities.
1) They always occupy our time and space. Whatever time and place, relationships are always occupying our time. We all have families, co-workers, organization members, and class-mates that we do life with everyday. Brands are the same way. We are constantly spending time with brands. From the time we get up to the time we go to sleep. Whether it be brushing our teeth with either Colgate or Crest or lying down on Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein sheets, we are constantly surrounded by them.
2) The simpler the better. I tend to have the best relationships with people who are easy-going, fun, trust-worthy, consistent, and simple. I am normally attracted to people who have these qualities. In the other hand, my hardest relationships are with people who are complicated, hard to understand, and difficult to get along with. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the complicated people in my life, I just don’t have the closest relationships with them. Similarly, I tend to be attracted to those brands that make it easy for me to interact with them. I also tend to interact more with brands that have clear messaging, great customer support, and offer a consistent product value.
3) We build relationships, one interaction at a time. We often meet people for the first time through a close friend, or through a class project, or at a new job. We then start talking to them and start interacting with them more and more. As the interactions increase, the relationship starts to build, getting stronger and stronger. The same is true with how we build our loyalty with a brand. For example, I first purchased the Apple iPhone, and I really liked the product, and the experience with the brand, so when it came to buying a tablet I chose to buy the Apple Ipad. The more positive interactions I have with a brand, the more I am likely to buy the brand again.
1) They always occupy our time and space. Whatever time and place, relationships are always occupying our time. We all have families, co-workers, organization members, and class-mates that we do life with everyday. Brands are the same way. We are constantly spending time with brands. From the time we get up to the time we go to sleep. Whether it be brushing our teeth with either Colgate or Crest or lying down on Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein sheets, we are constantly surrounded by them.
2) The simpler the better. I tend to have the best relationships with people who are easy-going, fun, trust-worthy, consistent, and simple. I am normally attracted to people who have these qualities. In the other hand, my hardest relationships are with people who are complicated, hard to understand, and difficult to get along with. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the complicated people in my life, I just don’t have the closest relationships with them. Similarly, I tend to be attracted to those brands that make it easy for me to interact with them. I also tend to interact more with brands that have clear messaging, great customer support, and offer a consistent product value.
3) We build relationships, one interaction at a time. We often meet people for the first time through a close friend, or through a class project, or at a new job. We then start talking to them and start interacting with them more and more. As the interactions increase, the relationship starts to build, getting stronger and stronger. The same is true with how we build our loyalty with a brand. For example, I first purchased the Apple iPhone, and I really liked the product, and the experience with the brand, so when it came to buying a tablet I chose to buy the Apple Ipad. The more positive interactions I have with a brand, the more I am likely to buy the brand again.
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