In the last few years there has been an emergence of a vast number of players in the field of marketing technology. Although it is becoming harder to identify where the disruption will come from next, it is clear when looking at the landscape that something big is happening.
What is important for you to understand is how these organizations and the pieces of this puzzle fit into your business.
Marketing rests on your ability to harness the research, creative capabilities, and media around you to experiment, remain relevant, differentiate your business, and create sustainable growth. Where should you start? Leverage technology so that you or your staff can build the marketing muscle you need to enhance your brand.
Research
Research consists of the insights you gather from the information available to you for the purpose of identifying where you should focus your marketing activities. To research effectively, you need to look, listen and engage.
- LOOK – Public data is available that can help you get insights on marketing performance across all channels – search, website, social platforms and online advertising. Examine the analytics from your website, updates, shares and emails to monitor the behaviour of your audience and help you decide on the best opportunities that exist for your business.
- LISTEN – You want to know:
- Where people are talking
- What people are talking about
- When they are discussing your products or ones similar to yours
- How they feel about the products and services you provide
- ENGAGE – People are talking publically and you have the opportunity to monitor and analyze a lot of the conversations happening out there. Find out what matters most to people to decide when and where to engage people on content that is relevant to them.
Research can provide a comprehensive picture of your clients – how they act, what they talk about and what they think about as it relates to your products and offerings.
Creative Marketing
The creative side of your marketing consists of the images and messages you formulate to build your brand. It has often been time consuming and expensive to outsource the creation of your marketing materials. Now, it is easier than ever to create your own art and design, whether for a website, an ad or brochure.
Even if doing this on your own still seems out of reach, accessing freelancers to do the work has become much easier.
Media for Marketing
You need to figure out the best media channels – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. – to deliver your messages and to have the conversations you believe will resonate and captivate prospective clients.
Leverage technology to target and test your messaging:
- Be more contextual
- Have more impact in your campaign
- Identify the best ways to manage and monitor your message
Your goal is to get people to see, open, read and respond. Your insights will tell you what works and you can make adjustments accordingly. You should continuously take time to look at the analytics behind your efforts.
By leveraging the technology and applications available to you and your business, you can take hold of building your brand. What are you doing to engage your clients and prospect that keeps you relevant and demonstrates your commitment to service excellence?
