Trends and predictions were the big topics at the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit held in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago –– marketing experts sharing what they’ve seen in the ever-changing landscape of branding and marketing, both online and off, inbound and push. What was especially interesting to me was that for every new approach, there was a traditional approach that still proved effective. For every new tool or technology, brand strategy and marketing planning trumped tactics every time.
Everything old is new again? (Wait, there’s a great song in there somewhere!) Well, not everything old is new, but it seems we’re coming full circle. Here’s some of what I heard.
Marketing Trends: Old is New Again
Mobile is the next big thing . . . no really . . . this year. Ironically, two different moderators said that that statement has headlined their marketing conferences for the last six years. And while, no doubt, mobile marketing really is the big thing, particularly for many b-to-c markets (retail, restaurants, location-based service), most b-to-b companies still need to design their websites primarily for the desktop or laptop screen.
Design rules. Everyone has a website, many are regular bloggers; but if a promising SEO search leads to a boring or cluttered site or blog, you’ve lost your audience. Our brains can translate images 60,000 times faster than text. That is reason alone to over-invest in design. People share what looks good (and what puts them in a good light). Same for video, which can also be a great storytelling tool (see next trend).
Storytelling (whether in video or content) is trending everywhere. While storytelling should be at the heart of your content, the best content is about telling a true story well. And the best stories, particularly for advisory firms, are those about your customer, not about you. What did you fix or solve? Who did you help? That’s what your customer will relate to.
Branding is still important, “but we hate the term.” This was shared by the marketing VP at Johns Hopkins University, where incidentally, print media still works best for the grad student population, direct mail reaches alumni best, and wearables are what hook the undergrad prospects. In general, we dislike the word branding, it’s come to mean too much and nothing at the same time, yet savvy marketers are aware that brand perception and positioning are more important than ever, particularly with an established or legacy brand.
Invite conversation and engagement, and monitor. While so much is to be gained by creating connections in social media, sometimes there is a backlash. If you are not there to monitor the conversation, your business can quickly lose credibility. The number of likes or followers is less important than the quality of the conversation and response.
Tracking accuracy and privacy. In the search and social media discussion, there was much talk about how invasive tracking can be, and how “do not track” lists may become as prevalent as “do not call” lists. Also related, was how “dark social” (those online communications that are not trackable –– like instant messaging and email; read more on dark social here) makes tracking measurement somewhat misleading.
Beware of “thought leadership” in the traditional sense. While your content needs to show that you are expert in your field, make sure you are connecting what you do to your customer. Your content needs to focus on how you help customers solve problems, make them smarter or help them grow.
More is not necessarily better. . . . that is more tweets, blog posts, Facebook shares, likes, pins, web content, or newsletters. Quality trumps quantity every time. A 100-page report is too much for a prospect to consume. Breaking down the best, most valuable information into smaller pieces and repurposing it is a great idea. Have a survey? Share results, create a presentation, do a webinar, create an info graphic, tweet the tips. If the content’s good, reduce, reuse and recycle.
Wendy Baird, principal and president
