This month, we celebrate – ourselves! We are turning 8 this year, and to celebrate, we thought it would be fitting to look back at 8 important marketing moments from the past 8 years.

2011: Kick Start Something Great

Kickstarter came into its own in 2011. It took 16 months to attract 200,000 backers. In 2011, it took 3 months to attract the same number of backers. Unencumbered by “death by committee,” fledgling entrepreneurs were able to create a proof of concept via the magic of crowd funding. Video turned out to be a big key any successful Kickstarter project, foreshadowing the importance of video marketing to come.

2012: NSFW: Dollar Shave Club

Speaking of video, a humble contender in a commodified market dominated by a handful of legacy companies, Dollar Shave Club marketed themselves with a tongue-in-cheek video that spread like wildfire on social media.

The results speak for themselves: in its first three years, the company took a 1% market share and by summer 2016, Dollar Shave Club cornered 5% of the market. At the same time, Gillette’s market share dropped from 71% to 59%.

2013: Dunk in the Dark

Oreo stole the show during Super Bowl XLVII. When the lights went out during game, Oreo tweeted:

Their tweet was retweeted more than 16,000 times. Highlighting the importance of nimbleness and consistency, Oreo’s response shows that legacy brands can master social media too.

2014: Ice Bucket Challenge

Capitalizing on user-generated content is difficult, but when done right, it can be an influential marketing tactic. Case-in-point: The Ice Bucket Challenge. A powerful combination of social media, a good cause, ice water, and friend shaming, the Ice Bucket Challenge proved that yes, you can raise money through social media.

2015 – Move Over Millennials

Generation Z, people born in 1995 or after, were starting to enter the workforce and marketers took notice. This generation is the first generation to be considered true digital natives, having not known a world without the internet. They also make no distinction between digital and IRL.

2016 – Gotta Catch ‘em All

Pokemon Go launches and suddenly people were venturing outside again, if only to catch adorable, digital creatures. The game marked one of the first times that augment reality was used on a mass consumer scale, ushering in even more ways for marketers to reach people where they are.

2018 – Hot Off the Presses

Proving once again, that great marketing isn’t always about the latest, greatest tech, street wear brand Supreme teamed up with the New York Post. The New York Post printed its entire newstand run in a full wraparound cover with the Supreme logo. By 10:30 that morning, copies were selling on eBay for $12 and on the resale fashion site Grailed for $10.

We don’t know what tomorrow may hold, but we are excited for what the future may bring. Here’s to 8 more rockin’ years.

Personalized marketing is all about connecting the dots – data and content – based on consumers interests and preferences. Data collection and analysis allows for strategic deployment of individualized content to target audiences. “Customers have more choice than ever before, so we have to ensure we’re meeting their needs in real time, on-demand and personally relevant ways, both online and offline,” Mark Sciortino, VP of brand marketing strategy and planning, Walgreens, relayed in 2018.

Here are three benefits to utilizing personalized marketing:

Improved Customer Experience

Knowing their sensitive information is protected makes customers more comfortable with providing personal information. In return, they should receive more personalized experiences upon subsequent visits.

Increased Brand Loyalty

When consumers provide information and data, they expect to be treated as unique individuals with specific preferences. Dedicate time and resources to implement successful personalized marketing strategies. The result will be a competitive advantage in both brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Inflated ROI

If your automation technology is on point, you can easily identify individual customer preferences. Capitalize on it with customized content across channels online and offline. This will result in more sales opportunities. Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign used common first names to attract millennials. That personalized campaign was the first time in years Coca-Cola grew their sales.

Personalized marketing campaigns require you to connect the three “C’s” of content with the three “C’s” of customization. You must know – and connect with – your audience. To know them is to love them by generating content personalized to them.

Collection

To create personalized marketing, you have to know what matters to your target. That starts with collecting data about them which is relevant to your brand. Real-time collection and analysis of data allows you to consistently evolve your marketing strategies to customers’ ever-changing behaviors. For example, if you are marketing a restaurant, your data collection would include location, demographic, and transactional data.

Creation

For your data collection to be beneficial, you have to utilize the collected information to create relevant content. Data collection allows you to create targeted and customized email marketing, social media marketing, video messages (one reason automated technology is key), and individualized product recommendations. In fact, 2015 research showed that personalized email campaigns received 29 percent higher email open rates and 41 percent higher click-through rates than ordinary emails.

Connection

Connection is built through authentic interactions. Personalized marketing allows you to connect individually and in community with your audience. You can show your human side (social media engagement or working reply-to email addresses). It also allows you to capitalize on consumers FOMO (fear of missing out) by showing how many people may be looking at the same product, how many of an item remain in stock or how long an item may remain on sale.

As with any marketing campaign, there are challenges to achieving these goals. In personalized marketing, the two main challenges to overcome are:

• Consistency. Consumers are interacting with brands across a number of channels, including email, social, mobile, etc. Each interaction with your brand must be consistent at every touch point.

• Time and Resources. To collect the right data, companies must utilize the right technology. Analysis of the data to create relevant content on a constant, evolving basis across multiple channels is key. This takes a significant number of hours and a significant chunk of manpower and monetary resources.

We would love to be a consistent resource to help you connect all the dots on your brand’s personalized marketing campaign.

Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the latest, biggest, tech-iest thing – augmented reality!Slack! artificial intelligence! – that we forget to look at tested tactics that may not be as shiny and new, but they are effective. Ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about email marketing.

I can feel the collective “ugh” in the room.

Email is spammy. I get too many emails every day. Email is so… 1995.

Well, the ‘90s are back. And email marketing is still here – for good reason.

Email is still here – for good reason.

Email is a Huge Part of Our Day

According to an Adobe survey, consumers overall are checking their personal email an average of 2.5 hours per day and they are checking their work email an average of 3.1 hours per day. Half of all respondents said that when it comes to receiving offers from marketers, they prefer being contacted via email.

Even respondents born in the ‘90s spent a staggering amount of time in their inboxes – 18-24-year-olds spent 5.8 hours of their day checking their email.

Why do we use email so much? Adobe had a few ideas: “Why is email so ingrained in our lives? One reason may be that it’s so manageable—we can sort, file, filter, and generally get things done. It’s also a known, safe quantity. We’re familiar with how to make email work for us, and we feel confident about the privacy of our data.”

Email is Owned Land

A strong mix of marketing channels is important to any marketing plan – social media, paid media, direct mail, etc. – but email is one of the few channels that can be considered “owned land.”

FaceBook could fall of the face of the earth tomorrow, but you still have your email list.

Emails are Customizable

Email segmentation gives businesses the opportunity to tailor their message to their customer – whether that’s segmenting by demographics or by a trigger, such as recent website activity or a recent purchase.

Segmented emails perform much better than non-segmented emails. When compared to their non-segmented counterparts, segmented emails have a higher open rate (14.31%) and unique open rate (10.64%). They also have a lower bounce rate (4.65%) and unsubscribe rate (9.37%).

Emails are…. Intelligent?

Remember when I mentioned AI earlier in this post? In the future, artificial intelligence could help make your email marketing be even more effective. Machine learning could take a lot of the guesswork and time out of A/B testing, personalizing content, timing emails, and finding new audience segments.

It’s safe to say, email is here to stay. Which is a great thing – emails are customizable, they are data a company owns, and are a big part of consumers’ everyday lives.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go check my email.

How effective was your last email campaign? Did you segment your email list? If so, how?

I’m a mother to three kids firmly in the grip of teenage angst, so I frequently find myself talking to them about the importance of authenticity. Recently my youngest child said, “You keep using that word. But what does it mean EXACTLY?”

And that got me thinking. Authenticity IS a buzzy word, used frequently in many different contexts, which makes it easy for the concept to feel trendy and hazy. So since I’m a word girl, I consulted my dictionary to give me the word’s purest form:

authentic

adjective

not false or copied; genuine; real

Not false or copied. Genuine. Real. That’s pure gold, isn’t it? Authenticity is a buzzword for good reason.

We talk to clients all the time about authenticity in their branding and marketing. As the Chief Rocker would say, “It all begins with the brand.” And she is SO right! If the brand doesn’t feel real and natural, your audience won’t:

1. Know you.
2. Like you.
3. Trust you.

Authenticity is the new brand standard. The most authentic brands in the world are also the top brands, period.

So how do you build an authentic brand? Answer these questions:

Does your brand have conviction?

Your brand must stand for a specific promise, and everyone within your organization must believe that it’s important.

Does your brand have consistency?

Your brand must deliver on its promise at every touch point, every time. Your outreach efforts should be undertaken regularly and on schedule.

Does your brand have connection?

Your brand must be relevant and persuasive to your target audience, or your message is falling on deaf ears. Establishing an emotional connection with your people is key.

If the answer to these three questions isn’t a resounding YES, give us a call. We can show you how to rock your brand authentically!

Digital marketing continues to win this marketing season as digital marketing spending continues to rise. This is not new. In 2016, eMarketer.com projected digital spend would exceed television by as much as 36% by 2020. 

According to WebStrategies, the following are earning their spots on marketing budget rosters:

• Email marketing – Email marketing continues to be the best player to generate ROI.
• Social media marketing – A solid first-round pick. In that category, Facebook continues to hold the top spot and Instagram comes in 2nd.
• Search and display marketing – Search and display marketing still earns the largest share of digital marketing budgets. In 2018, 78% of those surveyed indicated a plan to increase their Google Ads budget. Online display (banner ads, online video, etc.) takes the second share.
• Live events – This is another competitor making a comeback. Two thirds of marketers plan to increase spending on live events in 2019. This is not a surprise as the digital world faces fierce competition and privacy challenges.
• Video Marketing – The MVP for growth in digital marketing budgets goes to online video. Investment in this category is expected to more than double 2016 numbers by 2021.

With the rise of Facebook Live, live events and video are teaming up (think megachurches with pastors appearing on screens, political candidates announcing intentions via live video and the use of video as part of the in-home sales trend in the beauty and cosmetic categories).

Regardless of your industry, here are 4 tips for video marketing:

1. Mind your audience. Take care to advertise to your target, not yourself.
2. Don’t complain just for the sake of complaining. You can sell your brand without negativity.
3. Keep it short and simple. The clock starts running as soon as your audience clicks on your link. Don’t fumble around. Have a solid plan and stick to it.
4. Be clear in your play-calling. You are the quarterback for your brand. Run or pass, assist your audience by clearly telling them what you want them to do and how they can do it.

To score with any marketing campaign begin with the end in mind to increase your opportunity for success. There are still significant advantages to veteran players such as traditional media (now referred to as “offline”) in terms of building awareness, extending reach and driving your brand message.

It is important to find the right balance between online vs. offline spending. That ratio will vary from brand to brand. Let us be your marketing coach and manager. We can help you find that balance and manage that content.

In 2019, social media marketing is an essential tool for developing a connection with your audience. In some ways, social media marketing is similar to online dating. You are courting your audience with social media, and a connection won’t develop by being overly promotional with your posts.

Successful social media marketing requires an investment of significant time (and resources). Your investment can pay dividends, but it requires planning. Developing strategies with clearly-identified goals and target audiences is key. But avoiding common faux pas is equally as important.

Seven of the (many!) dos and don’ts for social media marketing

1. Be social. You have to put yourself out there, so don’t be nonexistent on social media. You can’t influence anyone if you have no profile.
2. Be interesting. Know Your Audience. You want to pique and maintain viewers’ interest, so post varied content they will find interesting and valuable. Don’t make it all about you by only posting promotional content.
3. Be genuine. If your brand is all about fun, your audience expects a certain playfulness to your social media. Don’t send mixed messages by being inconsistent in your marketing.
4. Be available. Social media marketing is a 24/7 customer service opportunity, so engage often and consistently. Don’t ignore posted questions or concerns.
5. Be a good listener. Always pay attention -and respond gratefully- to consumer feedback. Don’t ignore the negative feedback, because you can’t develop relationships by ignoring (or deleting) criticisms.
6. Be Aware. Use hashtags and handles to attract interest, but don’t appear desperate by using too many. Keep it effective and efficient.

Be smart. Check your content for spelling, grammar and phrasing, and correct mistakes as soon as they’re caught. Don’t be insensitive in your phrasing or messaging.

We cannot say it enough – strategy is critical.

Content is key. Consistency is key.

Social media management is customer service and poor customer service will hurt your brand’s reputation.

Unlike in dating, it is a good idea to outsource social media duties. Those of us with the experience and knowledge can create and implement social media marketing strategies that follow all the rules.

Give us a call to help influence your audience to swipe right on your brand’s social media marketing!

“One of the greatest rock songs ever written is ‘Stairway to Heaven’ [by Led Zeppelin]. ‘Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.’ So, whatever’s wrong, whatever’s not working out, whatever you’re not happy with – in yourself or a situation – take the initiative and fix it.” – Shaun Breidbart, comedian and executive director, The Ivy League of Comedy

As you choreograph your brand’s 2019 marketing plans, press pause if the same old song and dance is on repeat – particularly in the following four areas. A remix (and the addition of instrumental help) may be your brand’s ticket to achieving rock star status.

1. “Let it Go.” Turn Over Control of Social Media.

Time is money. Social media marketing isn’t just about increasing sales. It is storytelling. It is about consistent connection with your target audience. For social media to truly boost your brand, dedicated time to engage with your audience regularly – in real time – is crucial. You can’t press pause for vacations, trade shows or weekends.

Mistakes are costly. Social media management is customer service. In the absence of a solid social media strategy – and someone experienced to execute it – mistakes are likely. Poor customer service leads consumers to give brands the freeze-out.

The person/company managing your brand’s social media is its agent, tour manager and promoter all rolled into one. Outsourcing those managerial duties gains you an experienced professional who knows the ins and outs of social media.  This frees you up to focus on other areas of your performance.

2. “What are You Waiting For?” Take the marketing plan off the back burner.

Leaders must understand the importance of brand marketing. As we’ve said before, we love partnering with business leaders on single release initiatives. But to avoid being a one-hit wonder, a brand needs a solid marketing plan to complement their strategic plan.

If the creation or implementation of a marketing plan is left “Standing Outside the Fire” you will have no plan. If you have no plan, you will have no direction. Without direction you won’t have consistency – leaving your brand running “Against the Wind” to build consumer trust.

3. “Breakaway.” Transform garage band marketing to unique, memorable content.

Having a website is great, but customers believe “What You Get Is What You See.” Are you getting the veto vote because your marketing is lacking? How do you look when going up against competition? Are potential clients trying unsuccessfully to validate you?

Bands wanting to become famous must promote themselves to make the right connections to boost their profile. Likewise, your marketing must make meaningful connections to your brand. You can bang those drums “All Night Long” but that alone won’t help you advance. You must have someone in your corner to successfully influence the interest of others.

4. “Shake It Off.” Say Goodbye to Gmail.

Excellent email communication is now a required piece of good customer service. Here are 3 reasons you should say goodbye to Gmail:

• Your email address and content represent ‘how you look’ in the online world. Having a business email address with your company’s domain name is judged as professional. Business emails sent through Gmail raise doubts about your credibility.
• An email account contains confidential business information. Using Gmail does not afford you the luxury of controlling whether employees utilize that information appropriately.
• Gmail does not allow you to integrate your brand’s logo and colors to your email messages to make them more consistent and memorable. This renders it ineffective as a marketing tool.

You are “The Leader of the Band.” No one knows your brand better than you. It is ultimately up to you to determine your vision and whether your current track is helping that vision materialize. We are here to help you rock!

Over the weekend, a friend sent me some screenshots from the Instagram account of an event we are both familiar with. “HAVE YOU SEEN THESE???” she said. The series of posts featured a scantily clad woman and her friends promoting the event. Slightly confounded by the choice, I took a quick visit to her Instagram page. She had a gaggle of followers, but no real connection to the audience or the event itself, and unfortunately, it didn’t play well.

The idea of using a social media influencer was not a bad one. Influencer marketing is on the rise – Google alone saw a 325% increase in “influencer marketing” searches last year. It’s based on the practice of using influencers in your niche to create and distribute relevant content and share it in an authentic way. It can be a fantastic way to find and reach your people.

However, influencer marketing is a wasted exercise (and investment!) if you aren’t using the right influencers. And while it’s tempting to use metrics like number of followers as a measure of influence, it’s important to take a closer, more comprehensive look at a potential ambassador before you ask them to promote your brand.

Fit

How relevant is the influencer to what you do? How aligned is their content with your messaging? The best partnerships are natural fits – their audience must believe that the endorsement is genuine and your audience must be able to relate to them.

Engagement

Is the influencer engaging with their followers in a meaningful way? Or are their pages just a collection of selfies? If people aren’t commenting and interacting with the person, keep looking. Your audience will get bored with someone who is just skin deep.

Reach

Reach is certainly a valid consideration, so take a look at traffic and followers. But ask yourself who they are reaching. Is it your target audience? Reach is irrelevant if the influencer isn’t reaching the right people.

Authenticity

Influencers must be viewed as authentic and genuine. Is this person partnered with too many sponsors? If so, they will not appear trustworthy.

When chosen thoughtfully, an Influencer partnership is one of the best ways to build your brand online and raise awareness among your target audience. Need some help choosing the right influencer? We can help!

Frequently, we ask a potential client what their marketing budget is in an effort to better understand what resources we will use to meet branding and marketing goals.

And regularly, we hear, “What should our marketing budget be?”

We are already two weeks into Q1, so let’s talk about your marketing budget. Total marketing budgets are on the rise (yay!) and are at 7 – 12% of total gross revenue. If one of your resolutions this year is to grow your small to mid-size business, let’s rock.

Here are four things to remember when formulating your marketing budget:

1. Small businesses should budget 7 – 8% of gross revenues for marketing in order to compete against larger companies.

2. Track your marketing budget and results monthly – at a minimum. If you consistently track your results you will be better able to adjust your marketing spending over time to spend smarter, not harder.

3. Increase the budget for new product launches. Keep track of what you make on the product and tweak as needed to cover the marketing costs and increase profit from sales.

4. One size does not fit all. While the latest Forrester Research report projects that digital marketing spending will make up 44% of all ad spend, this number can vary depending on a variety of factors including industry, growth plans and local market.

As you create your marketing budget this year, don’t start with the tactics. Develop a defined marketing budget to support a marketing plan with measurable goals and a sound strategy.

Happy New Year, friends! Yes, it’s officially THAT time of year … the holidays are over, the kids are back to school, and we take a look around at the carnage and decide that things have to change. And THIS is the year we are going to resolve to make those changes.

So we make some resolutions. We’re going to lose weight! Get in fabulous shape! Get fabulously organized! Become the best mother/wife/friend/person EVER! We google “how to make changes.” We examine our motivations, set realistic goals, plan our rewards, and set out on our course to become a newer, better, version of ourselves.

Blah, blah, blah.

Um, no offense to anyone who truly commits to change in the new year and follows through with it (there may be one or two of you out there), but let’s face it, most of us get busy and forget our New Year’s Resolutions five minutes after we make them.

Listen, I’m all for self-improvement. But I wholly believe that the greatest improvement any of us can make to our lives, and the lives of everyone around us, is to resolve to do something simple … BE HAPPY. Find your happiness. Create happy moments. Do happy things. Big things. Little things. Anything that lightens your load and makes you smile.

How about these things?

Take a spur of the moment trip

Have dinner with someone who makes you laugh

Write someone you love a letter

Eat something you’ve never tried

Take a long walk

Find a place to dance

Stop doing something you do only out of obligation

Binge watch a new show

Treat yourself to something big

Spend a day volunteering

Call an old friend

Read the paper on Sunday

Tell your kids a story about your younger self

Cook a special meal for no reason

Forgive someone

Forgive yourself

Life is short, friends, and we only have this one. Our time here is precious. Enjoy it. Smile broadly. Breathe deeply. Laugh loudly. Love the people that love you (and forget the ones that don’t). Be happy.

Now those are resolutions.