The world around us is changing faster than ever. New technologies and tools we never dreamt of using are now commonplace.
But with so much available to us and so much research telling us where we should be investing our marketing effort and dollars – how do you know what to focus on?
Summer presents you with a great opportunity to harness the skills and experience you have and make a step change in order to capitalise and stay ahead of the curve.
Preparing now will enable to you to march into summer ready to execute and implement your marketing plans to deliver maximum impact.
Take a look at some of the key trends we’ve pulled together and get ready for a summer of marketing success.
Understand, analyze and leverage
The power of social media for marketing is well documented. But how do you stay on top of this powerful tool with their ever-changing algorithms and ensure your posts get as many eye balls on them? Digital activity only has an impact if it engages with your audiences – so make sure that you fully understand the algorithms and develop content that is strategically targeted to resonate and engage.
And when using Facebook, Instagram or even Twitter you need to ensure that your content includes video. Whatever the platform – Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – even Linkedin – are all optimizing for video. This is especially true for millenials who are spending less time reading and more time watching videos. So if you want to connect get filming and if you really want to connect go for live video.
Facebook recently shared in a blog post, “Now that more and more people are watching live videos, we are considering live videos as a new content type—different from normal videos—and learning how to rank them for people in News Feed.” With Facebook Live, YouTube live, Instagram live, Twitter, and Periscope all available to you there really is no excuse not to get onto live video and drive engagement.
Tell a story
Snapchat started it all with their Snapchat stories and very quickly the rest followed due to its success. Even Whatsapp and Messenger have the story format now. And the popularity of the format, which disappears after 24 hours is constantly growing and looks likely to become one of the key engagement tools for marketers.
These uncut stories really connect and give you a chance to showcase your brand in an unfiltered way. Best practice is constantly evolving but if in doubt – make sure to create stories that entertain, give people a behind the scenes look and create some sort of emotional response. People will watch, engage and ultimately understand your brand better through your stories.
Influence is power
The rise of the social media influencer continues and many brands continue to use celebrity influencers to help engage with audiences and sell their products. But if you don’t have the budget for the big boys 2018 should be the year that you target through micro influencers.
Rather than having the millions of followers of a celebrity these tend to be normal everyday people who have become known for their knowledge about some specialist niche. This has led to an engaged following who interact with and really connect with the content produced by the individual.
Depending on how big a budget you want to spend this could be a more cost-effective way to really develop a social media presence and engage with consumers who really are interested in your products or services. You might not get the big numbers but you will get real engagement.
Entertain and engage
Online isn’t everything. You still need to connect with your audiences in the real world. Experiential events are a great way to really immerse target consumers in your brand values and give them a day or night to remember.
Summer presents you with a unique opportunity to get out and about and celebrate the great outdoors and tap into the festival vibes that are everywhere. Give your consumers a reason to connect by showcasing your products in an innovative way that allows them to touch, taste and feel what you are all about.
Your event is also a great way to build the content for your digital strategy – whether that be photography, video or even just a blog post!
Summer will soon be here – so get started and use all the tools and techniques available to make your summer a successful one. For inspiration on a brand activation or event contact our creative team today.