The marketing industry travels at a pretty rapid rate. No sooner are we across a new platform and how to make the most out of it for our clients, when another new useful marketing tool pops up.
There really are so many things we can share with you about the industry, so to kick off 2023 we’ve compiled our top 10 things you should know about marketing – for our clients and anyone with a keen interest in marketing.
1. Marketing is a blend of science and art
Contrary to what shows like Emily in Paris may lead you to believe, marketing is not just about making things look pretty or instantly going viral. It’s a delicate blend of science and art.
With the advent of big data and advanced analytics, we can now predict consumer behaviour and track campaign performance with precision. But it’s not all about numbers.
At its core, marketing is about connecting with people. That’s where the art comes in. Knowing how to communicate the benefits of your product or service in a way that truly connects with your audience and influences buyer behaviour is an art form.
2. You can never have enough content
Building a good content library is a never-ending task. As your brand grows and changes, you’ll need new and updated videos and photos. The same can be said for your written content, such as blogs or thought leadership articles.
Keeping your content library up to date will keep your brand’s image fresh, help you build trust with your audience, allow your brand to be more recognisable, and build expertise in your industry.
If you struggle with content development, sit down and develop a Content Plan to clarify your target audience, content themes, and schedule for capturing and creating content periodically.
3. Have fun with content creation
While it’s good to have a content marketing strategy, it’s also important to have fun with it! There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, so tailor your approach to your business. Every organisation is different, and your content should reflect your brand’s traits and quirks.
Not only will this help you strengthen your relationships with your audience, but it will also make sure your content sticks out from the rest.
4. Choose the right technology and platforms for your website
It can be easy to go for the cheapest hosting site, or for an agency to manage this for you, but in the long run, this could create difficulties. If you start to work with a different supplier, want to upgrade part of your tech stack or make sure your website can handle more traffic, you will be limited in what you can do.
We’ve tested many different suppliers and systems and can recommend platforms that work, perform well and are supported. It takes experience to know what might work for your business, so ask professionals for advice before diving in.
5. Not all social media is made equal
There are so many social media platforms available and having an effective social media presence does not require your business to be on all of them.
Figure out what is important to you, your goals and where your audience spends their time online: selling product, reaching new audiences, engagement etc. Start with one social channel which best aligns with these goals and your audience. Social media is not about hitting all markets, but the one which is most important to you. Once you have chosen your platform, post consistently and regularly engage with your audience.
6. Media coverage doesn’t happen overnight
For most businesses, your first, second, or even tenth media release is unlikely to gain national media attention. Your story must first and foremost be newsworthy from a media perspective. Often disappointment occurs when there is a gap between expectations and reality because what’s newsworthy to you may not be newsworthy to the media. Other factors including what’s happening in the news cycle at the time also has an impact on whether your story is published.
Establishing and maintaining great relationships with the right media contacts takes time, patience, persistence and consistent effort. Once you have built that strong relationship, it goes a long way toward your brand’s credibility and reliability.
7. Don’t neglect brand and style guides
Both brand and style guides are a crucial part of creating content and your overall brand image. Creating these documents from the start ensures anyone creating content for your business is on the same page, and your vision remains consistent. Branding guidelines are not just for aesthetic purposes and can include language and tone of voice, emoji use, fonts, colours and more.
PS: Don’t forget to update these as your business evolves and share them with your team.
8. Know and use the three Cs of digital ads
If you’ve launched digital advertising but are unsure how to measure the success of your campaigns, use the three Cs to help guide your reporting.
Building your community can increase revenue and help perfect your target audiences. The best form of advertising is cross-platform, where you’re using multiple digital platforms to advertise your product or service. Cost efficiency is a crucial factor in measuring return on investment.
Focusing on the three Cs can help you further understand your audience and their behaviours, and can help you tweak your campaigns to reach the right people and have a positive impact on investment.
9. Good things take time
Quality conversion generation through Google and social digital advertising strategies can take time. Sure, you should see a general traffic boost on your site within the first few days of having ads in market, but we need some time for the platform algorithms to find the right kind of audience. Then we need to make targeting updates to adjust and capitalise on these segments.
From here, we can make evidence backed updates and changes to get your ads in front of the right people, at the right time.
10. Use the experts
If you’re unsure how to start marketing your business, get in touch with some experts who can help guide you. At Threesides, we help clients develop a Marketing Plan. We get to know your business and customers and put together an actionable plan for you to implement.
Likewise, if you’re missing a critical skillset in your marketing team, like a copywriter for articles, a Google ads manager, or a graphic designer, don’t be afraid to outsource. It’s their full-time job and they’ve spent time mastering their skills, so tap into that for your brand.
When you use the experts to help you get started, fill a skills gap in your team, or even manage end-to-end marketing services, you will gain a professional service that can really do wonders for your brand. They’ll help get you in the right place to tell your brand story, and create conversions for your products or services.
