It’s a new year and you’re likely thinking about your marketing strategy for 2017. Our world is saturated with visuals, content and distractions from all sorts of digital and physical channels. This year, it’s time to really focus on a strategy that helps your brand stand out.
Go ahead and print out our list of 7 ways to improve your marketing this year, then read on for more information on what to concentrate on within each of those areas.
Provide original research
Rather than re-hashing content or studies that have already been done, this year spend time focusing on providing your own original research and content in your industry. Search engines tend to favor sites with original content, helping your website gain more exposure. This also shows that your brand is a leader in the industry with research, news and products.
Create customized, personalized content for niche audiences
In her conversation about 2017 marketing predictions, Allee Creative CEO Melissa Harrison covered the importance of niche audiences, “It won’t be enough to create a ton of content and just blast it out hoping it will stick. Successful marketers will need to define niche audiences and, with the continued decrease of organic reach, will need to establish a legitimate paid content strategy across multiple social media channels. The development of customized audiences, lookalike audiences, niche targets, etc. will also be essential as brands look to get ahead.”
Know your distribution strategy
Do you know what your content distribution strategy is before, during and after your content has been created? As marketers, we get nervous about publishing our content on channels we do not own—sites could, theoretically, be gone the next day. Think about it: If Facebook shut its doors tomorrow, would you lose access to a significant number of potential customers? It is important to determine which distribution channels you will pursue and why those are the best options.
Keep content updated, fresh and readily available online
Start by planning your content in advance—keeping blog and content calendars with the materials that you want to post on your website. Then focus on being timely and relevant with your content, making sure to post content that is in line with what your audience wants.
Focus on right-time marketing
Marketers are still buzzing about Oreo’s dunking in the dark campaign that had everyone laughing during the lights-out Super Bowl. To date, this is still one of the best examples of real-time marketing done by a brand, and many brands attempted to replicate this in-the-moment approach. However, real-time marketing is evolving to right-time marketing—marketing that is built on a foundation of rich customer data and using that data to reach the right person on the right channel at the right time.
Include your audience in conversations
Eight-five pecent of people trust content made by others more than they trust brand-created content, so it is important to spend time focusing on user-generated content in 2017. Social media is a great place to listen to your audience and generate content based on what your audience is saying or doing with your brand. Here are 10 great examples of user-generated campaigns from Hubspot. If you’re interested in learning more about user generated content and how to implement it into your marketing strategy, check out Photoslurp’s user generated content guide.
Budget for online advertising
Social media channels are constantly changing their algorithms, and your brand is going to need to keep up. This means implementing a “pay to play” strategy on social media. Companies who are dragging their feet to incorporate paid social media advertising will miss opportunities for their business. Paid advertising allows you to better target your audience and ensure that your posts are seen online.
It’s 2017 folks, and marketing is changing and advancing—in order to succeed, brands need to keep up. In case you missed it, check out CEO Melissa Harrison’s 2017 marketing predictions for success in the new year. If you’re having troubles staying on top of your marketing plan, give us a call!
