For those who have worked in Marketing for more than 20 years will have been part of what could be one of the biggest digital transformations we’re ever to experience as professionals (and consumers, come to think of it). Booking a holiday in the UK in the 80s meant a trip to your local travel agent or spending hours on TeleText (which was cutting-edge technology and a form of entertainment when I was a kid!). Fast forward to now, where your trip can be booked from a handheld device - insurance, car hire, and transfers too. Business models have evolved over the years to keep up with this digital transformation and thus, their marketing operations too.
Take social media for example: Facebook started as a beautiful idea to keep in touch and reconnect with friends and family, filling a void that MySpace and Friends Reunited failed to fill. Today, it’s a multi-billion dollar business that employs thousands of people and offers businesses an alternative route to market. And that just scratches the surface when it comes to the marketer’s conundrum: where should budgets be invested and what platforms should be prioritised.
As a business, maintaining brand integrity and consistency amongst so many branding vehicles can be a challenge. This blog explores challenges in modern marketing and offers tips to overcome them.
Events
2020 hit pause on in-person events: as a marketer who has travelled the world and made a living from running seminars, trade shows and conferences, I’ve had to pivot to find news to offer my sales teams leads and networking opportunities. Whether today’s digital events are mere stopgaps or permanent deputies, it makes sense to invest in a digital events strategy to underpin integrated campaigns. There are a number of platforms that offer great user interfaces and customer experiences in lieu of a physical event, optimising all opportunities of a physical event: branding, networking, imparting thought leadership and beyond.
Adaptations
The rise and power of social media has complicated the integrated campaign. How many touchpoints do we now need for our target audience to take action? Studies say between 7-12 touches - which means your content has to go a long way to be truly effective.
Tailoring content for different regions and markets will be an age-old challenge for any marketer who has worked across several geographies. How do you ensure key messages remain consistent throughout the duration of a campaign? Will your value proposition be lost in translation when it transitions from email to a social post?
Choice Fatigue
When TikTok landed in 2020, who’d have thought the world needed another social media platform? With this over 100 social media sites in our midst - and granted, there’s a top ten we can focus on - it poses the question: which is right for your business, budget and team?