We all know how to create a marketing strategy but with every brand out there doing the same things, how do you make your marketing stand out from all the rest? With advertising overload, it is very important to make your brand stand out. Every brand will start out with the same with usual 7 step guide to create their marketing strategy: 1. Build a marketing plan. 2. Create buyer personas. 3. Identify goals. 4. Select the right tools. 5. Review media. 6. Audit and plan. 7. Create it. Great! Now, you’ve got that same start as every other company out there. So now, let’s talk about some extra things that will help give you that extra push to be different in a sea of similarities.
1. Mobile Friendly Everything! We’re all on the go a lot nowadays and that means looking at things from our phone most of the time. Your sites must be mobile friendly. If I can’t read it from my phone, I don’t want to read it. Period!
2. Be Unexpected: put your ads somewhere exciting and new. Think outside of the box. Where do your potential customers hang out?
3. Hook Em’ & Reel Em’ In: we all know that people have short attention spans. You have to hook the audience in immediately and keep them interested if you want your campaigns to succeed. You can get as creative as you want here. Use UGC, interactive ads, etc. Make your campaigns so temping that someone stops what they are doing just to see what it’s all about!
4. Flaunt Your Differences: we push everyone to celebrate their difference outside the workplace, so doing this for your brand should be no different. What makes your brand stand out from the rest? Be proud of this and show it off. Why are you the best? Be confident but not cocky. You want your message to be seen as genuine but nobody likes vanity.
5. Be an Innovator: know what’s happening at the forefront of your respective field. What’s the newest topic that everyone is buzzing about. For example, since we’re in the business of social media to grab good user-generated content, we focus on trending challenges and the like. This helps us stay ahead in our niche about what’s going on in the social world.
6. Lead with Creative: leading with overly data driven insights will kill your campaign. People tend to, “prioritize the experience of buying and using a product over the performance of the product itself” (McKinsey & Co.) Focusing on the creative aspects of your marketing campaign will, in turn, lead to good metrics down the line.
7. Ask Experts: don’t be afraid to ask for help! Ever! Have brainstorming sessions with experts in your company or from outside sources. Find out who has the most knowledge of the product, concept, theme, etc. for your new marketing strategy. Ask: What are the challenges I need to solve? What are 1-3 benefits of the product/service? Any special things to consider when creating the campaign?
8. Use Emotions: UGC really comes in handy here! When you elicit an emotional response from the audience they are compelled to like and share it, which in turn will increase your engagement. It also humanizes your brand.
9. Personalization: your audience should come first always. Use their first name in marketing emails, etc. Make sure that they feel seen as a person and that they’re not just another number on your papers.
Lastly, you will want to test and use data to always improve on your campaigns. We say create with the message in mind but always follow the data afterward. If something isn’t working be ready to pivot at any given moment in order to reach the right people in the right ways! It takes a village to create an amazing marketing campaign so be open to new ideas from the team and most importantly, have fun!
