I've been fired up this week. Fired up by the idea of what I do on a day to day working, and what I do on a day to day that doesnt.
I keep referring to my role as a grenade in a garbage can. How can I blow this up today. I LOVE doing something different and I'm not talking just for the sake of different, but for the sake of improving. That's the thing about this industry, there's always room for change. Change in the way we speak to our audience, the medium we use, the platforms we're leveraging. There's change in audience behaviour due to economic, social and political factors.
And, our audience ages. Their priorities change in that process, based on the relationships they share, the experience they have, and the way their life changes.
I have never felt so uncomfortable in my job, and it has never made me so freaking excited. This curiosity and has spilled over to building this platform, this business to help brands grow and here's why.
Technology has changed.
Although it's not perfect, we've enabled AI to build imagery, to write content, to support ideation, to find the right people. New avenues are popping up daily, between software, social media networks and tools to drive efficiency, we cannot become complacent in the work we do, or the way we connect with our customers because other are leveraging these tools and getting there faster. It's like the old adage "Work Smarter Not Harder"
The Power of Choice:
We have never had so much accessible to us at the drop of a hat, and as a brand, as a marketer, this demonstrates our need to be where our customers want to be, and interjecting into their lives in an organic, and seamless way. It's believed that customers are exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 ads a day. The number seems a bit high, but when you're scrolling through your Facebook feed, every 2 - 3 posts is an ad. Even with little-to-no recall, the ads are present and which your customers will choose to stop on, well that's a different story. You control some of that.
If you're not in the right places, organically or in a paid manner, you're not being considered as one of those choices.
Content Marketing, even organic social have a role in your marketing strategy and I know you don't want to hear it:
If you're looking to build loyalty, and build relationships with your customers, you need to put in the work. Customers are no longer interested in a one-way street. They want to know you care about them, and they're not living inside your ad experience. They want their friends showing of their shopping haul, and their latest TikTok find. You can do that yourself, through creators, through staff, through reviews.
Video needs to be your number one priority.
And it doesn't have to be perfect.
this gets two sections. It's earned it. Video consumption is at an all time high. Youtube welcomes over 1-billion hours of viewing each day. TikTok has an average of 1 billion videos viewed each day. Real, Raw, Engaging and fun content is going to get watched, it's going to be shared, and it's going to earn you a badge of honour, that will likely translate into sales if you do it right.
Real-Time, Real Results:
No one wants to wait for anything these days. Tell me you're OK waiting three days for your Amazon order and I'll tell you you're only fooling yourself. If you have a product you're selling, or links to offer, or DM's to reply to, customers want that answer instantly. Since there are only 24 hours in the day, you need to be setting up engagement support through automation, AI and triggered emails to make it happen on their time, not yours.
Creators are creating.
Accessibility to people who create video and photo content as well as engagement strategies is growing. You can now leverage experts with lower rates, more speed and agility than every before. Most of these creators are working at speeds faster than brands and corporations are comfortable. That's the speed you need to be churning out content. Get ready to get uncomfortable and get ready to learn how to write a good brief. This is the only way you'll scale.
More than a transaction:
Your customers are doing more research than ever. they want to know what you're doing as a brand, as an individual. They want you to demonstrate values and overall good. This could be sustainability, or giving back. It could mean taking care of your staff. Use your knowledge, your skills, your product for a better planet, environmentally and socially.
The life of product ads and sell sheets, RTBs listed one after one, with a direct value prop for the customer is the way of the past. Today's customer is sophisticated and happy to do the research on their own, but they are truly invested in the referrals and recommendations from their friends, family, peers and idols. They want you to engage where, and when they want it.
But most importantly, they want you developing products for their needs, before they know they need it.
Welcome to the world of psychic, strategically authentic advertising. It's a wild ride, but a really fun time.
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