Marketing is an ever-changing beast, and the best strategies for reaching potential consumers changes almost as rapidly. With technology advancing and shaping our lives as quickly and completely as it has, conventional practices have fallen by the wayside, with modern approaches evolving quickly to react to new habits of customers. Here’s a look at five of the top trends that are working well right now.
Mobile, Mobile, Mobile
As consumption of media moves from the family den or living room to more and more mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, finding the mobile consumer becomes more and more important. Employing a mobile strategy is a key way to engage these customers who may not see a traditional advertisement through television or even on billboards or public transit signage. With many location-based technologies now at play, marketing campaigns can specifically target those in a geographic area and focus on those who are searching for specific terms or even searching from specific ZIP codes. Executing on mobile is key, especially as phone and mobile web access becomes the leading way users interact online.
Social Engagement
Social media is also a powerhouse for marketing. Nearly everyone is on Facebook, Twitter or another social media outlet today, and engaging customers with a smart strategy through these channels is a great way to reach prospective candidates. Sponsored ads and posts help share your messages to prospective buyers, whether targeted around geographic areas or specific interests of users. Don’t forget that you can also respond directly to consumer inquiries and feedback on social media, which can help you answer questions that other potential buyers have or even resolve questions or concerns about your products or services.
Email Marketing
A tried and true evolution of the old snail-mail flier, email marketing gets your message directly to consumers who you know have an interest in your product. Including well-written and engaging content, and ensuring that readers know the next steps to take with a clear call to action encourages recipients to make a purchasing decision. This can be enhanced, too, with incentive offers, like contests that partner with your social channels or discounts for orders made using an exclusive email code. However, with many restrictions and rules now put in place by third-party mass email clients like Constant Contact and MailChimp, using vetted lists is all the more a requirement today, so be sure that your emails are only targeted to customers with whom you have previously done business or who have signed up to receive your information. An extra note: Canadian recipients are subject to that nation’s anti-spam laws, so make sure you have appropriate permissions before sending.
Content Importance
Another area that has continued to grow in importance is content. A broad term, this means that your website, social media and any other written or video content is pertinent and relevant to your audience, providing valuable information, clear details and answering questions that your customers have. Visual content should be appealing and engaging, while written content should be concise, clear and accurately written, free of spelling or grammar problems – both for readers and for their relevance to search engines. Focusing on producing high-quality content should be a part of any successful marketing approach.
Direct Engagement
Lastly, engaging customers on their level is an increasingly vital part of successful marketing practices. Many companies are now dedicating themselves to being more available and accessible for customers, offering options like text-based customer service and support, video assistance and dedicated social media customer support channels to engage with customers directly. With the world more connected now than ever before, businesses need to be as well, and making sure that you can not only reach your customers on their level, but that they can also reach you is increasingly valuable to consumers.
At CSS, we continue to work with marketing agencies and sales teams on a national level with a wide variety of focuses, backgrounds, and expertise. We keep our top sales talent connected with recent marketing trends to build your workforce with dynamic talent. Let us help you find the perfect candidate to join your sales and marketing team or help you find a great new career. Contact CSS today and find out more!