DIGITAL MEDIA GHOST
  • Publication
    • Subscribe!
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
  • Publication
    • Subscribe!
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
Search

Let Go Of Your Viral Marketing Dreams

12/16/2016

0 Comments

 
by Mary C Long

There’s a lot to be said for the ability to predict trends based on cognitive algorithms. But you know what? This tactic is reactive. 

We focus so much on redirecting consumer attention based on what’s come before and fail miserably at shaping trends and directing consumer attention ever forward. 

And it’s a trend that needs to change. 

Here’s why. And how.

A Scary Future or Current Reality?
Imagine a world where consumers tune out all advertising and buy based on need, not based on clever (or creepy) promotional pieces. Yes, in this world even your “touch points” are meaningless, because there’s so much noise you can’t depend on any number of interactions causing our brand to stand out from the rest. 

This is a space where every brand is online and vying for your target audience’s attention and “advertising” in whatever form it presently takes has hit a fever pitch —and so have ad blockers (the real long-term winners in any online advertising scenario).

This is not fear mongering, it’s happening. 

Online promotion takes skill, but it’s largely free thanks to social media, so everyone’s doing it. And unfortunately, many are doing it so poorly that consumers are tuning it out.


What Your Digital Team Needs to Stop Doing
In businesses around the world, we see digital teams focused on sorting out what an audience has done in the past and preparing for an inevitable xyz response, particularly around events ranging from holidays to politics. 

And it’s a shame, because these efforts are entirely predictable and largely ignored. 

Which brand isn’t racing to come up with the most creative trendjacking idea from moment to moment? How much time has your brand wasted on holiday or Super Bowl messaging? Depending on the vertical, each has its own list of usual suspects eliciting that “we must come up with something to speak to this [event]” response. 

And the result feels like a ‘clever contest’ with brands vomiting witty whatevers in a steady stream of content and imagery that only rarely takes off — it’s too much effort for too tenuous a return. And it can actually negatively impact brand efforts, as people generally lack loyalty these days.

So stop doing that. Stop focusing on Black Friday because everyone else is. Stop trying to outdo Oreo and other big brands who already have the numbers to justify such antics. You’re not Oreo. And wasting your marketing spend on creating clever memes won’t get you there. Know your weight class and compete there.


Besting Your Competition, Not the Entire Web
None of this means you shouldn’t monitor audience sentiment and work to better understand and exploit relevant audience affinities. It’s absolutely crucial to take a larger view beyond typical demographic data — and yes, past behavior as a predictor is part of that. But most marketers still cast far too wide a net. 

Instead of thinking about what commercial trends highest during the Super Bowl or the next meme campaign to capture mostly worthless clicks ahead of Black Friday or Valentines Day, consider these questions:
  • What is your audience doing right now? (#rn)
  • What are they tweeting/posting/talking about in the moment?
  • Where are they? When are they there?
  • What do they like, love, hate about your brand? It doesn’t have to be anything sexy beyond an understanding you can use to generate a respectable uplift in attendance (for example), as Georgia Aquarium recently learned
  • Which other brands do they like, love, hate in your vertical? What do they like, love and hate about them, specifically?
  • Which other brands do they like, love, hate in other verticals? Same followup.

And most importantly — what adjacencies and audiences are you missing right now? Brands don’t know what they don’t know!

Segmenting is great, but segmenting in the moment is a must. And it’s the smartest way to spend those marketing dollars. Forget finding what’s worked before and riffing off of that success/learning endlessly. The time for that tactic has passed — or will soon if it’s still working for you.

New ways to connect with new audiences reveal themselves all the time, and often have little to do with national or even regional trending topics, even if you’re a national or regionally dominant brand. Attempting to force those relationships is ill advised and far too trendy to have any staying power. 

Don’t be the last to leave the party. Your audience is waiting for you — right now.


This post originally appeared on CMSWire.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Become a Ghostwriter!
    Picture
    Contribute to DMG
    Picture
    BECOME A GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
    Picture
    PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS BY GUEST POSTING
    Picture
    ARE YOU A GHOSTWRITER? WE WANT TO KNOW!
    Picture
    DO YOU HAVE A GHOSTWRITING BUSINESS?

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Agency Spotlight
    Business
    Digital Marketing
    Ghost In A Flash
    Ghostwriting
    Media Relations
    Privacy Concerns
    Social Sabotage
    Technology
    Writer Spotlight
    Writing

    Advertising Disclaimer

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

Find your domain and create your site at Weebly.com!
Digital Media Strategy
Content Marketing
Law Firm Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Marketing
eBooks
Writing
Becoming a Ghostwriter
Blogging
Content Marketing
Ghostwriting Services
Guest Post Guidelines
Media Relations
Online Crisis Management
Personal Brand
Public Relations
Reputation Management
About
Our Team
Our Results
Testimonials
Contact Us
Locations:
New Orleans, LA
Nashville, TN

DMG University
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Policy
Digital Media Ghost  @2020
  • Publication
    • Subscribe!
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About