MARKETING

How a Silly Content Question Led to Surprisingly Delicious Answers

Published

2 years ago

August 18, 2022

How a Silly Content Question Led to Surprisingly Delicious Answers

It wasn’t a great question.

But we asked it anyway: “Does it matter if people consume the content, or is it enough for them to notice it?”

To make matters worse, we posed the question to the experts presenting at Content Marketing World 2022. Yeah, the people sharing ideas with content marketers (who presumably want their content consumed).

To our delight, the experts took this less-than-stellar query and returned something even better than we’d hoped – frank contemplations, food for thought, and, sure, plenty of sass.

You don’t just eat with your eyes

Oh lord. Of course, it matters if people consume your content. That’s like asking a chef if it matters if people consume the food or look at it. – Andrew Davis, author and keynote speaker, Monumental Shift

Offer taste testers more than one course

If you’re building brand awareness, the relationship often starts with engineering a dozen micro touchpoints where your content is just enough to stop the scroll or get your audience to look twice. But it’s important that your scroll-stopping content ultimately leads your audience to find out more – and seek out your content to consume.

Then the challenge is: How do you make them return for more content?

Being consistent with your message is key to achieving this and ensuring that there is a clear path your audience can take with your content, from bite-sized snackable content to longer-form, informative pieces. You can achieve this with well-planned content repurposing.

It’s a little like serving up different courses in a meal. Learn how to take your audience from taste tester to content consumer with our guide, How Content Repurposing Makes Your Customer Journey a 7 Course Fine Dining Experience. – Amy Woods, founder and CEO, Content 10x

Don’t be the noticed-but-ignored burger truck

If audiences notice it and then choose not to consume it, chances are there’s an issue with the message, the design, or the targeting. If I’m at a food truck park and I notice the burger truck every single time but actively choose to order food from the Cajun truck, my notice doesn’t matter to the burger people. Same thing if I notice one piece of content but then consume another. – Andrea Fryrear, CEO and co-founder, AgileSherpas

If audiences notice your #content but don’t consume it, there’s a problem with your message, design, or targeting, says @AndreaFryrear via @AnnGynn @CMIContent #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Tempt with aromas, but get them to buy dinner

Is it enough for people to walk by a restaurant and think it smells good? Or do you want them to buy dinner? Ultimately, the more sales you make, the better off you are. However, to continue the analogy, some of those sales may come from people who previously walked by and inhaled a delectable scent.

Simply noticing content involves consuming some of it – perhaps a headline, an image, or a logo. With repeated exposure, a person may decide to dive deeper.

That said, I always aim for notice and consume. If your content is well targeted, you want those targets to engage with it – and respond to it – because that’s what can lead to business. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what most of us want? – Nancy Harhut, CCO, HBT Marketing

Give them more than one bite

Of course, you want your audience to consume your content. That’s the point of content marketing. Content marketing is providing content to the target audience to help them reach professional goals, educate, entertain, or address whatever content needs they might have.

If your content is designed to meet those goals, you want your audience to have a close and intimate relationship with it. We want them to appreciate it and be grateful for it. We want them to depend on it. We want them to be hungry for more.

This will – depending on your goals – induce brand trust, build experts’ personal branding, or simply create a positive association. Unless your content is so bad, you hope nobody will read it in full. – Igor Bielobadek, digital marketing senior manager, Deloitte

Don’t add to clickbait content noise

Look, it’s better to be noticed than not noticed. But of course, consumption matters. The world’s attention is incredibly divided, yes. And it’s hard to get noticed. But vying just to get noticed means that you’re adding to the clickbait, junk-content noise that already prevails.

If all you’re doing is vying for attention, you’re not giving value to your audience. And great relationships are built on value. Think about your own day-to-day – probably thousands of things catch your attention for a few seconds. But they leave your brain the minute you look away. Creating meaningful interactions is the key to forging a great relationship with your audience. You can’t do that with hand waving. – Inbar Yagur, vice president of marketing, GrowthSpace

If all you’re doing is vying for attention, you’re not giving value to your audience, says @Content_Fairy via @AnnGynn @CMIContent #CMWorld Click To Tweet

More awareness equals a bigger audience

I love this question because it calls attention to a timeless marketing principle: AIDA. The first A stands for awareness. (The rest stands for interest, desire, and action.)

While it’s great for your super fans to consume your content, there’s greater value in more people in your target audience noticing it, provided that it reinforces the main thing about your brand. This keeps your brand top of mind, which leads to higher sales conversions in the long run. – Bernie Borges, vice president global content marketing, iQor

Do you want their minds?

Like all good content questions, the answer is “it depends.” If you’re going for brand awareness, noticing content is enough. If you want to change hearts and minds, content must be consumed and engaged with.

But if your goal is to sell, even if the content is only consumed at a surface level (i.e., skim-read or watched to 25%) but still converts, does it really matter? To a content creator, yes. To the business, probably not. – Gina Balarin, director and content queen, Verballistics

Notice, then consume

As someone who has over 80 tabs open at all times, I can assure you that if I’ve noticed good content, I’ll consume it. I also DM myself on Twitter and IG, save TikToks, etc.

Catching the eye is great, but the ROI of content marketing comes when folks read and engage with your content. – Jenn VandeZande, editor-in-chief, SAP Customer Experience

Catching the eye is great, but #ContentMarketing ROI comes when folks read and engage, says @JennVZande via @AnnGynn @CMIContent #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Sow content seeds

In January, I noticed a garden seed company sharing information about container gardens. When I was ready to plan my container garden in March, I went back to the company to learn more about the right plants for my growing zone and container size. When I planted the garden in May, I went back again to purchase materials. People need the right information at the right time.

Often people notice a source that offers helpful, insightful content and are more likely to remember the brand and the type of information they share. When a need arises, people can go back to that brand for educational information and purchase details. – Penny Gralewski, senior director, product and portfolio marketing, DataRobot

Know the stop on the journey

If you are looking to create brand awareness or ad recall, it might be enough for people to notice it without taking any action. If you are targeting people early in the customer journey when awareness is your major goal, they may not act on your content, and that is OK. If you target users further down the funnel or have a goal that involves the user doing something with your content (clicking, sharing, etc.), then just noticing it will not help you reach your goals. – Andi Robinson, global digital content marketing, Corteva Agriscience

If you’re targeting people early in their customer journey, they may not act on your #Content, and that’s OK, says @HijinxMarketing via @AnnGynn @CMIContent. #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Make a dent or generate leads

It depends entirely on your foundational goals. If you’re simply trying to build awareness of your existence, then people noticing your presence – preferably on a repeated basis – may be enough to make a dent.

But if you’re trying to generate leads, built trust, or create loyalty, you need true engagement.

Think about how-to content that helps solve a customer’s problem or need, for example. If that customer simply sees it, well, that’s a good start. But if they consume the content, then come back for more, you’re on the way to creating trust and loyalty. – Chris Blose, founder, Chris Blose Content

Go down the attention funnel

We often talk about the sales funnel. Here, I’ll introduce the concept of the “attention funnel.” While we’d always prefer that users consume and deeply appreciate our content, let’s think about it in terms of the stages of a funnel.

At the top of the funnel, we want people to simply notice our content or notice our brand. The bottom of the funnel is where they consume it deeply and share it with friends. In these terms, having users notice your content can be thought of as the beginning of a wonderful, full-funnel relationship. – Dennis Shiao, founder, Attention Retention

Having users notice your #content can be the beginning of a wonderful full-funnel relationship, says @DShiao via @AnnGynn @CMIContent. #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Not face value

Content is not a façade. We create it to be consumed (read, watched, clicked). If it’s just to be at face value, we can just create a couple of pretty pictures and be done with it. – Michael Weiss, vice president of consulting services and solutions, Creative Circle

Think about the audience’s why

I don’t see this as a binary. It might not be necessary for a person to consume a piece of content at a specific moment.

Instead, I think about the “why” underpinning this. In the instance of someone noticing a piece of content but not consuming it, why is that? Was that the objective in the first place? Did the theme not resonate? Is the environment a mismatch? Was something off-putting about the content that caused the person to scroll past? Was the person just busy and couldn’t devote the time?

Frequency and quality impressions are also important metrics to consider, and engagement is a medium- to long-term strategy. There is no right or wrong answer here. Instead, it’s critical to consider the context and nuances of a particular brand, campaign, or organization. – Michael Bordieri, senior content solutions consultant, LinkedIn

Be a content marketer, not a brand marketer

Getting notice or attention is the aim of the brand marketer, but the content marketer is looking for deeper engagement. When people consume the content, it indicates we are actually meeting the informational need of our audience, not just trying to draw attention to ourselves. – Ali Orlando Wert, director of content strategy, Qlik

Make it sticky

Content takes on myriad forms, so it depends on your goal. If your audience desires a quick fix, then perishable content might make the most sense. But if you’re trying to drive home value, you want sticky, memorable, educational content and, if applicable, entertain the user. That’s how you gain mindshare and foster recall. – Karen McFarlane, chief marketing officer, LetterShop

If you’re trying to drive home value, you want sticky, memorable, educational #Content that entertains, says @KarenMcFarlaine via @AnnGynn @CMIContent. #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Go for binge and share

If you think deeply about why you’re doing what you’re doing, then the answer to this question is obvious. If you commit every day to be on a search-and-destroy mission to finding out the best way to create memorable and meaningful content that meets your customers’ exact needs at every moment, then there’s no chance they’ll just notice it.

You’ve made it for them to devour. It’s stuff that they want to binge and share with their friends mid-binge at 1 in the morning. Wait, who does that? “Hey, Rhonda, did you see that blog post from that brand?” seems farfetched. But if you’ve done your job, fans will seek you out, thank you for it, and share willingly and openly. You’ll have tons of Rhondas. – Jon Burkhart, founder, TBC Global Limited

Not everything needs a click

If the goal is brand awareness, you can meet it without a click. Just seeing the email in the inbox or the post in the social stream creates some brand awareness. No one has ever clicked on an outdoor billboard, but those have marketing outcomes, right?

That’s more common for B2C brands where you need to be visible to lots of people (low-value, high-volume content). But for B2B brands where you sell something more expensive (high-value, low-volume content), brand awareness is insufficient. You need leads. You need the content to get clicked and consumed. You need trust. – Andy Crestodina, co-founder and chief marketing officer, Orbit Media Studios

In B2B, brand awareness is insufficient. Brands need leads. You need the #Content to get clicked, says @Crestodina via @AnnGynn @CMIContent. #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Neither noticing nor consuming matters

It’s the next step that matters, and that’s the only one worth measuring: The audience has to share it. Remember, shares are about ego. People share your content because they get credit for it by default.

Your job is to make them look cool/knowledgeable as a result. Like in college, when someone brought you a new record? And then you shared it? And then you got the props for being the tastemaker? It’s exactly like that.

Pro tip: Effective content all comes down to emotion. Rule No. 1: Don’t be boring. Rule No. 2: Make them react. To buy, click or share, I have to feel. Emotion is the driver. Content that triggers emotion beats the hamburglars outta everything else. – Kate Bradley Chernis, co-founder and CEO, Lately

Get to the goals

Noticing it is the first goal. Consuming content is the next goal. Converting from content is the ultimate goal. – Michael Brenner, CEO, Marketing Insider Group

Education requires consumption

If the goal is awareness, being noticed may be enough. If your goal is to educate or engage with your audience, they probably need to consume it. – Ruth Carter, evil genius, Geek Law Firm

Noticing is consuming

Isn’t noticing it consuming it at a basic level? – Meg Coffey, managing director, Coffey & Tea

They’re not your audience

If the audience doesn’t consume the content, they are not, in fact, your audience. – Joe Pulizzi, founder, The Tilt

If the audience doesn’t consume your #content, they are not, in fact, your audience, says @JoePulizzi via @AnnGynn @CMIContent. #CMWorld Click To Tweet

Consumption habits are changing

Noticing it is important. Consumption habits are changing, and we may need to update what consumption means. – Kathy Klotz-Guest, founder, Keeping it Human

Define what consumption means to your brand

If your goal is to increase brand awareness or push inaccurate/negative search results off page one, it might be enough for people to simply notice your content first as they scroll.

But define consumption for your brand. Does that mean clicks from Google search results? Email sign-ups? Direction requests? How will you know if your content was successful? What matters is if what people do, matches your definition of success. – Haley Collins, director of operations and content, GPO

Become a trusted source

Content marketing is an incredible way to gain credibility and build trust with buyers, but those benefits don’t come from catchy headlines alone. By creating content that helps your prospect find an answer, solve a problem, or sharpen their skills, you’ll build loyalty and be the trusted source they return to when it is time to make a purchase. – Wendy Covey, CEO and co-founder, TREW Marketing

Consumption creates more metrics

It depends on the content’s purpose: Is its job simply to increase awareness? Or do you expect it to change minds, educate, drive demand, or reduce customer support calls? Also, it’s harder to track and measure the impact of content that your audience doesn’t actually engage with. – Carmen Hill, principal strategist and writer, Chill Content

Noticing is good enough for stopping scrollers

Every content item and type has a unique goal. If the goal of the content is consumption and engagement, yes, it matters. If the goal is, for example, to stop a scrolling passer-by and drive amplification, the scroll depth and reader patterns aren’t as important. Only the most magical content items in magical situations will achieve multi-goal realities. – Jeff Coyle, co-founder, CSO, MarketMuse

Stay no to junk

With shrunken attention spans, it’s unrealistic to expect consumers to read every single word on a piece of content. However, consumers are smart. They expect quality content and know when they’re reading junk. It’s vital for brands to keep up high-quality standards when it comes to content – no matter where it’s posted. From social media to blog posts, serve up top-tier content and consumers will respond with clicks and conversions. – Brittany Graff, senior director of marketing, Painting with a Twist

Focus on the bigger picture

Noticing it will get you some ROI. The focus definitely should be on getting folks to consume your content for a true transactional relationship to begin. – Chris Ducker, founder, Youpreneur.com

Change it to get the consumption

Consumption matters. Engagement matters. Engagement builds dialog, which builds trust, which drives relationships. If people are not consuming and engaging with your content, consider how you can alter it to spark the kind of education, inspiration, and conversion needed to drive business performance. – Mark Emond, president, Demand Spring

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty

If you can communicate an idea about your brand in an image or passing headline, noticing can be enough. I don’t pay attention to Liberty Mutual commercials, but I can sing that damn jingle in my sleep. And I at least know what they do, so if I’m ever in need of insurance – “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty … Liberty.” – Jason Falls, senior influence strategist, Cornett

Make it worthy of consumption

One of the biggest problems we face is the amount of content that’s produced every day. It’s easy to get lost in the deluge of blog posts, podcasts, infographics, and videos that come out every minute. If your content isn’t good enough to be consumed, it’s not providing value to anyone and is a waste of your time. Start looking for ways to make less content and make better content. – Brian Piper, director of content strategy and assessment, University of Rochester

End random acts of content

If you’re creating content, but no one is reading it, you’re wasting your efforts. My mantra (and our consultancy’s tagline) is “no more random acts of content.” Everything should be created with your audience’s needs in mind – the challenges they face, their most frequent questions, and the ways you can help them excel in their lives. Unless you’re creating something with a specific audience need in mind, you’re just adding to the noise and wasting your content marketing budget. – Erika Heald, founder, lead consultant, Erika Heald Marketing Consulting

If you’re creating #content but no one’s reading it, you’re wasting your efforts, says @SFerika via @AnnGynn @CMIContent. #CMWorld Click To Tweet

It’s quantity vs. quality

Our mission as marketers is to make sure people will consume our content. However, I see many managers quite worried about quantity. If your brand is niche focused, its audience will naturally be proportional to the market size. So, don’t expect your brand to be popular outside the boundaries of your target. – Cassio Politi, founder, Tracto Content Marketing

Action requires consumption

If the goal of the content is brand awareness, then I suppose noticing it may be an OK outcome. But if no one is actually consuming it, and taking action as a result of it, then you probably need a more focused content strategy. – Paul Roetzer, CEO, Marketing AI Institute

Get them to know you

It is not enough for people to notice your content. They have to consume it. Noticing that you have content doesn’t help them. They aren’t getting to know, like, or trust you if they just see that you’re making content. They have to spend time-consuming it for it to benefit either of you. – Tim Schmoyer, founder/CEO, Video Creators

Who cares?

I guess it comes down to: Does it matter for me or them? Stats, numbers, clicks, and likes might be enough for budget justification. But to effect real change, your audience needs to consume your content.

Recently, I started sharing a tip a day from my book 101 Ways to Rock LinkedIn – bite-sized pieces. I’m not asking for a huge time commitment from my audience. People just seeing and liking and sharing my posts might help build my credibility. It does nothing for them unless they invest the two to five minutes to read/watch the content and then take action. In the end, I’m in my business to help other people succeed. I feel consuming the content is key. – Viveka von Rosen, chief visibility officer, Vengreso

Scanners are audiences too

I want people to scan the content. I want them to notice it, click on it, and scan it to see what they like and any takeaways. For those scanning audiences, I like to include downloadable content (often in deck format) and shorter form versions of long-form blogs so they can easily repurpose the deck for internal presentations. (This is important for mid-market and larger audiences.) So, the audience doesn’t need to consume it all. They do need to do more than just notice it. – Tracey Wallace, director of content strategy, Klaviyo

Why create it if no one reads it?

It matters if people consume it. If they only notice it, then why was it created in the first place? My favorite metric to reveal is the engagement on gated e-books. For example, why are we creating long guides that take months to create if no one reads them? If a form is filled out, but no one downloads the guide or reads it all the way through, how much could you have saved in resources?

As a creator, I want my content to inspire people, help them, and engage them – I don’t just want them to fill out a form or see it in passing. – Amy Higgins, senior director, content marketing, Twilio

Imperfect question but thoughtful insight

If we’d asked this as a multiple-choice question, the most chosen answer would’ve been: “It depends.” Some people held strong feelings about getting people to consume content. But no one thought noticing alone was enough.

So, after asking a potentially stupid question and reading all the thoughtful responses, here’s my answer: Don’t create content just to get noticed. But getting noticed can be an important step to having it consumed, remembered, or shared.

What do you say? Please share in the comments.

MORE ADVICE FROM CMWORLD 2022 SPEAKERS:

Join us at Content Marketing World 2022 for new ideas to drive your business, fuel your inspiration, and speed up your career. Register today and use promo code BLOG100 to save $100.

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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MARKETING

How to Use AI For a More Effective Social Media Strategy, According to Ross Simmonds

Published

23 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

How to Use AI For a More Effective Social Media Strategy, According to Ross Simmonds

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

It’s the age of AI, and our job as marketers is to keep up.

My team at Foundation Marketing recently conducted an AI Marketing study surveying hundreds of marketers, and more than 84% of all leaders, managers, SEO experts, and specialists confirmed that they used AI in the workplace.

If you can overlook the fear-inducing headlines, this technology is making social media marketers more efficient and effective than ever. Translation: AI is good news for social media marketers.

In fact, I predict that the marketers not using AI in their workplace will be using it before the end of this year, and that number will move closer and closer to 100%.

Social media and AI are two of the most revolutionizing technologies of the last few decades. Social media has changed the way we live, and AI is changing the way we work.

So, I’m going to condense and share the data, research, tools, and strategies that the Foundation Marketing Team and I have been working on over the last year to help you better wield the collective power of AI and social media.

Let’s jump into it.

What’s the role of AI in social marketing strategy?

In a recent episode of my podcast, Create Like The Greats, we dove into some fascinating findings about the impact of AI on marketers and social media professionals. Take a listen here:

Let’s dive a bit deeper into the benefits of this technology:

Benefits of AI in Social Media Strategy

AI is to social media what a conductor is to an orchestra — it brings everything together with precision and purpose. The applications of AI in a social media strategy are vast, but the virtuosos are few who can wield its potential to its fullest.

AI to Conduct Customer Research

Imagine you’re a modern-day Indiana Jones, not dodging boulders or battling snakes, but rather navigating the vast, wild terrain of consumer preferences, trends, and feedback.

This is where AI thrives.

Using social media data, from posts on X to comments and shares, AI can take this information and turn it into insights surrounding your business and industry. Let’s say for example you’re a business that has 2,000 customer reviews on Google, Yelp, or a software review site like Capterra.

Leveraging AI you can now have all 2,000 of these customer reviews analyzed and summarized into an insightful report in a matter of minutes. You simply need to download all of them into a doc and then upload them to your favorite Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) to get the insights and data you need.

But that’s not all.

You can become a Prompt Engineer and write ChatGPT asking it to help you better understand your audience. For example, if you’re trying to come up with a persona for people who enjoy marathons but also love kombucha you could write a prompt like this to ChatGPT:

The response that ChatGPT provided back is quite good:

Below this it went even deeper by including a lot of valuable customer research data:

Demographics
Psychographics
Consumer behaviors
Needs and preferences

And best of all…

It also included marketing recommendations.

The power of AI is unbelievable.

Social Media Content Using AI

AI’s helping hand can be unburdening for the creative spirit.

Instead of marketers having to come up with new copy every single month for posts, AI Social Caption generators are making it easier than ever to craft catchy status updates in the matter of seconds.

Tools like HubSpot make it as easy as clicking a button and telling the AI tool what you’re looking to create a post about:

The best part of these AI tools is that they’re not limited to one channel.

Your AI social media content assistant can help you with LinkedIn content, X content, Facebook content, and even the captions that support your post on Instagram.

It can also help you navigate hashtags:

With AI social media tools that generate content ideas or even write posts, it’s not about robots replacing humans. It’s about making sure that the human creators on your team are focused on what really matters — adding that irreplaceable human touch.

Enhanced Personalization

You know that feeling when a brand gets you, like, really gets you?

AI makes that possible through targeted content that’s tailored with a level of personalization you’d think was fortune-telling if the data didn’t paint a starker, more rational picture.

What do I mean?

Brands can engage more quickly with AI than ever before. In the early 2000s, a lot of brands spent millions of dollars to create social media listening rooms where they would hire social media managers to find and engage with any conversation happening online.

Thanks to AI, brands now have the ability to do this at scale with much fewer people all while still delivering quality engagement with the recipient.

Analytics and Insights

Tapping into AI to dissect the data gives you a CSI-like precision to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what makes your audience tick. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing.

The best part about AI is that it can give you almost any expert at your fingertips.

If you run a report surrounding the results of your social media content strategy directly from a site like LinkedIn, AI can review the top posts you’ve shared and give you clear feedback on what type of content is performing, why you should create more of it, and what days of the week your content is performing best.

This type of insight that would typically take hours to understand.

Now …

Thanks to the power of AI you can upload a spreadsheet filled with rows and columns of data just to be met with a handful of valuable insights a few minutes later.

Improved Customer Service

Want 24/7 support for your customers?

It’s now possible without human touch.

Chatbots powered by AI are taking the lead on direct messaging experiences for brands on Facebook and other Meta properties to offer round-the-clock assistance.

The fact that AI can be trained on past customer queries and data to inform future queries and problems is a powerful development for social media managers.

Advertising on Social Media with AI

The majority of ad networks have used some variation of AI to manage their bidding system for years. Now, thanks to AI and its ability to be incorporated in more tools, brands are now able to use AI to create better and more interesting ad campaigns than ever before.

Brands can use AI to create images using tools like Midjourney and DALL-E in seconds.

Brands can use AI to create better copy for their social media ads.

Brands can use AI tools to support their bidding strategies.

The power of AI and social media is continuing to evolve daily and it’s not exclusively found in the organic side of the coin. Paid media on social media is being shaken up due to AI just the same.

How to Implement AI into Your Social Media Strategy

Ready to hit “Go” on your AI-powered social media revolution?

Don’t just start the engine and hope for the best. Remember the importance of building a strategy first. In this video, you can learn some of the most important factors ranging from (but not limited to) SMART goals and leveraging influencers in your day-to-day work:

The following seven steps are crucial to building a social media strategy:

Identify Your AI and Social Media Goals
Validate Your AI-Related Assumptions
Conduct Persona and Audience Research
Select the Right Social Channels
Identify Key Metrics and KPIs
Choose the Right AI Tools
Evaluate and Refine Your Social Media and AI Strategy

Keep reading, roll up your sleeves, and follow this roadmap:

1. Identify Your AI and Social Media Goals

If you’re just dipping your toes into the AI sea, start by defining clear objectives.

Is it to boost engagement? Streamline your content creation? Or simply understand your audience better? It’s important that you spend time understanding what you want to achieve.

For example, say you’re a content marketing agency like Foundation and you’re trying to increase your presence on LinkedIn. The specificity of this goal will help you understand the initiatives you want to achieve and determine which AI tools could help you make that happen.

Are there AI tools that will help you create content more efficiently? Are there AI tools that will help you optimize LinkedIn Ads? Are there AI tools that can help with content repurposing? All of these things are possible and having a goal clearly identified will help maximize the impact. Learn more in this Foundation Marketing piece on incorporating AI into your content workflow.

Once you have identified your goals, it’s time to get your team on board and assess what tools are available in the market.

Recommended Resources:

2. Validate Your AI-Related Assumptions

Assumptions are dangerous — especially when it comes to implementing new tech.

Don’t assume AI is going to fix all your problems.

Instead, start with small experiments and track their progress carefully.

3. Conduct Persona and Audience Research

Social media isn’t something that you can just jump into.

You need to understand your audience and ideal customers. AI can help with this, but you’ll need to be familiar with best practices. If you need a primer, this will help:

Once you understand the basics, consider ways in which AI can augment your approach.

4. Select the Right Social Channels

Not every social media channel is the same.

It’s important that you understand what channel is right for you and embrace it.

The way you use AI for X is going to be different from the way you use AI for LinkedIn. On X, you might use AI to help you develop a long-form thread that is filled with facts and figures. On LinkedIn however, you might use AI to repurpose a blog post and turn it into a carousel PDF. The content that works on X and that AI can facilitate creating is different from the content that you can create and use on LinkedIn.

The audiences are different.

The content formats are different.

So operate and create a plan accordingly.

Recommended Tools and Resources:

5. Identify Key Metrics and KPIs

What metrics are you trying to influence the most?

Spend time understanding the social media metrics that matter to your business and make sure that they’re prioritized as you think about the ways in which you use AI.

These are a few that matter most:

Reach: Post reach signifies the count of unique users who viewed your post. How much of your content truly makes its way to users’ feeds?
Clicks: This refers to the number of clicks on your content or account. Monitoring clicks per campaign is crucial for grasping what sparks curiosity or motivates people to make a purchase.
Engagement: The total social interactions divided by the number of impressions. This metric reveals how effectively your audience perceives you and their readiness to engage.

Of course, it’s going to depend greatly on your business.

But with this information, you can ensure that your AI social media strategy is rooted in goals.

6. Choose the Right AI Tools

The AI landscape is filled with trash and treasure.

Pick AI tools that are most likely to align with your needs and your level of tech-savviness.

For example, if you’re a blogger creating content about pizza recipes, you can use HubSpot’s AI social caption generator to write the message on your behalf:

The benefit of an AI tool like HubSpot and the caption generator is that what at one point took 30-40 minutes to come up with — you can now have it at your fingertips in seconds. The HubSpot AI caption generator is trained on tons of data around social media content and makes it easy for you to get inspiration or final drafts on what can be used to create great content.

Consider your budget, the learning curve, and what kind of support the tool offers.

7. Evaluate and Refine Your Social Media and AI Strategy

AI isn’t a magic wand; it’s a set of complex tools and technology.

You need to be willing to pivot as things come to fruition.

If you notice that a certain activity is falling flat, consider how AI can support that process.

Did you notice that your engagement isn’t where you want it to be? Consider using an AI tool to assist with crafting more engaging social media posts.

Make AI Work for You — Now and in the Future

AI has the power to revolutionize your social media strategy in ways you may have never thought possible. With its ability to conduct customer research, create personalized content, and so much more, thinking about the future of social media is fascinating.

We’re going through one of the most interesting times in history.

Stay equipped to ride the way of AI and ensure that you’re embracing the best practices outlined in this piece to get the most out of the technology.

MARKETING

Advertising in local markets: A playbook for success

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Advertising in local markets: A playbook for success

Many brands, such as those in the home services industry or a local grocery chain, market to specific locations, cities or regions. There are also national brands that want to expand in specific local markets.

Regardless of the company or purpose, advertising on a local scale has different tactics than on a national scale. Brands need to connect their messaging directly with the specific communities they serve and media to their target demo. Here’s a playbook to help your company succeed when marketing on a local scale.

1. Understand local vs. national campaigns

Local advertising differs from national campaigns in several ways:

Audience specificity: By zooming in on precise geographic areas, brands can tailor messaging to align with local communities’ customs, preferences and nuances. This precision targeting ensures that your message resonates with the right target audience.
Budget friendliness: Local advertising is often more accessible for small businesses. Local campaign costs are lower, enabling brands to invest strategically within targeted locales. This budget-friendly nature does not diminish the need for strategic planning; instead, it emphasizes allocating resources wisely to maximize returns. As a result, testing budgets can be allocated across multiple markets to maximize learnings for further market expansion.
Channel selection: Selecting the correct channels is vital for effective local advertising. Local newspapers, radio stations, digital platforms and community events each offer advantages. The key lies in understanding where your target audience spends time and focusing efforts to ensure optimal engagement.
Flexibility and agility: Local campaigns can be adjusted more swiftly in response to market feedback or changes, allowing brands to stay relevant and responsive.

Maintaining brand consistency across local touchpoints reinforces brand identity and builds a strong, recognizable brand across markets.

2. Leverage customized audience segmentation

Customized audience segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups based on specific demographic criteria. This marketing segmentation supports the development of targeted messaging and media plans for local markets.

For example, a coffee chain might cater to two distinct segments: young professionals and retirees. After identifying these segments, the chain can craft messages, offers and media strategies relating to each group’s preferences and lifestyle.

To reach young professionals in downtown areas, the chain might focus on convenience, quality coffee and a vibrant atmosphere that is conducive to work and socializing. Targeted advertising on Facebook, Instagram or Connected TV, along with digital signage near office complexes, could capture the attention of this demographic, emphasizing quick service and premium blends.

Conversely, for retirees in residential areas, the chain could highlight a cozy ambiance, friendly service and promotions such as senior discounts. Advertisements in local print publications, community newsletters, radio stations and events like senior coffee mornings would foster a sense of community and belonging.

Dig deeper: Niche advertising: 7 actionable tactics for targeted marketing

3. Adapt to local market dynamics

Various factors influence local market dynamics. Brands that navigate changes effectively maintain a strong audience connection and stay ahead in the market. Here’s how consumer sentiment and behavior may evolve within a local market and the corresponding adjustments brands can make.

Cultural shifts, such as changes in demographics or societal norms, can alter consumer preferences within a local community. For example, a neighborhood experiencing gentrification may see demand rise for specific products or services.
- Respond by updating your messaging to reflect the evolving cultural landscape, ensuring it resonates with the new demographic profile.
Economic conditions are crucial. For example, during downturns, consumers often prioritize value and practicality.
- Highlight affordable options or emphasize the practical benefits of your offerings to ensure messaging aligns with consumers’ financial priorities. The impact is unique to each market and the marketing message must also be dynamic.
Seasonal trends impact consumer behavior.
- Align your promotions and creative content with changing seasons or local events to make your offerings timely and relevant.
New competitors. The competitive landscape demands vigilance because new entrants or innovative competitor campaigns can shift consumer preferences.
- Differentiate by focusing on your unique selling propositions, such as quality, customer service or community involvement, to retain consumer interest and loyalty.

4. Apply data and predictive analytics

Data and predictive analytics are indispensable tools for successfully reaching local target markets. These technologies provide consumer behavior insights, enabling you to anticipate market trends and adjust strategies proactively.

Price optimization: By analyzing consumer demand, competitor pricing and market conditions, data analytics enables you to set prices that attract customers while ensuring profitability.
Competitor analysis: Through analysis, brands can understand their positioning within the local market landscape and identify opportunities and threats. Predictive analytics offer foresight into competitors’ potential moves, allowing you to strategize effectively to maintain a competitive edge.
Consumer behavior: Forecasting consumer behavior allows your brand to tailor offerings and marketing messages to meet evolving consumer needs and enhance engagement.
Marketing effectiveness: Analytics track the success of advertising campaigns, providing insights into which strategies drive conversions and sales. This feedback loop enables continuous optimization of marketing efforts for maximum impact.
Inventory management: In supply chain management, data analytics predict demand fluctuations, ensuring inventory levels align with market needs. This efficiency prevents stockouts or excess inventory, optimizing operational costs and meeting consumer expectations.

Dig deeper: Why you should add predictive modeling to your marketing mix

5. Counter external market influences

Consider a clothing retailer preparing for a spring collection launch. By analyzing historical weather data and using predictive analytics, the brand forecasts an unseasonably cool start to spring. Anticipating this, the retailer adjusts its campaign to highlight transitional pieces suitable for cooler weather, ensuring relevance despite an unexpected chill.

Simultaneously, predictive models signal an upcoming spike in local media advertising rates due to increased market demand. Retailers respond by reallocating a portion of advertising budgets to digital channels, which offer more flexibility and lower costs than traditional media. This shift enables brands to maintain visibility and engagement without exceeding budget, mitigating the impact of external forces on advertising.

6. Build consumer confidence with messaging

Localized messaging and tailored customer service enhance consumer confidence by demonstrating your brand’s understanding of the community. For instance, a grocery store that curates cooking classes featuring local cuisine or sponsors community events shows commitment to local culture and consumer interests.

Similarly, a bookstore highlighting local authors or topics relevant to the community resonates with local customers. Additionally, providing service that addresses local needs — such as bilingual service and local event support — reinforces the brand’s values and response to the community.

Through these localized approaches, brands can build trust and loyalty, bridging the gap between corporate presence and local relevance.

7. Dominate with local advertising

To dominate local markets, brands must:

Harness hyper-targeted segmentation and geo-targeted advertising to reach and engage precise audiences.
Create localized content that reflects community values, engage in community events, optimize campaigns for mobile and track results.
Fine-tune strategies, outperform competitors and foster lasting relationships with customers.

These strategies will enable your message to resonate with local consumers, differentiate you in competitive markets and ensure you become a major player in your specific area.

Dig deeper: The 5 critical elements for local marketing success

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.

MARKETING

Battling for Attention in the 2024 Election Year Media Frenzy

Published

3 days ago

April 20, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Battling for Attention in the 2024 Election Year Media Frenzy

As we march closer to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, CMOs and marketing leaders need to prepare for a significant shift in the digital advertising landscape. Election years have always posed unique challenges for advertisers, but the growing dominance of digital media has made the impact more profound than ever before.

In this article, we’ll explore the key factors that will shape the advertising environment in the coming months and provide actionable insights to help you navigate these turbulent waters.

The Digital Battleground

The rise of cord-cutting and the shift towards digital media consumption have fundamentally altered the advertising landscape in recent years. As traditional TV viewership declines, political campaigns have had to adapt their strategies to reach voters where they are spending their time: on digital platforms.

1713626763 903 Battling for Attention in the 2024 Election Year Media Frenzy

According to a recent report by eMarketer, the number of cord-cutters in the U.S. is expected to reach 65.1 million by the end of 2023, representing a 6.9% increase from 2022. This trend is projected to continue, with the number of cord-cutters reaching 72.2 million by 2025.

Moreover, a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2023 found that 62% of U.S. adults do not have a cable or satellite TV subscription, up from 61% in 2022 and 50% in 2019. This data further underscores the accelerating shift away from traditional TV and towards streaming and digital media platforms.

As these trends continue, political advertisers will have no choice but to follow their audiences to digital channels. In the 2022 midterm elections, digital ad spending by political campaigns reached $1.2 billion, a 50% increase from the 2018 midterms. With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, this figure is expected to grow exponentially, as campaigns compete for the attention of an increasingly digital-first electorate.

For brands and advertisers, this means that the competition for digital ad space will be fiercer than ever before. As political ad spending continues to migrate to platforms like Meta, YouTube, and connected TV, the cost of advertising will likely surge, making it more challenging for non-political advertisers to reach their target audiences.

To navigate this complex and constantly evolving landscape, CMOs and their teams will need to be proactive, data-driven, and willing to experiment with new strategies and channels. By staying ahead of the curve and adapting to the changing media consumption habits of their audiences, brands can position themselves for success in the face of the electoral advertising onslaught.

Rising Costs and Limited Inventory

As political advertisers flood the digital market, the cost of advertising is expected to skyrocket. CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) will likely experience a steady climb throughout the year, with significant spikes anticipated in May, as college students come home from school and become more engaged in political conversations, and around major campaign events like presidential debates.

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For media buyers and their teams, this means that the tried-and-true strategies of years past may no longer be sufficient. Brands will need to be nimble, adaptable, and willing to explore new tactics to stay ahead of the game.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: A Perfect Storm

The challenges of election year advertising will be particularly acute during the critical holiday shopping season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have historically been goldmines for advertisers, will be more expensive and competitive than ever in 2024, as they coincide with the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

To avoid being drowned out by the political noise, brands will need to start planning their holiday campaigns earlier than usual. Building up audiences and crafting compelling creative assets well in advance will be essential to success, as will a willingness to explore alternative channels and tactics. Relying on cold audiences come Q4 will lead to exceptionally high costs that may be detrimental to many businesses.

Navigating the Chaos

While the challenges of election year advertising can seem daunting, there are steps that media buyers and their teams can take to mitigate the impact and even thrive in this environment. Here are a few key strategies to keep in mind:

Start early and plan for contingencies: Begin planning your Q3 and Q4 campaigns as early as possible, with a focus on building up your target audiences and developing a robust library of creative assets.

Be sure to build in contingency budgets to account for potential cost increases, and be prepared to pivot your strategy as the landscape evolves.

1713626764 197 Battling for Attention in the 2024 Election Year Media Frenzy

Embrace alternative channels: Consider diversifying your media mix to include channels that may be less impacted by political ad spending, such as influencer marketing, podcast advertising, or sponsored content. Investing in owned media channels, like email marketing and mobile apps, can also provide a direct line to your customers without the need to compete for ad space.

Owned channels will be more important than ever. Use cheaper months leading up to the election to build your email lists and existing customer base so that your BF/CM can leverage your owned channels and warm audiences.

Craft compelling, shareable content: In a crowded and noisy advertising environment, creating content that resonates with your target audience will be more important than ever. Focus on developing authentic, engaging content that aligns with your brand values and speaks directly to your customers’ needs and desires.

By tapping into the power of emotional triggers and social proof, you can create content that not only cuts through the clutter but also inspires organic sharing and amplification.

Reflections

The 2024 election year will undoubtedly bring new challenges and complexities to the world of digital advertising. But by staying informed, adaptable, and strategic in your approach, you can navigate this landscape successfully and even find new opportunities for growth and engagement.

As a media buyer or agnecy, your role in steering your brand through these uncharted waters will be critical. By starting your planning early, embracing alternative channels and tactics, and focusing on creating authentic, resonant content, you can not only survive but thrive in the face of election year disruptions.

So while the road ahead may be uncertain, one thing is clear: the brands that approach this challenge with creativity, agility, and a steadfast commitment to their customers will be the ones that emerge stronger on the other side.