Tag: content

6 Tips For Executing Marketing Campaigns During the Presidential Election Season

The presidential election season is a high-stakes period, not only for politicians but also for brands and marketers. The media landscape becomes saturated with political ads, discussions and debates, which can make it challenging for other marketing messages to break through. However, with the right strategies, marketers can capitalize on this unique environment to reach their target audience without getting lost in the political noise.

Here are six essential tips for marketers executing campaigns during a presidential election season:

1. Understand the Shift in Consumer Behavior

During the election season, consumers are bombarded with political messages. This heightened political climate can lead to distractions, divided attention, and in some cases, increased stress or fatigue from constant exposure to campaign coverage. As a result, many consumers may be less receptive to traditional marketing messages.

To address this, brands should aim to be more empathetic and understanding of the emotional state of their audience. Rather than aggressively pushing promotional content, marketers should consider adjusting their tone to be more supportive, informative or even lighthearted to provide a contrast to the heavy political discourse. Messages that acknowledge the current atmosphere without diving into politics can resonate well with audiences seeking relief from election coverage.

2. Avoid Taking Political Sides

One of the most significant risks for brands during the election season is being perceived as politically aligned, which can alienate a portion of your audience. While it may be tempting to comment on political issues, especially if they’re trending or relevant to your industry, taking a public stance on partisan matters can backfire.

Instead, brands that want to resonate with consumers on both sides of the aisle, as well as those in the middle, should focus on their core values and mission, avoiding endorsements or criticism of specific candidates. Even seemingly innocuous comments on political topics can be polarizing in a charged political climate. Staying neutral helps brands appeal to a broader audience and prevents alienating any particular group of consumers.

3. Leverage Non-Political Messaging

Amid the intense focus on politics, there is an opportunity for marketers to stand out by offering a respite from the election buzz. Creating content that is unrelated to politics—such as promoting feel-good stories, humorous ads or product updates—can be refreshing for consumers.

This is an excellent time to emphasize brand storytelling, customer success stories or content that highlights your company’s unique value propositions. By steering clear of the political noise, your brand can become a source of comfort or entertainment for consumers looking for a break from the election season chaos.

4. Optimize Your Ad Spend and Targeting

Election seasons often lead to a surge in political advertising, which can increase competition for ad space and drive up costs, particularly in digital media. To avoid overspending on ads, marketers should refine their targeting strategies to ensure that their ads reach the most relevant audiences.

Tools like audience segmentation, programmatic advertising and retargeting can help marketers optimize their campaigns by delivering ads to specific demographic groups that are most likely to engage with the brand. Additionally, consider shifting ad spend to less politically saturated platforms or channels where competition is lower and your messaging can stand out.

5. Time Your Campaigns Strategically

Timing is everything when running marketing campaigns during election season. Certain periods, such as debate nights or the days leading up to Election Day, will see a massive spike in political coverage, making it more difficult for non-political ads to capture attention. To avoid getting drowned out, marketers should be strategic about when they launch their campaigns.

For example, consider running major promotions or launching new products during off-peak election periods. Alternatively, marketers can capitalize on the political buzz by running time-sensitive promotions that tie into non-political events happening simultaneously.

6. Be Prepared for a Fast-Changing Environment

The election season is notoriously unpredictable. News cycles can change rapidly, and unexpected events can capture public attention overnight. Marketers should be prepared to adjust their campaigns in real time to accommodate these shifts.

This may involve reallocating budgets, pausing scheduled ads or tweaking messaging to ensure it remains relevant and sensitive to the current climate. Flexibility and responsiveness are crucial during election season, as marketers need to be able to pivot quickly in response to unforeseen developments.

Conclusion

Marketing during a presidential election season comes with its unique set of challenges, but it also presents opportunities for brands to connect with their audiences in meaningful ways. By understanding the shifts in consumer behavior, avoiding political entanglements, optimizing ad targeting and staying flexible, marketers can successfully navigate this period without being overshadowed by the political landscape.

In a time where attention is split and emotions run high, those brands that stay mindful, strategic and customer-focused will emerge with stronger relationships and sustained engagement.

A Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing

Many business leaders make the mistake of relying solely on advertising and/ or direct sales to secure leads. These tried-and-true methods certainly have their place, but if they’re your company’s only form of customer outreach, then you could be leaving a lot on the table. 

Today there are new channels and media to not only distribute your message, but engage and interact with potential customers, all while building relationships and establishing your brand. And while it’s a bit more work up front, content marketing comes at a fraction of the traditional cost for running ads or hiring additional salespeople. 

Defining content marketing

What is content marketing? Well, it’s a form of marketing in which you create, publish and distribute content to attract, engage, and retain customers. Content is everything from blog posts to white papers and eBooks to videos—basically anything that helps people learn about your company.

The term “content” has become so overused that sometimes it seems like every company is doing some kind of “content marketing.” But the truth is that there are only a few types of companies who can actually benefit from this strategy. First off, if your customers don’t already know who you are or why they should use your product or service (which will be addressed later), then chances are good that they won’t care about what kind of content you’re creating for them. You must have some brand visibility before even considering investing in content creation and distribution. So if no one knows who you are yet…it might be better left alone until later when things change for the better (and hopefully sooner). If this is the case, some traditional PR might be the more logical first step. 

What are the goals of content marketing?

In addition to the obvious ones—to build your brand and generate leads, grow your business and increase sales—you might be surprised to learn how content marketing can help you differentiate yourself from competitors.

It’s a fact that people trust recommendations much more than advertising. So if you want to stand out from other brands, consider creating helpful or entertaining content that gets shared by fans on social media. This way, customers can see that other people are getting value out of what you’re selling (and hopefully share it with their friends).

How to develop a content marketing strategy

To develop a content marketing strategy, you must first understand your buyer’s journey. This is the process that leads people who have never heard of you to become customers for life. Buyers’ journeys can be broken down into three main steps:

  • Awareness (What do they know about me?)
  • Consideration (Are they interested in using my services or products?)
  • Conversion/Purchase

Content marketing tactics

When executing a content marketing strategy, businesses often rely on a mix of written, graphical and video media to disseminate their messaging. These typically include:  

  • Blog posts
  • E-newsletters
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Social media posts

Measurement and evaluation

It’s not enough to just create great content. You have to track how it performs, and use that data to improve your strategy as you go along.

Measurement is key to success with content marketing, but what exactly do you measure?

The answer depends on your goals and objectives, but some basic metrics are useful for tracking the performance of all types of content:

  • Traffic: How much attention did your latest blog post or video get? How many visitors came from social media channels? This is a good place to start if you’re looking at overall performance of a piece of content—it’ll give you an idea of whether people are clicking through and reading/watching what they’re supposed to be reading/watching. Short-term traffic spikes can also be useful indicators that something went viral within the target audience (or outside it).
  • Conversions: Did any readers take action after consuming your latest blog post or video? If so, did they visit another page on your website after reading/watching it—and how many times did they return over the next few weeks or months? This metric is closely tied into SEM (search engine marketing) strategies like AdWords advertising campaigns because it shows how successful paid ads were at driving traffic toward certain pages on your site. You might also see conversions if someone filled out a form asking for more information about services offered by your company; this could lead directly into further engagement down the road (e-mail newsletters and other forms of direct marketing).

Resources for content marketers

Content marketing is a skill that can be learned and refined, but it helps to have some guidance along the way. Here are some useful resources for content marketers:

  • [The Content Strategist](http://thecontentstrategist.com/)
  • [Copyblogger](https://www.copyblogger.com/) – blog by Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger Media
  • [Contently](https://contently.com/) – choose this if you’re looking for an agency/service provider

Developing your own content marketing strategy

You’re probably wondering: “What are some of the most important things I can do to develop a content marketing strategy and execute on it?”

Well, let us tell you. Content marketing is a way for companies to build trust with customers, generate leads and establish themselves as an authority in their industry. It is not just writing blog posts or creating videos. It’s not just creating infographics or social media posts either!

It’s all of these things and more—a comprehensive strategy that encompasses any type of digital asset that builds relevance between your business and its target audience over time through consistent delivery of valuable information (e.g., case studies).

Conclusion

Content marketing is a powerful tool, and we hope you’re well on your way to mastering it. It can be difficult to get started with content marketing, but if you follow the steps above and use the resources we provided, you’ll be off to a great start. And if you need a hand, don’t be afraid to reach out!

Four Commitments to Create a Great Content Loyalty Strategy

A great Content Strategy is not a sprint to the finish line; it’s a marathon. You cannot turn it on and off as you redirect resources to other company initiatives.

A great Content Strategy is not a sprint to the finish line; it’s a marathon. You cannot turn it on and off as you redirect resources to other company initiatives. It is a continuous dialogue between your brand and your customers. Think of it as a relationship that must be continuously nurtured.  To be successful, you must commit your organization.

Commitment #1

Every content strategy professes to build brand loyalty with existing customers. So why are the majority of companies engaged in content marketing focused on top-of-funnel goals like demand gen and brand awareness? According to Accenture Research, 66% of consumers spend more on brands to which they feel loyal. Commit to the goals of your content strategy and stay focused. Do not become distracted by requests from sales for leads. A lead gen strategy is not a loyalty strategy.

Commitment #2

Truly commit to the loyalty strategy. Reports show that marketers committed to using a long-term content strategy were 63% more likely to reach their goal of building customer loyalty. Your best new business opportunity is with your existing loyal customers and the word-of-mouth (WOM) they with generate on social platforms.

Commitment #3

Get comfortable using metrics to improve your work. Access to campaign metrics through platforms like Supermetrics, Google Data studio, and others will provide the data. However, it’s up to you to slice and dice the data for your application. To improve the effectiveness of your content strategy with metrics, be clear on your big picture goals. Make sure you are measuring things that indicated you are reaching your goals. Track performance against these KPIs every month. Create a spreadsheet that tracks marketing goals and KPIs. Regularly review your plan for gathering performance information and who will be responsible for collecting and reporting this data.

Commitment #4

Focus on loyalty. Educate your customers to nurture loyalty. Fill the informational needs of your audience with entertaining content.  Use social media stories, video and blogs to create your brand voice. By focusing on your customer, their wants and needs, your brand will become clear with your customers.

Why Owned Media Matters

In our business, we talk a lot about the intersection between owned, earned, and paid media. I would argue that it’s part of our fundamental perspective and drives most of our work. O’Keeffe was founded on earned media – PR, media relations, and AP style. We added owned (and paid media) later with a particular focus on content. How we define owned content changes, but it always includes things like a blog on your website, white papers, or other deliverables that you wholly own. Sometimes we throw social media in the mix, but that’s a misnomer at this point. The fact is this: social media is no longer owned media.

Before you come after me with pitchforks, let me explain.

Who Owns Social?

If you had asked me five years ago if social media was owned, I would have said yes. Mostly. But these are dark days, my marketing friends. The decline of organic reach, the lack of clarity on metrics, and the changing algorithms all present enormous problems for us. Have you tried to pull historical data on Instagram lately? Try going back further than a week without some help, and you’ll find yourself frustrated beyond measure. And may Providence help you if you didn’t connect that tracking platform yesterday because the tracking will start right now, not when you need it.

The big problem is the lack of clarity regarding those metrics. Say you dug into Facebook and pulled out one of those great CSV files. Beautiful, right? Look at all of those numbers and columns! Columns for days! But what in the world do all of those columns refer to? And once you finally stumble on the metric you need, you better make sure you write down exactly what you did and then pray that platform doesn’t change its UX tomorrow.

Who’s Down with D-A-T-A?

The ability to pull correlational historical data is imperative, and it’s one of the biggest things missing from media that isn’t owned. Take your website, for example. Google Analytics may have some updates, but, generally speaking, I’ve been able to pull the same primary data for a decade. How I use that data may have changed, but as long as my website is connected and online, I can get historical data in a platform that actually helps me get what I need.  Your website is 100% owned media. You control that journey, you control how you guide your audience, and you can completely pull the metrics you need with little help from Google. Heck, you can even get immediate, crazy-cool tracking and other marketing goodies if you start linking additional platforms like Pardot. With owned media, you’re not at the mercy of another platform.

Okay, so we know that owned and paid media are different. You might be saying, gosh, Megan, but I don’t use paid social. I’m not paying for Facebook ads, and I’m certainly not boosting posts on LinkedIn. I can’t be paid if I’m not paying, right?

Wrong.

Dollar, Dollar Bills, Y’all

These platforms don’t exist so you can reach your audience. Come on, folks. These platforms exist to make money. There’s a reason why they make their metrics so annoying to pull (I’m looking at you, Facebook), and why their organic reach is declining. Instagram didn’t update how it displays posts so you would have better experience. It updated its algorithm so that you wouldn’t be guaranteed even to be seen, so you feel compelled to sponsor posts. Even Twitter, which I would agree has the most consistent analytics tracking experience, updated its feed, so it wasn’t chronological.

The big four don’t want to make it easy for you to engage with your audience unless you spend money. It’s that simple. You may not be sponsoring posts, but the platforms are now designed to be a paid experience. Social media is not owned. Social media is paid, whether you’re paying them directly or not.

Beyond the Default

We used to talk about the difficulty of building a brand on social media, but it was always in support in creating your website or app and not ignoring the channels that you own. We always cautioned about spending all of your time on Facebook when the platform may disappear and take all of your branding with it. We’re now in a time where social is a default part of any marketing strategy, despite the declining engagement and reach. Don’t get me wrong – paid social is still a comparatively cheap way to reach your audience. But don’t kid yourself and think that posting semi-regularly is enough.

This brings us to another point. Metrics and analysis. Remember that sweet, sweet historical data I mentioned earlier? It’s getting harder and harder to pull. I used to be able to grab an apples-to-apples comparison and industry benchmarks easily. We all used to know where we stand. More is better. More engagement, more impressions, more clicks. These days I can’t promise that. I can apply all of the best practices in the book. I can build creative campaigns. I track everything to the heavens and back. But without that paid budget, your campaign is entirely at the mercy of the platform itself.

But Wendy’s!

Now, I fully realize some brands have found massive success on social platforms. And you may be saying, Megan, this isn’t optional. I need to be one of those brands. Most agencies will promise you the world and deliver an island. We’re not like that. We value honesty and an authentic relationship with our clients. I’m not going to set you up for failure. But I am going to do everything in my power to make you one of those success stories, and I’m going to use all of the analytics at my disposal to create strategies to guide you.

Now here’s the flip side.

You’ve heard the digital space is crowded. Floral for spring. Groundbreaking. And now I’ve told you that social is a wasteland without a lot of time and some spending money. What’s a company to do? Maybe your budget is tiny, and you can’t afford to boost anything. Maybe your budget is massive, but you’d rather not burn piles of cash.

Clean Your House

Your first step is to make sure that your house is in order. When is the last time you updated your website? Are you ready for voice search? Please tell me that you’re optimized for mobile. Review your copy. Does all of this content speak to who you are? Are you answering your prospect’s questions? Is your sales team aligned? Do you have a documented content marketing strategy? If any of these things aren’t there, focus on these first. Your main priority should always be owned media. Paid and earned can layer into this, but you have to be clear about who you are and why you matter.

Your driving mission should be authenticity. We’re beyond a manufactured; white bread easily approved content strategy. Don’t produce white papers because you’re supposed to. Don’t post on Twitter because you have to. Pull together your owned, earned, and paid media into one voice and get strategic about how you spend your time. Know which stories are great for PR and which stories are better as sales content. Research to discover where your audience is and what they want to know.

#Latergram

Social media was one of my first loves in the marketing world. The ability to create instant conversations was pure magic, and I loved finding ways to drive engagement. The days of live-tweeting a conference and expecting a huge return are over. Focus on your owned media and the rest will follow.

Why Companies Need B2B Content

Businesses in every industry have valuable stories to tell about their products and services. However, many are not utilizing the power of content, and their stories aren’t being heard. I believe it is important that companies incorporate content marketing into their lead generation and sales processes to give customers the information they really want. So, why is content important for B2B businesses? I’ve put together a list of my top reasons.

Quality content builds credibility and authority

Consistent, quality content can help establish your company as a leader in your industry. By writing thought leadership pieces, you are proving your expertise to those who might need your services. Gaining that credibility and authority is important when it comes to strengthening your relationship with current customers, as well as attracting the attention of new ones. The more you write and publish, the simpler it will be for you to convince your target audience that you are an expert in the business subject you’re promoting and selling. Your thought leadership de-risks their buying process.

Buyers are always looking for helpful content

According to LinkedIn, 79 percent of small businesses say that industry specific news and articles are the most valuable pieces of content they look for on social media. 79 percent! This illustrates that companies are out there reading and looking for answers. It’s important that your company is part of the conversation.

The B2B buying journey can take some time

The buying journey for B2B companies can often take much longer than it does for B2C companies. This is because you are building a relationship with your potential customers, rather than asking for a simple transaction. Because the process can often take some time, it is important to stay in touch with prospects throughout their journey. Helpful and relevant content acts as a great touchpoint and provides a way to initiate discussions and ensure loyal follow-up. It also doesn’t hurt that 74% of B2B buyers choose a vendor that’s first to help them with useful content, according to LinkedIn.

Google recognizes quality content

A high SEO ranking is the cherry on top of producing quality material. Marketing is a great way to promote your brand and reach new customers, as well as get recognized by Google, who will award your efforts with a good ranking. You just have to make sure you are publishing quality content consistently. However, while it can be tempting to write purely for SEO purposes, always be sure to focus on writing compelling content about the things your target audience would be most interested in. There is no downside to optimizing your content for SEO, but don’t lose sight of your primary goals when you create and deliver content.

Every B2B company has a story to tell and an audience to share it with, whether it is current clients, prospective clients or industry colleagues. Providing and publishing relevant content can make a major difference in creating a rewarding customer relationship. B2B businesses are embracing the benefits of content each day and are seeing direct results. Make sure your company doesn’t miss out on opportunities that content marketing can provide.

Why your business needs visual content

Regardless of the industry you work in, you’ve probably already heard that visual content is an effective form of communication. Actually, in my opinion it’s becoming the most effective form of communication.

Whether you’re in B2B or B2C, it’s still H2H (human to human). Humans are visual beings, and in today’s world of information-overload, visuals can help your message rise above the clutter.  If you aren’t focusing on visual content for your marketing, social media or email campaigns, it’s probably time to start.

Visuals grab our attention.

There are 1.5 billion units of content generated each day. With so much information floating around online, businesses need to find ways to grab the attention of their target audiences. Using visuals, rather than text, is a much more effective way to accomplish this.

We remember visuals.

Did you know that people retain 80 percent of what they see? This is compared to 20 percent of what they read and ten percent of what they hear. Big difference. If you want your audience to remember what you are communicating, show them using visuals.

Visual content gets more views.

Content featuring compelling images averages 94 percent more total views than those without. It’s also 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than posts with only text. By including an image, you can drastically increase people’s willingness to read, listen or see what you have to say.

Visual content can influence human emotion.

Images, videos, infographics, and other forms of visual content include color that can appeal to your target audience’s senses and influence their emotions. Studies show that colors not only affect emotions, but also influence how people will take action. Additionally, visual content acts as a universal language and can appeal to all audiences and emotions.

To practice what I preach, I’ve included an infographic that brings this message to life.

 

Infographic from Ethos3
Infographic from Ethos3