Top Five Marketing Trends That Will Drive Success For Your Brand
In this guest post, entrepreneur Josh Althauser discusses the five trends you need to apply to drive success for your brand…
Beth Comstock, American business executive and current vice chair of General Electric, once said: “Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.”
Getting a leg up as a cash-strapped small business owner may seem nearly impossible. Each year brings new social and technological trends to our society, and small companies must pool their limited resources to compete with large corporations, who often have massive marketing teams dedicated to the task of capitalizing on new ways to promote their product.
As a company with limited funds, you’ll need to choose which trends to follow even more prudently. Here are five marketing trends that you can take advantage of this year:
1. Video as a major part of content strategy
Visuals are everything. There’s a reason YouTube gets more traffic than Facebook. By next year, video content is expected to be 80 per cent of all consumer-based Internet traffic. Perhaps sensing this, Mark Zuckerberg has said that within five years, Facebook will be mostly video as well.
An online ad campaign, at this point, is synonymous with the integration of some sort of video. And with the accessibility of HD cameras and editing software, there’s no excuse for why your brand shouldn’t be making great video content.
One great piece of content from last year was “The One Moment,” which doubled as a music video for Ok Go and an advertisement for Morton Salt. The whole video happened in 4.2 seconds—slowed down, it takes up the full length of the song. You can use marketing tricks like this to save time and money without skimping on quality.
2. Personalized email marketing campaigns Only 44 per cent of small business owners have recognized the importance of email marketing. The benefits of email marketing for companies with limited time and money are untold. Unlike many other digital marketing efforts, it is neither costly nor time-consuming.
In fact, it’s one of the cheapest campaigns you can launch and requires only a bit of writing ability and a strong list of contacts. You’re able to connect directly with your consumers or clients with a click of a button and collect important marketing metrics, like open and conversion rates.
3. Leveraging consumer collaboration
One of the most sought-after traits in the millennial generation is authenticity. There’s no better way to create an authentic brand than by leveraging your consumer’s willingness to collaborate with you.
With the incredible power of social media, your customers can communicate your brand for you and foster its growth.
Reach out to well-known influencers, bloggers, contact podcasters and even seasoned product managers who can help plan out your product launch, and even help encourage a conversation about your company. You may not be able to control where the conversation leads, but the buzz generated is often well worth the risk.
4. Data-driven marketing research and analysis
While many business decisions are powered by intuition, marketing decisions should be motivated by data. In the digital age, every business can tailor their marketing efforts with a great degree of accuracy. Unfortunately, the majority of small businesses aren’t capturing easily-collected information about their consumer.
Google Analytics, for example, which gives you advanced metrics about your site, such as bounce rates and the number of unique users visiting your site, is available to you at no cost whatsoever. Other free marketing analytics tools, such as Keyhole, provide you with the numbers you need to assess your social media marketing campaigns on Twitter and Instagram.
These are just a few examples; there is a cornucopia of free resources waiting to be properly utilized by your marketing team.
5. Cultivating personal brands with a friendly, informal tone Spotify, through a series of billboards, used a vast amount of data it has collected over the past few years to highlight a few of its quirkiest users: the guy who played Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” 42 times on Valentine’s Day, or the person in the theater district who listened to the Hamilton soundtrack 5,376 times in one year. These types of humorous anecdotes are endearing and give personality to your brand.
Making a brand more personal doesn’t necessarily require data mining or expensive billboard campaigns, either. It’s as simple as creating a brand voice that sounds natural and in-tune with your target audience; a brand that facilely engages with its consumers on a multitude of platforms and produces spot-on hashtags and curates amazing posts.
Conclusion
Marketing, at its heart, is about appealing to people, and attitudes are always changing. Marketing in the 1950s, with its direct appeals to logic and reason, would barely register in the market of today. Marketing in the 21st century is geared toward crafting truly compelling stories and brands that embody the human experience.
Digital marketing is never easy. Especially when you’ve got a small team and lack a six-figure marketing budget.
Worry not: there’s plenty of hope for your small business. Producing video content, harnessing the power of email marketing, leveraging consumer participation, embracing data-driven marketing and cultivating a personal brand are surefire ways to jumpstart your marketing department.
Follow these 5 trends, continue researching and refining your approach to marketing and never be afraid to alter your strategy to respond to consumer sentiment. Following new trends mindlessly will undoubtedly fail, but being open, assessing them accurately and integrating them into your business sensibly will surely lead to success.
Josh Althauser is an entrepreneur with a background in design and M&A. He’s also a developer, open source advocate, and designer. You may connect with him on Twitter.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.