I’ve been considering the impact of algorithms, automation tools and contextual media on marketing as we know it. It’s becoming clear to me that integrated marketing won’t be enough to make a company, nonprofit or individual competitive in this coming… Read More »Integration Won’t Be Enough
Marketing today remains a great challenge, in large part because of the consistently changing technology and media landscape. Informational sources (conferences, blogs, etc.) consistently address these challenges yet the issues persist.
It may be time to take a step back on a macro level and look at how education and information sources are meeting these challenges.
Here are the seven daunting difficulties for today’s communicators, each followed by an idea or three on how to address them. Please add your own thoughts.
Opening Day last week was my Dad’s first day of retirement, so we went to the park with a couple of friends to celebrate. It was one of the best days of my life, a day I’ll cherish and take with me to the grave. But it was also enjoyable because the Nationals’ in-stadium experience significantly improved over the winter.
When you walk into the stadium and look out onto the field, the first thing you see in the outfield is the hashtag slogan, “#Natitude.” That’s how my 2013 season began with the Nationals on opening day, a brilliant integrated in-park/online/broadcast experience.
Encouraging fans to use the # slogan is brilliant, spanning Twitter, Google+ and Instagram, and perhaps soon Facebook. Now fans can find Nationals conversations on their preferred social media channel by simply searching for #Natitude.
The full integration of the Nationals experience into the physical goes further. Consider the following:
Read More »Experiencing Electronic #Natitude
In building the program for xPotomac (February 25th), I sought to address a sea change in media evolution. That change spells the end for the social PR revolution, a marketing movement embodied by brand-led conversations over the past seven years.
We are currently experiencing a throttling of branded, online grassroots power. Specifically, it’s becoming harder and harder for marketers to be seen with branded earned media and social updates.
This evolution is best evidenced by the increasing role of owned and paid content placement (as discussed, content marketing is the 21st century nice description of advertising), and social or native advertising.
Other signs evidence this change, too. Social search and stronger policing of black hat SEO by Google has put a premium on paid search again. Facebook’s use of Edgerank to force companies and individuals alike to pay for attention is another harbinger of this fate.
The rise of big data and the forthcoming wearable computing revolution — themes that run throughout xPotomac — will cause a further throttling of online grassroots pipes.
No. It won’t.
The truth? Online media — all forms of it — increasingly rules the world, but social is just a piece of that converged puzzle.
When you look at the numbers direct marketing rules the world, at least from an overall marketing spend perspective (see above chart from the Marketing in the Round infographic), money is being invested in direct tactics like email marketing, direct mail, search, and more first. That’s because the direct marketing approach yields the most ROI at a 10:1 ratio, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
Read More »Will Social Rule the Marketing World?
It’s funny how much we talk about content frequency, retweet ratios, comments, etc. as key determinants of influence. What really matters in interactions with people, particularly as a content creator, is consistency.
Not that content, retweets and interactions aren’t important. They are (depending on your goals).
They’re just public and measurable, making them easily quantified. Go Klout.
From a psychological perspective, when trying to develop influence and loyalty we need consistency in those acts. We trust people that deliver reliable consistent acts, and are even lulled into trusting them without thinking about it (groupthink).
Read More »Influence: The Importance of Consistency
In today’s networked media environment, marketing strategists find weaknesses in linear approaches to selecting campaign tactics. Break that strategy planning process by integrating best practices from web site user experience (UX) design with storyboards and cognitive maps.
Today, most marketers end strategies with media choices and tactics (and hopefully associated measurement choices). This linear process represents a common inside-out perspective, and fails to embrace the customer/stakeholder experience.
UX design seeks to keep people engaged in a great online experience. Similarly, instead of treating customers and stakeholders like cattle, we should build marketing campaigns that inform and entertain in a comprehensive experience.
Read More »Rethinking Strategy through Storyboards and Cognitive Maps
