Time has come for you to start thinking about how your marketing strategy should evolve. It’s prudent to take a moment and step back as you evaluate your success in previous marketing campaigns as you consider the best ways to evolve your digital marketing in the upcoming years.
Most will agree that last year experienced a lot of advancements and changes in the digital space. It was the year that saw an increased focus on unique and creative content marketing, algorithm updates, innovations in live streaming, changes in Google AdWords, and the introduction of ephemeral content on the Instagram platform.
These achievements may appear to be a lot to hold onto in the long run. However, the advancements can assist you to find better ways of doing now. They should inspire you to test new strategies that engage your clients on an even deeper level. As you lay down your focus, here are some digital marketing tactics you can test if you have the intention of taking your strategy to the next level:
1. Live Streaming
Live streaming was widely popular in 2016. Facebook partnered with several publishers to launch its live streaming service dubbed “Facebook live.” The advantage of this application is that it is accessible by all users. Twitter also partnered with the Republican and Democratic conventions and its own notably in 2016, and Golden Globes to up the ante of live streaming in 2016.
Twitter allows users to begin a live stream directly from the application, which makes live streaming easy and enjoyable. You no longer need to access the Periscope application before you start a live streaming session. With both Twitter and Facebook making live streaming easier than ever before there is no better time to test it for your brand with digital marketing.
If you are still new to live streaming, you can begin by brainstorming some content ideas for your brand that are authentic and feel spur-of-the-moment. Some of the brilliant ideas came in the form of ‘how-to’ videos, where you teach your clients all the ways they need to use each product. Seize this opportunity to show them how they can maximize the use of a particular product.
Another idea could be the question and answer session. You can decide to host question and answer sessions with experts of the particular topic. It’s advisable to source questions from the audience if you want to enhance their user experience.
You can also broadcast an event that your brand is taking part in or is hosting. People who cannot be there is person will have the opportunity to follow the proceedings. You can also think of taking the users behind the scenes at special events where you offer them a look into the world that is normally closed to them. Think about taking your users to the back office to allow them see the process of getting the product or service ready for them.
You could also teach your users a new skill through demonstrations. For example, a real estate company can hold a series of teachings that show clients how to stage a home for sale. One of the brands that make good use of live streaming to connect with their audience is Tough Mudder. This health-and-fitness brand goes live on Facebook to provide helpful tips and reviews to get in shape after the holidays.
Eddie Madan, CEO of a Toronto based social media marketing agency, Edkent Media, explains that you need to announce your live streaming session in advance so that your users don’t miss it. You can capture your users in advance by writing a descriptive introduction that is compelling that will make them stop scrolling and tune into the live session.
2. Ephemeral Content
You should expect to see more ephemeral content. The term ephemeral content refers to posts that have a limited life span and disappear after the set period. In fact, disappearing posts are no longer just a thing of Snapchat. Instagram launched Instagram stories that comprise its ephemeral content feature in 2016.
Some marketers may think that creating content that will disappear after 24 hours does not make sense. However, you should be present where you can find your consumers. The advantage of Instagram stories and Snapchat is that they are specially designed for content that has a spontaneous feel and grounded in that moment.
It’s not advisable to post content that appears overly stiff, formal or edited. Therefore, there is no need to spend hours designing or filming in studio. You can develop bite-size content that costs almost nothing. Spend most of your time focusing on the reflection of human qualities that are evident in your brand. If the brand is still new to ephemeral content, you could begin with behind the scenes, GIFs, snippets from events, and brand announcement teasers.
3. Snapchat Advertising
Snapchat introduced two major advertising innovations in 2016. You can try these platforms if you want to broaden the ad buys of your brand across the platform. However, Snapchat is not a perfect fit for all brands. It’s ideal for youthful content that is somewhat playful to match the consumers who are using the app.
Snapchat rolled out the ability to create sponsored geofilters that allowed brands to develop their own geofilters and select the where and when to enable them. Sponsored geofilters allow brands to use trademarks and logos — something that community geofilters did not previously permit.
Another perfect launch by Snapchat was that of sponsored stories. These ads appear in between users’ stories. The sponsored stories play sound automatically as long as the user has his or her sound on and are full screen. The advertiser can send the users to longer articles, videos, or an application installation directly from the ads. Users have a choice to skip sponsored stories, but these ads are different enough and new to have some edge when it comes to engaging the user. With what was brought to digital marketing, brands need to do what they can to stay relevant, but also keep their target market in mind when they make these choices.
Digital Transformation is one of the leading topics in business today. Check out Erik Qualman, keynote speaker, for your next conference!
