The final destination of any marketing campaign is the sale. Obviously. The trouble is, and this may come as a shock to you, but people really don’t like ads. Today’s customers are also more savvy than ever thanks to nearly ubiquitous access to technology and the information it provides around the world.
As a result, the journey to each sale is a lot more complex than it used to be. But that also means the journey itself is more important. People not liking ads isn’t the fault of the people. It’s the fault of the advertisers. And it’s obvious that advertisers need to change or get left behind by those that do.
Organizations have flocked to different ways of advertising as they search for the best way to maximize their advertising spend. Here are some of the marketing trends of 2020 that we think are here to say.
Influencer Marketing
The connected world we live in today has redefined the way we think about relationships. This is particularly true of parasocial relationships (a one-sided “relationship” that a viewer forms with someone like an entertainer, a news anchor, or a social media personality.)
While parasocial relationships are nothing new, they are much more powerful now as a result of social media interactivity and the much greater access viewers have to these types of personalities.
Advertisers are capitalizing on these relationships and the feelings an audience has towards influencers to leverage them as a sort of product spokesperson. There are a lot of different ways to go about influencer marketing but the gist of it is you hire a social media influencer to use or talk about your product to their audience.
The audience has an emotional connection to the influencer that makes them much more likely to trust the influencer’s opinions. And trust is perhaps the most vital currency for any organization—especially when it comes to advertising.
Personalization
Following in the vein of influencer marketing, personalized advertising has gained a lot of traction over the past few years. Connecting with an audience on their terms is a great way to establish a relationship that provides value to both parties. One way to do this is through personalized advertising that is tailored towards specific people or groups of people.
Spotify Wrapped is a great example of personalized marketing. It uses user activity data to generate individual and worldwide listening stats across the music provider’s platform. It’s a fun way to see what kind of music everyone spent the past year listening to that brings users back onto the platform.
Not only does it give its audience an immediate and engaging activity to do on their platform, but it also provides additional incentive to use their service throughout the year. Being able to look back on the year and see what you and other people were listening to is a lot of fun. And the more time you spend listening to music on Spotify, the more accurate and interesting your own data becomes.
Social Media Marketing
While marketing on social media is certainly nothing new, it continues to play a huge role in most organization’s marketing strategies. But posting pictures of products with a 10% discount code on Instagram doesn’t really cut it anymore. Not with organizations like Wendy’s killing it on Twitter by managing to entertain its followers while still plugging their products and advertising deals the whole time.
A social media presence is vital for organizations that want to continue thriving in the future. Making the most of social media involves finding a voice that speaks to the values of your organization while also appealing to its audience. While it’s no easy task, the work is well worth it in the end if you can pull off something approximating Wendy’s success with their 3.5+ million followers.
Content Marketing
Content continues to drive the internet and the world forward with no signs of slowing. It’s inexpensive and highly successful, with more organizations realizing the value it can provide each day. Content marketing also improves the customer’s perception of your organization as a source of authority while providing them with valuable information and you with valuable search engine placement.
If you’re reading this, you’re living proof that content marketing still works. Need I say more?
Organizations around the world are rapidly coming to terms with the realities of the modern age and adapting their behaviors accordingly. This is happening across departments and industries as more organizations discover new ways to reach and serve their audience.
At Cardinal, we want to help organizations do just that. Contact us to learn more about digital marketing and the services we offer.
