Six months after a global pandemic changed everything, marketing teams no longer have to scramble to revise carefully laid plans and can finally catch their breath.
Now is the perfect time to take a step back from the daily grind and ask yourself, “What’s next?” While it may seem difficult to plan when so much is changing so quickly, one thing is for certain: It’s time for marketing teams to get creative.
From content to events, rethinking how you connect with customers can help you stand out in an increasingly noisy digital world. Here are four ideas to get you started.
Ask the Data for Advice
Our new reality requires decisions to be made quickly, leaving little time to ensure they’re data-driven. In fact, only 32% of organisations are using performance metrics to inform content strategy development.
Given that today’s content campaigns are already fighting an uphill battle to cut through the noise, upfront analysis of content marketing data is more than prudent — it’s paramount.
So before you begin drafting your next big marketing campaign, invest time in figuring out what’s working, what’s not, and where opportunities to stand out exist. Marketers have a glut of dataflows from which to pull this information, but consider starting with your sales enablement solution — it’s a one-stop-shop for metrics on internal and external engagement as well as impact on revenue. You’ll be able to quickly identify peaks and valleys in consumption. From there, it’s a simple matter of continuing what’s working and walking away from what isn’t.
Developing a new strategy with data-backed decisions is a tried and true first step toward launching a winning content campaign.
Mix and Match
Marketers are well-versed in creating content. But when you’re busy rewriting your strategy (and digging into data!), it can be challenging to simultaneously create new materials.
This is where modular assets come in. Research shows that high-performing businesses are 72% more likely to use modular content in their content strategy and operations. Typically, this is done via a website in order to support personalised digital experiences or A/B testing. But the concept of asset atomisation can also be applied to other demand generation materials — allowing you to maximise the lifespan of every asset you create.
Think about how you can create pillar assets with modular use in mind. Take an eBook, for example. The same content can easily become a webinar, a blog post, or an article that you post on LinkedIn or Medium. But don’t stop there — facts and figures from the eBook can be spun into social media graphics, and a webinar deck can be trimmed into a micro-eBook for use on social media or by sales. The key is to leverage your design team: They should be able to create base content that can easily be remixed or resized by nontechnical marketers for use on numerous platforms.
With a little creative thinking and some proactive design, a single pillar asset can live many lives — giving you maximum output for your marketing efforts.
Think Small
One of the best parts of our pre-virtual world was the chance to gather at big events and engage face-to-face with peers and thought leaders. How can you recreate those intimate moments online?
This is a rare opportunity to think smaller — not bigger. Rather than trying to facilitate deep conversations with hundreds of virtual attendees, consider hosting numerous small events with capacity limited to ten or fifteen people. Shrinking the attendee pool may seem counterintuitive to modern marketing, which often prioritises scale. But in our new reality, intimate, tailored experiences carry new weight; they offer a chance at authentic connections and real conversation.
Consider scheduling a weekly workshop or office hours for your community — this will allow more people to participate without diluting its purpose. Additionally, try treating each engagement like a book club, and come prepared with set discussion topics and potential responses. This will eliminate awkward silences and keep the conversation flowing. An added benefit: in a small group discussion, it’s easier than ever to call on attendees and ask for opinions.
Going small while we stay home is a simple way for marketers to maintain authentic community connections.
Say Less
Less is more — and in a time of constant change, this old adage holds true. The tendency to engage customers and prospects to offer support, advice, and community is only natural for businesses who have carefully cultivated relationships. But constant contact can be overwhelming, and most buyers have plenty on their plates.
Rather than increase the number of outbound communications, consider refocusing your efforts on bulking up key resources and distributing them in mediums that buyers can easily return to. This could mean creating free guides, building a document of crowd-sourced content, or publishing an ongoing educational video series. The idea is to create something that’s valuable but timeless, which will allow buyers to engage at their own pace.
Much like the recurring micro-events mentioned above, saying less at a time when inboxes are full to the brim gives buyers a chance to breathe while letting them know that you’re here to help when they need it.
Evolving with Your Buyers
The way marketing teams engage with potential and existing customers has changed — but these shifts can easily become opportunities to deepen your relationships and grow your business.
Ready to get started? Our complete kit to measuring and mapping content across the buyer’s journey is just one click away.
