There are many reasons why marketing is a highly dynamic industry right now. Tech changes, consumer preferences evolve, social norms adjust, competition makes tactics less effective. Even if a brand has not embraced agile marketingOpens a new window , marketers have to be agile in their methods just to keep up.
As part of that constant change, several common habits and tactics that have stood marketers in good stead over the past few years are nearing their end of life. Many of these tactics and ways or working still function today, but their days are numbered.
With that in mind, here are five areas where marketers must change if they haven’t already. These won’t remain viable much longer.
1. Video as an End Unto Itself
Video for the sake of using video is dying as marketers increasingly embrace the medium.
“Most marketers will agree that video is an extremely effective way to generate traction through digital media buys,†says Dave Sutton, director of strategy for digital marketing agency Lever InteractiveOpens a new window . “However, just because an advertisement is in a video format doesn’t mean it will generate awareness or engagement.â€
The focus is shifting toward quality video instead.
“Rushing to produce video content to keep up with the trend without considering the strategy, message, story or branding will be very ineffective as the expectation for video increases,†he notes.
2. Organic Social Media Marketing
Organic social media marketing on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram is harder than ever. Reach is extremely low, and marketers can no longer rely on organic methods for finding customers on social.
This is because the social networks have ramped up pay-to-play, and they now are making it harder on businesses to get seen organically so ad spending goes up.
At the end of the day, social platforms are looking to drive revenue, and in the near future marketers will find it increasingly hard or even impossible to maintain adequate visibility without boosting social ad spending. Facebook and the social platforms have marketers over a barrel.
The workaround appears to be building deep direct engagement with customers so organic social is no longer as necessary. And more social ad spending, of course.
3. Promotion-Driven Social Media
Marketers also are finding that hard sells are working a lot less positively on social media, even in ads. The days of grabbing email addresses or even a sale through social media are waning, as consumers lose interest in branded social content that pushes commerce directly.
“While often still effective, advertisers will need to consider that social media platforms are a place for people to spend downtime, connect with friends, and explore topics that interest them,†says Sutton. “Everyone loves a discount, but repetitive percent-off offers will have users turned off of the ever-growing discount marketplace in their feeds by 2021. Instead, figure out how best to engage with your audience and utilize offers when and where appropriate.â€
Expect to extend your customer journey and deepen your core understanding of buyers, because marketing efforts are moving toward a much longer game before the sale.
4. Manual Campaign Management
Marketing automation already is a staple for most brands, a way to be more efficient and get through that endless list of marketing tasks. But while it is an efficiency move today, in the near future automation will be a necessity.
“Already a cumbersome task, by 2021 AI will be so advanced that manual management of campaigns will leave marketers at an insurmountable strategic disadvantage,†notes Margo Kahnrose, senior vice president of marketing at digital advertising platform KenshooOpens a new window . “Advanced marketers are already using AI for trend identification and campaign optimization. Its capacity for this type of work will only continue to improve.â€
Marketing is moving toward strategy, content creation and overseeing automation. The nuts and bolts tasks around running campaigns still exist but are going away fast.
5. Basic Personalization
Adding someone’s name to an email, and basic list segmentation, have been around for a long time. They still work, too. Marketing outreach hasn’t significantly gone beyond this basic personalization except in the case of ad targeting, by and large.
With the rise of artificial intelligence and consumer’s general oversaturation with marketing messages, however, basic personalization is on the way out and a much deeper, more precise personalization is on the way in.
“Brands that are not personalizing customer experiences will fall behind,†says Brian Glover, director of product marketing for Marketo EngageOpens a new window at Adobe. “Consumers are constantly bombarded with marketing throughout their day, from emails to social media and everything in between. Relevant communications will help marketers stand out from the noise.â€
A recent Adobe surveyOpens a new window found that 51 percent of respondents indicated they would be more likely to make a purchase if they receive personalized content, and the marketing arm’s race is quickly moving toward every customer interaction being a deeply personalized one tied to what’s in the marketer’s CRM.
These old tactics and ways of working still work. Just not for much longer.