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There are two parts to every marketing push. The vehicle and the content.

The vehicle is systematic. It’s a marketing machine to deliver the content to your audience. Your website, social media channels, digital billboards, ad platforms… They’re all positioning tools, designed to move your brand to many places at once.

The second part, the content, is your appeal to the people. It’s the welcoming creative used to secure your audience’s attention and buy-in. A relevant message, captivating narrative, eye-catching visual… They’re all your business’ charisma, designed to tell your story in the most compelling terms.

Vehicles undergo constant improvement, forever being overhauled with faster engines, precision routing and more advanced automation. They change as quickly as technology allows.

Content also is in a constant state of growth, at least if your brand is evolving (and it always should be). It’s the only way to articulate your progress and invite others to experience it firsthand.

Results of both vehicle and content rely on one another. A great vehicle with weak content is worthless, and vice versa. Many businesses overlook this equation, investing the lion’s share of time and money in one over the other.

They bank on the latest vehicle innovation to get them in front of millions more. It’s expected to move them to measurable outcomes, because that’s what it was built to do. But when their brand reaches the masses, it’s dead on arrival because the content lacks purpose. In other cases, businesses get lost in the possibilities of creative, neglecting the importance of good placement.

Simply put, you need to adjust your marketing machine if your brand finds itself:

A. Painstakingly perfecting content that usually never sees the light of day
B. Forever searching for a new vehicle, because nothing seems to stick

Influencer marketing is a hybrid of two positioning strategies. The first being celebrity endorsements. The second being social media. The influencer – who generally isn’t a celebrity but has a large following on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. – promotes a company’s product or services.

So Why Does This Work?

The influencer provides the brand with instant, 24/7 access to an already captive audience… their loyal fans. It’s an unspoken rule that influencers only promote the brands they believe in. This goes a long way in compelling their followers to buy in. Some reports show as high as 49% of Twitter users rely on influencer recommendations when making a buying decision.

There are two different ways that a brand can curate a relationship with a digital marketing influencer. The first is to formally contact them and send “free” products in exchange for a quick plug on their social media feeds. Keep in mind, there’s no certainty this approach will work in your brand’s favor. If a product is blindly sent as part of a PR push, the influencer could opt to focus on the negatives. Since they’ve worked hard to earn the trust of their audience, most aren’t scared to call out flaws in their effort to present authentic information.

The second, and more sure-fire, way to build a relationship is for the brand to actually employ the influencer. The brand pays them for so many endorsements. In these cases, terms can be more defined because the influencer is under contract.

In either case, it’s important to seek an influencer that aligns with your brand’s personality and offerings. You wouldn’t want someone with an older following advertising products designed for younger consumers. To that same point, you would not want someone with questionable character representing your brand.

Influencer Marketing: Is It Worth It?

If you decide to engage with an influencer, the great ones will be able to tell you:

1. Number of followers
2. Their conversion rate (how many purchases associated with their posts)
3. Post frequency
4. Other products they represent

Influencer marketing is hardly a fleeting trend. In fact, some celebrities have cashed in big time, using it as a side stream of revenue. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, Kim Kardashian makes roughly $270,000 per post. While that might not be the route for your brand, remembering these few simple points can help you in getting the most out of your influencer experience.

According to the New York times, we’re exposed to roughly 5,000 ads per day. With Facebook being a key player among the platforms pushing those promotions, it can be hard for a brand to rise above with an offer that’s appealing, different and click-worthy. So, we’ve cooked up six ways to create effective Facebook ads that won’t get lost in the noise.

Identify the Need

What’s the point of advertising a product if the consumer doesn’t know the need it fulfills? Educate your audience on “Why” it makes sense for them to take action. You can encourage them along with exclusive deals or timely sales to create a sense of urgency. However, make sure your Facebook ads clearly spells out the problem, then offers the solution.

Less is More

Your copy should be precise and easy to understand. Too many words not only will confuse, but also will defy Facebook’s advertising policies. In other words, the posting could be denied. A strong visual and simple, but compelling, call to action works best when trying to get attention as people scroll.

Target Audience

Why advertise a popular teen clothing item to a middle-aged man? Taking a broad stroke approach with your audience segmentation could lead to just that. Don’t simply boost without considering basic demographics and habits. Use Facebook’s Insights to first understand your audience’s location, gender, language. Then through Facebook’s targeting features, pick behaviors and interests that resonate with the folks you want to reach.

Timing

Facebook allows you to track usage times of your audience and coordinate your ad post to run during peak hours when you’re most likely to get in front of them. If you’re a brick and mortar business and your call to action requires them to stop by or pick up the phone, make sure your ad only runs when your doors are open. Post during peak hours so you’re sure to get in their feed when they’re looking.

Aesthetic

The appearance of your Facebook ads should be cohesive, pairing the right look with the right message at the right time.

Test Formats on Your Facebook Ads

Try testing various formats to see how your audience responds. For example, certain products or services might present better in a short ten second video, while others get the point across in a still graphic. In certain cases where the focus is selling multiple products, interactive ads that allow you to swipe left let the audience navigate quickly and on their terms to view the full spectrum of offerings.

Whatever the pitch, the same underlying ad rules apply. Make it target specific, cut down on clutter, position it at the right time, and test responses.

When bread goes stale in the food industry, many restaurants cut it into cubes and drop it in the deep fryer. Instant gourmet croutons. That’s how fine dining takes a $3 salad and turns into a $12 garden bowl.

Chefs are the masters of reinvention. They must be. Their medium carries such a short shelf life. The best ones know how to squeeze every ounce of opportunity out of a product.

We see similarities in today’s marketing, where the key ingredient – content – also has a quick “Eat By” date. Brand developers find themselves constantly redefining and justifying content’s value in generating sales. They must quantify how images and words lead directly to dollars. At the same time, they’re feverishly whipping up narratives to feed the public’s insatiable appetite for new, stimulating bites.

So, from the creative kitchen they find shortcuts – semi home cooked tricks to try and satisfy everyone. They come up with muffin tops like Woke Advertising to seem fresh. It’s a modern term used to describe conscious-driven messaging. Lots of marketers are throwing it around, pushing it as the next craving-buster for millennials who seek greater responsibility from the brands they support.

Gillette, Facebook, Budweiser… they’ve all put Woke Advertising to the test. But is it really an edgy, new flavor or just doctored-up leftovers? Flip over to the ingredients label, and it sounds a hell of lot like repackaged Social Branding – and that even had a familiar taste. When a company breaks away from pitching product to raise awareness on a universal issue, it used to be called a PSA. Not each of these is the exact same, but, they’re certainly not all that different. So, what are the prep directions for a tasty woke campaign?

12 ounces of Cause:

What’s the universal challenge to overcome?

6 ounces of Brand Correlation:

How does your business relate to the cause and change it for the better?

3 ounces of Example:

What has your brand done to start the change? What could the world look like if others joined in?

Optional:

Garnish with a percentage of revenue going to a related charity.

New takes on old marketing concepts – like Woke Advertising – are inevitable. It’s a product of these fast, saturated promotional times. Every minute “Order Up!” is being shouted from the wait station. However, as others sell you on the newest marketing dish, “You simply must try,” it’s smart to know what you’re tabling up to. Are you paying for true innovation or yesterday’s special with a fresh name? Is it branding or noise? The answer most likely will determine your satisfaction after delving in.

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When it comes to developing marketing campaigns, that early rush of concepts can quickly build up to a soupy sludge of terrible ideas. Before you know it, the production pipeline is mucked up to the point of total impasse. Brainstorm sessions run rampant, responsibility confusion befalls the team, executive leadership starts micromanaging, everyone despises the project.

That’s because there’s a lot of space for creative in a campaign, and creative represents a rather subjective thing that comes from an emotional part of our brains. There’s vulnerability in expressing our imaginations. It’s even more heightened in a group setting, where folks pile on judgement, opinions, expectation of ROI, etc. We hold on tightly to our ideas, and when we bring them to the table only to have to loosen our grip, it’s extremely difficult.

So, how do you keep everyone involved, excited and unified? Set some basic ground rules from the outset. We use the following guiding points to provide structure and keep things flowing in one direction when building marketing campaigns. If need be, we pull them out at the beginning of each creative swap, progress report, update session, etc. They’re a reminder that the campaign is bigger than one person’s ego, and with everyone onboard, success will be greater.

Explore options for marketing campaigns

Early in the process, map out various marketing campaign ideas before selecting a final direction. This is the metaphorical Petri dish phase. Consider different combinations of creative and delivery strategies, weighing the pros / cons of each. Don’t be scared to brainstorm out loud and with an open mind. The best campaigns are a hybrid of a few original concepts.

Create to suit your audience

Don’t get hung up exclusively on your team’s personal preferences. Rather, consider what will resonate with your target market(s). As a team, develop a customer persona, then craft a unique personality, look and message that will intrigue that person. Step outside of yourselves.

Commit to progress

Set timelines. Allow space for fleshing out best steps forward, but don’t succumb to analysis paralysis. Brainstorm with endpoints in mind and execute next moves at a clearly-defined time. Know that your marketing campaigns will – and should – evolve post launch. Don’t delay advancement waiting on greatness. Instead, make bold progress forward in the project, anticipating change as the campaign gains steam.

Be harmonious

Across the board, develop campaign assets that are cohesive and not overly-complicated to understand. They should be unified in visual, message, attitude and timing. The most effective campaigns are memorable, in-sync and easy to implement.

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