The pandemic has shown us that focussing your profile-raising activities purely on physical and word-of-mouth interactions is a critical vulnerability for businesses.

It limits you to people in your geographical area of the ad placement, but also that your target customer happens to see it and takes a positive perspective of your organisation afterwards. It doesn’t allow for engagement outside of the local area, and we suspect, that it won’t lead to organic marketing (that is people talking about it) unless it really is remarkable.

What’s the solution to attract leads from further afield?

We’ve seen a huge rise in content marketing over the last few decades since the invention of social media. This has seen the rise of influencers, disruptor brands (such as Gymshark, a British sportwear company, or On Running, a Swedish footwear company, both grew in the same crowded and competitive marketplace under the noses of goliaths such as Nike, Adidas, and Reebok).

How did these companies grow in highly competitive markets?

Both Gymshark and On Running were early adopters of social media and content marketing techniques where their competitors were slow to pivot from traditional marketing strategies. This meant they were able to gain a competitive advantage that outmanoeuvred the first-mover advantage their rivals held.

How can you optimise your marketing activities for attracting new leads in 2023?

Companies now understand the digital knowledge and entertainment space is the new battlefield for gaining bigger market share.

In a previous article, Traditional marketing is dead. Get over it., we shared the McCarthy group’s findings that ‘84% of millennials polled, distrusted and disliked ‘traditional’ advertising’. However, this figure was turned on its head when it found, ‘58% of young viewers don’t mind watching ads to support their favourite digital personalities.’

So, what’s the solution?

Brands are turning to creating video content, building stand-alone microsites (i.e., pages dedicated to a specific niche that leads back to the parent company), and exploring new digital opportunities that can share their brand at an enormous scale. Whilst it may appear like a much longer-term strategy, it’s paying off for companies that have seen start-ups achieve unicorn status (such as Gymshark and On Running) in otherwise impossible marketplaces.

References:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/2018/01/21/millennials-hate-ads-but-58-of-them-wouldnt-mind-if-its-from-their-favorite-digital-stars/?sh=7c5f45a559ca

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