The New Delhi edition of AdTech was held earlier this week. As I could not attend this year’s event, I did the next best thing – I scanned the tweet stream of the event. And picked up 20 tweets ...
The New Delhi edition of AdTech was held earlier this week. As I could not attend this year’s event, I did the next best thing – I scanned the tweet stream of the event. And picked up 20 tweets that told an interesting story.
Here are the tweets (edited to focus on their essence), and my views around them on what Digital marketers ought to do to make Digital work harder for their brands:
1. In a digital world, still critical to be true to the core value of the brand.
It must always about the brand and using Digital in a way that’s relevant to the audience, and smartly integrating the brand’s story and values into the interaction stream
2. "Users spend 1 out of every 5 minutes online on social networks."
Little wonder then, brands must go where the audience is. The challenge is creating differentiation and going beyond the usual Promo-Like-Share-Win routine.
3. Brands that use data for real time marketing will be the ones who will succeed.
And the ones who will be way ahead of competition are those that co-relate fast data (online behaviours) with slow data (sales data).
4. Realise even to succeed on earned media you need money.
Social Media maybe free, but Social Media Marketing is not. More so, in an increasingly cluttered Social space.
5. "It's not about having a strong fan base but about having a solid business case.”
Both are important, but without objectives beyond fan numbers, Digital will fail to deliver for a brand after a point.
6. From Paid, Owned, Earned (POE) to Participation, Utility, Contribution (PUC)
POE is about the Where, PUC is about the What. Together, they can make Digital work harder.
7. There's more to Digital than Facebook.
And there’s more to Digital than Social Media, and Augmented Reality and QR codes.
8. Putting up billboards saying, 'Follow us on Facebook' is not a social strategy.
Well, it’s certainly a way to promote Social presence offline. But simply saying ‘Follow us’ is a weak way to do it. Digital can be more effectively integrated into offline.
9. I'm fed of listening to the speakers. Time to listen to the audience.
Hear, brands, hear! Social is getting crowded with too much brand speak, too little audience speak. Don’t crowd them with your chatter.
10. Communication via Social Media is often casual, so true ROI comes about when users are entered into a company's CRM system
It’s possible to nurture users right in the Social stream, even before moving them to conventional CRM.
11. Social handle of a brand should be in-house, to have direct control and quick response.
For that to happen, businesses will need to become Social businesses, and every employee become a Social voice. It’s a good goal to shoot for.
12. Screenification! Gamification!
Don’t get caught up in buzzwords. Focus on being buzzworthy by becoming relevant to your audiences instead.
13. Tie everything to the big idea, always-on engagement, friends of fans.
Ideas are the primary drivers of engagement. And yes, having ideas that spread through the ripple effect of fans is the best, and most likely to create waves.
14. Listen. Engage. Inspire.
Too many brands focus on the Engage, and forget the other two. Without them, engagement will remain shallow at best.
15. Don't forget about 'the boring basics'.
The coolest ideas and innovations are grounded in sound fundamentals. Too often this is forgotten.
16. The medium doesn't matter as long as the idea is simple and presented interestingly!
With Digital, often the idea is IN the medium. But leaving the medium to do all the work is a recipe for failure.
17. A recent study showed people socially follow brands they already like. Social doesn't make you LIKE a brand but lets you express DISLIKE!
It does both. But simply having a Like button and a promotion around it will not create a real like beyond the action of a click.
18. Brands are now Publishers.
Not just publishers, but brands need to be curators of content, as it’s not the business of most brand to create content.
19. Brands need to understand that they have to get more creative while going on digital.
In an increasingly cluttered environment filled with sameness, creativity can be a differentiator. Marry it to relevance to one’s audience and it can become a winning combination.
20. Brands can depend on consumers for real-time distribution but it's a difficult task nevertheless
If brands help consumers make content their own, and provide easy ways for them to share it, they can help with this distribution. But the primary responsibility to distribute content and messages will remain that of the brand.