Archive for February, 2017

The Risky Business of Mixing Marketing With Politics

Tuesday, February 28th, 2017

Politics permeates virtually every aspect of our day-to-day lives, and it’s constantly on display in every channel of media. So it’s no surprise that in seeking to connect with, and seem relevant to, their customer base, marketers from time to time invoke the politics of the day. However, the risk of such tactics often far outweighs the marginal rewards. (more…)

The Big Benefits of Social Media for Marketing Local

Friday, February 24th, 2017

We think of social media as a way to reach disparate audiences spread around the country or globe. But social media marketing can also work on a local scale. For brick-and-mortar businesses offering a unique atmosphere or great dining, social media recommendations from locals can help drive customers through the door in ways that can be much more impactful than traditional advertising. (more…)

Niche Marketing: Leveraging the Long Tail to Sell Less of More

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017

Late last year, Jayson DeMers wrote an article for Forbes titled “7 Online Marketing Trends that will Dominate 2017.” One of DeMers’ predictions was that “brands will increasingly target niche markets out of necessity.”

DeMers writes, “Online marketing is becoming more crowded; though the number of available consumers has remained more or less steady, millions of new businesses have flooded into the space for a piece of the pie. This is especially true in the content and social media marketing spaces. One of the best solutions for this is to target a more specific niche, appealing to a narrower range of demographics with a more specific topic. As a result, we’re bound to see more companies opting for more targeted, almost personal-level content and campaigns.” (more…)

How Often, and When, Should You Post on Social Media?

Wednesday, February 15th, 2017

Social media bubblesAt Strategic Communications, we are strong advocates for social media marketing. The challenge faced by many businesses — particularly smaller organizations without a sophisticated marketing department with the ability to conduct focused market research — is that it’s not always easy to tell how those efforts contribute to growing revenue. Consequently, it’s hard to know just how much social media marketing to do.

We feel strongly that some presence is generally better than no presence. However, what is the marginal benefit of posting five tweets per day instead of four? (more…)

The New Extended Life of Super Bowl Commercials

Tuesday, February 14th, 2017

football in foreground for super bowlIn the world of advertising, perhaps no event is as highly touted as the Super Bowl — or at least its commercials. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), nearly 190 million were expected to tune into the Super Bowl this year, making the four-hour event a prime venue for advertisers. And unlike most events where many viewers use modern technology to fast-forward through annoying advertisements, Super Bowl advertisers have an eager audience. In fact, the NRF reports that 17.7 percent — about 43 million people — say the commercials are the primary reason they watch the game. All that access comes at a price, of course. (more…)

Engaging Employees Productively in Social Media Marketing Efforts

Tuesday, February 7th, 2017

It’s not always easy to tie marketing spend to an increase in revenue — even defining a standard way to measure return on marketing investment (ROMI or MROI) can be difficult — which can often mean that marketing managers struggle to increase their budgets. While we wholeheartedly stand by the fact that a well-crafted and well-implemented marketing strategy will bring in far more revenue than it costs to put in place, there’s always room for low-cost or no-cost strategies. And, as we’ve stressed before, employees can be great brand ambassadors. (more…)