Marketers need to be nimble to keep their audiences interested and convince them to convert, says research.
With customers perpetually connected, companies need to use innovative marketing on multiple channels, according to digital commentators Brafton and the latest Forrester research. This means producing branded digital content on channels such as social media news feeds, weekly email newsletters and blog posts. It seems that achieving visibility across the digital spectrum is essential to engage customers and pick up on emerging trends that matter to target audiences.
The report, “The Culture Is Key To Marketing Innovation Velocity,” lists four types of marketing demographics and explains which approach drives innovation for content marketing success.
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Forrester's four categories Source:Brafton/Forrester |
According to Forrester, brands that are "customer-obsessed" outperform others that are considered "risk-averse", "pragmatists" or "experimenters". Focussed externally, these companies are flexible and immersed in the latest trends to win over current customers but constantly keeping an eye on what's new.
Brafton's own research showed marketers are investing in a diverse array of digital content in 2013. Of those surveyed, 78% listed social media content as the most valuable strategy this year, followed by 67% who cited blog and news content, 43% who said infographics and 35% who named case studies as providing value.
Meanwhile a report by Monetate - Ecommerce Quarterly EQ1 2013 - shows that social media isn't being successfully utilised by many marketers and often fails to deliver conversion to sales. The report states that connecting with potential customers requires monitoring social activity, adding to social conversations and motivating cusotmers to share brand information with others. Notably, there has been a 5% increase in website traffic from tablets and smartphones in the last year along with a decline in traditional or PC usage.
The military market has also been identified as a significant player with greater dependence on e-commerce.