Design, Promote, Repeat: How Long-Term Marketing Strategies Lead to Success

Design, Promote, Repeat: How Long-Term Marketing Strategies Lead to Success

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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS CONTENTS INTRODUCTION | 1 ABOUT THE STUDY | 4 THREE-STEP APPROACH FOR | 5 SUCCESSFUL ONGOING CAMPAIGNS BEST PRACTICES | 10 CONCLUSION | 12
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 1 INTRODUCTION In an era in which consumers are inundated with information from new brands on a daily basis, marketers need to try all they can to stand out. This means marketers should employ ongoing marketing strategies, including running creative, well- designed campaigns throughout the year. When campaigns are ongoing, marketers see increased engagement and lead generation. Our three-step approach, as outlined in this white paper, is intended to help marketers conceptualize and plan out a series of ongoing campaigns. First, let’s cover why this strategy works. Brand awareness is key. One goal of any business should be to be the first one that comes to mind when people are in need of a particular product or service. Brand recognition has a direct impact on the success of all businesses. Researchers refer to this concept as “brand equity,” which gauges how consumers react to a brand’s name1 . Brand equity and awareness aren’t automatic; companies must employ frequent attempts to introduce their brand and services to their target audience. This philosophy should apply to a company’s whole marketing strategy, from brand awareness to campaigns. Marketing campaigns are “activities designed to promote a product, service or business.” Companies that limit their marketing campaigns to one event, or even one season, find it difficult to achieve meaningful results. The old adage is especially true in this context: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” 1 | The mediating effects of brand association, brand loyalty, brand image and perceived quality on brand equity. 28 Feb 2013 Brand equity and awareness aren’t automatic; companies must employ frequent attempts to introduce their brand and services to their target audience.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 2 THE SCIENCE OF REPETITION For decades, researchers have been preaching the power of repetition in nearly all aspects of humanity; it strengthens language, learning, developing new skills and yes, making consumer decisions. Marketing expert Tim Brown says, “Repetitive marketing is effective marketing.” Repetitive marketing means ongoing marketing, and having a long-term strategy enacted over the course of a designated time span. Ongoing strategy, in conjunction with long-term goals, is an ideal way to track the progress of marketing efforts over time. The power of repetition has been heralded by psychologists, and the same concepts apply to market research, too. Marketers employ “observational research,” which refers to how people respond to the systematic process of action, behavior and exposure2 . Repetition must occur frequently to have an effect. To put it simply: human beings are creatures of habit. So, marketers need to appeal to that. A single campaign is just a first step. If you’ve run an unsuccessful campaign, do not give up. Instead, treat the experience as research, and try again. On the contrary, a successful one-time campaign means that you’re on to something big, so why stop there? 2 | Essentials of Marketing Research: Putting Research Into Practice. 9 Jan 2013 Repetitive marketing means ongoing marketing, and having a long-term strategy enacted over the course of a designated time span.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 3 HARNESSING THE POWER OF REPETITION It’s important to understand how repetitive marketing is defined. Repetitive marketing means being frequently present in the lives of existing and target users. It doesn’t mean running the same campaign, or kind of campaign, over and over again. Communication expert Andy Horner puts it succinctly: Be consistent in your presence, but varied in your strategy. “If attention can be triggered by repetition, breaking the pattern can heighten it even more. Picture an ad with a lineup of vacuums that all appear similar, except for the distinctive design of the yellow Dyson. Disruption can draw focus. Use it to distinguish yourself from your competitors in a series of product images, testimonials, or result statistics.” The key word here is “series”—sequential events that are part of a larger goal. Running campaigns regularly gives your team the chance to take risks and try out new ideas. Essentially, this is active data in motion. What better way to learn about your users than to try a new approach? Email marketing, giveaways, contests, engagement campaigns and landing pages are all varied ways to reach out to leads. Each campaign you create is another step closer to developing meaningful relationships with your target audience. Repetitive marketing means being frequently present in the lives of existing and target users.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 4 ABOUT THE STUDY ShortStack (ShortStack.com) is a marketing campaign- building tool used by small businesses and large agencies. Founded in 2010, ShortStack is a software as a service (Saas) platform, and also offers custom design services. ShortStack was recently named an Inc. 500 company. ShortStack was one of the first companies to see potential in Facebook as a place to host tabs (which Facebook also refers to as “apps”), contests and landing pages. Since 2010, ShortStack has expanded its features and services to be a one-stop-shop for marketers and social media managers who need a multipurpose social media hub. With ShortStack’s Campaign Builder, contests and landing pages — which are all known as “Campaigns” — can be designed and then promoted from any social network, and can also be embedded on existing websites. The purpose of this study was to determine if users creating Campaigns regularly throughout the year saw growth over time. Growth was defined by an increase in engagement — views and entries received for each Campaign. To determine the effect of running frequent Campaigns, more than 25,000 Campaigns created by ShortStack “annual plan” subscribers were studied. Annual users are ShortStack users who subscribe to an annual plan and create multiple Campaigns of various types throughout the year. The engagement their Campaigns received over time was a key source of information for this study. Using this detailed information, we determined a three-step approach to Campaigns to ensure that our users create the kinds of Campaigns that will bring them maximum engagement and leads.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 5 THE THREE-STEP APPROACH 1. ALTERNATE BETWEEN LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM CAMPAIGNS Not all Campaigns have the same goal, but they can each be a part of a bigger picture. If you’re creating a year- long strategy, create Campaigns that can help you build a growing database of leads. For example, launching a January newsletter signup can provide contact information for people you want to share an event landing page with in July. While a contest might be run for a short period of time, a contact form can be hosted on a Facebook Page or website indefinitely. Meanwhile, a time-limited photo contest or giveaway can help spur some excitement for your brand, draw new users to your service and, with the right incentive, motivate them to share the link to your Campaigns with their community. KEY FINDING: The types of Campaigns created by ShortStack annual users varied throughout the year. Contests and giveaways were popular during the beginning of the year, and landing pages to promote new products or events were developed subsequently. Users in the hospitality industry specifically saw high engagement with long-term Campaigns centered around booking or contact. These types of Campaigns can be created once and used throughout the year, while continuously collecting leads. These leads can then be used for follow-up promotions — with the intent to turn new clients into loyal users of your brand. Users in the hospitality industry specifically saw high engagement with long-term Campaigns centered around booking or contact.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 6 2. LAUNCH AT LEAST ONE CAMPAIGN A MONTH ShortStack users saw consistent growth when they ran Campaigns at least once a month. Users who ran 12 Campaigns, one per month, received an average of 4 times more entries overall than users who ran 6 Campaigns per year, and an astounding 12 times more than users who ran 3 Campaigns per year. Running Campaigns once a month gives you, the brand manager, the opportunity to conceive of a minimum of 12 Campaign ideas to roll out throughout the year. One Campaign a month is consistent enough to stay in front of users without burning them out with constant promotions. Some of these Campaigns might be long-term, such as a newsletter or contact form, but you can also host frequent giveaways or contests to keep users engaged and excited about what’s coming next. KEY FINDING: ShortStack annual users create an average of seven Campaigns in a given year. Long-term annual users, who have been with ShortStack for more than a year (more specifically, an average of three years), create an average of 10 Campaigns a year. And the most successful annual users, whose Campaigns received consistently high engagement, created at least 12 Campaigns a year.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 7 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 AMOUNTOFENTRIES(AVERAGE) 12 6 3 AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGNS PER YEAR AVERAGE ENTRIES FOR 12 CAMPAIGNS PER YEAR: 2430.6 AVERAGE ENTRIES FOR 6 CAMPAIGNS PER YEAR: 542.1 AVERAGE ENTRIES FOR 3 CAMPAIGNS PER YEAR: 125.7
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 8 3. ANALYZE RESULTS AFTER EACH CAMPAIGN Running Campaigns on a consistent basis results in a trove of original data. Understanding how to analyze this data is a vital business practice. The data most important to analyze includes the following: ENGAGEMENT Engagement is both quantitative and qualitative. This means engagement is about the “what” and the “how.” Some researchers differentiate this between the numbers and the words. For instance, quantitative would be how many photos were submitted into a photo contest. Qualitative would be evaluating the quality of those photos submitted. Evaluating your engagement requires taking all of these steps. For example, some questions to ask yourself about the data you collect from your Campaigns should include: How many people viewed the Campaign vs. who entered it? If voting was a feature, how many people voted? Where did these views and entries come from? What was the quality of the submissions? How did people find and access your Campaign? DEMOGRAPHICS The information you collect from people who have entered into your Campaign will tell you if you’re on the right track to reach your target audience. Depending on what you inquire of users — which is an important question to assess as you’re conceptualizing your Campaign — this information should reveal who you’re attracting to your brand.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 9 KEY FINDING: ShortStack annual users saw an average of 70% engagement growth — meaning, more views and entries — while running consistent Campaigns (at least 10 per year). Annual users received an average of 931.3 views and 1157.43 entries per Campaign. Our predictive analysis finds that implementing 12 Campaigns throughout the course of a year can result in more than 10,000 new leads. 70%ENGAGEMENT GROWTH AT LEAST 10 CAMPAIGNS RAN A YEAR 3 | Those values are relative to separate groups of Campaigns, since not all Campaigns require entries for participation
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 10 BEST PRACTICES Within this three-step approach, employ the following best practices to increase Campaign potential. BEST PRACTICE #1: All Campaigns, regardless of goal or theme, should include consistent branding. Part of the power of repetition is creating brand familiarity for target users. All social media profiles should feature your company logo. Websites like Facebook and Twitter allow for custom cover and header images, so consider using the same graphic across all platforms but sized appropriately for the platform. You can certainly include variations in color, typography and graphics, but use design elements that are consistent. This is vital especially if you’re a new brand, as you’re still building that rapport with your audience. Don’t underestimate the impact of visual recognition. BEST PRACTICE #2 Tap into all social media platforms — and think beyond Facebook. The more Campaigns you plan for, the more flexibility you have to expand your efforts and even experiment with platforms that may offer a totally untapped lead base for your brand. Campaign services like ShortStack develop new features based on new technology and trends in social media, so using a one-stop-shop marketing hub means that you can use existing tools that are backed by real trending data. While Facebook was once the reigning platform for marketing Campaigns, that’s no longer the case. Marketers will see success — and gain some fascinating data — by incorporating Campaigns for other social networks into an annual Campaign strategy. With a tool like ShortStack, Campaigns can be simultaneously published to Facebook, posted on social networks like Twitter and Pinterest, and embedded directly into existing websites.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 11 For example, a few years ago, Pinterest was still new to marketers and consumers alike. In 2015, it became one of the most powerful networks for online marketing. Instagram is currently on the same trajectory. BEST PRACTICE #3 Promote every Campaign. Once you get into the habit of running Campaigns regularly, you must also implement a consistent promotion strategy. With ShortStack, Campaigns can be published to multiple places at once — as an independent landing page, embedded to your website or as a Facebook app. Expanding your Campaign reach beyond Facebook ensures that you’re promoting to more than one target audience. Part of ensuring Campaign success is making sure people see it. This can mean investing in promotion efforts, such as Facebook ads, posting announcements frequently on your social platforms, and employing an email marketing service to send it out to subscribers. Utilizing a combination of free and paid efforts will give your Campaign maximum visibility. If you’re new to promotion, check out our resource, 46 ways to promote your Campaign. This also means making your Campaign mobile- responsive; don’t miss out on engagement available on all devices. BEST PRACTICE #4 Employ maximum analytics. Tracking your Campaign results is vital to capturing all aspects of data associated with your Campaign. Only with the right data can you make educated decisions going forward. Employ all analytics at your disposal. Google Analytics can give you detailed findings for each individual Campaign. ShortStack’s Advanced Analytics provide specific data about how participants interact and share a Campaign. Remember: your data is directly linked to your success. Harness it to improve and evaluate your strategy.
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  DESIGN, PROMOTE, REPEAT:HOW LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES LEAD TO SUCCESS 12 CONCLUSION It’s important for marketers to take a step back and think like consumers. Consider the variety and quantity of brands, products and services a person encounters on a daily basis. People with technology access are exposed to an average of 362 advertisements per day4 . To break through all of that and draw customers to your brand, marketers need to be creative and willing to try new things. The good news is that trying new approaches and diversifying marketing Campaigns tends to pay off. Based on analysis of data collected from our users, the more frequently brands run Campaigns, the more leads are collected over time. This results in quality engagement and, ultimately, a return on your investment. The bottom line is that marketing is an ever-changing art (and science). Mitigate risk by trying new Campaigns on a consistent basis and developing relationships with your target users, who will learn more about your brand the more you work to draw them in. If you have additional questions about this study, email ashley@shortstacklab.com 4 | SJ Insights: New Research Sheds Light on Daily Ad Exposures. 29 Sept. 2014 BUILD MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, PROMOTIONS AND LANDING PAGES FOR FREE GET STARTED WITH SHORTSTACK 