How to Implement Real-Time Marketing Strategies and Avoid Mistakes
While planned and detailed campaigns are still necessary for business success, there is now another aspect of promotion and outreach vying for consumer attention: real-time marketing.
This fast-acting trend is fueled by a cultural shift toward mobile access to all information. Real-time marketing takes into account the fact that Twitter has 80 million mobile users and Facebook has over 200 million users that access their accounts on a mobile phone. These stats are staggering, but just how can companies maintain the strength of their planned brand image and not miss out on real-time opportunities?
Real-Time Marketing, and Dunking, Done Right
As the name implies, real-time marketing is a reaction by companies to events taking place in the present. This can include quick issue of a press release following the passage of a law affecting the company’s industry or a Tweet commenting on an event.
Most recently, classic cookie company Oreo flexed its real-time marketing muscles with a visual social media update during the unexpected power outage at Super Bowl XLVII. The update simply read “You can still dunk in the dark” and Forbes reports it was retweeted more than 15,000 times and liked by over 20,000 people on Facebook. A quick-thinker over in the marketing department at Oreo did not have to wait for the green light to post the penultimate social media talking point of the night but that person also had a good grasp of brand image and what “works” for his employer in a real-time setting.
How can your company do the same? To answer this question, first consider the potential pitfalls of shoddy, or completely unplanned, real-time strategies.
Hasty Mistakes and Other Real-Time Disadvantages
Companies that prioritize speed over quality information are bound to run into some issues along the way. A feeling of urgency can lead to some stumbles, especially if there is only one set of eyes that sees a Tweet, status update or blog post before it goes up. It leads to the question: is it better to join in a timely conversation even if accuracy may suffer, or miss out on the conversation entirely? Of course, the answers to these questions will vary by company and industry. By having a solid, planned marketing campaign in place that includes traditional strategies like brochures and business cards, the potential negative effects of real-time marketing are offset.
Three Steps to Effective Real-Time Marketing
When you decide it is time to develop a real-time marketing strategy at your company, there are some ways to streamline the process.
Cut out the bureaucracy
Take a look at the normal course of action for posting news and reacting to customer contact at your company. Are the people responsible for keeping their fingers on the pulse of your public relations and industry the same ones with permission for real-time marketing? If you require the sign-off of a higher up before anything is ever posted or announced, there are sure to be missed opportunities. Marketing expert Paul Gunning says that it does companies “no good” to put a real-time strategy in place if the legal department at a company needs four weeks of review time for every marketing request. Instead of limiting the people on the ground, so to speak, lay out real-time marketing expectations and empower them to act.
Ask employees
There is really no better gauge for the pulse of your target customers than the employees that serve them. Formally ask employees for suggestions on marketing tactics, especially when it comes to real-time methods. What do your hardest workers believe customers will respond to best?
Prioritize your marketing goals
It seems like breaking news happens every second of every day. It is impossible to weigh in on every issue, even if you narrow it down to the ones just reflective of your industry. There is also no way to respond to every single customer complaint, question or comment at a moment’s notice. Develop a real-time marketing plan with very specific priorities that has tiers of urgency and share it with the employees tasked with implementation.
The best marketing plans will include both traditional, planned initiatives alongside a real-time strategy. Both are necessary for brand awareness and expansion of consumer base in the contemporary global market. Address each type separately in your planning to best take advantage of each marketing opportunity.