As we approach the halfway mark of 2023, marketers must stay ahead of the curve and adapt their strategies to the ever-evolving landscape of the industry. Q3 is just around the corner, and it presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities that your marketing strategy should be adapting to. To help you navigate this dynamic environment successfully, we will be sharing the latest trends that are shaping today’s marketing landscape.
In this trend blog, we will explore three key areas that demand the attention of marketers before the next quarter kicks into high gear. From the rising importance of community marketing to the transformative power of in-person and virtual events, and the integration of AI into organic and paid media, we will delve into the details of each trend, how you can add them to your marketing strategy, and discuss their potential impact on your brand’s success.
Trend #1: Community Marketing
Communities have the power to extend your brand’s reach far beyond your immediate customer base. Engaged community members are more likely to share content, engage in discussions, and refer others to join the community. This organic word-of-mouth marketing can result in a significant increase in brand visibility and attract new customers who align with your brand values and offerings. By leveraging community marketing, you’ll tap into the potential of a wider audience.
Now, let’s dive into a few different kinds of communities that you may want to think about adopting into your strategy…
3 Kinds of Communities You Can Incorporate into Your Marketing Strategy
- Community of Practice: A community of practice, in the context of marketing communities, refers to a group of professionals within the marketing field who come together based on a shared interest and expertise. These communities provide a platform for collaboration, learning, and knowledge sharing among marketers. The unique aspect of a community of practice is that it transcends factors such as customer status, location, or industry. What matters is that members share a common interest and trade, fostering an environment that encourages an exceptional experience and promotes knowledge exchange. The core business outcome that communities of practice can facilitate is supporting new sales or expanding sales in specific areas of a business. By actively engaging with and leveraging the expertise of a marketing community of practice, brands can drive new sales initiatives and foster growth opportunities in their target markets.
- Community of Customers: A community of customers refers to a dedicated space where customers of a brand come together to connect, advocate for the brand, celebrate their love for the company’s products or services, and engage in peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. The primary focus is on fostering a sense of community among customers and helping them succeed in their roles and organizations. Brands that should invest in communities of customers are those looking to strengthen their customer relationships, drive advocacy, and promote product education. Investing in such communities allows brands to tap into the collective knowledge and experiences of their customers, providing a platform for customers to share best practices, tips, and tricks related to using the brand’s products or services. By nurturing a community of customers, brands can enhance customer loyalty and advocacy. Satisfied customers are more likely to renew their subscriptions or make repeat purchases, driving revenue growth. Additionally, advocates within the community can generate referrals and attract new customers, further contributing to business growth.
- Community of Product: The focus is on resolving product-specific questions and fostering peer-to-peer support through conversational platforms like Slack, forums, or other community spaces. Brands that should invest in communities of product are those that want to enhance customer education, increase product adoption, gather valuable product insights from users, and deflect support tickets. These communities are particularly relevant for companies offering complex or specialized products where customers can benefit from shared knowledge and experiences. Investing in a community of product allows brands to leverage the collective knowledge and experiences of their customers, driving customer success, product improvements, and ultimately, positively impacting the bottom line.
Trend #2: In-Person & Virtual Events
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, marketers must embrace a dynamic approach to event strategies by adopting both in-person and digital formats to drive success. In-person events enable face-to-face interactions, fostering authentic connections, and leaving a lasting impression on attendees. In-person events offer the opportunity to showcase products, provide immersive experiences, and establish a strong brand presence. On the other hand, digital events break geographical barriers, reaching a global audience and offering convenience and accessibility. They leverage technology to deliver engaging content, facilitate interactive discussions, and provide valuable data and insights.
By combining the power of in-person experiences with the reach and scalability of digital platforms, marketers can expand their audience, enhance brand visibility, foster meaningful engagement, and achieve remarkable outcomes. The synergistic effect of these strategies creates a powerful marketing ecosystem that propels brands to new heights in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
3 Ways to Incorporate This Trend into Your Marketing Strategy
- Try out a roadshow series: Incorporating a roadshow event series into your marketing strategy can be a key driver of success. By bringing the event to your audience, it becomes more convenient for them, eliminating the need for extensive travel or time commitments. The smaller scale of roadshow events makes them budget-friendly, allowing you to allocate resources effectively. Moreover, the intimate environment of roadshows fosters meaningful networking and connections, which is a top reason why people value in-person events. This focused atmosphere provides a unique opportunity to engage with attendees on a personal level, building relationships and leaving a lasting impression. By leveraging the benefits of a roadshow event series, you can create a powerful marketing experience that maximizes convenience, fosters connections, and drives success for your brand.
- Invest in pop-up events instead of traditional sponsorships: By bringing the event to your audience’s doorstep, you offer convenience and eliminate the need for extensive travel. Pop-up events require a smaller commitment from attendees, making it easier for them to participate and engage with your brand. The smaller scale of these events also translates to a budget-friendly approach, allowing you to allocate resources efficiently. Moreover, the intimate environment of pop-up events creates a perfect setting for networking and building connections, which is a key factor that draws people to in-person events. By leveraging the benefits of pop-up events, you can provide a unique and memorable experience for your audience, fostering meaningful connections and driving success for your brand.
- Keep digital events on your roster: Incorporating digital-only events into your marketing strategy can be a game-changer for success. With a digital format, a single event can generate a wealth of additional content that can be repurposed and leveraged across various channels. This multiplies the impact of your efforts and provides valuable resources for ongoing marketing campaigns. Digital events also offer the advantage of easier tracking and measurement, allowing you to connect the digital dots and assess their impact on important metrics such as pipeline, revenue, and return on investment (ROI). By consolidating your efforts into digital-only events, you can achieve a greater overall impact compared to siloed marketing initiatives, amplifying your brand’s reach and driving success in the digital realm.
Trend #3: AI for Organic & Paid Strategies
AI provides invaluable capabilities that can significantly enhance your marketing efforts. Embracing AI empowers marketers to leverage data-driven insights, automate time-consuming tasks, and make data-informed decisions, leading to more effective and efficient marketing campaigns with higher returns on investment.
3 Ways to Incorporate This Trend into Your Marketing Strategy
- Leverage AI for content repurposing: Using AI in your content repurposing efforts can greatly support your overall marketing strategy and drive success. By utilizing AI tools, you can transform a pillar asset like a webinar into multiple satellite assets, catering to different audience preferences. With AI transcription, the webinar can be transformed into a blog post, making the content accessible to those who prefer reading. Creating mini-video clips using tools like Canva allows for engaging social media content and appeals to audiences who prefer shorter-form videos. Synthesizing the webinar transcript with AI enables the creation of an infographic, highlighting key takeaways and delivering information visually. AI can even assist in determining the optimal timing to promote the webinar and its satellite assets on social media. By leveraging AI in content repurposing, you ensure that the research, thought leadership, time, and effort invested in the webinar can be enjoyed by your audience in their preferred formats and at their convenience. This comprehensive approach enhances your marketing strategy, maximizes reach, and drives success in engaging your target audience wherever they are.
- Use AI to support your programmatic advertising efforts: Incorporating AI into programmatic advertising can be a game-changer–especially considering the wealth of data involved in this advertising approach. AI can revolutionize keyword generation by producing keywords and search terms beyond your historical usage. By thinking outside the box and using different prompts, AI can help you discover new and impactful keywords to enhance your advertising campaigns. With AI-powered keyword suggestions, you can expand your targeting and reach a wider audience. The ability to continuously test and optimize these AI-generated keywords further enhances the effectiveness of your programmatic advertising efforts. By leveraging AI in programmatic advertising, you can tap into its vast potential to uncover fresh insights and optimize your advertising strategy for optimal results.
- Implement AI to find the best place for your ads: Adding AI into paid advertising placement efforts can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns. With AI algorithms analyzing real-time data, you can optimize the placement of advertisements effortlessly. These algorithms consider various factors, including website context, user behavior, and ad performance, to make instantaneous decisions on the best placement for each impression. By leveraging AI’s dynamic optimization capabilities, your ads are shown in the most relevant and impactful positions, maximizing the chances of capturing users’ attention and ultimately driving conversions. With AI’s ability to adapt and optimize in real-time, you can ensure that your paid advertisements are consistently displayed in the most strategic locations, resulting in improved campaign performance and overall marketing success.
In this blog, we have explored three pivotal areas that demand your attention before Q3 takes off. From the growing significance of community marketing to the transformative potential of in-person and virtual events, and the integration of AI into both organic and paid media, we have delved deep into each trend, equipping you with actionable insights to enrich your H2 2023 marketing strategy. By embracing these trends, you will open up new avenues for success and establish your brand as a frontrunner in the ever-evolving marketing sphere.