Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
When it comes to marketing in the 21st century, there's never been a more important time to head back to the basics. The job of marketers has gotten significantly more difficult in the past decade thanks to the spread of technology and social media; while marketers could once rest assured that their only competition for the eyes of consumers were other marketing campaigns, nearly everyone participating in the online sphere is now vying for attention.
- Online content creators. While the phrase "content creator" usually brings to mind images of YouTube creators and Twitch streamers, the truth is that nearly everyone online is a content creator in some way. Even if it's just a sporadic Facebook status or Instagram update, content creators take attention away from online marketing efforts, and are often preferred by consumers.
- Influencers. Word-of-mouth advertising has been hacked; it's all about word-of-Youtube-videos these days. Be it on Youtube, Instagram, or Pinterest, influencers are internet personalities that review and recommend products to their followers, which are often times sponsored. For example, current research suggest that Instagram users with over 500,000 followers can charge an average of $2,000 to $3,000 for a single sponsored shout-out to a brand or product.
- Other brands. Your competitors are also online, and in big ways. From Facebook stories to sponsored Snapchat interviews with influencers to promoted viral tweets, there is an endless amount of content being created by brands in the world of digital marketing.
How can your brand compete with all of this "noise" polluting the online sphere? The key is heading back to the basics of your target market research. By spending time focusing on the quality of your marketing and targeting a few specific channels instead of spreading as much content as possible throughout the web, you'll be in a better position to gain views and attention from your customers.