Whether you’re new to the world of marketing or you’re a seasoned professional, it’s always good to brush up on the basics of the industry—and maybe even gain a new insight or two!
So … what exactly is marketing?
Marketing Defined
Marketing (noun): the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large (AMA).
To put it into simpler terms, the art of marketing is to build a relationship with a brand’s audience and increase their interest in the brand’s products or services. However, it involves a lot more work than you would think. Now that we’ve established a solid understanding of what marketing is, let’s dive into the various facets that make up a strong marketing campaign.
Research
Research plays a huge role in our daily duties here at KM&A. Whether we’re staying updated with recent industry trends or investigating our clients’ competitors, we like to think of ourselves as research pros.
Research lends itself in many forms in the marketing world. Conducting market research is a key part of our job because it’s vital for the creation of a successful marketing strategy. Gathering, analyzing and interpreting information—whether it’s a competitor’s social media strategy or the industry standard for email newsletter frequency—is all in a day’s work.
Social Media
As the world continues to translate into the digital sphere, social media is becoming increasingly fundamental for a solid marketing strategy. Social media opens the doors for elevated awareness of a brand or client. This happens through opportunities like influencer marketing campaigns or paid advertisements. It’s even a way to prove strategy success—analytics are an excellent way to track engagement, following and interactions.
Generate buzz for your clients (or yourself) on social media by coming up with a fresh campaign strategy, engaging with followers or creating clever copy. As a method of real-time messaging, social media creates an opportunity for digital marketing hits and increased reach when used to its fullest potential.
Looking for ways to get the greatest use out of your social media platforms? Check out our recent blog, Tips on Growing 4 Popular Social Media Platforms.
Branding
A ‘brand’ is a company or business’s identity. This includes tone, vision and the way potential customers perceive said business.
Once you’ve pinpointed your brand’s key characteristics, we’ll step in. Not only does KM&A specialize in rebranding, but we also understand the importance of strategically upholding a brand’s image. This could be through staying on brand with creative approaches (colors, font, graphics, etc.) or by using the brand’s specific tone when crafting email newsletters and social media copy.
According to Forbes, 35% of respondents in a survey claimed that brand quality and image is one of the most influential components to establishing brand loyalty—another reason why brand identity is imperative to creating a solid marketing strategy. Having consistency within your business or company is a surefire way to increase brand reliability and authenticity.
Copywriting
Crafting a press release? An email newsletter? Social media captions? Then guess what? These are all forms of copywriting. We hope you’ve got a pen and paper in hand, because marketing relies heavily on strong writing skills.
Our communications team manages all the copywriting here at KM&A, whether it’s for a blog, email invitations for an event, social media or even text on a website. The most important thing to remember while copywriting is to stay on brand (funny how these areas tie together, right?). Make sure your writing aligns with your client’s tone and audience. You wouldn’t want to use witty humor when writing copy for a funeral home, as humor isn’t necessarily what people are looking for when trying to find a place to remember a loved one.
Events
Events are a great way to promote a brand or product. According to Hubspot, 95% of marketers believe in-person events have a large positive impact on their company’s business goals. We know in-person events are hard to pull off right now with the current situation, however, virtual and hybrid events are good options as well and if orchestrated correctly, can also positively impact a client’s business goals.
Not only do events give your brand an opportunity to engage with customers, but they are a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads. Creating an interactive experience for your audience—whether it be in-person or virtual—provokes interest and can build your brand’s following.
A strong marketing strategy incorporates many different factors depending on what a client needs. Here at KM&A, we specialize in three main areas—creative, communications and events. Next time you’re feeling a little rusty on your marketing skills, reach out to us—we’re happy to help.
