At the start of a new year it’s traditional to make a few resolutions. With that in mind, here are eight marketing-related resolutions for your consideration. Have a great 2020!
1. I resolve to become a more visually oriented marketer
We’re in a visual era, and need a highly personalized, multi-channel marketing strategy to keep up. “Visual content marketing is more successful than any other form of communication,” writes Becca Fieler at Thomson Reuters. “Marketers who embrace visual content reap the rewards of higher returns – in terms of more fans, followers, readers, leads, clients and, of course, revenue.”
2. I resolve to create authentic content
“What content marketing comes down to is fostering a deeper connection and understanding between consumers and your brand,” according to Knowledge City, citing a study indicating that 91 percent of people are willing to reward a company with their business for authenticity. “People want to understand your business. Not just what you’re selling but what you’re about. This means that every interaction counts and should contribute to your branding in a consistent and meaningful way.”
3. I resolve to optimize content for voice search
“Big changes are coming with search, and marketers simply cannot ignore the power of voice search,” reports Pam Moore at Social Media Today. “At least some portion of your content needs to answer quick questions with quick answers if you want your content to show up in search in the future. Marketers have to be thinking about the words people say, not just what they’re likely to type via keyboard.”
4. I resolve to become an agile marketer
“Agile, in the personalization context, means using data and analytics to continuously source promising opportunities triggered by customer activities, deploying tests quickly, evaluating the results, and rapidly iterating,” writes Boris Toma at ClickZ. “Marketing organizations that formerly took multiple weeks or even months to get a good idea translated into an offer fielded to customers find that after they adopt agile marketing practices, they can do it in less than two weeks.” The content creation process is usually so labor-intensive that your team is consumed just by the grand task of getting things out of the door, but intelligent creative can help solve your production problem.
5. I resolve to become even better at personalization
“If you want to stand out, you need to personalize your marketing – and that means personalized content, products, emails, and more,” writes Nidhi Dave at Single Grain. “With the availability of data like purchase history, consumer behavior, and links clicked, custom content has never been easier.” And if you’re looking for inspiration, check out our guide to using real-time data in email.
6. I resolve to use machine learning and AI
“With machine learning, instead of giving the computer lots of rules to follow, we’re programming it to learn everything it can about a person and select the experience most likely to appeal to that person,” reports Kag Katumba at Smart Insights. “For machine-learning personalization to be most effective, marketers should be able to build their own ‘recipes’ that tell the computer what types of information to consider when determining someone’s digital experience.”
7. I resolve to become an omnichannel marketer
“To implement omnichannel marketing for your business, find a customer relationship management (CRM) program that helps you to keep track of your interactions with customers on different platforms,” writes Alex Membrillo at Cardinal. “This helps you move your prospects effectively through the sales funnel even when your prospects are communicating on many channels.”
8. I resolve to protect consumer data
“Online security and the protection of personal information are growing demands for all consumers, and marketing leaders must accommodate this development,” writes John Hall at Forbes. “As audience trust in media declines and concern over privacy grows, marketers will need to put the processes in place to responsibly collect, store, and protect their audience members’ information to maintain the trust they’ve worked so hard to earn.”