Source[De]Coded: ✏️ Rewrite Old-School Marketing Tactics

Hey all!

Greg spent a few days down at the University of Florida engaging with students and helping faculty update their curriculum. Despite all the news around the defunding of diversity programs in Florida, the future is bright. Faculty remains steadfast in their goals to make sure all voices are heard and these kids are whip-smart. It’s clear, they may have lost a battle, but everyone is focused on winning, and we’re in it with them 🤜🏼This week’s newsletter takes a look at a new key lead gen metric all organizations should keep an eye on, how to have more fun with your consumers, and why you should be optimizing your marketing for mobile (especially as a B2B organization).Until next time!

Prioritize brand building: Why brand affinity is a vital lead gen metric to track

TL;DR: Lead gen measurement and attribution have always been the gold standard in measuring B2B marketing success… but perhaps there’s another metric to keep in mind. The underlying goal of demand generation is to foster more leads and turn them into customers. In addition to generating more leads, we should also consider fostering more qualified, warm leads. This is where brand affinity and brand interest can help swing the demand generation curve into a more elevated, strategic focus.Takeaway: Proving ROI can be a complex art of analyzing lead gen metrics. Site traffic and ad engagement can help you understand how your content is performing and whether there’s interest in your messaging. But at the end of the day, lead generation should be focused on bringing people together who are interested in your solution, your niche, or the pain point your brand solves. Lead gen metrics can help signify the level of intent of a potential buyer, and we’re seeing that strong brand recall and preference are often at the top level of intent. How can you invest in brand building? Create robust content engines, pivot your ads with a focus on brand recall and recognition, or prioritize audience engagement. It’s just like the old saying goes: if you build it, they will come.Consider:

• What are your current success metrics for analyzing ROI? Are there other indicators of success you may not be considering?
• Could your company benefit from a more brand awareness-focused campaign?

Get creative with customers: Olipop’s latest campaign employs fans to create brand content

TL;DR: DTC better-for-you soda brand Olipop is looking to hire two best friends to join the company as “senior soda consultants” and send them on an all-expenses-paid trip across the U.S. to create content for the brand. The campaign showcases Olipop’s commitment to influencer marketing and showcases how creators still hold relevance in marketing plans.Takeaway: Olipop’s campaign comes at a time when research shows creator-led ads have a 1.4x greater impact on building brand loyalty and a 1.3x greater impact on inspiring brand advocacy. The data shows that influencer marketing still has value. So much so that 44% of marketers this year plan to increase their investment in content creators. Looking beyond the potential metrics for success, a campaign like this is a fun and creative way to engage your customer, and make them feel appreciated and included in your brand’s trajectory, while providing a new avenue for engagement. Olipop is betting on their biggest fans and letting them in on the brand process – a win for all parties involved.Consider:

• How could you have more fun with your consumers?
• Could your brand benefit from influencer marketing? Influencers and creators are everywhere within every niche, serving almost every product focus.

Optimize for mobile: Mobile marketing isn’t just for B2C orgs anymore

TL;DR: 85% of Americans own a smartphone, and 15% of American adults rely on their mobile phones as their sole internet outlet, so don’t assume that your audience is only reaching your brand through your desktop website. While the use case for consumer brands has long been an obvious one, there’s a lot of value for B2B brands to also integrate mobile marketing into their campaigns, including in mobile-optimized websites, SMS or text message marketing, and mobile-friendly email marketing and advertising.Takeaway: There are many opportunities for B2B brands to integrate mobile marketing, from small edits to device-targeted and segmented campaigns. The no-brainer move is to ensure all of your content is optimized for mobile – this includes making sure your website, landing pages, and emails are optimized for smaller screens, simplified navigation, and fast loading times. Another key area may be examining your mobile metrics to understand how much of your traffic is already coming from mobile. This can help you figure out which mobile tactics to employ and set a baseline for success. The future of marketing is increasingly mobile, so the earlier you can identify opportunities for your brand, the better.Consider:

• Is your brand content and digital presence optimized for mobile devices? If not, where can you improve?
• How does your digital audience spend time on mobile? Think about the social networks they scroll, the emails they get in their inbox, and how they communicate with colleagues through calls or SMS. Understanding their actions can help you understand where your brand should show up.