Many marketers of technically complex organizations, such as IT companies, still use fairly traditional marketing tools. Over the years, there was a hyper-focus on communicating the USPs of their products or services. Then a layer of data, growth marketing tactics and lead generation was poured over this in the hope of obtaining a quick ROI on their marketing activities.
In my opinion, this is where many entrepreneurs and marketers completely miss the mark. They often start milking the cow before it has had a chance to properly walk around in the pasture.
What is needed is that you first take the time to position yourself well as a company within your desired vertical, before you immediately throw the value proposition of your products and services into the world with the hope of quick money. In fact; that will only ensure that your campaigns lower in the funnel will achieve structurally lower conversion.
Giving the cow space
How do you give that cow the time and space to make good milk, let alone good cheese? The secret is that as a company, just like modern media companies, you actively take the lead in building trust with your desired target group and then actively enter into dialogue.
Many media companies find it difficult to switch from linear communication to the new reality of continuous dialogue. For years, they have been portraying journalists and presenters who bring the news to the general public as objectively as possible. Modern media work a little differently and are actively working on making the content as relevant as possible for their target group and facilitate the dialogue with their audience as much as possible.
We need to move away from the linear approach
Many companies are afraid of this, because a linear approach minimizes risk and is much less complex. Management only wants to show successes and minimize risk. That is logical of course. What is forgotten is that the arrival of social media has fundamentally changed our society. People now expect transparency and dialogue. The more you can offer this on your own initiative, the more credible you appear as an organization.
The trust you build through this transparency will serve as an exponential multiplier over time. It ensures that you have an edge within the desired vertical in which you want to position your product or service. Especially in a market with high competitive pressure, as is often the case in the IT sector, this can be of enormous added value because many organizations do not dare to take this risk.
Let marketers act as journalists
How exactly do you achieve this? Let your marketers act as journalists and start the dialogue with internal and external specialists. Build a relevant concept around this in which you have various content pillars discussable as a topic. This is an excellent place to create live video content with an interactive Q&A.
You can then use the recordings again for snippets that serve as the basis for both organic and paid social campaigns. That has a much lower barrier of entry for a prospect than yet another whitepaper or blog? This is also reflected in higher interaction on video content.
Nowadays it is not uncommon to set up a video room internally or externally to facilitate this further. You can create a pretty decent studio setup with a modern smartphone and a few accessories, although it is advisable to have a video specialist and a good moderator in-house.
There are also many parties that specialize in this nowadays. This way you can better visualize real ambassadors of your company. That is good for both the company and the employee, as well as for personal and employer branding.
Invest in interaction
For that reason, I would like to advise all (IT) entrepreneurs in the Netherlands who really want to distinguish themselves from the crowd: invest in this type of interactive marketing content! Make sure you do not lag behind in the ideas of the past and promises of quick success. Linear content has had its day; it is time to proactively enter into dialogue to get the most out of your marketing activities.
Source: www.frankwatching.com
