Improving Marketing Efforts in 2020

The state of advertising and marketing in 2020 can be described as a bit pernickety and diluted, to say the least. When viewing a news article means turning off a blocker and being met with news text wrapped entirely in adverts, while at the same time your social feeds are cluttered with the noise of ads that are supposedly tailored to your interests, it can be hard for businesses to stand out without using shock advertising. And that’s something you really don’t want to happen in this day and age when any campaign can be picked apart for cynical clickbait.

So what can a company do to help improve marketing efforts in 2020? Well, in short, it involves using old techniques such as cold email template that might seem archaic but can achieve the desired results. Here are some recent notable examples of how big names are getting smart with marketing efforts today, without relying on “smart” technology.

Go back to pen, paper and print

Do you know how Coldplay, arguably the biggest band in the world right now, announced they had a new album coming out? They didn’t take over billboards in Time Square or have a big ad campaign on Twitter or Instagram. 

They sent some fans a written letter with information and bought some ads in the classifieds section of local newspapers to see who would notice. Of course, people did and the news of their news in the local news spread like wildfire. And while most big bands will see the launch of a new album kick off a big tour, Coldplay is holding off until they figure out how to have a tour that is entirely environmentally friendly.

Now, this isn’t a tip to say every company should be going green with ads campaign, especially as they can often be seen as cheap marketing ploys, but if you’re a local business with a limited budget, these old school approaches can have a hugely positive impact and help make a more profound association than an email campaign you know would get click-throughs. 

Put a face to your business

Hiring out a stand at an exhibition or setting up shop with a small stall in a shopping centre on a Saturday is always a good idea, but if you know that those in your business don’t have the experience (or confidence) to talk to strangers, your marketing efforts in the real world won’t be as fruitful as hoped.

Having a direct marketing agency at hand who can represent you with people who can strike up conversations with anyone is a low cost, high impact effort which can help new customers build a connection with your business. Now that doesn’t mean you’re going for the hard sale with the public. Even if you just have a marketing expert out there for awareness of your services, it can help build a brand a thousand times better than cold calls or leaflets through the door.

Start chatting to people

Companies shouldn’t expect the phone to ring off the hook, but they should expect Facebook messages and direct messages to go up. Everyone prefers using texting and WhatsApp over lifting the phone these days and businesses should be set up to accommodate that. If you don’t currently have automatic messaging set up on your business Facebook page, do so now. If you can add a chat function on your website, do it now.

Look at how companies like Just Eat can feed thousands every day without someone picking up a phone. If you can have your business interact with potential customers without a word being uttered, you’ve improved marketing efforts in an amazing fashion.

Be seen in the community without the community being there

One final tip that is incredibly easy and only requires a smartphone. Local businesses fight for space on Facebook, and a sneaky way to get noticed on it (and Instagram) is to use live video to your advantage. 

These platforms prefer live video over posting a new video on your timeline, so anytime your business is out and about, a few minutes of updating everyone on what’s going on is going to get seen and featured more prominently than an ad.