Why are you creating content? Who are you helping? And how is your content going to help your audience in a way that no one else can?
Usually, the answer is “to increase revenue, increase engagement or boost sales”. But, if you really want to kill it, you need to dig deeper. You need these 7 creative marketing strategies!
Do I Really Need A Creative Marketing Strategy?
Absolutely, yes! Not only do you need a creative marketing strategy, you need to document it. According to annual research carried out by the Content Marketing Institute, organizations that create and document creative marketing strategies are:
- Considerably more likely to feel effective
- Significantly less challenged by all marketing phases
- More efficient in their use of marketing tactics, tools, and social media
- Able to increase their marketing budget
Every creative marketing strategy will be as unique as the company creating it, but the tools to kill it do not change.
In this article, we are going to lay out all the tools you need to achieve your goals. These 7 creative marketing strategies are already proven, all you need to do is go out and use them.
1. Define Your WHY & Test Your Results To Perfection
So, let's discuss what your creative marketing strategy really is. Your creative marketing strategy is your “why”. It is the driving force behind creating content, helping your audience and crushing your competition.
But, like we mentioned above, it is much deeper than that. Your creative marketing strategy is an outline of your fundamental business and customer needs. And even deeper than that, it should lay out a detailed plan for how your creative content is going to address these needs.
You can have all the great ideas in the world, but if you don’t know where and how to use them, they won’t work.
You need to experiment and test your ideas, your strategies, and your methods to find out which ones work for you and your audience.
2. Update Your Brand With New Visuals
Rebranding can seem like a daunting, even impossible task. But it isn’t. Even if you are an old, traditional brand, you can change. Brands re-invent themselves all the time. So, why can’t you?
Updating your brand's image can be as simple as updating your logo and mission statement, or as complicated as a full-on name change.
Your social media presence is incredibly important to the success of your marketing, so why not start by reaching your audience there.
An easy, simple way to ‘update’ your brand is with the use of modern-style photography across your social media platforms. When used correctly, contemporary photography can highlight the traditional feel of your company, while also showcasing the modern use of your products or services.
Many social media platforms are photo-heavy, so by introducing beautiful, eye-catching photography, you have the opportunity to breath new life into your traditional company.
3. Always Deliver Compelling, Magnetic Headlines
If you want your creative content to perform well, you need to provide your audience with a killer headline.
A compelling headline is the key to your audience’s interest. There is a lot of competition out there, and grabbing an audience’s attention isn’t always easy. You need to intrigue them and lead them to click through to YOUR content.
By delivering magnetic headlines, you can capture attention immediately, giving you the opportunity to show your audience why they need you, ultimately turning them from your audience into your customers.
Note: Follow up your killer headline with killer content. If you follow through on what your headline promises to deliver your audience will be wowed and will keep coming back for more.
4. Shake Up Your Existing Content
It is almost always a good thing to shake up your content and try something new. You might truly surprise yourself with a newfound energy, excitement, and sense of creativity.
If you let yourself get too comfortable, creativity will often start to dwindle. And when your content becomes dry and repetitive, you can bet your audience is going to notice.
Guess what the reaction from an audience to boring, monotonous content is? That’s right, to look somewhere else.
You should constantly be researching your market, your audience, and your competition. If you see an opportunity, jump on it. Even if it is a new and uncomfortable direction, you may have the opportunity to be the first, or the best, at something new.
5. Be More Responsive To Your Audience
Give your audience as many chances to hear from you as you possibly can. Your audience wants to hear from you, particularly if they have questions, so make sure communicating with them is a priority.
If you can, try to respond to any questions or queries within 24 hours (if not faster). Set up auto-responders for your social media channels and email so that your customers at least know their question has been received and that you are working on an answer.
Stand out from your competition by providing the best customer service, communication, and responsiveness and you are sure to build deeper connections loyal customer base.
6. Be An Industry Leader And Provide Expert Advice
Before you start providing your audience with creative content, make sure you are an industry expert. Your audience will be able to see right through you if you are being dishonest or insincere.
Providing helpful advice, that only you can give, might not be easy, but when you pull it off you are going to start being seen as an industry leader. And that’s huge.
Admittedly, it is getting harder and harder to reach potential customers, and that‘s why you need to set yourself apart and make your content indispensable.
Make sure that your content is researched and well thought out. Be unique and provide something that no one else can and you will find yourself being considered a thought leader in your industry.
7. Educate Your Audience
There is no better way to communicate, and build a deeper relationship with your audience than to educate.
Give to your audience, without always directly asking for something in return. If you can provide something, knowledge for example, for free, that no one else can or is – what do you think that will get you? Trust? Loyalty? Yes.
And where will trust and loyalty get you? An Increase in web-traffic? Increased sales? Yes, that and more.
Remember, in one way or another, you are almost undoubtedly selling a lifestyle to your customers. This gives you an amazing opportunity to provide them with knowledge about the life that they want to lead.
Think of every social media post, every blog article, and all your content as the opportunity to give something to your audience.
Help your audience to learn and grow, and the ROI will astound you.
Bonus: 5 Components Every Marketing Strategy Needs
While it might be hard to find any decisive outlines for building your creative marketing strategy, it should definitely include the following 5 components:
- Your Marketing Business Plan: Outline your goals, the value your content will provide your target market and your business model.
- Your Marketing Goals: Outline your reasons for creating content, what risks might be involved throughout the process, and what your goals are. Having a vision of what your success will look like is important.
- Your Brand Message: Outline what messages and ideas you want to convey to your audience. Keep in mind, you want these messages to stand out and differ from the competition.
- Your Ideal Customers’ Persona: Outline your target audience and ideal customer. Include their needs and even how their content engagement cycle may look.
- Your Delivery Plan: Outline your objectives, processes, and criteria for the delivery of your content. It will be beneficial to outline what platforms or channels you plan to use and how you will connect them.
- Your Obstacles and Opportunities: Take it a step further and outline the obstacles and opportunities you may face while executing your plan.
In Conclusion
There is a crazy amount of content being shared every day, and that is why creative marketing works. Sure, not everything you do is going to be a big win, but any shortcomings might actually teach more than previous successes. So don’t be scared to take a risk every once and a while.
Make sure that you give, give, give to your customers. Providing them with high-quality content (for free if you can) proves that you are a trustworthy source.
And remember, people are influenced by trust, credible information, and loyalty. Establish these and you will see an incredible impact on your sales.
Regardless of your industry, you are in the business of providing solutions. You need to ensure that the person who needs your solution is interested in the content that you have to offer.
Understand your customer, know where they are, create engaging content to attract them, and show them that you are the solution to their problem.
Now that you have the tools you need, go out and kill it!
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