A LOOK BACK AT 2010: WHAT MARKETING TRENDS WORKED & WHAT DIDN'T - PART II

A LOOK BACK AT 2010 - PART II: 

RING IN THE NEW

2010 marked a giant leap in marketing trends, especially online. What was a phenomenon in 2009 quickly became an everyday reality in 2010. Marketing tactics leaped from one dimensional conversations to two-way relationships and listening and responding to consumers became every wedding business' top priority.


Here are the Marketing Trends in 2010 that not only made a huge impact in how we marketing our businesses but that actually worked:



SOCIAL MEDIA (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, BLOGGING, YOU TUBE, ETC)

I'm really hoping that the climb of Social Media hasn't come as a surprise to you all. After all, with the need and desire for everything in our lives to be in real time, Social Media simply did the polite thing and stepped up to the challenge of delivering it. The success (or failure) of Social Media for most wedding professionals however depended on how it was used. Many wedding professionals are still in the dark about how Social Media can optimize their marketing efforts while others have embraced the notion of 'interacting' rather than simply 'broadcasting'.

Social Media enabled wedding professionals to be found by consumers who were simply searching in general rather than only by those consumers who were searching for them directly. This has opened doors of every shape and colour for wedding professionals and has expanded their reach ten-fold...if they're embracing the Social Media age that is. Those that still view Social Media as simply a passing phenomenon will be left behind by the side of the road. Social Media is forever changing and expanding, hence shedding light on new opportunities for wedding professionals every day.

If you're not yet on the band-wagon you had better buy your ticket fast.



REAL-TIME SEO


While Google was once the end-all-be-all to SEO, it's had to adjust its practices to embrace the Real-Time revolution. More and more people have begun to do their searching for products and services through Social Media networks which has left Google, etc. in a flurry to catch up. As a result, Search Engines have now integrated Twitter and Blog feeds making our businesses, services and discussions that much more visible and allowing greater opportunities for professionals to connect with their consumers. And it likely won't end there. Eventually all social networking feeds will likely wind up in the almighty search engine which means that ensuring that your SEO is up to par is of huge importance.



FACE-TIME MARKETING

The concept may not seem all that new, but the number of wedding professionals embracing this trend is. Face-time marketing is not just about the typical Bridal Show which, let's face it, has been around forever and is not about to go anywhere anytime soon. It's about interacting, engaging and listening to consumers in real time, in a real place and most importantly, face-to-face. Think of it as Social Media but without the Media part...so basically 'Social'.

In a digital, hurry-up-and-wait age like ours many wedding professionals are shying away from the once-popular marketing method and opting for the 'new-age' trends like social media, online advertising and print. However, face-time marketing has been proven in 2010 to still be a major front-runner in marketing. What's considered Face-time Marketing? Launch parties, Public Seminars, Sponsoring and Presenting at Wedding Productions like Fashion Shows, etc. While more and more research is done online, consumers are still out and about and enjoying physical interaction.

Real time marketing is about capturing the consumer's attention and engaging them in the moment. What better way to capture the attention of our consumers than to offer something tangible...our product and service face-to-face.



MOBILE MARKETING

Yes there's an app for that. Hundreds of them.

In 2010 Mobile marketing has made an enormous impact on outreach to the consumer without actually making a lot of noise. Just like our mobile devices get more sophisticated every year so does the way we interact with consumers on such devices.

Whether it's providing an easier, quicker way to use or purchase products on the move as with App's,  sharing thoughts and ideas through mobile Internet and social media applications or connecting communities of like-minded individuals together through texting contests and promotions with companies like ThumIt, Mobile Marketing has brought individuals even closer than before and has brought products and services literally to the fingertips of consumers. 

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day”.

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

A LOOK BACK AT 2010: WHAT MARKETING TRENDS WORKED & WHAT DIDN'T - PART I

 

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

In just a few short weeks the Holiday hub-bub will dwindle down and we'll be (*gasp!*) heading into a brand New Year full of new hope for successful wedding businesses and new marketing plans to make it happen.

Of course to do that we have to re-evaluate our marketing plans from the past year and determine what has worked and what hasn't (or for those of you without marketing plans you'll have to actually create one!).

Following along the theme of looking back on what has worked in terms of marketing your business and what hasn't, A Look Back at 2010 examines a few of the marketing trends that took off in 2010 and a few trends that are on their way down.

A LOOK BACK AT 2010 - PART I: 

RING OUT THE OLD

DIRECT-MAIL

I'll likely take a lot of heat on this one as there are many marketing companies out there that still thrive on the Direct marketing route, but hear me out. We live in a world that's obsessed with saving time. We send emails over Blackberry because it's faster, we opt for self-check-out at the grocery store because it's quicker than having someone else do it and we have cell phones because we can no longer wait to get to a landline to chat. That said, the idea of having to sort through endless Direct Mail pieces in our mailbox to get to the  mail that actually means something to us is a waste of time (not to mention a waste of paper). Most Direct Mail pieces are viewed as "junk mail" nowadays and are simply ignored.

That said, if you plan to remain loyal to your Direct Mail campaign ensure you're piece is doing two very important things: 1) visually eye catching with the right call-words and  2) connecting your consumer directly to something online (and fast!).

TELEMARKETING

I'm really hoping that I don't have to explain this. Telemarketing is one of the most inconvenient marketing methods imposed on consumers and yet there are a ton of companies out there that missed the memo.

Put it this way, there's a reason that "Do Not Call" lists exist. Better yet, think of the last time you were contacted by a telemarketer and then tell us how hooked you were on whatever they were pitching to you.

Exactly.

PRINT ADVERTISING

Now I'm not one of those people who is going to join the "Print-is-Dead' parade because I truly don't believe that. However I am going to be completely frank here:  the print mediums that are surviving out there are the ones that have integrated their print efforts with their online mediums. Those that don't are in danger of fading into the "remember when" category. Why? The amount of people doing their research online is increasing every year. Consumers want real-time reviews and photos of products and services and they want their information in great detail and this can't easily be done with a print ad. Gone are the days of the thick Yellow Pages book or when consumers looked forward to thumbing through catalogs in the mail and here are the days in which with a simple click on an online ad a consumer can be immediately transported to a page or web site that's chock-full of information that the consumer wants about that product or service.

If you look at the wedding magazines that are still enjoying great success you'll notice that they all have one thing in common: they have online counterparts that take the print content and propel it into real time digital-tangibility. If you're opting for Print Advertising, ensure that it has the capability to connect with an online campaign and make that you have your web site prominently displayed on that print ad. After all, where do you think the consumer will go after seeing your print ad? Think about it.


TELEVISION ADVERTISING

There's a reason that sites like You Tube are thriving. More and more consumers are watching television programs and video online than ever before, making television commercials less effective than they once were. Also, with the wonderful invention of the PVR which grants consumers the power to fast forward through commercials, successful television advertising has become dependant not only on the delivery-style of the information but the strategy of timing and placement.

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

~Bill Vaughan

Stay tuned for 

A LOOK BACK AT 2010 - PART II: RING IN THE NEW!