How to Master the Live Event Activation

How to Master the Live Event Activation

Live events present a unique marketing opportunity to engage your customer in real life and make a unique and long-lasting impression.

While much of the work of marketers involves remote communications, live event activations allow you to engage the customer’s five senses. Done well, these live brand activations can leave a long-lasting positive impression on attendees.

Here’s what to know about live brand activations, including how to make it a great experience.

What Is a Live Brand Activation?

Live brand activation is any activity where you engage directly with your audience. Most of this is done via SMS, email and digital ad campaigns, but live events are also an important piece of the puzzle. 

A live event lets you meet your customers in person and engage with all five senses for true brand awareness. That can make a huge difference for your brand, especially when turning existing customers into die-hard brand loyalists. 

How to Ensure a Great Live Event

A lot goes into designing a successful live event. Here are some quick tips to take some guesswork out of planning a standout experience. 

Hone your message. Know exactly what you want people to take away from your event, not just in terms of information but on a deeper emotional level. Consider your brand values and the theme of your event in this process, and look to other brands’ live events for inspiration.  

Plan something surprising. Novel experiences are a unique way to make a lasting emotional connection. Have fun with your event and devise a strategy for bringing surprise into the equation. 

Make it seamless. From RSVPs to day-of registrations, every step of your event should be seamless for attendees. Eliminate obstacles as needed, and ask for feedback so you know what (if any) snags customers are hitting along the way. 

Still trying to figure out where to start? Contact us today for support on putting on a killer live event. 

How to Hire and Work With a Ghostwriter

How to Hire and Work With a Ghostwriter

Writing a book is a hard task – and one that requires a huge investment of time and effort. A ghostwriter, however, can be a smart solution to a tricky problem, providing you with well-written content specially formulated to sound like it’s coming from you. 

Here’s how to make the most of the process, with quick tips on hiring and working with your ghostwriter of choice.

Where to Find Ghostwriters

A good ghostwriter doesn’t come cheap, so be sure to do your research when selecting the right person for the job. 

Start your search with freelance writer marketplaces, and make sure to thoroughly check writing samples and client testimonials before hiring. If no one measures up, your next bet would be to go through a third-party ghostwriting agency – preferably one with a qualified roster of rockstar writers. 

7 Steps to a Successful Ghostwriting Relationship

Before handing off your project, you have to set out clear expectations. This includes a contract that outlines these seven factors:

1. Project Purpose

Define the purpose and goals of your project, including messaging specifics like what, why and to whom you’re trying to communicate. 

2. Budget and Timing

Establish a budget and timeline, and consider offering payment at key steps instead of in one lump sum. 

3. Collaboration

Determine how much (or how little) input you want to have along the way, as well as what communication channels you’ll be using. 

4. Intellectual Property

Be clear about who will own the rights to the final product, and cover any necessary permissions for existing materials your writer will be using. 

5. Quality Standards

Provide a guide for the style and tone you expect, plus the level of research required. 

6. Feedback and Revisions

Establish a feedback process and agree on how many revisions are included in the budget. 

7. Confidentiality

Cover any necessary nondisclosure agreements and additional confidentiality requirements you expect from the ghostwriter. 

Need more advice? Let’s chat!

3 Tips for Better TikTok Marketing

3 Tips for Better TikTok Marketing

New years always bring new trends and best practices to make a bigger impact with your marketing. This year, TikTok is the newer platform on the block that has marketers’ creative juices flowing.  

The platform is constantly evolving with new functionalities and brand-boosting capabilities, which makes it an exciting frontier full of new opportunities.

Here are three smart ways to use TikTok for marketing in 2023. 

1. Find your TikTok audience.

With more than a billion users TikTok has a lot to offer in terms of views. But unless you have a well-defined target audience, it’s going to be difficult to create the right content for the right people. Use factors like age, geographic location, behavioral demographics, and buying behaviors to hone in on your core audience most likely to buy your products. 

2. Stay ahead of TikTok trends.

To stay relevant on TikTok, you have to be able to not only participate in big trends when they occur but also anticipate what’s on deck. Follow influencers and competitors in your field to see what’s gaining steam, and utilize various social media tools to see what topics and hashtags are trending even before they really hit it big. 

3. Link up with TikTok influencers.

Authenticity is key for successful influencer marketing, and no one does authenticity better than the viral TikTok creators known as influencers. They are highly relatable to their audiences; therefore the audiences trust their content. Do some back-end research to put together a list of influencers who align with your brand, your audience, and what you’re selling; then reach out and start creating some killer collaborations. 

Need more TikTok marketing support? Get in touch.

3 Ways to Master Personalized Marketing

3 Ways to Master Personalized Marketing

Personalizing your marketing is a fantastic way to make more effective connections with prospects, leads and customers. It’s also an integral part of any modern marketing strategy, since research has proven time and time again that people are more likely to respond to personalized messages versus obvious mass emails.

Here’s why personalization works, plus three tips to make it work for you.

The Power of Personalized Marketing

Personalization is key for driving long-term engagement with current and prospective customers. It gives you an opportunity to provide email recipients with content and recommendations that you know will appeal to them, rather than throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. 

For example, if you know which products your audience has engaged with, then you can personalize content that speaks directly to the customer. 

Need more convincing? A whopping 90% of U.S. consumers find personalized marketing appealing, and are more likely to make a purchase with a personalized experience.  

3 Personalized Marketing Tips

You know the why, but what about the how? Use these tips to master personalized marketing and turn it into more sales. 

  • Look to your data – It’s hard to overstate just how crucial your data is for personalizing communications with your audience. Use both demographic and behavioral data in your efforts, and put out regular campaigns dedicated to keeping this information up to date. 
  • Bring the human element – Be conversational, friendly and empathetic in your messaging. While you’re at it, address all messages to the recipient’s actual name and sign off all emails from a real person with real contact information. 
  • Segment your audience – Different people have different needs and challenges based on where they are in the buyer’s journey. Keep these nuances in mind as you fine tune your marketing, using segmented lists to approach the right leads with the right content at the right time.   

Want to know more? Get in touch and let’s talk

What’s New in B2B Marketing

What’s New in B2B Marketing

Younger and more diverse buyers are coming to the forefront — and so are their expectations. And if you haven’t already, it’s time to adapt and make sure you’re accounting for this key shift in your target audience. 

Here are four B2B marketing trends to help get you started, all of which are geared toward this new group of buyers. 

1. Using a More B2C Approach

There’s long been a distinct difference between B2C and B2B marketing. But lately the lines are blurring, and buyers have many of the same expectations out of a B2B campaign as they do out of a B2C one. To adapt, you’ll need to take on a more B2C approach, including things like interactive experiences and the promotion of user-generated content. 

2. Identity-Based Ad Targeting

Moving forward, you’ll need to get creative with your use of analytics, especially as it applies to defining your core customers. Think beyond base-level demographics and use data to better understand who your customers are inside and outside their profession — you can use what you learn to better target your ads and content. 

3. Improved Martech Usage

Many B2B marketers have invested in marketing technology (martech) tools in recent years, but not everyone has put them to optimal use. As you look ahead, ensure that not only your budget but your entire tech stack is aligned with your martech approach, particularly when it comes to integration with data- and customer-driven applications. 

4. Wider Appeal

One way younger generations are changing the B2B marketing game is by bringing more people in on the decision-making process. That means you’ll need to be able to prove your worth to a wider range of individuals — and provide everyone in the process with a personalized pitch that appeals to their unique pain points. 

Need help adjusting your strategy? Let’s talk.