Between the death of the third party cookie and the birth of AI, the face of the internet is getting a major makeover. To keep your business thriving, you’ll need to make some major changes to your marketing strategy. For one, a completely overhauled SERP could mean the end of SEO as we know it — or just a whole new way of strategizing. Sponsored search results, too, could become extinct, or look very different from how they do today.
To win, brands and advertisers like you will need to learn how to thrive on unpredictability, and perhaps a degree of chaos. To keep customers happy, you’ll need to learn new ways to nurture stable relationships in an ever-changing world. That includes adapting to new trends, adopting new technologies, and staying open. Here are just some of the new tips, tricks, and tools to consider to keep your advertising strategy agile.
1. Collect Zero-Party Data
Customers no longer want companies sneakily collecting their info and following them around as they browse the internet. As Google begins phasing out third-party cookies, this type of customer data will get harder to come by. On the other hand, customers may be just as willing as ever to share their info, as long as they control it. These insights might actually be more valuable, and more specific, than data collected through other methods.
Marketing platform ViralGains stresses that advertisers need to transcend beyond collecting traditional demographic information, anyway. Zero-party data can help them understand exactly how customer sentiment lines up with their brand’s products and values. Through surveys, quizzes, and questions within advertisements, brands can get direct input from customers and act on their feedback quickly. These data collection methods can even help customers feel more closely connected with your brand.
2. Personalize Every Experience
Along with the power of data comes the ability to offer each of your customers a tailored, individual experience. The more you know about your customer, the more you can offer targeted, personalized messaging and features. From landing pages to email marketing to native advertising, you can deliver customized experiences. The more you know, the more you can hone in on what makes each customer tick, and how to cater to their needs.
Personalization isn’t just nice to have when it comes to building customer relationships. It’s absolutely crucial for winning sales in today’s marketplace. According to McKinsey, 76% of customers said they get frustrated when a brand doesn’t deliver a personalized experience. That number will likely only rise, as AI and advanced algorithms get smarter, and consumers grow to expect everything just how they like it.
3. Advertise with Customers, Not at Them
One of the advantages to personalization is that modern advertising can feel more valuable to customers. Instead of shouting a message in their faces, it’s delivering targeted, often valuable information. The brands that stand out go a step further, inviting their loyal customers to take part in the process. They find new ways of hearing what the customer has to say, and incorporating it into their messaging and strategy.
There are a number of different ways to approach this, but one of the most popular in recent years has been user-generated content. In fact, UGC can lead to huge increases in click-through rate and perception of a brand’s authenticity. UGC can come in many forms, from displaying customer reviews and testimonials on your website from re-posting their social media content. The bottom line: give the customer a stronger voice, instead of telling them what to want.
4. Keep it Short and Keep it Honest
Your customers are busy, so let them know implicitly that you value their time and energy. In other words, keep it short — more specifically, by taking advantage of the growing popularity of short-form video. TikToks, Reels, YouTube ads, and short native video ads can grab a customer’s attention. TikTok says that, in the U.S., ads on its platform drive 96% higher return on ad spend than other digital paid media.
In the video realm, influencers are just as relevant today as they have been in years past. But the type of influencer campaign that works best is changing to suit customer values and needs. For instance, many millennials and Gen Z customers respond better to nano and micro-influencers than celebrities. They seek genuine-seeming recommendations from trustworthy creators with small audiences, over brand and celebrity voices they perceive as inauthentic.
5. Leverage AI
The possibilities for AI in marketing and advertising are virtually endless, and constantly growing. From generating written content and images (not the best idea) to analyzing data and automating repetitive processes (better), it can do a lot. Just one caution: any use of AI in your strategy should be under close, responsible human oversight.
Perhaps one of the most common uses of AI in advertising is A/B testing different campaigns. With AI, you can simultaneously test countless different variations of an ad until you land on the one that works best. AI is also good at analyzing large swathes of data, to look at things like search behavior, brand sentiment, and more. The more data you analyze, the more insights you can glean about your fans, followers, and customers.
Stick to Your Values
If you take away just one thing from this article, remember that one thing about advertising hasn’t changed over the years. At the end of the day, it’s always about giving the customer something they want or need. (Well, sometimes it’s about giving them something they didn’t know they needed until you came along.) The tactics will change, but if you keep them at the center, your brand will always win.
Of course, needs and interests vary, but today’s customers do have certain things in common. Younger generations, in particular, are more values-driven than others that came before them. Learn what’s most important to your target market segment, whether it’s sustainability, worker’s rights, data privacy, etc. Then make sure those values are loud and clear within your messaging, to earn lifetime relationships and loyalty from your customers.
Credit image: Marcus Herzberg; Pexels
