Dos

Online marketing will be perfect for your company if you have a large local or international target and if your offers are constantly evolving; marketing itself is always changing. Here are the five rules of thumb for efficient online marketing.

1. Make a plan

One of the key elements in marketing is anticipation. You have a ton of questions to answer: Who? Where? When? How will you target people? In addition you have to be convinced by your offer before trying to convince anybody else. Make sure your plan is comprehensive and your offer understandable – it’s vital for converting potential customers into real ones.

2. Create a relationship

Make your brand known → Make your brand loved → Make people buy your product
The priority in marketing is to create a relationship between your company and your clients. Nowadays we are challenged to create proper relationships through social media and it can be difficult for a customer to feel close to an international brand. Besides, social media tends to become antisocial media, this is why you absolutely have to adapt your marketing to the different country or the different gender, or age. Be global but act local, thus, your brand image will be loved by clients.

3. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

Competition is positive. It helps your company to continuously improve the service it offers, but in order to do that, you need to know your competitor. Regularly run a search on different social networks and see what your competitors are up to. Don’t try to do the same thing – it would be a waste of time and energy. Rather, try to do better!

 4. Be active

The internet, and our society as a whole, is always changing. According to Wearesocial.com 2078 billion social media accounts are active right now, so you must be too! Online marketing can really be a source of advantages if used well. Indeed the goal is not to be simply noticed, but to have relevant, updated and non redundant content. Your main mission is to catch the attention of the reader and make him want to come back to your website. It is essential for a company to have at least one person in charge of online marketing who will assure the company’s visibility on social media.

 5. Do your own research

Yes, the internet is useful, fast, and comprehensive. But since the internet is accessible by everyone, that means that everyone has the same information, the same “original” ideas. You are not everybody! Do your own research, borrow books from the nearest library, subscribe to a specialised magazine and take a look around you. If you are not taking any risks, nothing will come of your efforts. Obviously, this does not mean acting before thinking, but we’re definitely encouraging you to be more original and less fearful.

Don’ts

As useful and wonderful as online marketing is, that doesn’t mean that nothing can go wrong. A little slip up could easily damage your brand image. It’s all about e-reputation. You may know what you are posting on your blog, your Facebook wall or Pinterest board… but are you aware of what internet users think about your company?

1. Lie

More and more internet users tend to lose trust in brands because of their often exaggerated promises. Nowadays consumers look towards online peers for honest reviews and opinions. They ask questions on fora, they give advice on comparison websites and they share information about products. If you are lying about your products or capacities, you can be sure that it will be made public in the blink of an eye. Your brand will be damaged and it will be really hard to convince your clients that you are honest with them. The result? You risk losing them and any other potential customers.

 2. Spam

Yes, you have to update your content and keep it interesting, but if you post too often, followers might begin to resent the constant barrage of content. Schedule content so it’s spread over the day, not all at once. Users would want to find what they saw previously and show it to their friends so when you fill their feed with spam they would not be able to do this.

 3. Use poor language

The online marketing language can be less formal than a commercial brochure or a business letter, however bad language is banned! You have to take care of your spelling and make sure that the tone of voice isn’t too casual. Of course, adapt your writing style according to your company’s tone of voice. For instance it is not useful to put smiley faces everywhere if you are a professional appliances retailer.

 4. Waste your time

You cannot try to target everybody. By having an online marketing plan which is too vast, nobody will feel concerned about it. You have to focus on your main audience and take care of it. Do not waste your time and energy, instead of reaching everybody you will reach nobody!

5. Forget about SEO impact

Search Engine Optimization is a compulsory step for you to improve your online marketing. SEO is not that complicated, you can easily develop some skills by searching for information on suitable content. If you cannot do that for any reason, you will have to put somebody in charge of, it is true you will spend money to pay someone but it will quickly become profitable. SEO is one of the keys to success.
What you have to keep in mind…
Online marketing through social media is the first impression that potential clients will have of your company. This is simply the mirror image of your values, your work, and your relationship with the clients. Even if you’re not selling products on the internet, you should not disregard online marketing. Having a social media presence will broadcast a good brand image and let the customers know you are there for them!
If you want to find out more about how to improve your social media marketing, why not pop in for a chat over coffee?

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I definitely don’t consider myself to be an authority on this subject, but I’ve been in the business for 20 years now and have experienced all sides of our industry’s spectrum. Having been through the worlds of Media, Agency, Client and then back to the exciting and creative life Agency side, I’ve garnered significant experience. Here is what I believe to be some factors that make a great “couple”.

A Love Affair

There is no myth to dispel here, but let me be honest: I don’t think there is such a thing as a naturally perfect Client/Agency relationship. Some research seems to suggest that this relationship is bound to be dysfunctional on a global scale. However there certainly are ways of creating a winning formula. It takes two to tango and there  are many examples of great relationships out there – just look at any beautiful campaign. Every time we see a great campaign, we cannot help but think “What a fantastic client”.
Finding a level of natural, effortless understanding between both sides is paramount to the relationship. After all, an extraordinary business relationship in our industry, coupled with the obvious need for exceptional teamwork and talent, can be the catalyst for perpetual creative and effective marketing. Whether you are a client or an agency, work for it together and you both will be rewarded with results you can be proud of.
Mutual respect and trust are two essential elements in this bond. When we work with clients who “get us”, who trust our capabilities and who respect the creative process, both in terms of time and (obviously) fees, the creative output simply hits another level. Harmony is a great state to be in, and is a state which every client and agency should seek for mutual benefit.
Once a creative team can meet to discuss and brainstorm a project without feeling the pressure of time, whilst being in good harmony with the client/brand, creative workrate hits top gear. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things happen in such conditions. I call it Exponential Creative – that moment in a creative session where every member is feeding off each other and building fantastic ideas that are quickly superseded by even better ones.
But there also is an important ingredient that amazingly, sometimes is actually missing from the pie.

What Brief?

I’ve learnt how to write a good brief when I first studied the subject of Marketing (at school!)… never mind how long ago that was. We’re in 2015 and yet, I keep experiencing and hearing from friends in other agencies, that the written brief is somewhat mysterious. It appears, every so often. Let me make this clear, and I’m pretty sure that my peers would agree: The best work ALWAYS came from a well-written brief. Yet it seems to be something that is far too often undervalued.

The written brief is not important. It is essential. Be it a creative brief or one of a tactical nature, it should be written by the client and should be done with obsessive attention to detail and thought. It should also be read by the agency with a passion towards the brand, to clearly understand the project and interpret it correctly. Any unclear brief should be clarified. I cannot stress this enough – it really is the Agency’s duty to make sure that nothing ambiguous is left that way. Read some tips here and here.

Pushing

Every agency should aspire to output the best work at all times and every client has the right to push its agency to its creative limits. We always aim to push our own limits, doing it religiously. But I’ve experienced situations before in my career, where clients push their agency for more and being received with disappointment from the agency’s end. Any pushing from the client’s end should always be met with a positive mindset. Many a time, I’ve seen remarkable results coming from this sort of client prodding.
Dear client, please be constructive, sensitive and polite, and make sure that any issues do not arise from a lack of information in the brief.
Dear creative, even your most prized work will get critiqued and may also be ditched, so do send it off with a touch of humility and zero expectation.

My Advice

– Treating each other with due respect and trust doesn’t just mean being nice most of the time. Yes, being polite at all times should be a given, but you should both obsessively seek that effortless understanding. If you know you are on the same page at all times, trust will simply be the bi-product.

– Communicate well. Write good briefs without fail. Read and interpret them properly and where unclear, ask.

– Truly treat each other as though you are one and the same team. An Agency/Client relationship is not one of a buyer/seller nature. You are one team. You win together. You lose together. Pointing fingers when things go wrong does nothing positive to the relationship. If you made a mistake, admit it to yourself and others on the team. You’re human. Everyone makes them.

– Make sure that you deliver what you promise. There is more to business than contractual obligations. There is your reputation and the relationship at stake. If you said you would deliver remarkable work, a brief, a payment, whatever that may be, by a certain date – deliver.

– Push yourself at all times and be ready to give and accept constructive criticism. It is an important element in transforming great into remarkable.

Your relationship MUST be mutually beneficial. You’ll quickly see that respect rewarded with trustworthy, timely, creative work, and a business relationship that is quickly becoming extraordinary, ultimately resulting in giving you a remarkable product.

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