Have you ever noticed that some of the best case studies defy marketing best practices? We love seeing things that have not been done before, but then we hesitate to try things that are unproven. This is the marketers’ paradox.There’s an interesting trend in marketing where something that starts organically evolves into a marketing best practice.
→Homemade videos on YouTube gain traction, so Marketers want to hire social media experts to make their content ‘go viral.’
→Social media users grow incredible followings, so brands want to hire Influencer Specialists to replicate this success for their own brand
→Consumers start to rally around issues like sustainability and DEI, so brands invest in bringing in consultants to learn how to quickly check these boxes
The challenge is that what made these practices successful in the first place was that they were completely organic. They were not connected with any traditional marketing practices or an orchestrated business plan. Brands want to achieve this viral success, but customers demand authenticity. What’s a marketer to do?
Know Your Brand
An apple tree will never sprout oranges. As your brand grows and evolves, the best thing you can do for your business, your team, and your customers, is to get crystal clear on exactly who you are. What are your values? What is your story? How does your personality show up? Where are you positioned?
Having a clear brand strategy will act as a compass, so that you will know what trends align, and you will be ready to jump on that next organic opportunity.
Without knowing these things, the default is to react to each independent trend, which can create mixed and muddled messaging, consumer confusion, and frustration all around. While you may never be able to appeal to 100% of people, consistency and clear messaging will gain trust and buy-in from your customers, and respect from spectators.
Know Your Audience
People do not always enjoy being marketed to. This is especially true in millennial and Gen Z audiences. While we may want to appeal to everyone, a brand will actually gain more traction and respect if it embraces polarizing qualities. This means knowing what you are and who you are for, and what you are not. Having a clear stance will create more genuine messaging and relationships.
Get to know your audience so that you can dialogue rather than monologue. What is important to them? What makes them tick? Where do they spend their time? What do they believe about the world? These more nuanced specifics are where you’ll find the greatest opportunity for authentic connection.
Know Your Message
Failed messaging can come from one of two sources:
→It is too vague.
→It is too specific.
If you do not have a clear brand- you don’t have a clear and understood ‘why’, or mission or vision or personality, then when it comes to marketing and messaging, there isn’t much to grab onto.If you have a controlled brand where you micromanage messaging and bottle up approvals at the top, then marketing and messaging becomes forced and disingenuous.
The biggest impact comes from one clear message being shared multiple times. What is the one thing you want your audience to know? By tapping into this core truth, you have a structured framework with guardrails that allow your team, your brand partners, your influencer partnerships, and even your audience to grab hold of this messaging and exponentially share it along with you in a way that is genuine, accurate, and productive.
Concluding Thoughts
Can you strategically implement organic marketing?
If you are hoping to manufacture and manipulate a viral sensation by replicating something that worked for someone else, probably not. If your audience can see the business plan come through the creative, it has missed the mark.
But can you be strategic about finding organic opportunities that align with your brand and resonate with your audience? Absolutely.
When you take the time to know your brand, know your audience, and know your message, the reach potential becomes infinite. By having a clear strategy in place, you will be ready to jump on the right organic opportunities.
Gigasavvy creates winning brand, marketing, campaign and content strategies that position brands for long-term success. Connect with us to chat about how we can help you take your business forward.
