I spent yesterday, a lovely sunny Thursday afternoon, at the B2B Marketing Expo at Excel in London. I only had time to attend a few talks, but that didn’t matter, I still came away with useful insights and tips that I wanted to share for those who may not have had the opportunity to go along themselves.
There was so much to see and so many seminars to choose from. The topics of the seminars I attended ranged from the importance of having a brand that isn’t bland (Simon Harmer, Marmalade on Toast), how AI can improve the efficiency of marketers (Chris Pitt, Vertical Leap) and some great hints and tips when it comes to branded video (Pete Fergusson, Nemorin Creative). I won’t cover the whole sessions verbatim, but I will share some of the useful insights and reminders that I came away with:
1. Brand – know your why. Many companies know ‘how’ and ‘what’ they do, but they don’t know their ‘why’. This is one of the most important things about a brand, it ties in with a company’s mission and purpose and influences elements of the brand such as tone of voice and differentiation. Your ‘why’ should state your reason for doing what you do and be communicated through your brand along with your ‘what’ and ‘how’.
2. Brand – adds tangible value. Getting your brand elements spot on reflecting your ‘how’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ adds tangible value to your organisation. Organisations that have got it right across all of their brand’s touchpoints (logo design, colours used, typography, tone of voice, brand story and imagery used) see an upturn in revenue because it appeals 100% to their target market and can even evoke an emotional response.
3. AI – don’t feel threatened. What do you do that takes you many hours that a machine could do quicker? Don’t feel threatened by AI, see it as a tool to help you do your job better, and will allow you to focus on more creative things.
4. AI – can save you money and create a more accurate PPC spend. Using AI in a PPC campaign has huge potential to save hundreds of hours of analysis and money. In this case AI will do the analysis for you, and rather than human nature of rounding a PPC bid up or down to the nearest 5 pounds, it will calculate a more accurate figure.
5. Branded video – content. Your branded video is not a corporate video and it’s not an advertorial either. Your branded video must be as good, if not better than, editorial content for credibility and engagement.
6. Branded video – structure. Have your hook at the beginning of your video and if there is product placement within your video it must be balanced within the narrative. Don’t get too hung up on length – it depends on the content. If it’s something that’s going to be stumbled across aim for short and sweet, but if it’s a video that’s being sought out then you can make a video up to an hour or longer.
7. Branded video – formats. Think about the distribution of your video from the outset, including the shareability of your video on social media. Make sure that you also produce square and vertical video optimised for mobile. Also, don’t be afraid to try out things like personalised video or interactive video where the user can take part in deciding the ending.
I hope that by sharing these insights you can reflect on your own marketing and look to implement some of these tips to improve your marketing outcomes. Next year’s dates for the B2B Marketing Expo are already in my calendar!
Recent Comments