I was talking about this on a forum not too long ago, about how it seems that many marketers have forgotten about the one most important aspect of their marketing campaign – their clients. So, to cut a long story short, and avoid a rehash, the story went around how I was talking to my eldest daughter about a mug shot T-shirt featuring Yoda her teacher was wearing. I asked her “Where did she get it?” To me, that one question should be the end goal of every marketing campaign. Why? Well, I asked about the T-shirt because I would have liked to buy one like it. In that one step, the company created not only a profitable product, but one that would literally sell itself.
The goal of marketing (and not just Internet-based marketing) is to firstly depict a product in a good light so that people believe that the product will in some way help them make their lives easy. I call it ‘creating the need’. If someone believes the need something, nine times out of ten they will buy it if they can afford it. It depends on the marketer, however, how they will create that need. T-shirt designers have it easy, because they rely on the visual aspect. If it looks really good, or is interesting enough, more people would want one just like it.
For everyone else, we have to find ways to show that a client’s life would not be th same without their products. Have a look at TV for instance. I know I’ve ranted in the past about how they create the wrong impressions, and might cause some sort of pandemonium (yea- the old antibacterial soap issue that would have us all running scared and hauling out our tissues before touching anything), but even they create that need.
For some its really easy, because there are a lot of things we need to have in our lives, soap, food, clothing, shoes, eyewear etc. But that doesn’t mean any product cannot be marketed around that line.
Niche specific – (No seo, promise)
Look at the niche your product falls in. There are literally billions of people online at any given time. Create your marketing campaign around that niche. Go to the specific areas you know they are, and market your product. Find interesting ways to showcase your product. I am a firm believer in guerilla marketing. It takes away the boundaries and gives loads of room for your imagination to roam wild and free. That kind of ‘in your face marketing’, if well planned will get people talking.
As an example. Gangnam Style, c’mon, we all know it. But think about it. He was already relatively well-known in Korea, but one music video on YouTube, and a host of parodies that started out not long after that, just because the original music video was funny, has him in the guineas book of records at the moment, has his video on the top ten list of most watched videos on YouTube, he’s been on talk shows, even teaching Britney to gangnam. More importantly, I can almost guarantee you that his album sales have shot though the roof as well. All of that started with a video, placed on YouTube, and it literally went viral after that.
Got you thinking yet?
Take a closer look at your product.
Look at it from any conceivable angle imaginable, look at its features, what it does, what it cannot do, and create an ad campaign around those features. Funny videos, are enjoyed more than serious cold sell videos. Even banners, or ads used on other sites can be funny or witty. That cold hard sell almost always puts people off, and even the most serious of products can be portrayed in a funny, witty light.
Real life
Many products I’ve seen marketed now days are actually shown in real life, or how it would benefit a client in real life. Life insurance for instance. If a company uses a generic advert, you might get a few sales now and then, but show a few examples of why a person needs life insurance, and you could get more sales. We have an insurer here (in Sunny SA) that takes a look at a few real life examples of people having actual accidents. Nothing bloody or gory mind you, but tripping over cords too close to a table corner, falling off a ladder etc. It gets a person thinking, especially if they didn’t give life insurance a second thought. This is another perfect model to strive for.
My Notes:
Keep it original. Find interesting ways to market your product, and give clients a reason to stop and think. Create a need for your product and get your existing clients talking. If anything, that is the most important take away in this whole post. Make sure that your product is so exceptional that existing clients will want to talk about it, and share it wherever they go. So that the next time someone is looking for a product, one of your clients, or even someone that’s seen your adverts will tell that person where they can get what they need.
Happy Marketing.
Dreamrage.
Dreamrage
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