Marketing trends are always changing — that’s what makes our jobs exciting! We asked a few of our in-house marketing experts what they’re currently excited about, and we got a lot of different answers.

 

QUESTION: WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT IN MARKETING RIGHT NOW?

 

Laura Plumb, digital strategist

“Seeing how digital/social advertising is affected by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that limit our targeting capabilities — how can we still be effective in reaching our target audiences?”

 

GDPR is a collection of European Union (EU) laws that — you guessed it — protect the personal data of EU citizens. And yes, U.S. companies are subject to these laws if they are “processing or are a controller of” EU citizens’ personal data. This makes targeted advertising a little more difficult because certain info we base our campaigns off of is less available than before. In fact, 60% say that new GDPR has “significantly” affected workflow when it comes to dealing with private data. But Laura likes the challenge!

 

April Pearson, senior copywriter

“Getting away from ‘sales-y’ language and using more natural word selections for search engine optimization (SEO).”

 

It can be hard to put yourself in the mind of a consumer when brainstorming keywords! But April is a word whiz and is constantly working with our in-house SEO experts to choose relevant keywords that will boost content search rankings. Check out one of our past blog posts about effective key word strategy in the meantime!

 

Angela Johnston, art director

“Using new Adobe tools and extensions/capabilities.”

 

Adobe does a pretty good job of publishing articles that showcase their program updates, such as Photoshop. If you’re a creative, these updates can cut the time it takes to finish a job in half. Did you know that Adobe is releasing a new drawing app for the iPad called Fresco? Now you do.

 

Rachel Wallace, content marketing specialist

“Finding new ways to create and use content for our clients. It’s a fun storytelling challenge that never ends.”

 

Content marketing is all about using content pieces to attract and retain visitors, and eventually turn them into customers. From blogs to social media to video and beyond, creating content is essential to building trust with new and old customers. If you don’t have a content marketing strategy in place, you’re probably constantly scrambling to come up with things to talk about, and that’s no way to live (let alone, market yourself). We can help *insert eyebrow wiggle*.

 

Paris Solsma, account manager

“Trying new digital capabilities and optimizing new content — YouTube in-stream bumper ads, responsive text ads and new website layouts.”

 

Digital advertising will only continue to blow up, and that means that we have to stay innovative in the way we present ourselves and how our presentation reflects the consumer. Read up on bumper ads here to learn how they can work for you, too!

 

Jordan Beynon, account director

“Building influencer programs for clients!”

 

Testimonials from someone that’s tried a product can turn a tough sell into a piece of cake, especially on a platform as personal as Instagram or Twitter. Nothing influences public opinion quite like a real customer. Never tried influencer marketing before? Look into it if you’re wondering how to add some authenticity to your strategy.

 

Shannon Hughes, media strategist

“Using our reporting platform and custom URLs to track the buyer journey after the click.”

 

Everyone in the biz wants to get inside the mind of the consumer/potential client. That all starts with attempting to understand their browsing habits and observing what parts of your webpage need work in order to increase internal click-through rates (CTR). The average click-through rate is around 2%. Where do your CTRs fall?

 

Emily Nichols, account director

“Tracking the right data and making the data work hard. It’s easy to track a lot of information and data points, but it’s hard to hone in on why you are tracking and what you’re going to do now that you have the results.”

 

Exactly. You may be rushing toward finding an answer among the masses of data but don’t have a clue what that answer means in the grand scheme of things. Putting some purpose and direction behind tracking and research will have much more visible payoff. Boom. Velocity. Start with “why” and go from there, making sure to check in with your results and tweak your strategy periodically.

 

Jeremy Jones, art director

“Tradeshows and the opportunities we have to market our clients in a way that will bring traffic and qualified leads to their booth.”

 

Brand awareness and getting attendees to your booth are just two pieces of the pie at tradeshows. Once you get them to your booth, what’s your plan? And how do you figure out which are real potential customers? The old practice of collecting names and business cards is often a big waste of time. We’re always testing new tactics and designs to earn our clients qualified leads and intentional foot traffic.

 

 

Tom Flynn, president

“Pushing clients to think outside of traditional ways they can demonstrate their brand and start thinking about how they can own not just the content, but the way it is delivered, as well. There are so many ways clients can have a bigger impact by owning the experience themselves — with websites, podcasts, videos, emails and events. Owned content and owned delivery.”

 

Yes! Own it all! Being a trendsetter with groundbreaking content is one thing, but innovation and personalization via your media vehicle? Give yourself a pat on the back, friend. That’s a winner, for sure.

 

AND FINALLY…

 

Jeff Caldwell, content marketing manager

“New business opportunities!”

 

*pointed look*

 

But seriously, we’d love to have you, so why don’t you “drop us a line,” as the kids say.