Make your brand identity the central organizing principle for everyone and everything in a company rather than just the products, services, logos and imagery

Brands are assets that create sustainable wealth, both for businesses and wider society. Every successful brand has a clear positioning expressed through its name, logo, and identity. But, more than that, a strong brand identity has the potential to influence all aspects of a brand's omnichannel presence, including its products, services, and staff behaviors. In fact, McKinsey's nine traits of a future-ready company found that employees who say they are “living their purpose” at work are four times more likely to report higher engagement levels at work. People reach further when their energies are channeled toward a purpose. This shows brand leaders can capitalize on brand purpose to enthuse both their customers and employees. Brand positioning and identity are integral components of the overall brand strategy. Having a…

Today, content marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing. Find out how digital and content marketing managers can boost their content strategies in 2022

Businesses are using content marketing as a strategy to reach and convert prospects. But are they getting the best results possible? To achieve these results, you need to focus on improving these 9 most important content marketing skills.

1. Content creation skills

Even though it’s obvious, very few content marketers can create the type of content that will achieve great results for their business. First, content writing is important for your blogs and other important website pages.

To improve content writing skills and eliminate blunders, a marketer has to learn about grammar. Grammarly is a tool that can assist writers to proofread their written content.

Content marketers need to improve their multimedia content creation skills to connect…

The worldwide pandemic has increased the need for businesses to adopt more sophisticated digital marketing technology. This has led to an increased move to online software solutions that may have not been needed before. Businesses of all sizes have had to quickly adapt to changing circumstances so that they can continue to operate as best they can. This has increased the demand for technical solutions – from team online collaborative meetings to organizing virtual events. The technology sector has always experienced fast-paced growth since the mid-1980s.  When the invention of mobile phones, laptops, PCs and Personal Digital Assistants - now known as Smartphones - came about. To this day, new emerging tech, software, hardware, mobile and IoT solutions are constantly evolving. As a result, there has had to be a new approach to digital marketing. That’s why we wanted to share the latest digital trends, frameworks, techniques and technology marketing examples with you. These trends…

Hold the gimmicks. Social media marketing in 2022 is all about your customer. Our top 5 trends will set you up for YOY success

As marketers, we're always scanning the digital landscape for new opportunities to benefit from our customers' changing behaviors online. Social media marketing trends today, like the trends we see in many popular digital channels, are undergoing rapid transformation due to increased usage and user expectations. This article looks at the top 5 social media marketing trends recommended by experts in the field. You will find trend analysis, examples, tools, and training recommendations to help you implement new innovations in your social media strategy.

What are the top social media marketing trends for 2022?

We asked 5 digital marketing experts and the verdict is in - all our 5 social media marketing trends revolve around one very important theme: Your customer Distract them Find out more about them Support their values Collaborate…

5 steps to transform your B2B manufacturing marketing strategy

The aim of business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing marketing, is to connect your manufacturing company with wholesalers and distributors, ensuring your customers obtain your product. B2B marketing has become almost identical to B2C (business to customer) marketing due to the customer conducting more thorough research during the sale process, and more notably, expecting a more digital experience, especially in the industrial and manufacturing industry with 67% of purchases being influenced by digital marketing. A model that B2B manufacturing marketing professionals can utilize is the RACE planning system, which covers the full customer lifecycle, including paid, owned, and earned inbound marketing activities. (Plan) > Reach > Act > Convert > Engage It can be used to identify improvements to your customer lifecycle by generating awareness to build your audience, encouraging interaction, lead generation, purchase, and then loyalty. Here’s how each component…

How has the definition of branding evolved to reflect the modern business context?

If you type ‘what is branding’ into a search engine, you’ll be presented with two choices: “making a mark with a branding iron” Or, “creating a distinctive design to promote a product or service” Branding in today’s world is not just about standing out, but about creating a truly consistent omnichannel experience across all customer touchpoints. To achieve this, it means fully integrating brand strategy across every customer interaction, not just about creating aesthetically stable collateral. To outpace competitors in the current business climate, branding requires a data-driven, customer-focused approach to marketing. Our marketing tools and templates help you build a winning marketing strategy that supports your business objectives and boost revenue. What's more, all our marketing strategy resources are integrated across the RACE framework to drive the results you need to reach your goals. …

How to take a strategic approach to your healthcare marketing planning in 2022

Over the last 18 months, the healthcare sector has gone through a period of rapid change. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the way that people think about and interact with healthcare providers and provides many new healthcare marketing opportunities for businesses. Healthcare marketing refers to the marketing strategies healthcare providers, insurers, suppliers, and advocacy groups use to attract new patients and increase awareness of their healthcare business. Earlier in the summer, we outlined some of the marketing trends that the healthcare sector is experiencing. Some of the key trends from Smart Insights’ pharma and healthcare marketing trends report included:

The consumerization of healthcare

The consumerization of healthcare is the trend of people influencing and controlling their medical and wellness care. It’s an acknowledgment of the need for healthcare providers to develop strategies that fulfil customer needs and preferences. Healthcare…

A selection of case studies, examples, and best practices from fintech companies around the world

Like many sectors, the financial services industry is going through a period of disruption. New, digital-first brands and services are making waves and digital has heightened customers’ expectations of service. The 'Amazon effect' means that we now demand better and quicker customer service in an age of instant gratification. Ten years ago I remember visiting a branch or struggling to make a transaction online. Today, I can access everything I need on my mobile quickly, easily, and efficiently.

The rise of fintech

The ongoing growth of fintech is also a major factor for the changes taking place across the sector. Fintech is a combination of technology and financial services that’s transforming the way financial businesses operate, collaborate, and transact with their customers, regulators, and other stakeholders. All types of companies, from startups and tech companies to established firms, are…

We round up the top trends and innovations for marketers of consumer branded goods in 2022, integrated across the RACE Framework, to inform your marketing strategy

Our marketing trends for consumer brands 2022 guide covers the top trends in consumer branded goods across our 5-step strategy of plan, reach, act, convert, and engage (the RACE Framework). Our acclaimed RACE Framework is loved by consumer brands marketers worldwide due to its practical, data-driven approach to marketing strategy, designed to generate growth, fast. See below. Read on to discover a couple of brand marketing trends from the report, integrated across the RACE Framework. To find out more about how your brand can incorporate the latest trends and innovations into your marketing strategy, why now download your free copy of the 2022 marketing trends for consumer brands guide now? Packed with best-practice, case studies, practical next…

The manufacturing industry is moving towards increased use of technology and automation, but manufacturing marketing is not on the same level yet

Marketing is an important part of a manufacturing company’s activities as it connects you with both wholesalers and distributors, ensuring that your product reaches your customers. The manufacturing industry has experienced a rapid acceleration of digital marketing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the in-person limitations that this brought. The industry saw a 12% increase in website usage by manufacturing companies last year. Those in manufacturing marketing can utilize the RACE Framework which is used to structure a plan covering paid, owned, and earned inbound marketing activities. RACE covers the full customer lifecycle or marketing funnel from: (Plan) > Reach > Act > Convert > Engage It covers how to improve your marketing across the full customer lifecycle or marketing funnel from, generating awareness to build your audience, encouraging interaction, lead…