Always-on marketing: structurally target the right people to pique their interest
Random marketing is no longer interesting, ‘always-on’ is where it’s at. But if you ask one hundred marketers what always-on marketing is, you will receive one hundred different answers. What it certainly is not: continually spamming your target group with your message. This may win you the annual award for the most irritating advertisement, but it certainly isn’t going to increase your popularity. It’s all about timing: telling a well-considered and particularly compelling story to the right people at the right time. Become as visible as possible, with content that is greatly valued.
Always-on marketing is all about ensuring that your company is the first one that comes to mind (top-of-mind), whenever an organisation is faced with a challenge. Traditionally, most campaigns are seasonal. For example, someone who sells flowers will choose to focus on and work toward special occasions such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. This means that campaigns are scheduled around these events. In an always-on strategy there is continuous action, for instance focused on birthdays and anniversaries, which occur all through the year.
‘Always-on’ is sometimes understood as always live and real-time. A wonderful example is Snickers. The confectionary manufacturer was clearly ‘on’ during the World Cup soccer finals in Brazil. When Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini in the shoulder, the confectionary manufacturer immediately zeroed in on this with the tweet: ‘Hey Luis. Next time you’re hungry just grab a Snickers’. Including the ambiguous slogan ‘More satisfying than Italian’. Oreo did something similar with their dark chocolate biscuit, when the power failed during the Superbowl. The tweet ‘you can still dunk in the dark’, went viral.
Always-on is of course no guarantee that your sales will immediately increase, but the chance of success is certainly much greater if you are continuously visible. You obviously don’t need to go as far as Snickers or Oreo. So long as you satisfy a few essential conditions. The main thing is that you exercise a rigorous discipline, so that the flow of content does not dry up. After all, there is always some excuse for not having finished that specific blog, infographic, white paper or advertisement. Thinking ahead is also required. Snickers and Oreo didn’t just think up their tweets on the spot, they already had them ready in advance. They were well prepared.
And lastly, it’s a question of balance. If you keep sending messages into the world like unguided missiles, people soon become irritated and lose interest. The skill is to reach the right people, at the right time, with the right message. That is a well thought-out, credible and compelling story. A story that demonstrates an understanding of what is currently of interest for the target group. A story that stimulates interaction. Always-on is perhaps about knowing when to briefly switch off. With the emphasis on briefly.
Would you like to know more about always-on marketing? Download our e-book ‘Always-on marketing in 2021. Successful in 2021 by being structurally visible’ or contact us without obligation.
