In every field of life, experience empowers us to make smarter decisions. When it comes to marketing, big brands have plenty of that experience. They have decades, even centuries of struggles behind them. After a lot of trial and error, they devise effective marketing strategies that make them popular among their target audience. Aspiring entrepreneurs and owners of startups can learn a lot from their marketing. Following are the primary lessons they can massively benefit from.
Prioritize Content Creation
People tend to consume content that adds value to their life. Big brands go big when it comes to creating content, especially through digital media. It kills 2 birds with one stone; drives engagement and boosts visibility. Eventually, increased brand awareness allows a higher conversion rate. According to Biteable, a video creation platform, around 72% of consumers learn about a product or service by means of a video.
YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. It’s Hero, Hub & Hygiene framework is a commonly used strategy by brands to structure their content and reach their target audiences. Not only do they deliver the message effectively, but also bring in the element of virality. LEGO has over 7.5 million subscribers on its YouTube page, ranging from children to adult Lego enthusiasts. They launch campaigns through it, with the objective of attracting more followers. Their ‘Build It Together’ campaign, for example, invited fans to build a Christmas present for a loved one. They were encouraged to film it and share it for a chance to be featured.
With the ubiquity of social media, there is a pressing need to create content that is aesthetically pleasing, precise yet comprehensive. Not to mention, create enough of it. Big brands understand the importance of putting together compelling content that will actually pay off. Therefore, in most cases, they leave it to the professionals. If content creation is not your strength, hire people who know the job.
Create An Experience
They say people never forget how you made them feel. All big brands are great at marketing their product or service as much more than just a product or service. They present it as a larger than life experience, evoking emotions that are associated with the brand. Naturally, it helps elevate the brand’s persona, enabling a higher brand equity. Most significantly, it improves brand recall. Be it an ideology, a club or a brand, people inherently want to be a part of something that makes them feel great.
Apple has mastered the art of creating experiences, particularly when it comes to the unboxing of a newly launched product. Each time, it leaves such a lasting impact that simply searching for “unboxing Apple” or “unboxing iPhone” draws millions of results. It transformed a facile task into a thorough event, full of suspense and excitement. So much so that it became known for it. In fact, Apple even has an “unboxing room” where various packaging combinations are examined and tested. This is done in order to ensure that the client has the most rewarding experience whilst unpacking Apple devices.
User-experience is one of the strongest factors that can help your brand expand its consumer base. Furthermore, it can strengthen brand loyalty with your existing clientele. Big brands establish a strong connection with their target audience through meaningful experiences. A brand is remembered for a lifetime, if it made the user go through an unforgettable experience.
Tell A Story
Since the inception of humankind, storytelling has been a powerful tool of communication. Stories have been told to teach religious lessons, keep traditions alive and cultures thriving. All because they have the capacity to provide information in an entertaining and engaging manner. Jerome Bruner, a renowned psychologist, revealed that humans are 22 times more likely to recollect a fact when it is enveloped in a story. Big brands smartly used the same technique to sell a product or a service because they know it is a tried and tested method to influence human behavior.
Starting from its 1999 television commercial, commemorating the career for Michael Jordan, till date, everything in Nike’s world is backed by a story. They realized that storytelling sells and the masses relate to it. Through their stories they made a promise to their target audience, and through their products they fulfilled that promise. Those stories barely featured their logo or details of their pieces, but they had in them something that moved people to tears, to laughter, to empathy, to action, to anger.
Robust characters, a captivating plot and a plethora of emotions is the recipe of good storytelling. It gives life to your brand and conveys its message to the target audience. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that it should be authentic and honest. It should demonstrate to the audience that your brand cares about them. It deals with real people and offers a real solution. It is imperative that while focusing on making your story emotional, you do not forget to share what your brand’s motto is, what are its values and what is its mission. If you do it right, you will soon have a community that believes in your brand and will stand by it, through thick and thin.
Learning from other people’s mistakes and accomplishments can do wonders for your own journey. Nevertheless, be open to the idea that you will still fall short. There will still be setbacks and at certain points you might as well want to quit. There is no shortcut to success, neither is there a fixed path to it. With that being said, studying big brands who have made it after years and years of determination and dedication can save you a lot of time, money and effort. When it comes to marketing in today’s day and age, you can never go wrong if you prioritize content creation, create an experience and tell a story. Do this and see the magic unfold!
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Nabeel Ahmad.
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