As we inch closer to the new year, we realize that it takes time and creativity to outline marketing plans for the weeks and months ahead.

Last week, we outlined the first three of some of our favorite marketing strategies that have led our clients to success in 2021 and will assist in kick starting 2022 on a high note.

Check out part two of our holly jolly strategies below and check back with us next week for part three of four!

OTT

While the pandemic has surely helped to expedite the shift to digital advertising, there have been specific intricacies to such a shift. Largely, the nature of digital marketing tactics utilized are more engaging and hyper-targeted to specific audiences. The use of video in ad campaigns and the growth of video marketing as an advertising powerhouse is one such change in order to better engage with audiences and encapsulate a feeling to generate an emotion-driven response.

As of June 2021, Americans now subscribe to an average of 4.5 streaming providers, according to a new J.D. Power survey. Due to this streaming frenzy, OTT advertising has increased in prominence and popularity. OTT, which stands for “over-the-top,” refers to television and movie content that internet users can watch by going “over the top” of broadcast television.

For advertisers, this streaming mechanism has huge potential to reach consumers as there are a number of streaming services to utilize and better targeting options to reach a desired audience. While broadcast television can only target a DMA, or a designated market area (such as the Albany DMA), OTT advertising has the capability to target specific geographics areas like zip codes, target devices, target by demographics and by consumer behaviors. With these targeting options comes real-time metrics that are invaluable in determining campaign success and balancing any changes that should be made to an ad or ad campaign.

In addition to audience targeting and metric tracking, there are additional OTT advertising benefits that include the fact that OTT ads cannot be skipped. While consumers can tune the ad out, if they wish to continue watching their program, they must “complete” the ad, which in turn has led to OTT ads having an incredibly high average completion rate of 98%. A 98% completion rate for an ad running across top tier networks and popular content is a winning combination for many brands, large and small.

Social Media

As almost 9 in 10 companies in the United States utilize social media for marketing purposes, there is little doubt that social media’s power can have significant influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Not only does social media impact the buying and selling of products and services, it has great value as a communication tool and as a source of news within some verticals.

Pew Research Center recently conducted a study that highlighted where U.S. adults get their news. Pew largely looked at how news consumption patterns vary by age, gender, race, ethnicity and education and found that the majority of U.S. adults surveyed say they often or sometimes get news from digital services at 84%, followed by television at 68%, radio at 51% and print publications at 34%.

When asked which platform Pew research respondents prefer to get news on, half of Americans say they prefer a digital device. However, the study found that digital platform preferences are quite divided. Pew found that 24% of adults prefer news websites or apps for news, followed by search at 11%, social media at 10% and podcasts at 4%.

Pew specifically looked at social media site usage in the news source landscape. The study found that about 48% of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes.” In addition, Pew asked in a separate question whether users of 10 designated social media sites regularly get their news from social media sites. Pew found that 31% of U.S. adults get news regularly on Facebook, while 22% say they regularly get news on YouTube. And, Twitter & Instagram are regular news sources for 13% and 11% of Americans, respectively.

While social media’s presence and value as a news source has grown over the course of the past few years, Pew found that social media’s role as a regular news source was quite different across demographics. This is an important note for advertisers looking to use social platforms as a marketing tool. Knowing how and where target consumers gather information is key to implementing a successful (social) campaign.

Search Engine Optimization

While it is certainly a great first step to create a website for your organization, the next necessary step is to ensure that it is optimized. SEO stands for search engine optimization. By definition, SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results. SEO can improve visibility, website traffic and lead potential.

When a consumer searches on Google, Yahoo or Bing for the goods or services your company offers, your goal is to have your website appear as the first result on the results page. Research shows that the first page of a search result earns 95% of a user’s attention, whereas the second page earns roughly 5%. Not convinced to make an investment in SEO? Additional research finds that the first site listed from a search result earns about 33% of overall search traffic, while the seventh site earns a mere 3.5%.

By creating and optimizing content on your company’s website, optimizing your local listings and inbound linking, and ensuring that the technical components of your website such as site speed are optimized, your organization is well on its way to being found organically by people who use specific search terms to find what they are looking for.

The Times Union Media Group is well-equipped to work with you in an effort to get your company’s site ranked as high as possible in search results.

Stay Tuned for Part Three Next Week: Check back with us for part three of four of our top holly jolly essential marketing strategies!

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