Traditional “Burst” campaigns are now less effective than the always-on approach of “Drip” marketing. Feeding your marketing ecosystem with a steady stream of content, social posts, video and client interaction (drip marketing) is key to a modern marketing approach and brand development. This marketing style requires constant attention and commitment from all people involved in your marketing efforts. Fortunately for most outdoor lifestyle brand marketers, the people working on and representing your company probably have something in common with your customers – a love of the outdoors. When you are promoting a product or service that you truly believe in, it makes your job so much easier and effective. A general love of the outdoors is great, as marketers of outdoor products at Mascola Group, we embrace that passion and love of being outside. However, we also recognize that enjoying the outdoors in general is not enough, we need to dig deeper. Our digital marketing agency is constantly looking to find out more about our audiences to deliver on their wants and needs with as much depth and understanding as possible.
What do I mean by “Don’t Fry Eggs?” A quick story. As a younger designer, some of my first clients were boat makers, sail boats in particular. Now I like boats, and love the water, but my passion for these outside elements were not enough to market directly to sailors. They have their own language and nuances on how they engage in sailing. It was only during a photoshoot that I learned the meaning of the phrase “don’t fry eggs”. Some of the models I was art directing were holding the tiller (the steering mechanism on a sailboat) incorrectly. They held the long shaft of the tiller like a frying pan, the proper way for this boat was more like holding a microphone. Thumb on top, not underneath. Hence the phrase “don’t fry eggs.” Every photograph with this pose was deemed useless because sailing instructors would know that the photo was showing an incorrect grip. Subtly details that true brand ambassadors know and understand make all the difference when communicating your outdoor lifestyle brand to the outdoor enthusiast. Get outside and find out for yourself what makes your outdoor product a worthy investment. Unearthing inside knowledge and gaining real experience with a product or service helps brand development by crafting authentic, meaningful content. A digital marketing agency that you trust can be an essential tool in your marketing kit by paying close attention to these details for you.
In addition to product immersion, another way to improve your drip marketing plan is through doing traditional research. When you want to find out more about your audience, just ask them. Most people love to talk about their passions and through this discussion we can gain accurate insight to what motivates our audiences. This can be done through interviews, questionnaires, sales team interactions or crowd sampling. Basic transaction follow-up questions can often help identify your products best and worst attributes. This information contributes to brand development; it allows you to craft content that speaks directly to your strengths, weaknesses and allows you to deliver more content your audience that they care about.
Always-on marketing means you need to be able to understand and interact with your audience and how they might benefit from your product or service. Whether that is through social media interaction or face-to-face at a trade show. Seeking out a deeper understanding of how audiences see your product can be as simple as getting out there and using the product yourself. The key is finding a digital marketing agency that will take the extra stride to improve your success. At Mascola Group we take research seriously, the traditional kind and the hand-on approach. Promoting an outdoor lifestyle brand? We’ll meet you outside. Contact us now.