Jeff Peyton
“Relevance” matters.
Semi-clever wordplay aside, researchers are starting to catch up to something local newspapers have been telling their customers about since long before programmatic retargeting started ruining folks’ social media experience:
People won’t buy from you if you annoy them.
When the world isn’t in pandemic mode, I am an avid traveler. Give me a three-day weekend, and there’s literally no place on Earth out of reach. So you can imagine how annoyed I get when I do a quick search, compare prices and book my tickets, only to find my web and social feeds INUNDATED with ads for things I literally just bought.
Whether you’re in the market for a new car or a new pair of shoes, if you’ve done any of your shopping (or pre-shopping research) online, you know what I’m talking about.
There is some good news on the distant horizon. Big Tech is getting wise to privacy concerns and will, over the next few years, make it much, much harder for brands to target you simply because you walked into a store with your cell phone on.
Here is the secret to not annoying your potential customers with your marketing: Make your marketing relevant to your customer.
“Relevance” doesn’t mean mining data and wallpapering Facebook with ads based on recent Google searches. Mattering to your customers starts with showing a little respect for their time – and their intelligence.
Instead of an advertising message that says “thanks to our cyberstalking efforts, we know who you are, where you’ve been, and what you’re buying, so you should buy it from us,” I suggest going with a slightly more appealing approach.
How about simply advertising in media your customers regularly visit? How about tying your marketing message to things your customers actually care about?
As a marketing guy, I really thought programmatic marketing was going to be a game-changer. Turns out, it was. Just in a creepy kind of way.
The industry is starting to figure out that people actually prefer their advertising on their time – such as when they’re reading the paper, watching TV or listening to the radio.
Email can be a relevance game-changer, too.
For instance, The Northeast Georgian’s opt-in email list has grown to more than 2,500 – that’s 2,500 people who, by subscribing, have indicated that they trust The Northeast Georgian AND our advertisers to deliver quality information directly to their inbox. Providing your customers with something they’ve specifically requested – well, it doesn’t get much more relevant than that.
Digital marketing is a powerful force-multiplier but, we’re starting to see, only when it is part of a broader marketing effort. If you buy a quarter page on Wednesday, you don’t just sit back and wait for the orders to roll in. Email works the same way. If you only send a single e-blast in a vacuum, you really shouldn’t spend the next few days waiting for foot traffic to spike.
The specific marketing mix is different for everyone. Your advertising needs may be somewhat similar to others in your line of business, but those similarities stop at the front door. Not everyone needs 10 full-page ads every month. Not everyone needs three e-blasts, 20 radio spots and a postcard. There are so many variables. And each variable brings its own options to the table.
I strongly encourage you to NOT go it alone. Talk to your ad rep about your marketing needs. Explain your situation, your budget, and what you hope to accomplish. That way, your rep can advise you on the best mix of options for your specific needs and help you meet those goals faster and more affordably.
Not sure who your rep is? Drop me an email at jpeyton@thenortheastgeorgian.com, and I’ll connect you!
Jeff Peyton is the publisher of The Northeast Georgian. Reach him at 706-778-4215 or jpeyton@thenortheastgeorgian.com.