Marketing is an ever-evolving practice.
The methods that we see results from today will likely not work 12 months from now. Marketers need to have their finger on the pulse and know where their audience’s attention is at a moment’s notice.
To gain insight into the evolving state of marketing, I had the pleasure of catching up with Mark Schaefer at Content Marketing World. For those of you who don’t already know Mark, he is a keynote speaker, faculty member of the graduate studies program at Rutgers University, and is the author of five best-selling marketing books including Return on Influence.
Watch the full video below for 6 “aha” moments for marketers, including which influencer trend Mark wants you to avoid. Without a doubt, Mark leaves a lasting impression on us. See for yourself, you may feel the same way.
1. How would you describe the marketing space today?
What I think marketers need to be mindful of today is the conversation is really around content and audience. Of course you need to have great content and you need to build your audience, but the economic value of content that isn’t seen and shared is zero. So we also need to concentrate on the ignition.
2. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing marketers today?
Many executives today have built their careers in the advertising days. And a lot of the techniques and a lot of the ways we communicate with our customers are evaporating--they are going away. And you look at where the power is shifting today: it’s to user generated content, influencer marketing, and review sites.
3. How do they overcome this?
If you feel like in your company that you are falling behind, you’re not alone because this is changing and everyone is trying to figure out, culturally, how do we adapt to this? How do we have skill sets for this? How do we measure this? The marketing world is really in a great amount of transition right now.
4. What role do you see influencer relations playing in marketing?
I recently was a facilitator for a CMO conference and here was the thing that was so interesting to me is that no matter what the question was at the roundtable, and these are CMOs from big companies, the conversation always went back to influencer marketing. No matter what was going on. That is really where the power is shifting today.
5. If you could end one marketing trend, what would it be?
If I could end one marketing trend it would be, I guess I could call it, “Spam Influence”. The “Spam Influence” trend.
I get probably 20-25 emails a day from companies and brands asking me to do things for them. And I don’t even answer them because I don’t want to be pitched. I want to be befriended.
6. What do you think marketing will look like in 10 years?
Influencer marketing is huge, and everyone says it’s so huge, it’s just beginning. This is where the power is going, this is where the trust is. People trust their friends, and they think the influencers are their friends because they see their content, they like their content, they trust their content and these are people who are putting their reputation on the line every single day. So the power, the trust, is moving in this direction and I think influencer marketing is getting a lot of play today. It’s just beginning.
Implement These Takeaways for your Brand
I would like to give an extra special thank you to Mark for his time and fascinating insights. Keep up-to-date with Mark by following him on Twitter and be sure to check out his new book KNOWN.
Most recently, Mark led a live webinar focused on six emerging influencer marketing trends in B2B technology. Although B2B in focus, you may find the insights applicable to your specific industry.