67 Lessons on Marketing Strategy

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Inspired by the Instagram Live conversation between Rachel Mercer and Matthew Kobach. Read my original tweetstorm HERE.

What is Strategy?

  • Strategy is defining the problem you are trying to solve and the plan to get there

  • Many people put strategy on the backburner

  • Without strategy, it's hard to know if what you are doing is successful 

  • Strategy is like running

  • You can't just start running

  • You need to decide where you are going to run to and if you have the stamina to get there 

  • Strategy is the rock, pebbles, and sand in a jar story

  • Is it the new shiny object (eg. TikTok) a rock?

  • Or is it unnecessary and just taking up space you don't have?

  • Strategy is the foundation for which success can spring from

  • The strategy is the GPS, the destination is tactics

  • No right way to do strategy 

Create Your First Strategy

  • Discovery Phase: Figure out the lay of the land, what channels are we using, what are competitors doing?

  • Audit: Where you are now and where you need to go

  • Create from to statements (eg. silo to cohesive strategy) 

Frameworks

  • An organization construct to organize your thinking at any point in time
    • Examples SWOT & Simon Sinek Why
    • Brand, Purpose, Mission 

Strategy and Tactics

  • Strategy is the overarching plan

  • Tactics are actions that support that plan 

  • Strategy Example: we are targeting 18-25 y/o that we are tech-savvy

  • Tactic Example: we will do it on TikTok, create content and do podcast sponsorships 

  • Strategist: where it should live and why we need to create it

  • Tactic: Creating the ideas and assets for the content 

  • Creating a strategy and executing on the tactics is like curling

  • Strategy is launching the stone

  • Tactics are sweeping it to the target 

Social Media Strategy

  • Social media is constantly changing

  • Most brands are focused on engagement

  • That is usually the wrong strategy b/c their messaging is inconsistent and not thematic 

  • Social is cheaper historically

  • It's easier to test because you can hyper-target and gelocate

  • KPIs are immediate compared to traditional channels 

  • Social media strategy is a way to achieve marketing strategy

  • We are living digital-first lives (more people consume digital content than traditional content)

  • It's a living strategy (eg. Covid-19 shifted strategy) 

  • What are you trying to achieve?

  • Someone should follow us because of X

  • This dictates what channels to use 

Internet Culture Affect Strategy

  • Tailor to the culture of the industry and channels

  • Industries are diff (eg. Spirits vs Financial Services)

  • Channels are diff (eg. memes on TikTok are constantly changing) 

Brand Authenticity

  • Strategists are modern-day anthropologists

  • Strategists bridge authenticity and culture 

Organic Social

  • It's possible to only do organic, but rare

  • Don't use traditional metrics such as views to measure organic

  • One example of a measurable ROI is perception of trust 

  • Organic typically needs to be supported by paid

  • Steak-umm is a brand that does very good organic

  • They are the exception to the rule 

  • Brands need to wean off filing feed

  • Content needs to drive or fuel conversations

  • Content is best when it's consistent 

Creative Strategy

  • Misnomer of word

  • Strategy and creative work together

  • It's a parternship 

Social Media Strategy vs. Marketing Strategy

  • The two go hand in hand

  • It's possible to have a social strategy without a marketing strategy, though not the norm

  • Glossier is an example of a brand that was a social-first strategy 

How Can You Be Better on Twitter?

  • Follow @JuiceboxCA

  • He added value to a niche network by curating social ads

  • Have a unique point of view

Why Do People Share Content?

  • Strengthen bond with network

  • Define myself (eg. collective identity)

  • Status 

What Do People Get Wrong About Strategy?

  • People don't view strategy as valuable

  • They don't understand how it drives business results 

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