The digital age of marketing is far from a new trend. We’re constantly plugged into social media looking for current world news and cultural events that will affect our business. Many businesses have already realized that they can take advantage of this constant connectivity.
These businesses are utilizing real-time marketing efforts to appeal to both current and potential clients who are constantly checking and updating their social media feeds. Embracing real-time marketing will help your company respond more quickly to events that you can leverage to drive interest in your products or services.
In fact, studies have shown that when real-time marketing is included in the marketing mix, consumer sentiment, purchase intent, interest, likelihood to recommend, and serious consideration all increase significantly.
When Does Real-Time Marketing Come Into Play
Many great examples of real-time marketing can be seen during any major sports or entertainment event. During the Super Bowl, for instance, your company can drive extra traffic by strategically tweeting live or utilizing trending hash tags that catch the attention of an audience that you wouldn’t normally connect with otherwise.
The recent partnership announced by Twitter and Google is set to have a huge affect on the real-time marketing world. Now that Google has agreed to list popular tweets in their search results, the impact of a well-timed tweet during a large event can have exponentially more impact.
For example, an amusing joke about a celebrity during the Oscars may not only be seen by those currently searching for that celebrity on Twitter, but it may now also reach those typing that celebrity’s name in their Google search bar.
The Importance of Preparing a Content Strategy
While posting content that promotes your brand on Twitter is a good way to engage plenty of users, the number of users that you can reach via Google is infinitely larger. That being said, a misconstrued tweet might also result in more critical feedback as a result of Google and Twitter’s newly formed partnership.
When you post something that has negative backlash on Twitter you can easily go back to delete the tweet before things spiral too far out of control. With the newly announced partnership, however, your tweet may remain in Google’s Index well after it is removed from Twitter.
This heightens the need for company’s to carefully consider their real-time posts before sending them out into the world. The hope is that this will encourage companies to improve the overall quality and originality of the content they post.
Real-Time Marketing is Impactful and Essential
According to CMO.com, while 60 percent of marketers admitted that they struggle to personalize real-time content, 77 percent of marketers surveyed felt strongly that real-time, personalized marketing was crucial to their business’ advancement.
Marketers surveyed by CMO.com also reported that their real-time marketing efforts lead to a better customer experience and, therefore, increased customer satisfaction. It has also helped companies improve their customer retention rate and many have also begun to explore the possibilities for driving additional revenue by creating personalized offerings that serve clients’ direct needs.
As a marketer, it’s essential that you understand the importance of real-time marketing and take the time to outline a strategy to reach a larger audience in light of the recently announced Twitter-Google partnership. By designing a real-time content strategy that capitalizes on popular news and events, your company will be able to appeal to an increasingly broad market.
