Recent times have experienced the development of real-time and responsive marketing, as brands started the attempt to create shareable, up to the minute content that accompanies more traditional advertising campaigns.
Real-time marketing is proclaimed as the wave of the future with many brands working hard to implement processes that swiftly connect marketing messages to news and events thereby positioning their brand at the centre of conversations on social media.
Social media has certainly altered long-term planning of marketing communications. Promoters of real-time marketing, advocate delivering near spontaneously developed marketing content with cutting edge creativity and personalization connected to a news event. However, the requirement to publish quickly can mean a lack of editorial checks, making it a high-risk approach. The appeal lies in the potential for great ROI.
One person sending a well-crafted tweet that goes viral can have as much impact as a costly paid ad, all while showing a more human side to the brand and placing it at the centre of current trends.
We take a look at the differences between the two methods and their usage over the past years.
Successful Real-Time marketing:
Real-time marketing is a fairly new tactic & an opportunistic discipline, where marketeers jump on a current event or trending story to create a relevant piece of content that ties the brand to the event.
Real-time content is often lighthearted and humorous & if created and published in a timely manner fits in well with the always on, always updated nature of social media. When executed well, these ingredients give it the potential to go viral.
The Risks of Real-Time Marketing:
Though real-time marketing has its advantage, the wins are likely to be momentary compared to a planned, ongoing campaign as well as it is a high risk strategy.
It also relies heavily on good fortune, as brands can be dependent on the right kind of story breaking that could be relevant to the brand, and lighthearted enough to be taken advantage of.
Reputational damage is amplified if poorly chosen or offensive content spreads through social media.
Successful Responsive Marketing:
Responsive marketing is a strategy that is derived by merging traditional, planned campaigns with a more up to the minute strategy.
Marketers can use events they know will be happening in advance to develop richer, higher quality content that will be relevant to the conversation once it begins.
With the existence of predeveloped media, real-time content should be introduced where necessary to augment the relevancy of the content.
Responsive marketing holds longevity i.e it can be used/ extended over a long period of time.
Real-time vs responsive marketing:
Some of the cons of real-time marketing are that usually brands might lack editorial control, and be reliant on luck. Organisations are competing with a lot of other noise along the same lines.
The positive aspects of responsive marketing include the ability to engage with current events, less chance for a brand to make a hasty mistake, the content has a longer shelf life, and brands could even incorporate audience research into campaigns but it’s important to remember what is being pushed out needs to be relevant to the audience.
Preparation leads to success!
While it is desirable to have relevant content that is ripe for sharing, the rush to be the most up to the minute creates its own pitfalls.
The emergence of responsive marketing has enabled brands to engage with events that resonate with their customers, while retaining a degree of planning and control to deliver higher quality content with less risk.
Brands must know what their audience likes and where their interests lie, to know what will resonate with customers. Using these insights to guide your strategy makes sure that when you talk, your audience wants to listen.
