How US Voting Can Improve Your Marketing And What You Need To Do Next

Dear Reader,

As cooler weather blows into New York City, we approach the US Presidential Election.

This year’s US election is markedly different from any I’ve ever participated in. And that includes:

• Voting at the US Embassy in Paris when I was a student (BTW—the toilet paper in the Ladies Room was stamped “Property of the US Government”) and
• Waiting almost 3 hours to vote in my New York City polling site in 2000.

Keep reading since as always this newsletter is about MARKETING and how you can improve yours, not politics!

 

WHY is the 2020 US Election different from past elections?

• Widespread focus on getting people to register to vote and
• Encourage voters to make a plan to cast their ballot.

In 2020, American citizens face increased and more public voting challenges. Among them are:

• Heightened awareness of voter suppression,
• Illegal methods to keep citizens from voiting (including actions by extremist groups),
• Expanded voting and political misinformation (especially on Facebook),
• Slowing down of the US Postal Service (aka: USPS) to reduce mail-in ballots from being delivered to voters and to be counted, and
• Foreign government interference in the US election on social media and at polls.

The most targeted groups for voter suppression and related activities include:

• People at risk and/or concerned about the spread of COVID,
• Blacks (aka: African-Americans,)
• LGBTQ+,
• LatinX,
• Immigrants (especially those with non-citizen family members,)
• Farmers due to extreme weather in the US and foreign trade policy,
• Millennials, and
• Other economically challenged individuals (such as former prisoners).

 

How VOTING translates to MARKETING
Because you must stand out in an overloaded environment.

1. Monitor and respond to customer sentiment and user-generated content mentions of your brand, business and employees. When you do something your audience and/or the public doesn’t like, they express and amplified it on social media. Also, they vote with their pocketbooks!

Chris Penn analyzed mentions of Content Marketing World (#CMWorld) using Talkwalker analytics. Note: The largest number of mentions were made by Content Marketing Institute employees. They produced the virtual 2020 Content Marketing World.

Social Media Marketing Tip:

• Actively share event content and engage in real time with speakers and participants to build visibility. Even if you don’t present, sponsor and/or produce the event.

But Content Marketing World wasn’t immune to third party social media commentary. Ann Handley’s presentation attracted the not-so-positive notice of Room Rater, a social media entity that assesses people’s Zoom backgrounds.

Actionable Marketing Tips:

• Build and maintain your network for your business and yourself. Don’t wait until you have a PR firestorm or lose your job!
• Spend time on and engage with others on the social media platforms and conversations important to your professional interests.According to Orbit Media’s Andy Crestodina, “The true value of social media is to build your tribe.” (Source: MarketingProfsB2B 2019)

2. Build a community for your brand, related interests, and larger societal issues.

Unless you’ve got a major following on another platform, building a community takes time and on-going work. To accomplish this, provide content on a consistent basis and proactively engage in real time as a human being, not just pre-scheduled social shares and/or paid advertising.

During times of uncertainty, like the pandemic, people turn to the people, organizations, and brands they trust.

Community and engaged influencers help you to react quickly and supportively during these periods.

But there’s a caveat:
You must build your community before you need it. Show your brand’s commitment by paying it forward.

The Black Lives Matter movement (#BLM) gained global attention when a video captured by a witness using her phone recorded how George Floyd’s life was squeezed out of him.

It ignited political activism and caused rapid policy changes in the US. This made the video the most viral piece of social media in 2020.

Actionable Marketing Tip:

• Read widely and engage with people who have different backgrounds and beliefs from yours. Remember: marketing taps into culture.

 

 

HOW does voting relate to your marketing?
Since your audience votes on your brand with their wallet!

This includes:

• Who they buy from,
• Who they call out for your tone deaf actions (aka: Word of Mouth (WOM) and Influencer Marketing). Most notably, Black women over index for posting and amplifying, and
• Who they work for.

In today’s global marketplace, your business has a responsibility to:

• Act ethically and
• Support a higher community purpose.

Bottom line:
To build long-term trust, your brand MUST pay attention to the needs of your specific audience AND the larger community!

OR
Risk the backlash of your customers and the broader market.

WHAT can you do to change your marketing and your business?

Actually talk to your audience using the BIO Approach:

• BUYERS: People who buy from you (prospects, current customers, and past customers),
• INCOME EARNERS: People who make money from your organization (employees, suppliers, distributors and investors), and
• OTHERS: People who have other interests in your organization (communities where your business is located, social media followers, media and government.)

 

During the COVID pandemic in North America 3 out of 10 B2B content marketers spoke to customers (2021 B2B Content Marketing Research via CMI/MarketingProfs).

What SURPRISED me?
That 100% of marketers and sales professionals didn’t used this low cost, easy-to-implement tactic to:

• Discover current customer needs,
• Build relationships for the long-term, and
• Provide help to customers and the broader community where possible.

Sydni Craig Hart recommends that you:

“Embrace customer centricity.” Proactively let your customers shine without censoring them!

And Sydni isn’t the only high profile marketer doing this:

During the first 45 days of the pandemic, Drew McLellan of Agency Management Institute spent almost 19 hours per day talking with his clients. He listened, talked them off the ledge, and helped them decide next steps.

In Spin Sucks’s “My Hot Mess” interview column, Drew explained:

“My clients are small to mid-sized agency owners, so the pandemic knocked them to their knees in a hurry. For some of them, 60%+ of their AGI evaporated in a single week. I decided that every single one of them was going to survive the pandemic, and it was my job to make sure that happened.”

 

Welcome new subscribers:  Shivonne, Anita, Karolien, Acqua, Amber, Janiece, Lucinda, Mai, Allan, Justin, Jonathan, Karen, Carmen, Julia, Emerson, Ajay, Anuradha, Sarah-Jane, Cory, Satya, John, Younes, Valeria, TJ, Xiaodong, Maureen, LJ, Galina, Prakash
and Joan.

Want to improve your Twitter Marketing?

Then join me for Agorapulse’s Social Media Summit: Twitter on Wednesday, November 18th on the screen of your choice!

BTW, did I mention that it’s free and that I’m presenting! So please register now so you don’t forget!

If you enjoy reading the AMG Newsletter, I would appreciate it if you forwarded it to your friends and colleagues.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi

P.S.: Want Heidi Cohen to contribute a quote or other commentary to your next article, presentation, video, research and/or book? Then hit reply to this email and ask.

P.P.S: Did you miss last week’s AMG Newsletter?

 

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FEATURED ARTICLE: Content Marketing Pivot

Has your brand, business and/or personal brand adapted to changing customer wants and needs resulting from the diverse 2020
disruptions?

Don’t worry we’ve got you covered with the research, data, examples and tactics you need to meet these evolving needs!

Includes charts and visuals to help you!

 

FEATURED ARTICLE: Marketing Success Metrics

Do you have a fear of math?

Don’t sweat it!

We’ve got you covered with this detailed article that provides the marketing metrics you need to know. Also, it shows you how to calculate the metrics you need.

As a result, you’ll be able to prove that your marketing strategy and plans yield measurable results to your boss!

 

FEATURED ARTICLE: 31 Halloween Inspired Social Media Tips

Even if trick or treating and New York City’s Halloween parade are cancelled this year, you can still celebrate this fun holiday across marketing channels.

To improve your social media marketing during these challenging times, these 31 tips give you useful advice and examples.

 

Heidi Cohen Around The Web

Big shout out to Dr. Robin Kiera for including me in his October 2020 100 Top Digital Influencers. This list is useful for monitoring how the landscape continues to evolve and includes emerging technologies like AI.

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