Business has been using traditional principles of marketing for generations now. These tried and true marketing applications have remained the same year after year. However, technology keeps revolutionizing how marketing is done. Newspaper ads were once commonplace, then we moved to digital ads.
Now we will be implementing more AI (artificial intelligence) into our marketing strategies. We will be using these tools to grow more marketing communities… places where like-minded people go to engage more with a brand.
Building a community brand will be the marketing strategy well into the future. We will see more emphasis on brand building and authentic content marketing. We will use community- building tools such as: chatbots, podcasting, and YouTube channels. These vehicles turn consumers into clients and brand users that belong to a community for that market. These groups of users will be contacted more by chatbots and other data analytics tools to introduce, engage, and provide information about the brand.
According to a survey from Capterra, 65 percent of U.S. millennials want to use chatbots when engaging with brands. However, these new trends have not yet reached small business marketing departments yet. Chatbots allow for consumers, who are visiting your site for the first time, to get their questions answered immediately. This improves their experience with you.
Content marketing isn’t new. However, it remains one of the strongest ways to engage with your clients. By adding a blog, podcast, or video channel to your marketing plan, you can create long- term interest in your brand. It also allows you to establish your brand as a community of like-minded brand users. This creates a sense of belonging for your client and client retention for your brand.
It is important to note that a critical aspect of content marketing to create brand loyalty is authenticity. Using stories as to why you built the brand brings clients closer to understanding your passion for your brand. Writing or sharing authentic content helps them engage with the brand and shows them how to use it in ways they may not have known. This form of content marketing has been gaining popularity, improving client retention, and growing long-term sales.
The truth is, marketing has made a shift. It is now about providing your client with connection and a sense of belonging. It’s not about simply selling a product and creating cash flow. It’s about connecting the consumer to a brand that provides them with a sense of meaning and purpose. When the client connects with your brand, you can sell them all the products you want.
Business owners who create interactive brands allow their clients to feel as if they are part of something bigger than themselves. Future marketing is about sharing the story of why you are doing what you are doing. It’s about sharing the importance of how your brand will benefit humanity. Today’s marketing is built around having an ongoing conversation with your client that turns them from customers to fans. This is important to understand, because this is a conversation that invokes a feeling of loyalty over time. It’s a journey. The path looks like:
Customer
Consumer
Client
Fan
This is the principle behind the book, 1000 True Fans. A true fan is defined as a brand fan that will buy anything you produce. Authenticity marketing is how you move a person through the stages from customer to fans. You build a relationship over time, not overnight, that benefits both the fan and the company long term. Future marketing trends will continue to surround this principle because it still remains easier and less expensive to service current clients with more, than it is to find new fans.
It is also more beneficial to have fans engaging with you directly. Their feedback helps you grow your brand and scale it in a way that surrounds what fans want. Fans have been around forever. The benefit of developing fans will continue deepening if your brand and marketing strategy continues creating and deepening your relationship with them.
This means you will benefit most by creating a community funnel that walks your customer into becoming a fan. Here are the 3 steps:
Step #1: So, what’s your story? This is where you send an invitation to engage with your brand, NOT YOUR PRODUCT. This is the place where you get to Blog, Podcast, or YouTube about the “why” your brand exists. Provide them with a sense of meaning and purpose about your brand, then invite them to a free sample of it.
Step #2: Is to engage with them by sending an email that moves them from the customer to consumer. A consumer is someone who is more likely to buy your product. This is where you introduce them to the client experience with your brand. You move them into the community and begin to sell them the vision, a sense of purpose, and meaning… as well as an introductory product. This is where you begin to give them your value and serve them. If you do this well, they will invest in your brand and move to the next level.
Step #3: They become a client. A client is someone who has purchased more than once from you. If they purchased your offer and your order bump, they become a client. They get a name that helps them belong to the brand and helps humanize your brand to them. When we “Ask Alexa” we are humanizing a product. Russell Brunson calls the clients who use his software, “Funnel Hackers”. We call our fans, #SmartNation. When clients engage with, and identify themselves, with your brand, message, and purpose, they become fans.
As you grow your community, your clients may help you give them their fan name. Pay attention as your brand community starts growing. They may think of a name for themselves. Once they do this, you begin to address them by that term. You create content with that new name and they will begin identifying with it.
These are the three steps I use to grow my brand and my message. These marketing trends will continue well into the future. This strategy will benefit you most when you create your fan funnel marketing strategy.
Vickie Helm is a bestselling author, business and asset strategist, and the CEO of Smart Group Firm. She has improved the success of more than a thousand companies and the lives of thousands of individuals throughout her career. You can learn more about Vickie at https://thesmartlifeclub.com or https://vickiehelm.com.