Those marketing strategies you’ve always relied upon, may no longer be relevant in a post-covid world. So, as you plan your 2022 marketing, Paul Clegg, from Coconut Creatives, offers advice for building an effective strategy for the new normal.
If you’re involved in recruitment marketing – which as a means of growing your franchise, you should be – you’ll be aware of the need to aim content at your target audiences. But, what happens when your audiences change? When the things they’re passionate about, their pain points and decision-making process changes? The profile you are aiming at, in all likelihood, needs to be adapted if you’re going to remain relevant to your target audience.
At Coconut, we’re aware many of the people we speak with aren’t marketers. You may know you need to adapt, but aren’t sure how. So, here is our guide to help you make the most of your marketing strategy for 2022:
Last year is so last year
During the pandemic, we saw how quickly priorities changed. People began to value their friends and family more. They recognised just how precious their time is. And, realised they don’t have to work every hour God sends! So, if you’re still trying to implement a pre-covid marketing strategy, it’s time to update it. Meet your target audiences where they are, instead of where they used to be.
People are more aware of what’s happening around them, and they have a clearer idea of wanting to make a difference. So, the content they typically invest time in, is often aligned with their values, and driven by the need for social connectedness.
One study, carried out on 14,500 people during the pandemic, identified where consumers’ attention shifted, and what they’re likely to focus on most:
- 25% Health: Protective of their health, choosing to be safe, and minimise risk
- 16% Planet: Seeking to minimize their impact on environment
- 15% Society: Working together for the greater good
- 12% Experience: Living in the moment to make the most of life
How can you use this to your advantage? Your brand has to stand on authentic and relevant values your audience can connect with. Show how your franchise meets audience expectations through your content. Doing so, will enable your target to align themselves more with your franchise, because they recognise you share the same values with them.
Avoid the swipe left: Keep it brief
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times, recruitment marketing is like dating. But, having moved into the virtual space, the means of making a lasting, positive impression is more challenging. When someone approaches you at an expo, for example, you can converse with them for a few minutes about your franchise opportunity. In our virtual world, you have milliseconds.
TikTok took the world by storm, and is here to stay; so-much-so Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn all had to find ways to adapt to the new trend for bites-sized video content. According to HubSpot: TikTok enjoyed a massive 61% increase in new users, during the first half of 2021.
People will literally waste hours scrolling through them! So, if your strategy omits the use of any kind of video, you are in danger of appearing irrelevant to forward-thinking entrepreneurs.
How can you use this to your advantage? We’re not saying you have to immediately launch your franchise on TikTok. But, the trend for short, snackable video content is one you can’t ignore in 2022. Especially if you want to entice under 30’s into your network. Harness emerging trends, repurpose them for the platforms your audience uses, and earn valuable right swipes.
We’re all on a journey
The customer journey has changed, dramatically, and people are no longer munching cookies in the same way; the power of control has been firmly placed in the hands of the people, not brands. Like any kind of journey, your audience can join – or leave – at any stage. They no longer start at the beginning and follow a clear, linear route you’ve pre-determined. They’re following their own path, which will hopefully cross with yours. The aim, then, is for the two paths to run adjacent, until such a time as they merge: when the target decides to join your franchise.
According to data analysists, GWI, 49% of internet users are likely to buy from or invest in brands they see online. Social media presence has become the cornerstone to people’s decision-making process. But a marketing approach which feels personalised to the target, speaking to their needs, passions and ideas – as mentioned above – is what will win them over in the end.
How can you use this to your advantage? Obviously you can’t spend your time looking at the profiles of everyone who likes or follows you online. But, what you can do is invest time in “user generated” content: Content you create with your franchisees. Your target is more likely to listen to someone who is ‘like’ them, than they are to brand messaging. Especially, if you produce franchisee content in line with the four points I mentioned above: health, planet, society and experience.
So, what do I do next?
We would recommend you take time out to really research your target audience for 2022: understand what’s important to them, what are they focused on, and what kind of content do they want to see. You want to inspire them to see the shared values you have, upon which they can grow a rewarding future within your franchise network.
If you aren’t sure how to do this effectively, that’s why we exist! One of the Coconut Team can to guide you, so feel free to ask me how to get started.
