What’s Trending in Marketing for July 2020

During this Covid-19 summer, staying current on marketing trends is especially important to assess whether your marketing efforts are harmonious with today’s evolving world. We know the difficulty of keeping up with these trends given the abundance of information thrown at us every day. The following articles highlight current marketing trends that we think are worth paying attention to:

Noteworthy Marketing News

Zuckerberg: Advertisers will be back to Facebook ‘soon enough’

Over 600 brands are a part of the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign boycotting Facebook advertising due to their accusation that Facebook policies are too slow at removing hateful content. A recent BBC article reports that CEO Mark Zuckerberg does not plan to acknowledge the boycott, believing these companies will return to Facebook Ads soon enough. Read more on BBC. 

Google Adds Auto-Generated ‘Smart Replies’ to YouTube Studio

Google added automatic “smart replies” to YouTube studio to ease communication and engagement for creators. According to Google, the system is the first of its kind to have cross-lingual and character-byte based features. This new feature is currently available for English and Spanish only. The system scans comments on YouTube videos and provides suggested quick replies to each for the account owner to select. Over time, it adapts response suggestions to the user’s conversational tone and style. This new feature can allow youtube users to enhance their public relations image with fans and subscribers. Get the full story on Social Media Today. 

Enjoy this Article: Marketing Trends in April 2020

Improving Your Marketing Program

Free Digital Marketing Tools to Cope With COVID-19

During these trying times, we are seeing free and discounted digital marketing tools, being used to support sales and service professionals. This generosity has helped keep marketing teams engaged, support demand generation initiatives, and enable sales and service professionals to better meet the needs of their customers. While this list may not be comprehensive, here are some recommendations for the most valuable digital marketing tools available to sales, marketing, and customer success professionals today.

Marketing Strategies In Times of Fear and Uncertainty

Your marketing strategies must play a role in reassuring customers. Unfortunately, there is much uncertainty in the world, and that’s truer now than ever before. It’s no secret that the coronavirus has left many people in a state of fear, anxiety and grief. We know this is a great time to be marketing- but perhaps are unsure what is best for every customer during these times. While these concerns are logical, it’s important to keep a positive attitude. Your marketing strategies should be about helping your customers keep that positive attitude. Here are a few ways to help them do just that.

Blog vs. Vlog: Why Your Business Should Begin Vlogging

The blog has long been one of the preferred tactics for content marketing strategies. Using a blog, you can easily publish a variety of different content, from written articles to infographics and more. However, blogging isn’t the only content marketing tactic that works. More and more businesses are beginning to vlog as well. The concept of a vlog is simple — it’s a blog in video form. The question is how do you decide which to choose between blog vs. vlog for which type of content?

 

Recent Marketing Reports, Updates, and Trends

Coronavirus Forces Dramatic Change in Marketing, But More Can Be Done to Adapt

The current state of uncertainty is impacting 82% of marketer’s day-to-day life. There is room for improvement in marketer’s internal communication with employees, as 60% provide regular updates to everyone on organization impact and 54% provide regular internal updates on the customer’s feelings and behavior. 72% of marketers have communicated with customers about their organization’s next steps. However, 58% of marketers report difficulty due to their organization’s reaction to the pandemic. For instance, 48% have frozen hiring, 56% have reduced marketing budgets, with the average budget reduction over 30%, mainly in creative and media spend categories. The largest cuts are in the digital channel. These drastic cuts in marketing spending are expected to hurt brand equity long-term. 40% of marketers have developed coronavirus-specific creative, 16% have increased corporate social responsibility and 34% have begun offering promotions to engage customers during the situation. More about the study is available on AMA. 

IAB U.S. 2020 Digital Video Advertising Spend Report: Putting COVID in Context

Due to connected TV, video campaigns remain stable among the cancelled campaigns due to the pandemic. IAB’s U.S. 2020 Digital Video Advertising Spend Report found that Connected TV was the least impacted by Covid-19. Key findings include that the average Connected TV spend for the year is expected to reach $16 million per advertiser, which is a 8% rise. More than half of these buyers are switching dollars from broadcast and Cable TV towards Connected TV.  The largest buyer categories are retail spending $32.2 million per advertiser, media/entertainment spending $31.9 million per advertiser and telecom spending $20.6 million per advertiser. The hardest hit in 2020 is expected to be video advertising on desktop. Download IAB’s full report here.

Homebuilder Sentiment Posts a Record Jump in June, signaling a Housing-Market Rebound from the Coronavirus Pandemic

The National Association of Homebuilders/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index’s report of homebuilder sentiment rose to 58 in June, which was a record-high 21-point jump. According to the index, anything above 50 indicates a positive market. As mortgage rates are at all-time lows, 10.9% more people applied to purchase a home this May compared to 2019. Overall, all components of the housing market index gained in June. The positive outlook in this industry points to a notable opportunity for homebuilder marketers. Read more on the Business Insider. 

Manufacturing bounces back stronger than expected in June, ISM reading shows

For the first time since the pandemic lockdown, over half of U.S. manufactures reported better-than-expected expansion in June. According to the Institute for Supply Manufacturing survey, 52.6% of companies reported growth, which was higher than economist expectations. Only 5 out of 18 industries reported negatively. Textile mills, wood products, furniture and related products had the highest expansion. In May, employment went up 10 points, production up 33.2 points, and new orders up 31.8 points. Manufacturing companies have a marketing opportunity as business begins to rise in these industries. CNBC has the full story here.