HOW BRANDS MARKET TODAY

Janhvi Mehta

The marketing industry has made a few strides towards the digital media. New brands are born every day. Each one, looking to be the next big thing. Still, most of them end up being fads. Hence, to survive the cut-throat competition, and maintain the longevity of the brand, companies are looking for a relatable image to appeal to a broader audience.  In order to do that, brands are willing to tap into pop culture.

All companies are trying to get “viral” one way or another. Marketing department comes up with an absurd yet quirky way to catch attention of the public. A carefully orchestrated video which appears to be completely candid could get millions of views and voila, the mission is accomplished. Apart from this, companies are using social media to be heard. To shift the brand image, experts in consumer behaviour fire out subtly relatable tweets and indulge in the latest trends to catch the eye of a younger audience. Moreover, companies are having savvy marketing experts huddled in a room together to have a twitter “feud” with a rival company. Having frequent twitter polls on a company’s minute and insignificant decisions makes the audience feel more involved and it helps them to get idea of the target audience and their preferences.

However, having unique and personalized content is crucial for a brand’s aesthetic. People can see through unoriginal and forced ideas. Hence, all attempts made to become an “internet meme” could backfire and end up harming the reputation of the brand. It is important that the company sticks to its core values and ideas.  No fakes are welcome.

Collaborating with celebrities and social media influencers to promote the company’s product brings in a completely new audience. Just a few Instagram posts could exponentially increase the visibility of a product. Moreover, having video tutorials or reviews by influential avid users gives clout to the product. Innovative ideas like using chatbots to create an intimacy with the users are making waves. Chatbots create reach a wide audience so it even provides direct communication between the user and the company so it can be used to collect valuable data and get feedback. Also, bots can be used to promote other products that a company has offer. On the other hand, figuring out the search engine techniques is tricky because using too many tags and keywords looks tacky, you want to find something that works with the content that’s being posted.

Unethical marketing ways like fake reviews on amazon are in the cross hairs due to the number of law suits being filed against them. Numerous pop-up ads are cooking up trouble for companies as they use unauthorized images and quotes. Even using stock images is risky as it does not represent the brand. Furthermore, there are some businesses who create fictitious claims that they have top ratings from an unknown newspaper or reviewers. Hence, companies should be cautious when dealing with these delicate matters. One wrong decision could shift the public perception of the brand.

The brand reflects the holistic perception of the company or the product. Hence, it’s important to be attentive. Intensive research and a lot of statistics would help provide an overview. Market research is crucial as it gives you an insight as to what a consumer wants. Moreover, it helps with making future business strategy. Taking tentative steps is necessary. Many impulsive decisions end up becoming detrimental to the image of a company. Also, following trends isn’t everything. Companies just have to find something unique that works with brand and provides positive results.