When I started my marketing career-we'll call it my naive days-I was sure that I would have the daily ability to be creative and produce inspired marketing strategies at all times.
Let's be honest-sometimes creativity can be hard to muster. For me, the creative process sort of happens on it's own instead of me making it happen.
The biggest lesson I've learned to keep inspired marketing flowing is to look to other brands I admire. I save posts, marketing examples, scribbled notes on yellow paper for when the creativity well runs dry.
The following four examples of outreach marketing are ones I've been saving for the past few months. Let me know if you have some cool examples to add!
Hey "Boring Brands" You Should Look to General Electric
An electric company isn't normally a "go to" brand people follow on social media.
But wait! General Electric's social media strategy is so fun that they're actively being followed by a diverse group of consumers.
They post pictures of the machines and windmills that are working hard behind the scenes to power our world.
General Electric appeals to the innate curiosity in us and becomes a humanized fun brand as opposed to just an electric company.
Check out their Instagram page, it's pretty neat!
How to implement something similar: Sure, your company may not have giant machines to photograph and post. But, I'm sure there is a quirky piece of art hanging in your office or an upcoming office happy hour to take pictures of. They key is using Instagram and Facebook to show the human and maybe even fun side of your brand.
ModCloth is Dominating Authentic Social Strategy
The strongest component in a great outreach marketing strategy is authenticity. Every marketer should strive to create a brand that consumers feel like they are part of and can relate to.
ModCloth is my go to example for both social media strategy and marketing with consumers instead of at them.
Not only is this online clothing brand extremely active on all social channels but they always take it to that "next level."
ModCloth adds personalization to all of their marketing by doing things like having stylists respond to tweets and posts to help consumers pair clothing and they even named dresses after featured bloggers.
Another thing that makes me love this brand is that they share photos of real consumers wearing their clothing. This makes ModCloth come across as real while simultaneously scoring a ton of user generate content.
How to implement something similar: A couple times a day ask yourself how you can highlight a customer on one of your social channels. Whether you re-post a photo or give them a shout out for being awesome-these seemingly small gestures can make big waves. If ModCloth can personally respond to tweets, so can you. Monitor your social channels in real-time so that you can answer questions and make suggestions promptly.
Give the Right People the Right Content and Take a Page Out of Taco Bell's Book
So I haven't eaten at Taco Bell since high school but that doesn't mean I can't admire their marketing strategy.
Their network of brand advocates has been built on sheer creativity. These ambassadors act as "middle men" to post attention grabbing social stats to other millennials.
From sending a breakfast phone where they kept in touch with some of their biggest fans to personalized Taco Bell rings, this fast food chain equips their fans with very sharable content.
How to implement something similar: What can you give your brand's biggest fans that they can turn in to content? By sending free and innovative products to advocates, you can make your fans feel special and also equip them to generate their own content about your brand.
Hey Travel Brands! Be a Resource Like The Trainline
The travel industry is one that gets heavily researched. Thus, one of the best outreach marketing tactics for anyone promoting a brand having to do with travel is to be a resource that gets sought out when consumers are researching a trip.
The Trainline, a European travel site, creates a "festival finder" every year where music lovers can find festivals based on their personal music taste.
How to implement something similar: Think of your brand as a resource as opposed to a company that sells something. What pain points do your target consumers experience? What kinds of guides, tutorials, videos, Twitter chats, etc. can you create to help them?
Have any examples you want to share of other brands doing cool outreach marketing stuff? Please share in the comments or reach out to me directly and let's collaborate on some content!