As customers’ needs and behaviors change – adjusting to the continued impact of COVID-19 – marketers must proactively adjust to an evolving landscape. Business operations and customer actions have changed at one of the fastest rates in recent memory, leaving some marketing plans in need of TLC.In late 2021, studies showed that 45 percent of full-time U.S. employees continued to work remotely some or all of the time.  With supply chain disruptions and inventory shortages on-going, now is the time to make sure your marketing strategies are up-to-date with a changing marketplace. 5 Digital Marketing Tips to Maximize Effectiveness and Value 1. Check Your Goals, Targets and Realign Be mindful that your target customers, and the way you had delivered messaging to them, may have changed since the onset of the pandemic. Business continues to shift – with companies changing expectations, plans, personnel responsibilities, and in some cases, even changing what they sell. Your ideal customer profiles, personas and behaviors may be dramatically different than just a year ago. And the strategies that were months in development, may need to change as well. Consider what your KPIs (key performance indicators) are right now. Do those KPIs shift from lead generation to contact building, or perhaps to brand engagement? And how do your marketing tactics and messaging need to evolve to achieve these new goals? Are your current marketing materials going to work with an evolving economic outlook and new customer engagement patterns? Now ask the same questions for what we predict conditions to be like 3- and 6-months from now. Be nimble and strategic at the same time. You can’t put a pause on your brand or your marketing “until this is over”, because who really knows if, and when, things will return to what they were. For the foreseeable future there will be changing conditions, and marketing needs to be able to refocus and meet the right KPIs, probably more than once. 2. Be Mindful of Message Tone, Timing & Delivery Marketing messages and sponsored content need to pay attention to the emotional pulse of the reader, as well as consider timing of when it is released. Right now the content your marketing may appear within, or directly alongside, could be highly-charged. Be thoughtful when creating messaging and materials so that you are sensitive to the current situations. Appearing to be too “hard sale” or business-focused may be off-putting to customers, and potentially even damage your brand’s position. Carefully consider the words you select in your messaging: 3. Be Relevant and Stand Out Good marketing connects with a reader emotionally. It’s critical that messaging and ad materials still make those valuable connections that draw in hearts and minds, while not appearing to capitalize on reader sensitivities. It’s also critical for brands to stay on track. The marketing plans that were created during 2021 may have to be changed, but your core brand positions probably are the same – positions which should remain a cornerstone of your communications. Artfully combining relevant content, marketing messaging and brand positions (that – as noted in the above – are mindful of tone and timing) will connect with customers in a powerful way, get attention and generate response. 4. Stay on Top of The Digital Trends Many marketing strategies have shifted to be, or are working to be, increasingly digital. When correctly deployed, digital platforms reach customers with highly-specific profile targeting, leveraging features such as Google’s custom intent audiences. Even though that many are working remotely from their home office, marketers are still able to target and communicate key messaging with potential customers. However, we must consider how users are engaging with content much differently than just a few months ago. Right now, interest-based campaigns that reach customers higher in the marketing sales funnel are outperforming text search campaigns. Be sure your digital marketing team, or the agency you partner with, is remaining nimble – interpreting data, watching the shifts and repositioning ad campaigns to continually maximize return. Digital behaviors and routines have also shifted. The data you built your digital campaign strategies around has probably changed – and now must be evaluated and readjusted for today’s customer behaviors. For example, if social marketing (paid or organic) is part of your mix, have you revisited those campaigns in depth? Some platforms are reporting a 66% increase in social media engagement, and across some demographic groups, people are reportedly spending 3-7 hours per day on social sites! Beyond just increasing social activity, how are you altering your desktop verses mobile ad deployment, ad timing, content delivery and platforms? 5. Track and Shift Whenever you shift marketing messaging, targeting or objectives, you need to track and analyze. Right now, many organizations have changed all three of those considerations. Add to that an economy and a workforce that has undergone huge changes, and major parts of your marketing plan may need to be addressed. Be flexible, be fast and be smart – and get help when you get spread too thin. One positive point is that most marketers already have heavily integrated data tracking tools into their performance reviews. The increases in digital engagement over past months has provided enough data for marketers to extract trends, analyze patterns and make predictions. Staying attuned to performance metrics is critical now. Marketers on top of the data and can be nimble – adjusting while staying on plan – have an opportunity for significant success. Stay Results-Focused, With Partners That Can Support Your Needs Today’s climate requires dedicated attention and a proactive approach to effectively navigate changes. It takes time, attention to details, and a collaborative approach to address what virtually none of us have dealt with before. If you’re looking for a B2B marketing agency partner to help you with marketing strategy development or digital marketing, we’re here to help. Contact us for a free consultation and let us help you Power Up Your Marketing. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the

A company branding kit may just be the most important marketing asset your company produces. Thorough brand standard documentation not only helps to guide the direction of every piece of marketing, from ads to presentations to packaging, but it also informs your employees, vendors and partners about how to best present your look and voice at all times. In a digital world when even your logo can be edited with the quick click of a mouse, providing a clear blueprint about your brand identity and how to preserve it pays dividends. This is especially true if multiple stakeholders within your organization localize marketing assets or have access to your website, social media and other digital components. Brand Consistency Matters Seventy-seven percent of B2B marketers say “building a strong brand is key to their company’s growth.” Yet only 25 percent of companies have formal brand guidelines that are enforced. Consider the following statistics: · Presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23 percent –  indicating the impact of marketing and improved brand recognition.· 60 percent of millennial consumers expect brands to be aligned across different platforms.· Consistently presented brands are 3.5 times more likely to enjoy excellent brand visibility than those with an inconsistent brand presentation. A different color used here, or an incorrectly cropped logo there, may seem insignificant, but over time these subtle inconsistencies can negatively influence your target audience, who is looking for dependability and stability in the brands they choose to trust. Even minor discrepancies in visual or verbal communication can lead to a loss of that trust. If you are unable to create an effective brand presentation, customers may wonder how they can trust you to be effective when fulfilling their needs. What to Include in Your Company Branding Kit While a brand guide is unique to every company, there are common components that should likely be included, such as: · A corporate messaging overview (which may include mission statement, core values, elevator statement, etc.)· Tone of voice· Logos – including sizing, usage and reproduction guidelines· Fonts – primary and secondary· Approved color palette with both print and digital standards, such as breakdowns for CMYK, RGB, Pantone®, Hexi, etc.· Stationary (including business cards, letterhead, invoices, etc.)· Email signatures· Social media graphics and guidelines· Digital assets and approved imagery· Marketing and branding project workflow management and contact information to support questions regarding compliance and usage It’s All in the Details Your company branding kit should also clearly detail the do’s and do not’s, especially related to your logo, fonts and colors. Thoroughly detail rules like “the logo should never overlay a photographic image” and communicate the specific formats for different applications – such as Pantone, Hexi, RGB and CMYK primary and secondary brand colors. While some traditional brand manuals speak solely to its visual representation, don’t overlook the importance of addressing your company’s tone of voice and critical content such as tagline usage, mission statement language, social media and more. Your brand voice is how you communicate and connect with customers – consistency in that messaging is just as vital as the visuals. A company branding kit can quickly become a dense document. At Stifel Marcin, we often consider developing one-sheeters for internal usage for staff that are simple to reference and encourage easier adoption of the guidelines. More on that below. Craft Brand Guidelines That Encourage Your Employees to Share Your Story Social media is an area where additional support for staff can be crucial. Internally, those working to support social media on company accounts should be well-armed with a blueprint that is specific to your social channels   – think approved messaging and subject-matter, appropriately sized imagery, channel-specific recommendations, and instructions on how to make any modifications if necessary. Just as important to your company profiles, providing all of your employees with guidance on how to share your company messaging, news and industry updates with their personal networks can reap rewards as well. Often an employee will want to share more about your organization on their social media channels but may hesitate to do so for uncertainty about what to say or how to share it. Or their well-intentioned posts may inadvertently include inappropriate subject matter – like a poorly cropped logo or perhaps a photo that shows people on the shop floor which is not compliant with safety standards. Here are some helpful hints about what to include on an internal social media one-pager: · Approved/suggested hashtags· Links to approved images/article links· Correct company social handles· Guidelines on what is not permissible to show· Recommended subject matter, or tips for common post types· Internal social media contacts to support your team in case of questions If your B2B organization has a large announcement or campaign planned, providing your staff easy ways to become actively engaged online can benefit your brand as well. You may not even realize it, but some of your biggest brand influencers may just be within your own walls. Creating a unique social content distribution guide that supports your overall branding guidelines, and provides campaign/announcement-specific recommendations, can be a worthwhile investment to help staff spread the word while staying true to your branded messaging and visuals. At Stifel Marcin, we’ve supported clients in specific initiatives on social channels. For example, if an organization is promoting the launch of a new product, a campaign-specific company branding kit might include: · Specific messaging – what is the correct way to promote and present the announcement (remember small words can matter, for example “acquisition vs merger”)· A clear CTA to define the action your followers can take when they see the news· Links to approved imagery/video assets (sized appropriately for each social channel)· Sample templated messaging that includes correct company handles and external links· Branded hashtags· Specified embargo dates if applicable – be clear when employees can start sharing online Social impact and reach can be a powerful tool, but it also must be thoughtfully and purposefully managed