Four key elements for delivering the perfect message to the right consumer at the most appropriate time - Part I

What time do you have?

Years ago, that question was asked often. Its frequency has waned over the past 15 years with the advent of the mobile phone, which acts as much as a timepiece for most people as it does a communication device. Even though we as consumers don’t ask the question much anymore, as marketers, we must keep an eye on the time. If we are to truly think with a consumer-first mentality, then we must deploy in-market digital messages at the most appropriate time for the consumer.

While many people reference real-time marketing as a way to connect with consumers at a specific, spontaneous moment, personal experience has shown me that to actually execute in real time one needs a significant level of planning. A better way to get noticed — and for your digital content to break through — is something I call appropriate time marketing (ATM).

ATM is a strategic approach to digital content and performance marketing that offers meaningful ways to increase the value and efficacy of advertising messages. By creating a contextually timed content plan — informed by social listening, which helps determine the right course of action — ATM allows for a holistic, consumer-focused strategy. In essence, ATM serves up advertising messages as the consumer would want them.

ATM is comprised of four elements — appropriate audience, appropriate context, appropriate message, and appropriate channel — but each element begins with key insights. Social listening is integral to each element, creating the opportunity to significantly affect business objectives. The idea is to discover insights around trends, demand mapping, and nascent cultural conversations so digital campaigns can co-opt these elements. Social listening for insights can help create a well-timed core creative idea (CCI), provide for in-the-moment enhanced engagement, and allow marketers to further amplify and optimize the CCI while in market.

1. APPROPRIATE AUDIENCE

The first element of ATM is identifying the appropriate audience by adjusting a traditional target demographic to include any potential “communities.” There are often a number of communities within a given target demographic, and identifying their direct interests (or whatever common thread connects the members of those communities) can be of great value to a brand. For example, a well prepared brand that knows the target’s interests will find a consumer’s sudden conversation about sports spurs a valuable opportunity to engage or glean information relating to that very same subject at the very moment the consumer starts thinking about it. Delivering a contextually relevant message in that moment creates a valuable exchange, and if successful, allows for personal endorsements of the brand from consumer to consumer.

2. APPROPRIATE CONTEXT

When I went to Babson College for my M.B.A., the teachings were mostly centered on entrepreneurial thinking. Babson is a top entrepreneur training ground for startups. The two words I remember most from my time at Babson were “value creation.”

In business models creating value for the consumer is the first step (of many) to ROI. We are taught to think of the consumer pain point, and why they care about our offering. We can apply the same business logic to digital marketing models. When consumers see an advertising message, cognitive skills allow them to search for value in the message. Marketers need to consider the context of their advertising and ask themselves, “Why should the consumer care about my message?” and “When does the consumer need it most?” Those are important questions to ask, and why considering the appropriate context is the second element of ATM.

Appropriate context means understanding consumer behavior in digital and social media and applying that understanding to your well-timed message. If you take the consumers’ circumstances into account when marketing to them, including the appropriate context of the message they interact with, you create incremental value for them. Native advertising is a good example. Consumers are in the mindset of reading and consuming content. If we don’t deliver content experiences, native advertising will lose its effectiveness. Or take an authentic influencer piece supporting your brand, placed in the Facebook Newsfeed. What’s more appropriate to a consumer looking at her feed: a linear TV commercial, or an authentic influencer piece showing her peers using your product? When thinking about the answer, remember the context — the actions customers are taking while they are in the Newsfeed, like catching up with friends and sharing stories. Hint: How would a consumer answer? 

Another consideration is contextual relevancy. If we choose a target with an affinity, and discover a future potential consumer discussion (as long as we have authority to involve ourselves), we can add incremental value to our message. The brand message should stem from the current consumer insight connecting your brand to the consumer conversation. If you plan appropriately, and provide access or information related to the discussion the consumer is engaged in, your message may increase its value.

Stay tuned for Part 2...