In the ever-changing digital world, staying ahead of the curve is essential for brands looking to maintain a strong presence. One way to do this is through real time marketing or reacting to current events as they happen. UK marketers report a 26 percent increase in conversion rates from real-time marketing.
By responding to current events and trends in real time, you can connect with your audience in a more meaningful way and create a connection that lasts. Read on to learn more about how to get started with real time marketing and how it can benefit your brand.
What is real time marketing?
Real time marketing (RTM) is a form of marketing that focuses on creating content in the moment. This could be in response to current events, trends, or even just customer questions or feedback.
The goal of RTM is to create content that is relevant and engaging while also being timely. This allows brands to connect with their audience in a more authentic way and create a connection that goes beyond just selling products or services.
How to get started with real time marketing
Ready to get started with real time marketing? Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Monitor current events
As a business, it’s important to stay up-to-date on current events so that you can react timely with relevant content. This could be in the form of blog posts, social media posts, or even just customer questions and feedback.
By monitoring current events, you’ll be able to identify trends and topics that are relevant to your audience and create content that appeals to them. You can also use current events to drive traffic to your website or social media pages.
2. Identify relevant trends
Once you’ve identified some current events that are relevant to your audience, it’s important to identify any related trends. Trending topics can be a great way to generate traffic and engagement with your content.
You can use a variety of tools to identify trending topics, including Twitter’s Trends tool, Google Trends, and content marketing platforms, like BuzzSumo.
3. Plan ahead
Although real time marketing is reactive in nature, it’s still important to plan ahead so that you have content ready to go when relevant current events happen. This could include having several pre-written blog post ideas, outlines for social media posts, or even prepared customer responses.
By planning ahead, you’ll be able to quickly and easily create content that is relevant to your audience without having to start from scratch. Some of the useful target market examples mentioned by growsurf that would help you in either way.
4. Be responsive
Once you have your content created, it’s important to be responsive in order to maximize the impact of your real time marketing efforts. This means monitoring your social media channels and website regularly so that you can quickly respond to any current events or trends.
It’s also important to keep an eye on your competition so that you can see how they’re responding to current events. This will give you a better idea of what is working well and what could be improved.
5. Measure your results
As with any marketing effort, it’s important to measure the results of your real time marketing so that you can see what’s working well and what could be improved. There are a variety of metrics you can track, including website traffic, social media engagement, and leads generated. Mailchimp and Hubspot are two of the most popular marketing automation platforms.
By measuring your results, you’ll be able to see what content is resonating with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
3 powerful examples of real time marketing
1. IKEA’s Senator Bernie Sanders ad
In early 2021, an image of Senator Bernie Sanders all cozy in his mittens during president Biden’s inauguration went viral. The image quickly spawned a number of memes and even had people wondering where he got his mittens from.
Ikea was quick to jump on the trend with a social media ad that featured their Vardagen mittens, captioned “Get the look.” The ad was clever and timely, and it generated a lot of engagement from Ikea’s social media followers.
2. Heineken’s Squid Game campaign
Netflix’s Squid Game was undoubtedly one of the most shows of 2021, and Heineken was quick to capitalize on its popularity with a social media campaign. The campaign featured the familiar circle, triangle, star, and umbrella shapes that were used in the show, highlighting Heineken’s star-shaped logo.
The campaign was captioned “The best pick,” and it generated a lot of engagement from Heineken’s social media followers.
3. Oreo’s Super Bowl tweet
In 2013, during the Super Bowl, a power outage caused an interruption in the game. Oreo took advantage of this opportunity and tweeted the following message:
This simple yet clever tweet generated a lot of engagement and was widely shared on social media. As a result, Oreo was able to increase its brand awareness and reach a wider audience.
Final thoughts
As you can see, there are a number of ways that you can leverage real time marketing for your brand. The key is to be creative and think outside the box. The tips and examples above should give you a good starting point. Of course, you need to be familiar with the PR landscape and consider whether there could be any backfire.
Remember to always monitor your results so that you can see what’s working well and adjust your strategy accordingly.
