12 great ideas to change the face of your marketing

There are real experts in the world of marketing, a world in which the word “expert” is overused and overrated.

I have personally noticed that the key is to experience genuine and true love for creating marketing content, in order to become part of that group of experts. And I understood that while I was looking for news to create the new list of 103 authentic leaders in marketing.

I realized that all the people on that list had such a passion for marketing that pushed them to explore, push the limits and do what marketers do best: being creative.

This means using humor to sell business software and exploit the idea of branding to understand the connections that exist between flyers and white papers.

The ideas of these passionate marketers are changing the face of marketing and how it is put into practice.

Here are 12 of those great ideas that have changed the marketing aspect …

1. Be authentic

There are those who use their own personal style, those who use their own homes, those who fight for women’s rights in the world of advertising and so on. In each of these examples you will notice genuine actions, as well as in the work of each individual marketer who acts in an authentic manner.

If your marketing is not genuine, there will be no reason why it can become the best.

2. Irony is human

Personally, I met a colleague via email a few years ago after seeing his comic book series. Irony, or humor, if you prefer, is not a new concept, but using it to market things like software or financial services is.

The idea that customers do not have a sense of humor is false, in fact everyone laughs and is able to bring a little joy, which should be the focal point of each brand: irony is the best marketing method.

3. Marketers must constantly learn

Marketing is not just about sharing new ideas, traits and features with your audience, but is based on learning how to communicate with those people: learning is essential and if you stop it, your marketing will not see improvements.

4. Know your age

Not everyone probably knows that there are established marketers who started marketing small products and gradually became leaders simply by relying on a marketing tool: YouTube.

Without wasting time on direct mail, emails or billboards, these people knew what the object was to market, how it would help their audience and put it into practice! So learn to include marketing in the age you live in today, not when you went to school.

5. There is only one “ninja marketing”

Today, there are hundreds of thousands of people on LinkedIn who have the title of “Ninja”, “Guru”, “Hacker”, but in reality, there is only one ninja marketing and his name is Chris Penn.

In our opinion it is the one most legitimized to be, indeed, the only one. Everything that revolves around the word “creativity” and that in reality are obvious lies is shameful: marketing must be honest.

6. Irreverence is a must

Irreverence is not vulgar, rough or indelicate, it is simply different from the status quo! When you listen to marketers who talk in a stark way, you feel a sense of happiness and start thinking about your new possibilities immediately.

Irreverence is what your marketing needs, so feel free from what you usually do, what you thought marketing was and what you wanted your brand to be if you really want your customers to get noticed.

7. Design is life

What does a flyer do with marketing? All! In fact, if you focus on all the small objects as well as the note that hangs on the door knob, you will understand why they are so important and powerful: the design.

We must remember that our white papers, sites and experiences are usually not designed for easy use or for optimal results, but for lead generation. So keep in mind that everything you produce has a design that, if done badly, will only lead to failure: it weighs well in every detail.

8. Use the Brand properly

There is a new formula devised in the early 2000s which provides: “Shared value + shared actions = shared profit”. What does it mean? That the brand is not based on what you say or do, but on all the salient points you face in line with your customers’ values: the brand is no longer just in the hands of marketing.

9. ROI is not the value you are looking for

What is an email ROI? It is a trick question: there is no cost in sending an email and, for many businesses, it does not constitute a direct line to earnings and measure something based on revenue when in reality there are none or before nor is he foolish enough afterwards.

That’s why you need to focus on the need to have models, not measurements, as the models are predictive, can tell you what your future results are and identify problems before they occur; while the measurements show only the red areas where you have problems.

10. You can be smarter than your colleagues, but not customers

Think of your customers as if they were people you care about and don’t treat them like idiots by sending them dishonest messages as if they weren’t smart enough to understand it.

Now that marketing is one to one, you will have to treat every person as such and understand that your mass marketing tactics will not work in the one-to-one scenario.

You can’t fool your customers with an email or asking them to click on a button to get something when you get that something: remember that customers are as smart as you, even sometimes even more!

11. This is only the beginning

When you look around carefully and see that there are other marketers who take everything seriously, more than you do, and who have come to achieve important goals after a long time, you will understand that this is only the beginning and everything will become more dynamic over time:  fail to prepare your future means preparing to fail.

12. “Leader” is a privileged title

Being a leader is something that requires hard work, so don’t take it lightly, it requires a genuine passion, experience, ability to attract people, a different perspective and the ability to go beyond the status quo.

The brands that are currently recognized as leaders have invested all their strength to become one and are now treated as such by their customers and fans.

There is no limit to marketing ideas, but these 12 listed will change the face, also because they are examples of distinguished marketers in their sector. Therefore be diligent about where you learn your information.

The future is constantly evolving and these excellent minds will drive towards a better tomorrow.