In today's marketing world, social media has become the darling go-to tool for marketers to advertise their products and services online. Some say it marks the death of the traditional press release, others see it as an ever-changing fad, fully aware of each app's mortality. Regardless of which side you're camping on, facilitating both traditional and technology-driven marketing techniques is the best way to increase your competitive advantage and social reach across the interwebs.
What are some benefits of new technology?
Be Quick, Not Quirky
One of the major benefits of marketing technology is how fast marketers can respond to disturbances with, or involving their brand. Due to the advent of instant, digital technology has become an invaluable commodity used throughout all industries in order to stay relevant with the competition. For example, look to the lighting mishap at Super Bowl XLVII. It took a mere minutes for Oreo to take advantage of the situation, and post a graphically designed advertisement for the world to see. Not only was it impressive, it set the bar for how quick-on-their-feet marketers are tasked to think, using everything and anything to their advantage.
Break Those Barriers
When thinking about the implementation of a new technology for your business, the reasoning should never lie on the tech alone. You need to be proactive in your thinking; what does this tech do? How will I use this? How will it improve my business operations? And an added bonus... how will this set me apart from my competitors?
Just because something is fast, popular, or new does not mean it's valuable for your business. An app could improve your personal productivity ten fold, but if it isn't leading to new business prospects or a higher market reach, then it might not be an optimal way to spend your time. The ones you should look out for are putting you ahead of your competition, either through disruption or early adoption. The name of the game is staying ahead.
Cut Your Costs
Marketing technologies can also save your company a lot of money, when used appropriately. If you're traffic-jumping to the next big thing, you may find yourself spending more than you otherwise would have liked. Obviously, not every piece of new technology is equal in value, but there are many technologies that can revolutionize your finances based on the services they provide. Google Voice, for example, can place international VoIP and video calls that can save your business major cash. Like we stated before, you need to look at the pros for your company. If it isn't worth your time, it isn't worth it.
Transform Your Workflow
Product management programs are on the rise, helping companies stay connected and on task, especially when juggling multiple projects across multiple clients. The problem many new-adopters of tech-schwag come across relies on a misunderstanding of the actual tech. Many companies, when adopting a new technology, use it the same as they would an old device. You should always backtrack to your business model to dictate how and why the technology is relevant. For example, Basecamp, one of the more popular project management software apps, shouldn't just be used as a reminder list. There are social functions that push collaboration between projects, and communication between team members that would be difficult through other likeminded apps.
Why is all of this important? These new tools are changing the way we, as marketers, interact with eachother, partners, clients, and customers. By collaborating together as a team, you're able to provide your business with an undeniable competitive advantage, but more on that next week.