One of the most interesting questions asked during yesterday’s webinar was how to market an industry that is basically shut down, such as travel. Our answer was straightforward: you keep demand active. In terms of supply and demand, this economic downturn is unusual. Normally, downturns happen because of a decline in demand. People want less of something, whether it’s real estate, investment assets, etc. and then you start a ripple effect impacting everything tied to that economic cornerstone.
The pandemic has turned that on its head. Demand is still strong for everything – as evidenced by the number of people wanting things to go back to ‘normal’ – but scientific and medical consensus is that it’s unsafe to do so. Your role as a marketer is to keep demand going, to keep interest in your brand and the need it serves.
Take travel, for example. Travel is prohibited on the supply side right now. But the demand for travel – wanderlust, if you will – is arguably stronger than ever because people do want a change of scenery. So, how do you keep your brand a part of that mindshare if you can’t sell your travel services? You create content around travel that inspires people and maybe fulfills a tiny portion of the need.
Suppose you sell travel services. What are you really selling? Tickets? Logistics? Convenience? Or are you selling an experience for someone to see something new? I’d argue the top brands in travel sell the latter. So how would you use today’s technology and services to deliver a scaled-down version of that? Have you created curated experience tours in the free Google Earth experience, to let people fly into locations around the world they might not otherwise visit? Have you created audio podcasts synced to Google Street View locations that narrate what it is the viewer is seeing, and what unique point of view or perspective you have to offer?
For example, last year I had the privilege to travel to Gdansk, Poland for a keynote speech. While I was there, I shot this photo at Dlugi Targ:
The air was warm, a pleasant late spring eve – full of life, but not cloying humidity like summer. Walking by a couple of the cafes, I could smell a mixture of various Polish beers and red wines, pleasant, subtle perfumes and fragrances worn by the people around me, and mouth-watering scents of bacon and pork grilling in the restaurants. Couples laughed, held hands, and kissed while waiting for tables. Club techno thumped in the background distantly from several of the nightclubs just opening their doors, with eager 20-something people lining up for entry, while a lone street musician behind me played an accordion.
Just by reading that, could you get a small sense of the experience? No, it’s not the same as being there – but is it enough to convince you that perhaps someday, when travel is permitted, this might be a place you’d like to visit?
That’s demand generation. Not the tired, worn-out marketing cliche, but real generation and maintenance of demand for your products and services, even if you can’t supply them fully now. You can absolutely supply some of the experience or reminders of the experience, and keep people informed, educated, or entertained. Who will they turn to first when your industry gets rolling again? The brand that was there for them all along.
This week’s Bright Idea is our discussion on methodology disclosure in research. We’re in a position right now, as a society, where people tend to accept opinions as facts and don’t question data. How forthcoming should you be about transparency in research and marketing?
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This week’s Rear View Mirror looks at a fun topic suggested in our Analytics for Marketers Slack community. How many different, (over)used expressions about the pandemic are there? We examined the social postings of more than 3,000 Facebook Brand Pages to learn how companies were talking about “these uncertain times”.
What we found:
- “Our response to COVID” was used 7,915 times year-to-date
- “New normal” was used 2,539 times year-to-date
- “We’re in this together” was used 1,886 times year-to-date
- “In these uncertain times” was used 1,068 times year-to-date
When it comes to trends, the top three had tapered down through April, but started to pick up again in May. The concern that some folks have mentioned about overusing these terms is valid; posts which used one or more of these terms saw engagement on them drop by half in the last 8 weeks.
Key takeaway: people’s appetite for content about brands’ perspectives on the pandemic has decided waned. If you’re still pumping out messaging and content about it, it might be time to check your analytics and consider pivoting to something new.
Methodology: Trust Insights used Facebook’s Crowdtangle software to examine all social posts from 3,094 Brand Pages, curated by Crowdtangle and augmented by Trust Insights The date of the study period is January 1, 2020 – April 30, 2020. The date of extraction is May 17, 2020. Trust Insights is the sole sponsor of the study and neither gave nor received compensation for data used, beyond applicable service fees to software vendors, and declares no competing interests.
- {PODCAST} In-Ear Insights: Client Retention with Gini Dietrich
- Marketing Analytics, Data Science and Leadership May 18, 2020 Week In Review
- Email Marketing Strategy and Insights: Your Email List Has Decayed 25% in 7 Weeks
- Data Science 101 for Marketers: An IBM/TrustInsights Event
- 5 Applications of AI For Content Marketers at CMC 2020
- Competitive Social Media Analytics Strategy Masterclass
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In an eight-week online course, you’ll learn PESO model strategy, effective use of all four media types, how PESO forms the foundation of your overall communications strategy, and how to tie communications to business impacts like lead generation and overall business goals.
When you complete the course, you’ll earn an accredited certificate from Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse School of Public Communications, a powerful tool for setting yourself apart and above in the job market.
Learn more about the certification today at TrustInsights.ai/peso >
Shiny Objects is a roundup of the best content you and others have written and shared in the last week.
Data Science and AI
- You Ask, I Answer: The ROI of Data Quality?
- Evidence Counterfactuals for explaining predictive models on Big Data
- How To Leverage Your Website Data To Generate More Customers
SEO, Google, and Paid Media
- 6 Keyword Research Tips to Find Untapped Opportunities
- How to Optimize for Googles Featured Snippets in 2020
- How to Build a Powerful Online SEO Report Clients Want to See
Social Media Marketing
- Facebooks Zoom rival is now available in the US and Canada BGR
- Facebooks new Shops bring online stores to the social network BGR
- 8 Important Influencer Marketing Trends to Watch Right Now
Content Marketing
- 8 Things to Help Your Content Marketing Survive the Pandemic
- The Pandemics Effects: Millions Out of Work. Is Your B2B Email List Still Good?
- The Future of Written Content (and Why It Has One)
Get Back To Work
We’ve changed things up in Get Back To Work, and we’re looking at the top 310 metro areas in the United States by population. This will give you a much better sense of what the overall market looks like, and will cover companies hiring in multiple locations. Want the entire, raw list? Join our Slack group!
What do you do with this information?
By looking at this data, you’ll see what the most popular titles are; use any of the major job/career sites to ensure your resume/CV/LinkedIn profile matches keywords and phrases for those titles. For companies, search job sites for those companies specifically to see all the open positions and apply for them.
You can also hit up LinkedIn and see who you know at companies listed, and see if your connections have any inside tips on hiring.
Top Marketing Positions by Count, Manager and Above
- Marketing Manager : 471 open positions
- Digital Marketing Manager : 225 open positions
- Social Media Manager : 186 open positions
- Account Manager : 171 open positions
- Facebook Ads Manager / Paid Media Buyer – 100% Remote : 130 open positions
- Pharmaceutical Marketing Accounts Manager : 120 open positions
- Marketing Director : 118 open positions
- Product Manager : 114 open positions
- Project Manager : 109 open positions
- Director of Marketing : 105 open positions
Top Marketing Hiring Companies by Count, Manager and Above
- JW Agency : 130 open positions
- Northrop Grumman : 122 open positions
- SingleCare : 120 open positions
- Amazon.com Services LLC : 90 open positions
- Amazon Web Services, Inc. : 65 open positions
- Raytheon Technologies : 54 open positions
- Deloitte : 48 open positions
- AbbVie : 45 open positions
- ALDI : 42 open positions
- Reynolds and Reynolds : 39 open positions
Top Locations of Hiring Companies by Count, Manager and Above
- New York, NY : 184 open positions
- Seattle, WA : 169 open positions
- San Francisco, CA : 142 open positions
- Los Angeles, CA : 101 open positions
- Austin, TX : 95 open positions
- Chicago, IL : 87 open positions
- Atlanta, GA : 84 open positions
- Boston, MA : 82 open positions
- Denver, CO : 81 open positions
- San Diego, CA : 69 open positions
Methodology: Trust Insights uses the Indeed.com API to extract open positions from a geographic area focused on marketing analytics, marketing, social media, data science, machine learning, advertising, and public relations, with a filter to screen out the most junior positions.
Featured Partners
Our Featured Partners are companies we work with and promote because we love their stuff. If you’ve ever wondered how we do what we do behind the scenes, chances are we use the tools and skills of one of our partners to do it.
- Hubspot CRM
- StackAdapt Display Advertising
- Agorapulse Social Media Publishing
- WP Engine WordPress Hosting
- Techsmith Camtasia and Snagit Media Editing
- Talkwalker Media Monitoring
- Our recommended media production gear on Amazon
Join the Club
Are you a member of our free Slack group, Analytics for Marketers? Join 800+ like-minded marketers who care about data and measuring their success. Membership is free – join today.
Upcoming Events
Where can you find us in person?
- Women in Analytics, August 2020, virtual
- ContentTech Summit, August 2020, virtual
- INBOUND 2020, September 2020, virtual
- MarTech East, October 2020, Boston, MA
- HELLO Conference, October 2020, New Jersey
- MadConNYC, December 2020, New York City
Going to a conference we should know about? Reach out!
Want some private training at your company? Ask us!
In Your Ears
Would you rather listen to our content? Follow the Trust Insights show, In-Ear Insights in the podcast listening software of your choice:
- In-Ear Insights on Apple Podcasts
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Stay In Touch
Where do you spend your time online? Chances are, we’re there too, and would enjoy sharing with you. Here’s where we are – see you there?
Required FTC Disclosures
Events with links have purchased sponsorships in this newsletter and as a result, Trust Insights receives financial compensation for promoting them.
Trust Insights maintains business partnerships with companies including, but not limited to, IBM, Talkwalker, Zignal Labs, Agorapulse, and others. All Featured Partners are affiliate links for which we receive financial compensation. While links shared from partners are not explicit endorsements, nor do they directly financially benefit Trust Insights, a commercial relationship exists for which we may receive indirect financial benefit.
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