Annie’s MarCom Takeaways
The Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit is the region’s largest annual gathering of marketing, advertising, PR, communications, and media professionals. Attendees with varying levels of expertise across multiple sectors, including brands, associations, professional services firms, government, and tech companies, came together to discuss industry trends, best practices, and challenges.
This year, Xenophon had the pleasure of attending and listening to some of the greatest minds in the industry discuss cutting-edge strategies, emerging technologies, and the ever-evolving landscape of marketing and communications. Our team left with many takeaways that we’ll be sharing through an ongoing series of posts. First, we’ll be sharing a general overview of the Summit and later diving into more specific insights.
Here are Account Deputy Annie Buschman’s key takeaways:
Social Media Metrics Evolving
- Likes, shares, and comments are no longer the sole indicators of success. While these metrics remain important, the focus in 2024 is shifting toward encouraging meaningful interactions that stimulate thought and conversation to stay relevant, especially among Gen Zers.
- Storytelling has always been a powerful tool in marketing, but it’s gaining even more prominence for brands’ social media strategies. Brands are using narratives to connect with their audience on a deeper level, addressing real-world issues, sharing personal stories, and championing causes that matter to their target demographic and make sense for them to speak on as a brand.
- Content is no longer universal on all platforms, but rather needs to be tailored depending on where brands are posting. Every platform has a bit of a different audience, and copying + pasting the same format isn’t going to cut it in 2024.
B2B Companies and Lack of Brand Awareness
Jennifer Decker, Brand Manager at Intelsat, spoke on Digital-Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising and how Intelsat benefitted from this marketing tactic through elevated brand awareness.
- B2B companies often concentrate their marketing efforts within specific industry verticals or niche markets. While this focus can be effective in serving existing clients, it may limit their visibility outside of these circles. Decker mentioned how this is exactly what happened to Intelsat, resulting in exclusion from major conversations and trade events.
- B2B companies need to recognize the importance of establishing themselves as thought leaders and contributors to the broader industry conversation. Without a well-rounded brand presence, they risk missing out on invitations to industry events, collaborations, and partnerships, ultimately resulting in exclusion from crucial decision-making tables.
DOOH advertising uses geofencing, the act of targeting a specific zip code or IP address, and can be quite cost-effective and impactful with a targeted audience
Modern day Influencers
- There’s been a shift in what it means to be an influencer – now it’s the ability to make engaging content rather than vanity things like the number of followers one has.
- Gen Z doesn’t care if it’s micro or macro influencers, they just want authentic, influencer content.
- From 2019-2022, trust of influencers jumped up 10%, according to Morning Consult’s Influencer Engagement Report.
Reddit is being under utilized
Reddit has been around for a while now, but not until recently has it gained popularity as a valuable tool to glean insights and spot for trends.
- Reddit’s diverse 480 million user base and influential communities offer marketers an opportunity to engage with highly targeted audiences.
- Reddit serves as a valuable source for real-time trendspotting and consumer sentiment analysis. Marketers can adapt their strategies by monitoring discussions and staying ahead of emerging topics and memes.
Stay tuned for part two of the MarCom Summit series that will look at 2024 Social Media trends!