Advertising

What It Takes To Not Only Survive But Conquer The Digital Space

In a saturated digital marketing space that is constantly changing and shifting, having the right experts to help you reach your primary consumer is becoming more imperative. We are living in a world where many individuals are trying to promote a message. Standing out and showing the value of what you offer takes strategy, creativity, and specific targeting based on where your target audience spends their time.

With the constant change that is occurring in the digital realm, your message must equally evolve, and you must continue to be proactive of new trends and avenues. That’s where the help of a marketing agency can be beneficial for your company.

“There is an unceasing evolution at every avenue of the digital media channels we consume,” says Casey Floyd, partner and vice president of integrated marketing at MassMedia. “The way that an audience absorbs media has shifted drastically even the past few years. In a space that we are chasing constantly, we have to continue to stay ahead of the curve so we can offer a well-rounded media package to our clients.”

The digital experts running your marketing campaigns

Recently named partner at MassMedia, Casey leads the charge on all the digital and creative initiatives at the award-winning agency. His diverse background and digital know-how have been instrumental in building the agency’s digital department to adapt with the times. Aside him stands Zachary (Zak) Krassin, MassMedia’s digital marketing director, who joined the agency four months after Casey in 2015 and recently accepted a promotion.

This passionate powerhouse duo work day in and day out to create marketing gold for the agency’s roster of health care and corporate clients. With drive and mutual respect, there is no limit to what Zak and Casey can accomplish when it comes to providing effective and customized digital media services to a diverse array of companies.

“Since day one, we have had a great partnership,” says Casey. “We are both very open to each other’s ideas and take a collaborative approach to the strategy we develop. What works for us is that we both have a growth mindset and are constantly learning new things. We don’t claim to know all the answers. Every day, we bring a sense of eagerness to our work – this really shines through when we collaborate with teammates, clients and creative vendors.”

Zak adds, “We are very good at being realistic when executing digital marketing plans and ensuring the campaign is something we feel can become a reality.”

New changes with Facebook and the rise of influencer marketing

In 2016, $40 billion was spent on advertising via social media channels, according to Brandwatch. It’s clear this industry is continuing to gain traction. Both Zak and Casey have been at the forefront of the shifts in digital media in recent years. During the time they have been at MassMedia they experienced the Cambridge Analytica scare. Marketers used to be able to target different ways with Facebook’s platform that you can now no longer target. Even the different types of ads you are utilizing through Facebook have seen shifts, like lead generation ads. In 2015, there wasn’t focus on video and now there is a huge focus. Facebook prioritizes video differently now that they are trying to support it. As marketers, Zak and Casey recognize the value of video – and the Facebook platform equally recognizes the value marketers put on it.

“There is no denying the shifts we are seeing in digital, and the fact that the average consumer is consuming digital media at a much higher rate than before,” says Casey. “Look at influencer marketing – there is a huge focus right now on influencers. Media outlets are putting paywalls up on their sites for people to gather information.”

Casey says the question becomes “Who is the true influencer?” Is it a big media outlet like the Wall Street Journal? Or is it a smaller group that has more of an impact on a niche audience? Businesses are now asking, “How do I shift my funds towards influencers?”

As Zak and Casey develop digital campaigns for their clients, they are looking at different avenues and how to shift their creative to best reach specific target audiences. They are also considering the generational shifts and how each generation consumes media. The 65-year-old consumer is completely different now than in 2015. Both Zak and Casey agree there is less focus on traditional and more on digital media for this audience than before. Much to their point, Facebook users who are age 65 and older has doubled to 41 percent since 2012, according to Ofcom.

What it takes to reach your target audience

When you take a step back and look at a bird’s eye view of building strategy for digital campaigns, it comes down to two targets – your primary consumer and your goal. You should ask yourself, “Who are you trying to reach and what do you want them to do?” To find out who you want to reach, marketers like Zak and Casey build a profile of your ideal consumer – this becomes your primary audience. They look at where to target those individuals based on specific factors, like convenience to location. Once they find out where your consumer is, they find out how much and which media they are consuming to recommend specific channels.

Casey says, “If we want your consumer to go on your website and fill out a lead form, or if we want them to walk into your store or pick up the phone and make a phone call to you, we can do that through strategic targeting. Whatever your goal is dictates what channel we use.”

Zak adds, “Aside from the factors that are constantly changing in digital, the concept itself is simple. We take time to understand your consumer and then we figure out their media consumption so we can target the right channels to drive your goal.”

Both agree the best thing about working in digital media is that it can be tested time and time again. If a tactic is not working in a campaign, they can adapt their efforts so they bring the most value to your business. They maximize your digital marketing budget by shifting their funnels throughout the campaign. Much like the digital space as a whole, Zak and Casey shift gears where it makes the most sense. They use the data from one campaign to help steer strategy for another.

As digital experts who are hungry to help you achieve results and reach your target audience, Zak and Casey are always pushing their strategy to the next level. Casey regularly utters, “We did good, but I know we can do better.”

Eyes on the horizon

When it comes to getting your message in front of your consumers, rely on the help of trusted experts with passion and drive for what they do. Time has shown the way media is changing and it will only continue to get more complex for those pushing out messaging.

Zak says, “There is still so much we can do to drive our client’s business goals and I am excited to push the envelope. In the future, we’ll try out gamification of ads and CRM integrations. We are already putting more focus on email now that we recognize there is a real value there.”

Casey adds, “This year at MassMedia, we are putting a strong focus on quality and retention of top talent. We can’t grow the digital department much less the agency without key talent. We are steering the agency towards great clients we want to partner with.”

With new positions and a new year ahead, Zak and Casey already have their eyes on how to reach new heights in their digital marketing initiatives. They are ready to partner with you to take your brand to the next level and translate your marketing KPIs into business KPIs.

For more information on how MassMedia can move the needle for your business, click here.

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