TRAFFIC
the most pronounced we’ve seen.
Successful content strategy must be
backed by measurable results – and
here are five reasons why.
1. People will listen more to
people they know, like and
trust and their content, rather
than ads
Because we are targeted by an average
of 700 advertising messages a day,
our mind has developed a shield that
it is harder and harder for brands to
penetrate. We now buy from people
and companies we know, like and trust.
Content published by influencers drives
our decisions. Of course, ads can be
used as reminders but they work best
connected to a fabulous piece of content
rather than a sales page. Building
content and optimising it to be found
organically takes time and many brands
don’t have the patience but this is key to
medium and long-term success.
2. The road less travelled is
the path to success
Creativity is the way out of the trap
of being a commodity where there is
always a price comparison that ignites
the purchase decision. No matter your
age and experience, I advise you to
adapt yourself, open new perspectives
and kickstart creative levels you may
be unaware of. Ideas, brands and
businesses can be created from scratch
– with, as a recent magazine article
had it, “three minds and five laptops”.
3. Winners will find a way to
transform engagement into
sales, revenues and profits
Engaging content has to generate
certain reactions – a like, a sign-up, a
purchase – and be backed by an entire
machine that will collect leads, create
a customer journey through follow-
ups and bring purchases, revenue and
repeated customers over and over. A
face-to-face meeting is more powerful
than a phone call, which is better than
an e-mail, which also is more powerful
than a social-media share. So the
magic will always be in the strategy
and execution of what happens after
the amazing content is built and is
the only thing the stakeholders of the
business will see and judge.
NAME:
ADRIAN
NICULESCU
WHEN:
18 OCTOBER@10:30 & 12:00
WHERE: ROOM 2
4. Knowing about your
customers more than they
know about themselves i s vital
The most savvy marketers know their
target market more than the people
targeted know themselves. This
helps them design the profile of the
perfect customer or business partner.
And while the process of building
what is called a buyer persona is a
complex process, the following eight
core elements are vital: age, gender,
marital status, education, industry,
occupation, location and salary.
5. Authenticity will beat rigid
tech and marketing automation
While marketing will be driven by
technology and automation, there is
one thing that can’t be replaced by bots
and machines: pure emotion. Emotion
starts wars, makes us get married (or
divorced) or move to another country.
It is essential that every brand creates
a positive emotion to spark decisions,
sales and continuity for customers.
That is a very specific skill but what
you wear, the phone you use, the car
you drive, where you live all stem from
positive emotions. Think about how
you can use this understanding in your
marketing to drive sales.
In 2019 and beyond, a sale is a
way to help the customer, not just
an exchange. A great, measurable
content-marketing strategy will build
unshakeable businesses.
ADRIAN
NICULESCU
is regional director, Sara
Global Ventures. He is
currently undertaking marketing
and business development for
CloudCoin and consulting on
marketing, sales and business
development for blockchain
projects including LeadingLocally.
com. He is regional partner in the
UK and Romania for Dubai-based
accelerator and incubator Faster
Capital. He has 20 years’ experience
building and developing companies
and has mentored more than 30 tech
start-ups since 2014.
iGB Affiliate Issue 71 OCT/NOV 2018
21