asK tHE ExPErt
taylor ostEr
by KElly HEitz
the goal of marketing, no matter what industry
you call home, is to be on your customer’s mind
when it comes time to make a purchase decision.
take coca-cola—the most recognized and
consumed soft drink brand in the world. coke
reinvests seven percent of its yearly earnings
back into marketing—that amounts to roughly
US$3.5 billion per year. And what is coke’s goal
from its marketing efforts? For you to think of
coke every time you want a soft drink. that’s
billions of dollars a year just to make you think of
coke first, and you know what? It works.
Now, I know you don’t have the same budget
as coke, but the concept remains the same. you must use your
marketing dollars to establish your spa or brand as the go-to in
your market. Stop thinking so much about return on investment
and start thinking about being top of Mind. How can you do this?
through content marketing.
check out the
best-selling
book by influence &
co.’s cEo John Hall at
topofmindbook.com
In this month’s Ask the Expert, we chat with taylor ostEr ,
director of marketing at Influence & co., a marketing agency that
uses content to establish clients as experts in their chosen fields. As
a wiz in the ever-complicated world of content marketing, oster
explains what it means to successfully market your brand in the digital age and what it takes to
always be top of mind to your customers.
Pulse: Influence & Co.’s approach to influencer
marketing is fresh and innovative. Where did the idea
for the company come from?
Oster: Our approach to influencer marketing is to help brands
build their own influence and become industry influencers
themselves rather than connect them to outside influencers
they can pay for an endorsement. We do this through content
that we help leaders create and use to influence their audience.
The idea came several years ago — after seeing brands and
leaders struggle to connect with their audiences, communicate
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their ideas authentically, and validate their expertise in third-
party media outlets, we saw an opportunity to address it with
content.
P: Why is it important for brands to constantly strive to
be “top of mind?”
O: Not every person in your audience is going to be ready to
pull the trigger and start working with you the moment he or
she is introduced to your brand. For one thing, trust takes
longer to build than a first impression. Secondly, factors like