Own your relationships in 2020.
This is the foundation of our strategy for 2020 and something we've been shouting from the rooftops to any marketer who will listen. We already know that social media has evolved to pay-to-play. That's beyond debate at this point; Facebook and Instagram lead the charge of "pay us to talk to people who want to talk with you". And in articles by reputable folks like Rand Fishkin, keen observers note that search engines are showing more and more "zero-click" results, diverting traffic away from websites and keeping users on-engine (where more ads can be shown).
It feels like the big marketing technology companies have really turned the screws on us, doesn't it? But "something for nothing" was never a sustainable strategy for anyone. The free ride, while not over, is certainly harder and harder to squeeze results from. In an economic downturn, which we all know is coming, the onus of increased profitability on big technology companies will demand even faster, more aggressive monetization of us, the marketers.
What's the alternative? Two strategies must be prominent in your 2020 marketing plan.
- Build your brand. Your brand is your share of mind in your audience. How much mindshare do you have? When people think of problems in their industry, do they think of you? Your 2020 strategy should be long on brand building and brand measurement, especially branded organic search. I firmly believe branded organic search should be one of digital marketing's most important KPIs. It is by far the most important KPI for public relations, brand advertising, and anything else brand-related. How many searches happen each month for you by name – and are you the top result for all of them? If not, that's an urgent crisis you must fix immediately.
- Focus on owned media. What do you own? You own your email list, your website, your text messaging list, and any private community (such as our Analytics for Marketers Slack, which you should join for free). Build those properties. Invest in those properties. If you have a choice on how to spend a dollar (or a Euro, or your currency of choice), spend at least 51% of it on things that are yours. (and remember at least 10% of it should go to measurement). Deliver insanely great value on your owned media channels. Make them places people want to spend time. If there's a strategic watchword for 2020, it's curated community.
In addition to countering the effects of pay-to-play, investing in what you own is your best bet for resilience in said economic downturn. If you're all-in on someone else's property – like Facebook – they can up your "rent" as aggressively as they need to in order to make their profitability numbers, at your expense. If you're all-in on you, then you're in control of how much and how often you can ask for your audience's help.
Go all-in on you in 2020.
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