A Brave New World: Marketing in the Age of Media Fragmentation
Yes, that is indeed a mild Aldous Huxley reference. You're welcome.
Marketing professionals are practicing their 'art-applied science' in an interesting time. Not only is the mass media we've known purely noise, but there's been a proliferation of media and tools and channels marketers can use in order to reach their desired audiences. Not to mention the shiny objects- Artificial Intelligence(AI). Virtual Reality (VR). Account-Based Marketing (ABM). And the list goes on.
What about the consumer? The consumer is bombarded with so much information, so many choices, so many referrals, that we could, in an monopolistic competitive environment, conclude that the consumer is really close to the theoretical 'perfect information.' I cannot get myself to say we're totally there. Maybe soon. But the point is, with all of these choices, and all of this media, the consumer has to find a way to narrow things down. The path of least resistance (PoLR) for the consumer is narrowing down how they receive information. Based on our wonderful human nature, we gravitate toward the messaging and media that reinforces or refuses to challenge our favorite beliefs and values.
In the age of media fragmentation, how do we reach the consumers we want to reach? I am sure there are plenty of thought pieces out there by 'thought' leaders who've been in the industry far longer than I have, but I'd like to offer up three suggestions I think would be helpful.
Rise of Influencer Marketing
Yes, I am sure the vast majority of you are aware of the rise of the 'influencer'. In business school, these folks were the 'community leaders' or 'gatekeepers' who marketers should keep in their back-pocket when things got messy.
Well, messy = fragmented.
It is incredible to see how consumers rely on influencers (i.e. reviewers, YouTubers, Twitchers, Maestro, Angie's List, etc.) to make purchasing decisions. In the gaming industry, research came out that more than a plurality of gamers bought games that were suggested on Reddit. Crazy. But, these are the times we're in, and marketers must adapt.
The 'Social Share'
Marketers will continually be demanded to make sure that the content they create is shareable and immediately digestible. Though traditional 'word of mouth' (WOM) relied on the sharer to digest and define the information to their relative social circle, now that fragmented and niche media are grouping people together who might not share the same lexicon and contextual backgrounds, it is on the marketing team to make the content as approachable and salient as possible.
The Importance of Using Data to Create Customer Personas
Yes, 'personas' is yet another popular marketing buzz word. But in this context, it is actually meaningful. So far we've acknowledged that consumers will search out content that fits with or refuses to challenge their beliefs and values. We've also determined that since this hyper-evolution of communal consumption could group people with different historical learnings and experiences together, it is imperative for the marketer to make content and information easy to share and enjoy.
Now we add on- what do those customers look like? What are their habits? What else are they looking at when they 'stumble' onto our product? Not only can marketers take advantage of the fragmentation by defining the groups of people the brand is attracting, but they can categorize and define those groups so the marketing team can create strategies to attract more people who fit in those groups. Or, better yet, find groups similar to the groups attracted to the brand, and target them. The argument about 'should brands be able to collect and use data' is, in my humble opinion, decided. If you want your privacy, don't patronize certain businesses. Done. Please, continue under that false sense of security that people connected to the internet need and deserve privacy. Also, to add insult to injury, consumers who choose to 'opt-out' of certain permissions, is in itself, data marketers collect.
Conclusion- It's Complicated
It is true that a lot of this information is not new. Yes, 'shiny object syndrome' for marketers has been around since the birth of television. The idea of 'communal consumption' and the practice of forming a community around a brand or a product has been studied since 2001 (and if you really care, look up the Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 27 2001, pages 412-432). The only thing really novel is the 'Big Data' question.
As marketing professionals, we know that we have to keep up with consumer sentiment in order for our brands to stay relevant. Based on what I've seen, the three suggestions discussed should hold up in most circumstances. Of course, these suggestions are not to be looked at as 'magic bullets.' Come on, that would be silly. Each business, brand, and industry has its own marketing challenges. And I wish you the best in solving yours.