Real-Time Marketing: What it is & Why You Need to Implement it?

For marketers, remaining relevant has always been a challenge. Being relevant gets more difficult as news cycles get shorter and shorter. The public grows desensitized to commercial messages as attention spans shorten. This calls for marketers to step up their efforts. Being quick or sophisticated or clever is insufficient. You must now carry out both. For communications to be effective using Real Time Marketing, they must be quick, on-target, smart, stand out, and capture your audience’s attention. Sounds difficult? Let’s take action to address that.

Later, we’ll return to examining specific examples. In order to get the most out of your campaign, we’ll look at the business models that real-time marketing (including B2B) works best for, as well as how to accomplish it successfully. Let’s define real-time marketing first, though.

Real-Time Marketing: What is it?

“Real-time marketing” is just what it sounds like: marketing carried out in real time. According to Marketing Land, it is:

“Real-time marketing, or ‘RTM,’ moments occur when brands and agency marketers quickly respond to local, national, or global events occurring online or off, in an effort to insert corporate marketing into consumer conversations via social media messaging or boost brand recognition using marketing platforms,” according to the study.

A good example is the well-known Oreo tweet from earlier.

Real-time marketing, however, has evolved like any new concept, and B2B companies are in a great position to use it as part of their marketing plan. Let’s look at a few more effective B2C examples before delving deeper into B2B.

What are the Benefits of Real-Time Marketing for B2B Marketers?

It is clear that real-time marketing for consumer goods can be quite successful. But it doesn’t imply B2B marketers shouldn’t take RTM into account. You can actually engage with your customers on a deeper level, which puts you in a more advantageous strategic position.

Consider the current events and developments in your industry, for instance. Conferences are live events that can be the focus of a live marketing campaign.

Imagine Alphaville was the main act at this year’s Pubcon. You could run a social media campaign with a message about how your software can help them become “Big in Japan” that is directed at everyone within a five-mile radius of the conference.

You may enter the discourse by using your data, which also provides insight into your customers’ thoughts. You can get a tonne of helpful information when you take the time to look at your analytics for both your website and social media:

• What are your website’s most popular pages?
  • How do guests get there?
  • When do they finally leave?
• What inquiries do your visitors make?
  • How do you respond to them?
• Who is mentioning you on social media?
  • How do they speak?

You may leverage the wealth of data provided by social media analytics to develop successful content and social media strategy.

If you offer a webinar, for instance, send a follow-up email to see if it exceeded their expectations. In your marketing automation, “Tag” the viewer and provide the next steps. Remarketing is a great technique to get to know your potential consumers better because you can learn about their purchasing habits.

Also crucial is a prompt response on social media. If you don’t answer a query or complaint for several days, the person has probably moved on. But, if you can reply right away, they will feel heard.

Your clients will perceive you as relevant and helpful as you find new ways to engage them in real-time as you gather data and analyze their journey. Smart marketers, for instance, can employ MarTech technologies to pick up on buying cues. This enables more individualized content in the following phase of the purchasing process. That is a strong position for a company.

Here are five marketing strategies that will help you integrate real-time marketing into your business plan.

Top 6 Real-Time Marketing Strategies for B2B Marketers

1. Always Be Listening (ABL)

You must keep an eye on trends as they emerge and keep your ear to the ground to properly execute real-time marketing. Here are four techniques for doing that:

• Set up Google alerts for your industry’s developments. What are some of the hottest subjects in your field? The agendas for conferences will provide you with suggestions if you’re stuck. For instance, automation is a prominent topic in the hotel industry. If you want to see what’s trending, you may add “hotel automation” to your Google alerts and check them a few times per week.
• Watch every current occurrence in your sector. What are your rivals doing at trade shows? Does RTM exist on its website or social media platforms? Do they remarket to visitors more frequently than you do in order to stay at the top of your prospect’s mind when they are ready to buy?
• Develop relationships with influencers by paying close attention to them. When appropriate, they can serve as brand ambassadors and aid in raising awareness of your RTM initiatives.
• To stay up to date on trends as well as typical concerns and inquiries, closely follow industry publications and newsletters.

2. Resources

Possess the tools necessary to take rapid action. The social media team at Oreo was successful because they were organized. They could seize the moment when the ideal chance presented itself.

Follow industry developments in B2B and make use of innovative tools to capitalize on emerging trends. Also, you should employ a tool that maximizes social media’s return on investment By doing so, you’ll be able to monitor brand mentions, choose the appropriate kind of material for your audience, and make data-driven choices.

3. Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Real-time marketing is all about having a good time, so don’t be shy about engaging in it. Companies with personalities stand out and foster strong customer loyalty. Also, because people are unique, they value it when you communicate to them as such rather than as a “business.”

4. Ambassador Network

When it comes to real-time marketing, timing is crucial, and opportunities pass quickly. Before the trend becomes negative, you’ll need to spread the word swiftly.

Real-time marketing initiatives require innovative thought to launch successfully, as well as communication with your target audience. Involve your social ambassadors and employee advocacy programs in spreading the word about the campaign by asking them to share it online with their networks. It is how to maximize your B2B marketing impact.

Onboarding ambassadors can occasionally be simple, but keeping them interested and loyal over time can be considerably more difficult. Hence, don’t forget to thank your ambassadors for their assistance.

5. Know the topic of the conversation.

The topic is frequently discussed among B2C marketers. B2B marketing, however, presents a few more difficulties. A B2B software company wouldn’t have any need to invest in network television advertisements. Nonetheless, it does make sense to evaluate your data, events, and industry publications so you can address your prospects directly.

As we discussed above, knowing your customers’ online journeys enables your marketing team to clearly identify the factors that influence their purchasing behaviour. Your marketing staff will be able to produce the most pertinent content and, yes, find possibilities for in-the-moment marketing campaigns.

Consider a trend in the industry where your business succeeds but many of your clients are unaware of it. This might be a great time to start a campaign that emphasizes it.

6. Not One and Done

Be prepared to join in the conversation, speak up, and start conversations. If your target audience is present on LinkedIn and Twitter, be there. Being an active participant in the conversation and providing answers to their queries will make you the most obvious choice when they’re ready to buy.

Attending industry Twitter chats is one method to achieve this. Consider starting one if there isn’t one already in your area.

Conclusion

By now, you should be able to realize that the purpose of real-time marketing is to participate in the dialogue taking place in your customers’ minds. You may help your prospects by providing them with helpful content and demonstrating your relevance when you take into account current trends and your customers’ “next best action.”