{"id":63174,"date":"2017-09-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockcontent.com\/blog\/brands-need-stop-chasing-marketing-hype-start-pursuing-audience-intent\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T22:38:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T01:38:03","slug":"brands-need-stop-chasing-marketing-hype-start-pursuing-audience-intent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pingback.com\/en\/resources\/brands-need-stop-chasing-marketing-hype-start-pursuing-audience-intent\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Brands Need to Stop Chasing Marketing Hype and Start Pursuing Audience Intent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brands waste too much time and effort chasing the next, shiny marketing strategy or buzzword, thinking it\u2019s a silver bullet. Leading with \u201cintent\u201d lets brands put their audience first, and leaves the tactical marketing implementation as a detail, not a key focus.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of buzzwords in marketing\u2014inbound, outbound, native and the list goes on. And these buzzwords can lead to confusion, wasted time and even paralysis for brands.<\/p>\n

Which methods are \u201cright\u201d for you? When weighing your options, it\u2019s less about the next buzzword, and more about audience intent and delivering what your buyer persona wants, in a way they want it, when they want it.<\/p>\n

So essentially, it\u2019s really not about you, the brand, at all.<\/p>\n

When you look at the marketing landscape today from a bird\u2019s eye view, the method of delivery, the tactics\u2014all of that\u2014those are merely the vessel to deliver the information your target audience is looking for right now.<\/p>\n

Not leading with audience intent can be dangerous. And so, let\u2019s explore common buzz-worthy marketing strategies, how to strategically approach them, and why your strategy should lead with much more than just the buzz du jour.<\/p>\n

Times, They Are A Changin\u2019<\/h2>\n

There are radical changes happening in technology right now that are reshaping how people consume media and how brands do marketing. Amongst these changes is a mindset shift from technology first to people first.<\/p>\n

Research shows<\/a> that high-performing marketers emphasize people over data, technology and even strategy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Consumers are demanding a personalized experience, and that experience can come in any marketing campaign, in any technology or device for all they care.<\/p>\n

Not knowing what your target audience wants can end up in lost revenue. Take NBC\u2019s Olympics debacle<\/a> and a projection that fell short and was blamed on Millennials.<\/p>\n

When brands start blaming customers instead of better serving them, they\u2019ve got bigger problems. (Sorry NBC, you don\u2019t have a \u201cMillennial problem.\u201d You just have a 20th-century business model and the internet is going to eat it for lunch.)<\/p>\n

So, What Are Some of These Buzz Marketing Strategies Brands Wrestle with Today?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s worth getting into some of the big buzz-worthy marketing strategies<\/a> that a lot of brands think they want or need without fully understanding what it is or how to really be successful.<\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s not really about the thing you choose to do\u2014that\u2019s too simplistic. You don\u2019t just \u201cdo\u201d inbound marketing or native advertising and expect results. What you do is discover where your audience is and what experiences they want, then uncover the methods to help you facilitate that.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, a basic understanding of some of these strategies helps frame the conversation of what tactics are at your fingertips to be where your audience is.<\/p>\n

Inbound Marketing<\/h2>\n

Inbound marketing is a blanket term for a set of marketing strategies designed to attract your target audience online. This can include things like having a thriving blog attached to your website, social media marketing, search engine optimization\u2014basically anything that drives targeted traffic to your website.<\/p>\n

Many believe that inbound marketing shouldn\u2019t stop at just driving traffic. Once you get visitors to your website, it has a job to do: convert them\u2014whatever a conversion means to your business. It can be a form fill, a sale, a phone call or something else.<\/p>\n

The one thing all of these activities have in common is that they are centered on creating useful content for your target audience. The digital landscape has shifted the way businesses communicate with their prospects, and content is king.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something that often gets overlooked: inbound marketing is more marathon than sprint. You can push mountains of content and still not see much movement right away, which can definitely test a team\u2019s patience. But that\u2019s sort of the point\u2014building up trust and visibility takes more than a quarter’s effort, even if everybody\u2019s fighting for quick wins these days. And if you\u2019re really listening to your audience, adjustments might happen along the way, ideally before you pour resources into channels that nobody cares about.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, different industries might see vastly different payoffs from inbound strategies. For example, B2B tech firms might score huge wins from a thoughtful whitepaper or case study. Local retail, though? Maybe not so much. Knowing your business type\u2014and, honestly, being honest about your team\u2019s bandwidth\u2014matters just as much as understanding whether podcasts or infographics are in-vogue among marketers this year.<\/p>\n

Outbound Marketing<\/h2>\n

Outbound marketing was more popular before digital marketing, though it still has its place. This is a term that comprises some of the more traditional marketing activities such as trade shows and conferences, cold calling potential leads, direct mail and even television.<\/p>\n

Many companies balance both inbound and outbound marketing activities, while some industries may be more prone to outbound marketing simply due to the nature of their work\u2014especially those that thrive on face-to-face communication.<\/p>\n

Native Advertising<\/h2>\n

On the paid side of things, we have native advertising. This type of advertising seamlessly integrates with the experience of the website it\u2019s featured on\u2014so much so that it often doesn\u2019t feel like an advertisement at all.<\/p>\n

One example of this in action is Facebook video ads<\/a>. Nestled in a Facebook user\u2019s News Feed along with all their other updates from friends and family, these type of ads can be engaging and feel less disruptive.<\/p>\n

Many advertisers see this potential and are adopting this format more and more. One Facebook study forecasts<\/a> that native ads will make up 63 percent of mobile display ad spend by 2020.<\/p>\n

Interrupt Marketing\/Advertising<\/h2>\n

The term outbound marketing and interrupt marketing are often used interchangeably. For the purposes of this conversation, interrupt marketing consists of the type of marketing that stops a person from what they are doing, and demands attention.<\/p>\n

Examples of this include interstitial ads, pop-ups, videos set to auto-play with sound, and generally anything that interrupts the experience a person is having online.<\/p>\n

This type of marketing can be annoying to users but it can sometimes be effective, too. On one hand, interstitial pop-ups<\/a> that completely disrupt the experience are generally frowned upon by Google. On the other hand, some do see success with pop-ups<\/a> intended to drive conversions like signing up for a mailing list.<\/p>\n

Lead the Marketing Strategy with Intent<\/h2>\n

OK, now that we\u2019ve got the logistics out of the way, let\u2019s talk about how to pick a marketing method that\u2019s right for your audience.<\/p>\n

All too often, brands get roped into marketing strategies because of the buzz. They\u2019ve heard the term \u201cinbound marketing\u201d or \u201cnative advertising\u201d so many times that they think it must be the thing they need to do.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve alluded to throughout this piece, there is no \u201cright\u201d marketing channel\u2014one that beats out the other. This article<\/a> does a nice job of showing how they all work together\u2014inbound, outbound, allbound\u2014it\u2019s really all the same.<\/p>\n

In other words, they\u2019re all designed to do a similar thing: reach your audience. What separates them is the tactical implementation.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why before any decisions are made about marketing, it\u2019s important that brands know what they\u2019re getting into. This includes the logistics of some of the activities I mentioned earlier.<\/p>\n

Also, and this is key, know your brand\u2019s intent. What you hope to achieve with \u201cmarketing strategy X.\u201d Know what\u2019s involved, how to implement it well and what commitment level is needed to get results. Too many brands waste too much time and money on half-baked efforts in any given area of marketing.<\/p>\n

Second, and more importantly, lead with the intent of your audience. Know where they spend their time, how they like to consume media today and how they will consume it a year from now.<\/p>\n

Then, armed with audience intent and types of marketing strategies, create the messaging, the content and the experience in the format your audience wants it in, and then let your knowledge of the various tactical implementations deliver that experience when they want it.<\/p>\n

Takeaways<\/h2>\n

To wrap up, here\u2019s what you need to keep in mind as digital marketing and audience needs evolve<\/p>\n