Work long enough in any field, and you’ll begin to understand how it works. That’s often the case for any job role, but it can also be the case for industries, too. Sure, you might not have the entire or even multiple vantage points on it, but if you’ve worked in the fast food industry for ten years, you probably know more about it than someone who hasn’t.
As marketing is a discipline that can apply to the promotion of almost anything, from businesses to brands, non-profits to people, products to services, or even national interests (you might even include political and religious propaganda), understanding how marketing operates is easier when we work within that system.
So, what are the techniques experienced marketers learn to practice? In this post, we’ll discuss that and more:
Knowing When Not To Market
This might seem like an odd place to start, but it’s important. Not everything needs a marketing push at every moment, which means that experienced marketers learn that timing matters, and that great promotion delivered with good timing is better than a drip feed. If a company is undergoing a big internal change or customer complaints are at a high, trying to pump out happy-go-lucky ad campaigns won’t land. In fact, they’ll probably annoy people.
There’s a time for pushing and a time for pulling back, depending on sentiment and what you have to actually say. It’s not necessarily going to be defined by how happy consumers are with you, but for small to modest businesses, especially, they might not be able to afford or justify a constant brand name at the side of a stadium pitch as brands like Coca-Cola can.
Being Able To Read The Room
Knowing how to “read the room” is one of the best skills a marketer can have. For example, marketing a given product using a given tone might not be that appropriate depending on the context surrounding it. So, perhaps the most basic example of this is not advertising baby care products on a blog or in a magazine which, in part, attempts to soothe mothers that have miscarried.
That’s a pretty intense example, but it shows you the kind of narrative connection you don’t want to make with your brand in the centre of it. As such, marketers who understand this will pay attention to culture, current events, and subtle shifts in mood which may be unpredictable and even silly, but matter to your brand. This will also mean checking feedback, social conversations, and competitor choices too. They’re also quick to adapt. If a campaign isn’t hitting the way it should, they’re not afraid to pivot or rethink the strategy. You can sometimes see how this changes with political administrations. For instance, many brands have clearly signalled that the “DEI” push is not a priority for them after the Trump administration came in.
You may have opinions on that, of course, for better or worse, but the fact is this is what companies have done, and their declaration of that is a calculated marketing decision they deem to be appropriate at this time.
Not Falling In Love With Your Ideas
One of the hardest lessons in marketing is learning to “kill your darlings,” which is often a quote that writers live by. That’s because sometimes, a story just doesn’t need the various scenes they think are best, when the narrative pace could be so much better without that.
This applies to marketing as well, because you might have a beautiful, creative idea that you’re proud of, but if it doesn’t land with your audience, it has to go, as this is the ultimate test. As the best digital marketing solutions often tell us, you have to lean into what actually works.
This kind of objectivity is something you build over time, but you have to get used to it, and start to rely more on testing, iteration, and results, and less on gut instinct or personal taste. You might love a certain tagline for instance, but if it doesn’t convert, it’s not the right one.
Storytelling Is Important To Improve
What does marketing actually mean? Well, it could be a calm statement of the facts of course. You have a product for sale, here is how much it costs, come here to buy it, and thank you! But people don’t remember features and benefits as well as they do when that’s tied to some kind of story. Think of it like how you can associate certain memories to scents.
Of course, that doesn’t mean every campaign has to be some cinematic masterpiece or some intensive short film like how brands will create a Christmas advert each year. It just means there’s a narrative at the center, even if it’s quick, such as showing a problem, a journey, and a resolution. The brand or product has to make sense within that flow.
Being Cautious With Data
Marketers hear a lot about data, and you often see articles talking about collecting it, analyzing it, segmenting it and using it. But just like we were talking about stories, sometimes it’s less about the technical perfection of data (because it can’t help you predict the future of course), but what it teaches you about the broader elements of the market you’re trying to teach you.
But what does that mean? Well, for example, you might notice that a demographic you had never expected to market to is somehow increasing sales in a major way. Why is that? Does that signify a trend you can rely on? For example, thanks to TikTok, Gen Z has made Guinness stout and “splitting the G” a massive trend. Is that going to be something they should market for, or should Guinness try to stick to the same kind of classic marketing they’ve had success with instead of trying to be newly defined as the “Gen Z TikTok beer?” Well, that’s for them to decide, but as you can see, sometimes the data might not be perfect to run on.
Knowing Their Channels Inside & Out
Each platform, medium, or channel has its own personality. We all know how a LinkedIn audience isn’t looking for the same tone as a TikTok audience, it takes itself much more seriously.
Moreover, a podcast sponsorship isn’t the same as a billboard ad, although there could be many different podcasts out there with different framings that may or may not work for your brand to deal with as well.
What does that mean in practice? Well, it might mean formatting images to work well on different social medias through tools like Canva of course, but also writing with the tone and intonation that may work well. You’ll see brands post super silly TikToks designed to go viral when the actual work of the brand is pretty serious, and is especially so on their website.
Getting Good At Saying No
It’s not the most glamorous skill, but marketers that have been around afew times know how to say no to the wrong idea, the wrong time, and the wrong fit. Sometimes a client or manager wants to go viral with a trend that just doesn’t suit the brand and unfortunately, this is very common in our short-video ecosystem. It does degrade brands a little. This is an interesting one too – sometimes a good idea arrives at the wrong moment. It’s easy to get a little too excited and want to chase metrics that don’t mean anything.
Don’t chase online views at any cost. That’s unfortunately what many people have decided marketing is or should be, and it’s not a good idea. If you can push back and explain why a smaller, more targeted approach might be better, we’re willing to bet you’ll be one of the best marketers in the room.
Know Your Strengths & Weaknesses
This might sound a bit self-deprecating, but it’s actually a strength. Veteran marketers usually have a few areas where they shine, and a few areas where they know they need help. That might be creative writing, it might be technical SEO, it might be media buying, or email automation. No one’s amazing at all of it. You can better at all of it, but your natural talents will lie somewhere.
If you’re hiring a marketer, look to the good ones who recognize their strengths, and know when to build teams or bring in collaborators who can support them where they’re less confident. That’s way more effective than pretending you can do everything at once, as delivery on a vision often means being mindful of the idea and being cohesive, and then letting the execution be focused on with careful attention from people who know how to do it.
With this advice, we hope you can see how experienced marketers learn their trade over the years, no matter what field or industry they’re working in. It will be an effective, heartfelt, and focused approach to take, and can help you overcome some of the platitudes of modern marketing guides online.
