Google Research Taught Me To Forget Everything I Thought I Knew About Marketing

I’ve been a marketer for more than 20 years, and I thought I knew what it took to succeed. Then I read Google’s zine of research-based creativity. And, wow, did it make me see things differently! We’re all familiar with the power of data-driven marketing. 

But putting your focus on data alone can leave you missing out on the magic that can happen at the intersection of data and creativity. 

That’s where Google’s research comes in handy! When you combine cool insights with great thinking, you have an unbeatable combination for any campaign.

Looking for a quick overview? Here are my top 12 favorite takeaways from this awesome compilation:

Takeaways
1. Google’s research challenges conventional marketing norms.
2. Rethinking strategies based on new insights is valuable.
3. Adaptability and openness to change are crucial.
4. Continuous learning is essential in the marketing landscape.
5. Data-driven decisions lead to more effective campaigns.

Get Consumers Excited About Your Brand

You might think you know what a brand is. You probably have an idea of what it means to create a strong, successful brand. But if you’re like most people, then the truth is that your beliefs about marketing are based on outdated knowledge and assumptions that aren’t serving you well.

In order for you to learn how to create an exciting new kind of business and market it successfully, it’s important for me to share some critical information with you: Google has taught me that everything I thought I knew about marketing is wrong!

Crafting compelling content requires a balance between creativity and efficiency. If you’re a writer looking to enhance your process, our guide on process and productivity for writers can offer valuable insights to streamline your work.

Don’t Rely On Advertising Alone. Earn Attention Through Content

If you’re a business owner or marketing professional, your strategy should be based on the following principles:

Content is king. Your content can be in any form you want, but it has to be consistently high quality and relevant. 

Don’t use this opportunity to simply plug your product or service that will make your audience feel like they are being sold to, which they hate! The key is earning attention through compelling content that helps build relationships with customers over time.

Use Youtube To Inspire People To Explore More About Your Brand

• To inspire people to explore more about your brand, use YouTube.
• Use YouTube as a platform to show off your brand.
• Use YouTube to tell the story of your company’s history and how you came up with the idea for it.
• Use YouTube to make people fall in love with your products by showing them what they can do!

Writing consistently is a skill that every wordsmith aspires to master. Discover tips on how to write efficiently and create a writing routine in our article on writing 500 words in 30 minutes to boost your daily word count.

Build A Community That Loves Your Brand As Much As You Do

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that a community is one of the best ways to build a brand. You should create a community around your brand and give them something to talk about, like an event or contest where they can share their experiences.

You also need to give them a voice. What do they want to say? How does your company help them? What’s their favorite part about being part of this community? This will make people feel like they are being heard, which encourages them to come back again and again!

Finally, you need to give them reasons why they would want to buy from you rather than someone else (this could be through contests or discounts). 

If customers know why they should use your product instead of any other product out there on the market (or even if there isn’t another product), then it makes sense for them not only to stay with you but also to buy more products the in future too!

Make It Easy For Consumers To Buy Your Product

What does this mean for you? It means that you need to make it easy for your consumers to buy your product. This sounds like a no-brainer, but I know from personal experience how many brands make this very difficult.

To make it as easy as possible, I recommend doing the following:

Make sure you have an online presence of some kind (website or app). If you don’t have one yet, get started now! If you’re worried about cost or time commitment in building out your website, use Shopify and their platform will take care of most of the work for you.

Make sure that the purchase process on your website/app is intuitive and seamless so much so that users won’t hesitate when making purchases from them (e.g., not having multiple steps required before checkout).

Keep The Conversation Going

Customer service is a long-term investment that will pay off in the long run. You should be listening to your customers and gathering feedback about their experiences with your business. This is an important part of building trust, which is what keeps people coming back for more.

This can be done through social media, surveys, website analytics, or any other means of communication that work best for you and your customers.

Embarking on a writing journey involves more than just penning words – it’s about embracing a mindset and process. Explore our guide on becoming a writer in 20 easy steps for insights into building your writing career from the ground up.

Appeal To Our Senses To Create Unforgettable Experiences

• Smell: If you want to create an unforgettable experience, use the five senses.
• Sight: Use the five senses.
• Sound: The five senses are used when creating an unforgettable experience.
• Touch/Feel: Create a memorable experience by using the five senses.
• Taste: You can create a memorable experience by using all five of your senses!

Innovate, With The End Goal In Sight

You’re probably familiar with the term “innovation,” but do you know exactly what it means? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines innovation as:

• A new idea, method, or device.
• An original model or design for something.
• A change in a system, procedure, process, or organization that results in its improvement.

In other words, innovation is about creating something new whether it’s a product, service, or some other type of idea. It’s also about problem-solving and being creative if there was no problem to solve, there wouldn’t be an incentive to innovate! 

If you can’t think of any problems your business could be solving (or if there aren’t any), then maybe it’s time for some innovation right now!

Make Internet Users Feel Like An Integral Part Of Your Marketing Efforts

One of the most important things you can do to grow your company makes Internet users feel like an integral part of your marketing efforts. The best way to accomplish this is through social media, which allows brands to engage with their audiences and provide them a voice.

When done correctly, this will help build a strong community around your brand, making it easier for consumers to connect and ultimately increase awareness of any new products or services that come out from the company. 

In short, having customers feel like they’re part of a conversation is one vital component of getting noticed on the Internet.

Make People Curious And Show Them How They Can Get Involved, Even If They Don’t Buy Right Away

Show people how they can get involved, even if they don’t buy right away.

People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to feel like their opinions and actions make a difference, that they’re contributing in some way to the world around them. 

It’s why we love following celebrities on Instagram it makes us feel closer to them, but also gives us the opportunity for interaction through likes and comments (which is why celebrities respond!).

If you can get your customers involved with your brand in small ways whether it’s by sharing their experiences.

Or posting pictures of products from your company you’re more likely to build goodwill and loyalty than if you just sold them something off a shelf at the grocery store for cash.

Navigating the challenges of marketing a product that lacks initial demand requires innovative strategies. Learn how to overcome this hurdle in our article on pushing a product no one wants and discover techniques to create interest and captivate your audience.

Create A Product So Good People Will Pay To Join A Wait List For It And Tell Their Friends About It Too!

If you want to create a product that people will pay for, and also be willing to tell their friends about it, then you’ve got to make sure your product is so good that they won’t want to wait for it. 

This means that when they sign up, they don’t have any qualms about paying money. And if they do buy the product, they’ll feel like it was worth every cent!

So how do we accomplish this? One of the best ways I’ve found is through social media marketing. 

By creating awesome content (think blog posts), sharing them on Facebook groups or Twitter hashtags related to what you’re selling.

And getting likes/shares/retweets from other users who will then see those posts in their feed when logged into social media accounts like Facebook​ or Instagram​…​

You can help build hype around your online store before even launching one yet! When someone sees this kind of activity happening around a brand new company called “XYZ” coming out with something called “ABC” next month.

They’ll probably sign up themselves just because they’re curious what all the fuss is about.”

Pull At Our Heart Strings To Make Us Fall In Love With Your Brand

Emotion is the key to effective marketing. It’s what makes us fall in love with brands and products, gives us an emotional connection, and makes everything else we experience more enjoyable. But how do you use emotion in your marketing?

The answer is storytelling not just telling stories about your brand or product, but also telling stories from a human perspective. This will help you connect with your audience on a deeper level and create a bond that lasts long after the story has ended.

Engage In A Two-Way Conversation, Rather Than Just Pushing Out Information

As a marketer, you’re likely used to being the one in charge of the conversation. But what if consumers don’t want you to call all the shots? What if they want to be heard and involved?

It sounds like an outlandish idea, but it’s true: consumers want to play a bigger role in your business than ever before. 

They want two-way conversations, rather than one-way communications or advertisements that tell them what you think is right for them and this trend has been growing for decades.

Consumer expectations have changed so much that many brands now treat their customers.

As brand ambassadors by giving them access to exclusive content and information before anyone else–or letting them influence product development (think: crowdsourced products).

Smile (And Mean It) Every Day!

Do you know what’s great about smiling? It makes people feel good. And it’s one of the first things we learn as kids, but somehow we forget to do it as adults. 

We spend so much time in work mode, and at home, we’re busy keeping up with all that adult stuff paying bills, and doing laundry that smiling becomes a thing of the past. 

But it’s not too late! You can still be nice to everyone around you by adding smiles back into your life. Try these ideas:

When someone holds a door for you, smile at them! Even if they don’t look directly at you or acknowledge that they noticed your kindness (they may have been distracted by their phone), simply being kind will make them feel better about themselves and their day. 

And who knows? Maybe that person will go on to do something nice for someone else after seeing how happy they made you feel that day!

When walking down the street on your way home from work, smile at every person within eye contact range even if they don’t notice or return your smile (or even if they’re just ignoring others around them). 

This might sound silly at first, but think about how much energy there is behind this simple action; 

When someone sees us smiling even though nothing has happened yet (like an uneventful walk home), it gives him/her hope in humanity again because then he/she realizes he/she has more power than he or thought before.

Crafting successful Facebook ads requires avoiding common pitfalls that can hinder your marketing efforts. Dive into our comprehensive list of 29 Facebook ads mistakes to avoid and enhance your ad campaigns for better engagement and conversion rates.

Conclusion

But if you’re like me, you probably won’t be able to stop thinking about these ideas. As marketers and content creators, we tend to get stuck in the same habits that worked for us before. 

To get out of this rut, try taking a step back from your day-to-day marketing efforts and look at what can be improved. 

Once you’ve done that, take it one step further by trying something new, and don’t forget to measure the results! You’ll never know what will work until you try it out on your audience

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources you might find helpful for expanding your knowledge:

Understanding Digital Marketing Learn the fundamentals of digital marketing and how it can help businesses reach their target audience effectively.

Google’s Insights on Building the Perfect Team Delve into Google’s research on team dynamics and the factors that contribute to creating successful and harmonious teams.

Exploring Google’s Digital Marketing Course Discover essential information about Google’s digital marketing course and how it can benefit aspiring marketers.

FAQs

What is the core concept of digital marketing?

Digital marketing revolves around promoting products or services using digital channels such as websites, social media, email, and search engines.

What key insights did Google gain from studying team effectiveness?

Google’s research highlighted the importance of psychological safety, dependability, structure, and clarity in building high-performing teams.

How can I benefit from Google’s digital marketing course?

Google’s digital marketing course offers a comprehensive understanding of online marketing strategies, tools, and techniques to excel in the digital landscape.

How does digital marketing differ from traditional marketing?

While traditional marketing involves offline methods like print and television ads, digital marketing focuses on online platforms to reach a wider and more targeted audience.

What role does data play in digital marketing?

Data is crucial in digital marketing as it helps analyze user behavior, measure campaign success, and refine strategies for optimal results.