Real-time marketing (RTM) is probably one of the most challenging marketing techniques ever. It requires good preparation and careful observation of what’s going on in your sector or the whole market. The good news is, though, that you can automate many aspects of this part of your marketing strategy. And today, we want to show you how.
Real-time marketing is all about responding to what’s going on in your sector, market, city, or even country. Typically, brands using RTM actively track all the important events and think about how to use them to reach customers in a creative and even humorous way. However, there are a few things you need you need to be aware of before you start thinking about RTM.
On the one hand, when conducted properly, RTM can make your post or video viral, enabling you to get in front of thousands of new customers/users. But there is also the other side of the coin; a poorly executed or ill-conceived RTM post can result in your brand being criticized or even ridiculed.
Undoubtedly, if you want to do RTM, you have to be careful. But the juice is definitely worth the squeeze as viral posts mean super-effective and, above all, free publicity for your brand.
Let’s consider a quick example. In 2013, during Super Bowl XLVII in the United States, there was a temporary 34-minute blackout. One of the brands that decided to take advantage of this situation was Oreo. Take a look at their Twitter post:
Source: https://twitter.com/Oreo/status/298246571718483968
This one post gave them almost 13,000 reposts, over 200 quotes, almost 6,500 likes, and over 50 bookmarks. Quite impressive for something that was conceived, executed, and published in less than 0.5 hours, right? That’s the power of RTM. However, it’s not as easy as it may seem. In order to make the most of it, you need to keep a few things in mind.
How to do RTM correctly: Three elements
First off, RTM always needs a foundation. Typically, it’s an important event or an unexpected situation. The bigger the scale, the better. If your target audience has no idea of what event/situation you are referring to in your post, the whole purpose of RTM is defeated.
That’s why you should never force RTM. Referring to small or minor events can come across as boring or even desperate. Wait for the right opportunity, and your patience will be rewarded with reposts, likes, comments, and shares.
What else should you keep in mind?
TIME IS CRUCIAL!
When the right situation comes, you need to act quickly. In our Superbowl example, brands had less than 30 minutes to react. One or two hours later, this window of opportunity was shut. Immediate and smart reaction is what you need to use real-time marketing effectively. The smart part is also essential; your reaction has to be well-thought-out and in good taste.
PICK THE RIGHT EVENT
Some events, even though they look good on paper, shouldn’t be used in RTM activities. In general, you should steer clear of all the negative events, such as death, conflicts, or disasters. Rather, look for events that are potentially funny or even controversial.
Here’s a good example: Apple Bendgate. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a quick summary: Back in 2014, many users reported that iPhones 6 were prone to bend. KitKat saw the opportunity and reacted with this post:
Source: https://twitter.com/KITKAT/status/514817515177123841
Again, the results were more than satisfactory: Over 20,000 reposts, and over 10,000 likes.
PICK THE RIGHT CHANNEL
In general, the whole purpose of RTM is to reach as many people as possible in a short time. That’s why most brands use social media for their RTM activities, and that’s a good idea. However, you can use other communication channels as well, including pop-ups on your website and web and mobile push notifications for people who are already in your database. It can be a great start of your RTM campaign and help you kick-start your content.
Now, you may be wondering – there’s so much going on it is likely I will miss the right opportunity. How can you make your life easier? There are two steps you can take ahead of time.
How to prepare for RTM
Step 1: Use a social listening tool
If you’ve never heard of social listening, it’s a marketing technique enabling you to track all the important mentions (mostly on social media) within your market sector and predefined keywords. You will find tons of social listening tools to help you with tracking everything that’s relevant to your brand. Pick the one that meets your requirements and start “listening” to topics you’re interested in. Sooner or later, a good RTM opportunity will show up, and thanks to this tool, you will have enough time to react.
Step 2: Create a calendar of events
Your content strategy should comprise diverse events throughout the year. For instance, you can track all the fun holidays (be careful with Work Naked Day, though) and use them in your communication. People usually respond to funny content (the internet is full of memes and cat videos for a reason), so this could be a good starting point. Just don’t go overboard; your social media should still remain a place to follow your brand, not another Reddit.
How iPresso can help
At iPresso, we value good marketing, including RTM. That’s why one of our features is specifically about this aspect of your online communication. You can use iPresso to create pop-ups and web/mobile push notifications for your customers or users. This way, everyone who’s in your database can receive your RTM message precisely in the right moment.
And thanks to our intuitive builder, you can create the right message in a matter of minutes without the need to do anything with your website’s code.
Moreover, thanks to other features available in our system, you can personalize your messages and tailor them to different customers and their profiles.
We invite you to discover our platform fully. If you are not yet our user, you can start by sending us this short contact form that will allow you to get free trial access to our platform. And if you want to know more, our team is at your service!
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