Making Marketing More Personalized

As this world is only getting more and more high-tech, we need to make sure that we don’t lose the importance of human interaction and personalization — and that doesn’t just mean adding your customer’s name in your emails.

What is personalized marketing?

According to Constant Contact, personalization is a strategy that involves collecting data related to your customers and crafting marketing experiences that target specific types of customers through your content. Personalized marketing is taking time to learn about your customers, showing that you care about them as an individual and genuinely want to help them find what they are looking for.

Even though personalized marketing used to be a little creepy, today 81% of consumers expect brands to get to know them and understand when to approach them personally, according to Mention. And surprisingly, 83% of marketers still believe that creating personalized content is their biggest challenge.

Making marketing more personalized not only will help you target specific audiences, it also helps you stand out from the crowd by leaving a special memory for your customers and build deeper relationships.

Coca-Cola, for example, used personalized marketing in their Share A Coke campaign. In this campaign, Coca-Cola printed names on Coke bottles to attract millennials which helped the company increase sales immensely for the first time in 10 years.

No one wants to feel like a blank face in a crowd, so authentically focusing on the individual needs of customers will give them the sense that they are truly being heard. When a page or email is customized for the individual, the customer will feel like the company took time to know them.

Spotify, a music streaming site, does a great job of personalization as well. This brand curates several specific playlists for each individual listener located in a section called “Made For You.” They did this by using an algorithm to create educated guesses on what their listeners would like to hear next. By listening carefully to their customers’ feedback, they are able to create personalized playlists more accurately for their consumers.

Here is an algorithm used by Spotify to create a unique playlist for the individual listener called “Discover Weekly:”

Social media is also a great way to begin connecting more personally with your audience. Responding to comments and being genuine in doing so allows the individual to feel recognized and gives a face to your business. Showing the human side of your business offers a more friendly experience to customers.

Here are some ways to make marketing more personalized on social media, according to Mention:

Sending personalized direct messages on Twitter

By not pushing the content or product from the start and focusing on creating a relationship with the individual, 50% of those who replied actually tried out the software.

Personalized questionnaires on social media

This organization, called Eneco, collected more than 1000 emails with this personalized quiz in just 6 weeks, exceeding their expectations.

Personalization on support via social media — having a distinct voice when you’re communicating gives a great personal touch.

McDonald’s on Twitter does a great job of responding to their customers’ Tweets and displaying their brand’s voice.

Personalization in marketing is only growing, so it is important to know your audience’s needs and who they are, which will allow you to anticipate their future needs, getting them what they need when they need it. Making marketing more personalized will help your audience remember you and the genuine interactions you have given them.