Marketing Development

Marketing development is an expansion strategy that identifies and develops new market segments. Having growth in mind is the best strategy any marketeer can have - at the end of the day, we all are aiming at the expansion of our Association. 

Marketing development is about applying marketing strategies but with a degree of wider and less risk-averse thinking - we should aim at trying to reach out to the individuals that do not fall under the niche we have identified before. 

How to do it wisely? Be sure to stick to your niche and its needs. Do not do things that your target group would not identify with, at least excessively. Make sure to study the individuals that fall outside but are still close to your target group. Consult your fellow board members and suggest creating events that could reach that subgroup. This should be fairly intuitive for you once you get some experience. If you can, consult your predecessor or national/international officer. Maybe they will be able to offer you some tips and share their own experiences.

Marketing development can go further than this. In theory, marketing development can be achieved by alternating the product or asserting an entirely new audience. This is essentially difficult for us, taking what our ultimate purpose, mission and ways of functioning are. But that is no missed opportunity, by any means! What makes our situation positive is that our market changes but new law students appear each year. What we have to do is only to create good quality events, that respond to their needs, and that we address them in the way they want. 

In the less technical meaning of the term, marketing development can be equalled with innovation. How can we make our marketing more innovative?

Videos

Dynamic videos engage the recipient better than static posts. Why is it so? First of all, they convey more information, so they are more likely to project something the recipient is interested in. They are also easy to digest and effortless to perceive. We might like the visual, or the music, or the pace, no matter what, there are more things to be fond of than in a static visual. Moreover, videos solve the problem of the short attention span most of the young people nowadays have. Creating clips, we can make sure all the interesting aspects of our offer reach the audience.

Hashtags and keywords

Most of us know that keywords are the foundation of our success when it comes to social media and searching engine algorithms. They are a bridge between people and the technology and our content. They categorise and organise, just so our content is not yet another bland, potentially intelligible to the computer post. The smart use of hashtags and keywords can elevate the promotion results allowing more people to find you and your content. Hashtags and keywords are also catchy, since they are usually short and memorable. Why not use them as a cornerstone of your design? And what about developing your own hashtag? Having your audience associate your group with a nice slogan, which they would be willing to pass forward, is the best thing that can happen as it would create free promotion, essentially!

Content marketing

Even though many people nowadays engage only with dynamic and short content, while scrolling down their social media feed, some still value longer forms, which provide them with extra value. Do not underestimate the contentful, not strictly promotional, forms, such as blogs. This is the more valuable point since we are an academic association. As the marketeer, you are responsible for ensuring the external parties, as much as our members, are ensured what they signed up for, professionalism, academic stimulation and personal development, are given to them. 

Interactive content 

As much as personalisation allows for establishing tighter connections with our audience, interactive content is what drives the people closer to us and makes our presence more interesting. Even though we are all adults, who doesn’t like to click on a colorful quiz button or an interactive gif? Small things build a brand and the more appealing or fun we seem, the easier it is for us to make a conversation with people.

Stories

Instagram, Facebook and now LinekdIn Stories are not a new concept. They are, however, what might be a key to successful marketing strategy. Why? Because they are what we have discussed before - short, interactive and convenient to watch. They are also, usually, quick to make. Because they are only temporary they can include more actual content, which is great for those of our recipients who demand swift and relevant updates. And, because they disappear by themselves, they let you experiment a little bit and test the grounds - what kind of content does your audience prefer? You can test it there! Lastly, stories can be embedded on your profile Instagram profile permanently, in a form of a highlight. Even though those do not reach your audience on their feed, they can be very effective once your recipients decide to visit your profile. 

Group Chats

Group Chats are currently one of the most effective communication channels, especially for local groups. Why? Because they allow us to interact with the audience directly and give it the time and attention it might expect. Furthermore, it is harder to ignore a message than a post on a social media feed. Again, the key is the familiarity we can build and ease with which we learn what sort of messaging works best. So, if you only can, collect your members’ phone numbers or find them on Facebook and create a page or a chat through which you can stay in constant touch with them!

Omnichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing is the it term from 2019, which, however, has been very relevant for us for years and still will be, especially since the online sphere had to grow under the pandemic and the different channels people communicate through have multiplied. But what is omnichannel marketing? It is simply the use of a number of different platforms to reach your recipient. You can use them simultaneously to reach a certain target or, if only doable, contact certain individuals only through heir chosen platforms. Each person has their favourite and to appeal to people, to make them like us, we need to make sure we try to follow their tastes and habits. You need to remember, however, that as much each platform is different, it attracts different users and it has its importance. Career-orientated people, with interest in networking and/or politics/academia/science will most likely rather use LinedIn over Instagram, and will appreciate a more formal tone. On the other hand, there is no point in maintaining the utmost formal tone on instagram, where, more often than not, people value visuals and convenience in reception.