Level Up Your Marketing: Detroit Regional Chamber Employees Speak at MACP

Level Up Your Marketing: Detroit Regional Chamber Employees Speak at MACP

October 30, 2024

Members of the Detroit Regional Chamber's Communications and Marketing teams joined a panel at the 2024 Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals conference to speak about tools and strategies that can be easily adapted to enhance any organization's marketing efforts.

Panelists

Creating Accessible and Engaging Email Marketing Campaigns

Krishaun Burns, the Chamber's Integrated Marketing Manager, highlighted how email marketing can drive engagement when executed with accessibility in mind. From ensuring fonts are easily read on both desktop and mobile screens to balancing images with text for clarity, her advice focused on the need to design emails for all audiences.

A common faux pas that Burns also shared was to avoid using a single image as the entire email body. Email servicers often send these kinds of emails straight to spam folders. Instead, keep text accessible and use engaging visuals like gifs or embedding videos to maximize inbox delivery, as well as open and click through rates.

Harnessing Social Media to Build Connections and Celebrate Success

Katie Tomaszewski, the Chamber's Social Media Specialist, underscored the multi-faceted value of social media, specifically by focusing on community-oriented content.

Repurposing event blog content for social media, sharing member highlights, and providing event coverage allows an organization to connect more personally with its audience while easily adapting content for each platform. She noted that highlighting employee or customer wins and an event's positive impact can help cultivate a community that feels celebrated and connected.

Another recommendation from Tomaszewski was using content scheduling platforms as a time-saving strategy. Social media platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, and X, and external services like Buffer, HootSuite, and Later, can schedule your content, engage with your audience, and analyze posts' performances.

Tracking Success Through Analytics for Improved Marketing Strategy

The Chamber's Digital Marketing Manager, Miranda Spennato, shared that a deep understanding of analytic tracking is essential for a successful, integrated marketing strategy. Tracking metrics like organic search traffic, top-performing pages, and device types provides valuable data to refine content based on the audience's interactions with it.

Tools like Google Analyticsand Hotjarcan help analyze where visitors might encounter friction, allowing adjustments to improve the user experience and show where the audience is coming from and how long they spend engaging with content.

Regarding the web side of marketing, Spennato recommended shortening URLs to a maximum of five words, including descriptive meta tags. Further, adding alt text to images can further boost SEO and organic reach, enabling you to connect more deeply with your audience.

Crafting a Memorable Brand Identity

Drawing from his experience with Hub-365, Ryan Miller, Digital Marketing Manager, encouraged a thoughtful approach to building a cohesive brand image. Anyone can create a brand that resonates with their community by identifying their target audience through research and tailoring their messaging towards them.

Branding is often an evolving process-experimenting, engaging with your audience, and leveraging flexible marketing plans can ensure your brand's identity continues to grow authentically. Miller specifically noted that while not all posts he tests are a "hit," he takes valuable information away from its performance to influence his strategy, echoing Spennato's importance of analytic tracking.

Maintaining Creativity Amongst Creative Cobwebs

The panelists agreed that small teams can often struggle with keeping marketing fresh. Burns and Tomaszewski recommended looking at other sectors and industries for inspiration on creative campaigns. Marketing trends can reveal new, effective strategies, and taking the time to experiment can help uncover approaches that can resonate with your audience.

A sentiment shared by all the panelists is that effective marketing does not require a complete reinvention. Sometimes, it is about enhancing what you already do to better serve your audience. Embrace these insights and continue to improve your marketing strategy.