Wheels up; it's time for in person conferences again (cue the sound effect of the crowd going wild)! This month, Kelli Frieler, our Executive Director of Digital and I had the opportunity to attend "The Path to 2032" Borrell's 2022 Local Advertising Conference in Miami, FL. This was Borrell's 12th annual event but a first for both of us and to say it was valuable, relevant and invigorating would be an understatement.
VIDEO, SOCIAL INFLUENCERS AND WHAT ABOUT CRYPTO?
The conference started off with a classic Gordon Borrell, Founder of Borrell Associates, attention grabber where he reminded all who were in attendance about how quickly it will be 2032 and what the world is likely to look like at that time. A trip backwards to show the progression from the past two decades only reiterated his point. MySpace, who? Crypto, how big will it be - or will it be MySpace? Borrell made it clear that video is where it is at, social influencers are powerful and the local business owner is craving a marketing partner to help them with strategy and connection with their audiences.
Content that engages your audience in the places where they spend the most time, means building your video strategy is a foundational piece of your marketing. What placements are best for your brand? If you're a community college looking to connect with high schoolers TikTok should be a part of the conversation. Are you a construction company looking for employees? Building a pre-roll or streaming TV plan to reach those cord cutters using Roku or Amazon Fire TV Stick could be the place to engage your ideal candidates. Video blends the power or audio, visual, reach and targeting this allows local businesses to engage audiences that are still local, while being accessible and affordable.
Connecting to communities and groups of people was a hot topic including more understanding of how Esports and online gambling industries are using influencers to connect with their target audience. What does this mean for you, the local business owner in your community? Great question. Local marketing follows national advertising trends, so when talking about social influencers, look for opportunities to connect with your community influencers to engage your audience. At Leighton Media, we believe our on-air talents are the original influencers. Consider a radio endorsement with a Leighton Media, on-air personality as a first step in your social influencer strategy.
TOGETHER IS BETTER
Continuing education is a core value of the Leighton Media culture and throughout the pandemic, we never stopped. Personally, I believe we took it to an even higher level (what else was there to do?). Our commitment to continuing education is fueled by our desire to help our local partners navigate the future of marketing. Attending Borrell Miami 2022 helped reaffirm the pathways Leighton, as a company is headed and the strategic partnerships we have formed to ensure we get there.