Digital Marketing, Branding and Communication — GrowthxSplendid
Week 1 Review
Growth marketing was the buzz word around me when I decided to apply for the growth marketing mentorship program at GrowthxSplendid by Splendid Uchechukwu.
You know that scenario where you are thinking about someone and they give you a call? Or that situation where you are thinking of buying a certain car model and you begin to see that same car all around you everywhere you go?
Growth marketing sprang up at a meeting where a team member was thinking that a growth marketer might make sense for our project.
That was not the first time I would hear of growth marketing but after talking about it at several other meetings, we discarded the thought of bringing in a growth marketer because of budget constraints and no one was too sure if we would get the results we need or not. As a matter of fact, no one knew any growth marketer they could recommend for the job.
After a while, I began to look into the subject. I was helping a friend out and while doing some little research, I stumbled on the profile of the friend of my friend who happens to be a marketing expert and had taken a marketing certification from CXL.
I was curious and out of my curiosity, I went through the website and found a growth marketing course. It is a fully packed course from end to end, taught by some of the best marketing gurus in top tech companies. This course was really tempting but the price of the course is able to pay the yearly salary of some people.
Around the same time I was thinking of getting my team to pay for the course for me (the attempt actually failed), I found the #growthxsplendid program on Twitter. I was looking for something else when I saw the flyer and it was clearly written that it was a growth marketing program. Immediately, I applied and was waiting patiently to know what the outcome will be.
I had forgotten about the application when I received the email that I have been selected out of 100+ applicants. I was excited. Finally, I could still learn about growth marketing from another source.
The testimonials of the first cohort were also very interesting to hear and I was happy that there was so much support for the participants of the program.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the program but the opening ceremony that had the mentors introducing themselves to the participants made me realize that the trainers and mentors were experts in their field living very humbly and didn’t want to make noise about how satisfied they are with practicing the growth marketing profession.
The first week was great because we learnt about the fundamentals of digital marketing and brand communication. I’m not a novice to digital marketing but I got to understood what growth marketing is really all about and how it is different from the usual digital marketing.
I was able to refresh my knowledge on the the different online marketing channels that include content marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, email marketing, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing. They are others like viral marketing and online public relations but our instructor, Adaugo Ezeala didn’t go into much details about them because I suppose they are a different ball game for now.
A digital marketing strategy is a detailed plan of how digital marketing channels will enable you to achieve your business goals. The strategy determines the platforms to be used and one does not have to do all. You only have to focus on the ones that help you achieve your goal.
As a digital marketer, you can be a specialist in any of the online marketing channels. That is, taking one (or more) of the channels and being the best at it (a specialist).
In other words, you can be an content marketer, email marketer, PPC ad specialist, and so on. Just remember that an expert in anything was once a beginner.
With the branding and communication session, it was clear that branding is much more than your logo, colours or other aesthetics. It is much more than that.
Your brand is not what you say it is but what others say it is; it is what people know you for and the impression you have made on them.
It is also what you have become synonymous with. We identified a few brands and did an exercise to see what people know them for.
Branding is also closely linked with communication because it trickles down to how staff members or those who are the first contact of your business relate and communicate with those they serve.
It is also how people view your product as well as your logo or brand content be it on social media, or on any platform, and how it makes them feel.
Branding could also include your sound. When people hear a sound that’s linked to your brand, what do they think of? This made me think of MTN’s end notes at the end of every advert or the GTB music that plays in the security door when you try to walk in and out of the bank (you know it too, right?)
Brand personality and brand voice helped me to realize that having a well thought out brand strategy document can help brands stand out. It can also help growth marketers distinguish between several brands they might be managing without making a mistake of how to communicate with their target audiences.
By understanding your customer’s journey, you can know where you stand in addressing their problems, and gain clarity in your value proposition so that you communicate your value and let your audience know.
Do it in a way that shapes their perception about you and create a desired image for your brand. You can always work with a brand strategist to do this.
In a few words, branding starts with research.
This is it for week 1. Look out for my learnings from week 2.
If you learnt something from this, please share with me in the comments.
Thanks for following through to the end.
#growthxsplendid
#splendiduchechukwu
