The ways in which we communicate are changing very, very fast. The pandemic has accelerated changes that would have taken years to take full effect and are now happening in a matter of months.

Much like you, I want the work I do to mean something. I want my efforts to produce fruit, and I want the people and organizations I help to thrive, not just survive.

I have a few predictions of what’s in store for those of us who want to reach people using marketing strategies and tactics. These have been trends I’ve seen growing in 2020 and some that have appeared in the past few days even, but can fundamentally change how we reach people.

When I started The A Group more than 12 years ago, I had no idea I was giving life to a new type of business: martech.  We developed in-house technology to make sure our marketing efforts worked and were simple to use. We knew marketing could not live without technology. It was true a decade ago, and even more so now. Not only digital natives demand it, we all do. We browse online, on our mobile devices but often purchase at a physical store. We want the same information on our desktop computer, tablet and phone whenever, wherever. We measure our tolerance to wait for information in mere seconds. Today’s consumer has an attention span of less than 6 seconds. Last week I attended the first Martech Conference in Boston. The Martech Conference was an integrated conversation of marketing, technology, trends and best practices led by experts, often titled Chief…

Facebook is late to the hashtag game, but with 1.15 billion users, it really doesn’t matter. Use the hashtag effectively and you can harness its power to grow your brand or further connect your message with your target audience. This infographic from PiJnz Tips for using hastags Don’t overdo hastags – use them sparingly and not in every post. Hashtags must be all one word (no spaces). Capitalization doesn’t matter. Before you use a hashtag, do research and ensure that it will work. Encourage users to make their posts public to increase reach. What has been your experience with hashtags?

Words are powerful. They can move people into action. They inspire, they challenge, they amuse, but words also sell. Regardless of your industry, you are in sales. We all are, especially those who are in the non-profit sector or church leadership. It’s perhaps the most important of all sales: hope for better days and the ultimate hope of eternal life. Here are some key points to consider when writing copy that’s going to be used to compel and motivate people into action. Write to a person. Unless you understand your target audience, you cannot communicate effectively. Writing to “everyone” guarantees that you reach “no one.” Have a person in mind as you craft your words. Are you writing to a 50 year-old business professional, or a 35-year old stay-at-home mom with snotty-nose kids running around the house? Understand your audience’s motivation. Forget your agenda for a minute and try to…

There is an audience for just about everything. Really.  Your job is to find yours. I was reading Smart Money magazine and ran across Bart Centre, a retired New Hampshire retail executive behind Eternal Earth-Bound Pets: The Next Best Thing to Pet Salvation in a Post Rapture World.” According to Mr. Centre, he has sold 263 pet-care contracts to Christians concerned about their dogs and kittens left behind in the upcoming rapture. For $135, clients can count on pet-rescue services provided by one of 46 atheists who are guaranteed to remain on earth after the Second Coming.  Yep. It’s for real. A good marketer’s job is to connect the product or message with the target audience. It’s simple, but not always easy. Before you put together your marketing strategy, ask yourself these questions: Who is my target audience? The more defined your audience, the easier it is to communicate your value proposition…

Sometimes I am reminded why I have the best job in the world. This past week was one of those times. The marketing team of The A Group presented Metro Ministries in Brooklyn, NY with our proposed marketing and branding campaigns. While we had immersed ourselves in learning about the ministry, nothing truly prepared us to being in the middle of it all. Metro Ministries started over 30 years ago by the remarkable Bill Wilson, who after being abandoned by his mother on a street corner at a young age, felt the call to go back to the streets of one the nation’s most dangerous neighborhoods and share the gospel with at-risk-children.  Metro Ministries claims the largest Sunday school in the world with over 42,000 children in NYC, the Philippines and now an exploding number in Africa. But numbers often fail to tell the story of the people they represent.…

Successful marketing campaigns sell a lot of product, or move people into action.  While messaging and graphics are all over the spectrum from amusing to powerful, these campaigns usually cover the four basic foundations for success. They trust. If the consumer doesn’t trust the brand or the fact that the company can deliver on its promise, the campaign will fail. They respect. Guilt and shame don’t compel people into action. Treat your audience with respect and they will respond. Talk down to them and they will ignore you. They are relevant. Even the right message to the right  people at the wrong time will not bring results. Make sure you answer the bottom line question we all ask when faced with an ad: “Why should I bother?” They compel. Make the case for you. Even after you have covered the “why should I bother?” question, you still have another important…

I love artists. My parents owned an art gallery growing up in Brazil, my father is a plastic artist, and I have done a lot of graphic design in my past. My company is always looking for creatives in video, web, and print. I love meeting young talented people who bring fresh ideas and new sensitives to our portfolio. Good work from young creatives is like looking at the world through a fresh set of eyes. But often, managing creatives can be difficult and downright painful. I often get asked during the interview process at our company what I’m looking for in a creative hire. Here’s my wish list: Speak up. Don’t be afraid to bring your perspective into a project. That’s what we want from you–your youth and everything that comes with it. Be teachable. Your design video is not God-breathed and, believe it or not, it can be…

I often walk through a church service as a secret shopper. It’s my way to assess how aware and prepared a church is for a newcomer–specially one that might be outside of the faith. As I experience a weekend service for the first time, I try to answer the question that every first-time guest asks himself: “why should I come back here?” The question is not as much about musical style and preaching method as it is about connecting spiritually and emotionally. The Answer to that question begins at the parking lot and ends on the way home. It’s not about any one thing, and, yet, it is about every single thing. I’m not sure most pastors and church staff realize that newcomers want to like the church they chose to visit. They are looking for reasons to say, “I want to be part of this congregation.”  Whether they are…

In marketing, as in life, just because it’s new and popular, it does not mean you should do it. One of the latest trends in consumer marketing has been the use of QR Codes (short for Quick Response Code). The two-dimensional matrix was first created by the automotive industry but has now become popular with marketers. But even a great tool in the wrong application is too often ineffective. These codes are effective because they can hold a lot of information and are able to directly link smartphones to mobile-friendly websites where consumers can interact with a product or brand in a media and commerce-rich environment. My company, The A Group, has been successfully using QR Codes in marketing campaigns for a long time. While I am an early adopter of tools that might give our clients a better chance to communicate with their audience, I’m careful not to do…