March Marketing Madness: Why Organic Strategy is Your Ticket to Paid Ads Success
It’s NCAA College Basketball Tournament time! Behind the scenes of every Cinderella story and bracket busting upset lies, you guessed it, a marketing lesson: success requires a solid strategy. Just like the teams selected for the tournament, your brand needs to earn its spot in the advertising game, starting with a robust organic presence. Let's explore why diving into paid campaigns without this groundwork is akin to a basketball team benching their starters.
Crafting the Perfect Bracket: A Tale of Selection
Teams are selected for the tournament through a meticulous process. Rankings, performance, and overall strength factor into the decision, ensuring a competitive lineup. In marketing, your organic strategy serves as the backbone, much like the rankings in team selection. It's what sets the stage for a winning campaign lineup.
The Power of High Rankings: Organic vs. Paid
Just as the top-seeded teams are the ones to watch in the NCAA Tournament, highly ranked organic campaigns are the powerhouses of the marketing world. These campaigns have earned their stripes through consistent engagement, quality content, and a deep understanding of their audience. Complacent thinking is the enemy. The tournament’s penchant for the enormous Round 1 upset of a top seed is akin to a top brand thinking they can pay their way toward success. Teams and brands have to do the work and the research through patience and preparation; these are the basis of a strong organic approach.
Building a Winning Streak: Consistency in Content
Teams that consistently perform well throughout the season are often rewarded with high seeds in the tournament. Unless you are St. John’s in 2024 but that’s another story. Similarly, a strong organic strategy is built on the consistency of content. Regular posts, timely responses to audience interactions, and a cohesive brand voice create a winning streak that sets the stage for successful paid campaigns. Moreover, much of bracket selection and seed placement requires behind the scenes savvy. If a team was steeped in controversy, that could adversely affect their positioning. Same is true for a content campaign, organic or paid. Know your audience. Don’t try to get cute or appeal to trolls for quick engagement. It might get your brand attention in the short-term, but it could penalize it in the long-term.
Engaging Your Fan Base: The Heart of the Game
In basketball, the support of loyal fans can make all the difference in a close game. Likewise, your organic strategy cultivates a devoted fan base for your brand. Engaging with your audience, responding to their comments, and fostering a sense of community are the key plays that build this fan base.
Avoiding the Upset: Wasted Resources and Missed Opportunities
Launching straight into paid campaigns without an organic foundation is a risky move, akin to a lower-seeded team facing off against a powerhouse without preparation. It can lead to wasted resources, missed opportunities for engagement, and a lackluster performance overall.
Cutting Down the Nets: Winning with Organic Strategy
In the thrilling chaos of March Madness, the teams that emerge victorious are the ones that have put in the work, earned their rankings, and executed their game plan flawlessly. The same holds true for your marketing strategy. By prioritizing your organic presence, engaging your audience, and delivering consistent, valuable content, you lay the groundwork for a winning campaign lineup.