Being Agile Is the New Paradigm for Marketing
In the ever-changing technology landscape, we need to be constantly reinventing and challenging what we know.
As a founder of a social marketing technology company, I am regularly faced with implementing the concept of agile software development as a methodology to build a software product. What I have begun to understand is the concept of agile software is really a state of mind that also applies to every aspect of the business from software to marketing to the selling of the product.
Agile software development is a group of software development methods based on an iterative process where requirements and solutions evolve with rather rapid speed. The hallmarks of the agile methodology include collaboration, an iterative approach, shorter cycle times, objective measurements, and minimal bureaucracy.
I have come to realize that the essence of agile development is not just software but is perhaps the new business model. If the software we are using in our daily lives and in our marketing lives is changing rapidly, it is only logical that our marketing must become equally agile to meet the ever-changing technology landscape.
We need to be constantly reinventing and challenging what we know. This month alone the amount of social marketing technology opportunities are staggering; it’s hard to imagine planning around the yearly marketing calendar without an agile approach to marketing. My favorites include:
LinkedIn launched a major redesign for the 2 million Company Pages. Business owners now have additional ways to market their brands, and connect with clients and partners. A key tool is the Feature update functionality that allows companies to highlight important content to the top of their company update stream. You can also reach your audience through the Company Page on the mobile and iPad LinkedIn app.
“It’s our goal to provide an environment where brands have the proper tools and platform to cultivate meaningful relationships with our members,” wrote Marc Bishop, LinkedIn’s director of global product marketing.
The Salesforce Marketing Cloud has staked claim at being the first unified social marketing suite with the unification of Radian6’s social listening platform and Buddy Media’s social marketing solution under one banner.
Facebook announced a new page structure for Global Pages, which enables brands to establish one global identity. Facebook users will be directed to the best version of a page based on the country those users are in, letting them see localized cover photos, profile photos, apps, milestones, “about” information, and newsfeed stories.
Google+ just got big updates for its Android and iOS apps. Page owners can now view, post, and comment from their mobile devices. Google says this has been one of the most requested features for mobile.
For marketers with mobile apps, Facebook just updated its SDK for Android. This major update claims to make it easier to build “more immersive social experiences” as well as being a better way to distribute and promote apps. New ready-to-use social features include Friend Picker, which allows users to tag friends or find others who have installed the app, and Places Picker, which shows nearby places with customizable locations.
To help promote the mobile app, Facebook launched a new mobile ad unit to all app developers. App developers/owners can now buy prominent exposure for their apps in the mobile newsfeed and Facebook users can click through to Apple’s App Store or the Google Play marketplace to purchase or download a promoted app.
New and changing technology are disrupting the landscape. As both a marketer and a developer the opportunities are endless; “agile” is the new business normal and it isn’t just a good idea – it’s a necessity.
