CMOs Should Focus on Keyword-Driven Marketing

David Shen, general manager at Acronym Asia, discusses how chief marketing officers (CMOs) can drive better results through a keyword-focused marketing strategy in the lead-up to the CMO Asia Summit, of which ClickZ.asia is a media partner.

Why should CMOs focus on keyword-driven marketing?

Keywords are the window to the consumer, as they are a direct indicator of consumer intent. Our agency researches and discovers implicit intent derived from three core methods. First, what people search for, the keywords used on search engines. Second, customer behavior, expressed through digital analytics. Third, social interactions, the expressed intent behind the content shared on social media.

Based on this customer intent, we can then target the most relevant messaging to their needs. Keyword- driven marketing allows companies to drive better results, by creating a personalized experience and an overall smarter marketing campaign.

How can they find the ideal keywords to use?

It depends on what the marketing objectives are. Of course any good marketing campaign has to have very clearly defined objectives. To identify various keywords that are the most relevant to the product or company, they must conduct research, based on analytical data the company has and existing market research. We also have our in-house suite of tools that they can use for keyword discovery.

What does media optimization include?

The end objective of a marketing campaign is to provide the consumer or client with the most relevant message to what they are looking for at that point in time. So media optimization is about looking for what keywords customers are looking for, and presenting them with the most relevant message. The kind of messaging that resonates with the audience. Then fine-tuning the media, adjusting the creative aspects and messaging to be more accurately suited for whatever the customer is looking for.

Another aspect of it is budget optimization. There must be a balance between coverage and cost. Maximum coverage is ideal, but with limited budgets and resources, marketers need to understand the most effective lever for them to adjust. Media optimization plays the role here, allowing marketers to focus on what works best.

How should CMOs prepare their organizations for digital marketing trends in Asia?

We see a growing focus in Asia for both organic search optimization, and usability and user experience design. Asia has a strong background for paid search, but that is slowly shifting toward organic search, as companies begin seeing the value of those campaigns, although the pay-off is not immediate.

Once people are on the website, the next question is how do we get them to do what we want within the website? That is where user experience design comes in. Companies should look at where frictions exist and what they would like to offer, then design around the user.

Site loading time and ease of navigation are universal needs, but beyond that, Asia is different from other parts of the world. Asia is a fragmented market, with multiple cultures, languages, and ways in which people go online. Thus, we have to understand the local context of what each person is looking for. An experience that suits an English speaker may not suit a Chinese one, simply because of the language and the way content is consumed.

This content is provided by the CMO Asia Summit 2013 to be held in Macau; ClickZ.asia is a media partner for the event.