What is Your IoT Marketing Strategy Missing?
At the recent Internet of Things World conference, a speaker stated that if you don’t yet have a detailed Internet of Things (IoT) strategy, you’re already too late. While we don’t believe that’s true, many companies are planning or implementing their connection to the IoT. At Karbo Communications we’ve been actively involved in the IoT market for over two years and have seen it evolve from the visionary stage to the planning stage to the implementation stage, with many companies well into this current phase. Karbo Com ran public relations for the June IoT World conference, and what’s being planned and implemented is staggering. According to Gartner, 2016 will be the year the IoT market explodes with more than 6.4 billion IoT devices used globally. By 2020, that number is expected to more than triple, to reach 20.8 billion.
With this in mind, it’s imperative that companies begin amplifying their IoT marketing strategies to avoid getting left behind. To develop a winning IoT marketing strategy, you should consider the following crucial elements:
- Partner up. Forming strategic partnerships is critical in this crowded market. Start by identifying the companies that offer complementary technology to yours. Then ask: How can you tell a joint story? Are there standards organizations or industry consortia that make sense for your business to join? These organizations typically offer marketing services as a part of membership, and these services often include news opportunities and joint press releases, speaking opportunities, a booth at key trade shows, and more. We’ve worked extensively with the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the OpenFog Consortium on behalf of our clients.
- Attend events. In an industry that spans both horizontally and vertically, events as part of a marketing program should follow suit. Work with your PR team to find industry conferences and speaking opportunities that make sense for your company and executives. Do you want to be at the largest IoT events? Or, would you prefer to laser focus on vertical markets such as autonomous cars or smart appliances? Another segment of the event ecosystem, webinars, have proven to be an important sales tool for Karbo Com’s IoT clients.
- Make news. IoT product announcements are a dime a dozen. Gone are the days when a company could get a press feature from the announcement of a new product. In the IoT market it’s critical to tie your news in with the larger industry trends. What does your announcement mean for the future of the IoT? What can companies or people do now that they couldn’t do before? When it’s impractical to latch onto a larger trend, you can create your own news. At Karbo Com we work with our IoT clients to create stories that haven’t been told before, to secure top-tier coverage.
- Stay social. Social media, mainly Twitter and LinkedIn, have been at the center of IoT discussions since the beginning. Important thought leaders including the largest enterprises, industry analysts and top reporters are leveraging social channels for important discussions. IoT executives should be writing LinkedIn Posts and participating in Twitter chats with the lens of sharing unique, thought-leading information. The Karbo Com team has secured analyst briefings, press interviews and coverage in business press all from participating in IoT social media conversations on behalf of clients. Social media can also be an important sales tool directing traffic back to your website or further establishing market credibility.
A marketing campaign is never one-size-fits-all, and this is especially true for the IoT market. A successful campaign relies on working with a PR and Marketing team who knows the industry inside and out, to help you customize your campaign to hit your target markets while achieving your business objectives.