Key Points:
The cooperative relationship between a brand and its dealers is imperative to the continued success of both businesses. When it comes to social media marketing, some difficulties quickly make themselves evident: retailers or dealerships have their own priorities that don’t necessarily align with the goals of the brands they sell. Brands likewise have their own ideas of how retailers should be participating in brand-operated advertising initiatives. Many times the marketing ideas do not get buy-in from the retailers, leaving the brand with a high-quality marketing strategy that goes unused.
Content distribution is an ideal way for brands and retailers to bridge that gap. When all goes smoothly, co-op advertising programs improve brand-retailer relationships. Here are a few ways how:
Retailers have a lot on their plate, from keeping up regular business operations to managing their online presence. On top of that, they’re also trying to run social media accounts that highlight the products their customers want to buy. They might struggle to keep up with the work that goes into maintaining their social presence or underestimate how time-consuming it is to keep different brands’ assets organized.
Even brand managers refer back to resources such as brand style guides in order to keep their image consistent. They understand that retaining a consistent brand image is hugely important – if customers can’t recognize your products, your sales don’t benefit from the superior reputation you’ve built. If we walk a mile in a retailer’s shoes while they are juggling their social presence and stocking products from a large number of OEMs, it’s easy to see how they can unintentionally misrepresent your brand. Whether that’s mixing up your products with another brand’s, misnaming products in feature posts, or altering brand colors, they’re prone to make honest mistakes in an effort to drive sales for your products.
The ideal solution would be for brands to distribute content straight to retailers’ social feeds to guarantee there’s no possibility of misrepresentation. Brands remain in control of their assets and ensure that they’re portrayed properly on all retailer channels. Meanwhile, retailers have one less brand’s visual assets to keep track of.
Retailers may not engage in social media marketing for a variety of reasons. For example, they may not have the expertise to manage their social presence themselves. If they are social media-savvy, it’s still time-consuming to produce content for and maintain their social pages. That takes precious time away from their most important responsibility: running their business. They could go the route of hiring a dedicated social media manager, and some do. But it’s safe to assume that the bulk of your retailers aren’t willing to commit to such an expense if they aren’t absolutely sure that they’ll see an immediate, positive effect on their sales.
Content distribution makes it easy for retailers to enjoy the benefits of a robust social media presence without the burden of dedicating time and resources to doing so. By providing and dispensing high-quality content straight to retailer social pages, brands remove the responsibility of social management from retailers. They don’t have to worry about splitting their focus between running their business and promoting it.
One great example of this in action is an international motorsports brand’s co-op advertising program launch with ThumbStopper, a software solution that allows brands to intelligently syndicate social media content to retailer social pages. The ThumbStopper team facilitated retailer enrollment on behalf of the brand, and the results speak for themselves. By 90 days after launch, over 440 retailers had enrolled in the program. It’s clear that retailers immediately saw the value of content distribution and were enthusiastic about the brand that provided it for them.
One of the best things about social media is its ability to connect people around the world. Whether it’s international brands communicating with global customers or local businesses speaking to their neighbors, social media helps companies create personal connections with customers. It works so well because it’s a two-way street. Unlike traditional advertising and marketing channels, customers get to provide feedback and interact with brand representatives in real-time. And with content distribution to amplify reach, brands and retailers alike can have discussions with more potential customers.
When brands thoughtfully distribute content to different regions, they can meet those customers’ specific needs. Case scenarios might include creating content for regional holidays, altering content to be mindful of cultural norms, or promoting specific items that sell particularly well in certain markets. While distributing content to different regions is an effective task, it is a hard task to complete effectively. Carrying out such a complex project requires the right software and the right team to ensure your social media strategy finds success.
Ready to see what content distribution with ThumbStopper can do for your brand? Book a demo to learn more.