8 Core Components of Modern Marketing You Must Know About

Every marketer has experienced the frustration of creating content they believed would resonate with their audience, only to fizzle out without engagement. They poured time, energy, and resources into that content.

What went wrong? Many factors contribute to a piece of content going viral (or not). Still, one thing is sure: viral marketing opportunities don’t come around often, and missing them can significantly reduce your marketing efforts.

What is viral marketing? Understanding viral marketing and how to leverage it to your advantage is crucial. This guide will explore the core components of modern marketing, highlight viral marketing’s role in today’s environment, and provide actionable insights to help you create content that goes viral.

8 Core Components of Modern Marketing You Must Know About

Person working on Laptop - Core Components of Modern Marketing

1. The Why: Understanding the Purpose Behind Your Marketing Efforts

Every successful marketing initiative begins with a clear understanding of its purpose. If marketers are unsure of their “Why,” there’s no reason to create campaigns or content. The “Why” forms the entire basis of the marketing plan going forward. It should be somewhat intuitive, but if your team isn’t sure, consider these questions:

What is the purpose of your marketing?
What do you want your customers to do with your brand?
What constitutes success or a win for your team?

Try to answer these questions in a few sentences as a team to understand what your marketing should be accomplishing. From there, you can start outlining the specifics.

2. The Production Concept: How Supply and Demand Impact Marketing

Before a business can offer a product to consumers, it must manufacture or produce it first. This concept is based on the philosophy that the more something is produced, the less it costs consumers. If a business can figure out how to produce a product on a mass scale (factories), it lessens their costs as well. If this concept could be described in four words, it would be: Increase profits, reduce costs.

3. Storytelling and Call-to-Action: Connecting with Your Audience on a Deeper Level

Modern marketing today takes a lot more compassion and storytelling than traditional marketing, or even what used to work online. Storytelling is telling a narrative that describes something about your company that will be meaningful to your target audience. According to HubSpot, these could be: a customer experience with the brand, what motivates the company to offer what they do, and who is behind the brand (the employees, the technology, etc).

Your brand’s mission is an allegory or interpretation of how your brand impacts the audience. So, for instance, if you were a boutique gym for those who have had weight loss surgery, instead of focusing on equipment or class times, you would highlight why the owner decided to open the gym and how it is set up for the success of weight loss surgery patients. The owner or employees could tell their story if they were bariatric patients.

If your organization doesn’t have as heartfelt a purpose (e.g., the owners went into accounting because it was a stable business), focus on how your products or services impact your customers. Customers want to put themselves in the shoes of others to see themselves solving the problem at hand.

Once you have a story that will drive your campaign, you can include a call-to-action, which compels your audience to complete a conversion, such as signing up for a trial membership or setting up a consultation. Storytelling should motivate the audience to complete an action after hearing your words.

4. Sales Concept: Why Selling Is About More Than Closing Deals

This concept deals with the process of actually selling a product. It emphasizes the importance of selling as much of the product as possible, regardless of whether the consumer's needs are met or the quality of the product/service. Following this concept alone does not lead to long-term consumer relationships, satisfaction, or consistent sales of a product.

5. Identifying Your Audience: Understanding Who You’re Trying to Reach

You have a message, but who is going to listen? Many organizations think they know their target audience, but there’s a difference between an ideal audience and who is buying the product. Gathering and analyzing buying data will help create a more accurate audience to target. Identify key metrics, such as age, gender, location, interests, and needs, to develop personas that identify who you want to read your story. Outlining marketing personas can help you answer questions like:

What is the problem our audience has that we can solve?
What issues in their business or personal life can we make easier?
What terms or solutions would they be seeking out?
How can we target those?

A picture of your target audience emerges from these questions and demographic data.

6. How to Reach Your Audience: Targeting Your Marketing Efforts For Maximum Impact

You know your audience, but how do you communicate your marketing message? There are many broad areas you can likely think of immediately that might be useful: social media, website, and radio advertising. But instead of thinking of ways to bombard customers anywhere they might be online or elsewhere (which is an approach many marketers and advertisers take), how about creating a media planning strategy that uses media mix optimization to target your exact audience on their ideal platforms?

For example, specific demographics are less likely to click on YouTube ads than others. In contrast, the same group might be likelier to click on a sponsored link in an influencer campaign. Instead of trying both YouTube ads and influencer campaigns, consider trusting the data, trends, and research; just doing one will move the needle the most. The benefit of media planning is that you can always pivot your plan if something isn’t working as you hoped, especially if you use real-time analytics.

7. The Marketing Concept: Placing the Consumer at the Heart of Your Strategy

As stated earlier, the marketing concept prioritizes the consumer over business operations. All motivations for creating a product and marketing strategy to reach potential consumers are to meet their wants and needs and increase their satisfaction. By putting the consumers' needs first, a business can become the preferred choice among its competitors.

8. Societal Marketing Concept: Going Beyond the Individual Consumer to Serve Society

While similar to the marketing concept in prioritizing the needs of the consumer, the idea also urges businesses to consider the overall welfare of the consumer and society. An example of this might be a business considering an eco-friendly way of producing its products to reduce carbon emissions, make the air healthier, and improve breathing conditions for consumers.

How to Do Modern Social Media Marketing in 12 Simple Steps

People Working Together - Core Components of Modern Marketing

1. Use Crayo AI for High-Quality Videos

Crayo AI offers a quick solution for producing high-quality short videos. You can create multiple videos simultaneously with Crayo. The platform automatically generates elements like captions, effects, backgrounds, and music. It’s an ideal tool for tapping into the TikTok creator fund program and earning revenue. The video creation process is simple: outline your concept, customize the style with free templates, and export your finished clip. Experience smooth, short video production with Crayo’s free tool.

2. Know Your Audience

Successful viral marketing starts with knowing your target audience. Research their preferences, interests, and pain points to inform your content strategy. Create buyer personas and gather data to understand your audience.

3. Leverage Strong Visuals That Speak

Compelling visuals can significantly boost your shareability. Use eye-catching images or videos that enhance your content and attract attention. Social media platforms like Instagram prioritize visual content, making strong visuals essential for going viral.

4. Create Exceptional Content

Outstanding content is the foundation of any viral campaign. Your material should be unique, emotional, shareable, and relatable to your audience. Aim to evoke feelings or connect to experiences that encourage sharing.

5. Emotional Connections Are Essential

Emotional hooks make campaigns memorable. The goal is to evoke feelings, leading to a cascade of shares. Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches Campaign struck chords by addressing self-esteem issues, sparking worldwide conversations. Charity events that tug at heartstrings, leveraging emotional stories to gain support and spread awareness, are stellar examples.

6. Leverage Social Media Channels

Social media platforms are a breeding ground for viral marketing campaigns. Identify the platforms where your audience is most active and tailor your content accordingly. Encourage social sharing by including easy-to-use share buttons on your website and within your content.

7. Optimize for Shareability

A campaign’s reach is amplified when it’s share-friendly. Embedding sharing options like streamlining links using Linktree alternatives and leveraging influencers can catapult your content into the viral sphere. Additionally, pay-per-call tools can enhance your campaign’s reach by efficiently connecting with potential leads.

Memes are inherently shareable, transforming simple ideas into viral sensations through platforms like Reddit and Twitter. Using AI for long-form content can be a game-changer for those looking to scale their content efforts. Word-of-mouth is the oldest form of shareable content. A remarkable customer service story can spread like wildfire, drawing customers in.

8. Craft a Catchy Headline

Your content’s headline or caption is crucial in grabbing the audience’s attention. It should be concise, intriguing, and create curiosity. A compelling headline can distinguish between someone scrolling past your content and clicking to learn more.

9. Timing Is Everything

Releasing content when your audience is most active can be the difference between a hit and a miss. Aligning with significant events or holidays can amplify your reach. Tweeting during high-profile events like the Oscars can see engagement soar; just ask Oreo and their blackout tweet! Launching a new product around Black Friday can capitalize on the shopping frenzy, creating buzz and boosting sales.

10. Equip the Potential of Influencers

Collaborating with influencers who align with your brand can supercharge your viral campaign, reaching millions. Influencers already have engaged followers who trust their recommendations. Therefore, when an influencer shares your content, it can significantly increase its reach and credibility.

11. Engage With Your Audience

Once your campaign starts gaining traction, actively engage with your audience. Respond to comments, answer questions, and encourage discussions. This engagement enhances the virality of your content and fosters a sense of community around your brand.

12. Monitor and Optimize

Keep a close eye on the performance of your campaign. Track key metrics such as shares, likes, comments, and website traffic. Use analytics tools to gain insights into what’s working and what isn’t. Adjust your strategy based on the data to maximize the campaign’s impact.

Benefits of Modern Marketing

People High fiving - Core Components of Modern Marketing

1. Improved Customer Engagement

Modern marketing methods enable businesses to connect with customers through various channels and touchpoints. This helps to create a more personalized and engaging experience that fosters brand loyalty.

2. Enhanced Brand Awareness

The digital nature of modern marketing allows for greater reach and exposure to potential customers. Strategies like social media marketing, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) help to increase visibility and promote your brand to the right audience.

3. Increased Lead Generation

Modern marketing techniques are often more effective at generating leads than traditional methods. For example, content marketing and social media advertising can attract and convert prospects more efficiently than print ads or cold calling.

4. Better Data Analysis

Modern marketing tools and platforms provide a wealth of data and analytics that can inform your strategies and tactics. This allows for continuous testing, optimization, and better alignment of marketing efforts with business goals.

5. More Cost-Effective

Many modern marketing channels and techniques are less expensive than traditional options, such as TV or print advertising. This allows for more efficient budget use and the ability to allocate resources to high-ROI activities.

6. Improved Customer Insights

Digital marketing provides robust data collection and analysis capabilities that can improve understanding of customer behavior and preferences. This allows for more targeted, personalized marketing that resonates with audiences.

7. Greater Flexibility and Agility

Modern marketing is dynamic and constantly evolving, requiring the ability to adapt quickly to new trends, technologies, and consumer behaviors. This flexibility allows for experimentation and innovation that can lead to breakthrough strategies.

8. Stronger Alignment with Sales

Marketing and sales teams often operate in silos, but modern marketing provides a common language and metrics (such as lead scoring) that help integrate efforts. This alignment improves efficiency, reduces friction, and enhances the customer journey.

9. Enhanced Brand Reputation Management

Digital channels give consumers a platform to share positive and negative feedback. Modern marketing provides the tools to monitor online conversations and respond in real time, helping manage brand reputation and build customer trust.

10. Increased Focus on Sustainability and Social Impact

Consumers are increasingly prioritizing environmental and social responsibility in their purchasing decisions. Modern marketing helps brands communicate their sustainability efforts and social impact initiatives, resonating with values-driven consumers.

10 Examples of Successful Modern Marketing

People In Meeting - Core Components of Modern Marketing

1. Dippin' Dots – From Criticism to Connection

In 2017, Dippin’ Dots turned a potential crisis into a marketing win when old tweets resurfaced showing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer bashing the ice cream brand. Instead of ignoring the situation, Dippin’ Dots crafted a witty “Open Letter to Sean Spicer” that went viral, racking over 10 million views and reaching 1.4 billion people globally. The campaign also led to an 8,000% spike in brand mentions on Twitter, showcasing the potential of humor and grace in crisis management.

2. Chipotle – Championing Sustainable Food Practices

Chipotle has long positioned itself as a leader in sustainable food practices, and its viral marketing campaigns reinforce this message. In 2012, the brand released an animated short film, “Back to the Start,” about a farmer transitioning from industrial to sustainable farming. The film went viral, as did its 2013 sequel, “The Scarecrow,” which highlighted the dangers of processed food. Both campaigns featured emotional storytelling that captivated audiences and strengthened Chipotle’s brand image.

3. Airbnb – Equipping User-Generated Content

In 2021, Airbnb launched its first global marketing campaign in over four years, focusing on user-generated content (UGC). The campaign featured real travelers’ photos and stories, evoking feelings of nostalgia and hope during uncertain times. The campaign effectively connected with audiences by showcasing the Airbnb community and reinforced the brand’s value proposition.

4. Old Spice – Reinventing a Classic Brand

Old Spice has a long history of quirky advertising, but the brand’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign took things to a new level. The 2010 ads went viral, appealing to both men and women with their absurdist humor. Old Spice then doubled down on the campaign’s success with interactive social media content that engaged a younger demographic. The result? A staggering 125% increase in sales and a complete rebranding of Old Spice from a stale to a modern brand.

5. Always – Empowering Young Girls

Constantly’ #LikeAGirl” campaign challenged gender stereotypes by highlighting how the phrase “like a girl” is often used as an insult. The 2014 video went viral, sparking global conversations about the empowerment of young girls and the need to change societal norms. Always successfully positioned itself as a champion of women, strengthening brand loyalty among consumers.

6. Oreo – Real-Time Marketing at Its Finest

During the 2013 Super Bowl blackout, Oreo tweeted, “You can still dunk in the dark,” alongside an image of an Oreo cookie. The clever real-time marketing response went viral, earning 15,000 retweets and showcasing Oreo’s agility and cultural relevance. The campaign set a new real-time marketing standard, as brands routinely try to capitalize on major news events and social media trends.

7. Gillette – Sparking Conversations About Masculinity

Gillette’s “The Best Men Can Be” campaign tackled the issue of toxic masculinity and challenged men to hold each other accountable for their actions. The 2019 ad sparked widespread debate and positioned Gillette as a brand willing to engage in difficult conversations. This has helped the brand appeal to younger consumers, who are more likely to support companies that take a stand on social issues.

8. Volkswagen – A Creative Twist on Car Advertising

Volkswagen’s “The No Show Room” campaign took an innovative approach to car advertising by challenging the notion that consumers must visit a dealership to buy a car. The campaign involved hiding a Volkswagen Passat Alltrack in the Swedish wilderness and releasing clues on social media and TV to find it. The effort blended traditional and experiential marketing, generating significant media coverage and consumer engagement.

9. Apple – Addressing the Challenges of Remote Work

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to work from home, Apple released an ad that humorously captured the challenges of remote work. “The Whole Working-From-Home Thing” showcased how Apple products can help people stay connected and productive while providing some comic relief. The ad resonated with consumers during a difficult time and reinforced Apple’s brand positioning as an innovator in technology.

10. Zen Media and New Cosmos Electric – Promoting Natural Gas Safety

To promote the launch of New Cosmos Electric’s natural gas alarm in the U.S., Zen Media executed a comprehensive PR campaign that generated significant media coverage and social media engagement. The effort included positioning company executives as thought leaders on natural gas safety and partnering with influencers to reach new audiences. The campaign culminated in Las Vegas declaring January 6 Natural Gas Safety Awareness Day, showcasing the potential of strategic PR.

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8 Core Components of Modern Marketing You Must Know About