Detroit City Wire

Members of the Detroit Regional Chamber's Communications and Marketing teams recently participated in a panel at the 2024 Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals conference. The discussion focused on marketing tools and strategies that organizations can easily adapt to enhance their efforts.

Krishaun Burns, the Chamber’s Integrated Marketing Manager, discussed the importance of creating accessible and engaging email marketing campaigns. She emphasized designing emails with accessibility in mind by ensuring fonts are readable on both desktop and mobile screens. Burns also advised against using a single image as an entire email body since such emails often end up in spam folders. Instead, she recommended balancing text with engaging visuals like gifs or videos to improve delivery rates.

Katie Tomaszewski, Social Media Specialist for the Chamber, highlighted how social media can be used to build connections and celebrate success. By repurposing event blog content for social media, sharing member highlights, and providing event coverage, organizations can connect more personally with their audience. Tomaszewski suggested using content scheduling platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, X, Buffer, HootSuite, and Later as time-saving strategies for managing social media presence.

Miranda Spennato, Digital Marketing Manager at the Chamber, stressed the importance of analytics in refining marketing strategies. She explained that understanding metrics such as organic search traffic and top-performing pages is crucial for tailoring content based on audience interaction. Tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar help analyze visitor behavior to improve user experience.

Ryan Miller from Hub-365 spoke about crafting a memorable brand identity through research-driven targeting and tailored messaging. He noted that branding is an evolving process involving experimentation and audience engagement.

The panelists agreed that maintaining creativity can be challenging for small teams but suggested looking to other sectors for inspiration. They emphasized that effective marketing doesn't require reinventing the wheel but rather enhancing existing practices to better serve audiences.

"Embrace these insights," they encouraged attendees "and continue to improve your marketing strategy."