YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Public records provide an unfiltered look into what’s coming to Springfield. For this edition, I’m taking a look at commercial building permits currently on file with the city. Check SBJ.net for future coverage.
Affordable Auto LLC
1915 W. Kearney St.
Description: New repair facility
Chick-Fil-A
2355 N. Glenstone Ave.
Description: Fast-food establishment at Glenstone Avenue and Kearney Street
Crossway Baptist Church
2900 N. Barnes Ave.
Description: Children’s wing addition
El Cafecito
2462 S. Campbell Ave.
Description: Addition of paved or gravel patio space adjacent to building
Elevate Dental Studio
304 W. Weaver Road
Description: 11,000-square-foot dental clinic
S&L Donuts
2925 W. Republic Road
Description: Occupancy of an existing restaurant space for use as a doughnut shop
Truth and Counsel LLC
4225 S. Charleston Ave.
Description: Interior renovation
The average American is exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements per day, according to a January article from career planning company Zippia.
That’s a lot of ads, both from the perspective of the consumer and the advertiser. An advertiser may be wondering: How do I get my product in front of potential buyers when there’s so much competition for their attention?
An interesting trend that’s popped up in recent years is referred to by some as meme marketing, and it can be highly effective in being heard through the noise.
The concept is relatively simple and works well on social media.
A brand like Wendy’s, for example, might post some off-the-wall content about a cat and a potluck, which has nothing to do with its menu items. It’s so bizarre that it makes you stop to look and maybe even read the comments, just to see what is going on. The brand has engaged with you, the potential consumer, without even mentioning a burger or a Frosty.
Locally, Silver Dollar City’s work in meme marketing is turning heads.
From posts about how “we definitely don’t have a shark problem” at Mystic River Falls to meme images with funny taglines, you almost forget you’re consuming advertisements.
As a consumer, I’m much more likely to pause on a silly ad than a serious one, but that fits my personality. It depends on the brand.
Christine Morton, owner of Morton Marketing 417 LLC, classified this type of advertising as “relatable content.” And it comes amid a changing landscape for marketing professionals.
“The traditional tactics, such as hard selling, are not appealing to consumers anymore, especially to those on social media. We have to remember that social media was originally invented as a networking and entertainment tool,” Morton said. “Therefore, the more you only talk about your products and sell, sell and then sell some more, the more you actually repel people from buying from you.”
Morton said on social media, marketing professionals should aim to follow the 80/20 rule. The rule, she said, notes that 80% of the time marketing should be dedicated to connecting with your audience and establishing relationships, while 20% of the time should be used for promotions.
“You have to be strategic and learn how to use content, such as relatable content, to sell without selling,” Morton said. “This specific sort of content is amazing at building a relationship with your audience in a way that separates you from your competitors because it speaks to their target audience on their level.”
Meme marketing, or relatable content, is part of a brand’s strategy in digital content, and it might not be right for every company.
Connecting and engaging with your target audience is the ultimate goal, regardless of tactic, Morton said.
“When you truly understand your unique selling proposition as a business, who your consumers are and what makes them buy, content on social media will be effective just as it was for you,” she said.
Sometimes, that might involve alleged shark sightings at Silver Dollar City.
I love data. Collected correctly, it cuts down on the nonsense and gets straight to the heart of an issue. A public earnings report, for example, is heavy on substance and light on fluff. It gets right into the numbers, putting the important information out front. Of course, the main barrier to entry is the data must be interpreted to be useful. That’s where analysts come in, and I hope I can lend some perspective as I dig into this new series on my beat page.
Recently, data on radio stations and their content caught my eye.
Inside Radio on April 24 published an article that analyzes Nielsen data to find what type of content is most popular with radio station listeners.
The data show that during the first quarter, news and talk radio was No. 1 among consumers, collecting 10.2% of the market share. While it maintained its No. 1 rank from the first quarters of 2022 and 2021, news and talk radio has decreased from 12.3% during the first three months of 2021.
No. 2 adult contemporary radio gained during the same period, rising to 8.4% in the first quarter this year from 7.8% in the same quarter of 2021.
Of note to Inside Radio’s analysis was the classic hits and urban contemporary genres, as both showed gains on a year-to-year and month-to-month basis.
Classic hits grew to 5.9% in the first quarter from 5.7% a year earlier, while urban contemporary rose to 3% from 2.9% on an annual basis. Classic hits listening was up to 6% in February compared with 5.7% in January. The urban contemporary category grew to 3% in February from 2.8% in January.
Radio industry professionals are sure to pay attention to these statistics in more than 20 categories.
It could mean classic hits and urban contemporary will come closer to the top in future reports. I’ll be keeping my ear to the radio and paying attention.
Contact Geoff Pickle
Phone: 417-616-5856
Email: gpickle@sbj.net
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Missouri State University’s science building, built in 1971 and formerly called Temple Hall, is being reconstructed and updated.