How Times are Changing in the Federal Marketing Industry?

Federal marketing orders are laws intended to help maintain stable market conditions for dairy, produce, and food items. Farmers can work together to overcome marketing difficulties with the help of these initiatives, which are run by the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) of the United States Department of Agriculture. Producers contact the USDA to get a marketing order.

Federal marketing orders are laws intended to help maintain stable market conditions for dairy, produce, and food items. Farmers can work together to overcome marketing difficulties with the help of these initiatives, which are run by the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) of the United States Department of Agriculture. Producers contact the USDA to get a marketing order.

The regulation must then be adopted by at least two-thirds of the farmers and handlers who will be covered by the marketing order. Each commodity has a different frequency and timeframe for referendum voting. The USDA suggests that a referendum be held once every six years if dates are not specified in the language of a particular marketing order (Sparks USDA AMS 2011). A marketing order that has been put into effect is binding on all handlers and growers of the product within the order's designated geographic area.

Times are changing in the federal marketing industry

The outstanding 2012 Federal Media and Marketing Study, published by Market Connection, included data on the sources of news and information used by senior federal decision-makers and staff. The report's objective is to assist readers in creating government marketing programs and choosing media venues that are suitable for consumers' tastes. We like the report's demographics because 82% of the respondents are 45 or older, which shows that they probably have a lot of power or influence in their respective agencies.

The spin on the statistics in various blogs and news releases regarding the report suggests that traditional marketing is still effective and should be used. But I contend that the data supports what we have been saying for a while—that is, that businesses need to change to compete in the new world of content marketing, social media marketing, and search marketing.

Let's go over some of the statistics from this study that has received a lot of attention.

Is print media no longer effective?

According to Market Connections, "Federal marketing decision makers are gradually reducing their use of print trade periodicals, but the decline from last year is modest (40% in 2011 to 35% in 2012)." But in just one year, that shows a double-digit reduction! Although I genuinely don't believe print advertising will ever fully disappear, it is undeniably much less significant now than it was a few years ago, and given the expense, would marketing dollars be better spent elsewhere?

Are Conferences and Trade Shows Worth Attending?

More than half of government decision-makers attend trade exhibitions, so these events continue to offer good marketing and networking opportunities. Although human interactions are always valuable, trade fairs may not always be the greatest venue for businesses to meet potential clients. Trade fairs are likely to be successful for you in federal marketing if they are successful for you in the commercial sphere. Of course, giving a speech at a conference is much more effective than just presenting at a trade show for selling services and complex solutions. Sadly, federal travel for training and conferences will decrease over the next few years due to budget shortages and the recent GSA conference controversy.

Are webinars beneficial?

Participation in webinars grew from 14% to 26%. Yes, almost twice as much. And the budget cuts indicated before might boost webinar attendance even more.

LinkedIn is still expanding.

Federal marketing decision-makers now use LinkedIn at a rate of 35%, up from 18% in the previous year. The place for professionals to network and exchange ideas is undoubtedly LinkedIn.

Facebook is not that significant!

Facebook has not shown to be all that useful for B2G marketing. The study indicated that the usage of Facebook for work-related purposes by federal workers has decreased from 6% to 3%. Facebook may be expanding for personal usage, but it is currently not a practical channel for B2G marketing.

Blogging is crucial.

More than one-third (37%) claim to read blogs. Writing excellent content is therefore still crucial for attracting potential government employees. Effective blogging strengthens your company's brand, builds connections, and establishes it as a thought leader.

The Importance of Federal Inbound Marketing

The aforementioned statistics strongly imply that it is imperative to incorporate federal inbound marketing into your overall federal marketing effort.

Regarding the significance of search marketing, there is yet another component that wasn't mentioned earlier. According to other research, government employees use search engines like Google to get information on solutions to their difficulties. In recent research by the GSA, it was discovered that 75% of federal employees used search engines for this reason. What factors affect how high your company appears in search results? Social media marketing, content marketing, and search marketing.

 

Medium-sized and large-sized companies could develop a hybrid approach that incorporates inbound marketing into the mix if they can still afford pricey outbound marketing initiatives like trade exhibitions and print media advertising. Federal inbound marketing should be a priority in your B2G marketing plan in the upcoming years for small and smaller medium-sized contractors, who need to be smarter about marketing expenses.