These days there are more and more ways to promote your goods and services, whether it’s by direct marketing, print advertising, or online. When it comes to the internet, this can be broken down into social media and web-based advertising. According to a study published by the Harvard Business Review, 73% of shoppers use multiple channels. Other studies discovered that people showed higher engagement and customer retention, and more sales when marketing campaigns used several different channels.
There’s a lot of talk about the value of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and the omnichannel customer experience. Added to that are integrated digital campaigns. The latter speak of uniformity, consistency, and connection. It’s a classic case of joined-up thinking that helps boost brand awareness and encourages sales. If you are intrigued by this subject, you’ll be interested to read the following six points.
You May Need External Help
If you have a product to sell you will need to think about what to call it and how to package it. No serious business would exist without a website and once again, the logo, branding, and colors can be key to establishing public awareness. If you lack the skills or resources to address this, you may need a professional graphic artist or another specialist company. A visit to the Two Palms website reveals that businesses want to see example content before they commit. They also want to know who are some of their current big-named clients.
If your digital campaign is fully integrated all paths will direct traffic to your website and its sales pages. It may be worth involving a marketing company or specialist IT agency to help you. They can harness the power of analytical tools to discover your target audience and help optimize your website for Search Engine Optimisation purposes.
Its Design Is To Unify The Different Channels
Both websites and social media pages are like megaphones. Imagine them all broadcasting details of your goods and services in an identical way. No matter which megaphone you hear, the same message is being conveyed. It’s similar to the omnichannel customer experience we mentioned earlier, where people have the same information and options whether they are using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or your website.
It’s worth setting out the three types of digital media at this point, namely owned media (Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.), earned media (where people find you in Google searches or through blog links), and paid media (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.). Your integrated digital campaign will provide a number of doors that all lead to the same place.
Search Engine Optimisation Can Help
People enter specific search words into Google and other web browsers when they are looking for goods or services like yours. The punchline is they may not be using the words you expect, in which case your marketing attempts will be flawed.
In order to succeed you need to:
- Know what they are (to make yourself relevant)
- Include them in your content and on your website
- Increase the ranking (visibility) of your site through SEO.
Whether it’s a blog, email, webpage, Facebook post, or Youtube video, all need to include the key search words and a link (if possible) to your website. This way ‘all roads lead to Rome’ and the more traffic you get, the more revenue you may be able to receive.
Branding Is Essential
The aim of the game is that people can instantly recognize your products by looking at the artwork (e.g. photography, graphics, logo, strapline, colors). If it varies between any of the different channels (e.g. Facebook and your email marketing) its effectiveness will be compromised.
You’ll want your brand to be seen as a household name and a dependable company to do business with. There should be no confusion as to what you’re about and what you have to offer, no matter where they find you. In turn, your customers can become ‘your tribe.’
Social Media Is A Key Tool
This applies whether it’s LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, or more. Almost half the planet has access to social media, totaling around 3.5 billion people. Some of these are potential customers, so they need to hear a clear voice speaking to them (and louder than your rivals).
You can broadcast your brand message by regularly posting quality and engaging content. Whether it’s Youtube or Facebook, the message needs to be consistent. As well as growing your following and updating people on your latest offers and products, you can also do paid ads.
You Need To Discover Your Target Audience
The first step is to be sure there is a market demand for what you have to offer. If you’ve researched your target audience in advance using analytical tools, this data will be used to steer your campaign.
Using Facebook Ads as an example, you can select the age, gender, and location of your campaign audience. You can also direct the ads to people with specific interests and time the campaigns to occur when they will be most effective.
Niche Marketing
This involves restricting who you try to reach during your campaign. If it’s men in their twenties, for instance, you’ll customize the wording and style of the adverts accordingly. You’ll also advertise when and where these people are looking. By aiming for a narrow niche it can be easier to analyze your latest campaigns. Once you know what does and doesn’t work you can widen the net to include new categories of people. This may prove more cost-productive than producing generic ads designed to reach everyone.
Whilst we’ve been talking about integrated digital campaigns, it’s important to appreciate that not every channel will suit your marketing plan. If your target audience doesn’t use Pinterest, turn your focus elsewhere. Identify the best channels and make sure they are fully integrated by using consistent marketing strategies. Rather than one of them bringing you business, it will be many that contribute to your success. The resulting synergy will help promote your brand persona and motivate people to become your customers.