This week we’re taking on on integrated marketing strategy and how to find the perfect mix for the best results.
Integrated marketing strategy is on everyones agenda right now. Why? Because no single banner ad, billboard or blog post is going to be as successful as an integrated marketing campaign. Simple.
But, here’s the hard part: how do you build an integrated marketing strategy when there’s so many channels and options to choose from. How do you decide what that best possible mix looks like and how will you activate it without missing a beat? It’s a difficult question, we’ve had to create a full service digital agency that can work end to end with clients to truly integrate campaigns as there’s simply so much going on.
In a study conducted last year by Pointroll in conjunction with Kelton Research, more than half of the American marketing professionals asked said they used five or more tools on a single campaign. Of these, 15% said they use seven to nine different tools and 13% claimed to use an average of 10 or more per marketing campaign.
Despite the wide array of tools being used, it’s safe to say there is no magic formula. It’s impossible to pick an integrated approach that’s going to work time in time out. Instead, each mix needs to be personalised to the brand and their message.
When it comes to marketing tools for a digitally-led campaign, think along the lines of social, content, tablets, apps, website development and search. Any number of these can be used in any digital marketing campaign, but you don’t necessarily need all of them.
The success of a marketing campaign is all about getting your brand’s message known to as many people in your target market as possible. This doesn’t mean sticking up a billboard on the side of the road for everyone driving on the M25 to see. In the digital world, it means spreading your brand’s message between a particular mix of online streams which work to complement each other, thus providing an holistic solution to communicating your brand’s message.
The trick is to think outside the box. The digital world is always changing and new marketing opportunities are always popping up. Take Vine, the social app, which lets you capture and share a continually looping 6-second video, for example. This has huge potential for marketers looking to create branded content, which was demonstrated at our latest Content Creation Collective event.
As an example of an integrated approach, let’s say you’re a budding travel company wanting to get yourself known. You might choose to run a competition to get people interested in and engaging with your brand. But, for it to work, you need people to know about it.
And how can you achieve this?
How about getting a great article or comical video made surrounding the competition? But that’s not all. From there, get this fabulous piece of content published on a variety of high profile and targeted sites which implore the audience to visit the website you’ve had specifically made for the competition. Then, inspire people to share and engage with your brand via the hashtag or Twitter handle you’ve created for the occasion. Heck, why not a Facebook page too?
In this example, you’ve used content, website development, social sharing and all-round exposure to gain engagement and, most importantly, business from your target market. Audiences are given more than a simple banner ad to look at. They’re given a whole brand experience to interact with.
If you’re looking for a London based agency to help you produce truly integrated communications that blend campaigns, content and conversations we can help, get in touch and find out how.
