How do you get the biggest bang for your marketing buck?
Answer: Cross platform integration!
Sounds terribly geeky, right? Let me explain: The more marketing venues on which you have an active presence that also send viewers to your other active venues, the more you increase the possibility you’ll convert interested parties into sales. Repeat your message on as many platforms as you can.
Chances are you’ll reach more of your audience by appearing on several different venues – digital and traditional. Would you believe 95% of Millennials expect brands to have a Facebook presence? But also, 87% of Gen X’ers (30- to 44-year-olds) and even 70% of those ages 45 to 60 think brands should, at the very least, have a Facebook page, according to Social Media Examiner. (And that’s only one platform.) What about on your website? Newspaper ads? Brochures? Radio spots? Bus stop ad signs? Grocery carts ads…
Kill Two (or more) Birds with One Stone
Here’s a quick tip before the holiday craziness starts while you begin planning for your 2016 marketing efforts:
Use the same message and content across these multiple platforms, directing audience to progress from one to another–like a treasure hunt.
For a recent presentation, I gave an example of how you can promote your business and expertise across traditional and digital channels at the same time using the same message in different–but connected–ways.
I printed the cards shown at the top of the page. Each had the same front design, featuring information about my business. The back of each card provided snapshots of key marketing metrics and statistics for 2015. (A veritable lightweight “baseball card” for marketing.)
As there’s limited space in any print format, viewers who wanted to learn more about the statistic blurb, shown on the back of the card, and how it may apply to their own businesses, were directed to a page on my website (at left) where they could examine details not only for the one statistic they were interested in, but also for other key metric statistics in the deck of cards.
At the presentation, recipients had the option to keep the cards as gifts, or share them, as a group or individually, with others interested in marketing strategy. (And I’ve extras if you’d like your own deck of cards! Just ask.)
Leading Viewers Down the Garden Path
Here’s how I designed the flow of information to guide viewers through this marketing campaign funnel:
- Printed valuable content on card => leads to =>
- Webpage on my website, or =>
- My phone number.
- Webpage content leads to => more information on the marketing metric as well as => to the source material (by link).
- The end of the webpage has a call-to-action (CTA) leading to => a free consultation, or =>
- A request the site visitor sign up for a newsletter.
This type of information flow provides visitors with multiple touch points with your brand, further cementing your brand in the prospects’ minds.
Effective Use of Multiple Marketing Platforms
What valuable information can you share with prospects to demonstrate your expertise?
- Auto care tips
- Pet health care
- Financial advice
- Home construction/repair advice
- How to’s
- Tell a story, offer a case study intro
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Next, how and where should your expert information flow? Printed on cards leading to an online page? Social media post leading to a website page? Don’t forget you will likely need to send them down that garden path with multiple stops to “smell the roses,” i.e. let them explore the valuable data. Once they review your website content, be sure they sign up for a newsletter so you’ll still reach them next time and keep them in that marketing sales “funnel.”
Oh, about the details on the backs of my cards shown above: You can pick ‘n’ choose which 2015 marketing metric statistics are most important to your business here. It’s fascinating to learn how much time Americans spend on a website on average or how much they trust ads shown on a social media site or via Google Ads. It’s something you can take advantage of to know where your ads will be most effective.
Happy Thanksgiving! And may you have crystal clear insight on your 2016 marketing strategy.
