A few years ago I attended a marketing seminar that demonstrated through research how a multi- channel approach was best for any marketing activity. Quite simply, the more channels used, the better the chance of success. Therefore by just focusing on one or two channels, no matter how good you are at optimising these channels, you’re limiting yourself. So if you want to know what channels to choose for your next marketing campaign, get ready to think far and wide.
The only thing that matters is that your audience sees your campaign or marketing message. There’s absolutely no point in talking about your amazing discount or new product in a place where it’s of no interest to the general audience. It seems obvious, but I see a lot of people think that spreading the net as far as possible is the best thing to do regardless of who sees it. You could argue where’s the harm. But for every channel you use, there is a time element involved. If you spend even one minute in a space that has none of your potential audience, it’s a minute you’ve completely wasted. So think smart and maximise your time.
I’d recommend beginning by listing down everywhere you think that your audience could see your message – both in the offline and online world. You should have already done some research to get this far, so use that as best you can. Think about:
- What social media platforms they use
- What publications they read
- What websites they might tend to view that you could liaise with
- Do they use email?
- Are they signed up to receive your newsletter?
- Where do they spend their day? Could you pop a flyer in the local GP surgery? Put a sign in the local shop?
- Are they home based – could you post flyers door to door?
- Are they office based – would a direct mailer work?
- Where do they network?
- What events might they attend that you could sponsor, partner with or pop along to?
- If this is of interest to current customers, could you promote it on despatch notes or your email signature, or anything else that customers will see?
- Don’t forget your own assets, like your shop, website, or even blog – how can you utilise everything you’ve got to shout about this message?
- How can you communicate it internally to make sure your team also spreads the word – are the sales people or customer service people talking about it?
These are just a few examples. Work through everything you know about your audience and try to find a way to capture their attention across a range of media. Remember, it takes a person about seven times of seeing something before it sinks in. Therefore, you need to make sure you talk it about it as many times and in as many places as possible to get capture people’s attention.
When you work in marketing, it’s so easy to get bored of seeing the same message over and over. You can even start to worry that you’re becoming irritating as you keep on saying the same thing time and time again. But remember, you see it all the time, your audience doesn’t. Even if it’s in front of them, with hundreds of other messages passing their eyes every hour, yours isn’t going to be easily remembered. So keep at it. Being consistent and persistent is vital.
When you’ve chosen your channels, your plan of action is set. You need to then just create a content plan. Make sure you know what you’re going to say and when, and you tell the right story across all the media you’re going to use. The more it can seem well though through, the more professional you’ll look, and the better response you’re likely to get.
That’s all the thinking done then. Now it’s time for action, and this is essentially the easy part. Just make sure you keep a track of things and monitor results as you go along. It would be terrible to do all this preparation and then have no idea if it worked or not. So keep measuring!
If you’d like any help with creating a campaign or putting together a plan of action, get in touch with us as Lindsay Woodward Marketing.
