Thanks to the advent of new technologies, marketers have more channels available than ever before through which to reach their targets and grow their bottom lines. Today, a sophisticated campaign may include the traditional advertising we’re used to from years past, while also utilizing social media platforms, engaging video content and highly-targeted email nurturing, as well as a handful of other tactics.
While this opens up new opportunities to reach customers, marketers also need to be sure they’re taking ample time to optimize their content across an increasingly complex mix of marketing channels. When planning a cross-channel campaign, your marketing team must take into account the strengths and weaknesses inherent to each channel and tailor content accordingly.
If you want your cross-channel marketing efforts to be successful, avoid these three common mistakes:
Different channels deliver different outcomes: while a media relations campaign can build brand awareness and affinity, it will not necessarily deliver direct sales. If it’s a direct impact on your bottom line you’re looking for, a lead gen campaign may be more effective.
Learn to recognize what to expect from the tactics you’re utilizing, and set measurable goals that reflect the strengths and weaknesses of each channel.
Your customers consume a wide variety of media, and you should build your campaigns accordingly. Unless you have data indicating that your target market is active on one specific channel, avoid putting too many of your eggs in one basket. Instead, diversify your campaigns by distributing your content across a wide variety of channels and test the effectiveness of each one.
As we’ve discussed before, a cross-channel campaign needs to be unified, but content must be tailored to fit the strengths of each channel. Your white papers, for instance, should not be presented in the same format on your website as they are in your email campaigns. Major brands have been taking their cross-channel optimization to new levels, and you need to as well if you want to compete.
Take, for example, Samsung’s “Ready for the Next Big Thing” enterprise marketing campaign. Samsung has not historically devoted a significant portion of its marketing budget to its corporate customer segment, but the company wanted to make a major push into the enterprise space in 2015. Recognizing that their business customers are just as sophisticated in their media consumption habits as consumer targets, Samsung developed a highly diversified, cross-channel optimized approach for “Ready for the Next Big Thing.”
The campaign includes print and digital advertising in both major publications like Bloomberg and The New York Times and niche tech websites, but also takes advantage of video and social media. While print ads deliver brief, straightforward messages focused on the impact of Samsung’s phones on employee productivity, digital video content goes in-depth into business-friendly features of the Samsung Galaxy S6 such as multi-tasking (“check your calendar while you send a text”) and access to Office 360 apps, and shows them in action. The messaging is consistent, but uniquely tailored to the opportunities presented by each channel.
Are you guilty of any of these mistakes in your campaigns? What will you do to improve?
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