Chief Marketing Officer / Partner at Marketing 360®, overseeing all inbound lead generation strategies and partnerships.
Multichannel marketing is an approach that requires the use of many different marketing channels to get your message out. This can include television advertising, SEO, social media and more. The idea behind this marketing strategy is to target consumers on all platforms where they are most likely to be found in order to increase awareness for your brand or company.
Based on my experience with multichannel marketing, which we call “Marketing 360 strategy,” here are five tips on implementation.
1. Assess Your Data Collection And Analysis
The first thing to consider is how you’re collecting and analyzing your data across all platforms. Data is critical for making any strategy successful. How are you using your data? What insights can you glean from it, and how does that help drive the marketing goals of your company or business? If you’re not connecting your data to your goals, it will be almost impossible to identify and optimize for the best ROI.
2. Create Content To Use Across Platforms
The second thing to consider is content creation across all platforms. This includes social media posts, blog posts, white papers, etc. If you’re posting content just on your website and not on other platforms, you’re likely missing out on overall content effectiveness.
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To drive real value with content, post it on social media and share via other platforms as well. One post can be placed on your blog and then on Facebook, Instagram Stories and Twitter, and then you can deliver it with an email too. This same piece of content can be used in five to six different ways. The key to success is making sure that all of your content is consistent and cohesive across platforms.
3. Engage With Consumers Across Platforms
The third thing to consider is how you are connecting with your customers across various platforms. Too frequently, I see companies only using social media accounts to share information without engaging with their consumers or answering inquiries. This usually results in consumer dissatisfaction that may lead them to seek other options. I always advise that you have a dedicated social media marketer who is responsible for making sure your brand is responsive.
4. Use Paid Search Ads Across Platforms
The fourth thing to consider is using paid search ads across all platforms. This includes Google ads, Amazon ads, Facebook ads, Instagram ads and more. It is important to make sure you leverage your paid search ad strategy across as many channels as you can.
When I build out my inbound search ads, I always make sure that I connect that same audience and traffic to social and over-the-top ads. This expansion of traffic allows me to strategically market to consumers who are in-market buyers. When analyzing the conversion path in analytics, you can see the impact this has on your paid ads, so don’t forget to measure the results of your funnels.
5. Nurture Your Leads And Contacts
The final thing to consider is how you are leveraging all of your leads and contacts. Make sure you are taking the time to nurture them so that they become actual paying customers. And remember, it is critical not just to turn your current prospects into buyers but also to use them as references when selling products or services in the future.
Final Thoughts
In summary, a few things to remember when rolling out your multichannel strategy are: Make sure you can connect all your data and insights for analysis. Remember to produce content that is cohesive and consistent across all channels. Be responsive to inquiries on social media. And use paid search ads across all of your platforms. Finally, take the time to nurture leads and contacts so they become paying customers.
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