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With the emergence of new digital platforms, traditional marketers and brand managers are being forced to expand their knowledge base quickly. Advertising has moved from tried-and-true methods to an anything-is-possible universe, and this transition has happened so fast it has left both parties unsure of how to market their brands.
It’s not just a lack of expertise or experience holding these parties back. Their structures and processes are founded in traditional marketing activities and can’t support a converged media model.
New-model agencies, like Premier Studios, understand this blended approach as they merge strategy, creativity and technology by refusing to delineate expertise into silos. In order to embrace the cross-pollination of media over multiple mediums, these agencies have integrated the craft execution services that were historically outsourced. And because of this have developed the agility necessary to flourish in the digital space.
So what strategies are these companies implementing to differentiate themselves? Here are a few to examine:
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- They utilize the data effectively — Marketers used to struggle to get data quickly and accurately; now the inverse is true. Digital marketing initiatives are always coupled with tracking and analytics, making it easy to get lost in the numbers. Successful utilization of the data comes from the ability to sift through the meaningless information and focus on the conversion points that matter.
- They embrace social media — With such massive populations of online users participating in social medias, brands that aren’t making their online content social media friendly are missing significant opportunities. Implementing a social bookmarking strategy encourages brand supporters to generate online buzz. And with consumers trusting third party communications more than direct advertising, this strategy can be very effective for brand promotion.
- They produce more online content — The implications of this strategy are twofold. First, those who produce relevant content on an ongoing basis demonstrate their expertise and differentiate themselves as thought leaders. Second, updating website content on a frequent basis encourages search engines to index the site more often and will improve search engine rankings. Success here requires careful content strategy selection and assurances that the content published is relevant to the products and services offered by the brand.
- They drive traffic online — Being effective in the digital space doesn’t mean abandoning traditional marketing activities. Instead, use the traditional marketing initiatives to drive traffic into the digital space. Pushing the audience online allows for real-time tracking and analysis while providing better opportunities for interaction. By using blogs, forums and live chats, a brand can engage in two-way communication that traditional marketing doesn’t allow.
- They push content through multiple channels — A great advantage of digital marketing is the types of media used in this space have the flexibility to be published multi-channel. Videos originally created for broadcast can be repurposed for websites and mobile devices. Website articles, news stories and blogs can be aggregated by RSS feeds and SMS texting mechanisms, providing real-time updates to subscribers. By building the processes necessary to cross-pollinate the content, marketers maximize the value of the content for the budget spent.
The digital space will undoubtedly continue to influence how brands communicate with their constituents, and as it does it will become an increasingly competitive arena. Only through the convergence of strategy, creativity and technology will successful brands differentiate themselves from the rest.
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