As marketers we often work with clients to create quality content to reach their buyers, but creating great content is no longer sure bet for success. Marketers need to be laser focused on where to promote their content and there is no shortage of marketing channels to amplify your message. This guest post was written by Lynn Smith, COO of our client, Focused Impressions, a company that is reinventing the way corporate marketers work with their channel partners and discusses the best mulitmarketing channels for you to use.
Today’s communicators have a variety of different channels to choose from when they market their content. It can be very confusing. There are traditional channels such as print advertising or direct mail as well as digital channels such as email and social media.
Channels can primarily be categorized in one of two ways, publishing channels or dialogue channels. This categorization is by function although there are cross over capabilities. For example, You Tube and corporate blogs are primarily publishing channels, however, the comments capabilities enable dialogue.
Multichannel marketing gives you the opportunity to amplify the same content through multiple channels to reach a broad audience. While there are many channels to promote and amplify your content, it is sometimes difficult to know what channel to use and when to use it.
Here are five items to consider when deciding which channels you should use to amplify your content.
- Budget: Not all marketing channels are free. Any type of “sponsored” content usually has a fee associated with it. Ads in either magazines or online sites (including social media) require payment. The benefit of paying for a channel is that the marketer has complete control over the content and can often reach a large targeted audience. The disadvantage is that sometimes paid marketing loses credibility with the buyer.
- Audience: It’s important to know your audience and how they like to receive information. Millennials will visit various social media for opinions and information about a product and are more likely to view content on a mobile device. Generation X still responds to email and videos and Baby Boomers prefer paid print advertising, but do also visit more traditional social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Remember one size does not fit all, so post different content targeted to each demographic in separate marketing channels.
- Owned Media: Owned media like corporate blogs, videos, social media postings allow companies the opportunity to promote their own news and message. Often instead of paying for a press release to go over the newswire, companies will post a blog post about a new product or service and use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to help amplify the message. The benefit is that companies can promote their content free over multiple channels and have full control over their message. The disadvantage is that like paid marketing, the buyer may see this as too self-promoting and it may not always reach the right audience.
- Earned Media: Earned media includes news items, bylined articles, executive quotes, case studies or analyst reports can earn your biggest marketing boost. Media placements can provide third party validation and can help lend credibility to your company or product. Earned media isn’t always a guarantee and it can’t be self-promotional. It must offer some type of content put in context of a current industry trend.
- Dialogue: In the “old days” marketers would have to travel to tradeshows or events to hear directly from their customers and prospects. An unhappy customer would have to write a letter or pick up the phone to complain. Now in less than a minute a customer can type an angry tweet, post a comment or share a negative experience on a variety of social media sites. This offers an opportunity for companies to engage with customers and fix any issues quickly. It also is a good way to exchange information and learn more about your buyers.
While there are many channels to promote and amplify your content, it is sometimes difficult to know which channel to use and when to use it. To receive a free cheat sheet from Focused Impressions to help you choose the right channels, click here.
To learn more about how to use content to generate leads download our free ebook, "The 30 Greatest Lead Generation Tips. Tricks & Ideas"
