Digital marketing is a nice, tidy term that people use in the business world. It gets tossed around so much that it’s essentially lost any clear meaning. It’s vague, general, and unclear.

The problem is that most businesses don’t have a targeted approach for digital marketing. They use one or two methods/mediums and call it a strategy. Unfortunately, this isn’t the way it works. In order to find actual success with digital marketing, you have to understand what the term means and everything that it encompasses.

Embracing Multi-Channel Digital Marketing

When successful companies use the term digital marketing, they’re actually talking about a multi-channel strategy that engages people at every step and phase of their online experience. And though you may understand this from a theoretical perspective, it’s important that you do the same within your organization.

Research from Lead Forensics reveals that 95 percent of marketers understand the importance of a multi-channel approach, yet just 14 percent of organizations believe they’ve successfully implemented a multi-channel strategy.

Embracing multi-channel digital marketing is a must. Just ask The Drug Rehab Agency, which works with treatment centers to enhance their marketing strategies and lead generation efforts. According to their data, clients that adopt a multi-channel approach see the following results after just three months:

• 62 percent increase in conversions
• 56 percent increase in calls per day
• 77 percent increase in website traffic

These numbers are easily extrapolated across other industries as well. As Lead Forensics reports, 72 percent of consumers say they’d prefer to connect with brands through multiple channels before purchase.

The question is, are you using a multi-channel approach in your digital marketing?

If you’ve yet to incorporate a multi-channel marketing strategy into your organization, there’s still time to act. Here are a few suggestions and best practices to get you moving in a positive direction:

1. Maintain a Consistent Message

“Omni-channel customer experience is a complex issue that small businesses must tackle to retain customers and continue to grow, and like all other components of small business, customer experience demands consistency,” digital marketer Julie Chomiak writes.

Consistency across channels doesn’t mean everything you do is the same. It means that the same message is being communicated, regardless of what medium is used. Whether it’s on your website, via social media, or through an email marketing campaign, you need to communicate similar value and build on your messaging in other areas.

1. Have a Singular Goal

There needs to be a clear goal at the core of any multi-channel strategy. This will help you develop a consistent message and stay on track when hurdles inevitably emerge along the way.

Every strategy will have a different goal. Are you looking to increase website traffic? Drive direct sales? Maximize impressions? Increase your social media following? Every objective will require a unique approach. Be thoughtful about how you strategize.

1. Use at Least 4 Different Channels

Lead Forensics’ data shows that businesses using four or more digital channels outperform those using only one or two channels by a whopping 300 percent. If you can develop a multi-channel strategy that uses four different channels, you’re bound to see your results skyrocket.

Having said that, you don’t want to add channels just for the sake of doing more. Only add a channel when you’re able to fully commit to it. (Otherwise, you risk watering down your marketing campaign.)

1. Measure and Monitor Your Results

It’s foolish to invest in any business strategy without having a plan in place for tracking and measuring results. The same is true in digital marketing.

Successful multi-channel digital marketing campaigns look at measurable analytics, data points, and key performance indicators to figure out what’s working. Based on these results, businesses can then optimize the approach to achieve results that better align with the underlying objectives.

Engage Your Customers Where They Are

With a multi-channel digital marketing approach, you’re no longer restricted to a single medium. Wherever your customers go – from your website to search engines to social media – you have a strategy designed to engage and push them through the sales funnel from awareness to conversion. Are you ready to give it a try? You’ll like the results.

Categories: General