Happy Friday, dear reader! Let’s talk today about the marketing channels available when planning a marketing campaign. There are hundreds of choices, and not all are created equal. Plus, to be successful, it’s essential to plan a comprehensive, integrated marketing strategy. An integrated marketing strategy is a cohesive and coordinated approach to utilizing multiple marketing channels and tactics to deliver a unified message and achieve marketing objectives. It involves aligning your marketing efforts to work synergistically, ensuring consistency and continuity across different channels and touchpoints. How will you know which to choose? Your goals, audience, and budget will determine that. Your marketing channels need to align with where your audience consumes content, the time and money you have to invest in campaigns with each platform, and your marketing goals.
Types of Marketing/Advertising Channels
There are five categories of marketing channels. They are:
- Traditional Advertising includes paid advertising via print, television, radio, and out-of-home.
- Traditional Marketing includes messaging in direct mail, events, telemarketing, networking, and speaking engagements.
- Digital Advertising includes paid advertising via search engine marketing, display, retargeting, social media, and texting.
- Digital Content Marketing includes messaging on websites, email, social media, and SEO.
- Public Relations
For this blog, let’s look at each traditional channel in terms of audience, use case, budget, and common goals. Despite the fact that most of these channels are not online, they are still viable in certain cases and for certain audiences. Smart marketers do not overlook them.
Traditional Advertising — Print
Some consumers still read newspapers and magazines. If your customers are of a certain age, in a more traditional industry, or an area with limited internet access, print advertising may be a viable alternative for promotion. One benefit of print is that there is a lot of variability in ad sizes and pricing to fit any message and any budget. If you have great images of your unique product or location, print might be a good choice. Also, there is still an element of credibility to appearing in revered publications like the New York Times. The downside of print advertising is that you can’t segment who will see your ad, and you can’t always measure results. As print publications become more scarce, lead time in purchasing ads increases which making it hard to adapt to changes in your market.
Traditional Advertising — Radio
Radio doesn’t necessarily mean FM and AM. It also means music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Pandora. Most local radio stations are part of larger media companies meaning that you can negotiate a multi-station advertising deal spanning different audiences. A radio station can provide you with listener demographics to match their listeners with your target audience. Run your ads on the most active days and time slots you can afford. An advantage of audio advertising is the ability to tell an impactful brand story. A well-made 30-second commercial can entice prospective customers to want to learn more. It’s great for building awareness or interest. Because radio advertising is relatively easy to create, it offers you the flexibility to test multiple messages. To measure impact, include a specific call to action in each spot. If you do not do this, it is difficult to measure results.
Traditional Advertising — Television
You may think that television advertising is too expensive. That is not necessarily true. Your local television affiliate stations and cable companies sell ads during local news and other non-primetime slots. While not exactly cheap, a savvy business owner may be able to put together a local package that is worth the cost. If your goal is to build awareness in a local market, television spots can reach a large number of people quickly. The visual and audio element of a television spot allows you to tell a complete story. Because it is costly to create television spots, you may not have the ability to test different messages. Again, if you don’t include a call to action in the spot, it will be hard to measure its effectiveness.
Traditional Advertising — Outo-of-Home
Out of Home (OOH) advertising is ads that can be found on billboards, busses, cabs, bus shelters, and benches. There have recently been some very creative companies using this medium in unusual ways. Three-dimensional wallscapes and interactive videos on bus shelters are two examples. OOH advertising can have high impact on busy street corners or freeways. If your target market works in a downtown area, a series of well-placed bus shelter ads may increase awareness of your product. OOH doesn’t have to be expensive with strategic planning and a good advertising partner. One of the downsides of OOH is that your message must be short and memorable, something that can be retained while speeding by at 65 miles per hour. As with most traditional advertising, it is difficult to measure results with OOH without a precise call to action.
Traditional Marketing — Direct Mail
The United States Post Office is still an effective marketing platform for certain target markets. Take, for example, realtors who send “Your Neighbor’s House Just Sold” postcards. This marketing campaign is effective because they’ve targeted a highly specific audience and offered a credible solution to a problem, i.e., selling a house. Also, in the days of clogged email boxes and 24/7/365 social media, direct mail has become a unique experience. This makes your message stand out. That being said, gone are the days of huge multi-page catalogs. An effective direct mail piece is a postcard or booklet with lots of pictures and an impactful call to action. Try to create a piece that a consumer will want to keep for reference. Keep in mind postage and printing can become cost-prohibitive depending on the size of your mailing list and your printed piece.
Traditional Marketing — Events
Events include tradeshows, conferences, community events, or fundraisers. It may be a sponsorship opportunity or a chance to personally exhibit your product or service at the event. Choose events that your intended audience would attend. Offer printed marketing materials or samples to hand out and present your best sales pitch or product demonstration. Events can be very lucrative for direct sales or collecting new leads, but they can also be expensive. Do your research and decide if the ROI is worth it.
Traditional Marketing — Telemarketing
Believe it or not, this is still a viable marketing channel in certain cases. Telemarketing involves phone calls to communicate directly with potential customers and promote products or services. It can be used for lead generation, appointment setting, marketing research, or customer support. You should always comply with relevant regulations, such as Do-Not-Call lists and privacy laws, to ensure that calls are made to people who have consented or have a legitimate interest in your offerings. Additionally, you should ensure that your telemarketing approach aligns with the target audience’s preferences and expectations for effective engagement.
Traditional Marketing — Thought Leadership
This marketing method is effective for a company founder or spokesperson. The strategy is to position that person as a subject matter expert for your industry or market. You can do this by attending community and business events, meeting prospective colleagues and customers, and offering to share your knowledge at meetings and events. This tactic will help you build credibility and awareness for your business. Keep in mind this technique will take some time and effort to yield results.
Public Relations
PR uses both traditional and digital tactics because media outlets are both on and offline. It should never be your only marketing strategy. Getting media coverage is never a sure thing. However, an impactful story from a respected news source can build awareness for your business in less time than a direct mail or email campaign. PR is all about relationship building. Find out who your local reporters are and make a point to introduce yourself to them. Ask how they would like to be notified about story ideas and if there are specific angles they are interested in. Keep in touch as often as you can but don’t send them story ideas for just that reason. The trick is to become a trusted source, not a distraction.
More to Come!
Don’t worry; I’ll cover the digital channels in next week’s blog. They are also very important to a successful integrated marketing strategy. Remember, an integrated marketing strategy aims to create a seamless and consistent brand experience across all marketing touchpoints. By aligning your messaging, branding, channels, and campaigns, you’ll enhance brand recognition and engagement, ultimately driving better results and customer satisfaction.
Want to know more? Contact me today, and let’s talk!
