You’ve probably heard the “digital marketing is dead” rhetoric before.
In fact, at some point in 2013 digital marketing was pronounced dead and the term post-digital began to sweep across the marketing industry. But, is it safe to say that we are living and working in a post-digital marketing world?
Every day a new app is created, a new social platform is being explored by the masses and new technology is being implemented. It can’t be said that digital is dead.
It can, however, be justified that digital marketing is transforming—and in a big way.
Marketers are realizing that in order to hit home with their digital messages, they must also hit home with their IRL (in real life) messaging.
Consider the results from The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, which finds that more than half of consumers claim that innovation is based on greed and money rather than a desire to improve people’s lives
Now, probably more than ever, marketers and business owners have their work cut out for them. Reaching target audiences from all angles to convey both value and trust is a must. When this is accomplished, we market more efficiently and effectively, saving both time and money.
Let’s take a look at what we can do to improve our post-digital marketing strategy
Connect to customers through emotional actions
The best way to do this in both B2B and B2C is to move away from promotional content via PPC, TV, Social Ads, etc. and move toward connecting target personas to educational and pleasing content. We do this by focusing on our target persona's pains and give them solutions.
An example of this is Uber in the transportation industry. The app itself is as smooth as butter and a work of art--but that’s not what makes them smart. The emotional connection is their built-in fee that supports the Uber community by ensuring the platform has safety for riders and drivers as its number one priority.
Uber does a great job of not only creating a top of the line digital experience but also reduces supposed risk while ensuring value and most importantly, consumer safety.
Choose the most logical channels for your personas
Once you have a clear strategy that will emotionally connect with your target personas, you must consider the channels in which your personas frequent. This seems like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many organizations use the wrong channels to connect with their audience both online and offline.
We’ve all been there, paying expensive consultants and purchasing new software in the name of increased sales. While the initial high is nice, it’s quickly followed by “where is my ROI and when will I receive it?”
Most likely, you’re using the wrong channels for your industry and your audience.
Are you conveying the right brand messaging on the right channels? Is this message solving a solution your personas are looking for?
An example: When you are posting content on LinkedIn vs Facebook, is the message the same? If it is, you are definitely not utilizing your channels appropriately. Are you using an auto-publish feature for all channels from your blog posts? Again, not effective.
Facebook users are attracted to entertaining, emotional, comical, motivational and more often that not, negative posts. When you post a comment, picture or article that truly connects with the Facebook audience, the likelyhood of shariblity goes up significantly. Just look at Buzzfeed's advertorial strategy! In 2014, Buzzfeed recieved 75% of its views from social media. That a huge number, considering by the end of 2013, they reached more than 130 million unique visitors. A true example of using logical channels for their content!
Connect in ways that matter to your customers
Just because you’re on the same social network as your personas, doesn’t mean that you're gonna form a meaningful relationship with them. It takes more than digital closeness to create real customer engagement. Consider the same social rules that would apply in a real world sales opportunity.
- Be approachable
- Be helpful
- And most important, DO NOT spam them (you wouldn’t try to sell someone the same car 5 times in one month, nor would you knock on someone's door to shove a brochure in their face)
If a customer is just browsing, it would be inappropriate to approach them with a hard sell. Knowing where the customer is in their buyer’s journey is key to building a relationship with them. Now, it's easier with the help of tools such as HubSpot.
Stratus Tip: Don’t forget to consider both time of day and type of device. No one will be opening that email about your new whitepaper on a Sunday afternoon during the big football game. And let’s face it; whitepapers and mobile devices go together like boots on the beach.
Digital marketing is still very relevant in today’s world, but it is transforming. You must develop your digital marketing and inbound marketing strategy with your buyer personas at top of mind. Their pains and your solutions will help you with your marketing efforts, thus transforming your message to make your content work smarter.
What if you experience anxiety around building your marketing strategies around this concept? That's OK! It is alot to take in. And we are here to help!
