The landscape of marketing has changed exponentially thanks to the internet. Traditional advertising strategies now have to be supplemented with various other communication channels to effectively get a message across to as many people as possible. To take advantage of all the mediums available, this is where integrated marketing campaigns come in.
What is integrated marketing?
Integrated marketing campaigns blend traditional and modern marketing tactics to create a comprehensive marketing campaign that thoroughly engages all relevant stakeholders. These strategies make use of different mediums and channels that work cohesively together and support each other. Diversifying these communication tactics ensures that all bases are covered, and the business’s marketing goals and objectives are successfully met.
An example of an integrated marketing strategy would be if a company promotes a product, slogan, or logo through various mediums such as social network platforms, television commercials, or print advertisements. Each method takes advantage of its respective medium, even if they’re essentially advertising the same thing.
The best way to get this done is by working with a firm that specializes in B2B digital marketing services, but it’s also possible for in-house marketing departments to accomplish this themselves. All they need to know are the key elements that comprise a successful integrated marketing campaign. The following are the most crucial areas they should keep in mind:
Public Relations
Public relations is the practice of creating and managing a meaningful relationship between institutions and the public. Nurturing these kinds of professional relationships is beneficial for a company because it improves its public image and reinforces a trustworthy reputation among clients and their peers. Improving public relations can be done through public appearances, promoting customer reviews, sponsorship, sharing links from other websites, publishing press releases, and hosting events.
Traditional Advertising
Traditional advertising is usually the first thing people think of when they hear the word “marketing.” These most common methods of traditional advertising include newspaper ads, radio spots, outdoor billboards, television commercials, and print advertising. Even though most people these days get their information from the internet, traditional advertising still plays an important role when it comes to getting a message across. These types of advertising mediums are also generally considered more trustworthy by consumers compared to online advertisements, so they shouldn’t be overlooked when formulating an integrated marketing strategy.
Promotions
Sales promotions are another way to get people’s attention. Discounts, “buy one get one free” offers, free samples, flash sales, giveaways, contests, and coupons are all worthwhile examples of these techniques. Leveraging these alongside all other available communication channels is a great way to extend the reach of a message and supplement promotion efforts.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is the oldest form of marketing, predating even traditional advertising. This practice involves companies directly reaching out to prospective clients through telephone calls, brochures, emails, catalogs, and physical newsletters. Pairing direct marketing efforts with in-store promotions and digital advertising methods is an effective marketing approach, particularly if the organization is very familiar with their target audience.
SEO Marketing
SEO Marketing involves optimizing a company’s online content so that it ranks at the top of the search engine results when people search for a particular keyword. The higher the result is in the results, the more visible they are to prospective audiences. SEO Marketing can come in the form of either organic or paid search engine marketing. Organic SEO entails using organic strategies such as link building and keyword research to optimize content for search rankings.
On the other hand, paid SEO marketing is quite self-explanatory. Companies have the opportunity to pay for the rights to a specific keyword or phrase. When people search for this particular keyword or phrase, the companies’ content is shown as an ad that’s automatically ranked either above or somewhere in between organic search results.
Social Media Marketing
Promoting on social media is one of the most effective ways to reach a wide audience all at once. The best part about a social media marketing strategy is that the most basic level of advertising on these platforms is essentially free. More advanced features are available to those willing to pay up, but these aren’t mandatory. Each platform has its own benefits and drawbacks, and it’s important to know what they are in order to create the best content tailored to their respective audiences.
Personal Selling
Personal selling involves a salesperson advertising a product to a customer face-to-face in an attempt to convince them to buy it. The marketing strategy is basically done in person by the salesperson themselves who utilizes their skills and knowledge to meet the business’ goal of making a sale.
All of these marketing strategies are effective on their own, but they become even more powerful when they’re strategically used together in an integrated marketing campaign.
