Integrated Digital Marketing can be broken down into 6 main elements: digital presence management, content marketing, targeted discovery, online engagement, social local mobile, and performance management. Knowing that is a good start, but it won’t do SMBs much good if they don’t know how to apply these concepts to their digital marketing strategies.
Keeping these marketing technologies in mind, here are 4 simple steps to help SMBs start using interactive digital marketing techniques in order to begin attracting consumers today:
- Do a Little Research – Put yourself in your target market’s shoes. Think: If I were shopping for (fill in the blank), what circumstances would lead me to choosing (your business)? When and where would I get information before making a purchasing decision? How (or how not) would I expect to be targeted during this process?
- Pick and Choose – Now that you’ve gotten into the mindset of a buyer, set your business up to meet the consumers most likely to need your service or product. Select the digital outlets on which your target market will be looking for you and open an account. For example, if your business is a brick and mortar establishment, you may want to choose platforms that support geo-local ad targeting.
- Be a Presence – Be careful to only select those digital platforms that are applicable to your service or product, and then commit to using them. Invest time in interacting with consumers in these spaces. Start slowly, get a feel for the medium and then build a following with regular interaction. Being authentic is what will make or break your business in this step.
- Go One Step Further – As you try out different ways of interacting with your audience, measure which tactics work and which don’t. Then, apply this data to your thought process in step #1, determining where your audience expects to find you.
MarTech Brewery: A (Fictional) Case-Study
MarTech Brewery is a brick and mortar establishment that microbrews beer year round. Because their location is an important factor in determining their reach, they decide to try targeting local consumers by offering deals on Groupon. They get great positive feedback from their Groupon, but notice that they don’t accumulate a lot of new repeat customers.
Meanwhile, on their Facebook page, they keep their fans updated on the brewing process of their beers. They don’t have a huge following, but the audience they are interacting with is highly engaged and not necessarily local.
MarTech uses this information to determine that their most loyal consumers will be people who are big into craft beers already. They cycle this information back into their marketing strategy and begin reaching out to beer drinkers beyond their backyard. They start attending beer festivals and competitions nationwide and accumulate a diverse following on the Internet by interacting with craft beer drinkers with engaging content from these events. Brand awareness has since shot out the roof, and MarTech Brewery is gradually building a more committed band of beer drinkers that enjoy spreading the good word about their brewery.
From MarTech Brewery’s initial assessment of who their target market should be, they began using SoLoMo to reach local beer consumers. While SoLoMo should be factored into any SMB’s marketing strategy, it shouldn’t be the only dimension in an integrated digital marketing approach.
MarTech Brewery learned how valuable a Groupon can be in generating new consumer awareness of their beer, but also identified a huge opportunity in targeting craft beer enthusiasts, unique to their industry. MarTech Brewery used this insight to expand their digital presence with relevant content promoted over social media, winning them loyal consumers and brand advocates all over the continent.
MARKETING TAKEAWAY
Integrated digital marketing is a complex process. Following the 4 steps above is a great way to start, but to reap the greatest rewards you must tailor the process so that it is unique to the consumers in your industry. And most importantly, remember to follow through on step number 4. If you throw enough mud at the wall, sure, some of it will stick, but if you have the tools to analyze results, you can build walls with a lot less mud.
