Your brand’s marketing mix is like the legs of a stool. Every leg is important. They all support the same thing and you need them all in order to hold it up. Your brand might not have all the same legs as another stool but it should definitely have more than one – you can’t stand up a stool by relying on just one leg.
Let’s go over some of the most valuable marketing ‘legs’
Search
Visibility and discoverability (paid or organic) are crucial in making sure that your brand is accessible and people can find you. The technical term, SEO or Search Engine Optimization is vital to understand the digital world. SEO, in short, is the process of optimizing your website to get organic traffic from the search engine results page (Google). Making strategic changes to your website can make you rank higher on the results page. This boosts your visibility which can create more opportunities to turn prospects into loyal customers. Positioning yourself correctly in search is a fundamental ‘leg’ so potential customers can find you.
Advertising
Advertising is the hard sell after the consumer has found you. Why is your brand better? What sets you apart? Two important advertising techniques we’d like to point out are retargeting and display ads. Retargeting is the act of serving ads to people who have already visited your website. (You know when you’re online shopping and you somehow get a message that you forgot something in your shopping cart? That’s a form of retargeting). It’s an effective way to close the loop and make a sale. However, the catch with retargeting is that it does not drive people to your website, which is why we still need the search ‘leg’. Display ads are a method of attracting the audience of a website, social media platform or other digital mediums to take a specific action. For example, the sidebar on Facebook is usually filled with display ads. These can be a very effective tool for advertising especially to reach the audience that you desire. Advertising is another important ‘leg’, specifically used to complete sales and raise brand awareness.
Website
While advertising and search may be drawing web traffic to your site, your website needs to be holding up its end of the stool. With so many different digital marketing tools your brand can get a bit lost, but your website is the constant, it pulls everything together. It’s a central point of reference for your brand, your tone, and your content. You have complete control over the information, how it’s conveyed, and the features. Capitalize on this, spend the money on simple intuitive design, and you will see the return. Impress every visitor that comes to your website and your sales will increase.
Social
In terms of staying relevant, social media is a visual way of letting your audience know where you stand. If consumers look you up on Instagram and Facebook, you need to be represented well. Similar to your website, socials can make or break you. Your brand’s social media needs to be present and in line with your brand and what you offer. Overall social media is a tool to communicate with your customers and when done correctly, it’s a way to tell stories, speak on issues that your brand finds noteworthy, and be active online on a regular basis.
Content
Lastly, the content being pushed out of your socials and website needs to be working just as hard as everything else. Content marketing is a great way to educate and connect with your leads. You can build relationships, trust, and help consumers obtain the information they need when making a purchasing decision. Whether this means developing a blog feature on your site or sending out newsletters, deciding what content to develop and release is essential in establishing your brand. It’s a perfect way to inform and position yourself as the best brand out there.
It’s never one or the other with marketing. A successful brand has multiple tools and strategies all working together holding them up. It’s important to research and put the time and energy into each little step to thrive as a brand.
See Also:
Marketing, Advertising, and Branding – What Does it all Mean?
Digital Marketing KPIs: Quality vs. Quantity
1-2-3 Marketing Touchpoints: How to Create a Customer Obsession