There are many ways to reach out and market to current and potential clients, so choosing the right methods for sharing a consistent and cohesive message across multiple mediums can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, while successful Digital Cross-Channel Integration may be challenging, there are ways to make it work. The following article will present the first 4 of 9 ways of maximizing your digital marketing across retail, online, B2B, mobile, and social channels.
What Is Digital Cross-Channel Integration?
To understand how to execute this successfully, you first must understand what Digital Cross-Channel Integration is and how it works. In short, it’s the process of incorporating engaging and consistent digital marketing material across multiple channels for maximum impact.
You’ll want to make sure that you are delivering a consistent and cohesive message and experience across all your channels. The benefit of integrating multiple channels is that you are allowing customers to decide how they are going to receive your message, thus increasing their comfort level by letting them choose the channels that work best for them. That way, no one feels left in the dark, as everyone is being catered to.
The infographic below shows what the top twelve channels for greatest impact are.
Top 12 Channels for Awesome Digital Integration
Presentations
Leave your audience with a memorable experience
Social
Create content that is social friendly and ‘share-able’
Wearables
Make your mark on the wearable world
Notifications
Inform your users and keep their attention
Website
A well designed and well built website will add to your company’s credibility
Mobile
We use our smart phone virtually everywhere
Apps
Build an app for ultimate client engagement
Send personalized messages, quickly and frequently
Advisor channels
Back your team with sales support, tools, and materials
Internal training
Engage employees with digital training
Branch displays
A great digital alternative to printed brochures
Kiosks
Create a self serve retail experience
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How Do You Do It?
Start With Social-Friendly Content
Connected consumers are the audience you need to be thinking about; they have very strong social influence, so it’s crucial that you create engaging content to get them talking! Focusing on only a few social channels will not get you the return you’re looking for with this type of consumer. There’s no need to worry though, as there is an easy way to market effectively across social platforms: creating shareable content.
Start by considering your key message and creating articles with content that people really want to read or learn about – lists, such as bulleted or numbered items are great for readability and shareability, not to mention search engine optimization (SEO)! Once you have great articles, create some appealing graphics to go with them, and spice them up with a widget, a poll or a quiz. Can you turn lists into awesome infographics? Can you visualize those images animating and coming to life? Great! Now you have enough to cover almost every social platform.
Align Your Retail, App And Web
Digital retail marketing has changed the face of retail and online shopping and created a gap between the two experiences that must be filled. Take for instance a product selector available both as an in-store kiosk and on your store’s website. This presents an opportunity to align your message across platforms so that your consumers get a cohesive experience whether they are at home, in your store, or anywhere in-between – your online product selector should feel like consumers are taking your kiosk home with them.
To stand out from your competition, you have to provide your clients with useful customer service inside and outside the retail setting. Make their decisions easier by allowing them to compare products and features using simple language, imagery, and video, both in-store and from the comfort of their home. Apps bring your products to consumers when they are on the go, and in-store kiosks provide knowledge to help consumers make educated purchase decisions. Both channels also provide more insight about product and feature availability, which is particularly beneficial in retail settings where real estate is limited and costly. Kiosks and other digital retail channels take up little space but pack a lot of priceless customer service punch.
Get Your Client's Attention With Video
There are many styles of video, so you’ll first have to decide which can best deliver your message. Some styles include animation, infographics, testimonials, case studies, and demos.
Watch the animated version of our above infographic and see its content come to life.
Adding music and voice-over when appropriate is also a big part of creating video. On top of that, you will want to consider how you can adapt your video to different channels. Taking full advantage of audio is great when sharing a video on your socials, but a silent version may work best in a retail or branch environment. Think about incorporating strong visuals and on-screen text to tell your story, and keep in mind that mobile versions need text that is legible on even the smallest devices. And what about video length? Is there a way to create a very short version for Instagram or TikTok?
You will also have to consider accessibility when sharing video. Closed captions are of course important, but don’t forget about descriptive text for b-roll footage, important graphs or charts, or other key actions happening on screen.
Create A Customized Experience
It is not enough anymore to have a well-designed but generic digital experience. Customers expect you to understand that they’re busy and that there is a lot of competition for their attention in almost every channel. Remember that it is connected consumers we want to impress – they’re the ones who will become ambassadors for your product and will share, post and talk about their experience with your organization. Creating a user-generated experience across desktop, tablet and phone will engage your customers and make them feel taken care of.
Rapid technology advancements have created a higher demand for a simple and quick customer experience that is high in quality and accuracy. Personalization will help with these needs, so ask questions to narrow down options. A good customer experience is all about context – the more you know about your customers, the better services you’ll be able to provide to them. Are they on-the-go type people? Then offer them an app. Are they weighing their options? Then provide them with a tool to make their decision easier. Incorporating a login system so that data can be saved and shared is a great way to build long-term relationships. Providing options will create a personalized experience and give your audience something to talk about!
The potential to gain new customers and maintain current customers’ loyalty is everywhere, so you need to be everywhere too! Since we live in an interconnected world, it should go without saying that your marketing strategy should be interconnected too. In the end, learning ways to create efficiencies and achieve quick time-to-market will give your customers an awesome and rich experience.
Stay-tuned for Part 2 of the 9 Ways to Maximize Your Digital Marketing Across Channels!
