As we speed into the new year (seriously, where has January gone?) and assess our respective marketing strategies and initiatives there are a lot of buzz words that seem to be floating around the digital industry. Topics like “big data” and “attribution” are popping up regularly on event schedules, during webinar presentations and in client meetings. As digital marketing partners at Location3, we make a concerted effort to stay on top of industry trends and identify the right marketing mix for every client we work with. One of my favorite events every year is rapidly approaching this February in Las Vegas, and it has forced me to cut through some of the industry noise on Twitter and various digital blogs to determine what information is most valuable for the folks we plan to meet with in a matter of weeks.
The International Franchise Association’s 53rd Annual Convention is around the corner and it presents us with an exciting opportunity each year to connect with clients and prospects – press the flesh, as they say – and discuss the many ways the digital marketing world is shaping up as we move forward in 2013. Aside from getting honest feedback regarding needs, pain points and topics of interest from franchise representatives, I am especially focused on preaching the concept of digital marketing integration. Mind you, this is not a new concept but I believe that 2013 is the year for integration to truly take hold as a necessary approach to marketing by CMOs across the majority of verticals and Fortune 1000 brands. It is not uncommon for agencies like ourselves to work with clients who have a mindset that they need to focus the bulk of their efforts on one or two digital tactics. One brand wants to spend 90% of their overall budget on paid search, while another brand wants to avoid paying for clicks entirely and simply drive as much organic traffic as possible. Every brand, it seems, wants to be “getting into the social media game” but they each have completely different ideas about how to do so. It goes without saying that each client or prospect we engage with presents us a unique set of problems, goals and concepts about how to achieve the most ROI for their digital budget. This is what makes working in this business both challenging and enjoyable at the same time.
My personal goal at the IFA Conference this year is to speak to the importance of digital integration using a a few key concepts that franchise systems (or any brand, for that matter) can use to lay out their 2013 marketing strategies and assess overall performance appropriately:
1. Identify all of the different places your business and customers meet. Use analytics data to spot trends, successes, and areas for improvement. Analyze, analyze, analyze. Each passing day provides brands with more data at their fingertips to allow for better strategic decision making.
2. Develop a comprehensive search marketing strategy. Use paid search insights to optimize your site for top performing keywords in order to drive more organic traffic. PPC, SEO and display marketing should work together, not as separate entities.
3. Develop a content strategy: this point cannot be stressed enough! SEO should no longer be about acquiring links to your page, but about producing and publishing content that is relevant to your customers and meets their needs.
4. Develop relationships with your customers through social media engagement. Find out where they spend their time online, join the conversation, identify key influencers; you will ultimately develop even more brand advocates.
5. Don’t ignore mobile! In the United States alone, 25% of internet users are mobile only and mobile devices continue to steal a bigger share of web traffic from desktop devices almost daily. Remember, having a mobile site does not equate to having a mobile strategy – it is important to produce and deliver content that is mobile-specific to create the best possible customer experience.
Having an integrated approach to your marketing is no longer a trendy thought or idea – it is necessary to create the highest levels of brand awareness and consumer engagement. Consumers are becoming more savvy and brands that do not put an effort into reaching them through a variety of strategies may look up in 2014 and wonder why they lost market share to competitors. The time for digital integration is now.
If you happen to be at the IFA Convention in Las Vegas (Feb 17-20 at the MGM Grand) this year, please stop by Booth #310 and let us know your thoughts about how to approach integrated digital marketing. We always welcome thought-provoking conversation and you may even get a chance to win a nice pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones for the plane ride home! To learn more about our IFA plans, click here. See you in Vegas!