How do you get digital to work with traditional marketing channels? The most effective marketing results are achieved when you combine traditional approaches and a digital strategy. Our insights will help you overcome the ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality that still pervades some companies and brands.
The first rule of marketing today is, there is no us and them. Instead work out how to your distinct channels can work together – you’re after the same result, at the end of the day.
Reach vs niche
Broadly, traditional media such as print and TV works in reach a broad audience. Digital marketing (whether email, social media) is all about personalising and niche marketing.
Make it work: Use the broad reach of your traditional marketing to drive consumers towards your digital initiatives – social media, website and more. Doing a print campaign? Add the website address to the new mini site you’ve created to provide users with a depth of content not available in print alone.
Active vs passive
Digital is all about active engagement, capturing an audience and getting them to do something – Like, post feedback, share, forward to a friend. Traditional on the other hand is about passive engagement – sitting and watching a TVC or viewing a print ad in a magazine.
Make it work: Use the pulling power of traditional media to alert your passive audience to a digital call to action – for instance run a #hashtag on your TVC which then creates a new way for consumers to interact with the brand.
Silos vs sharing
Silo marketing allows businesses to delegate specific tasks or activities to an in-house or outsourced resource. This is, in theory, a good thing. But silos can also be guarded places where expedient sharing, that is essential to digital marketing success, is hampered.
Communication between traditional and digital channels is critical. Digital needs to know all about your planned print campaign, and traditional needs to know about the new social media strategy you’re about to launch. These things cannot work in isolation. The big picture requires a sensible mix of marketing using old school and new school techniques. So if you silo, make sure you share too.
Things to think about…
Consider how the following elements of your marketing strategy do or don’t work to promote digital and traditional together: Print ads, TVCs, radio, point of sale material, posters, trade shows, email signature files, cash register receipts, email newsletters, company website, social media platforms, banner advertising, content marketing, mobile. The list is endless. Review your list and figure out where traditional could be leveraging digital and vice versa.
Get rid of the us and them mindset and reap the rewards. Find out more about how we can integrate your digital strategy with your traditional marketing activities for super duper results.