I keep hearing about the need to make multiple impressions on people we”™re trying to reach. I know that people receive and process information in lots of different ways. One of the mistakes we”™ve made in past marketing efforts is that things don”™t tie together, they don”™t cross support each other.
I need to understand how to create a campaign. Can you give me any advice?
THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: Marketing is a place to get creative and find a voice that represents the company. You also have to watch out that your efforts coordinate and cross support each other for maximum effect. Be sure to build in offers all over the place, so people know what to do next if they”™re interested. Think ahead to what you want to do six months or a year from now. Build momentum through consistency; avoid the temptation to jump from one idea to the next.
Talk to your clients and your employees. Ask them to describe your company. If possible, record what they say so you can refer back without interpretation.
What words and tone do they use? Are they formal or informal? Big words or small ones? Lighthearted or serious? Technical or layman”™s terms?
Ask what images come to mind when they think about your company. People, words, letters, animals, toys or other things? What”™s in the background? Do they think of cartoons or pictures? Realistic or idealized settings? Soft colors or bright or black and white? Get as much detail as you can.
Compare your customer and employee feedback with existing marketing materials. Does it match? Anything that stands out as a perfect match? Anything that is a total disconnect?
Pick out the central theme, both words and image, and fill in the blank: “When people think of my company, I always want them to think _______.”
Consider how you scroll through things on the Internet ”” one thing after another, until something catches your eye. Once you”™ve decided on your central theme, it”™s time to focus on making your marketing material arresting enough that people will stop to look further. That can be done with words as well as images. Turn what you”™ve learned doing research with customers and employees into something that catches the eye and describes the company to the next person who comes along. Make sure that the words and images you come up with revolve around, refer back to and build on your central theme.
Once you know the image, idea or theme you want to get across, it”™s time to get your audience to take action to engage. This takes you back to the concept of scrolling through the Internet. People start out receiving information passively. Buyers have to engage with you actively. Offers are the way to get from passive to active. And this is not the time to be subtle. If someone takes a look at your material ”” whether it is an advertisement, email blast, social media page, or website ”” tell them what to do next. Use arrows, boxes, color and bold type to draw your audience into the offer. State the obvious: “Why wait? Act now! Click here.” “Get a ___ (fill in the blank with something your customers tell you they”™re interested in).”
Plan out what you want to promote in the future. Give your audience someplace to end up by building a landing page to provide more information. Build audience awareness through blog posts and social media updates. Buy Google AdWords to raise the visibility. Give out samples and ask users to make recommendations.
Stick with the campaign, even if it doesn”™t work as well as you want right away. Tweak, rather than making massive changes, so you can identify what it is that your audience responds to.
LOOKING FOR A GOOD BOOK? Try “Social Media Marketing Campaigns & Strategies for 2016 and Beyond” by Ryan Stabile.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., a business-consulting firm that teaches companies how to double revenue and triple profits in repetitive growth cycles. Have a question for AskAndi? Wondering how Strategy Leaders can help your business thrive? Call or email for a free consultation and diagnostics: 877-238-3535, AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com. Check out our library of business advice articles: AskAndi.com.
