Finding the ‘Right Mix’ of Digital Marketing and Media

In an era where advertising options are as plentiful and diversified as the audiences business try to target in their digital campaigns, many companies are striving to find the right mix of online marketing initiatives for their organizations.

For the most part, there isn’t a perfect mix that all professionals should follow. Instead, each organization needs to develop a mix that will work best for their unique needs. In order to fully understand what you’re dealing with, it’s important to know how each common digital marketing strategy can help your brand in its own way. Building that foundational knowledge can help you identify which tactics to emphasize, and which ones align with each of your predetermined company goals.

Banner Advertising

Banner advertising — also often referred to as display advertising — is generally what most people think of initially when they picture digital marketing initiatives: images or animations served to the audience of a publication in designated areas of that website. And while the average user sees over 1,700 banner ads per month, the sector is still going strong. According to the European Business Review, ad spends on this form of digital marketing was projected to hit $17.3 billion across several European countries in 2019. You might consider investing in banner advertising for the following reasons:

• Increased Brand Awareness: Like roadside billboards, website banners are displayed in high-traffic locations, so prospective customers will see them again and again. And every time they pass (or swipe) by, they’re reminded that you exist and that you could solve their problem.
• Traffic Generation: Banner ads can redirect readers to your company website, blog or landing page, increasing the number of visitors to your domain, further familiarizing those users with your business and your services and products.

Newsletter Advertising

When you place an ad in a publication’s newsletter, you gain access to that community’s members and highly niche subgroups. Instead of relying solely on your organization’s leads and email lists, you’re able to extend your reach to users who are already interested in the industry you work in. Case in point: Over 59% of marketers, according to Hubspot, say that their biggest source of return on investment is email marketing. Furthermore, newsletter advertising touts additional benefits:

• Niche Targeting: Advertising in a publication’s newsletter allows you to target niche subgroups you wouldn’t otherwise have access to with your own audience. If you want to target different groups in different campaigns, you can identify different publications or specialties within a singular publication to better focus your initiatives.
• More Traffic: Like banner ads, newsletter ads will direct users to your company page, building brand recognition and increasing your visitor count.

Giveaways and Design Contests

This form of digital advertising is relatively self-explanatory, both in its execution and its benefits. Organizing giveaways and contests through a publication grants organizations access to a wider range of participants and can bolster your brand’s image in the process. One of the greatest advantages that come with these forms of media is shareability. As interested parties engage with your contest or giveaway, they may also share your posts across various social channels or encourage their friends to enter. As American Express puts it in their article on the benefits of contests, How would you like to have hundreds or thousands of your fans helping to spread the word about your campaign? Other benefits of giveaways and contests include:

• Quality Leads: People who participate in a contest or giveaway are already interested in your company’s products or services, making them ideal leads.
• Community Involvement: Sponsoring a giveaway or contest will help bolster your brand image for several interested parties, proving to those users that your organization is an active participant in the community at hand.

eBooks

eBooks are a great way to allow users the chance to dig a bit deeper into a niche topic and consume tailored content in that space. According to Penguin Random House, 66% of eBook readers hold an undergraduate or graduate degree, which is an excellent sign when targeting engineers or electronics enthusiasts. eBooks contain content sourced from a reputable publication as well as spotlighted advertising for your company, thus building stronger brand recognition for those users who read the material therein. If you’re considering investing in eBook marketing, consider the following:

• Thought Leadership: eBooks can cement your company as a thought leader in the space covered by the content of the book, accenting your authority in the industry and signaling your reliability as a source of information for the topic at hand.
• More Leads: Those who sign up to read an eBook are very interested in the topic the book covers, making them excellent leads for your other campaigns.

Video Production

It’s no secret that video as a medium is blowing up — and has been steadily doing so for years. 63% of businesses in 2018 used video as a platform for their content marketing. That’s because users ingest hours upon hours of video content weekly. Publicis Groupe, the world’s third-largest communications group, projects that by 2021 the average person will consume 100 minutes of video daily. If you aren’t already connecting with your customers via video content, you’re missing out on an enormous opportunity. Consider the following:

• Brand Authority: Videos are an engaging and informative medium and can be used particularly well in how-to or educational formats. Doing so will help further cement your brand as a source of leadership in your industry.
• Multifunctionality: Video is a flexible medium. You can put together deep dives into a topic that requires added visual explanations, or you can construct a quick bite-sized piece of content that will keep your company top-of-mind. Depending on your company goals, you can likely make video work well for you in several circumstances.

Content Creation

According to Hubspot, 55% of marketers consider content creation — blog posts in particular — their number one inbound marketing priority. It’s easy to see why; if your content is properly constructed with SEO in mind and created specifically for your target customers niche interests, content creation can cement your brand as a pioneer in your field. Three-quarters of those who consume online media say they regularly read blogs, so why not capitalize on these users with blog posts, whitepapers, and more of your own? Further benefits of content creation include the following:

• Building Trust: Content marketing gives you the power to build relationships with potential customers — in your own voice and in your own words. As they get to know you better, they’ll be much more likely to follow up on your goods and services — or recognize your brand.
• Increasing Visibility: With quality content marketing — that’s carefully crafted with SEO protocols in mind — you can move your site up the search rankings, increasing the number of people who see it and engage.

Webinars

Webinars offer brands the unique opportunity to engage directly with the audience members of a publication or community. The ability to talk with, explain concepts to, and answer the questions of users in real-time is invaluable in the digital space, and many users will be grateful for your guidance on a particular subject or niche. In fact, 73% of B2B sales and marketing executives believe that webinars help them generate top-quality leads due to the heightened engagement that comes with this form of media. Other webinar benefits include:

• Expert Status: Many other forms of media help cement your company as a thought leader, but none offer the ability to prove that expertise in real-time as much as a webinar.
• Data Generation: With post-webinar surveys and polls, you can get instant data on your attending audience members and feedback on your performance.

The Right Mix

When it comes to marketing initiatives, everyone is looking for the right mix of approaches. In reality, there is no one-size-fits-all perfect mix of tactics in this space. Because each organization is different and their expected outcomes vary so greatly, the best way to put together an optimized mix of marketing strategies is to find a partner that has first-hand experience in digital media and proven success with all forms of digital content.

With the right team on your side, you can identify the audiences you want to reach, survey the spread of media it will take to reach them, and get started on a marketing mix that works for you.

 

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¹ https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/advertising-statistics/#gref
² https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/revealed-the-display-advertising-trends-of-2019
³ https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/4-reasons-why-contests-should-be-part-of-your-marketing-strategy/
⁴ http://authornews.penguinrandomhouse.com/who-reads-ebooks/
⁵ https://www.dreamgrow.com/8-reasons-why-your-business-should-use-video-marketing/
⁶ https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/340714/time-spent-watching-online-video-expanding-to-100.html
⁷ https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
⁸ https://blog.gotomeeting.com/7-webinar-benchmarks-every-marketer-should-know/