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Embracing a Multi-channel State of Mind and Other 2016 Content Trends
While "omnichannel" and "multichannel" may seem like just another pair of content marketing buzzwords, the struggle to reach your audience through the right channels is real.
Potential customers can discover your brand via social media, search engines, email, digital advertising, media coverage, calling your customer hotline, visiting your webpage, downloading your app, going to a brick-and-mortar store…the list goes on.
Embracing a multi-channel strategy means tapping into a multitude of distribution channels with content tailored to different stages of the customer life-cycle.
However, marketers can't realistically invest an equal amount of time and money into every channel. The risk comes with putting too many resources into one and missing out on a more viable audience through another.
As our panel of marketing experts will discuss during the February 2nd webinar Content Messaging Trends for 2016, content marketing in a multi channel world takes work, time and attention to detail. Here are three steps to get you started.
Do Your Research.
Where do your customers live and thrive? Research where your potential customers go for information and which distribution methods will most likely result in revenue.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and go through your brand’s buying process. Explore the different ways customers find and interact with your content and how they buy your product. Do any of these processes deliver a negative experience? How can they be improved for a better experience next time?
Test Your Channels.
Not every channel is going to be a hit. Your audience won't always follow the path you set out for them, regardless of what your research says.
In reality, some channels will be better at building brand exposure and bringing in engaged leads, while others will be more suited to converting customers and developing loyal brand advocates.
You won't know how each one performs until you A/B test your multi-channel approach.
Start by segmenting your audience. Your brand's overall audience consists of a variety of personas, levels of expertise, and preferences that should be considered when choosing which content and channels to use. Then test different combinations of channel timing, sequence, messaging and other variables.
As you test, look for trends or deviations from expectations to determine how each channel and method works.
Measure Results Wisely.
Measurement is vital to any content marketing strategy. You don't want to waste your budget by integrating a distribution method that doesn't prove its ROI.
However, this means measuring everything – not just visibility or engagement or dollars derived from your channels.
Data is currently the "it thing" because increasingly better measurement tools and practices have placed more information than ever at marketers' fingertips.
Comprehensive data enables you to fully understand buyer behavior, and you'll quickly discover that channel analytics are never cut and dry.
One channel may be good at bringing in a lot of leads, but those leads aren't converting quickly. Another channel may be closing sales, but those sales end up being low-spend, short-term clients.
Measuring progress over time and optimizing channels in relation to one another will help you provide a consistent customer experience that’s suited to your audience’s preferences.
Learn more about multi channel content marketing by attending PR News wire's webinar Marketing Experts Tell All: Content Messaging Trends for 2016 on Tuesday, February 2 at 1 PM ET.
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