I was part of a conversation at a networking event that included Public Relations professionals, social media marketers, copywriters, and graphic designers. It was an interesting discussion about breaking down the silos of cross promotion. Several people bemoaned the difficulty they had communicating interdepartmentally about marketing strategy. It seems the web dev people, social networkers, ad buyers, and design teams all had their own ideas. The funny thing is, most of these departments were represented in the conversation, yet they all felt alone in the battle. Maybe we all should begin by looking at the big picture not only our individual departments.

What is Cross-Channel Marketing?

Simply put, cross-channel marketing is using multiple medias to create a unified marketing campaign. The media may include TV, radio, print, email, direct mail, social media, and search. Each of these medias may be broken down further for example; social media may include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, etc.  TV spots could be limited to the evening news or sporting events, and radio to drive time.

How to cross those channels

Integrating a cross-channel marketing campaign begins with knowing what you want to accomplish. For example, if you were trying to reach a younger business demographic that uses mobile maybe LinkedIn would be the place to start. Do you have a cure for insomnia and want to reach a sleepless demographic? A series of late night cable TV spots might be the ticket. Are you presenting your new sleep aid at a health fair? You may want printed material. And if your target audience is young professionals, that don’t get enough sleep and are interested in a healthy lifestyle—you may need all three.

Making a safe crossing

Consumers not only expect products to be promoted on multiple channels they want them to be easy to find wherever they decide to look. And they want them to look alike, to be familiar. They don’t want to see different colors, logos, and fonts on your TV ad, website, and brochure.

“In this increasingly interconnected world, consumers are not necessarily thinking in terms of silos. Research shows that 72% of consumers want to be engaged with an integrated marketing approach, but only 39% are receiving that. Google found that consumers had 74% brand recall when the advertiser’s integrated strategy carried across mobile, TV and online.” – Mashable- Future Digi Marketing trends

“Those in marketing retail and retailers alike, the people are speaking loud and clear. They want to see and experience the same thing is it on your site, your store, your mobile site and they want to see and experience the same message across all marketing collateral – AKA they want a branded experience across ALL channels!” – See more at: Social Media Today: Silos the biggest barrier to true brand consumer engagement

Bring the team onboard

The first step to creating a unified cross-channel brand is to bring your team together. Web development and print design must be on the same page as well as sales, marketing, PR, and C-staff. All need to sit down, set goals, and present a unified front, and it begins with communication. You must make the time to meet and discuss this or you’ll continually fight this battle.

Test the water

It may be that you have one channel that consistently performs and your tendency is to put all your eggs in that one basket. You may be right. But why not take 10 % of your budget and try something new? If your CTA TV add works, then great, keep it coming. But why not consider a small targeted direct mail campaign, run an Instagram contest, or try a small sample PPC (pay per click)?

The Key is Consistency

People want to be able to find you across channels, and they want you to look like—you. They don’t want different presentations of your product on various media. If you show golden arches on your TV spots, then they need to be on your website, print collateral, and the public should be able to hear the wind blowing past the arches on your radio spots. If you’d like to learn more contact us here or on the channel of your choice, you’ll recognize us wherever we are.

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