Multi-channel retailers must take a unique approach to marketing their products and services across multiple platforms. What works for one channel may prove to be highly ineffective on another. The key is to study both the target audience demographics and how they interact with your brand and marketing messages across various distribution channels. For example, how you approach or market to Facebook followers will be very different from how you market to consumers making a purchase in your retail stores. That’s why the question then becomes…
How do multi-channel retailers effectively craft online marketing content to speak to their audiences?
The answer: have a digital media mix.
You want to create various digital content that can be positioned to drive traffic from each marketing channel. Here are the top three types of digital content multi-channel retailers should leverage to both maximize their reach and their marketing ROI.
Emails. With nearly 4.48 billion people expected to actively use email in 2024, this is a marketing strategy that can’t be ignored. Think, how do I ‘Futureproof’ my business. So whether you’re sending a monthly newsletter highlighting your products/services or you’re emailing promotional deals to your email list, email is an important part of any digital marketing strategy. This method tends to work best for repeat customers or for those of your customers who do not actively use social media. This type of content is also highly effective to nurture your audience through the purchasing process and to segment your list to try different marketing messages to see what resonates before deploying it on other marketing platforms.
Video. As the rollout of 5G is upon us, it is estimated that consumers spend 92 minutes every day watching video content online. This represents a large opportunity for brands to get and stay in front of their target audiences. By leveraging social media ads and creating a host of video content that can be promoted on YouTube, this is a highly effective way to both increase brand awareness and brand engagement. The video content you create can also be shared in your email marketing, social media campaigns, or become part of television or in-store advertising.
Live content. With social media users being 4x more likely to watch a live video than a previously recorded one, brands have to adapt and create live content as often as possible. This could be through highlighting behind-the-scenes footage, hosting watch parties to unveil new products, or even leveraging the story feature on both Instagram and Facebook. The important thing with live content is that it is not easily shareable and is best suited for social media. This is why direct-to-consumer brands tend to dominate on social media as they are able to immediately engage with their target audiences.
Identifying the “right” digital mix takes time and an analytical approach that allows you to understand your target audiences, why they buy your products, and through what channels they do so. If you haven’t explored the metrics of how your digital content is performing across all of your distribution channels, we encourage you to do so. We’re happy to review your current strategies and share actionable insights to help you boost your marketing reach and effectiveness.
