What is omnichannel marketing?
Omnichannel marketing is a bit of a buzzword that you will have seen come up in various marketing strategies and it is simply a multi-channel approach to marketing your brand, and serving your customers no matter where they are. To truly understand Omnichannel marketing think of some of the journeys you, as a consumer, have taken to purchase a product or service. Seen a story on your mobile on Instagram, spotted an ad on your Facebook newsfeed, then several days later searched for the product/company in Google on your laptop, saw the same brand in the results, and ultimately made a purchase with that company. The journey a customer takes to arrive at your most often spans multiple channels because they are not in one place, or on a single channel, and as a business, you should not rely on a single channel approach to your marketing.
What are the benefits of omnichannel marketing?
The advantages of omnichannel marketing are significant with the ability to reach people with the right message on the right channel and device at the right time. Now your brand can be discovered by customers when they most likely need the products or services you provide to solve the problem they have. When your brand is seen to be providing value across multiple channels when they need it, we are more likely to build trust and credibility.
What types of businesses are best positioned to take advantage of omnichannel marketing?
Every business should adopt an Omnichannel marketing strategy, the question is how complex should it be for your business. Before diving in, it is important to really think about the persona of your potential customer, where they are likely to be found i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Google, Email, Messenger, and what devices they are likely to be using, i.e. Mobile vs Desktop and mix in some demographics to better understand the habits of various generations. A younger crowd is likely to be heavily into Snapchat and Instagram stories whereas a business to business customer may be more likely to be receptive to email on desktop and LinkedIn. Both may use Google search and watch videos on YouTube. Doing this research is an important first step to ensure that your message will reach your intended audience on the channels and devices where they are likely to be found.
What are the steps to create an omnichannel marketing campaign? Please explain each.
The first step to launching your first Omnichannel marketing campaign is to understand what your ultimate outcome is. Are you selling a product, looking for inquiries, promoting event bookings, and so on?
The second step, once you have your goal clearly identified is to start brainstorming your messaging which should be broken down into three areas; 1: potential customers who have not heard of your brand, (top of the funnel) people who have heard of your brand but have not engaged in a transactional journey (middle of the funnel) and lastly those who have shown a transactional interest in your product or services but have not purchased, signed up, bought a ticket or completed whatever goal you have (bottom of the funnel).
With this initial planning in place, it’s time to jump into the third step and start creating your messaging, tailored to the needs of the buyer, where they are in the funnel, and taking into consideration what devices and or channels they are likely to be found. For example, you could create a story on Instagram showing why your company helps others, followed by a Facebook newsfeed ad with a testimonial from an existing customer on how a solution from your business gave them hope and completed with a retargeting ad for those who showed an interest in what you are offering but did not complete the journey. The key here is a cohesive approach that delivers a consistent look and feel of your messaging, and visual brand to improve brand recall across various channels.
What are some omnichannel marketing best practices?.
- Plan, don’t rush blindly into randomly setting up a bunch of different channels without doing some research, know your goals, know your audience and know their needs.
- Look at where you are most likely to get the most conversions and center on that first, building your omnichannel approach around it.
- Interview three or four of your best, current customers, to fully understand what it is like to be in their shoes and craft your messaging in such a way that you are talking specifically to them.
- Be consistent with your brand, from colors to logos, copy and fonts across all channels
Are you interested in discovering how an omnichannel approach using Facebook, Instagram, Google and email marketing could help your business grow and hit those goals you have set for this year? Email us at [email protected] or click here to schedule a Free Strategy call.