Success Through Strategy!

Strategy Matters delivers news, tips and strategies for effective communications through traditional and social media. 
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Goodbye to Traditional Marketing?
Not So Fast! 
 

In the old, old days, "cave people" drew pictures on the sides of their caves to share information. Eventually the printing press was invented and the world of communication changed significantly--"Extra, extra read all about it" became the cry as stories broke and consumers on street corners learned the news. From there, of course, radio emerged, then TV and--ultimately--the World Wide Web. The rest, as they tend to say, is history.

 

But, with the exception perhaps of the cave drawings, as each new communication methodology emerged, the others didn't go away as was often predicted. Instead, those wishing to communicate were simply provided with new options.

 

Still, it seems like we are bombarded daily with news about the "demise" of the newspaper, the "demise" of television, the "demise" of traditional advertising. Who knows? These doomsayers may, eventually, be accurate in their predictions. 

 

But, in the meantime, despite these dire prognostications, we see evidence to the contrary.

 

As Pew recently reported, while most other categories of television viewing were on a decline, viewing of sports and news has seen a marked increase since 2005. And, despite many months of evidence supporting the notion that print is on a death-spiral decline, some publications continue to hold their ground, often by finding ways to leverage print along with online content--and ads.

 

It's dangerous to make assumptions when it comes to determining what media will work best to deliver your messages to your target audiences.  Here's what you need to know to maximize the impact of all of your media options. 

  

 

Suggested reading:

 

Direct Mail in the Digital Age

Using Google Analytics Effectively

There's a lot of great information that can be gained about online marketing activities through the use of various analytics tools. Google Analytics is one of them and, like many, it's free! While Google Analytics is designed to measure and evaluate what's happening in terms of traffic to your web site, it can also provide insights on how your various social media and online PR/marketing activities may be driving traffic to your site (you can evaluate this by monitoring "referral" traffic.

 

We work with a number of clients on their online activities and do monthly reports to help them--and us--modify our communications activities over time. Some key things we look for that have provided us with significant learning, and new opportunities:

  • Watch your "bounce rate" - this is an indication of whether people who come to your site were interested, or "looked and left" - the lower the bounce rate, the better.
  • Be aware that "search traffic" may not, necessarily, reflect people "randomly finding you" online. Many of the search terms/phrases you see may be variations or your--or your company's name--suggesting they had already heard about you and were searching for you specifically. Not a bad thing, just something to be aware of.  
  • Referral traffic. This represents traffic coming from other sites--Twitter, or LinkedIn, for instance. We've seen some significant activity here for many of our clients--in fact much higher than results they had been achieving through news release distribution.

While this is a very, very high level look at a very, very powerful tool, these basics can provide you with some good, early indicators of what's working--and what may not be working--relative to your online communication activities. Learn more here.    

 

Suggested reading:

 

Advanced Web Metrics With Google Analytics

 

Social Media Analytics

 

Our #1 Marketing Tip  

  • What does it take to be an effective healthcare marketer?
  • What does it take to be an effective B2B marketer?
  • What does it take to be an effective retail marketers?

Regardless of the audience asking, or the way the question is posed, our #1 recommendation is always a two-part recommendation. 

 

What does it take? It takes a very clear understanding of both your objectives (what will success "look like" and how will you know you have achieved it) and your target audience* (who, specifically, are you attempting tor reach/influence). 

 

Without either of these you are destined to fail. With them clearly in mind you can not only better focus your efforts to ensure that you are spending limited resources (time and money) wisely, but that, through your understanding of your target audience, you are better able to select both the communication vehicles (e.g. social media, traditional advertising, etc.) and to create compelling key messages to move them toward some action.

 

These are the foundational elements of success in any marketing initiative. Consider your current marketing efforts. Do you know exactly the outcomes you are looking for and exactly who you are attempting to reach? 

 

If the answer is "no," you have some work to do.

  

*Hint: If your answer is "everyone" or "anyone who wants to buy my product," you're going down the wrong path...
Volume: 5 - Issue: 9
September, 2013
Strat Comm logo
In This Issue
Goodbye to Traditional Marketing?
Using Google Analytics Effectively
Our #1 Marketing Tip
We're In the News! 



LinkedIn or Google+ Which is Best for B2B Marketers

There's Gold in Those Tweets!
 
Research Matters
Some recent news and  research you may be interested in--we were!  
 
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While many people don't like strategic planning, it's a "necessary evil" for successful business efforts, including marketing and communication initiatives. We happen to LOVE strategic planning (yes, we know...) and we've picked up a lot of tips and learned some great best practices through our work. We share them in this white paper which offers 10 tips for each of the 7 steps of effective strategic planning.

  

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