Two minutes into your work route, you pull out your phone and start scrolling through the usual suspects: Facebook, Twitter, emails, news apps and Instagram. Your bus pulls up to its stop as you see an email with a promotional offer, but there’s no time to check it now. You make a mental note to open it up later — except, with today’s technology, there is no later; there is only now. Right there is the importance of having an Integrated Marketing Campaign (IMC).
WHAT IS AN INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGN?
An IMC is a business strategy that focuses all marketing efforts to create one message across online, social media and traditional print presences. It’s designed to hit the target audience from all angles. A unified message is created, and then it is marketed consistently across multiple platforms in order to maximize viewership.
WHY SHOULD I INVEST TIME INTO CREATING AN INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGN?
The best way to have people forget about your existence is advertising through only one format. Holding technology in the palm of our hands, we are constantly distracting ourselves with various platforms, and businesses need to start targeting as many of these platforms as possible. This way, consumers don’t have to remind themselves to click a link. Instead, they’ll click it next time they see it.
Technology has changed the way businesses interact with consumers. In simpler times, a person would see an ad, buy the product or service and the whole transaction would be over. Now, the job is cyclic.
“You’re not just selling to one person, you’re selling it to everyone,” said David Rountree, advertising strategist for Advantage Publishing.
When people purchase a product, they’re going to review it online, text about it to their friends and let their opinions be known publicly through social media. There is no control anymore. The transaction has to be perfect every time.
HOW TO PROPERLY INTEGRATE YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Proper integration of marketing campaigns involves various steps. First and foremost is knowing your audience. A campaign cannot be created with an average consumer in mind. Proper marketing involves creating a campaign around a specific audience in order to create material that will grab their attention.
With demographics in mind, it’s time to select the proper channels. Using the right channels is like picking the correct tool to fix a leak. Make a pro/con list for each channel, and pick the one that works best for the business. Knowledge of your audience helps when deciding which platforms should be used for campaigns. Posts should be staggered and released at peak times.
All the platforms have to be uniform. Consistency is key, as visuals are vital to portraying a business as one single entity. The images and font should be homogenous and created to easily fit all media platforms. For example, the Guide to Greater Gainesville has a website with tabs that align to the various sections of the printed magazine. If a media site looks different than the home website, it will create disjunction.
Even with all those steps in place, the work isn’t over. It’s never-ending, remember? Campaigns need to be constantly tracked and updated. If a business doesn’t have stats to reproduce over the long run, then it won’t know what works best. With that said, sometimes something that worked once might not work again. The Internet is fluid, and the audience is dynamic. Always stay on top of a campaign to make sure it’s setting out and completing its purpose. By reviewing trends and statistics, a business can learn how to fine-tune an IMC. Remember, there’s always room for improvement.
Bio: Nicolle is a linguistics major at UF. You can usually find her at a $5 movie bin or any Viet joint, spilling food everywhere. She hopes to figure out her life before graduation, but in the meantime, she’ll settle for listening to her growing record collection or complaining about the humidity.