As with most business strategies, we read article upon article about why we should implement this or that until we decide to go where no marketer has gone before and actually do what we read about. And who knows, maybe these bloggers, subject matter experts and journalists don’t know what they’re talking about and they are just rambling on and on about something that is popular or trending in social media as if they thought of it.
I can assure you that I’ve sat where you’re sitting now: knowing you must try something different but unsure what to do first. So let me help by providing you the first few steps in getting started with omnichannel marketing. Hopefully, these will help you launch a new, successful strategy for your organization.
Define your audiences
Who are you marketing to? Chances are it’s not one big pool of “prospects” as some may be more engaged than others. Not to mention, are you marketing to your customers at all? FYI: They’re the most likely to read your email communications because they know and trust you.
Conduct a content audit
What types of content do you already have available? Before creating a bunch of new infographics or writing a length ebook, it’s a good idea to get a grip on what exactly you already have at your disposal and what’s working. If your infographics are the most popular content forms on your website, then perhaps you should focus efforts on creating new ones instead of that white paper or ebook you keep thinking about.
Match the audiences with the content
Do your most engaged audience members open your email messages? Do your anonymous site visitors spend most of their time on your blog? Determine which types of content your various audiences prefer, noting the content that’s already available, to find out what new content (if any) you should be producing.
Define your lifecycle
It should be the goal of your content forms, regardless of which audience is consuming them, to move audience members from one customer lifecycle stage to the next. Whether you define three stages or 10, these lifecycle stages will help you further develop new content that is engaging and, ultimately, build relationships with your audiences.
Sounds simple, right? I would be doing you a disservice if I made that claim. This is no easy task and can take weeks and even months to complete. But, in the end, it is worth it as it will pave the way towards your new omnichannel marketing strategy.
Good luck and God speed.
Need information on putting together a plan? Learn How to Create a B2B Omni-channel Marketing Stategy.
