Actions to Help Adapt Your Marketing for Online
Written by Shannon Walker-Lembke | 27 February 2010
In 2010, data continues to show that online marketing will take an increasing share of spending from other marketing channels. In the February 1, 2010, edition of DMNews they reported results of a survey showing that 21% of marketers will increase their direct marketing spend for online marketing by more than 30%. As marketing continues to migrate online, marketing messages will need to change to continue delivering results.
If you are moving marketing from traditional print or direct mail to online, you don’t need to completely start over. But, the same issue of DMNews also noted that nearly 40% of the surveyed marketers think that coordinating between digital and direct marketing agencies is somewhat or very difficult. So, having some ideas yourself about how to make the move online may save you some headaches.
Adaptation of your marketing message is possible – it’s also a sound idea. Adaptation provides the benefits of
- Cost savings
- Continuity
- Consistency
Revising copy is almost always less expensive than creating it from scratch. Maintaining continuity and consistency between your new and current marketing assures that customers and clients continue to recognize you. Your online efforts may not take as long to deliver results if they are consistent with current efforts.
How do you do it?
How you adapt is somewhat determined by how or where your message is delivered online. But you won’t go wrong with
- Creating a story
- Extending the length of time to deliver the story
- Providing a way for others to contribute
If your existing marketing is short sound bites from TV or radio, capture the story behind your ads. Then deliver the WHOLE story online rather than just the results.
Extending the time to deliver the story doesn’t necessarily mean make someone read through long copy all at once or listen to 10 minutes of audio – unless of course that’s what your audience wants to do. Rather, break the story down into engaging small pieces. This may be a series of emails using an auto-responder, a set of related tweets, or a picture that grows over the course of a few days with a part of the story being told as each piece is added.
Feedback, questions, or suggestions can be solicited from web site visitors or email recipients with forms, surveys, or links. Keep the method easy and be sure that it fits with the marketing message.
See why knowing how your message will be delivered online matters?
Wondering how to create a story from your existing marketing? I’ll give you some ideas on that next week. (A series of blog posts works to extend the time to deliver a message too!)
Shannon Walker-Lembke is a contributing writer and a member of the SolutionPipe Workforce. She is also part of the 10-Day Website Makeover Project Team.