Until recently, successful cross channeling meant braving the treacherous currents of the English Channel and swimming from France to England, or paddling the deep Alenuihaha Channel between the islands of Hawaii and Maui.
In today’s digital marketing era, cross channeling is the holistic and successful integration and employment of different social media to reach customers where they are.
One key
A key to achieving cross channel marketing success is in incorporating both paid search and social media in getting better acquainted with a company’s target audiences. Each has their own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Facebook, for example, may be free and offers tremendous exposure to a larger audience that Google ads can’t, but Facebook isn’t able to tell companies what the intent of buyers might be. That’s the job and value of paid search.
Properly harnessed and thoughtfully analyzed, paid search and social media can be powerful allies in helping companies grow their markets. Embracing both also makes it easier to budget and target certain audiences.
Need more proof?
A Marin Software study that analyzed conversion rates, income per conversion, and income per click found that conversion rates were double for shoppers who clicked on both search and social ads instead of just the search. Click-through rates comparing both groups were four and a half times higher for users doing both search and social.
In terms of revenue per click, Marin found that groups clicking on both search and social generated as much as six times more revenue compared to users who only employed search.
How to plan
Companies using both search and social channels should continue to do so, but also addressing some questions will lead to even better results. Organizations about to employ the same also need to answer these questions:
- Does the digital marketing strategy incorporate and consider all channels collectively? This is the best as opposed to managing each channel separately, as if in silos.
- If there are different teams working on social media and search, do they both share the same goals and objectives? Are they working in silos or do they actually collaborate?
- Is the messaging the same across all channels?
- Similarly, are all promotions alike across every channel? Publicizing different promotions and diverse messages serves to confuse audiences and dilute the purpose of a company’s efforts.
- Who are the company’s target audiences? What are their interests? Their values? Their price tipping point?
What to do
Besides delivering their messaging to the correct audiences, companies also need to consider who some of their other new audiences are or might be. This is where information gathered earlier can be extremely helpful and grow a customer base.
Effective marketing will zero in on the customer on the platform he or she frequents. A company’s tracking needs to record, log, and utilize this data for use at such times. Personalizing messaging to customers’ likes and preferences based on past data can be invaluable. Companies that employ both social and search wisely can expect to see increases in revenue per click as well as a growing audience.
