When you think of brands you love, what do you think of? Is it their personalized product recommendations?Their social media presence? Or is it that they just really “get you”?
These loyalty-building experiences don’t just happen.Chances are your love of those brands are a result of their integrated marketing approach.
What is integrated marketing?
According to HubSpot, “Integrated marketing is the process of arranging your different marketing channels to work in tandem to promote your products or services, typically through a strategic campaign. Integrated marketing also works to align the primary brand message that’s being delivered through your marketing channels and assets.”
Integrated marketing encompasses a variety of marketing tactics to differentiate one brand from its competitors. It includes more traditional forms of marketing (like mailers or brochures), as well as newer forms of digital marketing (like paid ads, newsletters, and social media).
What are some integrated marketing examples?
Integrated marketing, by definition, means more than one channel was used to convey the message. Examples of marketing tactics include:
- Brochures
- Posters
- Flyers
- Newspaper ads
- Billboards
- TV commercials
- Radios
- Websites
- Blogs
- Emails
- Newsletters
- Whitepapers
- Videos
- Gifs
- Photos
- Graphics
- Google Ads
- Social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Pop-up Shops
- Case studies
- Any branded items (shirts, stationery, hats, mugs, etc.)
A true integrated marketing campaign would include a combination of items from the list above.
How do I plan an effective integrated marketing campaign?
Start with research.
Behind every great integrated marketing campaign is a good amount of market research. This includes mining into customer data and past campaign performance to see what resonated and what didn’t. You may also want to look at competitors to see what their customers loved or hated. (Having trouble uniting your customer data? A CDP might be right for you.)
Once you’ve done your research, you should craft an audience persona- the type of person you’re targeting. This should include demographics, psychographics, preferences, etc. The information should be extensive enough that you could imagine this person existing.
Identify your goals.
Before diving into tactics and execution, identify KPIs, or key performance indicators. KPIs define what success looks like for your integrated marketing campaign. KPIs should be specific and measurable. Instead of saying “increase brand awareness”, get more specific. A good KPI would be “increase social media impressions by 25% and homepage views by 50%.”
Checking in on the campaign metrics frequently helps your brand listen to customer feedback and pivot when needed. You’ll never be able to determine what worked and what didn’t if you don’t watch the analytics.
Define your message.
During the strategy planning stage, determine what you want your message to be and choose the optimal way to convey that message to your audience. Keep your audience persona in mind. If they’re not digitally-savvy, social media may not have a great ROI for you. You should also consider tone and how your message will be received. Is your brand voice professional, conversational, or somewhere in between?
The “integrated” part of integrated marketing is important to remember. You don’t want your campaign to be disjointed or offbrand across channels. Assume that the same customer will connect with your brand across multiple touchpoints. Your brand should reinforce the same message each time to achieve its maximum effectiveness.
Create your marketing assets.
After you’ve strategized, it’s time to start creating your marketing assets. From copywriting to graphic design to scheduling, you should have a good visual of what your campaign will look like before you go to market with it. This is when you should brainstorm and modify your campaign as needed. All assets should be on-brand and adaptable in case the messaging isn’t well-received. If you’re struggling to leverage existing digital assets or share new versions, check out our beginner’s guide to digital asset management here.
Now you’re ready to launch! Make sure you keep your finger on the pulse of customer reception and note where you can make changes.
Why is integrated marketing important for business?
When executed effectively, integrated marketing drives measurable business results. Great integrated marketing across multiple channels decreases bounce rate, increases form conversions, and increases brand awareness.
From a consumer standpoint, integrated marketing comes across as cleaner and easier to absorb. When the same message is repeated in different forms, it will stick more than a one-off message that wasn’t carried through to the second touchpoint. Using multiple channels not only means reaching a wider audience, but also means you can meet your existing and potential customers where they’re at.
Internally, taking an integrated approach to marketing increases operational efficiency. Once you’ve settled on a message and design for a campaign, different teams can format and optimize it for their owned marketing channels. For example, the social media team can take a design and reconfigure it for Facebook while the marketing team creates an email with the same messaging. Instead of starting from square one, they’re just tweaking what’s already been created. Campaigns should be the result of collaboration across different teams, not siloed teams working independently of one another.
Whatever you’re planning to market, do your research and create an actionable plan. You’ll start your campaign on the right foot to hopefully see amazing results. If you need help getting started, our digital strategy and integrated marketing services can help you reach your goals.
