As a business leader, you face myriad challenges every day. These probably include marketing. It can be hard to identify the right strategy to reach the right people in the right place at the right time. If this is the case for you, a multiplatform strategy might be the best option!
A multiplatform strategy is a bit like a Rubik’s cube, with every platform presenting its own unique set of challenges. However, when you align the channels in a coherent way, the results are both impressive and efficient.
What is a multiplatform campaign? The definition according to Solocom
As their name states, multiplatform campaigns (also called cross-platform campaigns) are campaigns that run across multiple platforms : whether search engines, print media, social networks or television. In fact, the goal is to reach your
target audience where they are, at the right time, with messages adapted for each platform in order to achieve your goal. We will see this point a little further together!
By creating original content that is specifically tailored to each platform and its objectives, your marketing will become a transparent omnichannel experience instead of just a regular “ad” that most people will want to avoid. Furthermore, adapting your campaign to the specificities of each platform means you’ll increase your odds of having your audience really engage with you.
The benefits of a multiplatform campaign
There are numerous benefits to implementing a multiplatform development strategy.
With this strategy, the average client will come into contact with your content in several locations. For instance, the user could see your ad on Google Ads and decide to check out your Facebook page to find out more about your company. Or they could visit your website and sign up for your newsletter to receive added value content. The user could then see an ad on LinkedIn and decide to get in touch with your company via a contact form or by phone. This is the basic concept.
A multiplatform strategy allows you to
speak to your clients throughout their buying journey while connecting with additional audiences you might not have otherwise been able to reach.
These days, it is anything but easy to increase your brand renown. After all, most people spend hours on social media every day. That’s why the key is to
differentiate yourself from competitors. To stand out from the competition, you need to deploy a
coherent brand experience on every platform. This will enable you to gain the confidence of consumers and help you forge an emotional connection with your audience as they “get to know” your brand.
4 steps for planning a winning cross-platform campaign
1. Set SMART objectives
Make sure your strategy includes
SMART objectives. In essence, your objectives need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. But don’t forget to reassess and readjust your goals along the way!
To start, you should have a clearly defined plan that includes the following:
- Your objectives
- Your research and analysis
- The advertising concept and key message
- Your target audience
- The platforms selected
- Each person’s roles and responsibilities
- Deliverables and timeline
- The campaign report
In addition to your overall objectives for your multiplatform campaign, you should set objectives for each platform you will be using. Some will occur naturally because these platforms are designed to meet specific goals.
You can use social media to:
- Generate prospects
- Increase your brand visibility
- Boost your sales
- Improve your customer service
- Make your clients more loyal and retain customers
But there’s more than social media! A clear picture of the success you want to achieve will guide you in your choice of platform, content creation, and engagement strategies. Bear in mind that the way you engage with your audience will change depending on your goal and platform selected.
2. Select the platforms to reach your target audience
The key to this step is to make sure your brand is present on your clients’ favourite social media platforms. T
his will help you reach a larger audience and generate the best return on investment (ROI) for your campaign.
To find your clients, assess the demographic data of your top platforms. When it comes to audience engagement, there are pros and cons to every mediums.
Do you want to include social networks in your multiplatform campaign? To give you an idea, the average business spends between $200 and $350 per day on their social media marketing strategy. Moreover, each platform has set its
own advertising cost.
3. Diversify your content to maximize the growth of your brand
When you build your brand, you do everything you can to raise your company’s profile. You talk about your business with everyone you know by posting about it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and every other point of sales where you believe you may find new clients.
But the problem with these platforms is that they each have a different audience. If you don’t stand out in a creative way for these users, you might not experience the growth you want. That’s why a multiplatform content strategy is the key to your brand’s online success.
If you want to make your mark on social media,
your content cannot be the same on every platform. Each one is different, from the number of characters allowed to the hashtags you can use in a post. In other words: different platforms require different content.
In order to acquire new clients, reach prospects, and generate sales, you must be able to speak to different kinds of people in very different contexts. That’s the basic principle of a multiplatform content strategy. The bottom line is that
no matter how good your content is, if the user doesn’t see it, it won’t help you reach your objectives.
4. Re-evaluate your KPIs to optimize your strategies
The market is constantly evolving. That means you might need to
regularly update your KPIs to reflect your new reality. If you continue to try to optimize obsolete KPIs, you might miss the mark when it comes to an optimal business strategy. Furthermore, the definition of these metrics also changes with time. This is exactly what is happening today with the number of increasing platforms: the number of visitors might increase while conversion and engagement metrics decrease.
Reassessing your KPIs to understand how and why that can happen is the first step to resolving the problem. With a singular view of your consumers’ behaviour on every platform, your business can ensure a bit of order in the chaos, measure your activities according to the best metrics, and develop engaging and compelling product and marketing strategies that are aligned with the way your clients really interact with you.
With an increasingly ferocious competitive landscape and non-existent borders on the web,
you need more than just good. You need to be remarkable! Want to get help from our experts to implement your multiplatform strategy?
Contact our team today! Solocom will take you from an unknown brand to a top brand.
