The role of digital marketing has expanded to become an essential part of brand communications. With digital content composing more than half of the UK marketplace, advertisers are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate return on investment via instant payback from the market. With such high levels of competition how do brands deliver on sales objectives while managing to capture the attention of an increasingly time-poor and highly selective audience?
There is no simple answer, but following a few key guidelines and focusing on correctly targeted messages can help drive efficiencies and greatly increase the chances of breaking through the noise barrier to achieve brand saturation.
If you’re not considering mobile within your marketing plans then you’re missing a trick. 46 per cent of UK marketers are using some form of mobile marketing strategy. Digital marketers see mobile as a key way to reach target audiences, and the rate of direct SMS marketing is expected to increase 160 per cent in the next three years. However, results are not the same across the board.
Although 90 per cent of marketing texts are read within three seconds of being received, there is a wide discrepancy in performance rates between existing and potential customers. While brand message, sales, and customer retention are high amongst established consumers, the numbers drop to below average when targeting prospects. One of the suggested reasons for this is the pressure the immediacy and personal quality of SMS puts on brand message and timing. While consumers are easily accessible via mobile, the number of people using smartphones to buy products and services is increasing; new customers to a brand are more likely to screen calls, texts and notifications, blocking out messages from unwanted sources.
In this case, mobile marketing is seen as intrusive and irritating to the new customer. Too often there is a lack of regard to timing and frequency, and content is viewed as irrelevant. Today, consumers have the power to choose and select what messages they want to be exposed to. If messages are not accurately targeted - sent at the right time and with the right frequency - and contain quality, relative content for the consumer, they are easily overlooked and deleted.
To succeed in the digital marketplace brands need to use technology to their advantage. This means gathering insights ahead of time based on data about consumer preferences, location and previous purchase history in order to better engage their audience and increase interaction through the flow of relevant information.
Once the initial relationship is established it is important to keep up with quality content and consistent, relevant messaging. At the end of the day, it is only half the job to get the consumer to your website, the other half is all about what they will find when they get there. While most brand communications are centred on driving sales, it is important to consider a long term strategy that surpasses short term goals and works to establish lasting relationships. In a world where marketing automation is an increasing part of funds, technology is wearable, and messages are expected to be delivered, received, and reacted to in a matter of seconds, building a strong foundation for your brand within the digital marketplace is fundamental to gaining customer support and creating lasting brand satisfaction.
By Cat Leaver, Head of Strategy at We Are Ad.
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