I’ve been inactive on my blog the last month as have been working many hours as a contractor for a large Delaware based ad agency, helping with largely traditional media channels for a number of clients. Half of me was a little concerned over my own brand since I have been largely consulting on mostly digital strategies the last 3 years, but working with traditional channels again has reminded me of the following:
- My brand is lead generation and media strategy. That means whatever the best channel is to communicate and nurture a message towards a defined target audience is what I recommend. Always have; always will.
- If your marketing objective is to persuade a target audience to utilize your product or service, traditional media channels is still the most impactful. Online display can also be useful, but what advertising do you still remember the most? Traditional or digital? Be honest.
- Search Marketing is important after demand for your product category is generated. Advertising may convince me I need something; search marketing helps me find the solution after my need is identified.
- By and large, social media is best utilized when you’re establishing brand and reputation through thought leadership and content sharing, and not by active persuasion messaging.
In the last week or so, I’ve had conversations with 5 newspapers, 6 radio stations, 1 cable TV rep, 3 outdoor companies, and 1 online property, DelawareOnline.com. The lesson here is to step back, think about your target audience’s media behavior, do some research on what channels they use, and realize not everyone is on Twitter (really, they’re not). The best strategies are typically integrated ones, combining the impact of traditional, with the one-to-one channels of search, social, and mobile. Don’t jump on the digital bandwagon if you utilize those channels, but do so if your audience uses those channels.
