Digital is the final frontier for Marketers, and in 2015 let’s agree to make an effort to understand the medium and take the time to analyze everything in detail. Here are five pledges that you should make for your digital marketing activities in 2015:
1. Say No To Same Content!
Every platform is different and if you replicate the same content across two platforms, you won’t be able to reach that platform’s complete potential. However, this doesn’t mean that you should create something completely different. What you do need is a bigger strategy where every platform plays its own role, for e.g. let’s say if you are talking about education, you can create a video around an emotional message related to education on Facebook and a statistical message related to the same topic on Twitter.
2. Say No To Likes!
As abrupt as this may sound, many marketers – Both at agency and client-end, sometimes talk entirely about the number of likes per se on Facebook. In 2015, we all need to realize that Facebook is a very small part of the entire digital spectrum and it’s not your own platform. Almost everyone is aware that you only reach a single digit figure of the number of people who have “Liked” your page, yet we continue to only focus on increasing the fan-base via paid activities rather than focusing on a bigger objective. Facebook is like a flyer, and your own website or a micro-site for that matter, is your owned platform and it is always better to harness a bigger picture rather than focusing only on one channel. So in 2015 – You know what to say when someone comes up to you asks you to only increase the number of likes on their fan-page without a bigger objective. Say No To Likes!
3. Say Yes To Experimentation!
Every brand is different, and the most clichéd line comes into action when I say – Digital is all about trial and error. You can create your path in digital if you take an experimentation route. A separate micro-site for lead-generation might be a good idea for your brand, or it might turn out to be a completely useless activity, and you won’t know if it works or not without actually trying it. Similarly, advertising on websites via private inventory or Google is another major question for brands and despite the fact that private inventory ensures visibility, sometimes Google Ads turn out to present better results.
4. Say Yes To Integration!
Yes Digital is a separate platform, but integration is the key! But before we go forward, let me clarify what I mean when I say integration. Some marketers feel that integration is only when you establish a high-end system or web-based application to create a user experience which is completely awesome! But at a basic level, I personally believe that if you focus on the little things in campaigns, for e.g. a separate photo-shoot for digital activities at the same time when you are filming your TVC, and then using this shoot via different online channels by integrating it in your content can also show some promising results. And the best part? It’s less costly than creating an entire platform.
5. Say Yes To Data – And Follow It Too! Ah!
Data! The wonderful map which tells you exactly what is working and what isn’t, and sometimes it’s too amazing to handle. Well, some brands have data analysis tools in place such as Google Analytics on their websites, but they don’t actually use it to make the user experience better. You know what they use it for? To see how many people came on their website, this is fascinating but is completely useless if you are not analyzing things in detail such as what do these people do when they come to your website? What do they like? What are their pain points? And other exciting stuff.
So, in 2015 let’s make an effort to analyze data in detail and not just talk about it. So, to sum it all up, you need to say yes and no to some things in digital marketing. No matter how amazing it may sound, some things turn out to be useless and no matter how boring it sounds, other small things make the digital world a better place. May the digital force be with you in 2015!
By Faizan Riaz
