Spending on marketing solutions is vital for any business that wants to grow and expand to new audiences. Every goal requires a different approach, whether you’re looking for more leads or a bigger revenue when selling your products and services. This includes not only the content but also the platform.
That’s why it is common to see the same campaign on different social media channels or even multiple platforms of different kinds. This is called multichannel content marketing and can be the perfect way to maximize the positive impact of your content strategy.
It is a great way to create a solid strategy and increases the chances of achieving a larger target audience. If you think a multichannel marketing strategy is what your business needs, we’ve got you covered.
This article will show you everything you need to know about a multi-channel strategy and how to flawlessly execute it for better results. Make sure to follow all tips and steps carefully, and you’ll create optimal marketing channels for your business, whether online or offline.
Why Advertising on Different Channels Simultaneously
There are several reasons why using multiple channels at the same time can grant you a substantial competitive advantage and help you reach your objectives. If you know what multi-channel marketing is, you also know that the main purpose here is to advertise your products and services on multiple offline and online channels.
This way, you not only gather more leads and potential customers, but you’re also able to offer a seamless customer experience that will grant you a massive advantage in the search and purchase intent of the users. You can do several combinations to reach the target market, whether using social media channels and search engine marketing or any other one.
The best combination will depend on your target audiences, as the multi-channel approach requires deep research before any action can be developed. All aspects of the multi-channel marketing strategy should be aligned with your kind of business, products, and customers’ location. Make sure to have a marketing team that understands your needs and objectives for the best results and powerful customer engagement.
A multi-channel content strategy can bring numerous advantages for your sales and customers and their experience when purchasing from you. Make sure to analyze all aspects of your business to see if this digital marketing strategy is the best one for you.
When to Build Multi-Channel Campaigns
Having more than one marketing channel for your campaigns can be great and bring numerous benefits, but it shouldn’t be done every time. There are situations and occasions when this kind of strategy is required and can help bring better results.
Here, we will show you some of the main situations that require a multi-channel campaign, whether for content creation or any other type of marketing strategy. Make sure to look at each one to see how your business can use them to your advantage.
Multiple Target Audiences
One of the most common cases where you’ll want to use different marketing channels simultaneously is when you have different target audiences for your product. Each customer journey is unique, and other audiences also have different behaviors and are located in specific spaces, whether digitally or offline. When doing a multichannel strategy for your marketing efforts, you ensure that your content reaches these users, regardless of where they are.
One great example of this kind is Nike. The company not only has multiple product categories and types for different audiences, but its customers also have different behaviors. Whether they prefer to purchase online or go to the physical store, the company’s efficient multi-channel strategy is very smart in communicating with these different customers at the same time.
But this doesn’t mean you can choose random different platforms. Whether you want to achieve better lead generation, audience engagement, or anything else, your multi-channel content marketing needs to be well-planned, and the strategy must be aligned with where your audience is located.
Split Target Audience
Another reason to create a multi-channel marketing campaign is when your audience is split into different platforms and ad spaces. Unlike the first case, here, you don’t have distinct profiles and audiences, but one located in multiple audiences.
This case is usually simpler; you can use the same assets on both channels and still reach good customer satisfaction, generating an optimized marketing funnel. It is also easier to do multi-channel marketing automation in these cases since you’ll use the same strategy and communication on every platform selected.
Tech companies do that a lot. Samsung is a great example of that. Their audience is located in multiple places, so to reach them, they develop campaigns that can be used on multiple platforms. You can see pictures of their new phone while navigating through Instagram and get the same ad when looking for a video on YouTube. This also shows why it is crucial to plan your content before choosing which assets you make. Ensuring they’ll work on all ad spaces you choose will impact all steps of the campaign.
Make sure also to research which platforms have more customer interactions so you have the best results when doing paid advertising in more than one channel. This way, you achieve good metrics and satisfactory ROI.
A/B Strategy
If you want to achieve consistent customer experience and the best results for your business, it is common to do a strategy called A/B testing. For this, you’ll advertise the same campaign on two different platforms to see which one gathers the best results and metrics.
This will generate insights on what you can do for your next campaigns and what you need to do for better metrics and a more efficient ROAS. You can do A/B testing through social media posts, email marketing, and many other campaign types to see which one best fits what your audience wants to see.
The main objective here is not to achieve the best revenue or number of sales. Here, you’ll need to gather as much customer data as possible to see which platforms are the most effective for your business and industry.
Finding Your Audience
When you don’t know your audience profile and where they are located, marketing on multiple channels is also a recommended strategy. It helps understand who you’re advertising to and the customer journey mapping.
It might be slower than an A/B testing strategy and will require more budget for the most efficient results, but once you complete this strategy, you’ll know how to target and reach customers effectively. Along with that, you can better describe the buyer persona, which will help give direction to your campaigns when publishing content.
If you still don’t know your audience and their behavior, make sure to do in-depth research on these aspects before deciding on any marketing action. This way, you increase the chances of success and avoid wasting the campaign budget when making a multichannel approach.
Faster Growth
Advertising on multiple online and offline channels can also help your business grow faster than when doing marketing on a single platform. This is often seen in marketing strategies like Performance Max from Google, which allows you to advertise on all platforms from the company simultaneously.
The main objective is to achieve huge metrics as fast as possible and gather the largest number of users. Google’s PMax focuses on the company’s ad spaces, but you can use the same strategy for social media platforms, for example, with assets and ads created to be shared on all channels where the company is present.
The selection of which platforms you’ll use here is also not random. You must carefully select which ones to use for a cohesive customer experience that feels natural, regardless of the platform where they see your ads. This is the best way to get quality traffic to your website and social channels.
Multi-Channel vs. Omni-Channel
One of the most common doubts when it comes to marketing channels is when to use multi-channel and when to use omnichannel marketing. Both techniques sound very similar but serve entirely different purposes.
If you know the differences between multi-channel and omni-channel marketing, you also see that they apply to distinct purposes and can help you achieve your goals in different situations. But when should you use each one of these strategies?
As we mentioned, a multi-channel approach is recommended when you have different audiences, or they are located in different places. You create different campaigns for different channels or the same one, adapting them to the guidelines and requirements of each platform.
On the other hand, the omnichannel strategy is recommended when you want to deliver a seamless experience for your users, unifying all platforms and delivering a smooth customer experience.
You use omnichannel approaches when you want to remove all barriers between the channels. The more effective your actions are, the better the user experience will be, generating better social media analytics, user acquisition, and PPC metrics.
Most Common Channels Used
If you’re still in doubt about which channels to use in your multichannel content marketing strategy, don’t worry. Here, we will show you some of the most commonly used marketing spaces for this kind of campaign and how they can benefit your company or product.
Make sure to take a look at all options to see which ones best fit your industry and where your audience is located. Here are the main alternatives:
Traditional Marketing Channels
Not every marketing campaign needs to be digital and 100% online. Offline channels are also great alternatives and, for specific industries, can perform better than social media channels and other online spaces.
Here are the most common traditional marketing options you can use for multichannel marketing:
OOH
Even though Out of Home (OOH) media, such as outdoors, bus stop panels, and other placements lost their market presence to the online alternatives, it is still a valid option that can benefit businesses in different areas, especially local ones. Whether your objective is to drive traffic to a physical shop or just increase brand awareness where your company is located, displaying these physical ads on the streets is a great way to gather good business metrics.
One industry that still uses this kind of media to advertise its products is car brands and retailers. It is common to see outdoors and other kinds of external marketing alternatives near retailers of the brand, so the customer sees the ad and also finds out where they can purchase the product being advertised.
The car industry also has a strong digital presence, but many people still prefer to go to a physical store to check them before making the final decision. Having a physical advertising spot perfectly matches this behavior, increasing your sales.
Combining this and other channels in the multichannel marketing effort can be one of the best strategies for driving traffic to your landing page and physical store. As for the assets, depending on the platforms selected, you can even use the same ones, adapting them to the dimensions and requirements of each ad space.
Broadcast
Broadcast might be one of the most expensive marketing spaces available, but it is also one of the most effective. This is one of the best ways to reach a large audience and grow brand awareness. According to TEGNA, people still watch five and a half hours of TV daily on average, generating an attention retention rate 71% higher than mobile ads.
It might require a higher investment, but it also has a huge ROI, catching more attention than traditional social media marketing and reinforcing brand image. Broadcast is one of the best ways to make your brand top of mind for its industry, giving you an enormous boost compared to your competitors. Along with that, studies from TEGNA also show that broadcast also helps build trust. People tend to believe and give more credibility to what they see on television than on the internet.
Even industries with major online presence still use TV to advertise their products. One great example is Sony. Whether to market its latest console or to show new exclusive titles being released, the Japanese company still sees the potential that this ad space has and the results it brings. It is common to see Playstation ads on TV throughout the world, even though most gamers have stronger online connections.
Direct Mail
Even though direct mail might sound like something from the 1800s, it is still a good option for certain industries and businesses. In fact, according to Lob, 74% of the businesses running this kind of marketing action reported the best return on investment of all campaigns they developed.
It is a very simple practice and requires a medium investment. When done exclusively through direct mail, the chances of success are low, but when combined with other tactics and strategies, it can be a powerful investment that brings huge returns and high conversion rates.
Everything will depend on the kind of business you have and the audience you want to achieve. For example, you won’t have good results with direct mail if you’re marketing mobile games because that’s not where your audience is located. On the other hand, if you’re a physical newsletter or magazine, sending periodic mails with special offers and opportunities can generate huge conversion rates and increase your revenue.
Another example of a good industry for this kind of advertisement is internet providers. They usually leave leaflets in newly built blocks of flats and apartments to gather potential customers who are moving into the new place. Actually, this is how I chose my current internet provider after moving to my new flat.
Digital Marketing Channels
In addition to traditional marketing avenues, you’ve got a whole array of digital channels at your disposal. There are numerous examples of multi-channel marketing strategies that leverage these digital platforms due to their cost-effectiveness, wide reach, and ability to connect with target audiences.
They are incredibly effective and most companies’ favorites for marketing products and services. Here are the leading digital marketing channels you can choose from:
Social Media
Social media platforms are people’s first pick when doing digital marketing for their business. They have many advantages, one being how easily you can gather and track data regarding your efforts.
With one click, you can check how many clicks your ads have gathered, the number of conversions, and all the other relevant metrics gathered. Moreover, everyone uses social media channels to interact with people, see the news, look for products, and many other things. It is almost impossible to have a target audience that doesn’t use these platforms. So, whether you have a tech company or work in any other industry, there’s always a social media platform where you can reach your customers.
Another advantage is that you can use almost all kinds of assets when advertising on these spaces. Whether you want to create videos, images, or text ads, everything works.
According to Forbes, over 4.5 billion people used social media platforms in 2023, showing how powerful this kind of advertisement can be for reaching new users and generating more leads. People in the United States have an average of seven social media accounts, making it even easier to reach users regardless of where your target audience is.
Email Marketing
Email is another platform that many people think is outdated when, in fact, it is responsible for some of the best conversion numbers. Studies by Mayple show that this format can generate a conversion of over 10% depending on the industry you’re in and generate a return of $40 for every dollar spent on advertisement. It is one of the simplest ways to make previous customers purchase from you again and brings a lot of monetary return, especially when considering how little your initial investment needs to be when executing the strategy.
This doesn’t mean it’s the right marketing space for you. Make sure to analyze your users to see if they use email services frequently and if this is the best option based on what you sell, whether it’s a product or service.
Search Engine Marketing
Another trendy option when doing multi-channel advertisement is to use search engines for your campaigns. Whether you choose the shopping tabs from Google, the YouTube home feed, or any other space, they can bring great results very quickly.
One of the main advantages of this option is that, instead of going after your clients, you can wait for them to come for you here. In 2023, Google was visited over 83 billion times per month, according to Oberlo. It is almost impossible to advertise a product that people won’t go after when using the search engine, whether to compare or to look for the options available.
WebFX says that 89% of the traffic generated in the main websites and landing pages is generated by paid advertisement. The more you highlight with quality ads and traffic, the easier it will be for you to rank on organic search. This way, even if you stop investing in this kind of advertisement, you’ll still rank on the first page, gathering most of the clicks.
How to Get the Best Results Out of Your Multiple Channels
Running a campaign on multiple platforms can bring numerous benefits, but everything needs to be done correctly to reach them. Here are some tips to ensure you reach your goals and objectives with this kind of action.
Case Study and Analysis
One of the best ways to develop effective actions on multiple channels is by analyzing a case study from another company and looking at successful examples to take inspiration from. Doing this lets you find out the most effective channels and ways of communication.
Examining examples and cases from various industries can be insightful, but focusing on businesses similar to yours can offer even more valuable ideas for your advertising efforts. By understanding what has worked for similar companies, you can tailor your campaign to align with your objectives.
Hire a Professional Agency
Multi-channel marketing or any other strategy is not something you learn from day to night and requires lots of experience and practice to nail an effective campaign. If you strive for the best results for your company and sales, hiring a professional agency is the best option.
By leaving the tasks and strategy planning to a professional, you ensure optimized results are consistent with your objectives, and you have a higher chance of reaching your goals. It also dismisses the need to assign marketing tasks to your employees, allowing you to run the main business tasks at full capacity.
At GamerSEO, we have the best professionals on the market, with years of experience developing campaigns that are aimed directly at the needs of your clients. Whether you’re looking for help with your game marketing on YouTube or any other task, we have everything you need to achieve optimized results and great return on investment. Join us, and let’s create quality marketing together.
Conclusion on Multichannel Content Marketing
Advertising on multiple channels is a great strategy that ensures quicker growth and more efficiency in reaching the right audiences, but for the actions to work, everything needs to be carefully planned. From the platforms that will be used to the previous research you do, everything will impact the overall results of your campaign and how close to your objectives you’ll get.
Make sure to consider all these aspects and create communication that reflects who your target audience is and what they want to see when looking for your product or service. This way, you not only generate more clicks, leads, and other important metrics but also get a much bigger return on your investment.
Now that you know everything you need, it is time to start executing your strategy on multiple platforms. Follow all the tips above, and you’ll instantly notice an increase in your business and its results, taking it a step further.
Professional writer and designer graduating from Marketing and Advertisement at PUCRS. Lucciano has been working in the industry for over 6 years and, throughout his journey, has accomplished many achievements, including a SET Award in the entrepreneur category. His main goal as a designer and writer is to create marketing that impacts people’s lives through user experience, emotional connection, or any way that generates positive changes. Along with his work, Lucciano shares a passion for video games, especially horror titles, and playing bass.