Use Digital Right To Win The Fight Over Competition … Adapt To The New Normal

Digital Marketing is not only the latest upcoming thing, rather it is the thing, driving marketing currently. Ever since the lock down started & direct meeting to the customers became challenging, the digital platforms emerged as the undisputed last resort to the marketers. The Multichannel marketing, which was waiting for its turn since decades, got its lion share & attention. Everyone is now, talking about Digital / Phygital campaigns, but we need not forget that the right use of the right channel & platform is must. Probably most of us have taken the word, digital very close to our heart & marketing has taken a back seat. I say this in the context that, being marketers & brand custodians, we need to ask ourselves the basic questions. Who is my target audience? Is the medium/ platform used for the message is right & appropriate? What would make the targeted audience hooked to my content or will my content get lost in the endless digital ocean.

We need to understand the customer & consumer deeply as per the new context. When it comes to us, we say things have changed for us, but when it comes about the customer & consumer, we assume the things have not changed that much & will be back to normal soon. Those companies, who have realized this fast, are the one gaining returns too, despite the change in the market dynamics & drastic change in consumer behavior.

I might be sounding direct or bit blunt, but sometimes it’s good to talk straight. Let me give an example there are a few companies, who have the same message or post running on its Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter & sometimes even on their website. No doubt they have paid hefty to the agency or maintained in-house, their digital presence but, are they able to achieve their desired goals? I bet if they get their analytics, they would be getting real eye openers which shall make them think 100 times before posting another same post on, all the social media platforms & even sharing the same via email.

It’s important to understand the target audience & the digital platform on which they are targeted. LinkedIn is a forum where we all maintain our business connections, its not a Facebook or Twitter, so the communication to be posted on LinkedIn must be designed, keeping in mind the professional associates & what they are looking for. Posting a job opening on LinkedIn is the most ideal rather than sharing it on Facebook or Instagram. Highlighting Corporate Image or some CSR, Good Marketing Practices or Employee Friendly / Engaging initiatives, Acknowledging Star Performers, is something which the audience on LinkedIn would be preferring from a corporate or brand window, rather than a therapy or brand promotion from them.

If a piece of information is pertaining to patient awareness or is customer related, where we need to find a direct connect with the customers, Facebook & Instagram can be the right platform. If we are using an influencer for any product or healthy lifestyle or even a therapy or brand promotion, then Instagram would work the best. If mass appeal is needed then depending on the geography & our target markets, Facebook or Instagram can be preferred. But if its for any course or skill development then LinkedIn would be the perfect place, not Instagram or Facebook

Twitter is mostly for sharing viewpoints & stands on certain issues, so the companies philosophies, its viewpoints or what it stands for , & how it is progressing , can be ideally used on Twitted.

Touching yet another point:  email marketing, which is a must to have in the campaign of all the brand plans. Trust me this is the most important tool & if used properly can be really fruitful. The big challenge which one faces with this channel is, of the mails landing in the junk. If you succeed using your technical expertise & avoid a few words in title which can reduce the risk of the mail from landing to the junks, still the fight does not end. Client may not even open the mail & without reading can delete the same. So, for this matter we need to ensure the content shared has to be of the interest to the targeted audience, which makes him/ her open the mail & post that even, click the links too if any relevant is shared in the mail body.  May be a Latest Conference Update, Guidelines or some Latest Articles from Top Journals or something which is latest & pertaining to the interest of the audience, is what can keep them hooked to your mail subscription .

WhatsApp marketing: Probably this too has been used or misused to the extent that customers at time tend to block after they are being bombarded with the gifs & messages. The content shared here must be crisp, to the point & should convey the desired message before the targeted audience loses his/ her interest & should not feel intrusion in their privacy.

App designing : Its always lucrative for any brand manager to get his/ her own App, but before you plan the same ask yourself, will your customer be really using that or all your hard work & brand budget  will go in designing yet another app, which customer might download out of respect or good relations but will hardly use & ultimately the AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) of phone will keep featuring the App in least used  category & shall be wiped of the phone with in a few weeks by auto cleaner App.

In a nutshell if we have to summarize, we need to choose the right digital medium/ platform for targeting the right audience. As same content does not fit all customers, same way same content & message does not fit all digital platforms/ forums too,  as the same customer comes to different platforms with a different objective. If one corporate giant is a good photographer or a drummer? Should LinkedIn be used to post the same  or some other platform ? this speaks all.  If one has to engage certain customers in a photography contest, then LinkedIn would be an ideal forum to show how innovative & creative campaign  the company is running , but the contestants entries should  be ideally  posted on either Facebook or Instagram . If it’s a video of drumming to what we referred earlier, then that needs to be uploaded on You tube with link shared on Instagram & Facebook.

Right usage of YouTube  & Facebook ads specially for nutraceuticals & OTC can have a right impact in gaining the mindshare of the customers, as in the current era more than TV & radio all age groups  are hooked more to their smart phones, tabs & laptops.

Appropriate content, which grabs the targeted audience on the right platform is the key to digital marketing. Be it any platform, your communication has to fight to reach the right customer. When medical  representatives  meets doctor physically , the competition  is  only with  the  fellow mates of other companies, but now with the digitalization the competition is not only with the message of the competitors  but also with the news, updates from their favorite  celebrities, cricket/ football scores, medical updates from some body or message from their family  members or close friends group .

While we  plan our digital campaign , we have to keep one most important thing in mind , that It’s good to touch some one using social media but the private space of one needs to be respected. Don’t think the customer is waiting for your messages only, he is parallelly receiving so many other messages too, so the frequency of digital touch to each customer too is vital. We have to plan in a way that there is not too much of gap , also at the same time too much bombardment too needs to be avoided   &  ensure that the  communication is so powerful , your content is so relevant that its hard for one to resist.

With the brand plans of next year about to start , this piece of information if considered can actually fetch fruitful results & the success shall speak for the rest.

Happy Digital / Phygital Marketing The New Normal …