Benefits of using an integrated marketing campaign

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Benefits of an integrated marketing campaign

When you’re planning out your digital marketing strategy for the next few months, of course you will want to make the most out of it. But how can you really maximise the potential of your marketing? You could start by using integrated marketing communications. In this blog, we’re telling you the benefits of an integrated marketing campaign.

What is an integrated marketing campaign?

An integrated marketing campaign involves creating a unified message to share across multiple platforms. The marketing communications do not have to be identical, they should just promote the same message.

For example, imagine you want to share your services. On one social media platform you might choose to create a short form video, you may also choose to use a billboard as well as a print advertisement. In this instance, you cannot use the exact same marketing materials for each platform, but you can promote the same message across them all.

The method of ‘integrating’ your marketing materials could be achieved through the inclusion of a QR code or similar. This means that if you are using a print or digital billboard advertisement, you can send users to your website to browse your products and services and therefore get more traffic.

Integrated marketing communications are usually designed to boost sales by engaging your target audience through various channels.

What are the 5 forms of an integrated marketing campaign?

  • Advertising
  • Direct marketing
  • Internet sales marketing
  • Sales promotion
  • Public relations

Each of these forms can be carefully linked to relay a clearer message to your target audience.

Benefits of integrated marketing solutions

Wider reach

Maybe you don’t utilise various marketing channels at the moment? Maybe you just use Facebook or you’re still using the traditional method of flyers. Either way, it is important to consider an integrated marketing communications strategy as it can really help you to reach a wider audience.

Imagine you’re using a non-traditional method of marketing like social media, but you’re also placing your advertisement on a billboard in a city centre, you might even be using a print advertisement in the local paper. Just think how many more people you could reach by expanding your messaging.

With this strategy, you can target individuals at many different stages of the consumer buying process. You even have the power to introduce your business to people outside of your target audience.

Trust building

We know how important it is to keep your brand consistent and that doesn’t just mean pasting your logo on all of your integrated marketing communications. Your brand is more than just a logo, it includes your business’ core values and even the tone of voice that you use in your marketing materials.

If you usually utilise a more colloquial tone, use it in your IMC strategy! Ensuring consistency teaches your target audience that they can trust your brand. Seeing consistent messaging means that your brand efficacy is reinforced.

Sends a clear message

We know what you’re thinking, ‘why would people want to see repetitive messages over and over again?’ Well, that’s where integrated marketing communications are different. Using this marketing strategy means that you can alter your message slightly for each piece of content.

Remember that by using different promotional methods, you’re targeting various different groups of people, so it’s important not to use the exact same content for each platform. A younger audience generally doesn’t have the same interests as an older audience, so you need to bear that in mind when creating content.

As long as your overall message is consistent and is presented in a way that captures the most ideal audience for each method, you should be good to go.

Brand loyalty

We all have brands that we trust, they’re the ones we keep going back to even if we know someone else can do the same job cheaper. In business, trust is important as it generally means brand loyalty.

Brand loyalty is one of the biggest benefits of a good marketing strategy. Loyalty means that your audience trusts your brand and thinks highly of the products or services you offer. Seeing consistently branded messages from your business will serve as a reminder that your business is there when potential customers need you.

Increased effectiveness

Integrating your materials increases effectiveness in business and it can also save money and valuable time in the long run. It’s not cheap to get quality images taken of your products, but we know how important photography is on your website.

By integrating your marketing efforts, you can use the same or similar imagery to promote the unified message. Make sure that your photos are relevant to ensure that you are creating a crystal clear message to consumers, this will also help to avoid disjointed content.

There are many benefits of integrated marketing solutions and there are multiple channels that can be used easily to achieve your desired results.

What makes a good integrated marketing campaign?

Engage the audience with next steps

A successful integrated marketing campaign is engaging and tells your audience exactly what action to take. Often in marketing, users are encouraged to interact with content and then they get left at the last hurdle. This leads to them not knowing what they should do and means that businesses can lose out on sales.

It’s a good idea to use communications tools such as QR codes that can easily direct users to where they need to go next.

Knowing your brand

Creating integrated communications doesn’t just strengthen your brand, it can also unite your workforce. Using this method requires many skills, which means that your team can share talent to create something effective.

It might be worth creating a brand book that can be referred to as and when it’s necessary. You can include fonts, colours, logos and anything else you believe is important to capture the essence of your brand.

A brand book allows you to create an expectation for staff when they come to work on brand communications. It also leads to increased efficiency in the workplace as everyone is on the same page.

Take your time

In order for your marketing to be successful, you have to take your time, especially when it comes to creating a long lasting strategy like this. Before you start creating any marketing materials, you need to ensure that you have outlined clear objectives for everyone involved.

Creating your first integrated campaign can be scary, there’s a lot to think about. But if you take your time and plan it out correctly, you’ll be just fine. If you’ve already started creating different integrated marketing solutions, we hope this helps with future campaigns.

Integrated marketing campaigns are a great way to build a long lasting message and grab the attention of a wider audience. If you need any help with your digital marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us.