The Value of a Diverse Marketing Plan

A new year means a new marketing plan and strategy. As you plan for 2018, one strategy we feel is the most important is diversity. Diversity in your marketing plan means not throwing all your marketing eggs in one basket, and instead putting your resources and efforts into employing multiple marketing tactics. Marketing is cumulative, and each tactic supports the other – by diversifying and employing several marketing tactics well, you will see a higher success rate.

“When it comes to marketing, there is no silver bullet. Marketing is cumulative. Every marketing effort you put forward builds off previous campaigns and together they push the needle forward to promote your brand, increase awareness, and reach your target audience.” – Matt Koeppel

Print vs. Digital

Print is definitely not dead; however, it does typically have a shorter lifespan when the marketing impact is looked at. A magazine ad or a piece of direct mail will eventually see the recycling bin, and that is why a longer campaign is proven to have a better return on investment than one time runs. Digital marketing is growing and evolving every day and generally has a longer lifespan and impact. Social media, SEO, online ads, and white papers live online and will normally last until you decide to remove them. Both print and digital have different effects, both positive and negative. Take a look at several of the positives that both print and digital bring:

Both print and digital can reach different audiences, directly support each other, and together enhance the overall brand experience. They should operate together as one continuous marketing strategy.

Let’s say you send a piece of direct mail and a potential customer becomes interested and decides to look you up on their phone. Unfortunately, you didn’t spend any money on optimizing your website – it is old and not mobile friendly. Now you have a much higher risk of losing that potential customer because of their bad experience with your website.

The same can be said for social media. Killer content isn’t going to grow as fast as you would like without sharing it on social media – it is a whole other audience to influence and market to. Sharing your content on specific platforms will reach more people than just relying on organic search. Again, your social media efforts will be useless if the website you are leading them to isn’t up to par. 

We could give you many more examples of how each marketing tactic influences another because each does in some way. As you plan for 2018, focus on a few marketing tactics and do them well. Focusing on too many with minimal effort will not be beneficial and will likely result in wasted time and money. It is largely about finding the proper balance between quantity and quality. Make sure you can put 100% effort into each marketing tactic before committing to another. If you own a business and are struggling to diversify your marketing strategy, contact us. We regularly plan, create, and execute effective marketing strategies and tactics for our clients.

About Ocreative

Ocreative is an integrated marketing agency, with expertise and broad experience that spans both print and digital media. The company’s core values include offering the highest level of customer service, award-worthy quality, and performance that surpasses client expectations. Ocreative is located just outside Milwaukee and works with clients locally, nationally, and globally. Their clients have access to some of the most fun and knowledgeable professionals around—those who inspire, educate, and problem solve. The agency provides marketing and brand strategy, advertising and design, website design and social media, and video expertise to their clients, fulfilling their desire for business growth and their aspiration to make a mark on their industry.