Invariably, new Media Relations Agency clients want their campaigns to immediately fire on all promotional mix cylinders: publicity … social media … advertising … website. That can add up to a big price tag very quickly. Before they know it, their marketing cost is spiraling out of control. To bring their budgets back into alignment, one of my first conversations with incoming clients typically involves our strategy for evaluating which channels are most appropriate for reaching their target markets. Together, we look for the greatest value for putting their marketing dollars to work.
There are no one-size-fits-all recommendations. For example, our work with Great Clips hair salons focuses primarily on TV segments across the country since their product is highly visual. We’ve worked with other clients whose products are best-suited for longer, drive-time radio interviews.
Our decade-long work with Widex (a major international hearing aid company) emphasized traditional print publications because those channels reach their largest demographic: baby boomers and older. We included monthly and weekly community newspapers in the mix because even though their circulations are smaller, their audiences skew older. These newspapers are a primary source for keeping up with community happenings and news.
We also knew that most of these media stories would be repeated on the newspapers’ websites and pushed through social media. That was a valuable tactic because it enabled us to also reach the next generation of target customers: younger people who love listening to loud music through headphones.
Sometimes, rather than leading with earned media coverage we need to start with owned channels such as a client’s website and then grow into a fully integrated marketing campaign. That’s what happened when we started working with Paul’s Market, a local nursery that wanted to expand its offerings.
Our team completely redesigned Paul’s website, implementing best practices for SEO and maximizing the nursery’s online presence. When Paul’s Market then launched a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, their site was ready for the additional traffic. We also used online advertising to pull people into the CSA program. Then to further push more people into the conversion area, we employed publicity and repurposed the earned media coverage into their website-supported content streams.
One cautionary note about your marketing budget. Wanting as much frequency as possible for the lowest cost, some people ask us to focus their promotions strictly on social media. While that typically is a low-cost tactic, your reach may be limited. Even many of the top bloggers and social media influencers don’t have very large audiences.
You can really bump up your exposure by reaching out to the biggest influencers: traditional and online media. They have the largest audiences. And believe me, it’s much smarter to harness the selling power of traditional media stories than it is to cross your fingers and hope your social media post will go viral.
We sincerely want to help you take your business to the next level. Let’s talk about the best use for your marketing budget. For a free consultation, complete this form or call us at 952-697-5269.
