B2B buyers each have their own preferences and research methods when it comes to making software purchases, and there are more places to find and consume information than ever. Because of that, trying to reach your audience is difficult. And it’s also potentially costly.
A multi-channel marketing strategy is key to reaching buyers in their preferred location with the correct content format. But with so many available channels, where do you start?
Take it One Channel at a Time
You can’t build out every channel at the beginning, so start small and work your way up. Optimize your own website first because that will be your hub for all product information as well as a place for potential customers to contact you. Is your website set up for easy outreach? Can prospects find the information they want without talking to a sales rep?
Then, create social media accounts to engage with customers and lend credibility to your brand. You don’t have to post every day, but you do need a strategy and a content calendar. Make sure you’re taking advantage of the unique value of each platform, rather than totally automating our content, leading to sales pitches and bland messages that don’t engage prospects. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are typically the most popular, but you may want to consider TikTok or Pinterest as well, depending on your ideal audience and product.
After your website and social media are set up, you can extend to other channels once you feel comfortable with the first two. Other channels you should consider include:
- Email newsletters
- YouTube
- Earned and paid media (e.g. guest posts, display ads, etc.)
- Podcasts
Learn the Best Practices for Each Channel
Each marketing channel has its own set of best practices, so you’ll need to research to find out what they are for each. Then, test these best practices against your own audience to find out what actually works for you. For example, a resource might tell you that you should send emails between 11 AM and 2 PM for the best engagement, but you find that your audience is actually more responsive earlier in the day. In that case, you should stick with what’s working for your audience, regardless of whether or not it technically falls into a best practice.
Best practices for each channel are generally pretty easy to find. You can typically just Google search something like “best practices for email marketing”, and you’ll get tons of articles with tips. However, you may get some conflicting information, so again, you’ll need to test to see what works for your business and audience.
Find out what it takes to succeed with email marketing today.
Integrate Channels When Possible
None of your marketing channels can stand alone, so use each channel to drive traffic to your other channels. For example, include newsletter signup links in your blogs or social media posts. Not only does this build awareness of your other channels, but it also allows your audience to choose the channel that works best for them.
Additionally, it provides a fuller picture of your brand and makes it more likely that your potential buyers will think of you when they’re ready to make a purchase. Historically, the marketing rule has been that it takes buyers an average of seven interactions with your business before they’ll make a purchase. That’s unlikely to happen if you only use one channel.
Automate and Measure Your Marketing Efforts
Running multiple marketing channels is difficult, so you need to automate when you can. Schedule social media posts using a social media management tool, like Hootsuite or Buffer. Additionally, these tools can also help you post and engage with followers all from a single platform, simplifying the process overall.
You also need to measure the results of your marketing efforts, allowing you to make changes when necessary and keep doing what’s working. Marketing dashboards and business intelligence tools can give you reports that are easy to read and present and show exactly how your efforts are performing. This way, you can see at a glance what you need to improve.
Multi-Channel Marketing Widens Your Buyer Pool
If you only ever market on one channel, you’re missing out on a huge pool of buyers that don’t like that channel or don’t know it exists. For example, if you only have a website where you post blogs, you may only get organic traffic for niche topics and keywords, meaning buyers probably won’t even know your company exists when it’s time to start researching. Instead, you need a healthy mix of channels that allow you to get in front of buyers where they’re researching and in a format that they’ll actually consume.
TechnologyAdvice has six first-party channels that we use to engage technology buyers. To learn how we can leverage these channels to meet your marketing goals, contact us today.