Could You Make Your Marketing Budget Go Further?
The social media workshop we ran at CME last week threw up some interesting ‘dos’ and ‘don'ts’ on how to make your company stand out online, much of which, I’m sure will be very useful to the delegates that attended. Throughout the day though, one word kept re-surfacing again and again, and it’s that one word – ‘re-purpose’ – that has stuck with me from the session.
What our trainer wanted to get across was that, although it is a different channel that requires a more informal and concise approach than many of the more traditional channels, online communication is, nevertheless, a means on conversing. As a result, it doesn’t always require a re-inventing of the wheel; simply the re-purposing of existing marketing tools.
The same principle applies across the marketing disciplines. That’s not to say of course, that it’s feasible to create a one-size-fits-all piece of copy that will serve all purposes: brochures, websites, direct mail, blogs, press releases……..all have a different role and must be tailored accordingly. However, by understanding your brand values, pinning down your key messages and planning you marketing spend to integrate different channels you can identify where synergies lie and where an item can be re-purposed.
The example given in the CME workshop, was the re-purposing of a press release to create a blog and, in the same way, here I am re-purposing a workshop into a blog too. But the connection need not always be so direct. Perhaps your CPD presentation could be a feature article in a trade magazine, maybe your sales letter could be re-worked as the homepage for your website or perhaps the case studies you’re developing for your website could also be used as press releases?
We all know that the commercial climate is still really tough and that ring fencing money for marketing continues to present a challenge but it really is possible to make your marketing budget work harder and deliver a multi-channel communications programme if you follow these five simple tips:
- Identify the key messages you want to communicate and make them consistent across everything
- Plan ahead and understand where you can re-purpose existing materials
- Integrate your communications to gain maximum value
- Exploit ‘free’ channels like social media and PR to increase the value of your spend and create third party advocates
- Remember that marketing doesn’t always have to be about sales, sometimes just keeping your name out there with regular communication is equally valuable