Solve the communication mix puzzle with the right tools.
Tools for a marketing communication mix fall into two categories: tools for communication and tools for monitoring. In both cases, remember that numbers are your friend. The tools you choose will depend on budget, information and goals. You need to know what you can spend and who and where your customers are. You also need a target for your communications to determine your success.
Websites
Knowing who comes to your site is key to its effectiveness.
A website is a tool that allows you to brand, interact and sell. There are two key tools for using websites effectively: SEO (search engine optimization) and analytics. SEO means words: the words on the pages that people see and those they don't see, such as in the coding. It is also links, both those on your site and those on other sites that link to your site. SEO is important because people find things using search engines, such as Yahoo! or Google, and those search engines focus on words.
The other tool is analytics, a fancy word for statistics. Google Analytics, for example, is coding placed on your website's pages that allows the gathering of a wide range of data on how popular your site is, who is visiting and how people are using it. It is vital information you use to make your site effective.
Social Media
Social media is two-way communication with your customers and it is also analytics. It allows you to interact with potential customers one-to-one and as a group. It also provides valuable data. A Facebook page, for example, provides information on who is visiting the page, gender and age range and a good deal more. However, there are many social media vehicles, including blogs, and keeping on top of all of them can be difficult. There are, however, companies that monitor all these sites and allow you to keep track of them fairly easily and to the degree you choose.
Print And Audio-Visual
Distribution determines the effectiveness of print.
Print means ads, flyers, coupons, letters, manuals--anything that involves print. You can hire freelance writers and designers or an agency to write and design these materials. An agency also can help you make decisions about distribution based on statistics.
Television and radio are traditional audio-visual elements that businesses use. Today, many companies use the Internet. Where a budget does not allow for television ads it may allow for a video on your site or elsewhere online. There are also other uses for video and audio, such as a video on your company that is distributed on a DVD or audio messages that may play when a caller is on hold. While it is possible to create material in-house, generally businesses hire outside companies for their expertise, equipment, and talent (actors, announcers, etc.). Keep in mind that almost everything you create for print and audio-visual can be put into digital format and placed online, potentially increasing its effectiveness.
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