Digital Communication Tips For Businesses
Communications via digital channels are rapidly overtaking traditional print and display media, with most businesses now pushing their advertising and marketing messages heavily across digital media. Consumers are interacting with electronic devices on an hourly basis and now expect businesses to use electronic means to communicate with them.
Some businesses are still in the process of adjusting to digital communication tools and need to ensure that they understand the nuances of digital communications compared to those of traditional media. If you enjoy advertising your brand via printed materials, you don’t have to give this up completely. You can take the same principle – creating postcards, flyers, brochures, and other promotional materials – and once you’re done designing them, you can simply download the files or generate links to share. This way, you can make a smooth transition or combine both printed and digital advertising strategies. Digital communication is a powerful way to reach consumers in a very direct manner. Here are some tips to help your business use it as efficiently as possible.
How digital communication differs
Keep in mind that digital media is consumed in a different way than traditional media. The difference in writing for online reading compared to printed material highlights the gap between old and new ways of getting a message across. Reading in print is typically an activity that is taken on with few distractions in a leisurely style. On the other hand, a person who is reading content online is likely to face a lot of distractions and is often reading with a specific goal.
For this reason, writing in the digital realm should be very easy to read, and you should compose content in a way that makes it easy to scan. Optimising for search engines is important, and your content needs to be readable by screen readers. It takes longer to read content in digital form than in print form, so be sure to keep your message short and succinct.
Key differences between B2B and B2C digital marketing
Compared to business-to-business marketing, business-to-consumer marketing deals with a much shorter sales cycle. B2C marketing deals with a single decision-maker who can make a purchase very rapidly, buying in response to a single item of communication. It is this immediacy that shapes the way B2C marketing material reads, with catchphrases such as a call to action strongly applying to communication strategies where consumers are involved.
Another key difference between B2C and B2B communication is the way in which marketing focused on consumers is directed toward building brand value rather than building relationships. In your communication efforts, you need to show consumers how your brand can add value to their lives, whether it’s by saving them money or giving them a luxurious experience they cannot find elsewhere.
Deliver branded content to your customers
Digital devices are used to consume content on a massive scale, including text, sound and video. Consumers usually expect this content to be provided free of charge, and this gives businesses an excellent opportunity to insert their branding message. Consumers generally accept the fact that free content comes with an advertising message, and most of them willingly allow businesses to build their brands while providing free content.
Depending on your product, you may opt for informative articles as branded content, or you might choose to create interesting videos that are entertaining to watch while supporting your brand message. Branded content can be used in very creative ways outside the classical definitions of content, including branded virtual reality experiences or branded loyalty cards with attractive offers via a mobile wallet platform such as Veoo.
Using marketing to reach out
Electronic media has a huge cost advantage over printed material when it comes to marketing, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your customers using digital channels. Of course, this does not mean that your business should send repeated, non-stop messages to customers that add no value. Instead, harness the affordable nature and constant availability of digital media to send fresh and interesting messages to your customers on a regular basis.
Different channels reach different segments. For example, advertising on desktop websites will reach a different group of customers than advertising on social media or through SMS marketing. Flex the reach of these channels and combine it with a regular follow-up on the most affordable channel of them all, e-mail, to maximise the benefits of the different digital channels while keeping costs surprisingly low.
Making the best of digital communications
The biggest challenge businesses face in digital communication is the sheer amount of noise, or competition, in the market. The secret to effective digital communication is crafting messages that are unique and stand out from the crowd. It takes a certain degree of creativity and clever thinking to achieve this, but when you’re using channels that are cheap and rife with competition, you need a unique approach to help your message reach your customers.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
