Using digital marketing tools to enhance communication

Traditional media has proven its importance in advancing communications in the Nigerian media landscape.  However, as available marketing and communication tools are evolving, it is important that businesses also evolve their communications strategy in order to meet their target markets’ needs.  Looking at some of these digital marketing tools, it is important to understand how they can help businesses and consumers achieve their marketing as well as their communications goals.

Most business owners tend to think that Search Engine Optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising and web analytics only belong in the tool kit of an internet marketer promoting an e-commerce website. Digital marketing tools have become increasingly important for public relations and public affairs professionals to implement and measure the success of both Business-to-Business (B2B) and (Business-to-Consumer) (B2C) communication campaigns as well as for event management.

Let’s take web analytics as an example. E-commerce websites rely heavily on analytics to gather intelligence on where their customers come from (is it via a search engine, Facebook ad or another website?) and the actions they perform on their website. Having visibility into the channels that are working and the content or features that are providing the best experience to transform visitors into customers is a must-have.

In looking at the website analytics, however, it is also important that we look at such vital facets of online consumer behaviour such as content engagement.  This is one of the missing links that will be able to help businesses better leverage these same digital marketing tools for a corporate digital platform, online event or campaign website. A variety of online actions exist that can be measured which reach beyond purely transactional, such as the time spent on a particular page engaging with content, the number of times a video has been watched or position papers have been downloaded. While it may not directly translate into sales or revenue, these data points help identify whether the platform’s content is working and that behaviours we are seeking to drive are being taken.

Case in point: advertising your conference or speaker participation via social platforms in order to boost registration rates or simply raise awareness about your organisation’s goals among your target audience may provide the essential boost that earned media alone may not achieve.  It is important to have a clear-cut strategy in place to help you achieve your goals.  If the expertise needed to achieve your business goals does not exist within your business, seek assistance from specialist corporate communications companies.   With their in-depth knowledge of the industry, as well as of the digital marketing tools, these consultants are often best-placed to help businesses develop and implement their strategic objectives.

One of the clear advantages of social and search engine advertising is that it allows you to target specific audience demographics like never before. Whether your targeting strategy is based on geographic, professional, gender, age or specific behaviours such as likes or dislikes, the data available from these social and search networks – Instagram,LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Google – are considerable and allow you to easily zero in on very specific audience segments with whom you might share an affinity – they may work in the same sector, have engaged with similar content before or follow the key opinion leaders from your industry/sector.

By taking a more targeted approach, you are able to increase the relevance of your call to action to this specific audience. The result: more people clicking on your content because your ad is seen less as an intrusion or spam and viewed as more relevant and valuable.

Tokunboh George-Taylor is managing director, Hill + Knowlton Strategies Nigeria.

Tokunboh George-Taylor