Finetuning the message to fit a digital platform

“Digital is the future of communication ...” is a statement that belies the fact that the future is already here. In a region which has otherwise kept pace with the new technologies of communication, one still discovers confusion among traditional marketing professionals on the difference between digital and social media marketing.

The generic perception of an example of digital marketing is the usage of Facebook or at the most Twitter and Instagram. In reality, with various platforms to choose from, digital marketing is largely data driven, and this in effect mobilises more value to the brand by engaging customers more productively. And while social media is an important tool for digital marketing, it’s really just that — a tool.

The key component in marketing will always be its strategy, but success lies in knowing which tools can work at optimum efficiency for your brand. Social media offers multiple communication platforms for a brand to pursue its value-perception goals directly to its target audience. But who is your target audience and are they utilising the social media platforms you have chosen to communicate your brand?

It’s tempting for marketers to think of social media simply as a distribution channel, but this leads to the usage of the same messaging across platforms, which is a complete under-utilisation of the tool. I personally find a great synergy between a well-pitched PR story and a smartly crafted social media message — the trick is to always keep the information specific and interactive to the chosen medium.

This brings us back to the basics of the importance of creating and managing smart content to drive the communication on a given platform. Therefore the less generic the stories and visuals on each platform, the greater the likelihood of a given post going viral.

However, if the assumption of ‘going viral’ equals ‘thousands of viewers’, then one needs to remember that unless it has translated into the next step, the maximisation of followers has not been impactful.

So, for example, if a million people view or click ‘like’ on the brands’ Facebook page and that is not translating into action — leading to your website, event or sales — then essentially that means the brand has not successfully reached its preferred buyers. The content therefore plays a catalytic role to achieve this goal.

It is important to recognise the communication message appropriate to the chosen platforms and create relevant content that will resonate with the target audience.

Facebook and Twitter are certainly the most popularly used social media platforms in digital media and definitely a fantastic way to enter the social media realm for a new player. But again, content is king, and so it is important to ensure the message is accurate and engaging.

If the brand is looking at a more B2B opportunity for growing its business, LinkedIn might be a better option. As an example, if I was a financial sector brand with a specialised product catering to high networth individuals, I would probably explore LinkedIn more extensively than Facebook as a social media platform because its user profiles indicate that they are more educated, interested in advancing their careers and a lot of them are already in well-placed positions across industries.

Social media tools need to be used intelligently because they are more easily measurable and can be a great asset to a brand’s communication strategy. Marketing goals that can be pursued across the digital landscape and be measured reliably will eventually culminate in a successful campaign delivery.

The writer is a marketing and communications professional specialising in PR and digital media.