Too often we see a disconnect between departments, agencies and SEM firms. The key to a successful search engine marketing program is collaboration of all parties involved. Your offline marketing needs to be coordinated with your online marketing. Social Media has to be tied with PR. Your Paid advertising program needs alignment with organic SEO. In order to optimize success on the Web to its highest potential, all channels must work together.
It’s amazing how something so simple is so hard to achieve. Yet it is something we face on a daily basis. At the same time, it’s just like the old saying that there are too many hands in the cookie jar. The more cross marketing channels involved, the more people are involved. Thus many times items get lost in translation or nothing is ever agreed upon due to each having their own channel’s interest at heart. So how can these multiple stakeholders work together to achieve a higher synergy?
The first step is getting all parties on board. If everyone is on the same page, understands why each piece is important and what items to focus on, collaboration can move much more smoothly. Everyone must understand the importance and the reasons why certain marketing actions are being recommended.
The next step is communication. Everyone needs to be involved in what others are doing. The tricky part to this step is preventing data overload. Each party does not need to be involved in the day-to-day operations. However when discussing new promotions, Website changes, Social Media strategies, etc. everyone should collaborate. Implement a schedule or project management system that will allow all parties to easily follow the process and interact with each other. Set goals or milestones for each party to aim for. By having an accessible schedule and project layout in place, coordination and communication will be a simpler task. By having a system in place prior to the project start, you can enjoy much smoother and more effective implementations of your online marketing program.
For example, let’s say you’re going to launch a new product. Information about that product will need to be added to the Website. The content surrounding the new product should be optimized for search engines. The new product should be promoted through social channels as well as Press Releases. The press releases should include links to the various social channels. You should develop a Blog post about the new product. You could run a Paid Advertising or Display Advertising program to help promote the product launch. Do your TV / radio commercials showcase the social channel or Website address? Does your product label list the Website address? Are you utilizing print ads? If so, do they include links to the social channels and Website?
You can quickly see how integration between all channels can become intertwined. However it is this type of integration that can take your online initiatives to another level.
