Integrated Marketing: 7 Strategies Your Small Business Must Use

I really wanted to open this blog with a clever, funny intro, but I’m feeling brusque today. BRUSQUE, I tell you!

Apparently, that’s a real word. I had to use a thesaurus because the word “blunt” seemed rather dull…

Your small business needs an integrated marketing strategy. This means combining digital and print marketing. Here are seven strategies to help your company keep up with modern customers.

1) Direct Mail Marketing

You might think traditional direct mail marketing is dead, but you’d be wrong. Over 80% of mail is opened every day with companies getting over 20% ROI. Here’s the catch: The recipients probably won’t call you.

Don’t cry! It’s not you, it’s everyone. Phone calls aren’t the preferred method of communication anymore. The key is to properly brand mailers and include your website and social media channels.

2) Email Marketing Campaigns

Everyone uses email and many people check their inbox numerous times each day. Here are five reasons to use email marketing:

1. Can be used for any sales or marketing objective
2. Affordable, fast and easy to implement
3. Drives more traffic to your website
4. Messages can be altered for different target audiences
5. Keeps current and potential customers informed about news, offers and events

3) Social Media Marketing

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media channels present a unique opportunity. You can interact with customers in real-time without the formality of live chat support.

Social media marketing has a few advantages:

• Websites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter are free to use
• It gives your customers a platform to react to your brand in a casual tone
• You can also use it to advertise your products and services

Social media gives you a platform to point people to your website and generate traffic. Always link back to a web page every time you make a post.

4) SEO & Paid Search

Who doesn’t want their website to show up on the first page of Google searches? Search results are based on website images, words, layout, speed and much more.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about improving these elements on your website to make your pages more relevant to customer searches.

It’s a misconception that only large companies can be successful with Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. The truth is that PPC can help small businesses:

• Get their brand in front of more people
• Boost website traffic and conversions

Some platforms for PPC include Google Ads (formerly AdWords), Facebook and LinkedIn.

5) Graphic Design

Customers jump from printed marketing collateral to social media channels to websites when they’re doing research on products and services. Creative, visually stimulating marketing will make your brand stand out and be remembered.

But creative graphic design does more than make you memorable. It also gives your brand cohesion. Think about all the different types of marketing your company uses:

• Apparel and promotional products
• Brochures
• Business cards
• Digital ads
• Emails
• Letterhead and envelopes
• Websites, web pages, landing pages

All of these things to have to match and fit a unified theme so your brand is recognizable across all channels. This makes the customer journey more memorable and guides your customers in making a purchase.

6) Web Development & Optimization

Modern websites are clean, easy to navigate, informational and intuitive. Here are six critical factors that go into website design, development and optimization:

• Platform: The program used to create your website. We like WordPress, but there are many other options.
• Design: How your site looks and feels. An impressive layout and eye-grabbing graphics help improve your visitor retention.
• Hosting: Where your website information is stored. The setup needs to be secure and very reliable. We favor SiteGround, but there are plenty of other choices.
• SEO: To give your website a better chance at showing up higher in search results, implement excellent copy, images and page layouts.
• Analytics: Data measuring tools aren’t mandatory, but they should be. Without analytics, it’s damn near impossible to determine ROI. Programs like Google Analytics track everything from the number of website visitors to form submissions and other conversions.
• Revisions: Website trends can change a lot, so update your site to stay relevant.

7) Content Marketing

If your content sucks, you won’t get conversions. Sales come from copywriting that makes emotional connections with customers. Blogging has been a valuable strategy for many businesses, but elite writing is also important for:

• Advertisements
• Brochures
• Direct mail
• Email blasts and e-newsletters
• Newsletters
• Social media posts
• Web pages

Marketing materials with a unique message will push you above your competitors. The goal is simple, straightforward language that highlights your selling points while evoking satisfying emotions from the audience.

Ugh, Marketing Is Complicated!

It can be complicated and a lot of work. There are a ton of things to keep track of and it can be overwhelming. This is why it’s a good idea to work with a marketing agency.

Need An Integrated Marketing Partner? We’ll Handle Everything For You!

As a marketing agency in Burnsville, Minnesota, we do a lot of awesome stuff for our clients, including print and digital services. If you want your small business to be remembered and get more sales, we’ll build a powerful strategy that gets results.

Learn About Our Digital Marketing Services