Impressions count. In the old days advertising impressions were limited to only a few media alternative – TV, radio, print. Nowadays impressions are less effective because there are so many more types of media. What to do in this era of clutter? One answer is to use distributed engagement strategies as a means of cutting through the clutter and making your messages relevant to targeted agencies.
Distributed engagement in a digital sense means utilizing multiple media channels with messages that reinforce a brand’s core value propositions. For effectiveness, channels chosen must correspond to the characteristics of the intended audience. For example, a working mother would be a prime candidate for a campaign that utilizes Facebook, her favorite social media, her iPhone with an App and mobile messaging with texted alerts.
Examples of media that can form part of an distributed engagement strategy include
– social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Friendster
– location based networks: Yelp, Buzzd, FourSquare
– visual media distribution channels: You-Tube, Flicker, SlideShare, Picasso
– mobile content: Apps, messaging, mobile websites, podcasts
An example of a distributed engagement campaign using a combination of the above channels could include a PPC (pay per click) ad on Facebook that leads to a mobile coupon that can be downloaded to a mobile website, that provides an incentive to go to the new neighborhood restaurant, which when referenced on Yelp shows that it is an up and coming place and gets the word out amongst the moms, and for which there is an opportunity to become its Mayor through Foursquare to receive loyalty bonuses to encourage repeat traffic.
How do we chose the appropriate channels for a distributed engagement campaign.? At its most basic we look to what our target market does, becomes involved with or spends time on during their typical day. Using the above example, the working mom checks her kids’ Facebook pages to make sure they are not getting into trouble, then makes comments on her own page to her group of like-minded moms, she then makes a shopping list on her iPhone and finally texts her kids to remind them to be on time for dinner, everyday and sometimes many times during the day.
A key distinction of today’s distributed engagement strategies is to effectively use the “working” media channels that people rely upon on a daily basis. These working channels are distinct from the pure entertainment channels that we have been used to up to now. Social media networks, Apps and mobile messaging have come to be required means of communications and information sourcing. Accordingly, because the intended audience is necessarily present, there is a very real opportunity to make your message impactful especially if the message is relevant to what the target audience is doing at that time.
So if you want your message to be effective a distributed engagement strategy using the working channels of the intended audience can make those impressions count.
