Utilizing Channels and Data to Finish 2022 Strong!

Companies have no trouble finding a channel through which to run their marketing campaigns. There's social media, such as TikTok and Instagram Stories. There is also web marketing, email, chatbots, and so on. However, new channels are emerging, such as connected television (CTV) and podcasting. It can be overwhelming for businesses looking to acquire new customers across channels or reach more customers digitally. If used correctly, emerging channels such as TikTok and CTV can be effective platforms for businesses to leverage for growth. Some of the more popular channels serve as the ideal conduit for reaching the coveted Generation Z and millennial markets that many traditional marketing tactics overlook.

We'll cover the aforementioned channels and provide insight on each one, with the goal of dispelling any confusion, and providing value so you can make the right choice when leveraging these to achieve your marketing goals, lets dive in!  

New And Old - How these channels stack up

A marketing channel, in any form, is a chance for a company to communicate with a potential customer. The goal of the communication can range from raising brand recognition to generating leads to converting sales. Direct selling, cold calling, and print marketing are examples of traditional marketing channels. Many businesses cannot rely primarily on these tactics; yet, there is still a time and place for them. Take, for example, direct selling. Despite its historic beginnings, it is a low-overhead method that can nevertheless be profitable. Direct selling contributed $40.1 billion in retail sales in 2021, a 13.9 percent increase over the previous year.

Emerging channels, on the other hand, provide a competitive advantage to organizations. This is because they represent current consumer trends. These channels, which typically fall under the purview of digital marketing, remain alive and well, with active participants. To properly leverage these platforms, marketers must build a strategic approach based on the most recent consumer data. Before you can use these platforms to run effective ads, you must first understand what they are, what they have to offer, and who is utilizing them. 

Social Media Platforms

Social media is an umbrella phrase that is neither new nor emerging in and of itself. Social media is a component of many people's daily lives. Indeed, according to Hootsuite's Digital 2022 Global Overview Report, individuals spend an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes each day on social media platforms, accounting for the biggest single share of people's connected media time. Businesses can connect with their target audience using this medium. However, keep in mind that not all social networking platforms are made equal. Some are easier to exploit than others, while others only appeal to specific audiences. Here are two of the most notable social networking platforms right now.

Tik-Tok

This mobile app, which was released in 2016, proved far more popular than anyone could have imagined. TikTok is available in 150 countries and has over 1 billion users as of March 2022. 3 Users make creative, short-form material using original or public-domain audio on it. TikTok should be considered as part of your marketing strategy if your company targets consumers aged 13 to 60. If you work in B2B, you should not overlook the potential benefits of using TikTok as a marketing channel. Finding the appropriate angle for your brand and target audience is the key. We've written a valuable piece on how to get your brand or store started with Tik-Tok, and laid out guidelines that will help you achieve success on the platform - You can find that article here!

Instagram

Instagram, a photo-sharing software, debuted in 2016 and quickly gained popularity. However, two new characteristics that have captured the interest of consumers and marketers in recent years are reels and stories. Reels, like TikTok, enable users to create short-form video content. Instagram stories, on the other hand, are photos or short videos that are viewable to a person's followers for 24 hours before disappearing. Because more than half of Instagram's users are under the age of 34, brands targeting millennials should seriously consider including Instagram reels and stories into their strategy.

Reels and stories are excellent features for introducing your brand, offering your viewers a "behind-the-scenes" peek at your company, or demonstrating a product. These are intended to engage or inform your target audience about who you are and the services or products you offer. We've also written an article for dealers on how to utilize Instagram, it provides guidelines and tips on how to maximize your time spent on the platform - you can find it here!

CTV (Connected TV)

Unlike traditional commercials or television advertisements, CTV enables firms to connect on a variety of streaming channels accessible via an internet-enabled television (such as a SmartTV, AppleTV, or Roku). With more people cutting the cable cord, CTV is swiftly becoming one of the fastest growing digital advertising channels. In 2022, it is anticipated that 213.7 million individuals would watch video on CTV devices per month. And, with CTV advertisers can be a lot more granular with their targeting. For example, say you are a Ford dealership in Los Angeles, California. You can come to a company like us and build an audience of Ford owners in your market and just target them. Let's take it one step further. You want to expand beyond just Ford owners in your market and you want to also target likely to defect brands like Chevrolet, GMC and Dodge. You can do that and run your CTV commercials to just that specific audience!  Furthermore, you can even identify your true campaign ROI with our influenced buyer match back reporting. 

Email Marketing

This channel, like Instagram and TikTok, is not necessarily "new." Indeed, many people regard email marketing as a digital version of the more traditional strategy of direct mail. Despite its long history, email remains a popular platform, and its popularity has only grown with the availability of smartphones. In today's world, many marketers regard emails as digital cash. This is unsurprising considering that the channel continues to provide a high ROI. The Digital Marketing Association reports that the average ROI for organizations who use email marketing is $42 for every dollar spent. We here at Drivonic have found really good success utilizing email marketing for our customers, even with the recent changes - looking at you, Apple! Email is still a very viable way to get in front of your target audience, and will be for the foreseeable future. There's plenty of different ways to utilize this, such as Newsletters, Drip emails, Email sequences, and even downloadable content sent via email, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. So don't skip on email marketing!

Is a Multichannel approach necessary?

These developing channels (and others) can be terrific tools on their own, but they are not supposed to be isolated from one another. We are increasingly seeing a multichannel approach as the most effective in digitally reaching and attracting clients. Consistency across media increases brand identification and trust. By increasing the number of engagement points, you open up more sales opportunities. The greater the number of channels, the more data you will have to help you better understand and improve the buyer's journey.

In reality, with a multichannel approach, data is not just a bonus but also a requirement to get your campaigns operating properly in the first place, when we work with our channel partners, we premise everything off of data, and use extremely curated audience sets to help reach our clients goals - without it, we wouldn't be the company we are today. Data is king in the advertising space, that's why we created MarketBuilder and programs like it to utilize consumer data to run hyper-targeted, efficient campaigns that achieve outcome-based sales results. 

Using Data with Your Marketing Channels

Emerging digital marketing channels such as TikTok and advanced email marketing allow for more precise targeting. Dealerships must take advantage of this in order to launch successful marketing across multiple platforms.

1. Build Your Target Audience 

Without a question, knowing your target audience inside and out is the most efficient and will be the most effective way to market. Utilizing unique datasets like ours, will enable your dealership to target consumers with the highest propensity to buy from your dealership.  Additionally, we can help you to target your competitor’s customers when they are shopping in real-time. Through this advanced tech, precise use of data and our multi-channel approach we can drive quality traffic to your dealership's website and showroom instead of your competitors! This results in more REAL-TIME SHOPPERS to your website and showroom and MORE CARS SOLD.

2. Showcase The Experience 

In the world of marketing, this is no longer a luxury, but rather an expectation. According to JD Power & Associates, 84 percent of vehicle sales are influenced by customer reviews. So what are you waiting for? Use your 5-star customer reviews and raving fans to help drive home the quality buying experience that a customer will receive when doing business at your dealership - Drivonic has helped 1,000's of automotive dealerships and achieve their sales goals month in and month out.  This marketing methodology helps dealers like you hold gross and stay away from selling price and payment, avoid the race to the bottom and win. 

3. Know Your ROI 

Working with data and building your audiences in advance gives you the foundation necessary to truly understand and evaluate your return on investment.  How you might ask?  It's simple - at the conclusion of each marketing campaign you match who you marketed to against those customers you've sold throughout the campaign.  At Drivonic we deliver Influenced Buyer Reports which give our dealership clients true linear attribution on their marketing campaigns.  There's no guessing - it's definitive and precise.   

Want to know more on how to leverage your data through different channels, or have questions on how we can help you achieve your goals? Reach out to us below! Also, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter here!