We all know that there are thousands of websites, blogs, cable channels and social media outlets all clamoring for the consumers' attention. It’s now much harder for those consumers to avoid overtly commercial messages, as marketers get more clever about communicating their messages.
How does this impact those of us in the public relations industry and, more broadly, what does this mean for the message in general?
It means that positioning and developing an effective integrated message needs to be more focused the consumer’s needs and less on the features of your product or service.
For help with developing these kinds of messages, here are the 4 tips for crafting an effective integrated marketing message, courtesy of Eric Blinderman, senior VP, strategic services at Adams & Knight.
- Relevance: Your marketing message needs to offer a compelling story that becomes an organic part of the consumer’s story. Does the message help? Does it make the consumer’s life easier, better, happier? Does it address what he/she needs and wants in life, and does it get him/her excited enough to take a desired action?
- Reach: A message is only as good as its range. It’s one thing to say the right things—it’s another to reach the right people with your message. Is your message designed for the masses, or aimed at a more niche audience? When you know exactly whom you’re talking to, you’ll have much better success finding where they already reside.
- Reliability: Are you delivering a message based on a claim? Are you saying you’re better than the rest—easier, faster, cheaper or more durable? Back it up! There’s nothing worse than a message that doesn’t live up to the assertion. Make sure your messages cite proof points or at least have them at the ready.
- Repeatability: In today’s social world, winning messages are shared across personal networks. Are yours set up for social success? Are they going to empower consumers to share them and spread your brand’s gospel? People believe each other much more than they believe brands. Motivate them to be your evangelists through powerful messaging.
Follow Brian Greene: @bwilliamgreene