How does a customer find you and interact with your project?
You know the problem you need to solve. You know the kind of project that’ll help you solve it. Now you need to work out the scope and where you’ll publish your message.
How big could your project be?
If you’re working on an SEO-focused acquisition project, you may only need to consider your website. But other campaign types may touch on additional channels like:
- Landing pages
- Emails
- Help Centre
- App or product flows
- Push notifications or text messages
- Product descriptions
- Brochures or other printed material
- Packaging
- App Store or Google Play
- Social media
- Advertising (SEM, social media or retargeting)
You may also need to think about talking points for your customer service teams, banners for in-account experiences or service emails, and messages for business partners.
Feeling daunted? Don’t worry – I’ve got you.
Start small
Unless you have a lot of time and money, your best option is the MVP (minimum viable product) approach.
What’s the bare minimum you need to do to achieve your goals? That’s your project. Building on that by moving into other channels or further messaging becomes your next project and the one after that. Start small and then iterate and grow.
By focusing on the MVP, you get something out there much faster. It also means you can see what’s working (and what’s not), which will help you define your next project.
Choose your channel
Before you start, you should work out your goal. For most projects, this will be visits to a landing page where customers can sign up or buy. And every other asset you create should direct customers to that page.
If you’re working across social media or other channels you don’t own, spend some time analysing your audience and working out where they want to hear from you. I once spoke with someone at a recruiting agency who was baffled that potential candidates didn’t want to engage with them on Facebook. Similarly, a homeware producer was surprised no-one was purchasing via LinkedIn.
Remember, your most comfortable domain isn’t necessarily where your audience spends their time. And even if it is, it may not be where they want to hear from you.
After deciding which channels to use, think about how you’ll use them. Are you aiming for direct clicks to the landing page or to pique people’s curiosity and build awareness? A 15-second in-stream ad on YouTube may not deliver clicks, as it interrupts the user’s current goal. But it can increase the chances of them clicking when they see an ad or post from you on another platform.
Craft your message
Some messages work on a given platform better than others. While the overarching message should be the same, the way you say it and the value propositions you push should be tweaked to suit each channel.
Mapping your customer journeys from one platform to the next will help you define your message hierarchy and work out which value proposition belongs where.
No matter what your plan is, keep changing your words. While you need to keep your visual message consistent, the words need to change. If a customer sees the same headline and intro on a landing page as they saw in an email, they may assume they already know what you’re about to say and stop reading. So mix it up.
Time your delivery
When you post on social media, push or text notifications, or drop emails does matter. While sending everything out at 9am on a Monday might suit you, it may not suit your audience. People use different social networks at different times and in different places. They may be checking Facebook in the morning, LinkedIn from the office and Instagram before bed – timing matters.
Various social media platforms and marketing researchers have published research about the best time to post on each platform. It won’t take you long to work out what days and times work best for you.
