More than three-quarters of all executives say digital initiatives are a major priority, yet almost as many feel unprepared to deal with the explosion of radically new and different landscape. So says Ira Kaufman in his new book co-authored with Chris Horton entitled, Digital Marketing Guidebook.
Kaufman, an assistant marketing professor at Lynchburg College, says even marketing managers with an advanced education aren’t necessarily prepared with the mindset to create a DIY digital strategy. He claims that the education system doesn’t have the curricula or resources in place to train the 1.5 million digital marketing managers that will be needed by 2018. He paints a picture of marketing executives overwhelmed by the digital tsunami, and are struggling for a life line.
Here are six tactics you can do to get started on your path to becoming a digital marketing superstar. Some financial marketers have deployed a few of these ideas already, but most others will find these afford the best opportunities within immediate reach.
1. Mobile Advertising
Millennials are never far from their phone. Reach them by putting your ad on their mobile networks. Those apps you download for free are not really free. Each app collects personal data and sells targeted ads based on the data. Your ad will display as banners at the top or bottom of the page or fill the whole screen. There’s hundreds of networks.
2. Market Matching
Several sites including Facebook and Twitter will analyze your current customers and display your ads to similar prospects. Simply upload your customers’ email addresses and Facebook will search their huge database to find other people in your marketplace with similar lifestyles and demographics. (If Compliance has concerns about submitting customer names to a third party, substitute a list of visitors to your website). A fascinating opportunity to expand your customer base.
3. Google Remarketing
When prospects visit your site, Google lets you put a cookie on their browser. For the next month or two, when the prospects browse sites in the Google ad network — a group of sites Google contracts with — your display ad will appear. Just include a link to your product page. Remarketing to prospects who have shown interest in your product can be a rewarding and efficient investment.
4. Leverage Facebook
Facebook gathers data on accountholders. As an advertiser, you can use the information they glean to pinpoint who should see your display ad. For instance, you may design a target audience by age, geography, school or place of birth.
5. Put an ad campaign on Pandora
Yes, Pandora, the music site. Identify the geo- and demographics you want and they’ll direct your audio and graphic ads to this audience. A clean, efficient way to reach your best prospects. And one reason digital is taking over the ad world.
6. Paid Search Using Google or Bing
If you haven’t already done so, go to Google and enroll in their AdWords program. You’ll want your ad to pop up when people search for a specific phrase — ‘new checking account’ ‘hometown mortgage lender’ ‘high yield savings’. Allocate $200 or any amount you choose, define your geographic area and they’ll display your ad when the key words are entered until your budget is depleted.
We’ve only touched on a few of the many digital options that may be right for your bank marketing campaign, but hopefully they offered you insight and practical advice on some of the more popular digital options. (Of course, you’ll want to check with your compliance and legal teams before sharing any customer data.) There are more steps to each of these tactics, but none of them are difficult. After you’ve tackled these do-it-yourself projects, that marketing tsunami might not feel so big.