Power Channels

Digital platforms: How you reach customers today with them

2019-05-17
Reading time: 16 minutes

New digital platforms are springing up every day. Always a new chance to reach even more specifically your right customers.

In this article you will read how to use existing platforms in your real target group as a power channel for you, and which mistakes should be avoided.

What is marketing about digital platforms and why do I need it?

Recently, in a social media group, I heard about a new product that is really promising. It’s really great how such digital platforms can be used to become visible with solutions, products and services. Almost every day a new platform opens somewhere in the world and contributes to the platform economy. I want to know what this marketing is on existing platforms. Why do I need it and how does it work?

By an existing platform we mean the smaller and also larger websites currently in use, which as a business model in times of digitisation bring together both demanders and suppliers. These include all social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Co, sales platforms like Amazon, marketplaces like AppStore or Google Play Store, but also smaller sites and forums that are more active in niche areas.

Why can it be interesting that you also become visible here in the course of your digital transformation? Clearly: With the knowledge about your target group you can select very precisely on which of these platforms and within which you will find these people. The digital platform gives your business the opportunity to contact companies, customers and other providers. To put your offer and your content in front of your target group directly gives your marketing an enormous leverage.

Marketing on existing platforms: facts and figures

According to a survey by the PEW Research Center, about three quarters of Facebook users and about half of Instagram users use the platforms every day.

MarketingSherpa colleagues have found that almost every adult follows at least one brand on social networks.

Dreamgrow has identified the most popular social networks by monthly active user numbers.

4 Mistakes to avoid when marketing on digital platforms

You do not have a clear strategy

The same approach that you use in terms of your market, your product and your target audience, has to be applied on the social media and selling platforms. Without a clear and carefully planned strategy you run super fast but the same fast you are bound to face disappointment, because at a fast badly planned race you also miss out on a number of tremendous opportunities.

You behave as a spammer

Another ubiquitous mistake is to upload countless links to your website content on different platforms. Do not post spam-links. It never works.

You post inconsistently

It may happen so that when you post too much content, your target group and followers unfollow you, and it sucks. The other way around: when you neglect regular work on your content, people just do not know whether and what exactly happening in your product range, special offers or in your company policies. You should elaborate your own consistency pattern and follow it systematically.

Social Media is one thing, your website is another thing

Social media is considered to be important to the point where some marketing experts distinguish it and separate it as a special part of your strategy. And sooner than you think you may face the situation where the customer journey may be negatively affected and compromised since there is a split between what is in your social media content and what is in your website. What you look like and what you really are have to coincide.

Classification of existing platforms in the marketing context

Digital Platforms in Marketing Funnel

In Marketing Funnel as a whole, the activities that you carry out with Marketing on existing platforms are usually located between Top of the Funnel and the middle range.

The focus here is on measures that (potential) customers first become aware of you and your solutions and want to learn more about you.

Immediate impact on sustainability

Marketing in existing platforms has an impact on both new customers and branding.

The reverberation is especially strong over time, as soon as your actions are embedded in a marketing strategy.

Classification in the channel portfolio

When you build your portfolio of channels and promotions, marketing on existing platforms will typically have the function of acting as a network for potential customers.

So this channel works best in combination with both short-term and long-term channels.

4 Frequently underestimated tips and hacks when marketing on digital platforms

Characteristic Influencers

An important influencing factor on functioning marketing in social networks is the support of influencers. So if the content overlaps and the influencer has an attractive target group for you, then tag him again and again in one of your exciting posts.

Plan your postings

Depending on the platform, better and worse times for posting postings have emerged over time. The colleagues of Coschedule have prepared a great compilation here.

Create a dialogue instead of a monologue

There’s nothing more lame than constant self-adulation and self-advertisement. Therefore design your actions on existing platforms open-minded, for example by (re-)asking questions in order to create a dialogue.

Publish regularly

Fans and followers reward the continuity of releases. So if you want to generate growth, don’t let half a year elapse between posts. Also the recycling of existing and good contents makes sense.

The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are of most interest on existing platforms

Impact

The impact indicator in different platforms is measured through the analysis of Social Buzz and a line-up of relevant topics.

Engagement

You can measure the activity of your target group on various platforms using their likes, retweets, shares, commentaries and so on.

Sentiment

Sentiment means the attitude or opinion one expressed within a given post towards a specific subject; sentiments are measured by the number of these mentions expressed by a target group.

Reach

The reach comprises the measurement and number of fans, followers, etc. as well as the amount of mentions in any other platform.

Get going

You realize that marketing in existing platforms is a really exciting channel. Especially because of the multitude of possible platforms, it is necessary to filter out the relevant platforms before exaggerating actionism.

Marketing on social networks, in marketplaces such as Amazon as well as on smaller forums can be found in the Funnel entrance. Especially for a short-term and sustainable effect for the customer a complementary portfolio around the actions in this channel is important.

And now: In a first step, find out on which of the perhaps also smaller existing platforms your target group is active.

What do you think?

André Wehr

About Me

As a founder and entrepreneur, I experience every day how important customer centricity is for companies.

Integrate the essential customer perspective into your product genesis and marketing processes. That puts horse powers on the street, until it runs.

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