The average marketer utilizes a seemingly endless number of different, highly specialized software and applications to reach their audience as precisely as possible. Utilizing a multidimensional digital strategy that targets precisely through several media channels is ideal, and requires use of digital marketing and social media platforms. These technologies are wonderful tools that are essential to the modern marketer looking to streamline their workload and increase productivity. Marketing technologies (sometimes used as the redundant amalgam “MarTech” which we will not be using here) like automated marketing and AB email testing are all fairly ubiquitous amongst successful marketing departments today.
However, as more of these companies expand their capabilities and their services start to overlap, with iffy compatibility, things can start to get confusing. If a marketing department or agency is paying for a subscription with Company A, which offers Services 1, 2 and 3, as well as Company B, which offers Services 1 and 3, but doesn’t play well with Company C which offers Service D, you can see how things can quickly get messy.
For larger teams working at more sizable companies, there are typically highly specialized roles that allow individuals to handle particular aspects of their digital marketing strategy. For small businesses or marketing departments with limited personnel and resources, this is not a luxury that is available, and now it seems as though the very services that are used to exponentially increase the capabilities of a single person or small team can quickly become cumbersome if not kept in check.
At times it can seem overwhelming, as wading through the tangled formations of partially integrated services can certainly lead to confusion and frustration. Additionally, the cost for a small business to pay monthly subscriptions for multiple platforms with many overlapping features can quickly consume a marketing budget. So what can a marketer do to clear the clutter? As we begin a new year, consider these quick tips to help streamline your workflow for 2023 and beyond.
Tailor your technology to your tactics, not the other way around
At Prodigal, we utilize and deploy a diverse array of digital tactics for our clients based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, needs, budget and target audience demographic. These are key in ensuring that the message reaches its target audience as efficiently and economically as possible. Some, more complex campaigns require the use of several marketing technology services to feed content through several media channels as efficiently as possible while also allowing the client’s sales team to integrate with the insights gained and act upon them accordingly. Other times, it’s a series of social media posts that can be done with one platform. Basically, don’t make your job more difficult than it has to be.
Communicate, take inventory, clean house
Get the whole team on board. This should go without saying, but regular communication between team leaders, their team, and the higher-ups is an easy way to ensure there are no redundancies in your digital marketing tactics. For the overwhelmed marketing manager with little to no support, this can be more difficult, however. Make a note to have regular meetings with the staff you have, or hold yourself accountable b ofy taking a couple hours every month to look at the data gleaned from your digital campaigns. If you noticed that you haven’t utilized a particular service in a while, or if its primary function has been supplanted by another service, it might be time to cut the proverbial cord.
Call for Help!
For many seasoned marketers, the fast-paced nature of our industry is par for the course, and there’s no amount of madness that can get them rattled. For many of us, however, particularly with limited staff and support, it can seem overwhelming. While we understand that not everyone may have it in the budget to hire an agency (though you may be surprised how affordable certain services can be), that can often be the saving grace for overwhelmed marketers who feel as though their workload is preventing them from achieving optimal results. For simpler solutions, there are countless blogs and fairly inexpensive online courses through companies like Lynda that can help clear any confusion about current marketing technology.
For those that have a firm grasp on the latest wave of marketing technology services offered, we applaud you. For others, we hope these quick tips can help you right the course for a more productive and profitable. If you’d like more information about the digital marketing services offered at Prodigal, check out our digital marketing capabilities page.