Why Is Digital Strategy Essential in Brand Consolidation? Par-2

  ---2---- Why Is Digital Strategy Essential in Brand Consolidation? Par-2 3. Old, Existing, and New Content Another issue to consider whe...

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Why Is Digital Strategy Essential in Brand Consolidation? Par-2

3. Old, Existing, and New Content

Another issue to consider when consolidating or creating a new website is where the content will come from. Whether you're adding to an existing site or starting from scratch, your content will be critical to the success of your brand consolidation venture.

  

Keep in mind that content includes more than just web pages; it also includes white papers, e-books, videos, podcasts, infographics, datasheets, technical diagrams, slide decks, images, and other media. Everything on a retiring website had a reason for being there. This content must be accounted for if the destination site is to share this purpose.

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Obviously, a complete content audit of all web assets available on any and all websites considered for consolidation will be critical (you'll also need to do this for offline content—business cards, brochures, etc.). It is also critical to determine the performance of key pieces of content.

 

Consolidating brands frequently share content that covers the same topics—having these assets that cover the same topic can be a huge benefit, as it allows marketers to judge which piece was more effective in reaching the target audience, and thus which to use on the new website moving forward, or if they should be combined for one awesome new piece of content.

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HOW TO EVALUATE PRE-EXISTING CONTENT

·       Examine the volume of traffic as well as the sources of that traffic.

·       Take into account the number of conversions (direct downloads).

·       Consider the number of conversions that were aided.

·       Examine which conversions resulted in sales.

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4. Consolidation of Social Networks

Another aspect of online consolidation is the management of your social media accounts on platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You'll almost certainly be dealing with accounts from various parts of the company, so you'll need to decide which account(s) to keep for each network.

 

Consumers have extremely high expectations of brands, so don't confuse them by providing an inconsistent social experience (numerous accounts on a single network, different branding across networks, etc.). You should also make it simple to share by placing social icons prominently on your website and other assets.

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Here is what to consider in your social media consolidation:

ANALYTICS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Analytics data is available from networks such as Twitter and Facebook. To further evaluate, you can use software such as HubSpot to look at metrics such as click-throughs and traffic from your social accounts.

 

WHERE IS YOUR AUDIENCE LOCATED?

If your research indicates that your prospects are on Twitter and you are getting traffic from that channel, you should definitely have a presence there. However, you should delete accounts on networks that aren't relevant to your industry.

HISTORY/POSTING HISTORY

It takes time to establish a social media presence, so consider how long you've been active on various accounts and how frequently you've been posting on them. Consider keeping the more established accounts if they are effective at reaching your target audience.

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READER INVOLVEMENT

Are your Facebook posts being liked? Are they retweeting or replying to your tweets? The level of engagement is an important factor to consider when deciding which accounts to keep.

 

FOLLOWER’S ENGAGEMENTS

This is a straightforward metric to compare across accounts. However, keep in mind that some networks, such as Twitter, have a disproportionately high number of spam feeds.

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5. Integration of Technology

According to Scott Brinker, the rise of marketing technology has been dizzying—by 2020, there will be over 8,000 distinct solutions available.

 

Dealing with enterprise-level technology integrations can cause a slew of issues. Not only must you inventory all of the different systems involved, but you must also make some difficult decisions about which ones should be adopted across the enterprise and ensure that those systems—for example, your marketing automation system and email marketing software—play nicely together.

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When divisions of your company use non-integrated systems, it can slow down marketing campaigns, limit data tracking and reporting across your organization, and, perhaps most importantly, degrade your customer experience.

 

You should begin by taking an inventory of the systems brought to the table by the various entities you've brought together. Then you must evaluate how these various systems integrate; there are few things more frustrating than attempting to cobble together difficult system connections.

As you evaluate your technology, consider who should be able to access these various systems (both internally and externally). Your trusted marketing consultant can assist you by checking things like whether your Google Analytics is properly configured and how you're currently tagging and tracking your marketing campaigns.

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Here are a few of the martech categories you'll need to evaluate:

·       ADVERTISING ON THE INTERNET

For digital ads, there are numerous platforms available, such as the Google Marketing Platform and Quantcast.

 

·       THE ANALYTICS

Measuring your results is critical, so examine how you're tracking leads and online user behavior with tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, Optimizely, and Google Search Console.

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·       AUTOMATED MARKETING

There are numerous marketing automation platforms available, including Eloqua, Marketo, and HubSpot. These platforms can help you engage your customers and prospects; you just need to look closely at how their features match your specific needs.

·      MANAGEMENT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS (CRM)

Powerful software options such as Salesforce, SugarCRM, and the HubSpot CRM can assist you in managing customer relationships throughout their entire lifecycle.

·       VIDEO

When it comes to video, marketers have many options other than YouTube. Wistia provides some excellent analytics as well as insights into how to use video to humanize your brand.

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Branding Is More Than Just Logos and Messaging

As you can see, any brand consolidation involves a slew of digital considerations. So don't overlook these critical aspects of establishing a consistent online and offline presence and messaging. Make certain that you cover the following critical digital aspects of any brand consolidation project:

Ø Implications for SEO

Ø Hosting and redirection of websites

Ø Consolidation of content across domains

Ø Consolidation of social media

Ø Integrations of technology

Find a trusted partner who has experience assisting brands through mergers and acquisitions, and make sure that partner knows more than letterheads and business cards. It is critical to your digital marketing and overall brand legacy.