Social Media/Digital Marketing

AWARENESS > EVALUATION > USE > CONVERSION > ENGAGEMENT

1. Awareness
The initial steps involve the audience being aware of the brand or promotion and one or more elements of the campaign. A specific idea could be solely focused on stimulating awareness of other elements of the digital strategy, e.g. a PPC advert linking to a microsite.

2. Evaluation
Evaluation is the equivalent of dipping a toe in the water. This may involve limited exposure to a further reaching idea, a light weight approach to a deeper idea using progressive disclosure or potentially a walk-through of a more advanced idea. The evaluation step encourages the audience to move through to the next stage in the engagement path without setting up the barrier to commit.

3. Use
To achieve the aims of the digital strategy, at some point the audience will be expected to use one of the tools within the campaign, hopefully repetitively. Use should not raise the barrier of conversion, e.g. the user being forced to expend excessive time and/or money.

4. Conversion
An idea that reaches the conversion stage of the engagement path will be meeting the short term aims of the digital strategy,e.g. making a single purchase through a site.

5. Engagement
Engagement involves entering into long term dialogue with the audience over an idea. Ideas that reach the engagement stage can result in repeat conversion and the transition of the audience from being inactive participants to active advocates.

In a nutshell, digital media is about promoting a brand or service, through electronic connected media. This could be online on the web, through specialist website applications, or through mobile phone applications. Digital campaigns can also cross over into traditional media , either as traditional first – bringing an audience into a digital campaign, or traditional last -by using an existing digital audience as content generators.

Digital Media is the great relationship builder. Humans by their very nature are communicative and inquisitive, and digital channels allow brands to interact with their audience on both levels. The level of involvement required by the audience to engage with a brand, in many cases a simple click of the mouse, shrinks the gulf between interaction and offline brand perception.

The greatest benefit of digital media lies in its ability to forge individual relationships with the audience. Unlike any other broadcast medium, digital channels allow direct engagement with each member of the audience creating dialogue instead of the monologue one way blasts of traditional media.

Digital media offers brands new opportunities that traditional communication methods cannot easily match:
• Digital Media does not obey the line
• Digital Media should be cost efficient
• Digital Media can be broadcast and personalised
• Digital Media should always prove returns
• Digital Media can be reactive as well as proactive

A Digital Strategy Engagement Path

AWARENESS > EVALUATION > USE > CONVERSION > ENGAGEMENT

What is Digital Media?