Make Combinations Work For You
Combinations create something new. I continue to regularly talk about what I refer to as the Combination Code. Honestly, I’ve tried, however, I’ve not found a better term to describe it. Yet, if you want to stand out from the crowd the concept is mandatory. In marketing, to find the right marketing combination is life changing.
One good marketing method is helpful. Still, when you create a marketing plan which uses multiple techniques, tools or concepts to get the word out about your product or service, it’s even more powerful — often exponential. A classic example is using direct mail and then follow-up with a phone call. This can still be an effective combination marketing campaign with the right list.
I’m still excited about Facebook’s combination marketing opportunities. You many not have thought of it this way, however Facebook’s custom audiences is a combination marketing technique. Facebook allows you to collect or upload e-mail addresses, IP addresses or phone numbers to target people with Facebook advertising. You need to confirm that these are people you legitimately earned as clients or subscribers (due to privacy restrictions). My favorite opportunity is to use this feature as part of an e-mail campaign. The ads target people who you sent the mail too. It’s an excellent method to follow-up and reinforce your message. It’s often a similar message with a strong call to action. Give it a try.
Another combination that I have found effective is search engine marketing (SEM or pay-per-click) to support my SEO campaigns. Searchers seem to have more confidence in both Google listings if they see the other backing it up. For example, when someone sees a natural or organic listing, plus a Google ad listed above, the searcher as more confidence to click your link. Make sure you have a custom landing page for your SEM campaign to earn the strongest results.
My long time standard combination marketing campaign is search engine optimization in combination with a retargeting campaign. The big question is what happens after someone leaves your website, yet never contacted you? You spend money to make your website search engine friendly, you do drive traffic, yet you’re not capturing all the opportunities available.
The fact is people are usually gathering fact and figures before they buy. Searchers look a multiple websites sometimes weeks or months before they need to make a decision. Retargeting advertisements are the ads which follow people around the web after they visit your website. These ads give you the opportunity to remind your visitor of your business and update your message. It’s often a second chance to make a first impression.
Of course, I can’t forget the combination which helped to put me on the map: my blog combined with Twitter. My blog was doing fine in the early days and attracted an audience via SEO. Twitter was cool new social tool and I enjoyed engaging with new friends online. I never took the time to post my stuff on the platform; I felt it was the wrong thing to do. Yet, today it’s a standard practice. I quickly changed my tune when I decided to innocently share one of my posts with my Twitter friends. At the time I had less than 1,000 followers, but the traffic from the one post opened my eyes and I never looked back. Facebook is also another good combination with your blog, but Twitter is made for sharing quality blog content.
When you Combine different marketing techniques it’s amazingly effective. Remember, you need to test your new ideas and combinations on a small-scale first. This is because not every combination works. When you put the right pieces of the puzzle together, you will drive results.
Below is a series of videos about the Combination Code and examples of the combination code, I recommend you check them out.
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