Marketing communication (MarCom) Marcom is targeted interaction with customers and prospects using one or more media, such as direct mail, newspapers and magazines, television, radio, billboards, telemarketing, and the Internet. It is an essential and intricate part of an organisation’s marketing strategy. MarCom can be defined as the content you share and the media you set up to converse with the market. MarCom makes use of a combination of marketing means and tools which focus on communicating a message to the target audience or the required market, or the market in general.
4Ps of marketing
Marketing communications is a part of marketing mix and marketing mix defines the 4Ps of marketing i.e. Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
Product, be it a good or service, is the first of the Four Ps. Whatever the product is, it is critical to have clear understanding of the accurate nature of the product and its USP; only then can it be successfully marketed.
Once the product part is taken care of, comes the second P i.e. Price. While making pricing decisions it must be kept in mind that the decision will influence profit margins, supply, demand and marketing strategy. Products and brands of the similar category must be marketed differently depending on the different price types. Also, it is important to understand that price elasticity considerations can impact the remaining two Ps.
Once you have the product and the price sorted it is time to promote it. Promotion employs diverse channels to publicize pertinent product information to target groups or potential consumers which highlights the uniqueness of the product. Promotion includes advertising, public relations, social media marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, video marketing and more.
Place is all about putting the right product, at the right price, at the right place, at the right time. It’s essential to identify the ideal places to convert potential customers into real-time clients. Today, the primary location where potential clients are accessible and could be converted to actual customers, is online.
Of all the 4Ps Promotion is what marketing communications is all about. It is the message a brand or an organization is going to convey to the target market. It is very crucial to be extremely meticulous about the messages that will be conveyed through different channels.
Gone are the days when printed marketing was the only medium of conveying the messages to the consumers. In recent times, Social media pages and platforms, emails, Text or WhatsApp messages, blogs, television and company websites have become the cool way of conveying the organization’s message to the consumers.
However, it is imperative that messages shared in one platform or channel should be in sync with messages shared or posted on other platforms. For instance, one must use the same logo in on the website, in email messages and in other communication materials. Similarly, the audio-visual communication should convey the same message as the blogs and websites.
To make the whole method effective companies now hire skilled resources called the marketing communication executives who play a vital role for the organisations hiring them. These professionals make an integrated marketing communication process so that the messages conveyed through different channels and platforms remain same.
Different channels and platforms for marketing communication
Advertising
Personal Selling
Sales Promotion
Direct Marketing
Public Relations
Sponsorship
Integrated marketing communications
Integrated marketing communications “ … recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion and combines them to …elements of marketing strategy.”
Elements of marketing strategy
Describe the Business
Outline Target Market
List the Competition
Perform SWOT Analysis
List Goals and Tactics
Create Your Budget
Communication & Promotion Strategy
Strategic communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using international telecommunications or dedicated global network assets.
The goal of promotion strategies in marketing is to make the public aware of your product, to influence them to purchase it, and to establish a long-term relationship that will make them repeat customers.
Social Media: Living in the connected world
Define social media and distinguish between social media platforms and social media tools.
Describe the ways in which consumers and businesses use social media for their buying decisions.
Outline the elements of a written social media marketing plan.
Discuss the importance of setting goals and developing strategies, including targeting an audience, for a social media marketing initiative.
Identify the qualities of effective social media content and the rules of engagement with social media.
Describe the different means of monitoring, measuring, and managing the social media marketing campaign.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Use social media portals to create a positive influence on consumers or business customers toward an organization’s:
Brand
Goods and services
Public image
Website
Why Should Marketers Turn to Social Media?
Marketers generally view the goal of social media marketing as developing a conversation with potential customers, resulting in :
Purchase
Subscription to an email newsletter
Registration in an online community
Participation in an event
This To Do For LinkedIn Promotion
Post both external and internal content
Make sure there’s a good balance of both, there are certain best practices for this, but experiment, analyse, and continue what works for your brand or your profile. Don’t follow thumb rules blindly and don’t overdo anything.
Experiment to find the right posting frequency and ratio of content types
A thumb rule like the 4:1:1 rule.
Share posts from the company’s blog
Share blogposts from the company blog
Post both generic and brand-specific updates. And when you do, make sure the title, description, and image of the blog are in place.
Share the work your company has done
Get your featured blogs & PR pipeline on LinkedIn
Feature client testimonials and success stories
Share videos
Use sponsored posts
With content available, make sure it reaches the right audience, and is not limited to reach only your existing followers. So, put in some budget to promote the content you want to reach out to people outside of your network or your company page’s followers.