Forward thinking marketing companies use this term as more than just buzzwords. They really have meaning, and a philosophy. Hybrid media is the strategic use of traditional and new media to communicate your message in a more effective way. For example; your company may have a great Facebook page that is set up wonderfully–but how are you getting traffic to that page? Or perhaps you have a fantastic website with tons of information and great deals that really entice people to do business with your company when they visit the page—but how are you telling people about it?
In our initial consultations with customers, the conversation usually turns to, “How are you telling people about your great page or website?” Clients tend to look at us with a blank expression and say, “Well we didn’t think about that.” Doing business in today’s tech-savvy and electronic environment isn’t like “Field of Dreams”; where if you build it they will come. Social media doesn’t work that way.
In looking at this from the traditional perspective, let’s use an example of a client who is proud of their TV or radio commercial that has a call to action of “call us at 555-1234”. While this sounds great to owners, there in an inherent problem: The call to action is only speaking to the people who are in market right now for their product. What are you doing to connect with the people who don’t need you right now? Those customers are still listening to the radio and watching TV, they just don’t have a need for your product at that moment. But they don’t mind taking some of their time to learn more about you or your company, provided the message makes sense. So why not drive everything to your website and let the customers who can take advantage of your product now do so, while allowing the ones who don’t to make a connection and remember your website for the future?
This is why having a hybrid media strategy is so vital in today’s market place. The fact is you can drive yourself crazy trying to do everything, and be everything, to everyone. So stop and think. What is your current message and is it utilizing anything with new or social media? If not, you need to rethink your message. If you have a social or new media presence, what is your strategy to tell people about it? Remember, you can get better results using the two forms of media together.
Marketing can be very confusing and scary for business owners right now. There are so many “new media” avenues like QR Codes, Facebook Pages, Blogging, and Text Message Marketing. Think about how frustrating it must for businesses that haven’t figured out the correct way to use traditional media and now they have to learn all these new media—let alone how to use them together.
The best strategy your business can have is to look at whatever marketing you are doing and ask yourself, “Does my traditional complement my social/new media?”, or “Have I used traditional media to tell anyone about my great social/new media platform?” Plan your traditional media by figuring out what your message should be, likewise, before you jump into new media figure out what platform is the best for your industry right now. Then consult a professional in the industry to help you put them together.
Just like with cars, the hybrid strategy will work wonderfully when properly designed; saving you money, and a whole lot
of energy.
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