An All-in-One Digital Marketing Agency for an Omnichannel World
In today's business world, omnichannel strategies are no longer optional. Modern consumers jump from one marketing channel to another very quickly — from social media to online search to OTT and back again. In some cases, prospects may even be paying attention to multiple channels at once!
In this regard, business owners should ask themselves two fundamental questions:
1. Is our omnichannel strategy comprehensive enough?
2. Are we getting enough value from our current agency?
The following will offer insight into both of these questions. But first, we’ll go deeper into what constitutes an omnichannel approach.
What Does an Omnichannel Digital Marketing Strategy Involve?
Any omnichannel strategy is going to have a lot of moving parts. Some tactics that can be combined for an omnichannel approach include:
Paid Media
Paid media includes all the advertising "real estate" you purchase on digital platforms. It typically falls into three basic categories:
- Search ads: These would be advertisements on Google, Bing, and other popular search engines.
- Social ads: These are paid ads on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and TikTok
- Programmatic ads: Programmatic advertising involves automated bidding to deliver display ads across a network of affiliated websites. It can also include programmatic OTT advertising — i.e., real-time bidding between advertisers for an OTT ad space.
Video on Any Screen
An omnichannel approach will explore ways to present your video ads to prospects wherever they consume content. For most brands, investing in OTT video is a cost-effective way to make this happen.
OTT refers to "over-the-top" streaming services, including providers like Roku, Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube. It's called OTT because it goes "over the top" of traditional marketing channels, like broadcast TV. Adding OTT to your omnichannel campaign can be a cost-effective way to connect with consumers across multiple screens, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs.
Native Ads
Native advertising is designed to blend in with the format and style of the content in which it appears, such as a social media post, article, or video. Unlike traditional advertising, which is often disruptive and noticeable, native advertising is intended to be less intrusive and more engaging for the audience. Native ads are usually identified with words like "sponsored" or "promoted" to distinguish them from organic content, but they are created to match the look and feel of the platform on which they are displayed.
Creative Development
Great ad creative is critical to any effective marketing strategy. That's even more true when talking about an omnichannel approach. Experienced marketing professionals can combine data with artistry to produce digital and video ads that connect with your target audience. Full-service creative development includes all stages of the creative process — e.g., storyboarding, research, scriptwriting, sourcing actors/voice talent, production, and post-production.
Audio Ads
Modern audio advertising includes traditional radio spots, which is just the start. Companies can reach consumers through audio channels like podcasts, music streaming services, and public radio. All of these channels should be considered when crafting an audio ad plan.
eCommerce
An eCommerce path-to-purchase strategy will include many facets of omnichannel marketing discussed above: search ads, native ads, social ads, etc. In addition, dynamic retargeting ads can convert many visitors who navigate to your website and leave without purchasing. This is made possible primarily through the use of tracking pixels. Retargeting ads keep your brand top of mind so you can maximize your conversion rate and increase online sales.
Cookie-less analytics
Third-party tracking cookies are slowly going the way of the dodo. Apple has already eliminated unsolicited cookie tracking on its apps, and Google plans to eliminate third-party cookies by late 2023. As a result, marketers have to adapt to a vastly different digital landscape.
Fortunately, several alternative options exist for collecting vital consumer data to inform your omnichannel strategy. For instance, you can double down on first-party data (e.g., email opt-ins, subscription data, and so forth). You can also extract targeted data from CTV/OTT platforms and use contextual advertising to your advantage.
Partnering with an experienced agency enables you to leverage these techniques effectively.
Should You Hire a Digital Agency or Keep it In-House?
Omnichannel strategies can be executed in-house or by a digital agency. Which is suitable for your company?
Here are just a few key factors to consider:
- Time management: An in-house team may juggle several tasks at once, not all directly related to marketing. In contrast, a digital agency's team will be 100% focused on the marketing goals.
- Cost efficiency: At times, it is less costly to contract with an outside agency than to bring on marketing employees as full-time staff members.
- Experience: The marketing experience of your in-house team may fluctuate wildly from one person to the next. In contrast, a digital agency will offer marketing expertise across several industries and use cases.
- Tool available: It's no secret that full-service digital agencies will have many more marketing tools at their disposal than small internal teams.
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5 Signs Your Current Agency Isn't Providing Enough Value
Not all marketing partners are created equal. You may find that your current agency isn't providing the value you expected initially. Some red flags include:
1. They don't communicate well. Any good relationship is built on open and regular communication. If you're not getting that from your agency, deeper issues may be involved.
2. They aren't responsive. If your agency can't promptly respond to a question or request you send, that could indicate problems with their time management and quality of work.
3. They don't provide regular updates. You'd undoubtedly find this concerning since you're naturally interested in how your marketing efforts are progressing.
4. They aren't keeping up with your campaign performance. This is a major red flag. After all, you're paying the agency to deliver results — and if they aren't tracking your campaign performance, how can they prove that they're making those results happen?
5. They don't seem to have enough time to spend on your account. If this is the case, you need to find an agency with the time to give your account the attention it deserves.
What CoxNext Can Do For You?
If you want to partner with an experienced, reputable agency that will spend time with your brand, customize their approach according to your needs, and deliver exceptional results, consider working with CoxNext.
Our team offers a one-stop, full-service shopping experience for clients needing digital marketing services. We provide digital advertising solutions for every screen and are committed to providing a cohesive, comprehensive omnichannel strategy.
Moreover, our cookie-less Cox Site Analysis Tag (CSAT) can help you to answer critical questions about your target customers — questions like:
- What drives my customers to make a purchase?
- What products do my customers prefer?
- What are their brand affinities?
- What are their top 3 favorite TV networks?
- What type of messaging aligns with my current customer base?
- Why am I running marketing campaigns on certain media and platforms?
Our approach is platform-agnostic and focused solely on delivering the desired results rather than trying to squeeze your marketing goals into a cookie-cutter mold.
Are you ready to adopt a truly omnichannel strategy?
Reach out to us today to schedule a consultation. We'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!
