A few years back, marketing mixes were an exciting new innovation in digital marketing. Rather than relying on old school tactics such as billboards and radio advertisements, marketers could take advantage of the unique targeting possibilities afforded by digital technology. Instead of having to focus on a single channel, brands could now target specific audiences across multiple platforms. The idea was simple – combine the power of traditional advertising with the reach of digital platforms such as social media.

While exciting, the new world of digital marketing isn’t without its challenges. Simply put, people hate being marketed to. If someone decides they don’t like your business, Coca-Cola, or Burger King, your ads on their Facebook page aren’t going to do much to change their mind. Indeed, a 2015 HubSpot study found that while 79% of marketers globally believe that their audience is more open to being marketed to, only 37% actually feel their customers are engaging with their content.

As a result, businesses may be overlooking one of the most important aspects of their digital marketing strategy: the marketing mix. In this article, we’ll explore the various components that make up a marketing mix and how these components work together to drive business growth.

The Importance of Thinking About Each Digital Channels’ Role In The Mix

Let’s start at the beginning. To many, the term “marketing mix” may evoke visions of columns of numbers and figures, spreadsheets, and reams of analytical data. But the reality is somewhat different. The basic concept of a marketing mix is thinking about how all the pieces fit together to form a complete picture of your marketing efforts. You wouldn’t try to build a house with just wooden blocks and nails; you’d want to think about what else you need in order to make the structure strong and stable.

When it comes to digital marketing, your marketing mix will include different elements of technology, content, and engagement — all working together to drive business growth. For example, if you’re running an e-commerce store, you’ll want to consider the types of products you offer as well as the prices and promotions you offer them. You’ll also want to think about the language you use in your e-commerce store’s copy, as well as the website’s design and functionality.

In order to create an effective marketing mix, you first need to figure out what your overall strategy is for each channel. That is, you’ll want to decide what platforms you’re going to use and how you’re going to use them. Are you going to focus on SEO, PPC, or both? Do you have a specific goal in mind for each channel, such as sales or leads?

Once you have these overall strategies in mind, you can begin to think about the various components that make up your online marketing campaign. The first step in this process is understanding what roles each channel plays in your strategy. Let’s take a look at social media, for example.

Social Media Roles In Your Marketing Mix

If you’re running a social media campaign, one of the first things you’ll want to do is determine how you’re going to engage with your audience. That is, you’ll want to think about what types of content you’re going to share and what platforms you’re going to use. There are three basic roles that social media plays in your marketing mix:

1. Content

If you’ve ever been on social media, you’ll know that sharing content is one of the main attractions. After all, what’s the point of having a social media account if you don’t intend on sharing content?

While it’s important to share content on your social media channels, you don’t want to just throw any old content at your audience. Instead, you want to think about what they want and need and share content that is relevant to them.

It’s also important to think about the type of content you’re going to share. As we mentioned above, people don’t like to be sold to. Therefore, if you’re posting promotional content or advertising, you might find that your audience isn’t as engaged with you as you’d like them to be. Instead of just using the default settings on your social media accounts to push content into your audience’s streams, take the time to learn more about your followers’ interests, hobbies, and demographics.

2. Engagement

Another important role that social media plays in your marketing mix is encouraging engagement. After all, the whole point of having a social media account is to gain traction and to encourage your audience to interact with you. If you want to create a successful social media campaign, you’re going to have to offer your audience something valuable in return for their time.

For example, if you’re running a content strategy for a health-related company, you might decide to have a contest where you give away freebies to your followers. Or you could offer them exclusive discounts or product samples from your brand.

To gain valuable engagement, you also need to determine the type of content your audience is responding to. Once you know this, you can begin to develop content that is consistent with what your audience wants. Whether you’re sharing a blog post or an infographic, make sure that your content is of a high quality.

3. Conversion

The last role social media plays in your marketing mix is conversion. As the name suggests, this role is all about convincing people to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter. To truly understand how social media affects your conversion rate, you’ll want to look at the overall performance of your account. If you’ve ever shopped on social media before, you’ll know that this is a place people go to find information and make purchases. If you don’t offer a reason for them to come back, you could lose a lot of business.

For example, if you’re running an e-commerce store and you notice that 75% of your sales come from people who found and clicked on an online store link within a social media post, you’d want to look into potentially revising the way you promote your e-commerce store on social media.

When it comes to digital marketing, your marketing mix will include different elements of technology, content, and engagement — all working together to drive business growth.