One of the biggest marketing trends of 2015 is finding ways to immerse consumers in your brand by creating experiences that not only entertains but also empowers. The modern consumer is a very different one than from days past. Demand for upfront information on products such as reviews, blogs, informative websites, etc. means that modern businesses are facing the task of bringing information to the consumer in new and innovative ways.Interactive media is one of the best ways to engage with modern consumers since it allows you to reach your market in places like shopping malls, events and even your place of business. Here’s how harnessing the power of interactive media can strengthen your marketing strategy and build the type of brand identity and awareness around your brand that will send your competition fumbling their way back to the marketing drawing board.
Speak to consumers on their own turf.
Interactive media has brought about a marketing revolution of sorts, providing businesses with a smart way to get into the modern consumer’s mind, and wallet, by engaging them and letting them interact with your brand like never before. Billboards and other print media have always been somewhat one-dimensional and static, never really allowing companies to interact with consumers beyond traditional advertising gimmicks. But as we know, consumers are much smarter these days and look beyond the tagline, insisting on tangible value propositions before a single cent is spent.
Interactive media is driven by the modern, tech-savvy consumer who socialises, shops, pays bills and books dinner for a group of friends, all from the comfort of a mobile device. They are also constantly engaging on platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter giving you the opportunity to meet them there and interact with your consumers.
It’s important to note that by not using your social media accounts effectively you’re missing out on a massive marketing opportunity. An outdated website with an antiquated interface and design puts a bad face to your company’s name. Social media accounts that become dormant create an even worse impression as new content is uploaded to the internet so frequently that your brand can simply get lost amongst the millions of websites competing for the attention of web browsers. Putting a lot of thought into your content will also ensure that your posts encourage consumers to engage with you and your brand.
Get your consumers to engage with you.
With consumers constantly glued to their mobile devices, this is the obvious place where your digital campaigns should be directed. Add to this the social media wildfire fuelled by the constant need to create content and share ideas, and you have a collection of powerful interactive media that lets your brand travel with consumers.
People like to see them themselves and things they create, the rise of the selfie being a great example of this. Capitalise on current media trends and enable consumers to post their thoughts and pictures as part of your campaigns. Posting or mentioning other people’s ideas directly includes them and also relays the message that you are interested in what they have to say. News travels fast in the digital world, so make it easy for consumers to interact with your brand. Open channels that give your customers new ways of interfacing with your business, thus creating a positive brand image and attracting new business to your doors.
It is, however, crucial to implement a comprehensive monitoring system when allowing consumers to post tweets, messages or pictures on your digital signage or website. Failing to do so can result in a PR disaster or even worse, a lawsuit.
Add more dimension to your digital signage.
Combining interactive media with your indoor and outdoor marketing campaigns not only attracts consumers’ attention but helps you to retain it. Big international companies like McDonald’s have proven just how effective and engaging large interactive media campaigns can be. The interactive billboard campaign rolled out in Sweden enabled passers-by to take part in a Pong game on a digital billboard – whoever managed to last for at least 30 seconds got a free meal.
Drawing from this concept and aligning it with in-store digital signage can add a similar level of engagement with your audience. For instance, incorporating QR codes or near field communication (NFC) tags that are linked to competition web pages, special promotions and even recipes.
There are endless ways to implement interactive media as part of your digital signage and the more creative, informative and engaging your campaigns are, the more likely consumers are to engage with your brand. Our range of digital signage solutions offers the perfect platform to make interactive media part of your digital marketing campaigns.
