As you craft your marketing strategy, it’s helpful to know the difference between always-on marketing campaigns and specific marketing campaigns. Keep reading to learn the key contrasts.
From brand campaigns, product launches, digital marketing, and social media, all of these are not only familiar to every marketing professional, but they also form the basis of almost every project that comes your way. From brand-new startup companies to established players in every field, “campaigns” are often seen as one of the fundamentals—the meat and potatoes of marketing. And while there is a great deal of data and work and creativity poured into the campaign approach, they are not the only solution. And sometimes, they are also not the most impactful.
Not without “always-on marketing,” anyway. Here we’ll take a look at some of the differences between specific marketing or advertising campaigns and an always-on marketing strategy, how success is measured for each, some of the key metrics or KPIs to consider, and what planning looks like for an always-on marketing approach. We’ll also talk about how always-on marketing can supplement B2B campaigns as well as B2C marketing, and who can benefit from each (or both).
What is ‘Always-On’ Marketing?
Simply put, always-on marketing is just what the name says—marketing efforts that don’t quit. A large part of any always-on marketing campaign is recurring content and messaging that is available all the time, so that your customers can find you no matter when they may be interested in a service or product. It’s a planned and scheduled approach to ongoing marketing work, which can include anything from social media content to blogging, videos, webinars, CRM efforts, lead generation, microsites, and more.
Always-on marketing makes tremendous sense in a world where anyone can be searching for (and interested in buying) your product on any day, at any time. It also makes tremendous sense for B2B sales and lead generation; most business owners and new customers are doing research during nights and on weekends, meaning that if you want to be the partner they choose, you need to make sure they can get the information they want whenever they happen to be looking.
Always-on marketing can include or take the form of:
- Friction-free, informative website or landing pages
- Effective search engine optimization (SEO) efforts
- Retargeting initiatives
- Educational video content
- Frequent social media posts with interesting information
- PPC and social media ads that reach new audiences
- And many more examples
Hear From Industry Experts
Read the latest tips, research, best practices, and insights from our community of expert B2B service providers.
Always-On Marketing vs. Finite Marketing Campaigns
Always-on marketing means that your efforts are ongoing, whereas a marketing campaign may have firm start and stop dates. Marketing campaigns are usually short-term projects or awareness campaigns that may be created to launch a new product or extend a current product’s lifecycle. Always-on marketing, on the other hand, is a long-term part of a marketing strategy, meant to do much more for your company than a limited-scope ad campaign. But, the two of them usually work in concert, and one can most certainly help the other perform.
Marketing campaigns, for example, can give you a lot of great insight into your target audience whether they’re current or prospective customers. The information you gather will go beyond basic demographics, giving you insight into what customers like, the activities they engage in, where they shop or do their browsing, and even the types of content they find most engaging and the digital channels they visit frequently.
All of these pieces of information can be used to build your always-on strategy and marketing tactics, allowing your always-on marketing activities to provide significant customer acquisition and conversion rates, brand awareness, and more.
How to Plan Your Always-On Marketing Strategy
As mentioned above, using the information you have gained from past or current marketing campaigns can help you plan and execute your always-on efforts. You’ll likely already have actionable information about what customers may want to see, hear, or learn about, and how they want to do so.
Then, you’ll want to develop a calendar of regular content development based on this information, the outlets you have available, and of course your budget. Nothing is out of the question here if it fits your audience and your strategy; from podcasts to webinars, testimonials to case studies, social media influencers to blogs and white papers, everything is a possible tool in your always-on marketing approach.
Next, spend time thinking about the customer journey. Where are they finding out about you, and how do you want to guide them through this information and content to the purchase funnel? What call to action makes the most sense for each media type or placement?
Finally, make testing a part of your planning; that is, create a mock customer journey and have your employees click through to see how well it works. Is it easy for them to find information? Are there speed bumps or barriers anywhere?
How Do You Measure Always-On Campaign Success?
Like your regular marketing campaigns, your SEO and PPC efforts, and so on, there are a huge number of ways to measure what is working and what is not when it comes to your always-on marketing approach. If we break them down into umbrella categories, for example, you may choose to measure:
Engagement
How long is someone spending on a page, reading an article, or watching a video? Did they watch the entire video, or stop at some point? These measures tell you not only their interest level but how informative or useful your content is.
Interaction
Did your customer take the survey you offered at the end of the video or article? Did they submit the lead generation form? Were they engaged with social media content, either by liking or sharing something from your always-on effort?
Conversion
Which content led to a sale? What pathway did converted customers take to wind up at the final purchase?
There are numerous other ways to measure the impact of both marketing campaigns and always-on marketing, but these broad categories should help you in setting up your goals and then evaluating how your efforts are performing.
Better Together
The truth is, you need both your standard marketing campaigns and an always-on marketing approach to have the most impact on your business and your brand. But, from a brand awareness and lead generation standpoint, always-on marketing is a critical component and one that has the potential to serve as a rock-solid foundation for all of your marketing efforts and your marketing strategy moving forward.