Converting and retaining your target audience requires going beyond ‘quick win’ and siloed marketing initiatives.

An integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach is a strategic powerhouse that blends various promotional tools and channels – from advertising and public relations to direct email marketing and social media. IMC puts your firm’s north star value proposition/s at the heart of everything you serve in market. The result? An ‘opted in’, engaged audience with you for the longer-term.

What is an IMC mindset?

IMC ensures you’ve considered how you’re serving (and delighting) your audience. Key questions marketers consider:

• Does this campaign and respective messaging align with our company’s long-term value proposition?
• Are we measuring success (ROI) based on quick conversions or longer-term lead nurturing (like reaching lead scores)? Better yet, is it ‘opt in’ worthy content?
• Is this a cross channel approach? E.g., would this content work to convert leads in a sponsored ad on LinkedIn (owned) as well as be compelling material a media outlet (earned) would consider newsworthy?

The hidden cost of bottom-of-the-funnel ads

Marketers often find themselves navigating the delicate balance between short term gains and long term brand sentiment. While bottom-of-the-funnel ads may deliver some quick sales, they can come with a hidden cost — potential damage to your brand’s image.

Consider your own experience with marketing messages in any given week. Amid the inundation, only a fraction, perhaps less than 10% of ads, align with your preferences—consider the uncanny accuracy of an Instagram post tailored to your account’s algorithm. However, the majority of other sponsored ads deter you, prompting you to take action and either unsubscribe or report.

The same applies in the B2B professional and financial services landscape. Take LinkedIn for example, professionals are also inundated with call to actions and information overload. LinkedIn’s algorithm favours and boosts organic posts where users offer value, and this also occurs for sponsored posts. Further, valuable posts naturally spark more engagement (reactions, comments, shares) over and above simply ‘clicks.’

Marketing and business development in sync

As you strategically transition towards an integrated marketing approach, you’ll notice your impact moves beyond immediate lead capture. This marks a significant juncture where marketing and business development work in sync. Business development will see more engaged, warm leads come in, while marketers meet brand awareness objectives.

An example of this at play, could be a strategic thought leadership white paper, housed on a landing page off your website, behind a lead form gate. 3 data backed insights from the report are extracted and used for a paid social media campaign, encouraging post viewers to subscribe to receive a copy of the report. These visitors receive an eDM with the white paper link and go into an email nurturing stream where they receive similar valuable articles, or information relevant to their business. The marketing team observes engagement with these emails and once a set ‘lead score’ is achieved – the business development team is notified.

Converting leads through the lens of IMC

It’s important to add that not every ad that converts quickly is detrimental to your audience but rather every message in market has an impact, whether positive or negative. There are quick conversions to be made – but the aim should be with a ‘warm’ audience and through messaging that’s aligned with your brand.

IMC call to actions sound like ‘learn more,’ ‘receive a copy’ or ‘subscribe’ as opposed to ‘claim offer’  or  ‘get in touch.’

Consider your own experience with a brand you willingly opt in or subscribe to. The experience of engaging with their newsletter and promotions is intriguing and you resonate with the tone and messaging. You feel better for having read an email from them as it’s aligned with a problem you’re trying to solve or learn more about. You feel nurtured, have genuine interest, and are more likely to stay subscribed and engaged with the company.

Build trust and convert for the longer term

In the realm of financial and professional services, trust and credibility are paramount. An IMC approach, underpinned by your brand’s values, seeks to resonate with your audience. When implemented effectively, it should increase your reach (brand awareness) as well as nurture leads (convert) concurrently, while safeguarding your brand’s reputation in market.