Mix It Up: Boost Results With Cross-Channel Marketing and Recruiting

Whether your target audience is purchasers, students, or job candidates, making a connection isn’t as simple as it once was. Our multimedia lives put us in contact with a vast array of information sources throughout the day—from social and print media to direct mail, email, and the apps we use.

For marketers in the communication sciences and disorders sector, there’s no single medium that will always resonate with all audiences. In fact, digital consumers don’t think in terms of “channels” at all—they simply flow from social media to web to apps and expect a seamless experience. So even if you have a presence on multiple channels, your message needs to feel like one continuous story—one seamless conversation with your brand and one fluid path down the conversion path. Get it right, and you’ll provide a better customer experience. Research suggests that 72% of consumers want to be engaged with an integrated marketing approach.

In addition, having more touchpoints in your communication program helps you understand your audience better, collect more data, and optimize your overall strategy.

So how can you create a cross-channel marketing experience that improves conversions? Here are four benefits of print from our marketing team at ASHA to keep in mind:

1. Use Smart Sequencing

Think about the situations and behaviors tied to how your audience interacts with each channel you use, and structure your campaigns around those behaviors. For example, many people check email as soon as they arrive at work in the morning. An a.m. email followed by a LinkedIn invitation to download a podcast for the drive home keeps you top of mind all day.

2. Frequency, Yes. Repetition, No.

Customers who see and hear from your brand frequently are more likely to remember you and eventually engage. But there’s a difference between consistency and monotony. Your messages should tell a consistent story across channels but stay fresh with different offers, formats, and ideas that support your message.

3. Offer Options

Different people have different device or channel preferences and may more likely to convert on, say, desktop versus mobile or email versus 1-800. The more opportunities you provide for engagement and the more choices you provide for how your target audience can respond, the more likely you are to drive the desired action.

4. Be Relevant

Cross-channel marketing gives you a great opportunity to personalize the audience experience and provide real value. Let’s say a student prospect downloads an eBook about paying for graduate school. You might retarget that user with an email about grant programs though your organization. And after that, you might invite the prospect via postcard to attend an open house about tuition reimbursement opportunities.

Multi-channel Communication Options at ASHA

ASHA offers assets across diverse media to help you build effective cross-channel campaigns that get results, whether you’re trying to find talent or sell products. Here are just a few to check out:

• Print channels
  • The ASHA Leader
  • Direct mail with an ASHA mailing list rental

• Digital channels
  • ASHA.org homepage or ASHA.org subpages for:
    • Audiologists
    • Speech-language pathologists
    • Students
    • Faculty
    • ASHA Now customizable e-newsletter
    • ASHA Voices podcast
    • Career Portal
    • NSSLHA Updates e-newsletter

We Can Help!

The marketing team at ASHA can help you assemble the optimal cross-channel marketing strategy to meet your goals. For recruiting campaigns, reach out to Eli McLean at 202-296-8726 or emclean@asha.org. For product and service campaigns, reach out to Liz Barrett at 202-367-1231 or ebarrett@smithbucklin.com.