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Reading time: 3 minutes
Consumers are more digitally savvy than ever before, effortlessly bouncing across channels and brands, making up their minds as they go. In fact, 49% of users visit 2-4 websites before they decide to make a purchase.* So how can we make sure our marketing is on-brand and in-sync with our brand message across platforms? By amplifying and strengthening that message with synchronized marketing.

Marketing is a team sport - each message needs to be in tune with another to survive in the ever-evolving advertising ecosystem. Marketers need to start thinking beyond a single campaign, and more about ensuring our messages are in-sync with one another, and the overall brand message.

Simply put, it’s taking integrated marketing ideas and expanding on them with the consumer in mind. There’s no need to abandon your marketing strategies, because a simple tweak may be all that’s missing in your plan. Here are five areas you can fine-tune to make sure you’re nailing your marketing efforts every time.
 

Define your purpose

What do you offer your clients that others can’t? What problems are you solving and how? Define what makes you unique, and let that message be the anchor that keeps your brand message consistent throughout, even when you introduce new products.
Keep the dialogue going
Thanks to the evolution of social media, marketers can continuously engage with their audience to keep their brand front-of-mind. A conversation that starts on Facebook can easily spill over to Twitter, blogs, and other mediums, amplifying the message for your audience. Let your customers know you care by responding to comments, complaints, and questions quickly and compassionately across all platforms.
 

Sync up your various platforms
Digitally-conscious consumers often blur the line between online and offline, reality and virtual reality. When marketing is synchronized, all touchpoints feed off each other. The conversational nature of social media is a great way to kick off a campaign online and then use the promoted hashtag on print, out-of-home and video ads, seamlessly marrying offline and online marketing efforts.  
Repurpose and recycle content
Create content that you can repurpose across multiple channels. 60% of marketers produce at least one new content piece every day,** but pumping brand new content can be expensive. However, a stimulating white paper can be condensed into a blog piece, excerpts of key learnings can be shared on social media with a link to download the full report, and you can feature it on a company podcast discussing similar topics.
 

Treat employees like brand advocates

Employees are the heart and soul of the brand and can act as a direct line to a broader audience. People are more aligned with their online profiles than ever before, and happy team members that are proud of what they do will sing about it from the rooftops across multiple platforms. And their reach is incredible - a recent study found that employees have on average ten times more connections than branded channels online.*** They are the messengers that can make or break your brand, so make them feel valued and appreciated.

Synchronized marketing is all about thinking beyond a single campaign, and making sure every message we send out harmonizes across all channels. It’s tougher than ever before to know how and where a customer will see your brand for the first time, so make sure you provide a consistent experience throughout your marketing efforts.

*Source: Gallup
** Source: WordStream
***Source: MSLGROUP

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Reading time: 5 minutes
The podcast industry is booming, so it’s no wonder savvy marketers are weaving them into their content marketing plans. They are a great way to reach your audience, and podcast listeners are also a loyal bunch: 80% will listen to a full podcast once they’ve started it, and 45% will follow calls to action after hearing them.*

With the marketplace experiencing a growth spurt and over half a million podcasts to choose from, there are no signs of podcasts losing popularity. But, it takes more than a microphone and an idea to attract such a highly engaged crowd. So, here are some tips on creating a podcast that survives the marketing ecosystem and stands out from the crowd.

Be remarkable
It can be tempting to follow in the footsteps of the podcast greats, but if you want to generate interest and excitement, you should venture off the beaten path and find your niche topic. To do that, become the market and start researching what’s already out there. Start with something that interests you. Show up in the comments on some of the podcasts that you find useful, listen to what could be improved, and participate in the forums. Once you gather all your insights, sit down and deep-dive into your findings - an opportunity will be hiding in there, you just need to listen for it.

Be committed and consistent
Team up with like-minded people who enjoy the same type of content, to ensure you are all aligned on tone, topics and what you want to achieve. Building up interest and listenership takes time and effort, so having people pulling in the same direction is key to getting across the finish line. Consistency is key, so commit to a schedule you are comfortable with and stick with it. To set expectations, make sure you post regularly and at the same time.

Take risks
Don’t be afraid to amp up your promotions or content to be heard. Recycling is great, but reciting the same old repertoire will only get you so far. However, this doesn’t mean that to succeed you have to reinvent the wheel and come up with something completely original.  Instead of thinking brand-new, think better-new. Take something that’s already out there and put a spin on it; introduce a new way of looking at the topic, mix it up with a twist on delivery, or delight with a surprising host choice.

For example, the gaming podcast What’s Good Games is hosted by four female experts who are taking the predominantly male gaming industry by storm. The topic itself isn’t new, but the hosts’ unique insights put them at the top of the leaderboard.   

 Reward your listeners
Making your audience feel special and appreciated is a great way to encourage your audience to tune in to your podcast. So, reach out to them on social channels, and reward your audience with exclusive offers, content, and freebies. Shout outs and special mentions at the end of each podcast can also be an excellent incentive for people to stay tuned in until the very end, and it can help you connect with your listeners on a more personal level. Let them know that you’re listening to their thoughts, suggestions, and concerns. Not listening to feedback is the fastest way to isolate your fans, so ensure you’re actively taking notes on what’s working and what could be amplified.

Podcast promotion
Be loud and proud about your podcast! Learn where your audience lives online, to know how to reach them on channels they love to follow. Make sure to create a call to action - what is it that you would like them to do after listening to your podcast? Visit your website, download your e-book, subscribe to your newsletter? Choose one and sprinkle it at the end of each episode.

Create a buzz around upcoming episodes by teasing your audience with a short audio snippet, sharing fun facts about the topic, and what they will learn if they tune in. Harness the power and reach of social media to let your followers know about your podcast. Don’t be shy about sharing your podcast more than once - the social media landscaping is overflowing with content, and it is more than likely that some people will have missed your original post.

A podcast should be like a pop song - it should be playing on all stations. Make your podcast available on all main directories, such as Google Podcasts, iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podbay and Podtail to make it easier to find for your audience.

Repurpose podcast content
It takes a lot of time and effort to record a podcast. Repurpose that content and publish it across different mediums to make the most of it. Write a blog post using key takeaways from your podcast, publish videos of your podcast recordings on YouTube, create social media posts using quotes from guests, and promote your other content within your podcast. Look at your content marketing engine as an ecosystem that supports each other and helps it thrive.

Starting a podcast is no easy feat - it requires a lot of time to build up your audience, and hard work to cut through the white noise. But with a little planning, commitment, and research, this could become your path to a regular, highly engaged audience. Check out the video below for more tips on podcasts that resonate, and the Google Partners Podcast for more marketing insights and these tips in action.


*Source: Podcast Insights
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Reading time: 2 minutes

The Google Partners program was built to offer our advertising partners access to industry events, trainings and tools to help boost their skill set. Now, all these benefits will be front and center in your Google Ads experience so you can easily access your company’s badge, specialization status and promotional offers right where you create and manage campaigns for your clients.
Your company’s Partners details can be found in the Google Ads manager account that was associated with your company’s Partners profile. There, you’ll find these three features:
  • Badge status: All the information about your badge status, company specializations and certifications can be found here. You can also access badge assets and the new public company profile. Find out more about the Google Partner badges here.
  • Promotional offers: This feature provides promotional offers for your eligible Google Ads accounts, and these can now be automatically applied. Select the auto-apply promotional offers option to take advantage of this feature. You can view all available promotional offers, and see what’s been applied in the last 90 days.
  • Company details: Check this section to ensure company details like name and location are up-to-date.

Explore and familiarize yourself with the new Partners program section in your Google Ads account and find more information about the changes here.

Follow us on Twitter @googlepartners for the latest updates. See you online Partners!









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