Three Ways to Improve Lead Generation with Cross Platform Marketing

improving lead generation

Throughout the course of a day, chances are your audience uses apps or views websites on their smartphones, desktop, and tablets. Keeping this type of audience engaged can be a challenge, as their attention spans tend to be split among various devices. Cross platform marketing is a solution that has recently taken the place of traditional marketing, which has become more obsolete with this type of market. Within the last few years, the advertising industry has shifted its priority from desktop advertising to mobile. And with good reason. According to emarketer, the statistics on mobile ad spend is predicted to top over 100 billion in 2016, contributing to over 51% of the online marketplace. While mobile advertising has gained ample momentum, it’s important that we don‘t allow it to replace desktop searches entirely. Cross platform marketing is the new game for marketers to target customers and promote consistent branding and drive new lead generation.

Why use Cross Platform Marketing?
In the 1960’s when the advertising boom took off with large billboards and print ads, customers responded to this channel with acts of brand loyalty. Unfortunately this system no longer applies today. Customers are constantly connected to their devices and any place they can get Wi-Fi. Cross platform marketing allows marketers to look at the bigger picture strategy, allowing their branding to reach their audience as they switch from device to device.

For example, if a customer searches for shoes on their smartphone and notices an ad for 50% off, they might later decide to log onto their computer and investigate further. If the ad changes from a sale of 50% on their mobile device to 25% on their desktop, it could cause a huge disconnect which could potentially result in the loss of a customer. Cross platform marketing prevents these kinds of disconnects from occurring.

Optimize for each channel.
Ads need to be optimized for each device in order to maintain consistent branding. A sidebar ad that is viewed on a small iPhone might not translate well to a desktop and vice versa. Mobile devices need mobile friendly ads. For example, the ad that is viewed on your smartphone would ideally need a call extension to provide your customers with another channel to reach you. You wouldn’t need this on your desktop ad because they likely will not be able to call you from their computers. Similarly, video ads may take a significantly longer amount of time to load on a tablet than on a desktop. This time difference will surely impact your customer’s attention span.

Retargeting.
We know how distracting the internet can be. When customers see your ads, they may lose focus or spend their time elsewhere online. While we can’t prevent this entirely, we can redirect them back to our sales cycle by using retargeting. If a potential customer views your website but ends up placing their focus elsewhere, you can actively retarget them, possibly using Facebook ads to attract them back to your website. The potential lead will be reminded of your offer when they log into Facebook, and hopefully return to your site to complete their purchase. Retargeting is essential to cross platform marketing.

Publishers, advertisers and marketers must utilize the best metrics to understand how their audiences behave online. With an understanding of the changing media landscape, the right metrics, and places where they can establish value, any business can not only survive, but effectively enhance customer experiences throughout the cross platform landscape.