People say, ‘Dream big!’ – but you have to think about the logistics. It’s not just coming up with a great idea; it’s how you can sell or market or promote that great idea. – Marley Dias
The objective of the PROMOTE step, the sixth step of ETSZONE’s Seven Step Process, is to expose your target audience to your message… or at least make it easier for them to find it digitally. It is an invitation to engage in the journey that has been designed for them, from awareness to consideration, toward the purchase of the solution, product, or service that is right for them. Or, if educating for a cause, toward learning about and adopting a new point of view.
Execute the Digital Communication Strategy
To PROMOTE is to execute the digital communication strategy conceptualized in CREATE and formulated in DEVELOP, which draws from what has been learned in DISCOVER and ANALYZE and is equipped with the digital assets launched in DEPLOY. Sure, promotion may involve gimmickry and clickbait designed to initially entice the intended audience to learn more and discover your message or the benefits of your product or service and what to do next. But ultimately, the strength of your message rests upon the value, differentiation, promise, and credibility of your organization and what it offers, which has been established in the prior steps of this program.
Reaching Your Audience
Your audience may discover your message in organic search engine results when searching with keywords or phrases relevant to their business and needs. Perhaps they’ll notice an advertisement crafted with your message and placed to appear when those keywords are searched. Promoting includes optimizing and structuring digital content for search keywords or phrases relevant to your audience.
Perhaps your audience responds to status posts or advertisements on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and TikTok, or in industry-specific online publications. Or your audience reads informative emails or newsletters with teasers and links to content you publish on your website. They might find your business through referrals from links on industry partner sites.
Your digital communication strategy includes one or more of these channels of communication, which are set in motion in the PROMOTE step and produce results that can be measured. The next step is RESPOND, which interprets and acts upon these results to refine and enhance PROMOTE.
PROMOTE and RESPOND comprise a loop of continuous learning, adjustment, and response to data and current business strategy, conditions, or needs.
