Individual organisations are likely to have implemented policies and codes of conduct to cover many aspects of running an organisation. It is important to ensure you abide by any organisational policies and procedures, as well as legislative requirements. Be aware that the communications you manage must not conflict with organisational or legislative policies including but not limited to:
- Codes of conduct
- Workplace Health and Safety
- Fair Work Acts
- Anti-discrimination policies
- Communication policies.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
The ACCC is a government organisation that promotes fair competition and trade to the benefit of consumers, businesses and the community. Regarding communications and marketing, the ACCC has specific policies to ensure the honest promotion of goods and services in Australia. Some examples of areas of interest in the ACCC are:
- False and misleading statements—Any statement representing your product or service needs to be true
- Social media—Organisations have an obligation to ensure any information pertaining to their products or services available on social media platforms is accurate
- Managing online reviews—Organisations should not mislead consumers by misusing online review platforms
- Door-to-door and tele-marketing services—There are certain obligations to comply with for these methods of selling and communications
- Country of origin claims—Any country-of-origin claims need to be clear, accurate and truthful.
Digital Growth
The growth of the internet has created an abundance of opportunities for organisations to reach and develop relationships with consumers, directly and frequently. With the incredible growth in internet speeds over the last 30 years, information is exchanged faster than ever before between companies and their customers. This enables organisations to reach consumers in a very personal, targeted and interactive manner and has created an entire genre of marketing—digital marketing.
Digital Communication and Marketing
Digital communication and marketing can be described simply as communicating using digital channels. This includes the use of the internet, devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. and the multitudes of platforms available for communication. Since consumers rely heavily on digital products and services to research brands before making a purchase, implementing a strong digital marketing campaign can be very important. This is also the case for NFP and government organisations who want to raise awareness of their cause or deliver information to people.
The Five Ds of digital communication are:
Digital Devices
Consumers will interact with your brand or organisation via websites or apps through a combination of connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, TVs and gaming devices.
Digital Platforms
Interaction with platforms is through a browser or app. Examples of these platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Digital Media
Encompasses the use of online advertising, email, instant messaging, search engines, and social networks.
Digital Technology
Technology that can help to create interactive experiences online such as websites or apps with in-store kiosks and email campaigns.
Digital Data
Data collected by businesses about their audience. This might include their interactions with businesses. The data collected is now protected by law in most countries. The GDPR in Europe was discussed previously and deals with this issue. To implement successful digital communication strategies, it can be important to integrate the online messages with traditional media such as print, TV, radio, or even direct mail. By doing so, your organisation can create a multi-channel, holistic communication strategy.
Sources of information include all the places and methods used to gather data to be studied. Information is part of the learning process, and it includes research. Where does the information in business normally come from?
Types of information sources
Information sources are divided into two sections, primary source, and secondary source.
- Primary Source — it is raw information that has not yet been interpreted as normally the original of the information, examples include surveys, focus group discussions, and observation experiments.
- Secondary Source —normally relates to primer source information that has been interpreted, they are analyses and syntheses of primary sources, examples include academic papers, blog articles, and organisational reports.
Identifying which sources of information are suitable will depend on the aspects of marketing you are needing for a deliverable. This can be determined by defining which components will best reflect the marketing objectives, thus guiding you to access the most appropriate sources to achieve this goal. 11
The researched information can relate to the components such as:
- Target audience
- Competitors strategies
- Marketing trends and issues
- Ideal aspects for implementing deliverables (such as keywords to use in Google Ads)
Over time as technology has evolved, the internet has become a desirable source for people to refer to for useful information. The internet is filled with an abundance of knowledge derived from many other sources. For example, the internet can make it easy to access sources such as videos, blogs, journals, scholarly articles, talks by industry experts, encyclopedias, newspapers and so much more. The list is endless. However, the sources that can be found on the internet are not necessarily reliable. Sources of information must be chosen carefully to make sure that they are accurately informing the basis of work for a deliverable.12
Sources of information can include:
- Books and videos
- Journals
- Encyclopedias
- Magazines and Newspapers
- Articles
- Reports, Surveys and Databases
- Library Catalogue
- The internet
- People, peers, experts.
In summary, different sources can be accessed for researching and informing the basis of a deliverable.
Advances in technology, coupled with creativity, have seen a growth in digital communication options over the years. Some trends become long-lasting communication channels or choices, and others become less popular over time. Below are some of the current trends in digital communications and marketing. Some of these are not new but have seen an upsurge in use during the COVID-19 pandemic with individuals using online options even more heavily to research and purchase goods and services. In the case of QR codes, they offer fast and easy methods to interact with a business or organisation, whether that be for movement-tracking purposes or engaging with a customer for other purposes:
QR codes
Similar to a barcode in the supermarket, a QR code is a machine-scannable image that can be instantly read using a smartphone camera. After reading the QR code, the device can open a linked website, app or program for the user to interact with.
Live streaming
Social media platforms reported large upward trends in people tuning into live streams during lockdown periods. Live streaming can be used for many outcomes including influencers talking about products they recommend, businesses running online workshops, or organisations launching new products or services.
Hyper personalisation
Offering a personalised experience through digital channels is becoming more popular. Particularly through the use of apps, but also websites, consumers can have their own profiles and can expect brands to understand what they have purchased in the past and help them to decide what to purchase in the future.
Virtual events
During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual events took the place of live events out of necessity. They are likely to stay part of the digital communications and marketing landscape as organisations found they could engage larger numbers of consumers, identified new potential customers, and could offer online participation all for a lesser cost and larger return on investment.
Live interactions
While virtual events have increased, their success is limited if the communication is one-way. By allowing interactions with online participants or viewers, engagement is boosted, and consumers feel they have a connection to the brand.
Voice and visual search options
Devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Google Home have changed the way that people search for information. These voice-activated devices give people the option to use voice commands and questions to find information rather than more traditional methods. Voice-activated searches have increased during 2020, not only due to the technology is more readily available but perhaps also because people were inside their homes more during COVID-19 lockdowns. There are also visual search options becoming more readily available such as Google Lens, which enables consumers to search for whatever they can see through the device. This could become an important change in Search Engine Optimisation in time, and early adopters that enable voice and visual search on their websites will benefit greatly.
Easy to consume content
Content that is easy to consume like podcasts and email newsletters saw growth during 2020, and this will likely continue through 2021. These are convenient, can be read or listened to at any time, and are great options to stay in touch with your consumers.
The penetration of 5G networks
5G is one of the trends shaping network connectivity, at the moment there is more demand for 5G than networks available. Asian countries like South Korea, China and Japan lead the race with the most penetration in the world. 5G networks promise top responsiveness, increased capacity, speed, and low latency as well as facilitating internet of things (IoT) development.
Chatbots
This technology is gradually growing and is known for helping users answer questions quickly, however it can be used in other innovative and creative ways. Powered with cognitive and artificial intelligence their versatility will continue to grow over the years until maybe they are as smart as a Siri or Cortana.
Data storytelling
As more and more information and data is collected; organisations face the challenge of effectively communicating insights in a compelling manner. A current trend is that not only visuals are important but also as important is the narrative, organisations are investing in moving from static reports to real-time changing dashboards, and web-powered data storytelling.
Issues in Digital Communications
As with any emerging and changing technology, potential issues faced by organisations utilising digital communications change over time as well. As consumers grow to expect seamless online experiences over a variety of devices and platforms, it is important for organisations not to underestimate this expectation, and to keep up-to-date with new opportunities and issues they may face.
Some of the issues currently facing digital communications include:
Competition
With digital marketing being relatively cheap to implement, the online world has become noisy with so much competition. Organisations need to stay visible and consistent.
Consumer data
Organisations can build databases of consumer information for many uses including creating targeting advertising and seamless online experiences for consumers. It is important to be aware of laws and guidelines surrounding the collection, utilisation and sharing of this data. Keeping data secure from online security breaches is an ongoing challenge.
Security and privacy breaches
In addition to keeping your consumer data safe, organisations need to be proactive to keep their own online footprint safe from security breaches. According to The Small Business Association of Australia, 45% of Australian companies were attacked by online criminals over a recent two-year period. It is easy to see how this number would be increasing each year with advances in malware and phishing tools available to cyber criminals.
Ad blocking
Online consumers have been experiencing content overload for some time now, with many skipping through ads and more starting to utilise ad blockers. This changes the way in which online marketing needs to be organised, with greater consideration given to more targeted advertising and the creation of online content that drives interaction with potential consumers.
Responsibility and activism
Responding to online feedback quickly, while maintaining a friendly (at times humorous) demeanour has become an important part of operating in the online world. Particularly with social media, responding to problems and complaints in real-time is becoming the standard of customer service expected of consumers. In recent years, this has grown and expanded into an expectation for organisations to show support and participate in social activism and awareness campaigns. When including this in your digital communications and marketing, it is important to be consistent across all stakeholder interactions so as not to appear tokenistic.
Content vs. consistent narrative
The catchcry Content is King is still alive and well in the online world of communications. However, with the increased use of multiple devices, platforms and modes of interaction, it has become increasingly important to offer many stories with a consistent narrative across all modes of engagement. This not only creates a narrative for the organisation’s brand awareness but allows a sense of familiarity and connectedness with the consumer.
Changes in Communication Options
Technology has long become the most important communication tool for organisations. It has transformed how we can conduct public relations and marketing, including the interaction with the media and stakeholders. With the advance in digital technology, we have also seen a change in preferred communication modes, and this should influence the decision to invest in different digital communication options.
News and Public Relations
With the growth of smartphones, staying up to date with the news is now a 24/7 operation via news articles, public relations updates and breaking stories as opposed to a daily printed newspaper. Media organisations that have not been able to keep up with this continuous cycle of information run the risk of being left behind. The development and growth of social media networks has impacted the distribution of news as well, with web-based apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram often being the first-place people will look for information on a breaking news story. This is exacerbated by the ability to share articles and links on these platforms, creating a new method of news distribution.
Text-Based Communication
Research has shown that more and more people will opt for a text-based conversation in order to ask a question or make a complaint directly to an organisation. While this may still include the use of email, the rise of web-based instant messaging services is both driving this preference and is a direct response to it. Today, consumers are more likely to want instant answers or direction and expect to be able to access this information from anywhere, at any time. Many organisations offer a web-based chat service on their websites where consumers can access help or offer a very responsible messaging service via social media platforms. Some sophisticated bots or automatic answering algorisms can be produced to direct the consumer to the information they seek, or alternatively inform the organisation’s customer service team of their questions.
Social media strategies are a necessary part of an organisation’s overall marketing and communications strategy. The use of social media can include a number of platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, and others, so it is important to include all of the chosen platforms in your strategy.
The chosen platforms should be based on your target audience and the messages you are trying to portray. Choosing the platforms will depend on whether you are targeting consumers or businesses. Below is a process to include in your social media strategy plans to ensure your organisation can connect with its customers in a meaningful way:
- Identify business goals—Look at your overall business goals and decide how you want to use social media to reach them.
- Set marketing objectives—Define specific parameters to define when your goals are achieved.
- Identify target market—Get to know your ideal customer. Define who they are, including their age, occupation, income, interests, pains, problems, obstacles, habits, likes, dislikes, motivations and objections. This will help to target your content and advertising directly to your ideal market.
- Know your competition—Have a look at your competitor’s social media presence to discover their content strategy
- Choose channels and tactics—Choose your channels and tactics based on which ones will offer you greater engagement with your target market. By knowing your target audience and being aware of which social platforms they utilise, you can avoid wasting time and money investing in marketing on platforms that don’t reach your ideal customer.
- Create a content and narrative strategy—Successful social media campaigns consist of great content, targeting a time of posting content and frequency of posting. When these three components are working well, you will generate engagement and further visibility on the platform.
- Allocate budget and resources—Make a list of the tools you will need to execute and track the efficacy of your social media campaign and estimate the annual projected cost of each. If your strategy is too costly to execute, consider prioritising your tactics according to how soon you will see a return on investment.
- Assign roles—Decide on specific roles in your team so each team member knows their roles and tasks. Having clear responsibilities and boundaries will increase productivity and avoid confusion and overlap.13
Social media is an ever-growing and changing landscape, so it is important to stay up-to-date and keep up with your audience’s preferences. It is also important to note that different content types will perform differently on each platform. This is due not only to the variances in the platforms themselves but also due to the difference in demographics of the platform users.14
Social media platforms
Social media platforms are types of content that offer higher rates of engagement, making this a desirable communication deliverable when marketing a product or service. Keep in mind that the following list of social media platforms is far from exhaustive. Many organisations now utilise other social media platforms such as Tumblr, WeChat, Pinterest and many more.
Facebook live videos generate some of the highest reach among Facebook posts and will usually provide higher rates of engagement. Well thought through regular Facebook videos also promote engagement as long as they catch the audience’s attention quickly. Striking photos will encourage people to read some of the related text, rather than posting basic text-only posts. User-generated content such as photos shared to the organisation from customers is another great way to improve engagement.
Instagram changes its algorithms often, making it difficult to generate solid engagement without changing the way you use the platform. However, Instagram Stories are chronological so your followers can see your account at the top of their feed to know you have a new story for them. Data-driven content and infographics capture people’s attention and using carousel posts to share tips and information is a great way to encourage your audience to save your post to refer back to another time. User-generated content performs well on Instagram as well. Paying close attention to your hashtags is important too and can help drive more people to seeing your posts.
Twitter allows you to be seen by people who do not yet follow you or they are interested in your niche but unaware of your brand. Joining in on conversations relevant to your industry and brand is a good way to gain a wider audience.
YouTube
The most popular types of videos on YouTube are product reviews, how-to videos and vlogs. Inviting your audience in for conversation and actively engaging with them is a great way to increase engagement on your YouTube videos. Reminding viewers to like and share your videos, as well as subscribe to your channel may also increase the ongoing engagement with your audience.
Snapchat
Snapchat typically has a higher engagement rate than other platforms, as the platform attracts users who like to share their day with friends through photos and short videos. Using Snapchat Stories allows your content to be visible until the end of the day, rather than the short time when a recipient opens the snap. Other ways of increasing audience engagement on Snapchat include product placements of videos of your product being used and promotional codes that disappear if they are not clicked on.
Similar to Facebook, video content is more widely visible on LinkedIn due to algorithm metrics. Keeping videos short and concise will help to encourage engagement and hold your audience’s attention. Despite this, text-based posts continue to perform well on LinkedIn and creating content within LinkedIn by using the “Write an Article” feature can increase visibility. If you are using mainly text-based posts, include some eye-catching emojis to help the post stand out.
Tik Tok
Tik Tok is the fastest growing social media platform of all time and one of the most downloaded apps globally between the years 2019-2022. It is a short-form video app with one billion users worldwide. Marketers are attracted to Tik Tok for its young audiences, fast pace, creative possibilities, and high engagement.
Other Types of Digital Marketing Strategies
There are multiple digital marketing platforms or strategies available these days that are often used in communication deliverables in marketing. These may include:
- influencer marketing
- content marketing
- search engine optimisation (SEO)
- search engine marketing (SEM)
- affiliate marketing, etc.
The following gives a brief explanation to some of the most common digital marketing platforms used in the marketing and communications industry.
Influencer Marketing
Influencers are people that use social media and have a large following. Many businesses are starting to use influencers to help market their product, especially if their social media followers are the typical target audience the business seeks to communicate with. An influencer may also be seen by their followers as experts in their niche.
This method as a deliverable is slightly different type of social media marketing as it still uses social media, but also the influencer on the platform to help endorse or mention a business’ products and services in order to “influence” large audiences (their followers).15
Content Marketing
This communication deliverable is a marketing strategy approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain specific target audiences with the ultimate objective of increasing profitability.
Instead of sales pitching to prospective customers, organisation provide relevant and useful content that over time may increase sales or upsell to existing customers.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
This communication deliverable is a digital marketing strategy in which advertisers increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). SEM is also alternatively referred to as ‘paid search “or “pay per click” (PPC).16
The worldwide market share has not changed much in the last decade, where Google continues to be number the one search engine with 85.5% of the market, followed by Bing with 7.1%. 17
When performing SEM campaigns, the following are the minimum aspects necessary to execute:
- A search engine advertising account
- A landing page for traffic to visit
- A credit card for payment
- Text for ads
- Keywords for potential search
- A budget
- A call to action
When executing digital marketing strategies, a principle that always applies is “Web first, everything else second”. In essence, before executing on tactics like social media, or search engine marketing an organisation’s website needs to be working properly in terms of design, search engine optimisation, loading speed etc.
The following table depicts the four typical types of websites:
| E-commerce | E-commerce is generally, a platform where products are sold online. In these types of websites, credit card purchases are the normal method for payment and the brick-and-mortar concept of the “shopping trolley” still applies. |
|---|---|
| Informative | This is the most popular type of website; it is one-directional, and its objective is to provide information to relevant audiences. Some information that businesses often share will include, about the business, the team, the product or service, pricing, location, contact details, visuals and textual information etc. |
| News/entertainment | Unlike e-commerce websites, these types of sites are providing content that is either available for free in exchange for ads being available or via subscriptions. |
| Forum/blog | In this type of website, forum users discuss their thoughts with other users. When it comes to blogs, the author is the one providing content encouraging others to discuss. |
Webpages found on websites
A website may contain a variety of webpages that are there for different purposes. The following gives an overview of the most commonly known web pages used.
Homepage
Usually, the first and main page a visitor will see on a website. It normally introduces the rest of the website, and it is key to conveying key messages and call to actions (CTA). The homepage normally displays a drop-down menu at the top and a logo on the top left corner.
Product page
This webpage is not only limited to products, but also to services, one of the menus at the top of the website normally shows all different products, if too many there will be a search function. Each page will give specifications and a specific call to action.
Landing page
This is the page that normally users click when searching online and click on paid advertising, this is a targeted page that provides content that appeals to a specific target audience, it normally provides one single call to action and does not lead to any other location except the CTA.
