The advertising world has changed. Anyone watching Madmen might think it’s all martinis and big client presentations and debauchery. But the fact is, while billboards and TV and print used to rule the day, now you hear a lot more about data, SEO and ROI.

And while clients have always made making money and driving revenue job 1, the introduction of new media, changes in consumer viewing habits and the dominance of social media have changed the marketing funnel and changed the game. There are so many more ways to reach prospective buyers than there used to be. Upper and lower funnel activities used to be completely siloed but now they are all equally critical parts of the marketing mix.

Creating a successful integrated marketing approach takes different tactics, channels and purposes.

Brand awareness.

No one wants 20% off on something they know nothing about or a brand they’ve never heard of. You need to build a look, feel and tone for your brand. Both the visuals and the narrative need to paint a picture of who you are, what you do and what you stand for. Your website is a great place to start in terms of quickly communicating who you are.

Direct marketing.

Once people know who you are, you can use tactics like email and offer-driven display to sell or upsell to both new prospects and existing customers. Email remains a great way to connect as it is relatively age agnostic and timely as for better or worse, we all check our email all day. You can also use SEO and SEM to both further reinforce your offering and drive clicks when they are actively searching for companies like yours. You can also effectively utilize native and display ads for direct sales.

Social media.

Social can be used to drive awareness, further your narrative and use direct sales messages. It’s also a great way to provide customer support and to gauge sentiment for your brand.

It’s important to know your audience and demographics. Facebook may make the most sense if your brand skews a bit older. Instagram is great if you have a brand that relies heavily on visual content. LinkedIn can work well for b2b customers and TIKTOK might work great for youth marketing but might also be a huge waste of time and resources if your average customer is over 30.

Just like branding takes time, so too does building an effective multi-channel marketing approach across all levels of the funnel. But once you know your audience and they know your brand, the rest falls into place and can deliver huge results.