Introduction
Your medium determines the matter. A lack of control over your medium will make your content not matter. (read: email is one of the only mediums you have 100% control over.)
At MYC, we highlight to our clients the various channels used for marketing and communication and why you can control only a few digital channels.
Simply put, your brand safety is at stake when you use channels that you have no control over. As recently demonstrated with Twitter (now X), a loosely moderated platform lacking enforcement is a risky bet and can irreversibly compromise your brand.
Digital Channels
Various social media platforms are experiencing several pain points. AI slop, a lack of visibility into their black box algorithms, blindsiding advertisers and enshittification. Recently, META launched AI profiles that would behave like real human users. While AI profiles are currently limited to US audiences, we believe this needs to be brought to the attention of audiences in the EU.
Advertisers should be protective of their brand on social media, especially when ‘malgorithms’ are responsible for optimising the ads to then display to viewers. Your brand does not exist in a vacuum, you are placed alongside other brands, content and paid advertising. As highlighted in this analysis, advertisers who prioritise and optimise brand safety in their advertising drive higher in-view rates.
Traditional Channels
Spending on digital advertising is outpacing traditional spending by some factors. This reflects the increase in the costs of digital advertising. The space is saturated in the battle for viewers’ attention. Traditional advertising can be of a higher quality, whether it’s through print, events or out-of-home advertising – the medium is in your control. The fact that marketing can exist outside a palm-sized screen surprises a younger audience, yet the celebration of great traditional media is celebrated on digital platforms. Additionally, traditional media has an aspect of accountability – it’s there. It can’t be deleted quietly when there’s a gaffe, and it’s tangible.
Print is a great example of a marketing medium that you can control. It allows your brand to get up close and personal with your audience. While the distribution and effectiveness of print are harder to trace and analyse over digital media, they lend themselves to accountability and quality that cannot be compromised.
Organising events, conferences etc. allows for complete brand and marketing immersion. It creates an opportunity for a face-to-face experience between the brand ambassador and your audience. You can choose who you collaborate with, and how they associate with your brand. While the logistics of it can be complex, successful execution is tantamount to delivering a high-quality experience – one that simply isn’t digitally replicable.
Your Channel
Email is a ubiquitous, cost-efficient and scalable channel. With a global reach, and over 4 billion daily email users, it has a great reach and is highly effective. Email provides the highest ROI, of all channels, and has a relatively low barrier to entry. Additionally, results can be measured and most variables are in your control. This means that you can test, evaluate and iterate – and nobody can ‘fine-tune’ your algorithm except for you.
We’re sharing a list of great email marketing examples here for your inspiration.
One can observe that this blog is hosted on our website, over which we have total control and visibility. Yes, this page was shared on various digital media platforms to drive traffic – but you’re reading it here.
While a mix of mediums is required for any business, ensure that you’re aware of where your message is being broadcast, and who’s being displayed next to you.
Take control of your marketing!
