Allow Extra Time for Downstream Marketing Channels
Setting a realistic calendar for digital marketing promotion is always a concern. Most digital marketers have a handle on the necessary time frames for the marketing channels they own directly. However, it’s fairly common that digital marketers need to interface with partners, affiliates, or advertisers for specific campaigns but accounting for these external marketing channels’ own timeframes is often overlooked.
Wider or more intensive promotion with partners means that a more complex digital marketing plan that integrates downstream partner calendars is required.
Building a digital marketing calendar is naturally self-centric as marketers have direct control over the communication channels. Working with partners requires a shift in attitude to be less self-centered and work within the confines of other’s promotion calendars. There’s one simple solution for doing that, allow for additional time and give advance notice on how you hope to partner on the digital marketing initiative.
I saw a recent example with a company that wanted to launch a research survey. The plan was to announce the survey on their digital marketing channels, make it live for a month, and then compile the results into an industry report. People that responded to the survey got a customized report based on their self-identified demographics.
As a standalone promotion plan that makes a lot of sense. However, the company had an extensive partner network that they also wanted to promote the survey. The problem was that they failed to alert the partners to the initiative or provide relevant resources until the day the initiative launched. So the partners were left with three options:
- Scramble to integrate the offer into their pre-existing digital marketing calendars for the immediate 30 days.
- Do some simple promotions as an add-on to pre-planned communications.
- Skip the promotion entirely.
Almost none chose the first option as there was insufficient time or because thoroughly adding the offer would disrupt their pre-planned calendar. So, at best, the offer was included in partner communications as a haphazard add-on to an email or hastily crafted social media post.
Engaging partners in your digital marketing promotion is a powerful tool that can exponentially improve your reach. But digital marketers need to allow additional time to inform partners that will be promoting it further downstream. Failing to do so appears as procrastination to the downstream partners. Those digital marketers are unlikely to make procrastinator’s initiatives a priority when they weren’t consulted or forewarned about the plan.
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