‘Holism’ or a ‘holistic approach’ refers to a theory which further breaks down all the parts of a whole to view the connection they hold. Neither part can exist without the whole and vice versa, with the concept often referring to an individual’s mental state, languages and ecology.
Similarly, we apply the concept of a holistic approach in the world of digital marketing. Every tactic or strategy is interdependent on the other to truly be able to give you the success you’ve been looking for. Think about it yourself, you hold a wide audience – with each customer, you’re looking at a different mindset, a differing behaviour across different channels and even different preferences and devices.
If you cater to one, you miss out on the other and if you cater to the other, you lose the customer you’ve had for a long time. It’s important to remember that your customers are with you for a reason. If you fail to continue giving them a reason to stay, it isn’t very hard to find a competitor they’ll prefer in the world of cutthroat competition.
The Importance Of A Holistic Approach
Several digital marketing companies that work with a traditional approach believe that a holistic approach in the world of digital marketing can be rather unnecessary. However, as overwhelming as it may seem, entering the world of digital marketing is a step that practically every business needs to take to keep their brand image alive. Not only does it allow brands to build a fresh customer base but also helps in the formation of a loyal customer base.
A holistic marketing approach can be crucial for businesses, here’s why:
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Keeping the brand alive
The digital world is how we keep up with brands in the times of today. Moreover, post the approach of the pandemic, the digital world has gained a doubled consumption of content online. While this might be great for content marketing, it also means that the brands that have failed to create a space for themselves in the digital network have been left forgotten.
After COVID-19 approached the world, affecting one major economy after the other, brands were forced to move their products and services online to survive. Those that didn’t, have managed to shut down or no longer stand in the same range of competition as before. The corporate world waits for no one, don’t forget to keep your brand alive.
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Unlimited recognition
When you choose to go forward with a digital marketing strategy that focuses on only one part of digital marketing, you’re bound to get results that could be disappointing. For example, if you focus on marketing automation but give the cold shoulder to content marketing, you will not be able to make your business stand out.
Similarly, if you choose to focus the entirety of your marketing strategy on either only Facebook or LinkedIn, you will end up missing out on a majority of your audience. In modern times, the user’s behaviour can be difficult to track. While some use Twitter to stay updated with the rest of the world, the rest might use Instagram. You can never depend on a single audience to gain the recognition needed for your brand.
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Money redeemed
Although you might have heard the saying, “something is better than nothing,” the saying doesn’t particularly apply in the world of digital marketing. After all, for us, the end goal is to get our client’s business on top of Google SERPs and to get there, a holistic approach is a necessity.
There are no two ways to go about this; think about it from a more practical point of view. If you fail to truly convince a potential client that they need your product or service, you end up missing the possibility of gaining a lead or conversion. The money invested ends up giving you zero returns, leaving you at the bottom of Google’s search results, standing nowhere near your competitors.
However, when you tackle your audience with a holistic approach, you can reach them on all social media platforms. This lets you form a repetitive thought process in their minds, allowing the curiosity of your product or service to rise within all customers.
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There’s less pressure
When you place all your bets on a single trump card, you’re likely to be under high levels of stress and pressure of having to gain success from the investment you’ve made. When it comes to digital marketing, if you choose not to have a holistic approach to your marketing strategy, you will end up pressurising not only yourself but also your employees.
This can hold a harmful impact on your work environment and can end up in misunderstandings and problems within the office. While running your business to be the best it can be, it’s important to work under low pressure and with fresh approaches. A holistic approach can allow you to redeem your revenue from different sources, making stress an unnecessary part of the equation. Work smart, not hard.
Understanding The Right Approach
Needless to say, a holistic approach does not mean a blind one. Many a time, businesses tend to look at holism as a mode of going about all platforms without a proper plan. Even while carrying out promotional strategies over multiple platforms, it is important to understand a user’s behaviour on different forms of social media.
For example, the audience that you approach at Facebook will never be the same as the audience you reach out to on LinkedIn. While Facebook allows you to build longer captions and express your opinions about a particular topic, product or service through the literal, “What’s on your mind today?” status head, LinkedIn is more business-centred and needs content that is worth a business man’s time. There is no room for empty words or thoughts; facts and statistics thrive on LinkedIn.
Similarly, we see a distinction between Instagram and Twitter. Instagram and Twitter are two completely different platforms. Whilst one is photo-centric, the other needs textual content of no more than 280 characters. On Instagram, you can express your brand’s products and services in detail as you provide a picture to go along with the service you have to offer. This allows you to connect with the audience even more.
However, on Twitter, it is important to grab the attention of the user within the 280 character limit. Your words need to be chosen carefully and still need to hold the impact that a longer caption could hold.
A holistic digital marketing campaign can only be deemed successful if it manages to look at different platforms differently. Your approach cannot be the same on every form of social media and you also need to take into account the user intent and behaviour respectively. This allows you to form a unique approach for the potential customers you hold.
For example, a consumer is much more likely to look for a Fashion Blogger on Instagram than they are on Facebook. Likewise, they’re more likely to look for reliable information about a corporate firm on LinkedIn rather than Twitter. The main point of consideration is being able to understand the different levels of importance that each of these digital platforms have held.
Right now, it’s more important than ever to understand the complex mind of the consumer. No one knows exactly what they’re looking for but they know that they want it anyway. If you’re able to make your business stand out during the time of the pandemic when the entire world is constantly consuming content, you will be able to establish a long-lasting impression and relationship with your audience. Don’t wait, make it happen today.