By Alan Perkins
Managing Director
SilverDisc
SEPTEMBER saw SilverDisc’s team, Row Farah, taking part in the Nene Valley Dragon Boat Race 2018 at Wicksteed Park in support of our local charity, Cransley Hospice.
We achieved a creditable 17th out of 42 which, given the motleyness of the crew – my aged self included – was some performance. We even won two of our three races. To date we have raised £668.75 and, as we continue fundraising, this number will grow and grow.
Dragon boat racing is a great team building exercise and this day, with all the SilverDisc staff in attendance with partners and children, was fantastic for that. The team-building metaphors are obvious: everything from being ‘without a paddle’ to ‘pulling in the same direction’ – hopefully the right direction!
Something that may not be so obvious is the digital marketing metaphor. Digital marketing consists of a number of channels. Some of the more well-known ones are PPC, SEO and social media. It’s very common for us to see these all pulling in different directions. Why? Because no overall strategy or system has been applied. It’s like they are all different boats, for different purposes, whereas in fact they should be seen as different team members on the same boat, and coordinated and synchronised as such to reach a shared target as effectively and efficiently as possible.
That’s why, at SilverDisc, we talk about Digital Marketing Systems. We could talk about Digital Marketing Dragon Boats but Systems works for us. SilverDisc designs, builds, runs and refines digital marketing systems that are customised for our clients. The components of those systems are the appropriate combination of websites, PPC, SEO, social media, email, display, CRO, analytics and so on, ‘pulling’ in the same direction. The ‘drummer’ in the system is the regular iteration of marketing, analysis and reporting. The ‘helm’ is the feedback and adjustment based on that analysis and reporting. The output of the system is business goals, delivered. Leads at a given cost per lead, sales at a given ROI, branding… whatever a client targets us with, we’ll design and build the system to deliver it and then we’ll run and refine that system with and for the client.
I’m going to be speaking more about Digital Marketing Systems at the Northamptonshire Chamber Business Exhibition on 28 September, in the Looking Ahead and Getting Ahead with Digital Marketing session at 10am. Attendees will also learn how assistive devices, audience targeting and artificial intelligence will change the face of digital marketing, and discover strategies that will allow them to get ahead of their competitors and find their ideal customers. I hope to see you there.
In the meantime, if you would like help with digital strategies and systems to deliver more to your business, contact SilverDisc by calling 01536 316100 or visiting silverdisc.co.uk