What is integrated communication and how it can make a difference

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In the world of marketing, communication is fundamental. But what if I told you that just sending a message isn’t enough? This is where integrated communication comes in.

In this article, we will explore what integrated communication is and how it can make a difference to the success of a company or brand.

What is integrated communication?

In the digital age, where consumers are constantly connected and bombarded by information from all sides, companies need to stand out to be noticed and remembered. That's where integrated communication comes in, a powerful strategy that aims to unify all the company's messages and communication actions, regardless of the channel used.

In other words, integrated communication is a strategic approach that ensures that all points of contact that the company has with its audiences, whether internal or external, transmit a coherent, consistent and relevant message. This means that, from the company website to social media, printed materials and interactions with customer service, everything must be aligned to create a unique and positive experience for the public.

Elements of integrated communication

For a communications strategy to be considered integrated, it must incorporate a variety of elements, including advertising, public relations, digital marketing, social media, events, merchandising and more. In this way, the objective is to create a unified and cohesive brand experience across all customer touchpoints.

The Importance of integrated communication in the Digital Era

Integrated communication is essential for companies that want to succeed in the digital age for several reasons:

Increased competition

With the internet, the barrier to entry for new businesses has decreased considerably, which means that companies need to differentiate themselves to stand out from the competition. Thus, integrated communication can help companies build a strong and memorable brand, which is essential to attract and retain customers.

Media fragmentation

Above all, today's consumers are consuming content across many different channels, such as social networks, blogs, news sites and messaging apps. Integrated communications ensure that your company's message is delivered consistently across all of these channels, which helps avoid confusion and increase your brand's reach.

Requirement for customization

Today's consumers primarily expect companies to treat them as individuals and offer personalized experiences. In this sense, integrated communications can help companies collect data about their customers and use this data to create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.

Need for agility

In the digital era, companies need, above all, to be agile and flexible to adapt to market changes and new consumer demands. In this way, integrated communication facilitates internal communication and decision-making, which helps companies to be more agile and efficient.

Benefits of integrated communication

Integrated communication can bring several benefits to companies, such as:

Brand strengthening

Strong integrated communication helps to strengthen the company's brand, making it better known, recognized and valued by the public. This is because it generates a consistent experience for the public at all points of contact with the company, creating a positive image of the brand.

Increased customer loyalty

Satisfied customers are loyal customers. Integrated communications can help increase customer loyalty by creating a positive customer experience across all touchpoints with the company. After all, integrated communication ensures that the customer receives consistent and relevant information about the company and its products or services.

Improving the company's reputation

Firstly, a good reputation is essential to the success of any company. Therefore, integrating communication can help improve a company's reputation by building positive relationships with customers. stakeholders, such as customers, employees, suppliers and the community. This is because integrated communication ensures that the company is transparent, honest and responsible.

Resource optimization

Integrating communication can help optimize the company's resources by avoiding duplication of efforts and waste of resources, as integrated communication uses centralized strategic planning for all of the company's communication actions.

Higher return on investment (ROI)

Another essential issue is the return on investment (ROI) of the company's marketing actions. Integrated communication is more effective than fragmented communication, as it conveys the company's message in a consistent and relevant way to the target audience.

The 5 pillars of integrated communication

For integrated communication to be effective, it is necessary to follow some basic principles:

Strategic planning

The first step to implementing integrated communication is to define the company's objectives and communication plan. What does the company want to achieve with communication? What are your target audiences? What messages does the company want to convey?

After defining the objectives, it is necessary to create a detailed action plan, defining the implementation of the actions, the deadlines, those responsible and the necessary resources.

Furthermore, strategic planning for integrated communication must consider the following points:

1. It is important to carry out an internal and external analysis of the company to identify its strengths and weaknesses, market opportunities and threats and the expectations of its target audiences.

2. The objectives of integrated communication must be SMART, that is, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
3. Furthermore, the company's different target audiences must be identified and their needs, desires and expectations must be understood.
4. Company messages must be clear, concise and relevant to the target audience.
5. It is necessary to choose the most appropriate communication channels to reach the target audience and transmit the company's messages.
6. It is essential to set a realistic budget for integrated communications.
7. It will be necessary to define a schedule for implementing the communication plan.
8. Finally, it is crucial to define success indicators to evaluate the results of integrated communication.

Coherent and consistent message

One of the pillars of integrated communication is the coherence and consistency of the message. This means that all company messages, regardless of the channel used, must convey the same central idea and be aligned with the brand identity.

Therefore, to ensure the coherence and consistency of the message, it is important to follow the following tips:

1. Create a style guide: A style guide defines the company's communication standards, such as color palette, typography, tone of voice and language.
2. Carefully review all communication material: This is necessary to ensure that it complies with the style guide and conveys the company's message clearly and concisely.
3. Train employees: Employees must be familiar with the company's message and need to know how to communicate it effectively.

Diverse and integrated communication channels

Integrated communication is not limited to a single communication channel. On the contrary, it uses different communication channels to reach the target audience in the most effective way possible.

Some of the communication channels most used in integrated communication are:

• Website: The company's website is its main online storefront and should be informative, easy to navigate and visually appealing. Furthermore, one should not forget the technical part, which is extremely important for the SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
• Social networks: social media they are a great way to connect with your target audience and build relationships. So, choose those most suitable for the company's target audience and create relevant and interesting content.
• Email marketing: The e-mail marketing It's a great way to stay in touch with your target audience and send information about products, services and promotions. Furthermore, email marketing continues to be an extremely important tool for strengthening customer relationships.
• Printed material: Printed material is still an effective communication channel, especially in catalogs and differentiated materials, which can be part of a marketing strategy. content marketing, for example.
• Public relations: Public relations can help build a positive image of the company. Additionally, it can generate media coverage. At the same time, use the press office to increase visibility and highlight the company's positive points.
• Events: Events are a great way to connect with your target audience in person and build relationships.

It is important to integrate the different communication channels so that they complement each other and reinforce the company's message. In this sense, strategies can be used to transmedia and crossmedia.

Well-defined target audience

For integrated communication to be effective, it is important to know the company's target audience well. This means understanding your needs, desires, expectations and behaviors.

To better understand your audience’s profile, use tools to obtain insights. Market research, for example, can provide valuable information about the company's target audience, such as their age, gender, income, education, profession, interests and consumption habits. On the other hand, the company's customer data analysis can provide information about their purchasing behavior and preferences.

In the same way, the social media monitoring it can help the company understand what the target audience is saying about the company and its products or services.

Monitoring and evaluating results

The last pillar is monitoring and evaluating results. It is important to monitor the results of integrated communication to assess whether it is achieving the objectives that were defined. To do this, it is necessary to define success indicators and monitor the results closely.

Some of the success indicators to evaluate integrated communication:

• Increased brand awareness: Brand awareness is a measure of the public’s knowledge of the brand.
• Increased audience engagement: Audience engagement is the measure of the audience’s interaction with the brand.
• Lead generation: Leads are potential customers who have shown interest in the company and its products or services.
• Increased sales: Increased sales are an indicator that integrated communications are helping the company achieve its business objectives.

This way, the company can identify what is working and what is not and make the necessary adjustments to improve campaign performance.

How to implement integrated communication in your company

Implementing integrated communication in your company is not an easy task, but it can be very rewarding. To do this, it is important to follow some steps:

Setting clear objectives

The first step to implementing integrated communication is to define the objectives that the company wants to achieve with communication. What does the company want to achieve with communication? What are your target audiences? What messages does the company want to convey?

Creating a detailed briefing

After defining the objectives, create a detailed brief that defines the target audiences, messages, communication channels, budget and campaign timeline. The briefing must be clear, concise and informative. Definitely share with all teams involved in the campaign.

Selection of appropriate communication channels

The next step is to select the most appropriate communication channels to reach the target audience and transmit the company's messages. It is important to consider the following factors when choosing communication channels:

1. Target audience: What communication channels does the target audience use?
2. Messages: Which communication channels are best suited to convey the company's messages?
3. Budget: Which communication channels are most viable within the company's budget?
4. Resources: Does the company have the necessary resources to use the selected communication channels?

High-quality content production

The content is gold, especially in integrated communication. Therefore, it is important to produce high-quality content that is relevant to the target audience and that conveys the company's messages in a clear, concise and interesting way. Furthermore, content can be in different formats, such as texts, images, videos, infographics and podcasts.

Monitoring and analyzing results

Monitor the results of integrated communications to assess whether the campaign is achieving the desired objectives. To do this, it is necessary to define success indicators and monitor the results closely.

Examples of integrated communication in action

There are several examples of companies that use integrated communication successfully. Some examples include:

“Share a Coke” by Coca-Cola

In 2011, Coca-Cola launched the “Share a Coke“, which replaced the brand names on Coca-Cola cans and bottles with proper names and popular nicknames. The campaign was a huge success as it encouraged people to share the cans and bottles with their friends and family.

The campaign "Share a Coke” was a good example of integrated communication because it used different communication channels, such as television, radio, internet and social networks, to convey the same message: Coca-Cola is a drink to be shared.

“Two Fingers of Prose” by Brahma

In 2014, Brahma launched the “Dois Dedos de Prosa” campaign, which encouraged people to talk more to each other and connect with their friends and family. The campaign was a great success, as it generated a lot of discussion on social media and in bars.

In the same way as the Coca-Cola campaign, “Dois Dedos de Prosa” used several communication channels, such as television, radio, internet and social networks, to convey the same message: Brahma is the beer that unites people.

Danone’s “100 Day Challenge”

In 2015, Danone launched the “100 Day Challenge” campaign, which encouraged people to adopt healthier eating habits for 100 days. The campaign was a huge success as millions of people signed up to the challenge and shared their experiences on social media. To get there, the campaign used several communication channels, such as television, radio, internet and social networks, to convey the same message: Danone is the company that cares about people's health.

Integrated communication trends

The future of integrated communication is promising. Definitely, with the advancement of technology, companies will have even more tools at their disposal to create effective and personalized integrated communication campaigns.

Some of the trends for the future of integrated communications include:

Personalizing the customer experience

Companies are increasingly using data to personalize the customer experience. Therefore, this means increasingly targeting messages according to the needs and interests of each individual customer.

Artificial intelligence and Big Data

The identification of communication opportunities can be done through the use of artificial intelligence It's from big data. Thus, companies are being able to create more effective and targeted communication campaigns for the target audience. Therefore, use these tools to raise the level of integrated marketing campaigns.

Convergence of communication channels

Communication channels are increasingly converging. Therefore, companies need to use an integrated strategy to reach their target audience across all channels.

Conclusion

Integrated communication is an essential tool for companies that want to succeed in the digital age. Therefore, by using integrated communication, companies can strengthen their brand, increase customer loyalty, improve their reputation, optimize their resources and increase the ROI of their marketing actions.

If you are not already using integrated communication in your company, I recommend that you start planning your strategy today. The benefits of integrated communication are many and can make a difference in the success of your company. In short, talk to a Vero Contents expert. In partnership with the VeroCom, we can develop integrated communication for your company and boost your results.

Image: Freepik