Ever browse on your tablet while the TV’s on in the background, or scroll through Instagram on your phone with your laptop on your lap? It’s called multi-screening, and we all do it. Sometimes it’s sequential multi-screening, where we move between devices (like playing Candy Crush on your phone while you’ve got a YouTube video playing on your laptop). Sometimes it’s simultaneous multi-screening, where we use multiple devices at the same time (like when we’re live-tweeting “Adam Levine with his shirt off looks like a doodle bear” while watching the Superbowl halftime show).
According to Google’s research, 90% of our media consumption comes from screens, and we spend an average of 4.4 hours of our leisure time in front of screens every day. All that screen time—and all those available platforms—can really influence your specified target audience, if you take the time to create cross-screen content. Today, we’re going to take a look at 3 easy ways you can implement a cross-screen content marketing campaign.
Video
People really, really love video: Every day, people watch over a billion hours of video on YouTube. An easy way to engage with your target audience across all their devices is by utilizing video content. You can create your traditional marketing ads to engage your television audience. On your other platforms, use short, sharable videos, especially videos that offer humor or which delight your audience. Don’t go for the hard sell there. Make it enjoyable for your audience to view your video content, no matter what screen they use.
Hashtags
A hashtag is defined as “a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text,” and they are used on a variety of social media sites, including Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and (to a lesser extent) Facebook. Hashtags encourage increased engagement with your audience. They’re a great way to spread brand awareness and increase brand recall. It’s easy to use them during cross-screen promotion.
You can place hashtags for your brand and its upcoming events at the end of your videos and commercials, in your blog posts, in your emails, and in your social media posts. Take some time to create hashtags that are relevant to your brand, unique, and easily remembered. For example, Lay’s #DoUsAFlavor was a spectacularly successful hashtag for their contest where the audience got to choose the next big Lay’s potato chip flavor.
Bonus Content
Bonus content is any content you provide to your audience in addition to your basic content. It could be additional event pictures not included in a slideshow, the recipe for the cake and frosting from your instructional video, or a preview chapter of your new e-book. You decide how much content to give.
To include bonus content in your cross-screen marketing campaign, get creative. Post the link to your e-book at the end of your YouTube videos—users are more likely to read your e-book on a tablet than a smartphone or a computer. Include a QR (“quick response”) code in your email that, when scanned with a smartphone’s bar-code reader, takes subscribers to an offer on your website for a free gift. Run a 15 second TV ad; at the end, display the web address to the full video on your website. Give your audience a reason to engage in multi-screening with your brand, and your content.
The future promises more advanced technology than ever, so don’t be left behind with an outdated, single-platform marketing approach. Craft a good cross-screen marketing campaign, keep up with your content, and watch an increase in your sales, your leads, and your brand recognition. If the thought of that makes you a little nervous, we’re here for you. Reach out to us today to get your new cross-screen marketing campaign off the ground.
