You’re probably hearing the term “OptiChannel” more and more these days. And you might be wondering, “What does it mean? How does it help me meet my marketing and sales objectives?”
Earlier today, I got to speak to a group of United States Postal Service execs, commercial printers, agencies, and B2B and B2C brand owners, to share how the OptiChannel philosophy allows companies to grow.
In this short presentation, I share:
- A simple, no-nonsense definition of OptiChannel
- The 4-Step OptiChannel Framework that addresses the 3 challenges most organizations face (some don’t even realize it)
- A recipe for applying the OptiChannel philosophy (almost anyone can do this)
Scroll to the bottom of this post to watch the video, or continue reading if you want more of the details.
The OptiChannel Social Marketing & Selling Framework
At the heart of the OptiChannel model is content. This content builds awareness, creates leads, and closes sales.
But before you think, “Been there, done that,” consider that most well-intentioned organizations are entirely unaware of how to use OptiChannel marketing techniques to share their content in a way that generates results.
Most fail to realize the potential of harnessing their access to the internet, sprinkled with a modicum of creativity, to produce content and broadcast it directly to their target audience at an unprecedented scale.
And if one knows where and how to publish (that is, which channels are optimal for their audience), large pockets of organic reach are available without paying a dime in advertising.
The framework for Optichannel social marketing and selling is, on the surface, straightforward:
[1] Decide on a content modality. The first step is to figure out how you (or your organization) best communicate. Are words (e.g., blog posts, LinkedIn articles, etc.), audio (like podcasts), or images like video or pictures most comfortable?
Assess your natural strength for communicating, and commit to using that modality for articulating your message over the next 12 months.
[2] Relentlessly produce content that is of value to your target market. Remember the growing divide between buyers and sellers? Plug that hole by understanding that the value your content brings needs to align with the consumer’s desires and interests.
Often, this has very little to do with you or your company. Your intent — the reason behind why you’re communicating — must focus on the needs of your market, not your own.
[3] Reverse-engineer where your audience’s attention is; engage and publish there often. Finding your audience’s optimal channel (thus, ‘OptiChannel’), means understanding where consumer attention is. This can vary from company to company, market to market.
Once identified, the strategy requires producing multiple pieces of content per day, contextualized for the specific platform your customers are on (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.).
Contextualized means modifying the content to fit the platform’s native delivery mechanisms. In other words, sharing content on Instagram (if that’s where your market “hangs out”) is different than how you’d share it on LinkedIn, which is different than Facebook, and so on.
[4] Learn to siphon engagement. Your traction with your market will increase by focusing on the first three pieces of this strategy and applying consistent effort to them. You’ll notice increased engagement, and at that point, it becomes essential to identify ways to turn that engagement into leads, and eventually, sales.
There are numerous strategies for doing this, and when done correctly, bring you a steady stream that already knows, likes, and trusts you and your brand because of the relationship you’ve built with them in their optimal channel.
That’s it.
But a word of caution: Don’t let yourself get stuck on step one. It’s not as hard as it initially seems, especially with the right training. And don’t fall victim to the most common mistake most creators make: Assuming their content is about them and their interests.
With that backdrop, let’s jump into the video and learn together. Here we go!
