Applied marketing communication, commonly known as promotion, is useful for spreading a message for your company or organization. When applied marketing communication is effectively used on a target market by way of a variety of marketing tools, your audience will come away informed, persuaded or reminded. Effective promotion generally relies on a mixture of personal communication, advertising, publicity and direct marketing to round out the applied marketing communication plan
Personal Communication
Personal communication, especially oral communication, can be a vital part of your effective, complete marketing plan. In the modern world of business, technology is increasingly relied upon for the majority of communication, but to truly build trust and brand awareness, your employees and other ambassadors of your business should be comfortable communicating messages in person. When personal communication is unclear or inaccurate, your company's goodwill and overall marketing plan can suffer severe setbacks. Personal communication can come in a multitude of forms including but not limited to meetings, presentations, phone calls, informal conversation and other discussions, speeches and online meetings and conferences.
Advertising
Advertising is an essential part of an effective applied marketing communications and promotion plan. Advertising, which you'll usually pay for, unlike other elements of marketing, is useful in reaching out to your target audience and persuading customers to either buy things or to build brand awareness. Advertising is useful for demonstrating what your product is and its uses, and convincing your customer that a product or service will make their life better in some way. The effectiveness of advertising is rooted in strong market research and definition, budgeting, media analysis and planning.
Publicity and Promotion
Public relations, the final element of applied marketing communications plans, generally refers to articles, partnerships and the publicity that your company can use that is not directly paid for. When a reporter features your business or products in their work, your company can often benefit. Public relations is effective in a marketing communication plan because it's cost-effective and has more longevity than advertising. Publicity also can help you break into bigger markets that a business otherwise cannot afford. Promotions go hand in hand with publicity and public relations. Luring potential customers to your business or brand with promotions can help you get your name out and build a good reputation.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing, a final piece of the marketing communication puzzle, provides your business with a way to reach out to a market and test its receptiveness at a lower cost than may be accrued through other types of advertising and promotion. Using direct mail and other forms of direct marketing can allow your company to target markets with specialized promotions. Communicating straight to the customer, when done well, can provide strong calls to action for your potential customer and can provide otherwise hard to obtain measurable responses.