We’re big fans of the PESO model, which was created by the geniuses at SPINSUCKS. 

It’s an integrated approach to communications split into earned media, shared media, owned media, and paid media.  

Looking at the full diagram, one thing is for sure. There is an overwhelming amount of things you could be doing as a marketing and comms professional. But do you really need to be everywhere? What marketing channels should you be using? 

Spoiler alert: you probably don’t need to be everywhere. And it can be seriously overwhelming trying to be.  

The trick is to find the right marketing channels for your organisation. You want to meet your audience where they are hanging out, as they’re already there and this is where you’ll have the most impact.  

But where might that be? I hear you ask! 

You need to understand your target audience 

First things first: you need to know who your people are and where they might be. 

Are they using TikTok to consume content? It’s one of the fastest growing search engines and isn’t just full of teenagers dancing, so don’t discount it too quickly.  

Maybe they’re avid LinkedIn users who like to showcase how well they’re doing in their careers.  

They might like to absorb long-form video content on YouTube. Or perhaps they’re all about Instagram – which is a platform that I see consistently perform well for B2B brands, which people are often surprised about.  

You need to know where your audience is spending time to help you narrow down which shared media channels to focus on – another reason why your audience personas are so important! 

But it’s not just your target audience you need to know well.  

You also need to understand your brand 

As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet “To thine own self be true.” 
This line was said by Polonius who is a bit of a bore and a right piece of work, and to be honest it was totally hypocritical of him to say this…but it remains a good bit of advice regardless.  

Think about who you are as an organisation and what feels right for your brand. 
Your customers want authenticity, that’s how you build real rapport and lasting connections with your audience. 

For example, consider TOMS Shoes, a brand known for its commitment to social causes and ethical business practices. It would be inauthentic for TOMS to launch a major advertising campaign in a high-end publication like Vogue which is all about luxury and exclusivity. This totally contrasts with TOMS’s mission of accessibility and social responsibility. This mismatch could alienate their socially conscious customer base and dilute their brand message. 

Inauthentic campaigns using platforms or channels that don’t meet your brand ideals feels yucky and can backfire. 

OK, so you’ve worked out what marketing channels you should be using, how do you put it into action? 

You need to understand your team 

You need to know what your capacity is like and where your team’s strengths lie.  

You might have discovered that your target audience is here and you have decided want to use these tactics via these channels to meet them. Does your team have the capacity to do all that? 

Communications teams are overworked and frazzled – are you using their time effectively? Are your goals realistic?  Do they have the right skills? 

If you decide that long-form YouTube content is what you want to be doing but you don’t have anyone on your team who has video editing skills – you might need to reassess, upskill, or add someone else to your bench.   

Top tip: Track the data and review.  

You want to be doing work that will really nudge the needle. If you’re spending hours and hours creating content for Twitter that’s just met with tumbleweed, then that’s not a good use of your time.  

How best can you use your team (hate to call them a resource) to be the most effective they can be?  

If your team needs a little help wrangling your workload – you should check out our awesome new academy. Our course Agility for PRoductivity will help your team become happily more effective and efficient.