Brands should focus on creating seamless outreach programs, rather than one high-tech solution.

Marketers shouldn’t overlook mobile’s influence on U.S. consumers, but other outlets remain just as important for marketing purposes. While mobile marketing remains a relatively new practice, brands can use traditional outreach strategies to improve touchpoints across all avenues, and create streamlined brand presences that retain consumers’ attention.

Tablet Usage by AgeA survey conducted by Harris Interactive for The Search Agency discovered that approximately seven in 10 U.S. tablet owners between the ages of 18 and 34 look up product information on their devices after viewing interesting TV clips. Eight in 10 tablet owners ages 35 to 44 react in similar ways. Consumers over the age of 45 are less likely to own tablet computers, but more than half of them use their mobile devices to research products.

A report from Millward Brown and Dynamic Logic sought to better understand the stimulants that sparked cross-channel engagement among consumers. According to data, TV ads (38 percent), online media (33 percent) and social media posts (30 percent) were common items that prompted action from viewers. These people turned to their tablet computers to conduct personal research about what they saw, and brands that provided enough custom content on the web were the companies that benefited the most from cross-platform engagement.

Mobile ReactionThe reports from Harris Interactive and Millward Brown provide marketers with important insights into how consumers use technology in their personal lives; however, Forrester Researcher Martin Gill, stresses the importance of integrated connectivity over perfected, but isolated, touchpoints.

In Martin’s “Managing The Cross-Touchpoint Customer Journey” report for Forrester Research, he noted that today’s consumers use a wide range of touchpoints to research, buy and receive services from brands. He goes on to say that too many firms focus significant attention on each, individual touchpoint in isolation, rather than provide prospects with easy transition from one point to another. This creates a disconnect among potential customers, leaving them to interact with various marketing channels that don’t complement other avenues within the same campaigns.

Martin brings up a good question – should brands showcase their prowess by developing extensive touchpoints that run the risk of acting as separate entities, or would harmonious outreach programs have greater impacts on brand visibility? With consumers accessing website content from multiple devices, content marketing creates a seamless engagement system, and content writers can guide readers from one platform to the next easily. Brands want to garner reputations of being thought leaders, but if their web presences depend on high-end technology, and they fail to communicate their marketing messages, funneling resources toward isolated touchpoints beings to look more wasteful than anything else.

Ted Karczewski is an Executive Communications Associate at Brafton. He works to develop his own voice and apply his passions to the evolving world of SEO and content marketing, but he doesn't shy away from writing for fun. After graduating from Suffolk University, Ted used his Communications degree to test out Sports Journalism before Marketing at Brafton.