Digital Marketing has become not just a commonality, but an absolute requirement for businesses who want to engage their customers at every stage of the buying cycle, improving their site traffic and producing more sales leads. Here are seven useful tips to help companies take their brands to the next level with this as part of their digital marketing plan:
1) Play the Smart Game: You can flood your social media and content marketing channels with as much fluff and noise as you want but it just means most people will tune you out. Target your advertising so you’re not shouting the exact same message. Change up your content marketing so it stays fresh and more people will come to you for all their needs.
2) Have a Functional Website: Having a functional website means your website should look great, have easy-to-use navigation, and loads pages quickly. The easiest way to do this is to test every single element. It might take time but it’s better than losing business to your competitor.
3) E-mail Marketing (grow your list): Studies show that 72 percent of North American consumers prefer e-mail marketing as the number one way to receive permission-based promotions. Make sure your website and social media have a form that will allow you to gather customer information and give you permission to send them promotional materials.
4) Be Mobile Friendly: 48 percent of emails are opened on a mobile device first. All websites must be optimized for mobile devices or you’re already losing half of your customers. The amount of mobile-friendly strategic location-based campaigns are also on the rise and showing great results. Build a site that is viewable on mobile and tablet devices along with the standard desktop version. Keep them on the site and compel them to inquire.
5) Social Advertising: Paid advertising on social media is no longer a luxury, it’s now a necessity. Learning how to create effective ad campaigns for Facebook and other social media platforms allows you to directly engage with your audience. Another thing to bear in mind is that Google+ is becoming more and more popular and is currently experiencing a surge in growth since introducing ‘Google+ Communities’.
6) Blog Like You Mean It: Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about three times as many leads. Having a blog attached to your site provides interesting and relevant content while increasing your ranking in web searches. 90% of consumers find custom content useful so do yourself a favor, start blogging, give the people what they want and reinforce your brand at the same time.
7) Be Different: The world of digital marketing is a mess of sound that can often engulf and completely drown out your best marketing ideas. Being unique is the best way to stand out. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Be controversial. Be remarkable.
Shane Broesky is the CEO and founder of global mobile accessories company Färbe Technik. He is the former President of NetBlue Web specializing in web design, web hosting, SEO, social media marketing, online advertising and brand development.