There's no question that digital marketing is vital to the success of your business. The decline of traditional online advertising has pushed businesses to utilize growing online technologies to reach customers. Gone are the days of surface-level advertisements – today, digital marketing is focused on reaching and creating a connection with consumers.
When used correctly, digital marketing allows your business to target and reach its market, accounting for new customers, more sales, and long-term growth. However, the complexity of digital technologies can make it hard to determine the right strategy for your business.
Use these seven tips to optimize your business's digital marketing plan.
1. Keep your SEO up to date.
We now live in a world that is constantly updating with different trends, movements and new information. This becomes a vital factor in search engine optimization, as even Google updates its algorithm more than 100 times annually. With that in mind, it's essential to keep your SEO up to date to ensure that your product or service is visible online and reaching its market.
Update your SEO techniques once a quarter. Pay special attention to your keywords and the number of searches they generate per month. Find keywords that boost your business, and keep track of any changes in the search engine cycle. To determine the number of searches for a particular keyword, use Google Keyword Planner.
2. Utilize the blogging movement.
Every day, new content becomes available online that has the potential to decrease your business's visibility. To stay on top of the digital marketing game, utilize blogging to your advantage.
Posting content that's valuable and relevant to your market helps drive traffic to your business's website and social media pages. Ninety-one percent of consumers are more likely to buy from an authentic brand than a generic one. Posting content gives your consumers a sense of your brand's authenticity and personality, further strengthening the bonds between your brand and customers.
Remember, each post you create is one more indexed page on your website, which increases your business's visibility online and indicates to search engines that your website is active, helping your content rise to the top of search engine results.
3. Keep your content mobile-friendly.
Being ahead in digital marketing means being accessible across all digital platforms. Your marketing content might look great on a desktop, but check that it's presented just as well on a mobile device. To ensure your website is mobile-friendly, look at the size of images, content placement and URL structure.
With the fast pace of today's online business landscape, a small nuisance can result in a lost customer. Ensure that your online content is easily recognizable, accessible and engaging across all devices. By doing so, your business appears more polished and legitimate to consumers.
4. Use email in your business's digital marketing.
Email has become a vital platform for correspondence between individuals and businesses. Further, with the rise of mobile applications, consumers can now access their emails easier than ever. Since 2014, email open rates have increased by 180% on mobile devices, cementing email as a less-costly alternative to other forms of mobile notifications (such as text messages).
Using email in your digital marketing strategy increases your reach and allows for another opportunity to connect with your customers – especially since your message can be personalized, accessed on multiple devices, and you have more space to convey your message.
Emails reach your consumers directly without being intrusive (as a text might seem). Most importantly, email is a reminder to your customers about your brand, thus increasing your business's prominence.
What is most significant in your digital marketing plan is establishing a good relationship with your customer base – and to do that, remember to prioritize your brand's authenticity and personality in your communications.
5. Use social media.
Many businesses attempt to go all in with social media marketing or avoid it completely. Instead of deciding to take the jump with campaigns on several social media platforms, stick to one or two at most. This allows you to generate consistent and engaging content without stretching yourself too thin.
Some platforms will allow you to share between them. However, it’s also important to create content with the platform in mind. Facebook and Instagram are completely different platforms, and the best-performing content varies from one to the other. Keep the audience in mind when using social media marketing. Over 75% of people age 18-49 use Facebook, according to Sprout Social. Seventy-five percent of those ages 18-24 use Instagram, with the numbers declining sharply as age increases after 24.
6. Use influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing is getting someone that engages with your target demographic to market your product for you. Influencers are often more trusted than marketing directly from the company.
Influencers are normally compensated in some form, which can range from free products to financial compensation. According to the 2019 Influencer Marketing Survey, 89% of executives find influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other forms of marketing.
7. Implement video marketing.
According to HubSpot, 54% of consumers want to see more video content from their favorite brands. The Animoto State of Social Video survey states that videos are consumers' favorite type of social media marketing. OptinMonster states that video advertisers get a 54% increase in brand awareness and 66% more qualified leads.
Tutorials and videos explaining a product or service are particularly beneficial. Consumers enjoy the format, and it allows you to give an in depth explanation of how to use your product or answer frequently asked questions.
Your brand should – most importantly – engage and connect with your audience. The above digital marketing strategies allow you to build on that, increasing your business's visibility and reach in addition to establishing an ongoing connection with your customers.