Digital marketing has completely changed how people find your business. Gone are the days of simply throwing your advertising budget at traditional marketing mediums and hoping for results. Businesses now have access to a vast array of tools and getting found online is absolutely critical to the success of your business. There are a few tools that you need to include in any online marketing mix. This includes having a visually striking and versatile website, an engaging social media presence and providing relevant content that is readily available to consumers. Let’s start with the first component, your website.
Websites have now become the most important marketing tool that can generate sales for you 24/7. The reality is that 80% of consumers are choosing to purchase items online and have it shipped right to their door instead of going to a store. Add this to the fact that 97% of all consumers now search for local businesses online and it’s undeniably apparent that having a superb website is of paramount importance. Don’t think that you can sell your product online? You may not be able to sell online in the most obvious sense, but consumers are more likely to make their purchase decisions based on your website and how well it provides them with the information that they need. So while visiting your website may not result in an immediate purchase, it can definitely get the ball rolling if you have strategic calls to action and can answer their questions.
Remember that once your website is up and running the work doesn’t end there! Adding new content on a regular basis is an important factor when improving not only the quality of your website’s content, but it also helps your search engine ranking too!
Many people are quick to overlook blogging as they believe it to be a waste of time and effort. What most people fail to realize is that blogging is one of the best ways to improve your website’s search engine ranking, add quality content, and answer common questions all at once. In fact, companies that blog receive 67% more leads than those that don’t. Keep in mind that if your blog is featured on your website as opposed to an external source it can help improve your search engine ranking since you are providing Google with more content to analyze. Not sure if you can think of any blog topics? Think about the top 10 questions that you get asked on a regular basis, answer them and presto! You have 10 blogs!
When it comes to social media, many business have developed a love-hate relationship. Regardless of your stance, social media has become an integral part of any business’ marketing strategy. So much so that 78% of small businesses now attract new customers through social media.
Social media marketing has essentially become a digital WOM (word of mouth) platform and provides consumers with a great way to interact with brands. So which social media outlets should you choose? It depends on your business and target market. Remember to keep them in mind when determining which social media outlets to be active on in order to ensure that you’re speaking to the right audience. Don’t forget to reply to any comments too since 71% of consumers who receive a quick brand reply on social media say they would recommend that brand to others.
Online marketing is critical to the current and future success of your business. Remember that perfecting your online marketing mix isn’t a one time occurrence and you’ll need to keep revising it as time goes on in order to accommodate trends and new technologies. Also, remember that these tools lay the foundation of your marketing, but be sure to use a variety of other mediums that further communicate your reach such as video marketing, event marketing and print mediums. Simply follow these recommendations and you’ll be on the fast track to perfecting your marketing mix. Need some more help? We can work with you to achieve your full marketing potential!