Do you find Digital Marketing confusing? Most people do.
Your business needs digital marketing. You have a great product and provide fantastic service. You have dreams. You want to grow your brand. You want loyal, repeat customers. First, though, you need to attract more customers.
Platforms and terminology
You know most popular social media platforms. There’s Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter. And Yelp, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Maybe Tumblr, TikTok, Whatsapp or Pluke (we made up one of those, did you notice? The point is, new platforms appear every day). Are you utilising these channels to see your business grow?
The challenge is deciding which platforms are currently popular and should be used for marketing campaigns. And which users to target to get the most benefit from your marketing budget. The sheer number of these platforms and the constant new kids on the block make it difficult to assess what is best for you.
A big advantage of using these platforms for marketing is to target specific audiences. As users create a profile listing with their info, you can identify them by gender, age, location and interests or preferences. You can ‘learn’ their online behaviour by analysing their posts. You can target a specific company or job type, identifying the big corporate ‘influencers’.
There is an entire industry out there that provides all sorts of valuable statistics on how we all use social media. A professional Digital Marketing company will know which are currently the go-to social media platforms for your target customers.
Geeks love it, but evolving terminology or ‘jargon’ is not helpful to new digital marketers. Not that long ago we had ‘Facebook’ for sharing stuff with other Facebook users. ‘Social Media’ can now be used to describe all of the platforms listed above (except ‘Pluke’ of course!).
Data became known as ‘big data’. It’s the same thing. We now know how incredibly powerful it is!
So, what about other stuff we connect to the internet? Think security cameras, remote/wifi lights and switches for household appliances. Fridges that let us know when the milk is running low. These are all ‘The Internet of Things’ (‘IoT’ for the cool folk!)
There’s more. ‘The cloud’ is ‘somebody else’s computer’. Even ‘Digital Marketing’ is what some clever people have been doing for years, it just didn’t have a cool name until recently.
You don’t need to keep up with the latest tech-speak. Your digital marketing team are already using the latest industry buzzwords and some of these will come into common usage soon.
Social Media for marketing
Next time you are in a cafe, take time away from your cappuccino and look around. How many people are reading newspapers? The answer is ‘none’, right? Unless your cafe provides them for free, it’s not a thing anymore.
When people are sitting in front of the TV in the evening, with their favourite reality TV dogfight, how many reach for their phone or tablet during the ad breaks, or all evening? Everyone, eh? The point is, the age-old means of marketing, print media and TV adverts are not effective anymore. You MUST go the Social Media route to attract new clients.
On the social media platforms listed, there are a range of techniques to share your business with your target audience. The more obvious methods use images, videos or stories to tempt potential customers to engage. This may be by linking to a profile or website or signing up for regular messages or marketing emails.
Modern digital marketing companies use social media to gain customer loyalty and to get you in front of your potential customers.
Your digital marketing team will run your social media on your behalf. They will regularly post content for you. This may be video, images or written content. It will be informative and entertaining. ‘Follows’, ‘likes’ and comments indicate that users are engaging with your online presence. ‘Sharing’ your posts with others means social media users are doing digital marketing on your behalf. For free!
Should you learn how to do digital marketing?
Probably not. You have built, and are maintaining a business and you are great at what you know. We agree digital marketing can be confusing. You should continue to do what you are good at and engage experts to do the rest.
A professional marketing company will have a team of experts available to you. They will help you build a brand. They will design and create a top-quality website showcasing your company.
A professional digital marketing company will have an entire team dedicated to researching, designing and maintaining an exceptional website for you. Today’s potential clients WILL review your products before they buy. Modern websites are no longer just the shop front they are the actual shop! Your website must convert interested visitors into paying customers. It must make an impression immediately!
A great Search Engine Optimisation strategy means your business is the standout result in any Google searches. When people are using their laptop, tablet or phone to search for what you do, make sure they find you!
Keep it interesting. A successful digital marketing team will regularly produce visual and written content for your website and social media platforms. This will keep your online presence fresh and interesting and at the top of Google’s search results.
Finally, analytics! Having a presence and marketing online means you have masses of statistics letting you know how well your marketing campaign is doing. Your digital marketing team will be able to easily ensure you are getting great value for your investment. They will produce regular reports letting you know just how successful they are for your business!
Unless you are prepared to become an expert at all of the digital marketing skills and stay on top of the constant changes in technology, then don’t DIY. Hire a great, professional agency. You will be working together so make sure you can have a great relationship with them. Check out their own marketing and read reviews and testimonials from their clients.
If you want to get competitive and grow your business now, get in touch with Mash Media’s digital marketing team, to see what we can do for you!
Sharney has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, A Certification in Business Management from Harvard Business School as well as over 20 years of experience in the marketing industry. She is an expert in Marketing Strategy, Planning, Branding, Websites & Lead Generation. Her passion is working with small to medium businesses to help them grow through strategic & successful online marketing.
