Posts in category: Digital Marketing

The business world has turned digital; In fact, if you do not have a responsive website or blog you are lagging behind the competitors in your business. Traditional marketing techniques of physically talking to your audience or potential customers are no longer effective; printing posters and hiring sales representatives is a thing of the past.

Besides effectiveness with respect to sales, such marketing strategies are expensive so you need to spend extra time and money hence there is a need to consider a better alternative- Invest in a website.

After investing in a professional website, the next step is to build your brand by increasing traffic and converting the numbers to sales. It can be overwhelming but you really have no better option. Irrespective of your business industry and niche, consumers expect to find your products and services online, competitors have the same resources, and opportunities hence there’s a definite need for a creative marketing strategy to increase sales.

Here are some long term and short term digital marketing strategies you should consider.

Short-term strategies

These techniques are often used to get a quicker result. Short-term strategies result in a significant boost in sales but for a limited time.

Pay-per-click

Paid advertising strategy is probably the fastest way to generate sales and traffic to your website. Common tools are Google Adwords and Facebook Lead Ads where an investor creates a link attached to a sensible investment idea.

It is about attracting online users to the platform with a form of payment when they click on advertisements. You have probably clicked on several advertisements without your knowledge because of the attractive rewards presented. This is the easiest and reasonable way to generate traffic as a technique in online marketing. $300 is the standard or least investment in implementing the short-term strategy.

Tradeshows

Attending tradeshows exposes your company to a wide audience. You also have a chance to physically introduce your products and services to your target audience; Also, you are able to answer any queries from potential customers.

Tradeshows give you a platform to explain why people should subscribe to your services; you have an opportunity to pick consumer reactions to each of your strategies and product types. Face to face interactions with the target audience is important for any business.

Today, Companies incorporate landing pages and email marketing techniques to reach out to a wider audience. Tradeshows are no longer out in the field; you can interact with consumers over a given link and share your website as a lead to your products and services. Tradeshows are characterized by promotions and offers, which attract customers.

Limited time promotions

Gifts-on-purchase, referral incentives, and price discounts are modern digital techniques in boosting sales. The promotions and offers are made attractive by setting a time limit to increase urgency. Consumers tend to rush to make purchases and enjoy the discounts hence boosting traffic and sales over a short period.

Long-term strategies

While short-term strategies are important for any business, they are temporary. You need to sustain the positive results through with long-term strategies.

Search Engine Optimization

Success in online marketing is defined by targeting specific audience and frequency on search engine pages. This can only be realized through proper search engine optimization techniques. After settling on a niche, you have to identify keywords based on the type of your audience and how they search for products or services.

50% of visitors are more likely to click a result if the brand appears multiple times in search engine results

Customizing content to suit a specific audience is the goal of SEO. There are billions of e-commerce websites and blogs meaning the competition is extremely high; you can easily be irrelevant. Search engine optimization increases visibility on search engine hence higher chances of sales. Also, you will no longer have to pay for advertising space on other platforms because search engines like Google present your company on top of its pages making it easily accessible to consumers. You also win confidence and trust with customers if you appear on top of Google first page.

Social media

Social media platforms are increasingly becoming popular in the business world. It can be a short-term and long-term strategy. Quick results can be demonstrated from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter because of the ease of access and graphics effect. Also, the platforms offer an opportunity to build networks and a huge following, which increases your chance of sales. It is not easy to gather 1000 likes on your Facebook page, it takes time and effort, but it pays in the long run.

61% of all visits from social media websites come from Facebook

With huge followers on social media, you are sure to reach people three times the number because, with every follower, there is a network of friends who would view your post. The beauty of this long-term strategy is the cost element; you won’t spend a dime for the following years while the network will be generating sales.

Content creation

Customize your content not only to suit the current target audience but potential customers in the future. This is in relation with SEO techniques; All you have to do is identify keywords and tailor content around that in relation to your business. If need be, regularly update the content posted on your blog to match business trends.

Companies who blog have 434% more indexed pages than those who don’t. That means more leads!

The digital business world is more interesting and effective; however, you are still expected to work for your success. Marketing is irreplaceable in any business; you have to be creative and apply relevant techniques to rise above the flooding online world.

 

Introducing your business to the community or target market might be easy but building a brand is surely not. As Mark Cuban says “Focus on building the best possible business. If you are great, people will notice and opportunities will appear.”

As a business owner, It is important that you make it easier for people to find the products and services you offer. Following are some of the ideas that could help your business get more attention and build the brand.

1. Make use of Social media 

2. Launch an effective PR Campaign

3. Brand Exhibition 

4. Partner with another Business

5. Be a Sponsor

6. Have a strong web Identity

7. Invest in Content Marketing

8. Make use of Video Strategy

9. Host Live Events

10. Participate in Referral Programs

 

Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.- Jeff Bezos

 

1. Utilize social media

Social media offers a platform for companies to promote themselves. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, enable the companies to build their brand infront of millions of audiences worldwide.

If you are using social media to build brand awareness, you need to keep your business profile active by posting regular updates and answering your customer’s queries. Responding to comments, tweets consistently will increase the interaction with your followers and it creates a strong influence on your brand in the minds of your audience. 

2. Public Relation campaign

Press coverage is substantive and way better than free advertising because the editorial has the ability to persuade potential customers to check your brand. You have to identify the media that is newsworthy for your brand or product, Is it the print media, the radio, or television? Do what works best for your industry.

Coming up with a good story to lure the journalist to cover your business will make the press coverage more effective.

Before you start contacting journalists or writing Press Releases, you need to decide the objective of your campaign and set a realistic timeframe for it. If you are about to launch a product or announce a huge offer on your products, you should set measurable goals- such as an increase in traffic by 20% or increase in sales by 10%, etc. Your message should always focus on the problem you promise to solve for your potential customers.

Exhibition of your brand

Amplify the reach of your brand in trade shows, business meetups, Ads, cultural festivals etc. This is one of the most effective ways to create local brand awareness and a best bet for a better return on investment.

If you are an online service provider, You could do a podcast or a webinar or the tested and proven pay-per-click campaigns. Many awesome online products provide a free trial, allowing the users to try out the entire features and upgrade if satisfied. With the freemium account, you get more people to use your product/service which will not only get them to talk about it but eventually upgrade to be a paying customer. 

In order to make people remember your brand, You can always provide freebies. Everyone loves free stuff! Put your brand name on t-shirts, pens etc, and distribute at the local event or business conference. A free advertisement is done right. 

77 percent of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth.

 

Partner with other businesses

Joining forces with other businesses would be a win-win situation for both. Find other businesses targeting similar customers but not competing with you directly. 

It is very crucial for your business to partner with other businesses to increase the awareness of your brand. If you own a Spa, you can provide exclusive discounts for customers at the nearby Hotel. For an established business it’s a way to reward their customers at no cost and effort. 

Sponsorship

Sponsoring an event or a product is another great way to create brand awareness. Sponsorships put your brand visuals in front of large audiences who haven’t heard of your business. The bigger the event, the more press and social media mentions you get before, during, and after the event day. 

It also enables you to engage directly with the customers and create a good network with potential customers. Ensure that you choose to sponsor any event or product wisely, it should be in line and relevant to what your brand stands for. 

Have a well-designed logo

The logo has always been crucial for branding. It serves as the face of your business and should convey your company’s motto/story. One-third (33%) of the top 100 brands use the color blue in their logo.

Although consumers form a first impression of a brand’s logo within 10 seconds, it takes 5-7 impressions for consumers to remember the logo.

A logo should always fit your brand and speak to your target audience so you should work with a well-experienced designing team.

Content Marketing

Keep in mind that the main objective of Google is to provide users with useful and relevant search results. All you need to do is, Create helpful content that benefits people. If you have a product or provide a specific service, Talk about it on blogs. Let the readers know how your product/service adds value to people’s lives.

Companies with blogs produce 67 percent more leads per month than companies who don’t have a blog. In fact, blogs account for 434 percent more of indexed pages on Google.

Make sure that your content resonates with your targeted customer that will encourage them to interact with you. Your content may also help you build an active community that is ready to be converted into a purchasing customer.

Video marketing

Video marketing has raised its popularity, with YouTube, Facebook Live, and Instagram videos and it has redefined the way people consume content. Facebook live videos have grown increasingly popular and now competing against the 1 billion daily viewers on YouTube.

500 million people watch Facebook videos every day

It has become obvious that your target audience is likely to be more engaged in video content than text. You need to have a strong video marketing strategy to take advantage of the current trend. 

Hosting live events

Hosting a live event is an effective way of not only promoting your brand but also getting the attention of potential clients. It may seem like a hassle but you create a lot more reason for people to visit your brand. 

Nowadays Live events are not just for large broadcasting companies but for small businesses as well. You can even launch your brand or business in a live event to increase awareness since a live event will trigger a lot more attention and bring a bigger audience.

Here are 5 reasons to use Facebook and Instagram live in your marketing campaigns. 

#1   To Connect with Your Audience in the Most Genuine, Human Way Possible

#2   To answer questions in Real-Time

#3   To Showcase an Event to People Who Couldn’t Attend In Real Life

#4   To Share Industry-Related Updates

#5   To Show Off Your Company Culture

Holding a live event is an effective initiative to give you one-on-one time with your clients, It also offers the customers the opportunity to feel and experience your brand. Though hosting live events may seem expensive and time-consuming, it has a lot of benefits like meeting potential customers who may end up staying loyal to your brand.

Referral programs

The referral program is the smartest marketing strategy. It entails customers referring their friends to your product thus creating a strong buying influence. A referral is a more credible method than any other type of advertising as once you get a recommendation from a friend or a person you trust you will feel obligated to check it out.

77% of consumers are more likely to buy a new product when learning about it from friends or family. – Nielsen

Knowing about your service or a product from a friend will have a great impact than seeing the ad in a billboard. Referral programs also reward and incentivize the person who refers your product, thus motivating them to act as your brand ambassador.