You’ve just spent a lot of time and financial resources developing a great website—you should be able to sit back and watch the leads and cash roll in, right? Wrong, actually! This a common digital marketing myth that needs to be debunked.
Some companies make the mistake of launching their website and leaving it be. But, contrary to what many think, there are plenty of digital marketing efforts that still need to go on behind the scenes to ensure you get in front of your customers—and it’s an ongoing process and effort. Your website is one piece of the marketing puzzle that needs to be leveraged and adapted so that your audience can connect with you in a meaningful way over time.
TIP #1: TRANSLATE YOUR TRADITIONAL MARKETING TO DIGITAL
Traditional marketing methods (such as print ads, billboards, radio, and television) can work in tandem with digital advertising and even feed off of each other. If you’re looking to get started with digital marketing, your organization can look at the creative and messaging from your traditional marketing touchpoints. There are likely multiple campaigns that have resonated with people you are targeting. Use this information to inform your digital efforts.
On the other hand, what would you think of a business that left up the same billboard, the same ad in a magazine, or spot on the radio for the past five years? The beauty of digital advertising is that it is so adaptable. An image or line of text can be swapped out for a miniscule fraction of the cost it would take to modify traditional marketing efforts.
You can even A/B test different creative or copy during the same campaign. This flexibility can help mitigate the risks of traditional campaigns when you’ve launched it digitally and have some data to back up your work. Traditional and digital marketing do not need to operate in silos independent of each other—they can work together.
TIP #2: TAP INTO THE DATA
Analytics help you know where your performance stands and where it needs to improve, so set up tracking and monitor all the important metrics that you can. It’s crucial to develop a baseline understanding of these important key performance indicators (such as clicks, traffic, and leads) so you know your starting point and if a campaign is successful or underperforms.
An example of this is that Google Analytics (an influential and top-rated platform for website performance tracking utilized at Top Draw) allows us to set up tracking goals for important conversion triggers (user actions) like contact form fills, phone calls, and online appointment bookings. These signify that the website was successful in convincing a person to move forward in the relationship with your company. This conversion information gives you incredibly powerful insights into what’s working, what isn’t, and exactly where you need to enhance your website experience to encourage more leads.
Once you know your metrics, your company needs to set measurable goals that align with trackable data points that relate directly back to your business objectives. For example, don’t just look at the amount of traffic for product A, when your goal is to increase sales of product A. (You might need to consider the number of requests a quote form fills as a better measure in this instance.)
A data-driven approach also applies to understanding your audience and users. Most platforms businesses use to publish content have tracking analytics in the back-end of the system that can be regularly reviewed. This information can help you get to know your audience’s demographics and their psyche.
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What is their education level?
- What is their career and income level?
- What are their passions and interests?
This is, of course, provides a general snapshot of your overall audience. All of these data points you collect can add up to create specifically targeted campaigns that reach your audience at the right moment and time with the right message. As an organization, you will need to keep an eye on trends and changes in user behaviour and demographics so that your ads are providing the most bang for your buck and performing at the optimal level.
TIP #3: ALWAYS ADAPT & OPTIMIZE
Search engine optimization (SEO) can be an incredible tool to get your business in front of the right eyes on Google.
Even so, SEO has evolved a lot in the past ten years! While it combines keyword research and placing searchable phrases in the right places (headlines, title tags, meta descriptions), it’s also about analyzing the user experience of your website. Are people not seeing certain buttons? Are they glossing over entire sections of content? We can use technology such as heat mapping to determine design changes that could get users seeing elements of your website and encourage Google to put your website in front of more eyeballs.
Constant adjustments really do add up! Test, test, and test some more. Don’t fall prey to the misconception that SEOis a “one-and-done” activity. It needs to happen on a monthly basis to generate more traffic, more people accessing your website, and more leads buying from your business.
TIP #4: EXPAND YOUR REACH WITH PAID ADS
While organic SEO activities are essential to your marketing presence, paid online ads can boost your growth even further.
Paid online ads provide a more prominent position in the search rankings than you might currently have through organic rankings. You can use them as a measure to gain exposure while you are working on your organic SEO efforts and make them a part of your regular digital marketing repertoire.
The copy and creative for your paid online ads need to be set up to align with your marketing and business goals (for instance: brand awareness, lead generation, conversion) to ensure they reflect your organization, appeal to your target market, and create a seamless consumer experience.
SO, WHAT’S THE SECRET TO POWERFUL DIGITAL MARKETING?
Digital marketing excellence is the result of never resting on past success and expecting traffic and customers to come to you.
You need to consider your digital presence a work in progress, and it takes consistent effort, with lots of activities going on behind the curtain to reach your customers and grow your business. While leads and a healthy return on investment will not happen overnight, expertise and dedication to improvements over the long-term will get you the results you’re hoping for.
If you need a thoughtful Strategy for your Digital Marketing, Online Advertising, and SEO efforts, we’d be happy to talk about how we can give your business the boost it needs. Contact our team today.
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