Published Monday, Aug. 19, 2019, 12:47 pm
Join AFP’s 100,000+ followers on Facebook
Purchase a subscription to AFP | Subscribe to AFP podcasts on iTunes
News, press releases, letters to the editor: [email protected]
The first step toward creating a successful digital marketing strategy is to recognize its importance. In that regard, congratulations. Just by reading this article, you’ve already demonstrated you understand this. Unfortunately, realizing that digital marketing is crucial and actually creating quality marketing campaigns are two vastly different things. Still, today we’ll explain four tips that beginners can use to great effect. Whether you’re starting a business from scratch or just looking to refresh yourself on the basics, this blog post will help acquaint you with the fundamentals of modern marketing:
Create a Functional Website
It can be quite tempting to try and create a website for your business that is totally unique and like nothing else on the internet. After all, because of the stiff competition online for views and viewers, it may seem to make sense to build an eye-catching website. However, in practice, the best thing inexperienced pros can do to get started marketing is to build a functional website. There’s no shame in utilizing a WordPress theme in order to gain a vital web presence. And unless you’re a web design professional, building a website from scratch is likely to end in disaster.
Go Behind the Scenes
Thankfully, you don’t have to be a tech maven to utilize the back-end of a modern website. That’s great news for green marketers. By simply adding relevant metadata and alt text, marketers can improve the visibility of their web pages. Also, always designate apt keywords that represent the subject of your web copy.
Start Blogging Yesterday
It doesn’t matter if your company manufactures road barricades or sells novelty plush dolls, every new business needs a blog. Blogs are essential to marketing success because they can:
If you haven’t started a blog yet –– do so now. (Note, the quality of blog writing is important, but the accuracy and usefulness of the content trumps even that consideration.)
Advertise Sparingly
If you’ve never run a digital ad campaign on a platform like Facebook or Google Ads before, then take it from us: start small. Yes, digital advertising can provide enormous benefits to businesses that know how to leverage advertising tools. The problem is that knowledge comes with experience. Rather than pouring a large portion of your marketing and advertising budget into ads during your first few months of existence, instead adopt a more measured approach. Invest a small amount of capital first and adjust according to results. Only once you’ve found a strategy that works for your company should you be willing to open the checkbook and spend significant money on digital advertising.