Digital
marketing strategies come and go but the most effective ones become a permanent
fixture. The reason why many trends come and go is because of the reaction of
the potential customers. The reason why they stay is because these strategies
fill a need that has already begun to emerge.
For many small
businesses, budget is tight especially when you’re just starting out. Money
budgeted towards digital strategy is usually small so every penny has to count.
If you’re
looking for effective digital marketing strategies you can employ for your business
you’re in the right place because we have some ideas for you.
Social Media
Almost everybody
including small businesses have a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page. Social media
is not just a platform to connect with long lost high school friends; it has
evolved to become an effective marketing tool for many businesses.
Aside from
connecting with customers, social media is used by businesses to advertise
their product and engage their customers. These people on the other hand use
social media to find products or services and to do research.
Here are other
ways your business can use social media.
- Use social media to answer
questions or addressing complaints. - Use it to reach prospective
customers and convert them into paying customers. - Collaborate with influencers to
reach their target audience. - Build brand recognition through
loyalty, engagement and sharing. - Analyze data to better
understand customer’s needs, wants and behavior. - Gather user-generated content
to share. - Engage with customers through
conversation.
Use Voice
Using voice is
the oldest and most common form of communication. Even in today’s digital
world, many people still find it easier to communicate through phone calls or
leave voice messages. Aside from this, people also like using voice when
interacting with technology and their favorite device.
According to studies, voice is
commonly used during searches. This also includes long tail keyword searches in
command and question formats.
The important
thing to remember is that people use voice and you should take advantage of
this type of technology. You can use Alexa skill or Google Action which can
help you reach customers Alexa and Google home.
Consider Branded
& Live Video
Video is quickly
becoming a driving force in digital marketing. Many people find it easier to
view video than read content. There are generally 2 types of video content:
branded video and live video.
Branded video is
basically a video of your product or service. This is like an information video
of what you have to offer. Many companies like this form of digital marketing
strategy because it gets the message you want to convey easily and quickly.
Live video on
the other hand allows you to interact with viewers. It is becoming popular
because it is highly engaging. You can ask customers to participate or ask them
questions. Audience and customers like live video because they feel that they
are being included in the conversation.
Novel Content
Blogging is a
great way to interact but it can also become repetitive. It’s nice to vary
things up from time to time and this is where novel content comes in.
Instead of just
plain old blog format you can:
- Conduct pols
- Post an infographic
- Make a quiz
- Sponsor contests
- Do online voting
Experimenting with
these types of content will make your blog more exciting and interactive. It also
allows you to vary content and see what type your audience responds to best.
Blending Digital and Physical Content
Digital content
might be the future, but this does not mean to say that physical stores are
disappearing. In fact, many people still love to shop in brick and mortar
stores so many online brands still have physical locations as well.
However, many
customers are demanding more for their in-store shopping. For instance they
want digital elements incorporated to their brick and mortar experience.
One of these
technologies is the beacon. This type of digital strategy uses a beacon that is
programmed by companies to send notifications to cellular phones within a predetermined
geophysical area. For example, you can send digital coupons to prospective
customers once they are near your shop to entice them to enter your
establishment.
Other good uses
of this type of technology include:
- Retailers enabling beacons to
let customers check if items they want are in-stock. - Hotels using them instead of
room keys. - Sports teams using them to
interact with stadium fans. - Airlines using beacon to inform
passengers of flight times, delays and other important info.
it is important
to remember that digital marketing is always evolving thanks to innovations in technology
and changes in human behavior. For small businesses, it is important to stay on
track of trends and changes because it can be easy to be irrelevant in today’s
fast-paced world.
The good news is
that digital marketing
development and trends does not always call for a complete overhaul.
Sometimes it just needs a few tweaking and you’re ready to go head to head with
your competitors.
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