With the advancement of technology, there have been major changes in the way we consume media. Gone are the days of spending hours reading the same article over and over again. Instead, we have the instant gratification of a smartphone, which can open up a world of content in the palm of our hands.
Since the inception of the digital age, many businesses have tried to create successful online strategies to attract, engage, and retain customers. However, without proper guidance and direction, many organizations spend huge amounts of money on pricey ads, content writers, and social media influencers without seeing any significant results. What’s more, the amount of time it takes to see results can be immensely disheartening.
Thankfully, there are proven tactics that you can use to dramatically reduce the effort, cost, and time it takes to launch an effective digital marketing campaign.
Target the Right Audience
Instead of spending your valuable energy and resources trying to appeal to customers that aren’t interested in your product or service, first figure out who the hell they are and then customize your approach to match their interests. For example, if you’re selling shoes, you might want to create a fashion blog for women interested in heels. Or if you’re an e-commerce store selling luxury goods, you might want to create an online magazine featuring stories and photos of famous fashion icons.
If you have a specific audience in mind when you’re crafting your strategy, you’ll be much more effective in reaching your goals. For example, if you’re an online store selling swimwear and you decide to target American women between 18 and 34, you’ll have a better chance of convincing them to buy your product since they’re most likely to be interested.
Avoid Pop Ups, Interruptive Ads, And Simulated Click-Throughs
It’s incredibly frustrating to come across an online ad or a social media post that simply takes up space and doesn’t provide any value. While it’s tempting to hit “Skip” on your phone whenever you encounter an annoying ad or social media post, doing so can actually hurt your business.
If you want to create a successful digital marketing campaign, you have to approach online marketing from a different perspective. Instead of relying on flashy advertisements and annoying pop-ups, find ways to integrate helpful, relevant content into your pages that will actually convince potential customers to purchase your products.
Consider ways that you can use compelling content to draw readers into your business and keep them there. For example, you might want to create a blog post about a famous designer’s unique perspective on fashion and style. Or you could write an article about how to dress your baby in the most fashionable of babygrows.
You should also use strategies to prevent your blog posts from being repurposed and shared by other websites. This is especially important if you want to keep your readers engaged with content that’s valuable to them. You can use various methods to lock down content when it’s published, ranging from traditional SEO techniques to creating different passwords for different users and locking down author profiles.
Make Sure Your Website Is User-Friendly
If someone comes across your website and can’t figure out how to navigate their way around it with ease, you might as well not have bothered creating a site at all. Poor web design can make even the simplest task seem like a daunting effort. And, believe it or not, a poorly designed website can actually hurt your business.
If you want to attract customers and keep them on your site for longer than a few minutes, you have to make sure that everything is streamlined and easy to understand. Keep your layout simple and keep your fonts small. Also, don’t be afraid to remove sections of a website that aren’t working or haven’t been updated in a while. Having a complete and functioning website is key to having a successful business online.
Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Nowadays, a majority of people discover new content through search engines like Google or Bing. Since your website must be visible to people searching for relevant content, it’s essential that you use SEO techniques to get your site to show up when someone else’s search terms are used.
SEO is a broad term that includes all measures you might take to get your website to show up at the top of the search engine results for certain keywords. Some of the things you might do to get started include creating unique content that’s regularly and consistently updated, using keywords in your headlines, subheads, and content, and getting others to link to you.
You can use free tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to easily find the keywords that people are using to find information online. Once you have a list of keywords, you can use a tool like Google’s Keyword Tool to find the frequency those words appear in Google searches. You can use these tools to find the optimal keywords that you should use in your content to maximize your exposure and gain the most traction possible in your niche market. For example, if you’re an e-commerce store that specializes in selling sneakers, you might want to focus on the phrases “sneaker trends,” “best sneakers for 2019,” and “top 5 sneaker releases this year.”
Use Social Media To Its Full Potential
To stay relevant in this ever-changing world, businesses should follow suit and establish themselves as active users of social media. Being accessible and engaging on social media channels can help you build relationships with potential customers and create brand awareness. Furthermore, you can use social media to monitor and analyze consumer feedback, which can help you identify product trends and determine how to best position your business for long-term success.
Since the dawn of the social media era, many businesses have adopted a “just say yes” policy when it comes to social media. However, being active on social media doesn’t mean you have to say yes to every post that comes your way. You can choose to interact with relevant content, but you don’t have to participate in every single social media campaign that comes your way. Your time is valuable, and you have better things to do with it than respond to every single request for a product review or offer you receive on social media.
To succeed online, you must approach your marketing from a different perspective than traditional methods. The key to creating a successful online strategy is by integrating various tactics, from SEO to social media, into your plan. While there are plenty of tools that can make the whole process much simpler, hiring a professional to help is always a safe bet.