In the world of digital marketing, location is everything. What is the purpose of a web page, social media or a digital campaign if it’s not discovered by someone visiting or engaging with it? Location determines a variety of factors including the type of content that is relevant and compelling for a given audience and the performance of digital marketing campaigns.
According to HubSpot Blogs research, 20% of consumers have abandoned a purchase or request because of poor delivery location. Similarly, 17% of consumers have left a restaurant because the restaurant’s proximity to their hotel or home wasn’t clear. In the world of digital marketing, location is everything.
Why High Wycombe?
If you’re reading this, I assume that you’re either a business owner in High Wycombe who is looking to grow your business online or an online marketer who is looking to grow a business in High Wycombe. Let me explain.
High Wycombe is a town in the county of Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. It’s a well-connected town located just under an hour away from London. If you’re not familiar, High Wycombe has a very specific and unique cultural identity. It was once home to the Wycombe Wanderers football team. Further adding to its unique identity, High Wycombe is sometimes referred to as the Mayfair of North London because of its prestigious shopping strip, Mayfair Road.
Located on the southern edge of the town, bordering the Royal Forest of Chiltern, is one of the United Kingdom’s most famous castles, Tewkesbury Castle. If you find the idea of a bustling market town situated in the midst of rolling hills exciting, you might consider setting up shop there.
The Rise of Online Marketing In High Wycombe
In the early days of the internet, businesses predominantly ran their marketing and advertising campaigns in-house, as there were no widely available tools to manage the most complex marketing tasks. Today, thanks to platforms like HubSpot which allow for automation and centralized management of marketing activities, it’s no longer necessary for businesses to run their marketing campaigns in-house.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on everyone’s day-to-day lives. For marketers, it forced them to shift their focus from traditional marketing methods to more digital marketing methods. The number of people using digital platforms to research, find and consume content sharply increased during the pandemic. Between March 2020 and April 2020, the number of monthly active users on Google search grew by 83.1% in the UK and 64.9% in Japan.
Prior to the pandemic, 14% of UK adults used digital platforms to look for products or services. After the pandemic, that figure jumped to 27%. During the pandemic, online marketing gained significant popularity amongst people in High Wycombe. The proportion of web traffic from smartphones also increased during the pandemic, rising from 28% in March 2020 to 41% in April 2020.
The increase in digital marketing is probably due to more people working remotely and avoiding public places. As a result, businesses are more accessible online.
Marketing Channels In High Wycombe
Let’s examine the most popular marketing channels in High Wycombe.
The rise of mobile search, social media and influencer marketing over the past decade has changed the way that people in High Wycombe search for products and services and what they expect from a business.
In the early days of the web, people primarily used web sites to research, find and transact business. Thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile phones and the rise of mobile search, this method of discovery is less effective than it once was. Today, people use a variety of platforms to research, find and transact business including mobile phones, desktop computers, tablets and the web. Specifically, people in High Wycombe are more likely to use mobile phones and search engines to find products and services compared to the other platforms. Additionally, people in High Wycombe favor social media and content created by famous influencers to learn about brands and products.
Mobile Phones In High Wycombe
Not surprisingly, given the way that people in High Wycombe use other digital platforms, people there are also likely to have mobile phones. According to Statista, 82.4% of UK adults have a smartphone compared to 77% in the United States. It would be safe to assume that the rise of mobile phones and the ubiquity of the internet have made their way to High Wycombe.
Smartphones are extremely helpful in the digital world because of their large display screens and powerful computing capabilities. They also collect a variety of data including location, web traffic, social media activity and device usage patterns which businesses can use in the manufacturing of products, directing marketing campaigns and analyzing shopping trends.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Getting your website to show up prominently in search results for relevant terms is known as search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is a form of internet marketing that can be useful for businesses in a number of ways. For example, if a customer in High Wycombe searches for dog food and your website comes up at the top of the list, you’ve likely just won a new customer. Similarly, if a customer in High Wycombe searches for wedding planners and your website comes up at the top of the list, you’ve likely just won a new customer.
SEO is an important part of any digital marketing plan, regardless of whether you’re in High Wycombe or another location. When done right, SEO can help businesses get found online by relevant customers. There are a variety of methods that can be used to optimize a website including keyword research, content creation, social media marketing and link building.
Content Creation For Brands
With the increasing amount of attention that consumers pay to brands, content creation becomes more important than ever to businesses.
According to HubSpot Blogs research, businesses in High Wycombe say that they use content to attract potential customers (37%), to encourage staff to engage with consumers (32%), to increase brand recognition (23%), or to raise brand awareness (11%).
Further showing the importance that businesses in High Wycombe place on content, 66% of respondents say that they plan to increase the amount of content they produce in the next six months.
In light of the increasing amounts of content that businesses create and track online, it’s important to ensure that these content efforts are geared towards converting these digital interactions into leads and customers. Analytics which track content across all platforms can be used to examine and improve content creation strategies.
The Influencer Marketing Revolution
If you’re a business owner in High Wycombe, it’s important to understand the growing role that influencers and celebrity marketers play in consumers’ decision-making processes today.
Thanks to the internet and social media, influencers have become incredibly popular across all areas of marketing, including digital marketing. Influencers can help businesses gain massive amounts of credibility and trust in a short amount of time. In many cases, a single influencer can help a business rise rapidly within the industry.
One important thing to keep in mind when choosing an influencer for your brand is that not all influencers are created equal. Make sure that you’re working with a highly qualified and experienced agency who can craft a plan around an influencer’s capabilities and the results you’re looking for.
Measuring The Effectiveness Of Your Digital Marketing Campaign
To determine the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaign, it’s important to look at a variety of metrics including web traffic, social media activity, brand recognition, search engine optimization and more.
It’s important to look at these metrics throughout the year, not just at one point in time, otherwise, you might over- or underestimate the impact that your digital marketing efforts are having. By looking at these metrics throughout the year, you’ll get a better idea of the true success or failure of your initiatives.
For example, if you notice that your search engine optimization is performing well but you don’t see the impact that this is having on your website’s traffic, it might be time to re-evaluate your strategy. Or perhaps, your SEO is ineffective but the content that you’re creating for your website is gaining you a large amount of social media engagement. In this case, it’s time to reevaluate your content strategy.
Final Takeaway
Whether you’re in High Wycombe or another location, it’s important to ensure that your digital marketing efforts are having the intended effect. To do this, it’s important to monitor a variety of metrics including web traffic, social media activity, brand recognition, search engine optimization and more.