When you’re knee-deep in the wonderful world of online marketing, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the abundance of content and approaches you might consider trying out. Truth to be told, trying to keep up with all the marketing techniques and platforms can leave you feeling a bit paralyzed – which is why we’ve taken the time to try and simplify your approach when it comes to digital marketing.

Focus On The Basics

One of the first things you might consider is trying to narrow down the basics. The simple reason being is that many times, the more you try and grasp onto, the more you tend to complicate things. For instance, many businesses make the mistake of trying to implement every new social media platform they encounter, only to discover that keeping up with the ever-changing algorithms and the sheer number of users on these platforms isn’t easy.

Instead, you might want to consider focusing on the basics — which in this case is probably a combination of SEO, Content Marketing, and Email Marketing. Depending on your resources and the size of your organization, you might consider trying to implement only these three areas.

By getting back to the basics, you’re removing the clutter from the equation. You’re not considering every single strategy that exists under the sun. You’re also not overloaded with information – which brings us to our next point.

Use Analytics To Its Full Potential

Once you’ve determined what works for your business and have gotten back to the basics, it’s time for you to determine the effectiveness of your efforts. For many businesses, the answer lies in the data. Specifically, you want to work with your analytics team to determine the results of your online marketing efforts.

Having access to accurate and meaningful analytics is essential if you want to know what’s working and what’s not working for your business.

Even further, you might want to look into specific metrics such as conversions, leads, and sales.

Use Behavioral Analytics To Its Full Potential

While you’re working with your analytics team, you might also want to consider working with your behavioral analysts. This team is typically made up of psychologists, sociologists, and even economists who specialize in marketing and behavior change.

Having access to behavioral analytics can help you determine the effectiveness of your marketing strategies in terms of attracting and engaging customers. It can also help you determine how effective your marketing strategies are in changing customer behaviors and driving positive action. In short, it can help you get a fuller picture of the results of your efforts – both online and off-line.

Avoid Getting Overwhelmed By Technology

Over the years, many businesses have gotten too caught up in the technology and the tools of the trade – the platforms, the algorithms, the automation. Truth to be told, none of these things matter if you don’t have the people to utilize them. Even further, many of these tools are getting more and more sophisticated each day – meaning you might feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up.

To avoid getting overwhelmed by the technology and the abundance of information, it’s important to focus on what you need and what’s relevant to your business. To put it bluntly, you want to use the tools that make the most sense for your business. For example, if you run a construction company, you might want to consider investing in a concrete mixer – not a photography software package or a social media automation tool.

Develop A Marketing Plan

Having a plan is essential in any area of life. In the same way, having a plan when it comes to your digital marketing can mean the difference between success and failure. To help you construct the perfect plan, you might want to work with your marketing director or a business strategist.

Depending on the size of your organization and the resources available to you, you might want to consider trying out a hybrid plan – meaning you’re implementing a digital marketing strategy that integrates both online and off-line elements.

When developing your plan, you want to consider the following things:

• Your overall business objective – what do you hope to achieve through your digital marketing?
• Goals – these are the specific things you want to achieve (ie. gaining more leads, increasing website traffic, boosting social media interactions, etc.)
• Metrics – you’ll need to determine what success looks like and how you’ll know when you’ve reached it.
• Assumptions – you’ll need to make some assumptions about who your target audience is, as well as the economy (what’s going on elsewhere in the world),
• Timeline – schedule upcoming events and activities (ie. blog posts, webinars, etc.) to help you stay on track.
• Budget – set a budget and stick to it.

Once you’ve developed your plan, it’s time for you to work backwards – setting goals and reviewing progress along the way. In doing so, you ensure you stay focused on what’s important to your business, while also keeping track of your overall goals. By reviewing progress and adjusting your course accordingly, you can continue to lay the foundations for success.