You have a product, whether it’s physical or digital, and you want customers to find it. You could try marketing on social media using keywords or phrases, writing product reviews and posting on forums, or investing in paid ads and campaigns on search engines like Google.
But why should you follow these traditional paths to market your product when you can find a way to connect with your audience that suits you perfectly?
Whether you’re a business owner or a digital marketer, you know that the answer is “yes,” and you also know that the answer is “customer engagement.”
You want to build relationships with your customers, create trust, and encourage them to become engaged with your brand.
So how can you connect with your audience online?
Try New Marketing Ideas
The key to successful marketing is to experiment with new ideas and technologies that can drive business growth. When you find something that works, you promote it and utilize it regularly. You never know when a new technique or tactic may come in handy.
For example, did you know that YouTube creators are able to grow their audience by almost 500% by experimenting with different types of videos?
Or that Instagrammers are now able to directly communicate with their audience via live video chats?
Your business may not be ready for social media management or video creation, but the benefits of these digital marketing tools are still available to you.
Create Customer Awareness
You’ve probably heard the term “brand awareness” thrown around a lot in the context of marketing. Well, understanding and being familiar with your brand is crucial to marketing successfully. So rather than simply relying on print ads or billboard signs to get your name out there, you can use a variety of tactics to ensure customers are aware of your business.
One of the simplest yet most effective ways to build brand awareness is through online marketing.
If someone researching your products or services online comes across your website, they likely know what they’re looking for and have an idea of what to expect. Creating a memorable and trustworthy experience through seamless website design and content is the perfect way to establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. You can also promote your products and services on social media or through online forums with the potential to capture more leads and drive more sales.
Use Video Content
According to HubSpot Blogs research, 83% of consumers prefer to learn about products and services via video content.
The best content videos provide a memorable glimpse into a product or service that has become quite popular. Whether you’re creating a how-to guide, explaining the features, highlighting the benefits, or sharing third-party testimonials, people love to learn through video content.
In video marketing, you have the opportunity to engage with your audience wherever they are: smartphone, tablet, or computer. You can take advantage of the fact that people are moving toward a digital sphere and record short videos using a variety of apps or record yourself using a webcam.
Use Digital Marketing To Grow Your Business
A lot of entrepreneurs and business owners don’t have the luxury of focusing on one channel or platform when it comes to marketing. They have to develop a strategy that will enable them to reach their audience regardless of where they are.
For example, if you’re an online retailer who wants to expand your reach to a larger audience, you can’t simply rely on YouTube to get the word out there. You need to examine other platforms like Facebook or Instagram to find the audiences that can become customers.
If you own a restaurant, you can use digital marketing to gain better perception among consumers. Some evidence shows that consumers who have had a bad experience at a restaurant are likely to avoid it and even tell others about their bad experience. So with your restaurant’s name, address, and phone number, you can get the word out there that you’re not a risky place for people to eat.
Mobile Marketing
Did you know that 76% of consumers use their smartphone while online shopping? If your product is mobile-friendly, you can take advantage of people’s desire to learn more about your brand as they browse on their smartphones. That’s nearly all of them!
Mobile marketing allows you to target consumers based on their location, whether they’re walking down the street, in line at the grocery store, or on their smartphone. Thanks to advancements in mobile marketing and digital marketing, you can utilize mobile apps, text messaging, and websites to gain exposure and make sales.
Additionally, with the way people lean toward instant gratification through social media, you can use mobile marketing to get in front of your audience immediately.
Make Online Shopping Easier
Many major retailers and brands have realized the power of online marketing and how it can make the shopping experience easier for their customers. Whether you’re selling clothes, equipment, electronics, or accessories, online marketing allows you to provide detailed information about your products and cut out the middlemen (i.e., traditional retail organizations) who would otherwise take a cut of the sale.
For example, if you sell wedding dresses on your website, you can utilize online marketing to show potential customers a wide variety of dresses to choose from. Rather than having to browse physical stores looking for the perfect dress, you can connect with customers via email marketing and social media to bring them dress ideas they’ll love.
Additionally, you can use online marketing to keep your customers informed about the latest styles, special offers, and other news that may be of interest. Email marketing allows you to establish yourself as a trusted source for reliable information while also encouraging customers to look at your website for updates on the latest trends.
Keep in mind that not all forms of online marketing will bring you the same results. For example, did you know that SEO is not the same as PPC (pay per click)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO, short for search engine optimization, is the process of affecting the ranking of your website or blog in search results for specific keywords or phrases. When someone performs a search using a search engine like Google, the results will list websites that are optimized for that particular keyword or phrase.
This may include using relevant keywords in your headlines, subheadings, and descriptions or creating synonyms for commonly searched phrases. Additionally, you can use SEO to improve the user experience on your website and get more people to discover your content.
As a digital marketer or SEO specialist, you may be familiar with the concept of “keyword stuffing,” which involves using the same few words over and over in your content to trick search engines into thinking your content is more valuable and will therefore rank higher. This may seem like an easy way to get a leg up on the competition, but it’s frowned upon by search engines because it can actually hurt your overall ranking.
Instead, use SEO to find keywords that are relevant to your content and the services you offer while also creating unique value propositions (i.e., descriptions) for each product or service you promote. If someone is searching for information about your products or services, but you don’t have a website that’s optimized for those keywords, your product may get lost in the search results.
Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
PPC, short for pay per click, is one of the most popular forms of online marketing. Essentially, you’ll pay a set amount each time someone clicks on a sponsored link or advert that appears in the top right or top left corner of a search page.
As the name suggests, pay per click advertising is used to attract potential customers by showcasing your product or service in an advert that appears on a paid search results page alongside other sponsored links. You’ll have to examine the cost of each campaign to know whether or not this is a viable option.
Paid search results are frequently displayed above the fold, so if someone searching for information about your products or services happens upon your advert before discovering the results of their search, you’ve lost out on the opportunity to convert that person into a customer.
Display Advertising
Did you know that people now have an expectation of privacy when it comes to online displays of content? While you may have always assumed that people would behave themselves when it comes to online browsing, new data shows that there’s a lot of “unsightly” behavior that occurs online that could potentially hurt your business.