If you've ever thought of opening your own business, you probably spent a fair amount of time thinking about what products or services you would sell. While it makes sense to first come up with what your business will be, there's a lot more to it than just that. For instance, how will you get your product out to the world? How will you share the good news about what you have to offer?
Half the battle of business is marketing yourself to consumers. Marketing can be tricky, though, so it’s smart to have a variety of options available. To reach the broadest market, we recommend following these 10 strategies for the most effective marketing campaigns.
1. Start Blogging
First and foremost, the Internet is your best friend for marketing. Anyone looking for information about your brand, product, or services will first check online. Therefore, make the most of it. Blogging creates a space where you can share information, post updates, and create a general discussion about who you are and what you have to offer. Blogging is ideally more than just posting advertisements. It's about creating and sharing broad content that relates to your brand with which consumers can engage.
2. Post on Social Media
While you’re at it, you should be making the most of social media. These days, everyone aged 8 to 80 is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Use these platforms to reach out and engage with your consumer base. You can post links to your blog content, share photos, update clients about new products, and, best of all, you can interact with your consumers. Use social media as a direct voice to your audience and listen to what they have to say.
3. Share Video Content
Posting to a blog or Facebook account is undoubtedly an effective way to get information out there but keep in mind that not everyone will want to read an article. Sharing video content is a good alternative because videos are quick, easy to absorb, and can also be quite entertaining. Try making video content fun, lighthearted, and humorous. Your audience will love a good laugh and come back for more in the future.
4. Identify Lead Magnets
If half the battle of business is marketing to consumers, knowing who you're selling to can help eliminate much of the legwork. It takes a bit of testing and research, but you can then create lead magnets once you know your ideal target audience. Know what your target audience needs and is interested in, and you'll be able to attract them with more targeted content.
5. Master Search Engine Optimization
Since most of your marketing content will be posted somewhere online, your audience must be able to find it in their search results. Optimizing your content to hit a specific keyword density is the only way to work the algorithms so that your content shows up in those crucial first 10 search results. This is known as search engine optimization and will make the difference between your marketing reaching the consumer and falling into an endless void of information on the Internet.
6. Track Your Numbers
Be smart about your marketing by following as much of the data as possible. Track which content gets the most engagement, measure how many users interact with your website or blog and watch the numbers on how many interactions result in a conversion. If you find that you’re not getting enough engagement, you’re probably not meeting the consumers’ needs. With this information in hand, you’ll be able to make tweaks to your marketing where needed.
7. Be Design Forward
As you design your online marketing, be aware of how it looks. Web design often takes a backseat to more important things but don't underestimate the power of a well-designed web page. If users feel that they cannot navigate your site, they'll be more likely to go elsewhere than try to wrestle with your web design. Avoid bogging down your site with unnecessary popups, chat boxes, or sidebars. Keep the focus on your content and be sparing with your lead generators.
8. Have a Purpose and a CTA
Whenever you're posting marketing content, it's best if there is a central idea behind it. Of course, your content's purpose is to market a product to the consumer, but what does that do for them? What is the message you want the consumer to receive? Build to a point and then provide the consumer with a call to action. They'll feel obliged to take the next step and follow up with your product or service.
9. Utilize Email Marketing
Drawing in new leads is undoubtedly a significant part of marketing your brand, but how can you hold onto leads after you've identified them? Preferably, you'd want to keep them as return customers, but that means holding their attention long into the future. Even though it might seem outdated, an email strategy is exactly what you need. Through email, you can let subscribers know about upcoming sales and deals, share product drops, and hold onto their attention long after they've made their first purchase.
10. Stay Up to Date
Most importantly, your marketing has to stay current. If your content hasn’t been refreshed in a few years, you might not be pulling in the same number of consumers that you once were. Staying up to date can be as simple as making slight changes to your content and changing the posting date. Alternatively, it can be as involved as creating entirely new content. Weigh your options and make the choice that will most benefit your business.
Cover All Your Bases
Marketing is multifaceted in that it doesn't have to stick to a single path. Social media, emails, and blog posts are excellent ways to interact directly with your consumer base. Design, SEO, and data tracking are more behind-the-scenes ways to guarantee that your customers receive the best experience possible. For help setting up your digital marketing plan, let Enidan Marketing help you. We can design your web platform to track all the data you need to create optimized marketing. Give us a call, and we'll help you get started.