Guest post by Aaron McCann.
In 2017, it’s essential for all businesses to have a solid digital marketing strategy to reach out and engage with customers.
Businesses that don’t take time to form a comprehensive and effective online digital marketing strategy risk being left behind by their competition. To reach prospective customers when they are ready to buy, people must be able to find you when searching for the products or services you offer.
Whether your business is a startup or an established brand, digital marketing should be one of your main areas of focus when discussing business performance.
Valuable Content
Businesses that maintain their websites with a consistent flow of fresh, valuable content have a head start on their competition. Blog posts are ideal for discussing issues important to the reader, personalizing the brand, and for link-building and SEO purposes.
Great content isn’t limited to words, of course. Website visitors are more likely to retain information when it is accompanied by an image or video, or presented in an infographic. Statistically, only 10 percent of information is retained from text alone as opposed to 65 percent when accompanied by an image, over the same period.
Search engines recognize the value that images and video bring (even if they can’t recognize text within images), which is why you should include these in your digital marketing strategy.
Social Media
When you have great content, you want to (and kind of have to) share it with the world, through social media. Using Facebook and Twitter for business uses is nothing new, but the methods have become far more sophisticated than simply posting tweet with a hashtag and waiting for the retweets to come rolling in.
Users expect brands to post content that matters to them—content they want to share with their audience. Simply speaking, if your posts are self-promotional and speak only about the business, rather than generating discussion, you aren’t going to gain many followers. When the whole world is talking about trending topics, the news of your latest contract or incremental product release is not going to score many interactions.
Include social media posts as part of your content strategy. Don’t make the cringe-worthy mistake only posting links back to your website; share posts and content from other sources likely to appeal to your audience. In turn, these sources may be more inclined to share your posts as a result.
Consider Your Audience
You should have a good idea of who your audience is and what matters to them. Bear in mind that your social media audience may not directly resemble your current customer base due to the type users on social media. This is an opportunity to reach a new demographic.
Before posting anything, consider its value to your audience and its purpose. If you cannot give a reasonable answer to either of these, the chances are that your post has no place on your social media feed.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New
Following the latest trends will only get you so far—2017 is the age of the influencer and being innovative is a must. Don’t be afraid to fail; making mistakes is how lessons are learned. When something doesn’t work, analyze why it didn’t and what lessons can be taken forward.
If your business finds a new, innovative method of offering value to the audience, go with it! But don’t be afraid to constantly refine the process. If it works, you can guarantee that other businesses will imitate your approach and try to make it their own. The last thing you want is to be left behind with your own idea.
Though it’s vital to have a digital marketing strategy in place, it should continually evolve. A strategy is not so much a blueprint as a guide. New technology continually offers new possibilities that can take your business to the next level.
Aaron McCann works for a digital agency that specializes in digital marketing and helping businesses reach the next level with innovative methods. As an expert in the field, Aaron takes great pride in sharing the latest in social media and digital marketing practices.