Angela Hausman, PhD — September 9, 2017 — September 9, 2017
Humans are visual animals and we learn better from visual information than in writing. So, when I ran across this infographic that maps the keys to success in digital marketing in a single image, I just had to use it. Rather than writing about each element in this map, I thought I’d use today to discuss the 13 keys to success in digital marketing with links to content that provides more detail about each one. I hope you enjoy.
1. Web design
Providing a great user experience on your website is a major key to success in digital marketing. Your website is the brand online and should not only provide information, but offer easy tools to sell products or drive customers to your product.
Yes, I know. You can set up a shop on Facebook or sell through Amazon, but you still NEED a website because you control that site. It’s also good for SEO, which we’ll talk about later.
And, a website doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can get a domain and hosting for less than $ 1000/ year. I will warn you against using WIX or Square because you have less control and can’t get SEO with those hosting options.
Make sure your website design is mobile-friendly. There are a large number of designers who can construct a website for you or you can build one yourself without struggling with HTML/CSS using WordPress or Drupal templates — I designed this website myself.
2. Landing pages
I’m not sure where they got the data that suggests that companies with 30+ landing pages generate 7X more leads than those with less than 10, but it sounds a little fishy to me. Likely businesses with that many landing pages are major sites with lots of traffic, so I wouldn’t worry about the number of landing pages on your site.
You should focus on developing landing pages that convert, which means they should be:
- User-friendly
- Mobile-friendly
- Give a reason to buy
- Create immediacy
- Ask for the sale
3. Web analytics
You’ll never get an argument from me about the importance of analytics in marketing. So, I wouldn’t stop my metrics gathering with web analytics, but it’s a great place to start.
4. Mobile advertising
Increasingly, customers use their mobile devices as part of their shopping and decision-making processes. The jury is out on whether you need mobile advertising or whether it’s a matter of making your digital advertising mobile friendly. But, what isn’t up for debate is that websites need to account for shoppers on mobile devices.
Think about a redesign of your home page to not only adapt easily to various screen sizes, but think about what information shoppers are looking for when they access your site on-the-go. Some important information to make easily available includes:
- Phone number
- Address — preferably linked to a mapping program
- Menu or movie times
- Events
5. Online display ads
The importance of online display ads seems to be shrinking in favor of advertising that’s more natural and less disruptive. We call this native advertising and an example is sponsored posts in your Facebook Timeline or Twitter Feed. I find this type of advertising is very effective because it’s highly targeted.
6. Email marketing
Don’t discount email marketing, which still outperforms most other online marketing tools and even beats some offline marketing.
Don’t believe me. Take a look at this:
Email marketing involves 2 related strategies; building your list and crafting email messages that convert.
7. PPC
Pay per click advertising, or adwords, is a bonanza for some businesses and doesn’t work well for others. Sometimes, it the industry. For instance, competition in adwords for insurance or lawyer are very high.
The keys to a great adwords campaign are:
- Quality score, which is a function of SEO on your site and features of the ad you create
- Keywords, including the amount of competition for the keyword and number of searches
- Landing pages
8. SEO
Search engine optimization used to be the purview of coders. Today, it’s more a function of content marketing, which we’ll talk about in a minute.
As mentioned in the infographic, 70% of clicks to a website are organic. That means the website link showed up near the top in a user’s keyword search. Once you get beyond the first page, few users will click on a link. Think about this using your own behavior when searching and you’ll know this is right.
Notice below, that search is still the major tool consumers use when shopping for something online.
That means you need to spend time and money to make sure your content appears near the top when consumers search for something online. That means getting several things right, including:
- Producing valuable content on a consistent basis
- Crafting great headlines that attract attention and encourage clicks
- Knowing how to use keywords effectively
9. Content marketing
Content is King!
You should produce valuable content on a consistent basis. Here’s a study from Hubspot showing the increase in ROI when you create more content.
Including a variety of content is good for readers. Also, make your content chunkable by using headings and varying types (quotes, bullets, etc) because readers want to find what they need fast, without having to read the entire post.
10. Explainer videos
Viewers are 12% more likely to buy a product after reading an explainer video. These explainer videos also cut down on calls to customer service, reduce user frustration, encourage recommendation, and provide a host of other benefits.
11. Infographics
If it’s true that a picture paints 1000 words, then infographics are the stars of the digital world. They’re not only valuable for your visitors, but they drive 12% more traffic to your site and generate powerful backlinks that help your SEO.
And, it doesn’t have to be that hard to create infographics.
12. Blogging
Blogging is important as it’s an integral part of your content marketing strategy. Blogging sets you up as an expert, helps customers make decisions and ease use of your products, and is a major element in branding your company.
13. Social media marketing
Creating engagement on social media is a critical element in creating success. In part, that’s because users are more likely to take product recommendations from friends that from brands. Part of it is because social media imbues brands with personality in a way that a website can’t. Part of it is that social media amplifies your message when folks share, like, and comment. Part of it is that social media tends to reach people similar to your existing target rather than a say and spray technique like broadcast media.
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