Across the globe, over 3 billion people use the internet. That’s just under half of the world’s population. The fact that so many people are connected to the web means that there is a massive global market available to anyone who has a business and a working internet connection.
The growth of the global market has seen a new kind of gold rush. But Instead of staking an actual claim, companies fight for their share of the audience’s attention and the best digital ad placements.
But what’s the best way to stand out when you’re trying to make your business stand out against every other business on the planet?
Start with a Strategy
A few years ago marketing for businesses was divided into two broad categories – business-to-business marketing (B2B), and messaging that focuses on selling your product to people, called business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing.
The digital marketing revolution hasn’t changed that division, but it has given businesses a lot of different options for meeting their objectives within each category. Depending on your objectives, you have the freedom to choose different digital marketing channels based on your marketing approach.
As the experts at 180Fusion have pointed out, “There are a number of online marketing strategies you can adopt to make sure that you get the results you want”.
The big advantage of digital marketing is that you can choose a variety of platforms and advert formats based on your marketing approach and strategy. And you can select your most-effective channels based on real-time insights and analytics.
And that means better results.
For example, if you’re a financial company looking to get the attention of businesses looking for finance, you need a B2B approach. But here’s where digital is most effective. You can build a content strategy that includes targeted GDN ads, as well as native advertising driven by industry thought leaders. And then there’s keyword search and LinkedIn content.
Build Your Ecosystem
Once you’ve decided which digital marketing strategy is best suited to your business, it’s time to start building up a digital ecosystem that will help you drive traffic to your site, and lead to conversion.
This is where a lot of inexperienced digital entrepreneurs go wrong. One of the benefits of digital marketing is that you can track your consumer from first engagement right through to purchase, but only if you focus on getting every detail right.
Start close to home and optimize your website. Investing in SEO will not only make your site more single-minded, it will also improve your ranking on Google searches.
Next, make sure that people can find you by creating compelling PPC content. As Brannon M. Brooks of 180Fusion says:
“The answer to this is to make everything about the end goal. Focus on the main reason why people are going to be searching for you in the first place. Concentrate on that one goal. Your site can explain everything else. People want an answer, so give them it.”
Cast a wide net based on interest, geotargeting and any analytics you may have and then ensure you do enough to get yourself noticed.
Once you’ve got the essentials in place you can start getting seriously creative.
Integrate Everything
You’ve got a working website that people can find when they’re looking for solutions.
Great. What happens next?
For most businesses, exploring the digital marketing space, social media is an obvious and affordable way to connect with prospective customers. But as 180Fusion’s Brannon Brooks again says, “…social media can be used to do more than that. You can use it to generate leads. You can use it to build your brand.”
Incorporating social media into your marketing strategy is a must if you want to engage people on their terms. Remember that digital users have the freedom to surf and connect how they want, so you need to be where they are.
Luckily, you can choose from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and a whole host of other social media networks to start creating a unified brand experience for people looking for a company like yours.
Just remember to drive them to your site without turning your social platforms into digital brochures.
Strive for Constant Improvement
Once you’ve constructed a compelling conversion funnel, optimized your site, and built a loyal social media following, it’s time to make sure you’re getting the most from every dollar you’re investing.
Change your banner creative, tweak your social strategy, and enhance your ecommerce channel with the help of a digital marketing expert and you will soon see the value in taking a structured, scientific approach.
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