DIGITAL MARKETING GUIDE FOR YOUR BUSINESS

1. Define your brand.

Your marketing strategy will, of course, be different from a business that has a different brand. Normally when you think of a brand, you think of the company name, like Apple or Sony. However, that isn't all a brand means. So, how do you figure out your brand?

You need to first identify why you are in business. If people can't identify with you and why you are doing what you do, you don't have a brand. Construct a brand story, demonstrating how you came to be in business and why it started. Tone, typography and logo are also important for [defining] a brand, but not as important as the brand story. It's the glue that holds everything together.

Source: businessnewsdaily.com

2. Create brand awareness.

Once you've defined your brand, the next step is making sure people know about it. Every person who is aware of your brand is a potential customer.

"Content is one of the best ways to increase brand awareness," Jaenke said. "Video, written and auditory content helps highlight the business as an expert in the industry and provides value without the customer feeling they are being pitched." Alison Ver Halen, owner of AV Writing Services , said content is definitely important, but it's also critical that you deliver it to the right people – your target audience.

"Content marketing, social media marketing and networking are all important, but beware that there are a lot of options out there for those three things, so don't skip the first step where you identify your target audience and where they hang out so you can be sure your marketing efforts are getting you in front of the right people."

Source: businessnewsdaily.com

3. Stay focused on singular goals and objectives.

If you're exploring the world of marketing, you may have noticed that there are a gazillion directions you can go in. It's tempting to do it all at once and craft a complicated machine in hopes that you covered all your bases, and it's easy to take on too much.

Instead, identify where the biggest impact will be. Where is the biggest blind spot in your marketing that's prohibiting your growth? Set a performance goal around that one key area and focus your resources on the activities and tactics that will achieve that one performance goal. You can expand your efforts or pivot to other initiatives when you've made more progress toward that singular goal.

Source: blog.hubspot.com

4. Double-down on what works.

Once you have your initiatives running and you've experimented with a few things, pay attention to the data. This can inform you of what's working. As you scale, it's a good idea to double-down on proven methods of generating revenue.

Source: blog.hubspot.com

5. Sales

Conversely, a sales strategy aims to create direct paths to sales based on how customers go from potential buyers to actual buyers.

Many companies believe that prioritizing sales goals is all they need and if you're struggling for revenue, then that is probably the case.

But that's not always necessarily true. Brand awareness and other goals can be important contributors to your business's success.

Think about it this way: As a customer, if a brand is constantly hawking you to buy, buy, buy, it's just as likely that you'll get annoyed by the marketing ploy as it is that you'll actually buy something.

That's why consistent, more subtle marketing goals can go along way in the health of your business.

6. Customer Retention

Customer retention refers to the ability of a company or product to retain its customers over some specified period.

This goes a little beyond brand awareness and sales.

Customer retention goals are about increasing the frequency with which customers engage with your band.

7. Find your target audience.

You can't run a successful business without customers, which is why experts and experienced business owners take figuring out your audience so seriously.

"Many small business owners struggle with finding a target audience," Jaenke said. "This is because they feel that they are limiting their options by narrowing their focus. It's important to remember that choosing a target audience doesn't decrease your marketing, it only focuses your attention."

But what happens if you haven't opened yet and don't have any customers? That's a normal place to be in when starting a business.

"If you don't have any clients yet, look at your top competitors: What kinds of customers are they targeting?" Ver Halen said. "Who follows them on social media? Take a handful of their social media followers, and see who else those people follow on social media and the things they post about so you can get a feel for their hobbies and interests and the things they have in common that make humans, and not just prospective customers."

Source: businessnewsdaily.com

8. Create a website.

Even if you don't plan to sell products online, it's crucial to have a website. When a potential customer finds a new business (new to them, or new in general), they are going to cross-reference that business, looking for its social media and website. A business website is a great and easy way to convey legitimacy to your audience.

"I recommend small businesses build their website on WordPress," DeMers said. "You can use a popular WordPress theme like Divi and then hire a webmaster through a site like Upwork to build and maintain the website." Jaenke takes a different approach. He said WordPress, or a similar platform, should be a last resort.

"Often people fall into the drag-and-drop trap," Jaenke said. "The companies that provide these make it easy to use and the monthly is affordable, but the cost does add up, and the end result is often not unique or engaging. Instead, we recommend hiring a professional web designer that focuses on the customer's experience on the website." However, he said paying for a Divi subscription on WordPress is a great option if custom web development is not in the budget.

"This will provide you with a page builder similar to a drag-and-drop company, but the code will be cleaner, the end result more unique, and after you've paid the yearly cost of hosting Divi, it's free," Jaenke said. "You will also own the website."

Source: businessnewsdaily.com