By Barry Alt
As a premier to this article we wanted to start with a quick overview of what digital marketing is as we’ve had so many tell us and assume that Digital Marketing is only paying big money to run Google or Facebook ads. Yes this is a big part of it, but there’s so much more.
“Digital marketing is the component of marketing that utilizes internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services.
Digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, e-mail marketing, display advertising to name a few. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones (SMS and MMS) and callback. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.”
~ Source Wikipedia
There isn’t any point in doing online marketing if what you’re promoting isn’t built to convert casual visitors to loyal customers. Your website needs to be built with customer conversion in mind otherwise you’re not going to hit your maximum ROI (return on investment).
So, before you invest all your time and money into promoting your business and worrying about not getting the best ROI out of your marketing efforts, you should assess your current marketing. Start by looking at the journey your visitors are taking when they land on your website. Are you giving them what they are looking for? Is your website built with conversion in mind? Does it focus on the customer journey?
If you answered no to any of these items take a look at how you can further assess your marketing strategy and drive your website traffic into making a conversion.
For a marketing strategy to work effectively you need to know your audience inside and out. The best way to understand your audience is by creating customer personas and using them to understand the wants and needs of your customers.
User personas are basically a fictional profile of what your ideal customer(s) looks like. You can create multiple personas based on the different products and services you offer in your business.
They can include things like:
User personas are the perfect way to:
If you’ve never created customer personas, or have but don’t use them, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to engage more with your customers and understand their wants and desires. This will easily help improve your conversion rates and help maximize your ROI.
Pro Tip: When trying to sell a product or service to your preferred audience ask yourself why would they need your offering and what benefits does it have for them in their lives. Don’t try to sell them just features, sell them the real benefits and outcomes.
When it comes to digital marketing you need to have a strategic plan at the ready. Without a plan, you’re simply going blindly into battle, and you’ll lose quickly. And when we say lose, we mean loss of money and wasted time.
The purpose of a digital marketing plan is to help your business succeed online – researching your target audience and knowing them inside and out, clearly outlining your goals and aspirations and setting up your success metrics will help you gauge how you’re doing and set you up for success.
1.Figure Out Your Strategy and Goals
To have a successful business you’ll need to be able to establish a strong digital marketing strategy that outlines all your objectives and goals for your business. From here it will be easier to build and develop marketing campaigns in order to reach your goals. With a clear objective in mind for your business it’ll be easier for you to work towards your goals and it will also encourage your staff to work towards them as well.
Even when developing detailed plans for your campaigns that may include paid ads, Email marketing and even just simple social media posts you should keep your overall digital marketing strategy in mind. Always keep your focus on your goals so you don’t lose track of what’s important to you and achieving the targeted success metrics.
Pro Tip: You should always track your progress throughout your marketing campaigns so you can continuously improve as you go.
2. Narrow Down Your Target Market
Any good marketing strategy should be focused on reaching your audience – but you shouldn’t try to reach everybody. If you aim to attract every person in your industry, your reach will be too broad and you won’t stand out in the crowd. You need to be able to narrow down your audience and niche in a particular area. Your customer persona will help you determine your niche audience.
By having a niche you can connect with your audience and engage with them on a much more personal level. You’ll be able to generate more traffic, increase your conversions and begin building a stronger brand.
When you start to develop content for your website, videos, social media, blog posts for your audience you should keep in mind who they are and what they get out of reading your content. Write about what interests them and attract customers with offers they can’t turn down and useful information they can’t ignore…
Please head on over to the Motorhead Digital Blog for the rest of this article.
Barry is the founder of Motorhead Digital, providing signature Marketing Maximizer™ programs specifically developed for auto restoration, performance and restyling shops. These programs are geared towards customer acquisition and conversion to keep those project bookings coming. With over 23 years of experience in digital marketing and web development, Barry’s goal is to help clients market and grow their shops through strategic marketing practices. You can reach him at (585) 766-9785, [email protected] or online at MotorheadDigital.com
Motorhead Digital
1191 Garnsey Road
Palmyra, NY, 14522
(585) 766-9785
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