While traditional marketing tactics are alive and well, despite being deemed obsolete by many, and they’re still widely used by companies in every industry, there’s no denying that digital marketing plays an increasingly important role in business success. Entrepreneurs who are still stuck in their old ways and refuse to make use of technology or learn how to navigate the competitive digital landscape have very few chances of building and growing a thriving business.
In a day and age where consumers are moving further away from brick-and-mortar establishments and relying more on the online environment to provide them with the products and services they need, it’s extremely important for every business owner out there to get with the times and brush up on their digital marketing knowledge and skills.
So, if you want to dominate the online landscape and beat your competition, here are 6 digital marketing tips that can make a world of a difference for your business.
Keep UX top of mind
We no longer need to point out that building a solid online presence starts with setting up a website for your business. By now, all companies, big and small, have gotten the memo and have set up a business site – and those that haven’t should build one ASAP.
However, a poorly designed site can do more harm than good and negatively affect your brand’s image. If you really want to nail your digital marketing game, you have to focus on UX when designing your website. That means you have to prioritize aspects such as:
- Understanding user’s needs
- Establishing a clear hierarchy
- Being consistent
- Ensuring accessibility
- Ensuring usability
- Taking user’s context into consideration
- Using simple language
By focusing on these elements, you’ll make sure your site delivers the best possible user experience, and that will keep your customers happy.
Optimize your business site for mobile
Optimizing your website for mobile devices is non-negotiable in 2021. Since mobile gadgets have become an essential part of our lives, it would be a huge mistake to ignore their importance when building your digital marketing strategy. In 2020, there were over 4 billion mobile internet users worldwide, meaning that more than 90% of the global internet population use a mobile device to navigate the internet.
These figures can only mean one thing: a website that isn’t optimized for mobile use is going to lose a lot of visitors, and that’s something no business can afford to risk. You have to ensure your website is mobile-friendly if you don’t want to turn mobile visitors away. Most of your customers will probably use their smartphones to learn about your business, so you’ll have to provide an enjoyable online experience for them.
Focus on local SEO
Since Google is the place where most people will look for your business, it’s important to make the search engine work for you, not against you. Keep in mind that out of the approximately 3.5 billion searches Google processes every day, more than 1.6 billion of them include local intent.
So, how can you improve your website’s local rankings and make sure your business gains more exposure in local searches? The answer is through local SEO. And what’s the simplest way to create an effective local SEO strategy? By using local SEO principles and looking for an agency specialized in local SEO. For example, a simple search for “SEO near me in Perth”, can bring up relevant results for Perth-based businesses. Also, keep in mind that a proper local SEO strategy must cover aspects such as:
- Creating Google My Business accounts
- Collecting reviews from customers
- Creating content relevant for local searches
- Using location pages
- Getting your business listed in online directories
- Getting quality backlinks
- Creating pages for every product/service your business offers
Get to know your target audience
Many businesses make the mistake of investing tons of money into elaborate marketing campaigns only to realize after implementation that they’ve missed the mark. This happens because they lose sight of one very basic element that is crucial to the success of any digital marketing strategy: a deep understanding of your target audience.
If you don’t know who your customers are, what they need and expect from a business like yours, how can you communicate with them and convince them to purchase your products and services? For a marketing plan to work, you must first research and analyze customer data, so you can create an accurate customer profile. Once you’ve done this, you can tailor your marketing messages for your target audience and attract customers to your business.
Build a strong social media presence
A business that’s not present and active on relevant social media platforms is virtually non-existent, so turning your back on social media is not a smart marketing move at all. If your customers use social networks to get the information they need, you have to be where they are.
Building a strong social media presence for your business can provide numerous benefits. Not only will it bring you closer to your target audience, but it will also help you connect with them on a deeper level, improve customer engagement, build loyalty and trust. However, you don’t have to be active on all existing social media platforms. It’s enough to choose the ones that are relevant to your target audience and post quality content regularly.
Use video content marketing
While you’re working to build your social media presence, try to focus on video marketing as part of your digital marketing strategy. Studies show that customers respond the best to video-based content. It’s no wonder social media platforms like TikTok have experienced such an impressive surge in popularity lately.
Other apps like Instagram and YouTube have followed their example and launched Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to keep up with users’ demand for bite-sized video content. Since customers prefer this type of content the most, you should definitely include social media videos in your marketing plan.
There are many other digital marketing techniques that can help your business stand out from the crowd and fuel business growth, so you shouldn’t stop your marketing efforts here. However, when you build your marketing plan, make sure you include all of the strategies we’ve mentioned above if you want to achieve great results.