Between inflation, labor shortages, supply chain woes and more, people have a lot to navigate, and these difficulties are amplified for organizations.
All of these factors translate into challenges for businesses, like an updated customer profile, limited talent pool, lack of inventory or the struggle to compete for attention in the midst of crises.
Cutting through the inevitable noise of the world might seem difficult or even impossible at times, but it can be done with the right marketing approach. Now more than ever, it’s vital for businesses to ensure their digital marketing plan is rock-solid. As the cofounder of a digital marketing agency, I’ve seen this can help with brand consistency, growth and longevity, no matter what’s going on in the world.
Below are three digital marketing strategies that any business—no matter the industry, size, age or revenue bracket—can implement to start yielding immediate results.
Optimize your website.
Optimizing your online presence starts with your website. Many businesses make the mistake of creating a beautiful website and then walking away from it, assuming people will find it and engage with it for years to come. Websites need to be regularly updated and optimized for SEO so that your brand can continue to be found online. To start, focus on these three things.
- Develop rich content
- Use keywords and links.
- Shrink page load time.
The easiest way to think about optimization is to bring it back to Google. When people search for something, Google crawls the internet to provide the user with the best results. In order for Google to prioritize and suggest your page to users, you need to make it easy for Google to recognize your site as a valuable source. You can achieve this by building out each section of your site. “About us,” “careers” and “in the news” sections are great places to start, for instance. You can also start a blog where you share or interpret information your customer is looking for.
Wherever you choose to build out content, make sure you’re using keywords and credible links that enhance your content. Your list of keywords should be filled with words that a customer would potentially search for.
Next, minimize page load time. A long load time can frustrate visitors, and Google factors this into its ranking. Remember, your website is an extension of your brand, and it’s often the first interaction a new customer will have with your business. Make that first impression count. Update it, nurture it and optimize it. Next, we’ll talk about how to learn from it.
Dig into analytics.
Diving into website analytics is like asking a customer, “How did you hear about us?” Every website can enable and use an analytics solution to track customer behavior.
What pages are most visited and why? What links are they clicking on? Did they find you through social media or via a search engine? How much time are they spending on your site? Your metrics hold the answers to many of these questions. Plus, you’ll be able to see if what you optimized on your site is working and make changes if necessary.
Google Analytics is one example of a free solution you can explore, though it does have paid options as well. (Full disclosure: My company is a Google Analytics premier partner.) If you’re new to Google Analytics or you’ve enabled your analytics but never checked them, I suggest starting off with or transitioning to Google Analytics 4. This is because Google announced earlier this year that it will be retiring Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023.
Create a genuine presence on social media.
Now that you have an optimized site tailored to your ideal customer alongside the tools to tweak it, you need to build a social media presence to share it. Whether you’re looking to boost paid ads, engage with your followers for free or some combo of both, the marketing opportunities on social are endless.
However, nailing down voice and tone is a must. If your business were a person, how would it sound? What would it say? Does it have a sense of humor, or is it more tactical and serious? It’s essential to nail down who you are as a business. This discovery process is trickier than it sounds, but once you find your voice, you have the exciting opportunity to grow and manage a community.
Whether it’s due to factors you can control, there will always be steep competition for customers’ attention. Implementing a strategy that allows the authenticity and sincerity of your brand to shine will bring you closer to your customer base and ensure business growth for years to come.
Original Source:
Three Digital Marketing Strategies Any Business Can Employ ASAP by Steve Krull