1. Research is the most crucial step
Much of the hard work of a successful online marketing campaign is done before you ever create any content at all. The first step is to develop a clear profile on who your target audience is, including their age, level of income, interests, occupation, marital status and more. Google uses their highly intelligent algorithm to pick up all of your online habits, if you have a Google account you can check your ad settings to see who Google thinks you are and what your interests are. Checking this can help you determine what to find out about your target customers.
You should also research how your competitors market online to start picking up ideas you want to follow and how you want to distinguish yourself. This first step is the most important and will set the course of how effective (or ineffective) your digital marketing campaign will be.
2. Set Realistic, Measurable Goals
A common mistake that some brands make is entering a marketing campaign without having an honest measure of what their campaign goals are. Set clearly-defined, achievable goals that can be measured in metrics, such as defining the number of new customers you hope to engage, for example. Goals attached to a date can be really useful and motivational, but deadlines can cause much self inflicted stress, and if not achieved— disappointment. So use hard and fast dates sparingly and if you do use it, make it realistic! A great example would be: Collect 50 email newsletters before the end of the month, reach Instagram engagement 5% after a new post.
3. Tell an Engaging Story
While we tend to think of the customer experience from a logical perspective, people let their emotions guide them when making a purchase more than you might think. Make sure the content that you post is engaging with people on a personal level rather than simply rattling off selling points for your product. This is where research is key, find out what struggles or drives your target audience has and utilize it to create a campaign that not only tells a story, but creates emotion.
A customer will not purchase or engage with a service or product if they don’t see a need to. You need to be able to show your value in ways that will enrich someone’s life.
4. Follow the ‘80/20′ Rule
As part of telling an engaging story to your customers, consider adapting something called the 80/20 rule. This marketing principle dictates that you should only spend 20% of your time on social media advertising your product or service. The rest should be spent interacting with other brands, customers, or content to build your brand’s personality. Your personality, aside from your actual product, is what you’re selling. Your brand voice; is it funny? professional? youthful? This is all up to what type of customer you want to focus on. They should find you relatable, like you speak their language and know exactly what they need.
5. Consistency is key
Customers want a consistent experience from your brand no matter where they’re interacting with you. Make sure you’re providing that consistent experience by posting on-brand content across a number of social media platforms. Stay informed on what new platforms are becoming popular so your business stays on the cutting edge. This is where a strong visual brand comes into play; your logo, colours, fonts, and brand voice.
6. Influencers can create exponential growth
One of the most difficult parts of marketing online is building your audience, which is what makes working with an established social media influencer so beneficial. They can market your product to their pre-existing audience, giving you immediate exposure. Do your research to find an influencer with a large enough following that matches your target audience. This is where you can get creative with your marketing! There are infinite amount of creative ways to drive sales through other creators. For example: many brands give influencers a discount code, which will drive your sales, and encourage your influencer to promote even more as they receive commission every time the code is used.
7. Who doesn’t like free stuff?
Having some small perk to offer to customers who sign up for your service or purchase a product can be a great way to get people interested. These are called ‘freebies’ and can be something tangible like a free jewelry box with every jewelry purchase. Or it can be something intangible— even if you don’t think you have any inexpensive product to offer for free, consider positioning a how-to video, a tutorial, or a next sale discount to create a recurring customer.
All of these different factors can be a challenge to take on by yourself. But with our expert team on your side, you’ll have the tools and knowledge you need to build a cohesive online presence. Contact Nutech Digital today to start your brand’s digital transformation!