Whether you are a new start-up or an established brand, you are bound to find yourself in a situation where perhaps you have launched a new product or service into the market, and you want to drive digital marketing to build your brand, promote downloads, increase sales or simply generate further interest. You conduct as much research you can and jump into digital advertising, trying everything you can, but end up stretching yourself so much you don’t see any worthwhile response from anywhere. Now, let’s back-track – did you write-down clear goals for your campaign?
Digital marketing is the cornerstone of pretty much any marketing campaign these days. We all spend hours each day on various platforms ranging from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to YouTube, SnapChat on our phone, desktop computer, laptop or iPad. We even use social media to communicate with others regarding brands, turning word-of-mouth into a public and digital phenomenon. So, it is inevitable that devising a digital advertising plan to grow and market your business is critical to reach your audience.
While it may sound easy at a superficial level to put together a strategy to take on the digital world head on, it is not that simplistic. There are many platforms, and each platform has nuances which requires people with expertise to understand how to get the best ROI – simply posting any content based on a whim on Facebook in an inconsistent manner or using any hashtag that comes to mind on Twitter or Instagram isn’t really a strategy.
Here are some key things I have noticed most people new to digital advertising and marketing tend to overlook when devising a plan for their business –
1. Mix up your platforms but don’t bite more than you can chew – Social media is the best way to communicate to the world about your brand or product. It is easy to engage with targeted audiences at a low cost and to sell without being over-pushy through maintaining a strong digital presence. Studies indicate over 70% people are likely to buy from a company they first interacted with on Twitter, for example. However, there are so many digital platforms, it can be overwhelming to develop content and to actually maintain pages on all platforms consistently, and consistency is key when it comes to building a loyal following in the digital world. So, don’t bite more than you can chew – assess what channels are most effective for you to be on in terms of both building word-of-mouth and yielding higher revenue.
2. Sales & Revenue – The Bottom Line — Branding is important and so is engaging your target audience. But, at the end of the day, you need to remember that everything needs to help lead to higher sales and revenue, else it is pointless. Always be clear about your goals and objectives when devising any sort of digital marketing/advertising plan.
3. Get Real & Retain – It is tempting to just pump in a lot of money to buy fake “likes” and “fans” and views. But, let’s get real. Fake likes and fans are not going to help in increasing sales; it is important to have an appearance of being ‘big’ initially when you start off from a branding perspective, but long-term it is the real audience you build which will contribute to any growth and that will really help with driving word-of-mouth. Make sure you focus on building a real and loyal audience base who can become your brand promoters, and more importantly always keep in mind that you need to retain this audience. It is easy for people to click ‘like’ on a Facebook page or to hit ‘follow’ on Twitter or Instagram, but most people stop checking updates in their news feed after a point if they don’t feel engaged with the content a brand is putting out. Don’t forget this. Also, here are some stats regarding retention of content on various platforms –
– Twitter: average half-life of a link is 2.8 hours
– Facebook: average half-life of a link is 3.2 hours
– Instant messages & emails: average half-life is 3.4 hours
– YouTube: average half-life of a link is 7.4 hours
4. Don’t Over-Optimize: Over-optimizing content is ironically not really optimal, contrary to what newbie might assume. If you over-optimize, when people land up on your site they will get turned off by text that is too in your face with keyword-heavy pages. Be selective. Be strategic. Be smart. Also, don’t forget to look beyond Google AdWords – Facebook and Bing also exist, so make sure you branch out your efforts a bit.
5. Offline Also Matters – Being present digitally is essential, but don’t forget to go offline, too! Incorporate your social media and Web page links in your offline efforts, too, whether it’s a poster, brochure, business cards, billboards, etc. Cross-promotion is always good.
Indeed, there are many factors to consider when putting together a well-crafted digital marketing campaign. Having clear goals, understanding which specific platforms to tap into and how and engaging with the right audience in a manner that builds loyalty are all important things to work toward, rather than haphazardly trying anything and everything and falling flat on your face. Although it is possible to make some mistake and still recover in the digital world, being strategic is the first step toward maximizing ROI when it comes to online marketing. With these five pointers in mind, I am sure you’ll start seeing better results in your campaigns.
