Did you know that there are now over 5 billion Internet users in the world? The meteoric rise of the web and the subsequent development of mobile devices, apps and social media platforms have created incredible opportunities for all kinds of businesses. If you can make a splash online, you can reach new audiences, create more high-quality leads, boost sales and get your brand name out there. In this handy guide, we’ll share some effective ways to help you modify your marketing strategy to turn heads, find customers and make sales.
Put the social in social media
If you run a business, you’ll know that social media has revolutionized the way brands market and sell products, but it’s not just a platform for advertising your products and services. It’s a great idea to take full advantage of the social side of social media too. Consumers today want to engage with brands and they want to learn more about businesses before they make purchases. Studies show us that more than 80% of people prefer to buy from brands that share their values. As marketers and business owners, this is a trend to take on board. Use social media to advertise products and show them off in all their glory, but don’t forget to get social too. Interact with your followers, tell them all about the brand, give them an insight into your company culture and values and engage with customers. Using social media wisely can help you to establish strong relationships with customers and foster loyalty.
Analyze your SEO performance
SEO, also known as search engine optimization, is a digital marketing technique, which can enable your business to benefit from the popularity of search engines. If you run SEO campaigns, your goal is to get to the top of page 1 of the search results to encourage web users to click on your links or adverts. SEO is complex and it’s not easy to get it right and achieve results, especially if you’re a beginner. One important step to take to improve performance and hit targets is to analyze data and track progress. If you’re spending money on an SEO campaign, you want to see results. Analytics can help you gather useful information, identify problems and barriers and make changes to your strategy to improve outcomes.
As well as using data, it’s also beneficial to be aware of common mistakes and pitfalls that could be holding you back or preventing you from climbing the search rankings. Troublesome issues like slow-loading pages, broken links, pages without internal links, low-quality content, a lack of keyword research and pages that aren’t mobile-friendly are all examples of problems that could impact your visibility online. Carry out a site audit and speak to experts if you’re not an experienced marketer, or you have limited knowledge of how SEO works. Outsourcing is an excellent option for businesses of all sizes that don’t have dedicated in-house marketing teams and it could work for your business. Working with an agency will enable you to benefit from targeted SEO campaigns, performance monitoring and services like support and troubleshooting.
Keep up with market research
When you’re drawing up a marketing strategy and working on new campaigns, carrying out market research is essential, but it shouldn’t be restricted to the planning stages. New trends emerge constantly and consumer habits also change. Keep up with market research and try to stay connected with your target audience. Once you know who you’re aiming to reach, keep communicating. Keep asking questions and collecting feedback and read about industry news and marketing trends and patterns. Use the information you collect to adjust and update your strategy. If you conduct market research regularly, this can help to ensure that your strategy remains relevant. It could also reduce your risk of losing out to competitors and help you stay ahead of the crowd.
Explore new ways to reach target customers
Are you struggling to increase sales, or is your follower count stuck at the same number? If so, why not consider new ways to reach target customers and get people talking about your brand? Use market research to identify effective promotions and sales tactics and encourage customers to share their ideas. Promotions are a brilliant way to drum up interest and boost sales, but they don’t always guarantee success. Research before you create plans for a new promotion or offer. Ask your customers what kinds of deals they would appreciate most by sending out surveys or asking for suggestions on social media. You can also see what other brands are doing to get ideas.
There are lots of excellent examples of deals and promotions brands can use to encourage customers to buy products or services, such as giveaways, flash sales, exclusive offers and discount codes. Social media giveaways are a fantastic option if your business is looking to grow its presence online. Focus on the platforms that are most popular among your target audience and capitalize on the opportunity to expand your following and make new virtual friends. Advertise the competition and ask your followers to spread the news far and wide by sharing your posts, tagging friends and asking them to follow your account to enter. If you’re offering a discount code or hosting a sale, it’s a great idea to set a deadline. If there is a time limit, this will create a sense of urgency, which might prompt customers to take action sooner.
Another popular way to command attention online via social media is to work with influencers. If you’re not familiar with influencer marketing, it involves working with people who have thousands of followers on social media platforms. If you want to take this route, the most important thing to get right is to choose the best influencers. Think about your target customer, look for an influencer who has a similar audience and focus on individuals who have shared interests and a background that is relevant to your brand and the product you’re selling. If you’re marketing clothing to young adults, for example, you want to join forces with a fashion-conscious influencer who has a large following within this demographic. If you’re selling financial services or healthcare products, for example, your search will have a very different focus.
There are some crazy stats surrounding Internet usage today. There are now more than 5 billion active Internet users in the world. Attracting attention online is an effective way to drum up interest in your business, create new leads and increase sales. If you’re struggling to make an impact, following these steps can help. Take advantage of the social aspect of social media marketing and analyze key SEO metrics and performance. Talk to experts, undertake market research regularly and be ready to modify and update your strategy. Look for new ways to connect with prospective customers and encourage them to want to find out more about your brand, buy a product or contact you about a service.
