Marketing comes in many forms, and there have never been more options for marketing your small business as there are right now. Which marketing trends should you focus on, and which ones can wait? One type of marketing you should investigate (and employ) is digital marketing. No one is ready to retire conventional marketing tactics and strategies, but digital marketing is definitely a keeper.
3 Digital Marketing Trends You Can Use Today
Vary your search engine strategy. Google is definitely the gorilla of search engines, but it’s not unheard of for an industry gorilla to lose its seat at the top. Just ask IBM, Sears, and General Motors about that. While Google conducts 70% of Internet searches today, consumer preferences change over time, and people naturally look for alternatives that give them something the gorilla doesn’t. Tune into search engine alternatives, and pay special attention to those engines that meet the needs of your target market. Focus your digital marketing efforts there.
Automate your marketing. Some people feel the same way about marketing automation as they do about driverless cars. What could possibly go wrong? The reality is that marketing automation allows businesses to capture information, spot trends and respond more quickly to customer needs. Much of what happens in an automated marketing environment is directed toward the business, not the consumer. Automated market identification, segmentation, scheduling, tracking and marketing campaign management all support the end goal of your digital marketing efforts: improved customer relationship management.
This aspect of digital marketing can be very low profile. Yes, some aspects of marketing automation touch the consumer more directly (like email), but the majority of marketing automation practices are designed to help the business spot opportunities to improve the customer experience and generate repeat business.
Evaluate your content. Aside from the very core infrastructure that makes the Internet work, content is probably the Internet’s single most important aspect. At the end of the day, it’s why people turn to the Internet at all. On the Internet, content is truly king, so it makes sense to consider your content carefully in terms of your digital marketing strategy. Quality content is one big way in which you can let your customers know that you really know your business and your customers’ needs. Content comes in many forms, and having better content than your competitor will generate more customer visits, more sales conversions, more referrals and more repeat business.
Whether your content is written, spoken, sung, animated, visual, database-driven or delivered in some other way, it has to be good! Few people know your business better than you do, but running your business well may mean that you don’t have time (or the skills) to generate the high quality content your website (and your customers) deserve. Don’t be afraid to turn this over to professional website designers, writers and producers who can deliver what you and your customers want: quality website content.
If you would like more information about digital marketing, search engine strategies, small business marketing or professionally developed website content, please contact our Creative Director, Dave Ramsell or give Dave a call at (330) 243-0651 to set up a consultation.
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