In this post, we will start to identify the eight elements of successful digital marketing and the benefits of using them in your business.
First of all, let me say that I have tested all of the areas with my clients, and in my own business.
I’m sure you have seen the million+ “gurus” spouting all across social media and the internet about their “super hot” new system. The unique system that YOU NEED TO BUY NOW to have a gazillion new customers in the next ten minutes!
When you dig a little deeper, (which I always do as a self-confessed marketing and technology geek) the vast majority of them have zero real clients. Many of them don’t practice what they preach and are following the “fake it before you make it” marketing psychology.
Why is this you may ask? Well, it’s far easier to sell you a training course, membership or book and move on than having a paying client champing at the bit for results every month. A lot of “experts” curate the same old information you can find yourself and then polish it up as a package to sell.
Lots of effective digital marketers spend a lot of time going to seminars to listen to other “experts” on stage. They then take that information, buy the course or book the expert is selling and then spout the same old stuff to the unsuspecting.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Be careful what you read on the internet #fakemarketers” quote=” Be careful what you read on the internet #fakemarketers”]
We will discuss the areas that when combined will increase your website traffic, increase returning visitors, and increase your sales.
I want to give you value, let’s call it free advice, I have no program, membership or book to sell. Working at the coal face directly with clients every day gives me a buzz and gets me up every morning.
You should by the end of this have a clear understanding of what you can do to improve your marketing online.
1. Successful Digital Marketing – If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail
The biggest problem that many businesses have is a clear strategy and action plan for their marketing. And the result of that is they fail at the first hurdle.
Don’t get me wrong I understand we all want the easy route, that ever-elusive “silver bullet” that will transform our businesses overnight. We have all heard of the digital marketing and viral social media posts, and videos that hit the news.
The problem is for every twenty million businesses it only happens to one! It’s worse odds than winning the lottery by a long shot.
If you want long term success I recommend taking the time to think about the following:
- what do you ultimately want to achieve with your marketing i.e. the result and timescale
- marketing elements you need to have in place and who is going to implement them
- have you got a budget to spend, you either have to invest in time or money or both
Be specific, don’t get drawn into “I want to sell to everyone with a pulse.” Many businesses get this wrong and think the bigger the audience, the more sales. That’s just unrealistic and will result in watering down your message and budget to the point of limited success.
So target your audience, have a clear vision of who your ideal client is and focus on them with your marketing.
Talk less about you and your company and more about your customers.
Most people want a product/solution that they can’t deliver themselves otherwise why would they need to buy in the first place?
The Benefits of Strategy and Planning:
- clarity on what you want to achieve
- you are clear on what you have to do
- the decision on who is going to do it
- you’re clear on how much it will cost
The last thing I will say on the subject is when you have clarity, you will need to have a calendar of “what, when and who” to implement it (another post in itself).
2. Successful Digital Marketing – Keyword Research is Fundamental
I often chuckle at some of those eloquent gurus who come out and say things such as “SEO is dead” or “social is the new SEO”… prats.
It’s a fact if your planning to be around and successful for a long time, keyword research is fundamental to your successful digital marketing long-term.
The truth of it all is that the only thing you own online is your website, as long as you keep paying for its URL and hosting it belongs to you. On the other hand, your social media accounts do not belong to you. They belong to the social media platforms who rent the space to you for free.
P.S. there is no such thing as free social media, the platforms rely upon paid advertising revenue and selling your data to those advertisers.
I often use this example of how important keyword research is:
“If you’re using the wrong keywords on your website it’s like putting the wrong address and telephone number on all your marketing material and stationery”. How will your customers find you!
The more you do, the easier it gets
When you know the exact words and phrases users are looking for you can optimise your website, and start your content strategy to get Google to send qualified traffic and leads to your site.
Keyword research feeds my technical engineering brain to delve into the psychology of search. It helps me get into the mind of my customer, what they are looking for, and how I can help.
The Benefits of Keyword Research
– know the words and phrases your customers use
– you can use them on your web pages
– use them on your articles and blog posts
– get ideas on what they find valuable
The last thing to say is without keyword research; you cannot have a successful search engine optimisation (SEO).
3. Successful Digital Marketing – Search Engine Optimisation
If you have spent any time online in a business capacity, you will have heard about search engine optimisation. And while it is tied directly to keyword research, it is a discipline in itself.
There are many tools online to help with both keyword research and SEO. The secret is you don’t have to be the best; you just have to better than your closest competitors.
Depending on whether your business is local, regional or country-specific. If you channel your efforts into owning that space online, you will always appear higher in a search query.
P.S. it is always easier to rank higher in local search than it is in countrywide search – less competition.
Don’t make this big mistake with your SEO
Many businesses try to sell everything on one web page – big mistake. Each web page on your site should have a single purpose, have a sole intention, and have a single emotive CTA (call to action).
P.S. this does not include product/service pages where you list all your product/services as a gateway to single product/services.
If someone types “Nike trainers” into search, they are not sure what they want. The chances of a sale are limited, and they are “window shopping” online.
However, if someone types into search “women’s Nike air max jewel shoe.” A sign of intent from the user; this is someone who wants to buy the product. So it makes sense to have a web page specifically selling this product, optimised for this product (SEO), and create successful digital marketing content with links to the page about this product to support it.
I hope that this has given you some understanding of what SEO is about and how it benefits your business online.
The benefits of search engine optimisation:
– your pages are discoverable for customers searching for what you sell
– see a rise in the results above your competitors
– you can dominate the phrase over time
The last thing to say about SEO is that when done correctly you can dominate the local area with successful digital marketing for every phrase relating to your business.
4. Successful Digital Marketing – Mobile Responsive Website
We are in a fast-paced, on the move society today. Online research is now the biggest use of the internet. Every large retailer knows that ALL of their online customers will carry out research before ever entering their store.
The biggest change over the last three years is that an ever-increasing population are using mobile devices to find the information they want.
If your website cannot be navigated and deliver value on a mobile device screen then in future you will not have successful digital marketing campaigns. You will lose the customer to your competitors (statistics show that over 40% of small business websites cannot resize).
The following factors have a bearing on how Google measures your site:
– is the website responsive in design
– are the content and links (buttons etc.) large enough to use easily with a finger on a mobile device
– does the site load fast
– has the website got authority – incoming links
P.S. In day’s gone by; Google has seen all technology as one search algorithm. And ranked all desktop and mobile devices the same. Now and in the future, Google will only show mobile optimised sites on mobile search.
So I hope that you hear this loud and clear if you want to rank in Google in the future then you had better make sure you’re in the game with a relevant well-designed website.
In summary:
We have covered 4 out of the eight elements in this post (enough reading for now methinks).
Next week I will finish this off with the final four parts (see below), and explain how you can pull this all together.
5. Creative Content – Provides Value With A Solution
6. Social Media – Keeps Customers Interested
7. Paid Adverts – The Quick Fix
8. Email Marketing – For Those Who Want Repeat Business
If you would like to get notified when part 2 is published, subscribe to my list below, and I will send you an email when it’s complete.
Got a question? Fill out a comment below with your question, or if you have anything to add to this post, I would love to hear from you.
