Marketing has never been an easy job, but some would argue that it has become even more difficult in recent years. There was a time when a marketing strategy consisted mostly of television, print ads and radio, and while advertising in this media clearly hasn’t gone away, businesses now have to work digital marketing and a social media strategy if they are to keep up with their competition. This includes jumping on the bandwagon whenever a new app or social networking site makes itself known. It sounds very confusing and overwhelming, especially if you’ve never had to think too much about content marketing or website design.
As overwhelming as digital marketing can seem at first glance, it’s not as challenging as it appears. All you really need is to take a look at your business strategy and see how social media, mobile marketing and other media can be incorporated into it. It is almost certainly in your company’s best interest to consult a digital marketing agency or a digital strategist for their expertise, but here are some tips that will help bring your marketing strategy into the 21st Century.
1. Clear Goals
The most important part of any marketing strategy is to have clear goals in mind. Too many marketers try to create a “one size fits all” strategy that incorporates every imaginable social network and app available, but that just makes things more confusing. Instead of focusing on having the entire digital market covered, you should instead decide on what exactly you are trying to accomplish.
2. Focus
A good marketing strategy should focus on three metrics: awareness, sales and customer referral. Of these three, awareness is clearly the most important. Customers need to be made aware of a product if they are to purchase it. This is where social media can really come in handy. Social media isn’t all that useful when it comes to actually selling products, but it is perfect for keeping people informed.
Once people are informed of a product, you can start focusing on sales. This is where you can move away from social media and focus on website design and even moving from online to offline marketing. People know about your product by this point, and they’re interested in purchasing it.
3. Advocacy
The final element in this plan is customer referral, otherwise known as advocacy. If people are satisfied with your business and what it has to offer, they will tell others about it. Once again, this is where social media and mobile marketing can come in handy since it comes back to keeping people informed.
Above all else, your marketing strategy should focus on these three metrics. Come up with a plan for those before you start worrying too much about social media big data, mobile loyalty or mobile CRM.
With as ubiquitous as digital marketing has become, it’s still a fairly new concept. If you really want to develop an excellent digital or social media marketing strategy, a digital consultancy service may be in order. Contact Sprout Media Lab for all your digital marketing needs — from full-service web design to social media and content marketing.
