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In today’s fast-paced Internet age, companies are in constant battle for their consumers’ attention. Online users are constantly bombarded by ads and stimuli coming from all angles. Given this oversaturated online environment, how can you make your brand stand out? How can you cut through this noise and deliver your brand message to qualified listeners?
Many modern business owners find themselves facing this exact same question when it comes to developing a digital marketing strategy. And the answer to this question is often the difference between success and survival. Because once you crack the code for a digital marketing strategy that works, there is a chain reaction.
A bigger outreach means more website hits and visitors, which in turn increases the potential for more customers, and can also help the organic standing of your brand in the SERPs, while the revenue from the increase in customers could allow you to invest more in your digital marketing strategy. But many beginners struggle with creating a direct, meaningful and results driven digital marketing strategy. And making your brand stand out is the most important facet of any digital marketing strategy, the one that should be driving decisions. Below are some beginners' tips for developing your own digital marketing strategy when it comes to representing your brand and reaching potential customers online.
Creating Ideal Buyer Personas
The first step in your strategy begins with identifying customers’ needs, desires, purchase challenges and more. This is done through the development of one or several ideal buyer personas. Essentially, these are in-depth profiles of your ideal customers. These documents outline everything from where ideal customers spend their time and money online, to what they consider fears about making purchases.
For example, if you sell sportswear, an ideal customer might be someone who spends time at the gym, participates in online health forums, is someone who is concerned about nutrition and is someone who fears purchasing footwear from a startup that does not have scientific data to back up its claims of success. While there’s an element of assumption involved in developing persona documents, it’s best to conduct research through surveys and interviews. These resources will provide a more accurate and granular view into what an ideal customer is actually looking for, who the ideal customer is and how you should tailor your strategy to serve them.
Try using HubSpot's Make My Persona tool to help with this.
Determining Your Most Valuable Digital Communication Channels
Once you’ve done your research to create your ideal buyer personas, you now need to narrow your online strategy to target leads based on where they spend time online. Today, there are dozens of online communication territories to target, from social media to third party blogs, and even virtual reality settings. That being said, you don't need to have a presence everywhere.
Choose the communication channels that make sense for you to reach your target audience. Keep in mind that a successful digital marketing strategy relies on a mix of paid and organic components.
So, while Paid Search and Display Ads will certainly help you grow your brand awareness, they won’t be nearly as effective if they are not supported by a strong organic presence. Once you've determined which channels you want to leverage, create a digital marketing investment plan. This will help you prioritize your channels and visualize the anticipated results.
Using Social Media Responsibly
Your need to use social media responsibly when sharing content, and always take into account your buyer personas. Imagine that you are speaking directly to these customers, and tailor your messaging and brand voice accordingly.
For example, if you’re an industrial steel manufacturer, don’t share cute cat videos just for the sake of updating your company’s social media accounts. Conversely, you also don’t want to share sales-focused content that is strictly about your products. Use social media as a space to create a story that illustrates your brand values. Incorporate different content types, such as photos, videos, and articles, that help personify your brand and position your company as a resource to your potential customers.
Using Analytics Services to Create a Data-Driven Strategy
The final piece of the digital marketing puzzle is to harness the power of analytics. Learning how to measure and analyze your online data can help you answer simple questions (like, how well is my website performing?) to more complex ponderings about your digital marketing strategy (like, what is my e-commerce drop off rate for organic users?).
Using analytical tools and surveys, you can get a better picture of your audience’s demographics, location, and online behaviors, so you can further refine your buyer personas and communication strategy. You can also see which sources users are coming from and the actions they are taking on your website. This allows you can track and measure your marketing successes, and also identify gaps in your conversion funnel.
Choosing a Digital Marketing Partner
Creating a digital marketing strategy from scratch can seem like a daunting task, especially for new business owners. And it would be foolish to let inexperience in digital marketing stop your brand from maximizing it's potential, considering your business' concept may actually be one that has all the makings of success. Partnering with a digital marketing agency can help you scale your marketing efforts.
However, it’s crucial that you find a partner who understands your company’s unique challenges and goals. Codedesign provides tailor made digital marketing strategies based off your brand’s online customer journey.
Drop us a line to learn how our team of experienced experts can help you get started.
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