Digital marketing will help you reach your customers
Digital Marketing and SEO | Folsom Marketing
The Short Version:
- Don’t be intimidated by digital marketing
- Digital marketing can be easy, but you have to be consistent with effort
- There are many different ways to incorporate digital marketing into your strategy
In today’s business world you have to exist online. Even if you own a small and simple “brick and mortar”, you still need to be digital. For many small businesses, digital marketing can be confusing and overwhelming. Even worse, many marketing agencies make it seem like digital marketing has to be expensive. The reality is, when done properly, you will see that digital marketing can be one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to reach your customers.
Here are 6 ways you can use digital marketing to grow your business:
1. Social media
Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram provide free opportunities to reach new customers and connect with current ones. All you need is a little time to create social media accounts and populate them with content. Being strategic about post content is great, however, being consistent with a posting schedule is really valuable too. Discover what your audience engages with the most, and then consistently post that type of content.
2. SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the process of making your website more visible on search engine results pages. This can be done by optimizing your website content, using keywords, and building backlinks. SEO takes time to build up and develop, and should always be a priority. Wondering where you rank right now?? The Institution is happy to provide you with a free SEO audit that will outline how search engines view your website and what keywords you rank for right now.
A great way to learn more about your SEO is through companies like MOZ, or to have us help you out!
3. Content marketing
A great way to attract attention to your business is by creating helpful, informative, or entertaining content. This could be in the form of blog posts, infographics, videos, or even just well-written social media posts. Content should be centered around representing your brand, and providing info in a format that your audience engages with the most.
4. Email marketing
Another free way to reach your customers is through email. You can build an email list by having a signup form on your website or social media accounts. Once you have a list, you can send out regular emails with updates, special offers, or just to keep in touch. This is an often overlooked piece for many businesses…developing your customer list, for emails or otherwise, is the easiest way to “own your audience”, as we say. Email should be used as a way to directly interact with a specific piece of your audience. By making your communication personalized it will be more meaningful.
There are many services that can help you create an email marketing campaign and help you manage your customer list. One popular company is Mail Chimp.
5. Paid advertising
While paid advertising can be expensive, it can also be very effective if done correctly. Platforms like Google and Facebook offer opportunities to place ads that will only be seen by people who are already interested in what you have to offer. A smart ad campaign requires an understanding of how to create an ad that is effective. Using an expert to help develop ad campaigns may seem expensive at first, but can actually save you money in the long run by being more effective at connecting your brand to your audience.
5. Analyze your data
One of the great things about digital marketing is that everything is trackable and measurable. Think about traditional marketing, such as direct mail. You can send out 1,000 focused pieces of mail, and have NO IDEA how many people opened the mail or just threw it out.
With digital marketing, you can capture things like reach and engagement down to incredible detail. This means you can constantly analyze your data to see what’s working and what’s not. Make sure to set up Google Analytics on your website so you can track your progress. Google Analytics can be really overwhelming to interpret, so this is another area where using an expert can be really helpful. All the data in the world is useless if it can’t be made relevant.
6. Keep learning
The digital world is always changing, which means there is always something new to learn. Keeping up with the latest trends and best practices will help you stay ahead of the competition. There are plenty of free resources online, such as blogs, ebooks, and courses, that can help you do this. This is one area where Institution Enterprises differs from the crowd. We stay on top of the latest trends, strategies, and tactics that are working for search engine ranking. We are willing to pivot and change when we see something working or when certain rules change. For example, Google constantly updates and changes their SEO requirements. You have to be able to adjust, and you can’t adjust if you are not even aware of those changes.
Need Help Developing a Digital Marketing Plan? Call for a FREE Consult
Digital marketing provides endless opportunities for businesses of all sizes to reach new customers and grow. By taking advantage of these six tips, you can start seeing results without breaking the bank. We are here to help. If you want to discuss some ideas, or learn more details about how you can integrate some of these tips into your strategy, CALL THE INSTITUTION TODAY. One of our business consultants would be happy to provide a free 30 min consultation.
