DOES MY BUSINESS NEED DIGITAL MARKETING? PART 2

‘Does my business need digital marketing?’ As we discussed last week, the answer, more than ever, is YES!  In last week’s blog we looked at how to best utilize your website, email marketing, and written content.  You can read all about this HERE.   In this week’s blog, we will look at how best to use social media, paid adverts, and the current king of digital marketing – video.

SOCIAL MEDIA

One of the most effective marketing tools for all businesses is word of mouth and there is no better place for this to take place than online, across social media.  Customers will use social media to express their thoughts and opinions on brands and products.  It’s also a platform where you, as a business, can educate current and potential customers about your products and services.  It’s also important to engage with customers on a more informal level than is usually the case in traditional business relationships.  Use some posts to add humour.  Ask questions of your audience.  Not only does this help you learn more about them, it also extends your reach to those who know little or nothing about you.

It’s also important to use social media to build relationships with your customers and with key industry influencers; therefore enabling you to reach an even wider audience and generate new leads.  Statistics show that “54% of B2B marketeers have generated positive leads from social media” (CMO)

PAID ADVERTS

Investing in paid adverts, which may, on the face of it , be daunting, should be a part of your social media strategy.  The digital world is highly competitive, meaning your visibility is a key to success.  Whilst the use of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to obtain organic reach is an essential part in pursuit of success of your company’s digital marketing strategy, paid advertisements on platforms such as Google Adwords and display ads is vital to gaining exposure.

There are several reasons why you should invest in paid adverts and they are:

• You have the option to pay only when someone clicks on the advert.  This is known as PPC, or Pay Per Click
• You have complete control of your spending budget
• You can target a specific audience in the knowledge that your ad will be seen by people who will already be interested in the products and services you provide
• A paid campaign done well will see positive results almost immediately
• You can use this exercise as an SEO testing tool meaning you can also improve your organic reach by using results from the paid advertising exercise

VIDEOS

Video has never been more important.  A video will tell the story of your products and services without your audience having to read about it.  Sadly (in some ways), if there is a lot to read, some of your audience will switch off, but a video engages and tells your story in the most appealing way.  According to statistics from VideoBrewery, 64% of website visitors are more likely to purchase a product or service after viewing a video.  Make your videos engaging, fun, and informative.  Display the benefits of what your company has to offer.  Daily, on Facebook alone, 100 million hours of video are viewed.  Video is now a digital marketing tool that must be a part of your strategy.

This is just a drop in the ocean when looking at all the aspects of digital marketing, but as you can see, digital marketing is crucial to your business and its success. We will continue to look at further features in our next blog.

In the meantime, if you want to discuss your digital presence with a team of creative digital experts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.