Digital marketing is an important strategy to use in the ever-changing online market. To a small business, digital marketing as a whole can seem very overwhelming, but if it is broken down into simple steps the process can seem more attainable and worth the extra time and energy put into it. Here at Northeast Kingdom Online we would like to give you a little insight on how we strategize a digital marketing plan for a business. Here are five simple tips we have to aid in the growth of your business.
1. Setting a Goal
Setting goals are a surefire way to give your business the fuel it needs to be successful and gain more recognition where your business needs it. Whether your goal is getting more customers or trying to appear in front of your competitors, brainstorming a goal that is current for your business objectives is sure to help increase your chances of prospering. Choosing your goal before jumping into a digital marketing plan or strategy can help you know what areas to focus on and help you to avoid feeling like you are tackling a project blindly.
2. Creating a Marketing Funnel
To ensure your business is effective when developing a digital marketing plan, be sure there is a marketing funnel ready to run. So what is a marketing funnel? It is from the time that the customer is still considered a potential client to the point in which they turn into an actual lead for your business. Once they become that lead, the business should have a way to show them their path through this funnel. These strategies could be plans such as call-to-actions, offers, or lead magnets. To better envision this marketing funnel think of it as four separate, yet integrated parts within the digital marketing process: awareness, interest, desire, and action.
-
Awareness: This is the customer’s awareness of whatever it is your business is offering as a service, product, etc. The offering has brought them to your website for a reason. Something caught their eye, interested them or led them to believe they need to learn more. This is the stage where you are the attraction and they are the bate. Once their interest has spiked it is your time to funnel them into the next step of the plan. Your goal here is to find out who the customer is and why they have landed on your website. A call-to-action or lead magnet can be greatly useful as a way to provide the customer something they need in exchange for something that is valuable to you. This valued information could be a phone number, email address, or even their location.
-
Interest: The next part expresses where their interests are. This will allow your business to provide them with further information that is geared toward their specific need or want. This will further express that your business is aware of who they are, their individual preferences and that you took the time to get to know them at a more personal level.
-
Desire: At this point you have gained enough information to know what it is the customer has been attracted to or what service or product they want to learn more about. After learning this information and supplying the customer with more specific information on what they looked at; they can now further select a service or product that they think meets their needs. Now is the time to either schedule a consultation to go over the product or service they are interested in through an email or call-to-action. It is the perfect time to show them what they are missing, why it is a good fit for them, and how it will benefit them.
-
Action: The action is the last step to the process of getting the customer to purchase a service or product that your business is offering. This last step is what can turn your potential client into a lead. You have supplied important information, showed your customer that you care about their individual needs, and you have shown them that you have what they need to benefit them. Your last actions are to discuss the price, payment options, and whatever else your customer might need to confirm the purchase.
A marketing funnel will not only allow your business to gain more leads, but it will also ensure they will be a returning customer due to their satisfaction. Provided your business has given the customer what they were looking for and given a great process of purchase, they will be more apt to spread the positive word about your business and your products or services. Although the marketing funnel may seem like a big process to get started, once it is broken down into these separate steps it is much simpler to proceed.
3. Developing a call-to-action
In the second step we have discussed the benefits of using a call-to-action, but what exactly is a call-to-action? A call-to-action (CTA) is a piece of information that encourages the customer on your website to take an action, whether it be in the form of text, a button, or through imagery. This CTA could be a subscription to an emailed newsletter or a viewing of a product demo. The process a CTA has is getting the customer to your landing pages where you can then collect further contact information like emails, phone numbers, or mailing addresses for something valuable to them in return. The more CTAs your site has dispersed throughout, the more chance you have of grabbing the information needed to potentially lead in a sale. If your CTA is effective the more leads and conversions your company will have.
4. Creating an Effective Lead Magnet
Lead magnets can be a great way to gently push potential customers into the marketing funnel. They can be used alone or with a CTA to increase its chances to get your customer to the next step of becoming a lead for your business. The lead magnet essentially supplies the customer with a relevant piece of information or sample of the product they are interested in. These lead magnets or offers should be something they see as having enough value to share their personal contact information. With this gathered information your business should direct them further into the digital funnel. Providing the customer with something they want for something you want can be a great way to bring them closer to the end result of being a lead instead of just a potential customer.
5. Driving Traffic
Before any of the funnel process can take place with getting a customer to a lead position, there must first be traffic on your website. There are several ways of achieving this and here are a few we can recommend:
These 5 simple digital marketing tips can do wonders for your website and brand. Digital marketing is just the place to start if you want your business to bloom. If you want more information about these steps or would like some help setting up your own marketing strategy, give Northeast Kingdom Online a call today and we can help you get started!
For more information: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-bryan/5-simple-digital-marketin_b_4816425.html
