The marketing world has changed in the last decade or so. We have prepared a few tips to help you think about your marketing strategy and what you can do to benefit from online marketing channels.
Choose your marketing channels wisely
Research published by Google in 2012 showed that 90% of all media interactions now take place on a smartphone, laptop, PC, tablet or TV and that 77% of viewers use another device at the same time they are watching TV. On the other hand, Radio and print now account for only 10% of media interactions. Therefore, if your business still doesn`t have a strong online presence, it is time to reconsider where you are spending your marketing budget.
Nowadays customers are getting educated about their purchase options and alternatives before they shop. As a consequence, your online message should address frequently asked questions regarding your products, discuss any guarantees or warranties, provide social proof, highlight special offers, and, especially, share what is unique about your business and the advantages of doing business with your company.
Here is a list of online channels you should consider for your business:
- Online business directories: Claim your business on business listing websites such as Google for Business, Bing Places, Yahoo Places, Yelp and other industry specific sites such as Trip Advisor for travel related products.
- Social Media: Create a page or account for your business on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter or other social media channels which make sense for your business. Some of these channels also offer very targeted and affordable ads to attract and engage with your audience.
- Search Engine Marketing: Drive targeted leads to your website through Google Adwords Ads and Bing Ads. Also, ensure your website is optimized for organic online searches (SEO).
There is no magic rule for deciding what channels will work best, so it is important that you test each of the channels systematically until you find what works for your business.
Reduce your ad costs by targeting customers
One of the main advantages of digital marketing is that you can target your ads to your particular audience. Most of the online channels mentioned above allow you to choose who is going to see your ads based on specific criteria, such as customer demographics, interests and context, location, devices, and other advanced targeting methods such as remarketing (which allows you to target customers that have already interacted with your website).
By narrowing your ads to the users who match your defined customer audience, you will be able to collect more leads and be more efficient with your marketing spending.
Measure your results
You should always measure your digital marketing initiatives to identify the strategies that work best for your business. With Google Analytics, or other online analytical tools, you will be able to measure where your website users are coming from, understand how they behave on your site, and identify what type of users are most likely to contact or do business with you.
By pinpointing the leads generated via your online channels to your specific marketing channels, you can measure their efficiency and then decide if you should increase, maintain, reduce or stop investing in those channels.
Focus on ROI, not budget
Return on investment (ROI) measures the efficiency of an investment relative to the amount of money invested. In digital marketing, ROI analysis can be used to analyze the profitability of your channels. To calculate ROI, the gain generated from a marketing channel is divided by the cost of the investment in that channel, and the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio. The return on investment formula can be expressed as follows:
It is relatively easy to calculate your ROI in digital marketing, so that should be your primary metric for making marketing investment decisions. For example, if your ROI is 400% for a channel, it means that you are making four dollars for each dollar spent on that channel. Therefore, if you increase your budget to that channel while maintaining the ROI, you will increase your relative profit. If the ROI is at the right level, you should not worry about increasing your marketing budget.
How well is your business doing with online marketing? We can help you to answer this.
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