When I mention that I work in Digital Marketing, the response usually includes ‘Social Media’ and ‘Facebook’. My response is ‘Marketing Strategy, ‘Content Marketing and SEO’. If your business sells to other businesses, your approach should feature these as well. This is why.
- Strategy Comes Before Tactics
Too often, marketing activities are decided on short term whims rather than as part of a longer-term strategy with specific objectives and measured outputs. Although it’s said that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’, I believe that doing some marketing is always better than none. But the end results will be more impressive if you focus your efforts on a few strategic marketing objectives and build a success strategy around these.
2. Website Marketing
Many companies that sell products and services to other businesses tell me they want to improve their social media presence. However, social media (like all other inbound marketing tactics) drives visitors to your website. Great, you may say. But often your company website doesn’t do your business justice, therefore does not convert visitors to customers (or the right type of customers). Don’t put the ‘cart before the horse’. Get your website strategy right first.
3. Search Engine Marketing
How often do you look at your Google Analytics? The majority of website visitors arrive via search engines, namely Google. Where would you go to do your research when you plan to purchase a product or service? Is it Google by any chance? Imagine what you could achieve if you introduced a Search Engine Optimisation and/or Pay Per Click marketing strategy to drive those customers from Google to your website. Cha-ching!
4. Content Marketing
Every marketing strategy relies on great content. Website content, memorable ad campaigns, video content, insightful articles, e-books and brochures, and so on. Determine who you need to consume your content, what content will engage them, create it, and then use the available channels to get that content in front of them (this includes social media platforms!).
5. Social Media Marketing
To put things into context, social media marketing (and advertising) is important but form part of a much bigger picture. For B2B marketing, the big 4 channels are still Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. It’s hard for any business to manage all of these effectively but the right social media strategy can do wonders. For example, use LinkedIn to get in front of influencers and key decision makers and engage them with great content. In this day and age, this should include (but not be limited to) video content!
This isn’t the complete or exact list of tactics your business needs to utilise, but it should challenge you to think about what is right for your business. Successful digital marketing requires a clear strategy and a mix of tactics and channels that work together to convey the right messages to the right customers to turn them into actual customers! Start with strategy.
For assistance to develop your Digital Marketing Strategy contact denise@digital-den.co.uk or call 07736067608.