With the holidays closing in, and the new year right behind, it’s time to create your online marketing strategy for 2019.
The best marketing strategies aren’t all about sell-sell-sell. In fact, the most impactful online marketing plans don’t think about selling at all. Instead, they focus in on using tools to promote their brand.
Branding used to be thought of as a large company game. Who can forget the Coca-Cola ads we grew up with? I’d like to teach the world to sing … Or the Campbell Soup commercials? Mmm, mmm, good.
But for the smaller company, branding was more difficult to do. Your target audience held fewer potentials. Why promote your products and services without a true action statement?
That’s all changed with online marketing campaigns. With just a little effort, you can create a brand that stands out from the crowd. With today’s online marketing opportunities, you can utilize different marketing platforms and target your audience well. Even if you think your budget is rather small.
As an online marketing company, we know what works. We also know what’s going to lead the way as we enter 2019.
Graphic Design Should Inspire
With today’s fast-paced world, we all tend to have very short fuses. We click. We surf. We have high expectations for what we see. We expect to be led by the hand from one place to another. And if we don’t get what we are hoping for, we back away.
Sometimes this all occurs in seconds. We click. And if we aren’t enticed, we look for something else. Take, for instance, an ad on Facebook. Have you ever noticed an ad that speaks to you? Did you click?
If you did, it’s probably because of the graphics. They were made with you in mind. Because Facebook has one of the most sophisticated demographics in the world, you can target who sees your ad in as much detail as you desire. That means you can speak their language, show photos they enjoy, or paint such a clear description they have no choice but to click.
And when they do, you’d better continue that look and feel. Think of every marketing campaign you do as a continuous chain of events. People want to see the same graphics on the ad, on the landing page, on thank you notes, on email. Grab their attention, and hold onto it all the way.
Giveaways and Contests
Have you tried to build your list using giveaways and contests before? In 2019, we’re going to see this taken to another level.
The future of online marketing is engagement. That means letting your prospects and customers have fun with the process. Typically contests fail for one of two reasons:
- It takes too much effort to enter or qualify
- The prize isn’t worth their time
This comes down to knowing who your target audience is on a deep level. What are they looking for when they visit your site? What has value? Hint: It might not be the dollar value of the item offered.
Then you can use that to build potential. Sure, they can enter with basic information – a name and an email. But from there, what if they can increase their chances by having more fun? Maybe create a video showing them using your product? Or coming up with a jingle? Or even scouring your site looking for clues?
Ask yourself what your customers want. Look for ways to create excitement around your giveaway. Then stick with the process and ensure you’re in alignment with your online persona.
Use Social Media As Intended
Have you ever gone to a Facebook Page, an Instagram Account, or a YouTube channel and discovered a whole lot of boring? Of course, we all have. It’s easy to do. Most companies start out with the best of intentions. Then over time, something newer, more exciting comes along. Out with the old, in with the new.
People develop a relationship with their online social accounts. Ask anyone: What’s your favorite social media platform? You’re bound to hear they LOVE what they use. One person will spend hours on Facebook, while another will only open up Instagram several times a day.
This is where you learn to target well. If your customers are on Facebook, use Facebook. Then use it as authentically as you can. This means you should your customers who you are using that platform in the best way.
- Take pictures
- Create graphics
- Make videos
- Create content
Make customers feel like they’re getting a behind the scenes view into what makes you, you.
The more you do this, the more they participate. And when you start getting customer supplied engagement tools, your job becomes even easier.
People don’t buy from businesses; they purchase from people they trust. If you can use your social accounts to develop that trust, you’ll win every time.
Dig Deeper
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Create Content People Want
Nobody heads online looking for a textbook of information. If it puts you to sleep, chances are it won’t be viewed.
So why do people continue to put out content that is every shade of boring? Some of that goes back to the way the internet use to work.
Keyword stuffing used to be a common practice to get Google to notice your content. The more you included a keyword in a page, the more traction it would gain in Google. So, of course, online marketers figured this out, and started stuffing in their keywords over and over again. And if you’ve ever read these pages, you’ve probably fallen asleep.
But Google became more sophisticated over time, and started blocking these so-called strategies. Google knows what people want, and they refine all the time to give them what they demand.
That means your job is to create high-quality content people actually want to consume. A blog is the first place people look to when they want to learn. They head there to see what you have to say about your industry, your products, your service. They want to learn what you deem to be important.
And if they find what they want, they’ll stick around. They’ll read. They’ll give you their email addresses. They’ll request more information. And hopefully, give you their credit card information.
What Does Your 2019 Look Like?
Have you put together a serious online marketing strategy for the New Year yet? Does it include vamping up your social media platforms? And creating the content people really want?
If not, let’s talk. We can help.
