When businesses use the internet to find products and services, digital marketing is critical to success. In this blog, we dive into digital marketing tactics with ten practical tips to help you create a successful strategy.
What is Digital Marketing?
Customers need to find you. Odds are, the first place they go to look is on a device. Business-to-business (B2B) digital marketing uses channels like social media, email, websites, and search engines to promote one business’s products or services to other businesses. But attention is a valuable commodity. To stand out and make an impact, your digital marketing efforts need to be strategic, targeted and results-driven. That way, you reach potential customers where they are–online.
10 Tips for Successful Digital Marketing Strategy
- Understand Your Audience’s Needs
- Set Goals
- Create Attention-Grabbing Content
- Build Digital Presence
- Optimize & Refine
- Invest in Programs & Tools
- Use Organic & Paid Channels
- Get Certifications
- Value Data Above All
- Work With an Experienced Digital Marketing Agency
1. Understand Your Audience’s Needs
You can’t reach someone you know nothing about. The first step in any digital marketing effort involves researching your target audience. Where do they browse? What search terms do they use? Do they prefer one social media service over another? Once you understand your audience, you can effectively target them with a message that will drive them to action.
2. Set Goals
Before you start any race, you need to know how far away you are from the finish line. Setting specific and measurable goals ensures your digital marketing efforts align with your overall business objectives. Some examples: Number of sales qualified leads, a return on investment (ROI) benchmark, website traffic growth, social media reach, and client retention rate. Before investing any time in execution, ensure everyone on your team agrees on what success will mean.
3. Create Attention-Grabbing Content
You might be able to find your audience. That doesn’t mean they’ll stop and look. Creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that meets your audience’s needs and interests is key to successful digital marketing. Content is a powerful tool that allows you to create meaningful connections with your target audience. Effective content types include: Guides, blogs, white papers, infographics, emails, social posts, advertisements, webinars, videos, product and service sheets and more.
4. Build Your Digital Presence
Creating a strong online presence is critical, but it isn’t easy. You need a user-friendly and optimized website, active social media accounts, and a paid advertising strategy. Investing in brand visibility doesn’t just show your audience you are active and present; it builds expertise, authority, and trust–the three main factors that will improve your SEO.
5. Optimize & Refine
Your website, content, and ads should never get static. Change is crucial for keeping up with what your audience wants. Pay attention to what the data tells you. This could include what pages users visit the most or which ads get the most clicks. Use that info to make your strategy stronger. If your marketing automation suite allows for A/B testing, use it as much as possible. By optimizing and refining, you create an evolution flywheel–your results can start to grow exponentially.
6. Invest in a Marketing Tech Stack
A “tech stack” is the arsenal of programs and tools you use to build out your digital strategy. Investing in these programs and tools, such as email marketing software like ActiveCampaign or social media tools like SproutSocial, can help you streamline your digital marketing efforts. They save your team time and effort and allow you to expand beyond your resources.
7. Use Organic & Paid Channels
Both organic and paid advertising work together to generate results. Organic channels include email, SEO, and social media. These are free ways to advertise and reach your audience. Paid advertising is precisely what it sounds like. You’ll pay to promote your brand, but the ROI (tracked precisely) can pay off over time. Follow step 5, and your paid investment will become more and more efficient.
8. Get Certified
Most popular digital marketing tools provide extensive training and certifications, including Google Ads, HubSpot, Sprout Social, LinkedIn, Hootsuite, and others. These certifications boost your credibility and help with knowledge gaps. Each certification teaches you different skills, like running ads on Google or using software for marketing and sales. Taking advantage of these resources (most are free) saves time in the long run. More importantly, they will make you a smarter marketer.
9. Value Data Above All
Catchy taglines only go so far–unless you understand why they’re catchy. Understanding user data starts by tracking everything you can. Start with Google Analytics, which tells you the type, amount, frequency, and behavior of your site visitors. Social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram show how people interact with your posts. SproutSocial puts all this info together to make it easier to keep track. Email services such as ActiveCampaign let you see if people open your emails and click on links. Tools like Semrush help you understand how your website does in online searches. When you analyze these metrics, it tells you how well your digital marketing is working and reveals areas of improvement.
10. Work With an Experienced Digital Marketing Agency
Implementing a truly optimized and refined digital marketing strategy is overwhelming. Often, it takes a team of internal resources to execute. Don’t have that? A digital marketing agency fills the gap. They serve as your marketing department to develop a digital strategy, execute the plan, and track the progress. Partnering with an agency will help your team save time and focus on important tasks. If you’re ready to take the step, reach out.
Conclusion: Digital Marketing Requires You To Stand Out
Your customers’ attention is your most valuable resource. But only a smart, data-driven, compelling digital strategy can influence their decision-making. An effective digital marketing strategy includes understanding your audience, sharing valuable content, staying active online, and tracking and refining your efforts. Implementing these tips will make you stand out and boost brand visibility and quality leads.
