Digital marketing.
To some, this is an integral part of business. To others, it’s a daunting and intimidating prospect, indeed.
To me, it is an exciting and intriguing part of every day.
Digital marketing is an increasingly dynamic industry. Unlike in the days of the internet’s foundation, a “one and done” method is simply inadequate for achieving real results.
With so many different media platforms out there and new ones emerging every day, the ways in which we communicate inherently shift and grow with them. Even the language of how the internet functions is changing. For instance, meta tags: once an important part of generating search results, meta tags no longer play a prominent role in a page’s ranking on search engines like Google.
It is, therefore, necessary to become as fluid as the changing industry itself.
The constant change can seem overwhelming if you don’t know what to expect or how to keep up with it; but as a business growth expert with over a decade of experience in digital marketing, I think of it as a fun and challenging game. This attitude and enthusiasm paired with extensive knowledge of the latest trends is why working with a dynamic marketing consultant can be a great way to give your business an edge over the competition.
Changing Trends and Platforms
Facebook is a great starting place, and a bit of a standard in terms of social network platforms.
But the use of Facebook among younger generations is significantly decreasing as they flock to other forms of social media that have yet to be appropriated by the older generations.
Trends and platforms constantly change, so it’s important to stay on top of what’s happening.
Trickle-Down Marketing
If you’re a small business owner, there’s probably a good chance that your business is only active on Facebook, or maybe not even on social media at all.
Larger businesses have the resources for experimenting with new marketing campaigns, making them more likely to engage on a wider array of platforms, their marketing tactics trickling down to smaller businesses given time.
By the time many of these marketing practices become commonplace, however, your competition will be there to adopt them right along with you. That’s why it is essential to stay in the know about the latest marketing techniques, not just existing social platforms.
Adapting Marketing Styles Quickly
Because the best marketing practices are constantly changing, it’s important to work with a digital marketing consultant that actively analyzes and adapts the latest and greatest marketing trends so you stay up to date and ahead of your competitors.
A good marketing consultant will constantly change their tactics based on what is working in a particular industry as well as for each client’s individual business. The consultant will adapt the way your business utilizes already established and emerging platforms as they continue to change the ways in which they function.
As I previously mentioned, the ways SEO functions are continually changing, and a reliable consultant will recognize that.
Utilizing Analytics
There’s a lot more to using effective digital marketing strategies than just diversifying and keeping up with your marketing platforms.
You should work with your digital marketing consultant to first identify your target audience, and second, to determine what image of your business you want to present to that audience.
Reaching Your Target Audience
Once you’ve figured out your target audience, a good consultant will then determine the best current strategies for reaching it, making sure the right information goes to the right people.
Why is it so important to have specific content geared toward your target audience? If your content is written in the latest slang but your target audience is my grandmother, for instance, it probably won’t go over too well.
By getting the right kind of content to your target audience, you will not only increase your brand presence and recognition but also more efficiently work towards building your ROI.
Using Your Analytics
It’s also important to provide your digital marketing consultant with the analytics and data you track for your own business. This will help your consultant know what strategies are effective and who they’re reaching, so they are able to continually adapt their methods.
Keeping an Up-to-Date Web Presence
Your consultant can also use their digital expertise to analyze the way your business presents itself on the internet. Still have that same website you built in 2005? While you might have been proud of it back then, the internet has vastly evolved since and with it users’ expectations and standards.
If your website has an old look or feel to it, this can actually turn off potential customers who expect the best level of professionalism, originality, and usability from their web browsing experience.
Luckily, your digital marketing consultant is internet-savvy, knowing what looks good on the web because their job constantly revolves around it. They can make recommendations not only on how to update your web page but also on how to generate more traffic to it in the first place.
By updating the way your website utilizes the latest SEO tactics, your page will become a lot more searchable to users than in an outdated state. They may also suggest you revitalize your website by introducing fresh content that will aid in yielding search results.
Staying Ahead of the Game
Alright, let’s get to the heart of it: aside from achieving a high ROI, the other main purpose of engaging with and adapting digital marketing strategies is to of course gain leverage over the competition. By staying as up to date as possible through the aid of your digital marketing consultant, you can make sure your practices are the most effective, gaining an edge over competing businesses that aren’t using these services in the same way.
Because of the nature of trickle-down marketing from the larger corporations, it often takes longer for larger business tactics to become widely used among smaller businesses. By the time this happens, these tactics may already be slightly outdated and, by then, easily accessible to the competition as well.
By staying engaged with the latest trends and changes, though, your digital marketing consultant will work to ensure your practices and methods are as up to date as possible, staying ahead of those still waiting for inspiration to trickle down.
So, are you ready to work closely with a digital marketing consultant to create a dynamic, adaptable plan that suits your business and drive it to higher ROI? Give us a call to set up a free consultation and we can start hashing things out.