Let’s face it: creating and maintaining an effective digital marketing strategy is hard. It’s mostly because the digital landscape is always changing. New trends, social media platforms and viral campaigns are popping up all the time, and it can be difficult to know where your business fits in, which trends to jump on and which ones to skip.
However, now that digital has secured a permanent place in every marketing plan, there are some common digital marketing concepts that have proven to be useful no matter what hashtag is trending. Here’s 10 of them courtesy of Convince & Convert:
- Have a plan and a reasoning behind it. Set short- and long-term goals, measure progress and results, and make adjustments when necessary.
- Don’t be a social media micromanager. Keep social media guidelines short and give the people posting some creative freedom.
- Use video, but use it mindfully. Be aware of your followers’ time and attention spans.
- Have a purpose. Provide some sort of benefit to your followers and readers, whether it’s valuable information, humor or inspiration.
- Don’t force it. Jump into the conversation when it feels natural, and allow clients and followers to decide how they want to interact with you online.
- Put social media in the budget. Yes, technically social media is free—but you should be paying someone to manage your accounts effectively.
- Know what your clients think of you. Use Google’s Keyword Planner to research the terms and phrases they’re using to talk about you online.
- Offer value on your blog and across all your digital platforms. Explain how your services make your clients’ lives better, and use real-world examples.
- Take chances methodically. Don’t shoot down any out-of-the-box ideas immediately—just test them first before committing.
- Remember that you’re a human being, not a marketing robot. Interact with your followers accordingly.