By STEPHANIE WOODCOCK
As we continue embracing digital and virtual marketing strategies, the process can feel like getting a new television remote. We are pressing the buttons and nothing is happening. This is infuriating. In my home, when someone moves the central Hub and the remote stops working, things get ugly fast. Tempers flare. Arms are raised in despair. Lots of finger pointing occurs. As the de facto IT director, I have to “realign” the Hub so that everything is “connected.” This is accomplished through an app on my phone.
Meanwhile, my husband throws up his hands and blames the device. My kids reject the prospect of watching TV altogether and play Xbox. The family is divided. Each to our separate rooms.
Funnily enough, the remote’s name is Harmony.
A company’s digital marketing is like the Harmony remote.
If the hub is not aligned properly and synced with the rest of the devices, all hell breaks loose. It’s normal to wonder how to get to this blissful state of alignment. How do we work this thing and keep it humming? How do we maximize its efficiency? How do we keep everyone in the same room? Marketing, sales, operations, accounting – all departments need to be on board with the digital marketing tools.
Social media, email campaigns, banner ads, search engine optimization, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Marketing. The list goes on and on. They are all different buttons available on a digital remote.
Here are three tips to help you embrace and navigate virtual marketing:
- Make your website the hub of your digital marketing. All channels should be aligned to drive traffic to the website. If your lead generation is accomplished through an email marketing campaign of industry news, videos and feature projects, connect these emails to related content on your website. Your website is the gatekeeper to your digital marketing goals. When you get someone new on your website, you want him or her to have a good experience. You want your visitor to read a blog post, watch an explainer video and engage with the content. Use landing pages to enhance the experience and clear call-to-action buttons to encourage engagement. Half the battle is getting customers to your website. Don’t lose them there.
- Know your main digital marketing channels and use them wisely. Our marketing budget is a finite resource. In this digital world where options seem infinite, selecting the best channel can seem daunting. From guest blogging as an industry expert (content marketing) to running a drip marketing campaign through email (email marketing), the list of options is endless. Don’t try to do them all at once. Pick a few strategies that work best with your overall goals. To simplify, here are the six main buckets digital marketing channels fall into and a brief description of each:
1) Website/SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
2) Social media posts (building an audience organically)
3) Social media ads (getting clicks through sponsored content)
4) SEM/PPC (search engine marketing and Pay Per Click)
5) Email marketing (direct email campaigns)
6) Content marketing (guest blogging, article submissions, PR campaigns)
Each channel has pros and cons. What are your goals? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Do you want to drive traffic to your website or increase quote opportunities? Do you want to attract the best talent for employment, raise the profile of your company’s services, highlight industry awards or be an expert in your field with guest articles? Each goal requires a different channel and strategy. Some companies benefit most from Google ads, some from growing their social media presence organically and some from direct email campaigns to existing customers. The size of your company, ways you get business, lead generation goals and overall brand health are all factors to consider when laying out a strategy.
3 Don’t ignore your brand. The word “brand” can be interchanged with “reputation.” How do your customers view your business? Acclaimed marketing guru Marty Neumeier says: “A brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what they say it is.” Branding is not a buzzword for marketers. It is the art of trying to steer your reputation in the right direction. My job as a marketing consultant consists mainly of reframing companies’ brands into an intentional brand versus an accidental brand. Then we create the best strategy to portray that intentionalbrandthrough specific channels.
A brand should be aligned with a digital marketing strategy. Virtual marketing is a brand (reputation) first and foremost. Before we start playing with all the buttons on the remote, we must create a strong visual with clear copy. By creating a true representation of our brand before implementing various digital marketing channels, we increase our chances of “alignment” and success.
It’s like that television show you want to watch with your family. The remote can be connected and the Hub aligned. But if what’s actually on the TV isn’t inspiring? In the same vein, if your customer doesn’t see strong visual with clear copy, he or she will just turn off the message. And we’ll all go to our separate rooms.
Stephanie Woodcock is president of Seal the Deal Too, a St. Louis-based marketing, creative & communications firm. She can be reached at stephanie@sealthedealtoo.com.