We all have limited money and time, but want to achieve the best results possible. Achieving success when it comes to your business or marketing efforts does not come easily or immediately. Marketing is a process, not a transaction. Here’s what we mean:
SEO and Content Generation
You’ve heard it before…content is king. We are all trying to play the game with the latest and greatest tips and tricks to rank higher and get found more often by our target audience. We also aim to produce compelling, quality content that will inform our target audience and prove to them that we are an authority in our industry. Whether it is website content updates, blogging or other content it is of the utmost importance to make updating and producing fresh content a priority. Not all of us can make the commitment to do this on our own, that’s where SDM comes in.
The more that you update your content, the quicker that Google will begin to index it. This is not an immediate process, as most content can take up to 6 months to crawl, but once you are recognized as a source that produces relevant and consistent content you will begin to see the fruits of your labor and get found quicker and in more relevant searches.
Lay out a content strategy and calendar and get started. Any efforts you can get going are better than none. Can you produce your own content? Yes. Is that the most effective use of your time and talent? Maybe not. Know what to dedicate your time to and what is best outsourced to a professional. Need help? Contact an expert.
Social Media Content and Engagement
Here at SDM we don’t look at social media as the end all, be all. In fact, if not for our client’s we may not pay attention to social networks at all. The facts are, however, that social media is often a necessary evil to connect with your audience and legitimize your business. That being said, learn which platforms make most sense for your audience so you are not wasting your time and efforts. Certain age groups and demographics utilize certain platforms more often. Certain businesses also lend themselves better to certain platforms. For example, an event planner or a home remodeler will have really great project examples that they can share on Instagram. These photos of their work can engage their potential customers and promote new business. Houzz is great for service-based companies that perform services like remodeling, home repair, heating and air conditioning, security and other industries like that. Yelp presence is particularly important for businesses like restaurants, so not creating and monitoring a presence on there is hurting your business.
The social atmosphere and its best practices are ever changing. It is overwhelming for businesses to know what the right plan is and to keep up with how to best utilize these platforms. That is where connecting with the right agency and coming up with a plan that keeps in mind your target audience, the best platform to engage with them and a plan to keep up with their questions or comments is critical. Consumers begin to doubt if a business is still open or can be trusted if they see out of date social media or cannot get answers to their questions in a timely manner. Don’t leave money on the table by rejecting social media as a way to connect with your audience. It is better to have less platforms to ensure you can properly keep up with them vs. trying to do everything causing you to be more sporadic in use.
Newsletters
Email newsletters are an incredibly effective way to communicate with customers. The rates on conversion are among the highest of any marketing efforts. Growing your newsletter list through targeted Facebook promotions or a pop-up with a discount offer on your website is definitely worth implementing. This is a list of people who have expressed interest in your brand that you can continue to retarget to inform them about the latest and greatest products or services and sales. Whether you are an ecommerce brand or a local service-based industry, newsletters are an effective technique that should be considered by most businesses.
In Person Events
Not all businesses would benefit from in person events like tradeshows or networking events. It is, however, another avenue to consider. True connection with people is often one of the best ways to stand out in a crowd of businesses that offer competing services. Make sure to research the event and make sure the audience, cost and time makes sense for your business. If you are going to do the event, make sure you do it right. Consider sales materials or postcards so that they have your contact information to bring home and take a look at and can easily reach out later. Do you need custom signage, table coverings, an awning? What makes sense for the type of event you are attending. Does it make sense to hand out some sort of promotional item? Think about the goal of the people attending and exhibiting. Does it align or distract from what you are looking to accomplish by attending? Sometimes there is no way to project the true success of an event until you try it, but pre-research some of the planned vendors, scheduled events and anything you can garner about it to help predict that success. Depending on your business and it’s goals, often just a few meaningful connections can make an event worthwhile.
Marketing Material
Another option for getting your message out there and standing out is the right piece of collateral. From stand-out business cards, sell sheets, brochures, case studies and more, it is best to think about what makes sense for your business and what your customer would benefit from seeing. How do you communicate the problem you are solving or the need you are servicing? A well-executed case study or vertical market piece can help your audience better picture the work that you could assist them with. An impactful, higher-end business card or collateral piece can help leave a memorable impression about yourself or your business.
These are just a few of the various ways that you can get the word out there and share what you do or sell with the world. Businesses cannot be left on auto pilot. They require constant effort to be truly successful. Whether it is updating your website to better convey your messaging and core offerings, to developing a great sales piece, to blogging to help educate your audience one thing is clear, you need to keep working on it. Find yourself having trouble making the time or knowing where to start? Let the professional team at Strategy Driven Marketing take care of what we are good at so that it allows you to do the same. Let’s jump on a call to discuss your business and we will lay out a custom business and marketing strategy based on where you are at and where you would like to go. We create tailored plans to your industry, budget and goals. Let's connect!