Best practices for digital marketing

Source: www.pexels.com

Gone are the days when businesses could rely on tools that did not require an internet connection to get their marketing to customers. Customers have taken to their phones to interact with their favourite brands and, businesses have had to follow suit.

Organisations have had a precarious time making the shift to digital marketing, which is why I have created a comprehensive list of the best digital marketing practices helping you reach, interact and create value for your customers through digital marketing.

1. Video marketing

Video marketing is the video your business records and posts to move closer to intended business goals. YouTube is a popular platform for video marketing. Social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, are also great for publishing your video marketing content.

This medium is a fun and captivating way to market to your intended audience. Based on 2019 numbers, 8 out of 10 people purchased an app or software after watching the brands video. Research shows that videos are the favourite content type for customers from a brand's social media.

2. Shoppable posts and social commerce

Social commerce is an integral part of digital marketing best practices. Social media is fast becoming a popular place to make purchases. Studies show that 72% of Instagram users have purchased a product on the app. That number is huge!

There are other useful platforms; 91% of Pinterest users in the market for tech and telecom purchases decide to buy after seeing the content on Pinterest. Social media is important for growing your prospects. But do not forget about setting up shoppable posts with an immediate call to action to get the most out of your content.

3. Targeting your audience

When creating a successful campaign, it is necessary to define your audience. What is the best way to reach your audience? What is the objective? To create brand awareness or to retain existing customers?

The nature of the message and the offer will change, depending on whom the message is targeting. Effectively segmenting your audience makes the message more relevant and valuable to the user

4. Choose the correct channels for your digital marketing

Digital marketing consists of a diverse selection of tools, platforms, techniques and strategies for you to implement. There are many online activities that one can undertake to bring in more business. However, the sheer number of digital tools that are at our disposal can be overwhelming. Not all online marketing activities will be profitable for your business.

Marketing dos and don'ts for the business owner

16 Feb 2021

It is in your best interest to identify which ones would best suit your business by:

• Knowing the different types of online marketing
  
• Defining and understanding what your goals are
  
• Having an accurate understanding of the costs that will be involved
  
• Identifying the marketing budget
  
• Knowing who your intended audience is and how best to reach them

5. Focus on SEO

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the method used to increase the quality and the quantity of your website traffic and the exposure your brand gets through non – paid (also known as 'organic') search engine results.

Paid advertising, social media and various other online platforms can be a great way to generate online traffic. Nevertheless, its majority is created through search engines. Organic search results account for most of the digital space. They appear more credible to smart searchers and receive significantly more clicks than paid advertisements.

SEO is also a good tool for evergreen content (SEO content that stays relevant and valuable for a long time). If the content is relevant and lasts years into the future, it can continue to yield a return on investment over a long time. Creating a good piece of content that ranks well because of its keywords allows good traffic to snowball over time. Advertising, though effective, is less sustainable and requires continuous funding to send traffic to your site.

The business world is rapidly changing. Businesses now understand that they need to do the same. The business environment has changed in the past year. Businesses have had to adapt to the unforgiving environment or pay the price. We must employ a variety of tools to reach, engage and sell to our customers. The inevitable tidal wave of change is finally here. The question is: will you sink or swim?