Bringing Digital Marketing Into the Mix
The time has never been better for marketers to incorporate digital channels into their traditional marketing plans. When you combine traditional and digital, it equates to 1 + 1 = 3. The challenge? Choosing the best combination of tactics to maximize the client’s ROI.
No one can really dispute that digital has changed our lives. The world changed 20+ years ago when Google started and the ‘world wide web’ came into existence. Not only did digital change our personal-life behaviors – how we search for information, find jobs, shop, connect with family and friends, etc. – it also changed many business models in just a few years. It’s overwhelming to consider that the impact the digital world is having on our personal and business lives is just beginning.
91% of the most successful users agree that marketing automation is “very important” to the overall success of their marketing across channels.
Marketo & Ascend2 “Marketing Automation Strategies for Sustaining Success”
A Digital Strategy
The internet is in its infancy. And it’s something that every business person or owner should acknowledge and embrace. A website is simply not enough anymore. Just because you built it… does not mean your customer will come calling. Building a digital strategy requires an in-depth analysis of your business, determining your objectives, understanding your buyer persona and executing a strategy that best helps you achieve your goals. Your website may be the foundation of your digital marketing strategy, but it’s only the first step.
The digital world evolves so quickly, it’s hard for the average business person to stay current while also performing their everyday job. A common question asked is: What are the biggest changes or trends in digital marketing? This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many different components, and they are all changing, all the time. However, two recognizable ‘trends’ that are here and gaining momentum are:
- Content Marketing
- Marketing Automation
Both of these topics have moved from ‘buzz word’ status to foundations of digital marketing – and they are here to stay.
Three Deep & Ascend2, “Marketing Automation Trends for Success”
Content Marketing
Content has always been important. How your direct mail piece, print ad or POS signage looks, sounds and resonates with the targeted person/business has always been a critical piece of the puzzle. But now, in the world of the internet and Google, it’s ALL about content. Digitally speaking, content is a very broad term and includes blogs, infographics, articles, whitepapers, videos, landing pages, websites, emails, Facebook posts, Tweets, Snapchats, etc. The more quality content written and distributed throughout the internet, the more Google will take notice. And the fact is, Google has a lot of influence. You need content that is not only of value to your targeted audience, but content that Google deems relevant and useful to the searcher. Google’s sole objective is to provide the searcher with the best SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) for the keyword phrase for which they are searching. So, while content has been and always will be important to Google (and searchers), how Google views ‘good content’ has changed and will continue to do so. Writing offline content is significantly different than writing online content.
Marketing Automation
Technology has been enhancing our lives for centuries. The phone did not exist until 1876, the television was invented in 1925, and the smart phone in 1995. In the marketing world, one technology change that has been transformational is marketing automation software. In a nutshell, a good automation platform combines non-existent, manual and/or disparate data systems into one integrated data platform that is better able to execute, manage, monitor, analyze and report results. Leveraging marketing automation to do what an entire team of people cannot is the wave of the future. Marketing automation technology tremendously improves efficiency and results, leading to more leads, more business, and improved ROI.
Utilizing best-in-call traditional strategies combined with cutting-edge digital techniques is the best way to successfully grow a business.