Become a Digital Marketing Superhero: It’s as easy as 1,2,3……and 4

Would you like to know how to get that competitive edge and take digital media two, three, even four steps ahead of just simply using social media? Of course you do! It would be silly not to, so sit back, relax and learn your way to the top of this crazy digital world of ours.

Okay, so you have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a website. Do you think that is enough to separate you from the millions of other small businesses? (Psst….probably not). However, the fact that you are reading this blog tells me that you are ready to take things to the next level.
So let’s cut to the chase and jump right into the four steps that will create this much needed separation.

STEP 1: STRATEGIZE TO RISE ABOVE THE OTHER GUYS:

Ask yourself the who, what, when, where, why and how.

• Who are you trying to appeal to? (Target Market)
• In what ways can you effectively appeal to the right clientele?
• When does your customer base most frequently use social media?
• Where are the right places to post your content?
• You are on social media platforms, but why?
• How can you creatively use social media to engage with your customers?

These are the sort of questions you need to ask yourself. It is not enough to simply be on social media, you must have a strategic plan in place to achieve the results that you want.

Whatever you do, don’t be this guy!

STEP 2: UNDERSTAND THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE:

Be proud that you have a great Facebook page, Twitter account, Google plus, Instagram, etc. However, to be a big hitter in the game of business and the digital world you must establish something beyond that of social media. Jump on the email marketing boat (Helpful Hints for Email Marketing), become a blogger, create powerful networks with LinkedIn, stick your business logo/icon wherever you go, literally…..be everywhere. Make your name unforgettable!  In fact, “companies that blog 15% or more times per month get 5x more traffic than companies that don’t blog” (30 Digital Marketing Statistics You Can’t Afford To Ignore). Whether it be social media, email, or blogging, those without this online presence are at an obvious disadvantage. Bypassing digital marketing is like saying, “I’m not really looking for more customers.”

STEP 3: ANALYTICS IS KEY TO TRACKING SUCCESS

Whenever someone asks me what analytics is or why it is so imperative for businesses to utilize its greatness, I always respond with this analogy: “when you throw spaghetti and meatballs at a wall some of it may stick and some of it may fall miserably to the floor.” Meaning that some things that you post (whether it be deals, events, etc.) get noticed while some may not. Without the analytics, how will you ever know if that 2-for-1 deal you have going on is getting the recognition you’ve hoped? When push comes to shove, analytics will save you time and money!

For a more in-depth look we recently dedicated a post that deals with everything you need to know about analytics and its significance to the business world. Check out the Top Three Reasons you Need Analytics (I am looking at you, small businesses owner).

STEP 4: PIECING IT ALL TOGETHER

You are so close! You have established a presence all over the web; social media, email, blog, LinkedIn and you now have the analytics to track its success. You are not finished just yet, so don’t quit on me!

When it comes to digital marketing the most important thing to remember is to link the pieces of the puzzle together:

• Post everywhere because “distributing your content across multiple social media platforms and utilizing multiple touch points is vital to building brand awareness and connecting with your audience in ways that seem natural to the people you want to reach.” A Social Media Strategy on Multiple Platforms
• To effectively engage with your customer base you need to create the perfect posts.
• Make sure your social media pages are appealing, here’s 5 things you need in order to do that.

Some of the more popular ways that businesses try to establish an online presence is through the use of Constant Contact and Groupon, which are both a good place to start. While they all can help you achieve a pretty decent online presence in their own specified way, it will make your wallets bleed. But if you are looking for a digital marketing platform that can do it all in one attractive and easy to use place then check out Save Local Now……oh, and I forgot to mention…ITS FREE to chamber partners and their members! To learn more, sign up for your free 1-on-1 training! If you’re looking to create that competitive edge I talked about earlier, I know you’ll make the right choice!

First Published at Save Local Now

About Sawyer Dina

Intern Extraordinaire (sawyer@savelocalnow.com). Sawyer is currently a student at John Carroll University, where he studies Marketing & Entrepreneurship and plays on the Varsity tennis team. He loves to travel the world (has been to 15 different countries), gain knowledge, and experience all that life has to offer.

Top Three Reasons you Need Analytics (I am looking at you, small businesses owner)

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to dive into analytics as a small business owner. The hardest part is to decide where to start and how much time to spend on extrapolating data. My advice would be to start small and work your way into platforms with more advanced metrics (MailChimp). There are enough free sites out there (Facebook for one) that can help you understand your customer just a bit better. As far as time commitment goes, after you learn how to use the analytic tab in Facebook, you can check it once a week to see what trends are developing and what messages are working the best. Ah, but let’s get down to why you need to spend time, and possibly money, on all of this collected data.

1. Big box companies are kicking your butt.

Hell, baseball teams are using analytics to get better. Just ask Brad Pitt…er…Billy Beane from the Oakland A’s (Moneyball, a great movie). My point is that smart people with a ton of resources are killing it in the real world and you are quickly being left behind. You’re probably thinking to yourself that you are totally screwed. If you are lazy and hate technology, you are totally screwed. BUT – if you are an entrepreneur, and you need to get your marketing nerd on, then check out these 10 places to analyze web data. If you want to analyze a whole marketing campaign then try Save Local Now (cough, ahem, shameless plug).

2. Big data will grow by 44% over the next decade.

This report suggests that data will soar 44 times over the next decade. Cloud adoption is exploding and more and more data is available to be analyzed.

This represents both an opportunity and a challenge.

The Intuit 2020 report and many other sources support that “those who become proficient in collecting, managing and analyzing this information will gain competitive advantage.” INTUIT 2020

Of course by definition, those that don’t will be left behind. Someone once said “knowledge is power.” It’s at our fingertips, people. Go get it!

3. You can can save yourself a ton of time (eventually).

You must give a little to get a little. It takes money to make money. Okay, you get where I am coming from. In order to harness the power of analytics, you must take time to learn how to use platforms that track data (Facebook, Google, Constant contact, Save Local Now, Hoot suite, etc.) Then you must learn how to use that data to your advantage.

Think of your data as a report on your virtual storefront. You can now see which device people viewed your product or service on. Email analytics will let you know what time of day it was opened, from which device it was opened, and in some cases, it can tell you where they opened it (which town they opened in or the location of the IP address …but lets not get into that). With just a few pieces of data you can begin to paint a picture of your audience and the type of interaction they are having with your digital store front.
In short, analytics allow you to

• gain invaluable insights into your customer’s behavior;
• examine facts rather than assumptions or guesses;
• make educated decisions on how to improve to your website, App, Email marketing campaigns social media post, daily deals, events calendar, etc.

In the long term, this means more of the right traffic, sales and profit. And more time to enjoy your entrepreneurial success.

You’re welcome.

First Published at Save Local Now

 

About author

Cody Linck
 
Regional Sales Director

My passion is growing local communities, and empowering them with the tools to succeed. My mother and father each own small businesses and have been involved with chambers their whole life. I want to help people like my parents grow into the digital era with a platform that is easy, fast, and FREE to use!