No business can succeed without the right marketing strategies because it’s how they communicate with the world around them. Through marketing, the consumers can learn about what a business is offering, where it can be found, how it was established, and what it plans to achieve over time.
However, the marketing practices have evolved into something more complex in the digital age. What was once clear-cut and direct to the point is now more intricate because new technologies are involved. But that shouldn’t scare you. If anything, it should encourage you to rise to the challenge.
So, if you’re not sure about where you should start with digital marketing, here’s a three-pronged approach that you can use to build your strategy:
Content Creation
Anything that you read, watch, or hear on the internet can be considered content. But despite what you may have been led to believe, content creation is so much more than just putting pictures, video clips, or paragraphs together to make a finished product. Rather, content creation is a long and delicate process.
The content released into the world is not only based on facts and reliable information, but it also has to be engaging to the audience. If it’s only one or the other, it will be difficult for any content to achieve the reach that it was created to do. So, knowing your audience is the first step to creating content.
Once you’ve understood what your audience wants to learn or find, the next step would be to figure out what form of content would be easier for them to digest. Having a good grasp of each kind of content’s strengths and weaknesses will help you create more effective marketing campaigns.
A good example of this is content writing. If you’re targeting lifelong learners who want to pick up a new skill or read an in-depth analysis on a certain topic, then that is the only time you should create long-form articles and blog posts. But if you’re writing for the general audience, you should keep it shorter and easier to read.
SEO
After learning about the ins and outs of content marketing, the next facet you should focus on is search engine optimization or simply SEO. This is the process of optimizing your website and content so that you can be more visible on the search engines. By doing SEO, you can easily grow your business and reach a wider audience.
Keep in mind that just creating good content won’t be enough to get you to the first page of the search engine results page (SERP). If you’re using the right SEO strategies properly, you’ll have a higher chance of appearing on top of theSERPs, but that’s only if you can implement them in a manner that’s organic and natural to your brand.
However, SEO isn’t limited to finding the right keywords or bombarding your content with them; there are plenty of SEO strategies that you can use to generate more traction for your website. You don’t have to resort to black hat techniques to make that happen, especially since these can cause you to lose your ranking if you get flagged for using illegal practices.
Social Media
Marketing is all about using the appropriate platforms to reach your target audiences. In the past, these avenues were the billboards on the streets, columns on the newspapers, or commercials in between radio shows. Now, these avenues are mostly on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,TikTok, and YouTube, to name a few.
Once you’ve created your content and optimized them for the search engines, the last thing you’ll need to do is release them on the current social media platforms. You must understand that every platform has its pros and cons; knowing how they differ is key to your marketing campaigns’ success.
For instance,TikTokis a social media platform frequented by young adults looking for entertaining and socially relevant videos. SinceTikTokis popular for its short-form videos and the ability to swipe through various content from different parts of the world, it can be a good avenue for easy-to-follow DIY tutorials, travel clips, or funny animal videos.
However, if you’re hoping to attract a larger and more diverse market, your best bet will be to choose either Facebook or Instagram as your main platform. People of all ages from all walks of life use these social media platforms, so it would be easier to reach a wider market without a specific target demographic in mind. Plus, any content can be consumed on these platforms.
The best thing about the world of digital marketing is that everything is dynamic and ever-changing. Because nothing is permanent, you can reinvent your strategies or change lanes repeatedly, and no one will bat an eye. One might see that as an obstacle to their success, but you can also look at it as an endless supply of opportunities to do better than you were yesterday.