Digital Marketing: The First 4 Steps

LET’S GET STARTED

Has digital marketing been that word swirling around in your head for a little while now but you’ve got zero clue where to start? Well we’ve got good news for you - we're all about cutting out the fluff and prioritising action over perfection. So, here's your no-fluff, baby-steps list to digital marketing!

Step 1. Laying the Foundation: Get on Social Media (duh)

You probably already have a Facebook page which is great! But there’s a teensy bit more to it now…

Depending on your target market, we typically recommend Facebook and Instagram to our clients. It's better to focus on a few key channels where your brand is most likely to reach your ideal customers and excel in those areas. The good news is that Facebook owns Instagram, so you can link your accounts and share the same content on both platforms automatically, and yes, that's totally fine!

It's time to be intentional about what you want to talk about on social media. No more posting randomly or "just for the sake of it." Prioritise your messages on social media, just like you would with your window display or radio ad. Set aside time once a month to plan out and pre-schedule your social media content. This way, you create space and time in your mind and essentially check social media off your to-do list for the whole month.

As for how often to post, aiming for 2-3 times a week is more than reasonable. This frequency shows the world (and Google, mind you) that you are an active and relevant business, which is exactly what potential customers need to know!

Step 2. Laying the Foundation: Website, Website, Website!

A good, mobile responsive website is a non negotiable.

Think of your website as your online storefront. With thousands more customers walking through your virtual doors than your physical ones, it's crucial that your website looks and works as professionally and efficiently as your business. It's a true reflection of your brand, and an outdated website can portray your business as daggy and uncredible, while having no website at all can make your business seem closed!

Unfortunately, many business websites are still not optimized for mobile, and that's a problem. Over 80% of viewers now access websites through their mobile devices - smartphones are taking over! Moreover, search engines like Google now penalise websites that are not mobile-friendly in rankings. So, if you're not optimizing your website for mobile, you may be losing out on traffic and revenue.

Step 3. Get em’ to your site

Now that you have the digital foundations in place, the next step is working to get them to your site.

You may have an amazing website, social media accounts, or products, but if you're not getting traffic, your business growth strategy will fall flat. There are various options to drive traffic to your site, such as digital advertising (paid social media and Google Ads), improving your SEO, email marketing, social media, blogging, giveaways, and more!

For starters, here's a simple tip to drive traffic to your website that many business owners forget - always include a call to action at the end of every social media post. This means referring people back to your website with a link to get more information. For example, if you're sharing tips on social media, it's a great idea to share a few tips in the post, but then link back to your website for the viewers to read the rest on a blog post. Once on your site, you can hope that they stick around and check out more pages.

Step 4. Build Connection

Focus on being authentic, transparent and produce amazing quality content, then share the with the world.

This is called content marketing, and it's all about building trust. It's simple if you think about it - people don't buy from people or brands they don't trust. So, think about how your next social media post can provide relevant and valuable insight to your audience. Over time, this relevant and valuable content will position you and your brand as valuable and credible, which builds trust.

The trick, however, is delivering this content in a way that attracts and engages your audience, so they actually stop scrolling and read what you have to say, and ideally, eventually drives profitable action. It's a skill that you need to work on as a business owner, and you may already do it without even thinking when you're face-to-face with a potential customer. Think about how you can do that online.

Check out this great article by Quicksprout that breaks this down and gives you some ideas even further here.