Miller Digital
Social media and content marketing coach for entrepreneurs
Digital marketing is the shift from traditional advertising and marketing methods to new digital marketplaces through engaging and connecting with your audience in a different platform – the internet.
You need to build a brand to show your consumers who you are, what you do, and why they should buy or be engaged with you. It’s about creating new, consistent content to your consumers through different mediums such as e-mail marketing, social media, online ads and website design. How do you do this? By having a digital marketing strategy. If you’re just starting out with your online business or growing and building your plan, here are 5 things you must have in your digital marketing strategy:
1. Know your competitors
I don’t like the word “competitor” as I believe that similar business can all work together cohesively as a unified industry, but support each other along the way as they each bring something different to the table for a consumer. Have a look at what your industry is doing. Who’s getting liked online, who’s making the sales, which ones are consumers talking about? Now dive into why they’re getting talked about, what their unique selling points are, and how you can make your business and content better.
2. Know your target audience
Do an in-depth analysis of your ideal target consumer. How old are they? What brands do they use? Where do they live? What do they value? What problem or obstacle do they have that you want to solve for them? Once you begin to answer these questions, you can focus on your niche target audience to write your content specifically for. I dive deeper into branding your business and discovering my target audience in my xyz course for online business owners.
3. Website design
Your website needs to reflect who you are as brand with the proper brand colours, photos, information, location and social media links. It needs to be mobile-responsive and user-friendly. If you’re an online shop, include videos and photos of your product so consumers can really get to know what it’s about. Create blog posts regularly to increase your search engine optimization and to gain trust with your audience as an expert in your field.
4. E-mail marketing
Your list is one of your most important business assets – because you OWN this as a company. If any of the big social media platforms were to shut down tomorrow, imagine the loss of consumers you have touch with. You want to build your e-mail list with those consumers online, and then support them with your trustworthy, useful content that goes directly into their inbox on your schedule. Read into privacy laws in your jurisdiction and cookie consent before you start to build your list.
5. Social media marketing
Arguably the most-talked about platform for business owners. You know need you need to be “on Facebook” or have an Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter or TikTok account, but what type of content do you create for it? And how do you know which one will work for you? I suggest sticking with one or two that you enjoy communicating with your audience and focus on those until you’ve mastered it, and then jump into other platforms. Your digital marketing plan should include what platforms you’ll use, the type of campaigns to have for each, what content you’re going to post, and how often.
They are plenty more topics to dive into in your digital marketing strategy, but these are just the start for you to research into on your own. If it seems overwhelming, that’s okay! I am here to answer any questions you have.
Digital marketing doesn’t have to be scary, and you don’t need to do ALL the platforms or advertising out there. You do need to show up online, but do what makes you feel comfortable and what best represents your business!