List of Unspoken Rules of Online Marketing and How to Use Them Properly
Online digital marketing is one of the most rapidly expanding industries in the world. Even over the last couple of years, the industry has boomed into something that nobody could have predicted and, at times, it can be incredibly difficult to keep up with all the changes, new tools and the latest techniques.
However, to keep your head in the game, there are several tricks of the trade you should always remember to make sure all your next marketing projects are a success. These rules and guidelines tend not to be written down, taught in marketing courses and mainly are learnt through experience in the industry. By remembering and sticking to these unspoken rules, you can always be sure that your marketing projects are on the right lines.
To give you an exclusive insight into these guidelines, you can find the most important ones listed here, detailing how to move your project forward and make the most out of every opportunity.
Content is Key
Perhaps the most important aspect of digital marketing, content is the foundation of every online project. This concept needs to be at the core of everything you do as it’s the only format that directly connects and communicates with your leads and potential customers and will be the driving force that locks in your sale. If you work hard, research confidently and invest proper time into perfecting your content, you’re rewarding yourself with the best foundation in which to succeed.
It doesn’t matter what kind of content you’re creating, it needs to be spot on. From graphics, social media images and advertisements to blog posts, articles and product descriptions, every piece of content needs to be defined, edited and touched up to perfection.
Maximise Your Opportunities
Another crucial point you need to consider that will lead you to a successful marketing campaign. There is a huge variety of marketing tools, tricks and techniques that can be utilised to take your business to the next level. This means that you should never use just one. Mix up your strategies, try something new, experiment with various techniques to create the perfect plan for your business.
By using just one strategy, even if it works, you are limiting yourself and the success of your project. One of the best ways to approach this topic is by creating a list of your existing resources and tools as well as methods that you want to connect with your online audience. For example, you may own a small online store.
You may currently use one social media platform, Google Adwords and some other kind of paid advertising. By investing in multiple social media platforms, putting time into creating high-quality blog content and even developing an email marketing strategy, you have the potential to increase your lead traffic no end, maximizing your opportunities for an increased number of potential sales.
Analysis Your Statistics
Typically relating to small businesses, the importance of analysing your marketing campaign statistics cannot be overstated. If you’re investing in certain marketing techniques or tools, you can never be sure on how well they are doing unless you check the results. You may be heavily investing in social media content but if you’re only receiving a few hundred likes or comments on each page, this is simply not an effective technique.
Use your results and analytics, all of which are readily available through most marketing platforms, you can identify the holes in your plan, allowing you to develop new ideas on how to plug these gaps and move forward.
Everybody is Different
Similar to if you own a physical store, every customer that visits your website or online store is looking for something different and has different needs and expectations. We have entered a digital era where online demographics has never been more important and it’s vital to the success of your business that you pay attention to these trends.
If you own a relatively broad spectrum of products or services, your marketing campaign will need to vary to suit the needs and requirements of those customers. For example, if you’re a website that sells holidays, you may be selling holidays to a lovely beach front location. In your marketing campaign, you’ll want to target younger people by saying how they can enjoy the nightlife, the shops and can soak up some sun on the lovely beachfront.
On the other hand, you’ll want to target older generations by stating that there are loads of lovely restaurants, lovely views, walks and countryside to explore. By targeting different age demographics in different ways, you’ll see a dramatic increase in web traffic and potential leads.
Perseverance & Hard work
We live in an age where everything is instant. Do you want to know what day your favourite celebrity was born? A quick online search and you’ll know. Want to book a holiday for tomorrow? A few taps on your smartphone and it’s done. Unfortunately, when you’re striving for aspects of life like the success of your business, it takes time to develop your skills and to perfect your techniques.
The internet is a vast and endless place and your business is constantly in competition with other businesses and companies from your local area and the rest of the globe. Overnight success is a very rare event that happens to very few businesses every year. Never forget to keep working on your strategies and improving your campaign.
Victoria S. Macdonald, a Marketing Manager from Best Australian Writers explains;
“Marketing your business can be a very long and tedious process and I’ve seen many people give up with their business because it’s too difficult and it seems as though they can’t catch a break. The key to success is taking everything one step at a time and moving forward. There’s a proverb that explains that, if you’re an author, it’s better to sell one book to one person and keep repeating this process rather than attempting to sell 1,000 books to 1,000 people. Start small and your success will snowball over time”.
The Importance of Social Media
There are over one billion active profiles on Facebook alone according to the latest statistics. More and more people around the world and signing up and using social media platforms every single day, each one of them averaging spending a good couple of hours per day on the sites. This makes the platforms an excellent ground to exercise your marketing strategies and has been proven time and time again to be the best way to connect with potential customers.
Never underestimate the importance of social media. Even if you’re not an active user yourself, your business needs to be. In addition to this, social media is the only aspect that can create viral content, so, if you’re hoping for your business to become huge overnight, social media is a path you will have to pursue.
High-Quality Website
Next to content, your website is the second most important aspect of your online business and digital marketing campaign. By investing in a high-end, fully functional website that promotes ease-of-use and easy navigation, your customers will swarm and are more likely to stick around. Website development practices are improving month by month, even day by day, and there are so many features and things you can with websites that can help to create a truly amazing experience for your customers.
It’s vital that you remember to ensure your website is fully mobile-responsive because, as of 2014, smartphone and portable device web traffic has exceeded desktop traffic, meaning your customers are more likely to be viewing your business through a mobile browser. If your customers are experiencing a poorly functioning site, they will simply log out and take their business elsewhere.
Knowledge is Power
The final unwritten rule of online marketing can be applied to every aspect of your life. Everything you do, every process you implement and every technique you experiment with will have a result. Whether it’s a positive or a negative result, always remember to learn from your experiences. Digital marketing is a skill that takes time to perfect and master and you should always take the information from your past and apply to the future. Never move forward blindly.
That being said, it’s always worth remembering that the landscape of modern internet marketing is constantly changing and evolving. A successful strategy in 2001 may not be applicable or relevant today. Always commit to your research and use online resources that are available to you. Even if you’re a small business that doesn’t have a high budget, there are hundreds and hundreds of free marketing tools available for you to use for your business, enabling you to maximize your businesses opportunities.
Conclusion
Follow these rules and guidelines with every step you take when implementing an online marketing strategy into your business. Whether you’ve initiated hundreds of strategies or this is your first time, there’s something you can take away from each and every point that will help you to achieve success.