Modern marketing requires a strong online presence. You can’t just run TV ads anymore, and you’ll never reach your audience if you stick to print advertising. You need a comprehensive marketing plan that explores all your on and offline options so you can reach the widest possible audience and create a solid foundation for your brand.
Here are a few things you need to do to have a successful modern marketing plan:
Automate Your Social Media
If you aren’t on social media, you are missing out on connecting with a huge part of your audience. Facebook alone has more than a billion users, and there are numerous other sites with millions of users, such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn.
Though you may know that you need to have a presence on these and other social media sites to connect with your users, you may not feel like you have the time to commit to it. There are so many important sites, and you have to update regularly to have a strong presence.
Instead of committing staff to the job, you can hire a firm to do your social media management or use automation software. You can get the results you need in less time because you’ll have a professional dedicated to the work, which will also help you save money in the long run.
Focus on Intent-Based Content and Ads
For a long time, keywords were the focus for online marketers. But as Google has evolved to try to deliver more useful content for searchers, the focus has shifted from basic topics to getting at the intent behind the user’s search. For example, if a person searches for “bed bugs,” it is likely that they want to know “how to get rid of bed bugs” or “how to identify bed bugs,” so those results are likely to be returned.
To get to the top of search results, you need to create your content and ads based on what you think your customers need. You must include intent markers in your copy, such as using long-tail keywords that get at a more specific topic or incorporating multiple topics into your page or overall site. The more you can do to show that you are filling customer needs, the more likely your page is to appear at the top of search results, getting you more traffic and brand recognition.
Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
Content marketing is a great way to improve your brand presence and search rankings. Fresh content shows Google that your site is current and relevant.
However, instead of churning out blog post after blog post, you need to focus on creating in-depth, quality blog posts, even if that means you only publish once a week or once a month. The frequency of your posts is not as important as the quality of your posts (though you DO want to publish more than a few times a year).
Make sure you are always creating content that provides value for your readers, and include resources, citations, links to authority sites, and other quality indicators. Not only will these things signal to Google that your site deserves premium search placement, but they will also establish your authority with readers.
Create a Strong Logo
Marketing isn’t always about getting immediate sales and conversions. A good part of marketing is just creating brand awareness so that you remain top-of-mind when customers are ready to buy. You don’t always meet customers when they are ready to buy, so establishing strong brand awareness ensures that you are their pick when they are ready.
One way to establish your brand is to create a strong logo. Your logo should be recognizable in any format, just like you would recognize the logos of Nike, McDonald’s, Coke, and Disney anywhere you saw them. If you don’t have that kind of logo now, you need to invest in a re-branding.
Stay Aware of Changes
Google regularly updates its algorithm to ensure that it is still providing the best content for its users. In the past, those updates have hit many sites particularly hard, costing them page rank and search traffic.
If you want to avoid a similar fate in the future, you need to stay aware of Google’s algorithm changes when they happen and update your site as necessary. That lost traffic will cost you more than brand recognition — you’ll also lose significant sales and conversions.
Design the right modern marketing strategy, and you can reach the customers you need for your company’s long-term success. If you aren’t sure where to start with any of these aspects of a successful marketing campaign, hire a professional who can guide you or take over the work for you. The expense will be well worth it in terms of what it can do for your business.
