“What’s my digital marketing strategy?”
“Well, I have a website, we are on Facebook and Twitter, we also have a YouTube account, and we were thinking about a blog and Pinterest. What do you think about them? Are they worth it, those are digital strategies, right?”
Most business owners that I talk to rattle off the tools they are using but they never talk about the strategy or the plan to use the tools to accomplish a specific goal.
After asking about their digital strategy, I ask about their goals with their website and social media profiles. They reply confused, answering, “Well we have to be there, our competitors are there!”
Again the focus is not on the strategy or goal of what they are trying to get out of using digital marketing tools. Start with your goal, the goal is not
All sales are educational and emotional, you need to get your target market to know, like and trust you, “sell-u-cate” them on your product/service and transfer a positive emotion as to the feeling your prospects will have from the benefits of your products/service. Until you walk them through this process you will never get a return from your digital marketing strategy.to be where your competitors are but to stay at the top of your prospects minds, to stay in touch with existing customers and to gain new customers. The Strategy is “HOW” you are going to achieve this. So again I ask, “What is Your Digital Marketing Stategy?”
“But everyone says not to sell in social media!”
That’s right! But you have to start the process where your target market is. Your digital marketing strategy has to meet your prospects where they are, meeting them with the problems they are having that your product/service solves. When you create content that focuses on their problems you become relatable and you get them interested to read on. Distributing that content through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn is part of the strategy to get the information in front of the right people. This will attract interested parties to your website (now they are outside social media) which should be your sales tool.
There seems to be two extremes in social media tactics, every post links back to your website or no post links back to your website. There has to be a healthy balance so that people don’t feel you are just selling them and the other extreme leaves them feeling that you are just broadcasting at them. Share useful articles on trusted sources that don’t compete with you, invite visitors back to your website to read content that you have produced, and most importantly, interact with your audience. Comment on their comments, “Like” what they post, ENGAGE, be a human, if someone asks a question answer it.
Digital Marketing Strategies applies to each tool you use, make sure they work in concert, you don’t have to be on every social media platform, you only need one or two that you work hard and see results from.