Thanks to the rise of digital marketing, the options for reaching engaged consumers is nearly endless. From media campaigns to social collaborations to e-newsletters, getting your brand front and center is arguably easier than ever before. With all of these possibilities, of course, it can be difficult for marketers to know what is worth pursuing.
Increasing your marketing efforts doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, diligence, and monetary commitment to strategically pursue a marketing campaign. Picking and choosing which marketing efforts to go after can be overwhelming, but you’re in the right place. Keep reading for five marketing strategies to put more effort behind.
1. Focus on the Full User Journey
Consumers go back to brands they like and where they had a positive experience. Selling just for the sake of selling isn’t going to entice customers to make a return purchase. Without the best customer service, customers will find business elsewhere. That’s why it’s so important to focus on the full user journey — from discovery to purchase to retention.
Demand generation is a marketing strategy intended to attract customers and gain long-term engagement. It covers every touchpoint of the full user journey, but primarily focuses on revenue generation. After all, without revenue, your business won’t be successful. Focusing on the user journey, and in turn demand generation, ensures you’re making your marketing dollars work in your best interest.
2. Create a Personalized Strategy
No two people are the same, so it doesn’t make sense to utilize a broad marketing strategy. Sure, putting together similar audiences and attracting them to your brand through strategic marketing tactics is great. However, consumers today want to feel like they matter. They want to be treated as the unique individuals that they are. A personalized marketing approach can help you stand out from competitors by increasing brand affinity and recognition.
The main goal with personalized marketing is to make it feel like your brand is speaking directly to targeted consumers. This could look like using first names in subject lines of emails or sending text messages about related products or holiday sales. While personalization may seem frivolous, it works. In fact, 90% of American consumers agree that personalization is either somewhat or very appealing. So make an effort to know your consumers by understanding their behaviors and interests, and reach out with a tailored strategy.
3. Update Content
What’s old is new again, right? If that’s the case, then your older content is likely in need of a refresh. Depending on your industry, it can be vital to update content regularly and consistently. A company focused on health care, for instance, needs to ensure the content they are putting out there is reliable and up-to-date for the sake of consumers.
Updating content is more cost effective than creating new content from scratch. The basis of the content can likely stay the same, you may just need to tweak some stats or pertinent data. Changing the date of the article when you update content can do wonders. It provides a refresh for search engines and likely increases the chances of a higher ranking. Remember everyone prefers newness, including Google.
4. Invest in Video
You may be tired of hearing about this one, but video really is considered king — queen — in the marketing world. Audiences today prefer watching videos over reading content. Just think about the booming popularity of TikTok, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Lives. Putting some money behind a video strategy is costly at first, but it will usually pay off in the long-term.
Your videos will vary based on your business and your audience’s needs and wants. If you are selling a new-to-market product, then a series of explainer videos may be a good place to start. These videos can relay information about your product in a way that is engaging to consumers, while also informative. Video ads are another route to go down, and may be worthwhile if you are just starting to dip your toes into the video front. These videos should be mobile optimized and created with a social media audience in mind.
5. Explore Conversational Marketing
If you have an e-commerce platform, conversational marketing may be worth exploring. Conversational marketing is any type of real time interaction, such as a live chat feature or chatbot. This type of marketing serves two purposes. First, it answers consumers’ questions and needs in real-time, which of course is great for customer service. Second, it is a self-service option, which many consumers prefer as opposed to sending an email or calling the brand.
In addition to the convenience factor, conversational marketing provides a human touch to your marketing efforts. If you can see your customers as people and individuals, you’ll experience more success. Having a customer service option that is available 24/7, for instance, considers customers who may not be able to call during traditional hours.
Takeaways
Marketing has come a long way from putting an ad in a newspaper or producing a radio liner. With digital marketing in full force, brands have more possibilities as far as reaching their targeted audiences. Of course, all of these options can make it difficult to know what is really worth your time, energy, and attention.
These five marketing strategies — user journey, personalization, fresh content, video, and conversational marketing — are worthy of your investment. They can help get your brand going, or assist in revamping your current efforts. Just remember to keep testing and collect relevant data to ensure these tactics are continuously working for you.