“If your business isn’t on the internet, then your business will be out of business.” — Bill Gates
As businesses try to be resilient amidst the uncertainty, customer buying preference has shifted to digital from traditional in-person dealings. And it looks like these kinds of interaction is how the next normal will be like — post pandemic.
We may be convinced that going digital is the way to move forward as we get ready for recovery or, God forbid, a resurgence of the virus. The question is what strategy do we use and what message are we sending out to our digital audience. Of course, the strategy would have to be tailored depending on your audience and at low to zero-cost, when possible.
Here’s some digital marketing strategy that you can use.
Make sure you have a professional looking website that is easy to navigate and reflective of your brand. For retail businesses, set-up an e-commerce website, if you don’t have one yet. If you are not tech savvy, there are drag and drop templates that are easy to use and customize from GoDaddy, Wix, Square Space, to name a few.
Get found on Google — they are the biggest search engine. Optimize your website for SEO. There are a few free search engine optimization tools available — Google Ads — Google Keyword Planner, Uber Suggest, SEO Analyzer, Moz, and more. Also, most web hosting service like Wix and GoDaddy already offers this free with your subscription plan so check with your service provider. Additionally, do not forget other Search Engines and Online listings sites — Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, Google My Business, Yellow Pages, White Pages, Alignable and industry specific listing sites like Angie’s list, Trip Advisor, Crunchbase, etc.
Get active on social media. There’s a few platforms to pick from: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Nextdoor, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn and newcomer TikTok. You don’t have to spread yourself too thin and be in every one of them. Pick the platform(s) where your potential customers are. Also note that organic searches have declined for Facebook and majority of the social media except for TikTok and LinkedIn. The demographics for TikTok users are between 16 to 21 years of age so if these are not your audience then skip it. LinkedIn on the other hand is a great platform for professionals and B2B businesses. That said, I would encourage everyone to get on LinkedIn if they are not in there yet.
Email Campaign — now more than ever your customers need to hear from you. Communicate changes happening in your business, online services, new products, etc. And don’t forget to personalize your emails. It makes for better open rate and success.
Write blogs. It’s good for SEO and helps to establish you as an expert in the industry. For your blogs to reach a wider audience, you may want to consider publishing on sites like Medium or Ghost.
Start a podcast, turn your blog posts into audio. Statistics show considerable growth in podcast listeners perhaps because of the power of the human voice, its storytelling abilities and accessibility. Note that podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media.
Join virtual mixers and online networking groups. Just because we are social distancing does not mean we cannot network and meet people. Stay connected and keep connecting.
The idea is to keep your message simple.
· Be helpful — give valuable tips and advice
· Connect with people — be empathetic.
· Offer something of value (sometimes for free)
· And give entertainment — a dash of humor is always a welcome relief
While a lot of changes are happening around us, the key to surviving and ultimately thriving is to keep moving — forward. In this case the move would be towards digital marketing.
For a customized marketing strategy, email me at debbieg@bizmadeez.com.
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