New and seasoned companies in the e-commerce and online marketing space are all looking for new ways to improve their processes and get more results for the money they invest. Luckily, there are several ways that marketers and other online focused professionals can improve their marketing efforts. While some strategy implementations, like a streamlined website, are must-haves, they take time to develop. Here are some practices to help you improve today:
- Get on social media for 30 minutes – See what your customers are talking about and get engaged in the conversation. Use your company’s personality to talk about what matters to people who are interacting in the space. Respond to user comments and send out a heartfelt promotion. Not everything has to be carefully crafted, and sometimes a personalized note means more to consumers than any market-speak heavy plug.
- Look at your content – Read though your website or blog and think about how that would strike you as a consumer. Just absorb the information for a few minutes. Sometimes taking a step back without the lens of a strategist can help you see holes in your strategy. Is the voice the same throughout your site? Does the language reach out to consumers in a personable, but professional manner? What else would be helpful on the page if you needed the product or service? It may occur to you that your company’s website is completely missing the questions that most site visitors would be asking.
- Catch up on the latest and greatest – There are innovative practices coming out every day from in-store mobile use analytics to streamlined analytics. Look at the news and dream about the future for five minutes. Staying doggedly on a task can be beneficial sometimes, but to stay relevant, you also need to exercise your creative juices by thinking about something different. Over time, you might be surprised at the difference it makes in how you approach your daily digital activities.
- Focus on your brand – Take away all of the marketing talk and digital trend speak and strip down your marketing campaign. Trends come and go and very few stay for more than a few years. Pay attention to them, but focus on what makes your brand or target market different. Try to engage in trends that are a natural fit. Look to the company mission statement to find new ways to engage the public.
- Go Local – Make sure that you’re engaging with people in their locations. If you don’t already have a plan to make sure that your company can be found through local searches, start investigating. Focus on ensuring that people can see your company when they search for products or services in their area. Look at ad-retargeting and start moving on a strategy to show people where you are today.
There are tons of articles online that provide tidbits on how to improve your strategy, and every digital marketing team has to determine which practices and approaches are best for them. Sit back every once and a while and explore these possibilities from a big picture perspective. Then talk with your online marketing company about implementing some company specific changes that are meaningful for your brand.
Matthew is the President of Infront Webworks and is a New England native now calling Colorado Springs home. Matt attended The University of NH where he pursued a BS in Natural Resource Economics & Business Administration. Aside from Infront; Matthew has owned and managed two other online agencies based on the seacoast of New Hampshire and been a key player in multiple technology mergers & acquisitions. When he’s not bathing in technology, online marketing & business; he’s probably spending time with his wife and daughter, boating, skiing the trees, hiking or cooking..he is a foodie for sure!
