In Digital Marketing Basics 2, you build upon the introduction you had in the Digital Marketing Basics article. So learning the basics may seem boring and dry, however, it is important. Because you need to understand the purpose behind online marketing, much like any other tool. Particularly the psychology behind human behavior as it applies to digital marketing.
Part 2: Diving deeper
So it’s OK, you don’t have to panic. There is no need for you to gouge your eyes out with a plastic spoon because this is not boring, useless fluff. You won’t have to read hundreds of presentation slides or learn lots of theories. So sit up straight, put away distractions, and pay attention to this!
Time for a reality check
Before you do anything with digital marketing, it is very important to understand why you need to do certain things. Specifically, the underlying reasons behind any form of marketing today. Because without a firm grasp on why you use one form of marketing over another, you cannot know if you are on the right track. Additionally, successful marketing is all about human nature.
Entertain, Educate and Empower!
Here’s the biggest reality-check of them all. Whatever form of marketing you are doing, you need to be honest with yourself. Are the people seeing your ads engaged and having a positive experience? Does it make them feel good? Is it relevant? In fact, the user experience is key to every step along the way.
The buyers’ journey
Think of it as a journey; the buyer’s journey. Each time you want them to do something such as subscribe or click on your offer, you need to give them a good reason to do it. And the better the reason you give them, the better the results your marketing will have!
But the secret here that many marketers miss is that you need to make sure you focus on your audience. Give them great content that gets them to your website and/or offers. Entice your visitors to buy your shit and to keep coming back to you for more.
So do this one thing right and you will be far ahead of most businesses with your digital marketing. Focus on what your ideal customer wants, not what you want. So in other words, give them what they are looking for – it’s really just as simple as that!
Digital Marketing Basics 2: The Game Plan
As with many things in life, planning goes a long way towards making your digital marketing successful too. Planning your marketing and advertising out in the form of a calendar keeps you on track throughout each month and the year. So plan it out and win big.
Also, each type of digital marketing requires its own schedule, some being daily and others not as often. But the concept here is to have some sort of digital marketing plan and execute it. Do something with it.
Strategies for the big win!
Visualize your online advertising calendar as a playbook for sports. Kind of like in basketball, football, or soccer. So each player (SEO, Content, Social Media, etc.) has a different job to do. They all work together to help you score big-time and win. It’s a team effort.
More “players” = more results!
Some players like SEO and Content are long-range or long-term. They go deep to set you up for success in the long term. Others like Social Media Ads and PPC are your front-line players that can produce big results right now. You need both to conquer and win the game of business sales.
Basically, the better you tune your marketing calendar and stick to the plan, the better your chances of success. Are you ready for the big win?
A word or three on frequency
- Content Marketing – Long-term asset that you need to create content a minimum of 3 – 5 times per week for 6 months to get started.
- Email Marketing – Timing varies greatly depending on goals, but the frequency can be daily for a week to monthly or even annually.
- Influencer Marketing – Varies by the number you have access to and how often you want to give away free stuff, perks, or pay.
- PPC – Can change daily or once a campaign is dialed in, can be less frequently such as monthly, seasonally, or by the quarter.
- Public Relations – Varies greatly by opportunities, but should definitely be on your radar to build brand awareness (long-term asset) every chance you get.
- SEO – This is a daily operation that needs to be performed every single time you create content, landing pages, and ads. Never-ending.
- Social Media Marketing – Very similar in timing as PPC and can be less frequent, but can also be daily when used with PR and SEO.
- Text Message/SMS – Varies greatly when used in conjunction with other types of marketing, but often used daily to weekly.
- Viral Marketing – Look for opportunities, but who can truly say what will go viral? It has to be entertaining and unique.
- Voice Mail Marketing – Similar to Text/SMS and varies greatly with frequency and timing.
Take imperfect action to create some traction
The most important part of learning anything and benefiting from it is actually doing something with it! So here are some basic steps you can take, today and start winning.
Digital Marketing Basics 2: do these things!
Deliver real value – I cannot overstate this enough, create content that people want to consume! Solve a problem and speak to the pain of your ideal customer. Produce content that is funny or at least interesting and educational. But it always has to be worth their time or you shouldn’t bother putting it online.
Add your personality – Put your personality into everything you do, that will attract far more people than trying to please them all. Which often attracts no one at all. For example, you’ll notice that in every single piece of content I create, a little bit of my personality is in there too. I joke around, I’m sarcastic and I’m blunt – my personality isn’t for the timid, the easily offended, or the prudish. And it’s definitely not for someone without a good sense of humor.
Grammar & Spelling – Don’t get hung up on this too much. Try to write like you are at least vaguely educated, but not like college-level essay writing. Unless of course, you are doing something with college-level writing services, then your shit better be on point!
But for the ‘Millennials’ out there (yes you, snowflake), your butchering of the English language is shamelessly appalling. Know the difference between to, two, and too as well as your and you’re. And for the love of God, it’s spelled G-O-O-D, not ‘gud’, numb-nuts. *Remember the personality thing I mentioned above?
And do these things too:
Content with clarity – Keep a clear goal in mind when creating content. Ask yourself when writing or recording videos, is this shit really relevant to your ideal customer? Then it becomes much easier when looking at topics whether or not to spend time working on it. If it doesn’t fit, it’s out!
SEO – As stated before, every single time you create a piece of content, you should also be using some SEO along with it. Not sure how or why or where to begin? Check out SEO Key Ingredients – 1 Minute Marketing Tips #10 for excellent tips.
Calls to action – Now that you are creating content, adding in your personality, have clarity and people are digging your content – prompt them to do something! ‘Get Your Gree Copy of the HVAC Marketing Master Guide‘ or ‘Get the inside scoop with ROI Ninjas Weekly Kicks‘ are both examples of prompting people to do something or simply known as a call-to-action. The banner below is another example:
Digital Marketing Basics 2: Summary
So this could easily be another long article just on the actionable steps alone. Actually there is another article, Digital Marketing Basics Part 3. But right now you have some basic knowledge that you can start using right now to make a difference in your marketing today.
Also, if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed with just the basics and want some help or you would just like someone to do this for you, check out our comprehensive Digital Marketing Services or click on the banners below to get started right now.
Shout-out
In any case, I again want to point out that Amy Jordan, Founder of POP Content has served as the inspiration for these articles. She knows her shit and she’s pretty damn cute too – a winning combination!
