Constant Contact’s new marketing campaign promises that you can “be a marketer” if you use their product. Woefully, it’s not quite that easy.
While marketing is a game that you can excel in the more you learn and continue to stay current, using someone’s product doesn’t automatically make you a marketer, even if you’re sending out email campaigns.
Being a marketer is not quite as simple as just using a product. Contrary to what Constant Contact’s ad might tell you, there are a variety of marketing strategies that you should be implementing if you want to stay on top of your marketing game.
Being a marketer is not quite as simple as just using a product.
Below you’ll find several strategies that will get you on your way to marketer status far more legitimately.
Note: If you haven’t already determined your buyer personas and created the calendar that you’ll plug these strategies into, start there first. Once you’ve figured out who will be on the receiving end of your marketing efforts, and how often, continue with these tips!
1. Claim Your Business Online
There’s a joke in the digital marketing community that’s a play on an age-old philosophical query: “Do you exist if Google doesn’t know you do?” Joke or not, this is a real issue. If you have a business but you’re not listed on Google, then you might as well not exist at all.
Do you exist if Google doesn’t know you do?
Luckily, Google makes fixing this easy: go online and claim your business. Confirm all the information listed. This way, when people do a search online, your information comes up and provides a fast and simple way to contact you by phone, email, or URL.
2. Optimize Your Content
First, figure out your keywords. Then make sure you’re actually using those keywords on your website (but don’t stuff them everywhere.) Lastly, ensure that the content you’re producing is in line with the topics your potential customers are searching for.
This means that if you’re selling data security solutions, you should be writing content about data security solutions. It means that each page of your website should discuss the problem of data security and talk about the solution that you provide.
Like I mentioned above, if Google can’t find you, you might as well not exist. Google won’t find you if you’re not talking about what problems you’re solving for your consumers.
3. Get on Social Media Platforms
You need to be where your audience is, and most of them are on social media platforms—especially LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Get signed up with a business page or account, and then start sharing your content as well as other content that’s curated from other sources—just make sure it’s about something that your audience will find compelling.
Don’t be on social media just to be there—be there to engage with others.
Don’t be on social media just to be there—be there to engage with others, participate in the social community, and talk to your consumers when they talk to you or about you. It’s like making friends in real life: you can’t do it unless you actually care about them.
4. Get in Front of People
Marketing from behind a computer screen can only take you so far. What are you doing to get in front of your community?
Digital marketing efforts can cast a net that travels far and wide, there is no comparison for shaking someone’s hand and giving them a favorable impression of you, your people, and your company.
Here are a few ways to get in front of people: send an employee to networking events and conferences, and have them introduce themselves and start to build relationships. Find a community cause and get involved with your staff to show that you care about the community as a whole and not just about business. Learn about the networking groups in your area and sponsor one of them.
Get your name and representatives out there, because while digital marketing efforts can cast a net that travels far and wide, there is no comparison for shaking someone’s hand and giving them a favorable impression of you, your people, and your company. You must allocate time and resources for both.
5. Don’t Forget About Email
Email’s not dead, y’all. With social media marketing, only a small percentage of your audience sees your message. When you send out an email campaign, you can be certain that the vast majority of your audience actually sees the email in their inbox.
It’s up to you to make the email compelling enough for your audience to want to open it, but your net is smaller and more targeted with an email campaign. If someone is willing to give you their email address, they’re closer to becoming a buyer than they would be if they just “liked” you Facebook page. Use your efforts here accordingly.
6. Create Gated Content
Gated content is a major content piece like an eBook, white paper, or guidebook that potential consumers can only access by first giving you their information.
The purpose of gated content is to provide something of value to your audience for free. In turn, they give you their contact information as a potential lead.
Based on what your company does, you should figure out what type of content would be good for you to give away—and don’t be afraid of giving too much away. As an inbound marketer, I occasionally give away free lessons in social media marketing. This may seem like I’m giving people the tools to do things themselves and not use me, but, on the contrary, it often shows people exactly how time- and labor-intensive social media marketing really is.
People learn for themselves, they get lessons that benefit them, and they also realize that they may need my help at some point. Put together something valuable for your audience and they will trust you with their business…now or sometime in the future.
7. Advertise Online
Paid online advertising—like on Adwords or Facebook Ads—should never take the place of organic audience building. It should only serve as a boost.
If your audience doesn’t like what you’re putting out organically, they won’t like what you’re putting out as a sponsored advertisement.
If your audience doesn’t like what you’re putting out organically, they won’t like what you’re putting out as a sponsored advertisement. That said, use paid advertising as your budget allows, if only because it keeps you in good graces with platforms like Google and Facebook. These platforms want to know that you are contributing to the services they provide, so paying to play is necessary at times, even if it’s with small pockets. Be targeted and strategic with your advertising—don’t try to replace your organic efforts with ads, but instead seek to support those efforts.
8. Contribute to the Digital Community
Finally, get involved. Think about it: when you meet someone for the first time and ask them questions about themselves, and then they never ask anything about you, you think they’re a little rude, right?
The digital community is no different. People want to feel like you care about them, and that they matter to you.
Instead of just talking about yourself all the time, take part in Twitter conversations and retweet things from other people. Follow other businesses on Facebook and promote specials they’re running. Share content from your customers. Get involved, and don’t make it all about you!
These days, marketing isn’t talking about yourself all the time…it’s playing nice in the digital sandbox with others, too.
If you’re not sure where to start with your marketing efforts, this can all feel extremely daunting. Taking stock of these general strategies will give you a better handle on getting in front of your customers, and will help you better understand what they’re looking for.
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