It’s almost the end of 2019, and the fast-paced world of digital marketing has changed the landscape of marketing and business. It can also take you off-guard if you don’t try to keep tabs on all the new methods of marketing to reach new audiences.
Digital marketing has opened new doors to businesses to reach millions of people through the internet. It’s almost easy to reach audiences nowadays, but we tend to forget that grabbing attention is half of the job.
In layperson’s term, digital marketing is any means of marketing using digital technologies: on the internet, mobile phones, games, digital billboards, etc. Some forms of digital marketing are display advertising, email marketing, pay per click advertising, social media marketing, and sometimes even blogging.
New methods, new algorithms, and new analytics make marketers forget all too often the simple art of staying ahead of the curve through branding. Old-fashioned branding doesn’t provide quick solutions or immediate results.
Your brand image must speak to your audience in an authentic way to keep them hooked. It is the secret ingredient to keeping your customers loyal and enticing them to come back again and again.
The internet itself is scattered with information on how to gain optimal growth and success for your business or personal brand in more than a million ways.
But we forget that most of these tips and strategies usually result in short-term improvements. Listed below are some tried and trusted methods of digital branding that will surely work long-term for any kind of business.
First Impressions: Website
An incredible 93% of the time, online experiences start with a search, and it’s more than probable that the first encounter someone has with your brand will be through the website. The website is the first stepping stone for your potential customer to learn about your brand.
Color schemes, webpage layout, and right images are quite crucial in creating a visual imprint in your audience’s mind. Before anything else, you need to grab the visitor’s attention visually.
The overall design and the content are very important, but there are some technical factors you need to take into account as well. Make sure the site doesn’t take ages to load, that the visitor is not bombarded with ads, or that there isn’t any kind of web-related factor that will make the visitor impatient and feel inclined to leave the site.
An ideal website should be visually appealing and minimal enough to send a brand message in a few seconds. Because that’s all a first time visitor will spend searching on a new website. A few seconds.
Content Is King
Valuable, informative, engaging: three attributes through which content can define your brand. Content is the voice of your brand and will determine your reach toward a targeted audience. It’s a great way to spread information or teach at no cost and, in turn, attract and reach a diverse audience.
The message sent out should be positive and align with your brand image. Entertaining and informative videos, vlogs, blogs, and podcasts can generate millions of viewers and listeners and create strong brand recognition.
Spectacular or unique content doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive to have an effect on people, unlike paid media advertisements. You can still do this at low cost by creating original and authoritative content that will leave a strong impression in your audience’s mind.
The whole point of content is to create an image of your brand that will leave a lasting impression in your audience’s mind. As more people flock to see your content, the more it will strengthen your brand’s value and visibility.
Social Media Advertisements
As of today’s date, Facebook and Instagram have over one billion active users, Twitter 126 million, Reddit 330 million. Social media can be a goldmine to reach audiences in every corner of the world.
One post by Kim Kardashian or Kyle Jenner can reach hundreds of millions of people, not to mention how Jenner started her own business through Instagram and is a billionaire now.
Your content can be the most amazing in the world, but there’s no point in creating it if no one can find it. Ads on social media platforms are cost-effective, and they are specialized in reaching a highly specific target audience, two characteristics that make these platforms quite invaluable for advertisements.
Facebook and Instagram are well-known for their algorithm to target responsive audiences who like the same kind of brands. This means your ad will reach only potential customers. These platforms are also ideal for transparent engagement with your customers through reviews and shares. Small businesses can especially take advantage of these platforms to grow and expand their brand without breaking the bank.
SEO Searches
How do you stay ahead of your competitors if your audience cannot even find you with ease? Most people don’t usually bother looking even on the second page of a search engine. SEO comes handy in situations like this.
If you want to find new customers or clients, you need to pitch in new ideas every so often. You also need to make sure that your business’ tone and ideas are different than your competitors, and this will set you apart from the rest.
First and foremost, you must be knowledgeable about your product and services’ niche to create new strategies. You cannot put yourself on the map without an up-to-date understanding of your own business.
Research will set you apart from your competitors, and your business can emerge as a leader and expert in your industry. Be different enough to create your own specific keywords and appear on the first page of any search engine!
Google’s AdSense
Google announced its new AdSense Auto Ads in February. The new AdSense will help publishers optimize and plan the perfect ad for their targeted audiences.
The ads are placed automatically on sites best related to your business through machine learning. This efficiently and effectively narrows down the targeted audience to give a greater return on your investment.
Finally…
You will never find the perfect solution for digital marketing to keep your brand ahead all the time. Research and strategies can make it a leader in the industry, but you must always keep your brand authentic and honest to your audience.
You can create a valuable brand for the present, but there’s no guarantee it will stay the same with changes of the time unless your brand changes with the times as well!
