The internet is filled with digital marketing gurus who claim that their strategies are the best for your business. Most of their advice centers around “being online, everywhere, all the time” until people buy from you. While there is some truth to showing up online, there’s more to it than that. The picnic team put our heads together this week to think about the most overlooked online marketing tips that can really transform your business.
We’ve pulled from our individual and collective knowledge to provide our best marketing tips:
#1: Get emotional in your customer journey
Our first tip is from picnic Founder and President Erica. She says to look for what’s missing in your customer journey and focus on why people should care about your business and your customer’s emotional state.
Your marketing strategy is meant to help nurture prospects so that they eventually buy from you. You should know this journey and what motivates or drives them throughout. Emotion is one common factor that influences people’s buying decisions. In addition to learning the characteristics of your ideal customer at every stage of the buying process, don’t forget to understand their emotional state and motivation at each stage.
Getting to the emotional state of your potential customer in the right place at the right time is the key to earning their trust and making a sale.
#2: Make sure you have (and use) a marketing strategy
Erin says a strong marketing and content strategy is a game changer for small businesses. So many businesses fly by the seat of their pants, creating and sharing content “as they feel like it.”
Instead, create a strategy for how you want to show up online to your ideal customers. Your strategy can be simple or detailed, but you may want to include:
- Customer personas
- Why customers buy from you (the need you fill)
- The emotions that lead them to buy
- Where do they “hang out” online?
- What questions do they have about your business?
- How often do they want to hear from you online?
- How often will you post on social or your blog?
- What hashtags and themes will you use?
- Who will create content and graphics and upload them? (shameless hint: picnic can help you with this).
- How will you measure success? (what analytics will you track)
Once you have your strategy, Erin stresses that you should follow it as closely as possible. Find processes and accountability to stick with it because content and marketing are meant to be long-term strategies.
#3: Refine (or create) a compelling video strategy
Netra has been telling clients for years about the importance of having a purposeful video content plan within your digital marketing strategy. In this strategy, not just any video will do! Here are some ideas for your next video:
- Showcase or demo your products and services (show people’s faces as much as possible)
- Share customer success stories
- Provide behind-the-scenes glimpses at your company
- Jump on with your take on a viral video trend
When creating videos for your social media accounts, shorter is better. Aim for 15-30 seconds for each video. If you have longer video content, post those to sites like YouTube or Vimeo instead.
Also, be aware of the orientation of your video. Vertical videos will likely show space on either side, so consider filming horizontally to use up the space more efficiently, unless you’re posting to your stories, which are better vertically.
#4: Ensure a proper balance of colour, contrast, and white space
This tip comes from our graphic designer, Gabriel. He’s always looking to create compelling graphics that help small businesses convey a message. However, he notes that it’s easy for novice designers to overload their images with off-brand content and too much information.
Ensure your graphics use only on-brand elements, including logos, colours, and styles. You only have a short amount of time to capture someone’s attention online, so ensure the balance of colour, contrast, and white space is eye-pleasing. Don’t overwhelm a potential customer or client with a busy, messy image.
BONUS TIP: Gabriel also wants to remind you to ensure your images are high-resolution, even for social media. Images that are blurry (or worse, have low resolutions and still have unpaid stock photo watermarks) are a no-no if you want to look like a business professional who cares about their online image and brand.
#5 Have a content strategy to educate, not sell
Our resident expert copywriter, Ashley, passionately advocates value-based content marketing tips and strategies. When planning what content to post on your social media, blogs, newsletters, and more, focus on showing off your expertise by educating your audience rather than using it as a sales pitch.
Remember, your social media and blogs are marketing tools, not sales tools. Before you can ask for a sale, you must earn it. You earn that sale by being present and visible online and sharing valuable information (through your blog and social…, etc.). This shows people who you are and what you’re good at…and ultimately earns their trust. Sales won’t happen until they trust you.
Try it and see the difference when you focus your content creation efforts on creating value-based content rather than full sales pitches.
#6: Consistency and Collaboration
Our last tip is from the whole team and is a two-parter: Be consistent with your marketing efforts and collaborate with others to get it done!
Firstly, don’t forget that marketing should always be a core part of your business strategy. It will evolve, but make marketing a priority, and you’ll start noticing other business changes.
Secondly, if you need help executing your content marketing, you can collaborate with a marketing or social media agency like picnic. The picnic team can help you create digital marketing strategies, including social media, paid ads, blogging, and more. Our team of digital marketing experts will help you develop strategies and execute them with our team of fabulous content creators.
At picnic, we bring people and businesses together through innovative marketing campaigns. Let us help you unlock the secrets to successful digital marketing tips for your business. Book a complimentary chat with Erica today to learn more and get started with your business transformation.