The world has fast become a super-connected place, and as such, marketing and advertising in businesses are not the same organisms they once were. They have evolved and grown to keep up.
What then is Digital Marketing, and what does it entail? Basically, it is a collective term that describes the intersection between marketing and the technology of the internet and other forms of new media.
It encompasses a long list of elements that include search engine optimization, demand/lead generation, content marketing, social media, online, reputation management, retargeting, and so much more. However, this introduction to digital marketing will highlight the critical areas where businesses should channel efforts, and how to make cost and time effective decisions.
Expatiating, Search Engine Optimization is a means of optimizing the content of a website in order to gain better placement on the Search Engine Results Page (SERPS).
Social Media Marketing; Social media marketing allows two-way communication between a company and consumer in a way that wasn’t previously seen and it’s safe to say that it has changed business approach to marketing as now, the consumer holds the power. There are lots of social media platforms scattered around the web today to give your business a voice in the conversation with your consumers.
Demand/Lead Generation; This is basically stimulating the interest of consumers about a service or product, and following up on this interest as a sales pipeline.You might ask, why Digital Marketing? These days, it’s important to have a strong online presence, coupled with great brand content that is presented uniformly across all media. Digital marketing is an essential part of this for companies who want to utilize the power of the internet in order to boost business.
Taking a look at 2012’s figures, let’s see what AdAge discovered when looking at the statistics:77% of people interact with brands on Facebook by looking at posts and updates 17% share news and experiences with others about the brand 13% post updates about brands they have connected with 56% said they would recommend a brand after becoming a fan on Facebook 34% of digital marketers have generated leads from Twitter 43% of all consumers who are internet-connected use social A business should always pay attention to where its customers are, who they are, and what their needs and interests are.
Digital marketing is quite like food, and the elements are ingredients. Getting it right is so important, and a culinary fail must be avoided.
“Companies have sunk billions of dollars into producing content on social media, hoping to build audiences around their brand, but consumers haven’t shown up.”
“Social media has transformed how culture works. Digital crowds have become powerful cultural innovators- a crowdculture. They’re now so effective at producing creative entertainment that it’s impossible to compete.
“While crowdculture has deflated conventional branding models, it actually makes an alternative model –cultural branding – even more powerful. In this approach, brands collaborate with crowdcultures and champion their ideologies in the marketplace. ” (Douglas Holt, Harvard Business Review, March 2016.
There are chefs about town, but one of them – Enterfive – is painfully dedicated to making the best digital marketing dishes that are perfect for the taste buds of businesses.
We, at Enterfive, have come up with key, helpful tips on how to start and go about a digital marketing strategy.
Prepare a plan Before considering the strategies of your digital marketing plan, you need to have a clear vision of what your business wants to achieve. By setting goals, you establish the right tactics that leads your business in the right direction.
There are a number of strategies that can be incorporated; blogs, SEO tactics, social media, content marketing, webinars and more. It is not necessary to make use of all the tools available but to adopt the digital marketing tools that are right for your customers, and will result in growth and success for your business.
The Real Beginning: A Good Website It makes perfect sense! This is how to begin to build a relationship with your customers and clients. How that relationship is built (whether through blogging, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, webinars, or other strategies) depends solely on how your target market typically likes to receive information about businesses like yours and about your industry.
Your website should look professionally designed, easy to navigate, and be built to work with SEO.
Start Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Most businesses will want to employ a bit of basic search engine optimization. Generally, and at the most basic level, you’ll want to write content for your website that naturally includes keywords that people would use when looking for a business like yours. Most businesses could benefit from learning more about SEO and how to implement smart strategies in their daily course of doing business, rather than hiring a firm that may or may not be able to deliver.
Social Media Platforms. Go “viral”! Despite the urge to, you do not have to be on every social media platform. Get handles and accounts on the platforms that your target audience is most active on, and suit your business.
“In the era of Facebook and YouTube, brand building has become a vexing challenge. This is not how things were supposed to turn out. A decade ago, most brand companies were heralding the arrival of a new golden age of branding. They hired creative agencies and armies of technologists to insert brands throughout the digital universe. Viral, buzz, memes, stickiness, and form factor became the lingua franca of branding. But despite all the hoopla, such efforts have had very little payoff.”
“On social media, what works for Shakira backfires for Crest and Clorox.”
Most businesses are saddled with so much work trying to do what they do or produce, and seeing as digital marketing land is vast and confusing, they often get lost. A tour guide is required. That’s right! Outsource. Let someone who knows the train fix this coach for you.
Enterfive is a marketing and operations hub that provides top-notch, bespoke services to its clients in Branding, Strategy, and Software. Our wealth of experience in the digital marketing space allows us provide our clients with global, best-practice solutions that are time and cost effective. Like a helper should be, we listen to execute and solve.
In branding, the lessons and examples set by the late Muhammad Ali are countless. He is one of the most recognized personalities in the world, and he built a brand. Muhammad Ali knew who he was, and what he stood for - Selfless yet tastefully arrogant, loud yet purposed-filled, strong yet learned his failures and developed.
The goal of marketing and building a brand should be exactly as he exemplified – communicating effectively, the company’s mission and identity. With Practice, Belief, Goals, and Tenacity, a strong brand emerges and stands through time.
In all this, it is important to stand for something. Your brand is actually what people say about you when you’ve left the room. Just like another late legend, The Purple Rain pioneer - Prince, stand for something and let it be known. Is it a coincidence that the colour of our brand is purple? We think not. Power, richness, royalty, respect, yet utmostly selfless – all these qualities, similar to the music icon, is what our brand evokes.
Africa is digital & welcome to Enterfive!
