5 Reasons You Need A New Digital Marketing Strategy
Source: Marketing Eye Australia>Marketing Eye Australia
Whether you are a start-up that didn’t get off the ground due to COVID, a small business, or a large corporation, you are faced with uncertain times and a very volatile marketplace which means that your online performance and in particular your digital marketing strategy may not be working quite as effectively as it should.
When I look at the market today, I see change. With this in mind, it makes sense that businesses look in-ward to look outward and make the necessary changes to any type of marketing strategy that is in play.
So many businesses are rethinking their business plan, how they go to market, who their target audience is, and what their value proposition entails – all with good reason.
How that affects a digital marketing strategy is easy to see as the changing mindset of buyers and their current circumstances in comparison to what they may have been a year ago are relevant.
Here are 5 relevant reasons why you need to rethink, re-engineer, and re-purpose your digital marketing strategy:
Business Goals are no longer aligned to marketing goals
With the changes in the current business environment, many businesses have changed their goals. Their sales forecasts may be lower than previously anticipated, their expansion plans put on hold and their target audience may be different. If your business goals are not aligned to your marketing goals it is impossible to reach them. Adapting, changing, and testing new waters is often the only way to create business goals that have any type of substance in today’s marketplace.
Adwords campaign is no longer effective
When companies are no longer getting sales the way they once were, they often put a knee-jerk action in place. What many companies have done is put the budget into Adwords as part of what they consider a quick fix, only to find out that it isn’t working. There are many reasons why an Adwords campaign may not be working but one of the first factors to consider is that competitors are turning to Adwords using the same keywords as you. This means that you are all paying more for impressions and campaigns become less effective. Ascertaining whether or not you should put ALL of your budgets into Adwords is critical to lead generation campaign success. Using platforms that help you spend your marketing budget in the right places can help reduce wastage and do more targeted campaigns. We use Robotic Marketer as our tool as it is AI-powered and more likely to give us a good cross-section of marketing and communications platforms to diversify our marketing spend.
Engagement on social media was strong but is no longer the case
At the start of the pandemic, many people were online and therefore actively using social media platforms. Small businesses were able to capitalise on this and do marketing campaigns with reasonable effectiveness. Then that wore off. I kid you not! The market changed and consumer behaviour rectified itself steering away from overconsumption of social media. What that means for brands is that we are forced to rethink the way we connect with the same audience and how we disseminate information.
Website traffic has dropped
This is a huge issue that companies are facing today and one that can be fixed. It’s just knowing how to do so. Doing a audit of your website is necessary and using technologies like SEMRush and Alexa to better understand traffic alongside Google Analytics.
Many companies set up SEO then forget about it. Worse still they may employ third-parties to do their SEO and not monitor the results. Ensuring that your website has the right traffic and enough of it is critical to lead generation.
Leads have stopped coming
When prospects no longer contact your firm, you are forced to focus heavily on outbound marketing technologies as a quick fix. This is a costly exercise and takes time. When leads stop coming into your company, it doesn’t take long to realize that your business is no longer viable. This is when cuts occur across the entire business. When the market changes, you should always change with it running a nimble organisation that has the ability to be flexible when need be. Using a platform that allows for flexibility can mean the difference of your business shutting your doors or staying open. Once again, we use Robotic Marketer which has a multi-user, multi-strategy platform (newly released) allowing companies to re-process their marketing strategies according to new business goals. It’s best to know what to do and when to do it, with the right messages and marketing campaigns.
Technogies we recommend: SEMRush, Google Analytics, Robotic Marketer and Alexa.
Source: Marketing Eye Australia
Why You Need The Help Of Marketing Strategy Technology
Because technology is the answer to coping with the future.
Following the current trajectory of the world’s events, I think it’s safe to say that technology is at the forefront of managing the ‘new normal’. Today, there is mounting pressure on businesses to adapt quickly in order to stay afloat and it is this developing trend the has many believing that a digital future is the only way to go.
It is critical now more than ever that special attention is placed on how businesses capitalize on existing market opportunities and take into account shifting buyer behavior, competitive landscape, and much more. But, this may not be possible without the help of artificial intelligence. And, many businesses are already catching on.
According to a recent study conducted by PwC, 72% view AI as a “business advantage”. Traditionally, marketing strategies took many months to develop and when completed, were considered outdated to the current market environment. Moreover, marketing strategies were limited by the intelligence of the marketing professional writing them, who in most cases would not be across all areas of marketing. For this reason, ‘early adopters’ like Oracle and SAP with large distribution networks saw the value in AI-based marketing strategy technology through real-time insights gained for strategic next steps.
Combining the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, marketing strategy technology such as Robotic Marketer is able to deep dive into big data available on competition, customer perception, and existing market conditions to provide a comprehensive roadmap to strategically navigate the ever-changing market for sustainable growth. Information gathering is often limited by the tools at our disposal but with Robotic Marketer, you are only limited by the “universe”.
So, here are three benefits to having a marketing strategy technology write your next marketing strategy:
It’s Faster
The use of artificial intelligence in marketing enables businesses to innovate and go-to-market faster. Thanks to the dynamics of machine learning, marketing strategy technology is not only able to learn from the past but also prepare for the future by taking account of present conditions.
Organizations and agencies alike are able to leverage this value in order to help their clients succeed. What’s advantageous of utilizing technology like Robotic Marketer is that agencies can now self-serve to have a marketing strategy in place in a matter of days instead of months, which processes the data entered during a workshop in mere seconds rather than hours. Furthermore, with a multi-user functionality to enhance collaboration, teams are able to work alongside each other in real-time to ensure all relevant information is inputted across the board for a faster turnaround.
It’s Smarter
The human and machine combination could possibly be a match made in heaven. The exponential advances made in the digital sphere has meant that technology now has the precision and performance of a human, and dare say even better.
Marketing strategy technology is able to make sense of large sets of data with minimal manual work. The data gathered is then used to inform relevant marketing tactics with appropriate key messaging to be delivered to the right person at the right time. A robotics-based platform dealing with multiple strategies is able to learn to suggest ideal content most relevant to the target audience. Artificial intelligence takes over the most time-consuming tasks that businesses and their marketing teams struggle with to provide smarter solutions that work.
It Keeps You Ready
The unique ability of artificial intelligence to not only uncover new insights but also apply that to future campaigns through learning is key to maximizing outreach to the target audience in the most effective manner. AI solutions like Robotic Marketer deliver marketing strategies that are not only intelligent but also promote real-time decision making to be strategically positioned or ready for whatever the market has in store. It also increases the likelihood of converting prospects into clients significantly.
At the end of the day, businesses see value in understanding which marketing activities work and which do not, and a marketing strategy that is powered by AI-based market understanding is just the solution needed for an increased ROI and enhanced bottom line.
As many take the time to plan their next steps, having a marketing strategy for the next 12 months will be an essential conversation to have. While the benefits of investing in a marketing strategy technology are endless, the above three reasons highlight why even the world’s largest organizations choose to employ its help.
The Future of Marketing is Digital
An emerging and soon to be dominating approach within marketing is devouring the traditional marketing methodology and becoming a visage of marketing. The future of marketing is digital.
Traditional marketing has been seen as the cornerstone for marketing for ages, using methods such as television advertising, print media, and telemarketing. However, change is necessary and inevitable.
An ever-expanding labyrinth of utilized electronic platforms, devices, and the behemoth network of information systems, known as the internet is what defines the core of digital marketing.
These online instruments allow the opportunity to connect with wide-ranging audiences and develop brand awareness.
Video Marketing is Trending Upwards
Video marketing over the years has grown significantly due to its exceedingly engageable and sharable content, which can be easily accessed on several digital platforms and smart devices.
With over 70% of consumers sharing a brand’s video, it’s reasonable to predict that you’ve been influenced by video content at some point in life; from Instagram and Snapchat stories to vlogging entries.
Another interesting development is the utilization of Zoom, a cloud platform that enables video content and conferencing in a one-to-one or group format to meet and collaborate online.
This is especially beneficial within our current predicament during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing us to isolate physically. In April 2020, more than 300 million daily meeting participants were using Zoom. The value and experience of video conferencing presents a better outcome in comparison to common emails and voice calls.
The Outshining Control of Chatbots
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an umbrella term utilized to simulate machine intelligence demonstrating learning, functionality, and problem-solving abilities to imitate human actions.
To be more specific, chatbots are becoming more and more assertive within the customer service sector, with chatbots dominating over 80% of customer service this year.
Chatbots are a 24-hour service, assisting and providing immediate responses to inquires with genuine and accurate replies to ensure customers’ expectations are met and automating recurring responsibilities.
Overall, chatbots are digitally inclined to reach out or communicate with customers in a humanized and natural way through various of platforms like voice recognition technologies, SMS texting, also functioning in website and application layouts.
Interactive Content is Becoming Highly Attractive
Interactive content is anything that involves creating and shareable online content to promote brand engagement while providing entertainable yet informative content to educate their audience.
Lately, online business entities have engaged with consumers offering interactive quizzes, infographics, and webinars. These formats are enacted only to catch your audience attention and to establish a memorable experience.
According to BeMedia, 70% of marketers are creating more interactive content today than last year, This is because consumers have an attention span between 8-15 seconds to take in information before they become impatient, bored or they are no longer interested.
Everyone is soon realizing that digital marketing is becoming the preferred approach to emphasize in a marketing strategy, so that you can reach your audience with ease and efficiency. These trends are evidence that digital marketing is continuing to augment and acclimatize towards the future of the digital marketing landscape.
How To Generate Leads Digitally During The Coronavirus Outbreak
As a brand in the B2B space, the COVID-19 or Coronavirus pandemic has changed how business is done.
For most B2B companies, attending events is a major way through which quality leads are generated and eventually converted – allocating a significant portion (21%) of their marketing budget to event marketing alone.
It is said that 68% of B2Bs use in-person events for lead generation initiatives, which is important to note since the quality of leads generated can determine whether or not revenue objectives are achieved in the year.
With that in mind, loss of this acquisition channel due to the pandemic weighs a heavy burden on how B2B businesses can bring minimum disruption to their inbound cashflow. Now more than ever, there is a requirement for companies to change from what they’ve always done and implement fresh marketing strategies relevant to the present climate.
This article provides some ways in which brands can shift their focus to digital marketing channels to make smart investments with their marketing dollars in a time of crisis.
- Invest in your Website
Social isolation has meant that people have now shifted the way they live and work to the digital sphere. Therefore, it is no longer acceptable to have a subpar website but making a good digital impression is crucial to discoverability.
In many cases, the website is the first touchpoint that a potential client has with a business. Therefore, careful consideration into the design, content and general user experience is one of the first things that needs to be analyzed.
A website is a reflection of the value a business provides in comparison to competition. It is also a visual determinant to the health of a company. Therefore, investing in upgrading or redeveloping your company’s website in line with today’s best practices (mobile friendly, keyword rich, responsive, relevant content) could significantly improve your digital ranking and impact lead generation.
- Focus on SEO
SEO is a tactic that needs to be considered when adapting your marketing strategy and is closely related to keeping your website up to date.
As peanut butter is to jelly, a website is incomplete without search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the tactic through which your brand is digitally visible in the long run.
Growing organic search traffic is paramount when using your website as tool for lead generation, and something that improves SEO is content. HubSpot found that blogging is particularly important for SEO, since it results in 55% more website visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 434% more indexed pages.
Content marketing is a proven way to establish your brand as a marketing expert while also effectively communicating the value you provide through your products and services.
When it comes to generating leads, using strategic content coupled with specific, relevant offers will increase your conversion rate and provide the best user experience. Run an email marketing campaign that links back to a blog on your website. Develop video content that directs visitors to subscribe to your newsletter or to book a demonstration. There’s a lot than can be done.
- Leverage Social Media
In addition to the above, social media can also be primarily employed to overcome the dangers of social isolation that many B2B companies currently face. It equips businesses to maintain engagement and manage relationships without skipping a beat.
Earlier, social media may have been an afterthought that businesses may have engaged in every once in a while, but that cannot be the case anymore. Now, social media needs to be the driving force of a business’ marketing strategy to accommodate to the current times.
Social media channels need to stay current and relate to the current environment. A cadence needs to be set for timely updates that are not only useful to followers and redirect them to your website but also relate to their current mindset.
In a time where in-person networking and meeting is impossible, social platforms like LinkedIn help to connect with leads and keep conversations going. The benefit here is that it can be done anywhere and from the convenience of your home.
Furthermore, managing online reputation through reviews is a painstaking yet crucial step in building online presence. Appreciate feedback and appropriately handle unsatisfactory ones to build positive referral campaigns online.
While social distancing is a scary reality for most businesses, the digital age has provided us with so much to keep customers engaged. Online marketing might not provide the same in-person experience like events, however technological advancements has meant that digital channels are not too far behind.
The rise of certain marketing tactics like conversational marketing has enabled companies to connect and personalize visitor experiences to their website unlike anything before. Brands that would have otherwise spent their budget on in-person events can now invest more into developing their online presence through better content and user experience instead.
The Importance of Marketing for the Healthcare industry in the time of COVID-19
In a crisis situation such as the COVID-19 outbreak, effective communication strategies are crucial.
Given the rapid spread of the virus, timely and consistent information must be distributed internally for staff and externally for patients and the general public.
For staff, regular communication is necessary as it will help foster a positive working relationship, which will consequently improve efficiency and morale. Conversely, external stakeholders are relying on your communication for guidance on how to protect their health and wellbeing.
Communicating with employees:
The COVID-19 outbreak is placing extreme strain on most industries, especially the healthcare sector. Employees are your most important asset and act as ambassadors to the general public, so if your message isn’t clearly conveyed to your own employees, communication to the community will be even more challenging. Further, it is the company’s responsibility to put employee’s minds at ease during this stressful period, by providing frequent, clear and hopeful messages.
For effective communication with employees, business in the health sector should:
- Communicate information in a location that is accessible and visible by all employees. In a healthcare environment, this may include noticeboards, reception desks, or even virtual locations such as online social-media groups.
- Explain why certain decisions were made, to demystify the situation and provide clarity for employees.
- Ensure regular and consistent communication to put your employees’ minds at ease and reduce anxiety.
- Since information and guidelines are constantly being released by government agencies, communicate them to your staff in a timely manner rather than waiting for the next release.
Communicating with patients and the general public:
External stakeholders such as patients and the general public rely on communication from the healthcare sector for guidelines and advice on how to cope during the outbreak. In contrast to employees, companies do not have the same access of communication with this group. It is crucial that the community are aware of what healthcare services and facilities are available to them and therefore effective communication must be ensured. The following tips can help ensure your messages are conveyed to the public successfully:
- Develop a plan: Having a response plan in place will allow for prompt messaging to the general public. For example, developing messages based on new government guidelines should be a part of your plan. Automating these messages may be appropriate, as you will be able to get your messages out as early as possible to keep your customers up-to-date.
- Reveal as much information as possible: It is important to observe the crisis from the perspective of the customer. With the great uncertainty brought about by the current COVID-19 outbreak, it is easy for individuals to experience great anxiety and frustration. As a result, it is important for your company to communicate as much information as possible, rather than leaving the community in limbo.
- Cease non-essential communication: Press releases, irrelevant e-mails or community news should be paused until things calm down. Your important messages would otherwise be lost within all the other announcements. Save this content for when the outbreak is controlled, so consumers have more time to engage with it.
The implementation of an effective communication strategy during the current COVID-19 outbreak is necessary for your business; not only for your employees, but the public as a whole. It is the company’s responsibility to put employee’s minds at ease during this stressful period, by providing frequent, clear and hopeful messages. Similarly, it is crucial that the community are aware of what healthcare services and facilities are available to them and therefore constructive communication must be ensured.
How To Leverage Social Media During A Time Of Social Distancing
These are uncertain times for us all and we now live in a world where life seems so different from what we’ve been used to. The reason for this shake up – COVID-19 or Coronavirus.
This week, governments all around the world announced set guidelines that need to be followed in regards to travel, social gatherings and health that include staying home whenever possible, avoiding social gathering of over 10 people, and maintaining a distance of at least six feet from other – all aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus both locally and globally. These guidelines have given rise to new ways of navigating the new reality. Terms like “working from home” and “social distancing” have become the new norm.
For many businesses, isolation is a scary reality but in this digital age we have so much at our fingertips that can equip us to keep our customer engaged and our relationships thriving. Enter social media. Here’s how you can leverage this tool in a time of social distancing:
Own Your Social Media Channel
As a business, it is necessary to remember that you can no longer engage with social media as you once used to i.e. once a week. Social media may have been at the back burner before the pandemic, but it must now take center stage in your digital marketing strategy.
Ensure your channels are current and relate to the current environment. Share timely updates that are useful to followers and relate to their current state of mind. Take part in trending conversations that relate your brand as well as participate with happenings on your channels. Make timely use of GIFs, images and videos to educate, connect and entertain your audience.
Engage in Online Networking
In a time where face-to-face meetings are no longer possible and networking events are being cancelled to limit contact, virtual relationship building is the way to go. Lucky for us, platforms like LinkedIn allow us to connect and keep the conversations going. The convenience of networking online means that you can do it anywhere and at a time that best suites you.
Build an Online Community
In a time of social distancing, there is a high risk of businesses and their consumers losing touch of one another. By building online communities, businesses are able to rally their followers, maintain engagement and ensure they communicate to consumers their value .
Twitter chats, Hashtags, IGTV, Facebook and LinkedIn groups and YouTube channels offer a sense of community and allow meaningful interactions with customers. It is also a great way to receive constructive feedback and hear what is relevant to your target audience in order to improve.
Respond to Online Reviews
Managing business reviews is a painstaking, time-consuming process that you can easily fall behind on. However, now with all this time suddenly spent online, there is enough and more hours in the day to respond back to customer reviews that you were previously too busy to address. Appreciate feedback provided. Appropriately handle unsatisfied customers and extinguish any festering displeasure in a timely manner.
These efforts will especially pay off when social distancing is lifted. Consumers may not receive face-to-face reviews about a new product or service to try but by leaving positive reviews of their experience before the pandemic could possibly mean a spike in your online store and a pipeline of quality leads after the pandemic dust settles.
Social distancing, while inconvenient is a temporary hinderance that can be overcome. We are now more connected than ever thanks to social media. The key to success during this season is to effectively employ its capabilities to do what we’ve always been doing and do it better.