Best Practices for Digital Marketing in 2021
To be successful in the ever-changing digital marketing world, you need to know what tactics and strategies make your business stand out. Marketing efforts that worked this year may not be effective in 2021. Consumer demands change, meaning leading-edge digital marketing campaigns this year could already be considered outdated heading into the new year.
Successful digital marketing campaigns are multifaceted, focused on gaining visibility in a crowded marketplace. The tactics and strategy implemented in digital efforts play critical roles in making your ideal client feel they need your product or service and compel them to advocate for you as well. With the new year quickly approaching, now is the perfect time to take a deep dive into learning more about those strategies to bolster your digital marketing efforts for 2021. While there is no cookie-cutter for success, here are some digital marketing best practices to keep in mind.
Learn What Your Customers Want
How well do you know your customers? Do you have a thorough understanding of who they are, their demographics, likes (and dislikes), or what motivates them to make a purchase? To turn viewers into customers, you need to illustrate to your potential clients how you can help them.
The best way to build awareness of your ideal client is to create a customer avatar. Stepping into your client’s proverbial shoes helps pinpoint the language that resonates with them and the pain points they are looking to solve.
A customer avatar can be simple or detailed; it all depends on how finely-tuned you want your digital marketing strategy to be. Questions you’ll want to include when creating your customer avatar includes:
- What is their age range?
- What is their job function?
- What business problem do they want to be solved?
- What is their vendor selection criteria?
- Where are they most active online?
By forging a deeper understanding of your ideal client, you will have an easier time illustrating why your business is the perfect solution to the product or service they are seeking.
Offer a Mobile-Friendly Experience
Creating mobile-friendly content is an integral component of a successful digital marketing strategy. The reason being, most consumers use smartphones versus their laptops or desktops when browsing the Internet. Support a mobile-first mindset by ensuring all images, videos, and texts meet the mobile format requirements.
Include Video Content
Video content is incredibly popular because it is more entertaining, engaging, and easier to digest than written content. Additionally, videos add a more personal feel to your message. By creating a deeper connection with the audience, you build their trust and admiration. Furthermore, there is a far greater opportunity to connect on an emotional level with viewers via video versus other forms of content. The most common video platforms businesses are publishing content to include:
- YouTube
- IGTV
- TikTok
Video offers valuable contextual components that simply cannot be communicated through text. It is those components that let you establish authority within your industry, turning viewers into customers.
PRO TIP: Creating content that is relatable and relevant in today’s business atmosphere further entices a buyer to purchase from you. Relevant content is more authentic, which amplifies the trust factor between consumer and vendor.
Have a Plan
How do you know if you have a proper digital strategy? A digital marketing strategy starts with defining the scope and scale of your digital marketing. It involves understanding and benchmarking where you are now against where you need to be in the future. Having a defined benchmark covering your organization’s overall digital strategy and marketing tactics is imperative for business growth. Digital strategies should also include:
- Workflow Process (from team to team)
- Content Management Systems or Platforms to be used
- Products or Services being promoted
- Digital Channels to be used
Understanding your company’s current objectives and then using digital marketing to build upon those desired outcomes is the key to using your digital marketing strategy as a tool for business growth.
Conclusion
For any business looking to grow, it is critical to understand the importance of developing and implementing a digital marketing plan. Unfortunately, many organizations go full-steam ahead without assessing their current digital strategy to see where improvements are needed. Without a comprehensive understanding of their content, social media, website, and user experience strategies, most businesses see their efforts fall flat.
Similarly, some organizations make the mistake of not giving their digital strategy enough time to pan out. Successful digital marketing campaigns require organizations to be patient. Ultimately, organizations that are proactive and stay on the leading edge of digital marketing strategies will create successful digital campaigns in 2021. With years of experience helping businesses identify and target their ideal client, Lead Revenue is a digital marketplace leader. Learn more about our digital marketing strategies here!
