If you want your business to survive in 2022, you’re going to need to engage with online marketing like never before. Traditional marketing will only get you so far; while it’s still worthwhile to pound the pavement and spread word the old-fashioned way, social media marketing is just too powerful to ignore now. If you haven’t been engaging with online marketing up to now, then you’re missing out on a crucial resource for your business. Here are 10 of our top online marketing tips and tricks.
1. See how the pros do it
There are entire blogs out there dedicated to cataloguing and detailing online marketing best practices. It’s worth taking some time out to read those and see if there’s anything there that’s relevant to your needs. We’re big fans of the iNET VENTURES digital marketing blog here; it’s got tips on everything from optimizing your content for SEO all the way through to which social media platforms you should use (both of which we’ll be covering in this article too!).
2. It’s all about SEO
Online marketing revolves largely around SEO. This means you need to optimize all of your pages – no matter whether they’re social media accounts, your website, or blog content – around SEO. Using keywords related to your topic is essential; you can use Google Trends or other keyword search tools to discover what these might be. Other SEO tips include varying your keywords up, using shorter sentences, and using images to make sure you catch people who are using Google Image Search.
3. Maintain a social media presence
Alright, so this one isn’t so much a tip or a trick as an essential component of online marketing, but you’d be amazed at how many businesses miss this. You need to make sure that you’re on as many major social media platforms as possible. Right now, the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok; having accounts on those platforms is very important if you want to market your brand. New platforms may pop up, and it’s just as crucial to engage with them as well.
4. Write for your audience
When you’re generating content (as you should be doing, no matter what your business is focused on), it’s important to create that content with your audience in mind. If your brand is worth its salt, you’ll already have done a market research analysis to determine who your customers are. Figure out what kind of register they want and write for them. Use appropriate keywords and jargon for the audience you’re writing for, and don’t alienate them with language or syntax they won’t appreciate or understand.
5. Optimize for responsive design
Many business owners are unfamiliar with the term “responsive design”, so here’s a quick primer. Responsive design refers to the way in which you design your pages to ensure they can be read on any platform. A lot of your users will engage with your content on mobile, so it’s important to make sure that your content is legible to people using smartphones or tablets. Of course, desktop users are also important, so make sure your site is designed with all of your users’ habits in mind.
6. Use email campaigns
You might think that the world is leaving email marketing behind, but you’d be wrong in this assumption. Email lists are still a great way to generate ROI for your business. In fact, estimates suggest that email lists are around 40 times more effective (yes, really) at attracting new customers than social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook are. Be sure not to just regurgitate the things you say on your other platforms; make the content you send out in emails unique and you’ll benefit from it.
7. Add more images
Images are incredibly effective at getting people to engage with content. Studies have shown that images are processed by the brain around 60,000 times faster than text; we can quickly and easily parse an image’s content, while it takes us a little time to wrap our heads around text. Use images to clearly convey what you’re trying to say in your marketing campaigns. Infographics are even better; they combine text and images to create a fun, informative graphic that can also be used in your campaigns!
8. Use Facebook ads
Only 8% of social media marketing actually uses Facebook paid ads. That’s a huge potential benefit that they’re missing out on; Facebook ads can be a great way to reach your intended audience, and since so few people are using them, you can easily build a campaign and reach your demographic. Of course, just because businesses don’t use paid ads, that doesn’t mean they aren’t on Facebook, so you’ll still need to craft your campaign to make sure it’s unique and attention-grabbing.
9. Be adaptable
You may find that over time, the demographic you once courted for your brand or business isn’t interested in what you’re selling anymore. However, that demographic could be supplanted by another one, which means you’re going to have to change your marketing approach. Be ready to do this; it doesn’t matter where the business is coming from, as long as you’re getting interest in what you’re making. Keep a close eye on your analytics to see how things are changing in your industry.
10. Reach out to influencers
Influencer culture is very much here to stay, and influencers can be a hugely powerful force when it comes to marketing your brand. Reaching out to the right influencers could result in a huge boost for your business; they can promote your services in a naturalistic and compelling way, bringing in huge new organic audiences. You’ll only know who the best influencers are for your brand if you maintain a social media presence, so keep an eye out for up-and-coming stars!
