There is no doubt in the fact that digital marketing has invaded all our lives, surpassing traditional marketing techniques. But surprisingly, 46% brands still do not have any digital marketing strategy.
While a well planned online strategy is integral to keep up in this competitive market, knowing the right techniques to reach your goal is equally important. There are a lot of techniques available to help a brand create a powerful and long lasting impact on the audience. Read on to know a few of the most important ones –
1. Content marketing
According to Statista, content marketing is the most effective digital marketing technique in the opinion of marketers worldwide in 2018.
When it comes to conversions, content marketing is undoubtedly one of the most dependable technique. More and more businesses are polishing their content marketing strategy to increase ROI.
Analyse, research and then discover the type of content your target audience is reading and sharing to build an effective content marketing strategy. Amplify your strategy with influencer marketing by taking help from bloggers or celebrities. Monitoring and tracking your performance along with keeping a tab on your competitors are also important things to remember while planning your strategy.
2. Big Data
Big Data offers great customer insights that help you make data-driven decisions when it comes to marketing campaigns. The three Vs of Big Data – Volume, Velocity and Variety – help leverage data from multiple sources to promote effective digital marketing.
Customer experience is always on the priority list of every marketeer, and Big Data can provide real-time information to ensure a great experience along with higher sales and faster customer acquisition.
Source: Datafloq
3. Market automation apps
Automation of campaigns with the help of online marketing techniques is undoubtedly a powerful digital marketing technique that is known to produce effective results. Marketing automation apps include all such apps and software that can promote your business automatically, like automated email marketing, tweets, etc.
Source: salesforce
Marketing automation can streamline segmentation, lead generation, customer lifecycle marketing, retention, cross-sell, up-sell and ROI measurement – thus acting like a ‘system of record’ of all marketing information.
4. Mobile optimized Marketing
“Mobile search and Internet usage has surpassed desktop activity.”
More and more organizations are embracing mobile responsive designs to make the most out their digital marketing campaigns. With Google following the ‘mobile first mantra’, it is all the more important to pay attention to mobile optimization as it can affect search engine results.
Build mobile responsive sites that have proper CTA buttons, relevant content and minimal load times.
5. Social media
“ 95% online adults aged 18-34 are most likely follow a brand via social networking.”
Social media marketing has witnessed an immense growth and is continuously growing. It still remains one of the best approaches for drawing a huge audience towards a brand. Social media channels have such massive subscriber base that they become the prime channel for online promotions.
Source: Facebook
For effective social media marketing, it is important to stay updated with the latest trends and know which platform will be the best for your business. For example, Facebook and Twitter are more prevalent for business, sports or ecommerce brands while Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest are more prevalent for food, fashion and travel.
6. SEO
Considered to be an evergreen marketing technique, SEO allows you to increase brand visibility on search engine pages organically. It is important to have technical skills and knowledge to get traffic, boost ranking and increase your brand recognition on search engines.
There are a lot of aspects that are need to be kept in mind during SEO. Image optimization, back linking, word count, etc must be taken into account to optimize the digital presence of your business. Often, revamping the whole website in a SEO – friendly way is also necessary so that it gets prioritized on search engine results.
7. Paid campaigns / marketing
“Research suggests that people click on paid search results more than any other online ads.”
When customers look for online products or services, search engines display results as well as advertisements that are relevant to the search. So, a Pay Per Click campaign is a smart choice as it is a scalable and budget controlled kind of internet marketing.
Google Ads are indeed leaders in paid marketing campaigns as it reaches users based on their past browsing behaviour and shopping intent. Ensure not to use negative keywords, optimize your landing pages, have a mobile click-to-call action and always have your ads tested.
Source: PPC Expert
8. Influencer Marketing
“While shopping, 60% consumers have been influenced by a social media post or a blog review.”
Influencer marketing has proven to be a very beneficial digital marketing strategy, which works in combination with SEO, content marketing and social media marketing. It is sometimes also categorized under word-of-mouth marketing.
All influencers need not be celebrities, but it’s important that they are well-versed with your industry. Nurture your brand’s relationship with the influencer to build credibility and boost sales. Moreover, influencers can pump up your content marketing as they will share or write new content about your products and services.
Source: Influencer
9. IoT marketing applications
Among new techniques, Internet of Things is gaining popularity among retailers and gadget creators. IoT promises to connect smart devices and networks for digital marketers to receive customer data in a much easier way. The more contact points you get, the better can you target relevant audience and tailor online interactions.
Before applying IoT as a digital marketing technique, marketers should have a thorough knowledge of analysing and processing data to avoid ethical issues.
10. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is another effective way of marketing your brand. Regular advertising methods like email marketing, paid search engine marketing and display advertising, combined with affiliate marketing can help your brand reach out to a larger audience. Industries like banking and finance, travel utilize this form of marketing to boost sales.
Source: starkmedia.com
There are various techniques available to up your digital marketing game, but it is upto you to choose the one that will provide the maximum benefits. To know more about such techniques and the ones that will be best for you, leave us a message below and we will get back to you.
Up until not very long ago, internet search was limited to typed inputs by a user. Google, had rolled out its very first version of the Voice Search way back in 2002. However, voice search did not instantly serve as a replacement for the traditional search methods. This was because neither was the Voice Search’s grasp of natural voice strong enough nor was it ready for widespread commercial use. Today, with marked improvements, ‘20% of search queries on Google’s mobile app and Android devices are voice search queries.’
2012 saw the introduction of Google Now on the Android Jelly Bean platform. Google Now provided a realistic experience of voice control and this stirred a global turn of events after people actually saw the utilitarian side of voice control.
It was not perfect, it still isn’t; but it was enough evidence for envisioning search engine optimisation through Voice Search.
Google has, for long, banked mainly on how its Search performs. Traffic to any link depends on multiple factors.
The ‘Page Rank’ algorithm is getting more important over time due to the increased amount of content being uploaded on the internet. Using this algorithm, Google decides which link will show up and how easily that link will show up in search results.
As Voice Search dependency grows, it has become important for digital marketers to be aware of the opportunities that voice search provides. For example, voice search records phrases which are more personal and localised in nature. Optimisation will lead to showing users even more relevant links and faster conversions.
Since traffic is ultimately obtained on the basis of the keywords entered, matched content phrases through Voice Search could be used for long term planning.
Can you turn Voice Search to your current biggest advantage?
Yes, in the following ways:
1. Content quality
Content should be written in simple, conversational language in order to match searched phrases through voice search. Google matches the entered phrases with the content containing the most similar amount of phrases.
2. Going old school with SEO
Search Engine Optimisation is the groundwork of any website. The quality and quantity of traffic depends on how well the website content matches the available keywords. SEO optimisation takes time. One should be prepared to not get instant results since pages take time to position themselves.
Once the SEO is in place, it makes the process of understanding voice search phrases simple and fast.
3. Dictation snippets
Every webpage that shows up after a voice search is introduced by Google in a very simple manner. The shorter the introductory line, the faster and more effective the introduction.
Snippets can contain a little above 10 words. The reason for this is that the easier the dictation, the more likely it is for the particular page to be positioned higher than other pages. Google itself advises on not creating snippets with more than 10 words. In case it exceeds the word count, Google’s algorithm automatically pushes the particular page lower.
To summarise,
Link all your content pages to Social Media Channels.
Use conversational keywords. These help in redirecting voice search traffic to your webpage.
Create simple, easy content to be easily processed by the voice search mechanism.
For example,
‘Hey Google, how do I prepare Lasagna?’ (Voice Search)
This sentence has a basic format with primary words like ‘how’, ‘when’ or ‘where’. This is how most questions are on voice search.
Lasagna recipe. (Typed Search)
The main difference between traditional search and voice search is the number of phrases recorded in each case. Voice search records more number of phrases than text search because voice is more free-flowing in nature. Typed inputs however, are in broken keywords format.
The future of Voice Search is laden with opportunities when it comes to the field of digital marketing. All you need to do it shake your sieve and filter out all redundant inclusions in your optimisation plan. If you want help optimising your voice search, leave us a message and we’ll call you back!
“Facebook is the number one ad channel for both B2C and B2B companies, with 5 million businesses using Facebook ads to reach their target audience”. With billions of people on one platform, Facebook is undoubtedly a great place to reach out and connect with customers. However, with the recent algorithm changes, personal content is getting much more preference than public content. This is where Facebook ads can prove to be an important tool to grow your business online. When done right, Facebook ads can prove to be highly effective. Understanding the targeting methods and following relevant ones can improve ROI of the ads rapidly.
Here are 10 ways to improve your Facebook ads with better targeting –
1. Know what interests your customer
It is a proven fact that if the target audience is too big, the click-through-rate will be low and the ads will not perform well.
Your targeting needs to be specific and the best way to narrow down audience is by knowing their interests. Facebook offers numerous categories of interests that you can choose from. Apart from that, you can also target people who have expressed interest or liked other relevant Facebook pages.
Source: Social Media Examiner
2. Use the Age + Gender + Location combination
Name, age, gender and location are the basic information that people first share when they open an account on Facebook. Using a combination of these three data points will help you target your audience better. For example, instead of just setting the target of 20-30 year old females, use 20-30 year old females in Bangalore for a better reach.
Source: AdvertiseMint
You can also exclude a certain region or state for better optimization. Targeting people based on their location also gives a presumption about their quality of life and also help in targeting specific income levels. However, keep in mind that the narrower your geographic boundary- the higher your ads are likely to cost.
3. Target specific income levels
If your product is for the elite class, your Facebook ads should also target them, and if your products cater to the needs of college students, the ads should reach out to them. Facebook provides 30 options of financial behaviours to ensure that you reach out to the people who are not only interested in the products but also are willing to make the purchase.
Facebook doesn’t accurately know the exact income of its users, but it provides an approximate based on general demography and third party data. However, this feature is not yet available in India.
Source: Social Media Examiner
4. Target relevant generation
Baby boomers, echo boomers, generation X or millenials are not just different based on the time period of their birth; they have different demands and show different customer behaviours.
For example, if you run a restaurant that specializes in low calorie, low sodium food, baby boomers are more likely to be your ideal audience. However, if your restaurant offers customizable meals with group-friendly atmosphere and food options, millennials would be your target audience.
Targeting by generation can effectively help narrow down the target audience of several businesses.
5. Find people who are looking for your product
Over 70% people research for a product online before they make a purchase. And even though it may sound creepy, but Facebook knows what someone is searching for online.
The only thing to consider in this regard is time. In the sense that a customer is most likely to make a purchase within a week of researching- so that’s the timeframe within which you have to convince them to buy your product. Facebook will help you identify users who are about to make a purchase so that the ads can be targeted towards them. Since price is an important factor for most customers, a discount can persuade them to choose you over competitors.
6. Filter audience by occupation
If your product or service is appealing to people belonging to a certain industry or occupation, Facebook allows you to narrow down your audience based on their work. You can do it directly by browsing through demographics and selecting ‘work’.
Source: marketingland.com
Another indirect way to do the same is to know the likes and interests of users that may help provide a background reference about the industry or occupation they belong to.
7. Filter audience by education
When you’re familiar with the education of your target audience, it helps you customize everything better – from campaigns to tone and language of your communication.
Source: WordPress
Apart from that, knowing the education level is also important if your product/service is ideal for only certain people. For example, if you provide graduation level education, you target audience will be only the students who have just passed or are in their final year of school.
8. Target specific mobile devices
Interestingly, Facebook provides the option of targeting people based on the mobile device they use to log in to Facebook. This is very helpful if you’re selling mobile phones or accessories.
This feature is also beneficial for companies that build apps. You can identify the devices that are best compatible with your app and target those specific ones and avoid the non compatible devices.
9. Target anniversaries
If your business involves selling gifts and you want to target people who are looking to purchase a gift, this is a good option that will help you narrow down your audience. Facebook provides you the option to target people who will be celebrating their anniversary in the next one or two months.
Source: Pure Residuals
10. Take travel into account
Facebook allows you to choose your audience based on the way they travel. They can be frequent travellers, business travellers, international travellers, daily commuters, etc. This information can be used in accordance to your products/services.
Source: Connection
For example, for a B2B business, business travellers are an ideal choice as an audience. For daily commuters, apps or e-books are something they’ll probably look for to pass time during their commute. Facebook is like a storehouse of data that can help your business reach out to the correct people. It is important to invest time and research on the various targeting methods to identify the most relevant ones. To know more about targeting with Facebook ads, leave us a message below and we’ll get back to you!
“Over half of the consumer population now prefers to shop online.”
In online retail, the foundation of success of your ecommerce store is traffic. If there’s no traffic, there will be no question of other tactics like conversion and analytics. Customers have plenty of choices when they decide to shop online, and it can get tough to hold the attention of shoppers to drive traffic and revenue.
The good news is that you do not always need to invest huge amounts to buy traffic. Here are some ways that help drive more e-commerce store traffic and revenue without spending money –
1. Referral marketing
More than 80% of customers base their purchasing decision on recommendations by friends and family members.
Ensure that visitors on your site can easily view reviews and recommendations, and even write one themselves. You can think of an incentive program to encourage current customers to refer your product/services to new leads.
Source: ReferralCandy
2. Upselling
“Upselling can ultimately account for nearly one tenth of total revenues on the year.”
Upselling provides a chance of making extra revenue without spending any extra money. However, you shouldn’t come across as pushy, as that may have a negative effect. The best way to upsell a product is by offering a practical reason as to how the customer will benefit by buying a higher priced product.
Stress on the features and benefits of the products, instead of giving reduced or free shipping charges or an extended warranty. If done right, upselling can lead to increased Customer Lifetime Value.
Source: Miles Down Under
3. Quality Content
“Content marketing ranks in conversion rates six times higher than other methods.”
Quality content is the representation of the quality of your business. The product or services that you sell may also be sold by various other platforms, but your presentation will always remain unique.
A visitor spends less than 15 seconds on a site, which means that you have just 15 seconds to grab the attention of your audience. Content should be such that the unique value proposition (UVP) is conveyed clearly to customers.
Source: Enakshi
4. Site speed really matters
40% of customers will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
A lot of time and resources are spent on attracting new customers to a site, but slow site speed can be the villain that makes you lose sales. Moreover, poor site performance will lead to potential customers buying the same products from other ecommerce sites – your competitors.
Source: SEOPRessor Connect
There are a lot of tools available that help you check site speed and measure its performance. Regular testing ensures the removal of any bottleneck and enhances the user experience.
5. Be mobile friendly
“Top ecommerce platforms Snapdeal and Flipkart state that 80% of their shoppers make their purchase from a smartphone.”
The growth of mobile devices has been in a steady space both in terms of use and popularity. Mobile accounts for 52.2% of global website traffic. This means that if you do not have a mobile friendly site, you’re bound to lose business.
A seamless user experience on mobile is very important for an ecommerce site. Ensure that all product pictures and relevant information are clear on every device. The site structure should also be simple and easily navigable. To sum it up, the journey from homepage to placing an order should be minus any complications and difficulties.
Source: First Internet
6. Have your SEO strategy in place
“93% of web traffic is derived from search engines, which highlights the importance of SEO in an online business.”
SEO is what helps your customers find you. If your site is not visible in search results, sales will go down and so will the growth of your business. With proper SEO, you can attract large volumes of quality traffic without making any direct payments.
The biggest advantages of SEO is that it is measurable, cost-effective, targeted and long lasting. In fact, it tends to grow stronger over time and will help you dominate the market.
7. Promotional emails
“A McKinsey & Company study found that email marketing is 40x more effective compared to Facebook and Twitter when it comes to sales generation.”
Promotional emails are one of the best ways to strengthen and maintain your relationship with your existing customers. It can be used to provide customers with updates on new products, give special discounts and offers, remind them about abandoned cart, ask for feedback etc.
Customer engagement through email marketing is possible in a more personal way that can drive traffic to a website. The only thing to keep in mind is not to come across as spam. Always get customer consent, identify yourself clearly and keep an ‘unsubscribe’ option clearly visible.
8. Create a sense of urgency
“When you create an urgency, there’s a chance of 14% higher click-to-open rate and 59% higher transaction-to-click rate.”
Urgency is an important tactic to improve conversion on your ecommerce site. Visitors who leave any product on the cart, planning to come back later often do not make the purchase at all. Urgency provides them a compelling reason to make the purchase.
Limited time offers, free delivery for a day, next-day shipping, discounts, stock or size scarcity are some of the ways by which urgency can be created. However, you have to be honest about it. Urgency does not create demand, it only works as motivation to escalate the buying process.
9. Videos can be of great help
“67% people prefer watching a YouTube video for product reviews before making a purchasing decision.”
BigCommerce state that 30% of online shoppers want more videos on ecommerce stores. It may be in the form of tutorials, product descriptions or customer testimonials. Videos are known to drive more organic traffic, conversions, boost engagement and educate people about your products and services.
Choose the right video marketing strategy that will be best for your business. Select the video type depending on what your customers will prefer watching. It is also important to monitor and evaluate performance and make necessary adjustments.
10. Chat bots
“51% of customers are more likely to purchase from a site that offers chat.”
Chatbots can be used to direct or help online shoppers make a purchase, answer queries and upsell or cross sell products. It helps e commerce businesses to improve customer experience, which is an important aspect if you want to drive more traffic to your site.
Chatbots have the ability to handle multiple customers at the same time, while generating quick and effective responses. Being available 24*7, chatbots ensure customer service at all times.
Source: neilpatel.com
With so many ecommerce sites striving to be the best, the competition is no doubt getting tougher day by day. You have to keep trying new techniques to keep customers engaged and interested. To know more about how to drive ecommerce store traffic and revenue without spending money, leave us a message and we’ll get back to you.
