Key Digital Marketing Mix Components
In this article, I’ll discuss the current top five most important components of the digital marketing mix. Some businesses may find more value in one over another. Having a good mix of each will extend a business’s reach, providing a good story across platforms.
1. Website
A website serves as the central hub of a company’s digital marketing strategy. Since the company “owns” the content, they have complete control of the message, how it is displayed, and the timeliness of the content. Here are some things to keep in mind when managing a website.
Goals
The goals of a website vary from company to company. Driving sales, generating leads, or reputation building can all be the primary goal of a website. Most companies will use a mix of a few. A company should identify their primary goal of the site and ensure their message supports it.
Message
The website’s primary message should be clear and concise. Tell the customer what you can do for them quickly. Tell a potential customer why they should do business with your company over your competitors. Then tell the person how they can do business with you. All the website’s back pages should support the central message delivered on the home page.
Technically Sound
This important element of a website is often overlooked by design companies. Pretty websites look great to the human eye. They get lost in a crowded internet if they are not built well. Bad SEO tactics, slowness, not being responsive, and other issues can hurt search rankings and user experience. Do not make the mistake of ignoring these issues if you want your website to work well for the company.
Timely
Keeping the website up to date can have a few benefits. First, it shows visitors that you are delivering new content and may entice them to return. A blog is very effective at this. Also, new and relevant content can provide a good signal to Google and increase search results. Most importantly, you want to prune old content that may not apply to your business anymore. Ensure that only the best and most accurate information about your business is available on your site.
2. Citations
Citations are the listings for a business across the internet. Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps, Google + or Places for Business, and Superpages are all examples of citations. While some cross into social media, the point is that no matter the website your business is found, the information should be uniform. There are over sixty places a business can be listed.
It is very important to ensure that the business name, address, phone number, logo, and description are all the same across citation websites. Be sure to also include the company website. Ideally, if your website does not come up on Google search, one of these listings will. In that case, the information needs to be accurate.
There has been discussion about SEO value for citations. We cannot say if that is true or not. Either way, ensure that your listings are accurate. To do so, check all the relevant website listing here.
If you need help updating the listings, contact us to help you manage it.
3. Social Media
Be active on social media. There are many platforms out there and most likely, one or more of them will fit your business. To determine which works, a company needs to define the purpose of them being on social media. It can be credibility, engagement, sales, education, or simply exposure.
Engagement and gaining the attention of your audience is incredibly effective on social media. An important component is personality. Social media is a great place for a company to put its culture on display. Employees, projects, and community involvement posts are ideal to achieve the right kind of attention.
A word of caution: Don’t promote too much. Be social, not salesy… or risk alienating your customers.
4. Video
Video is huge. This is where a company can leap ahead of the competition by showcasing their personality, products, and services. Most companies are scared to do video or don’t know how. You don’t need great equipment. Use a smartphone. Just get on video. Test it out. Gain experience with it. No other free tactical move will get you more gains in the long run.
5. Advertising
Deciding where to advertise is a matter of what part of the sales funnel you want to attack. We find Facebook advertising to be very effective awareness and mid-funnel strategy. Most people are on Facebook daily. With creative campaigns and content, any business can effectively use Facebook to grow their business.
Google Adwords is also a great advertising platform. Although it can be expensive, it enables companies to compensate for not appearing in valuable search results. Google Adwords should be combined with a long-term SEO strategy for maximum effectiveness.
No matter the platform, properly analyzing and adjusting ad campaigns is crucial to maximizing your ad efficiency. Proper targeting and ad creation can get complicated but is well worth the investment.
Using The Digital Marketing Mix
Many companies simply exist on the internet. As more of the public moves their attention from newspapers, magazines, and TV, companies need to find new ways to grab their customer’s attention. A good digital marketing strategy will ensure a company is found online and stays top of mind for their customers.