Digital Marketing Dos and Don’ts

1. Create a Content Calendar

Posting without a plan only leads to unpredictable results and subsequent frustration. Instead, try a carefully curated content calendar to ensure your social media presence has a consistent and intentional voice. Scheduling tools like Buffer or Hootsuite are great ways to plan content weeks ahead that will later go live at times of peak traffic.  It also negates the hassle of having to scramble to make a post.     

• Bonus Tip: Invest in photography. If you’re a brand, retail partners will appreciate the convenience of high-quality visual assets to use on their social media channels. Not to mention, your collection will always be looking its best!

2. Put Your Business on the Map

Did you know approximately 53 percent of consumers visit a business within 48 hours of performing a local search on Google? That being so, it is in every store owner’s best interest to stay proactive about how your business appears in online directories like Yelp and Google Maps. Upload a variety of images including exterior, interior, select merchandise and staff that will showcase your business in a quick, inviting glance.

3. Know Your Tribe

If you aren’t thoroughly informed about your target audience, any type of marketing is bound to generate disappointing results. So really ask yourself: Who is my customer? Where do they hang out online? Who are they already following? What groups are they a part of? What are their interests, passions, hobbies, etc. In today’s world, consumers leave a digital cache rich in information that’s there to be mined—for free. Once you have well-researched answers to these kinds of questions, you can start implementing digital strategies that zero in on and interact with your target consumer.

4. Less is More

Stop wasting time trying to master every nuance of every social media channel. It’s time-consuming, exasperating and likely ineffective. Instead focus on the ones that your customers interact with most. And don’t assume that’s Instagram because it’s popular of late. Older consumers—ones raised on Facebook—tend to still congregate there. For younger consumers, new social media platforms are their milieu. Research online analytics to find out the top two or three channels your target customer prefers and learn their respective nuances inside and out. The more familiar you are with the platform, the fewer mistakes you’ll make and the faster the conversion rate.

5. Make it Seamless

Why don’t retailers just hand each customer that walks in a brochure packed with information? Because that’s not as effective as an employee greeting them, assisting them and recommending products for their specific needs. This concept applied to your website is what digital marketers call a “sales funnel,” the key to guiding and converting browsers into purchasers. With websites across all industries having a bounce rate of more than 50 percent, it’s critical that your site is easy to navigate with a direct call to action—be it a specific sale, an event, a new product, etc. Making a sale is the top priority, but equally important is capturing visitor emails with the least fuss possible.

• Bonus Tip: To further guide customers, consider adding a chatbot feature to your website. Facebook Messenger bots have an 80 percent open rate in comparison to email at only 20 percent. Try using ManyChat to create a Facebook Messenger bot that can greet a visitor, inform them about upcoming sales and show a gallery of new product.