Right now, you’re reading this blog on some form of a digital device. Maybe it’s on a desktop during your lunch break, maybe it’s on your cell phone waiting in the McDonald’s drive-thru. Either way, your attention has been captured in a digital environment.
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we’ve all been a part of this digital transformation. Gone are the days of waiting by the mailbox for another Netflix movie or the news through the morning newspaper. Why? Because we consume everything digitally – and your customers are doing the same.
If you’ve made it this far, most likely you’re looking for some guidance on where to begin in your digital marketing journey. Vive Marketing recommends the following strategies when starting, improving, or continuing to improve your digital brand awareness.
Glove Compartment Necessities
Search Engine Optimization
What is Search Engine Optimization? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website’s organic search traffic to improve the quality and quantity of website visitors.
Search engine optimization plays a key role in securing an effective presence on the many search engines of the world. Sure, you can pay your way to the top, but nothing beats achieving those high SERP positions organically. Plus, it saves you money.
Read more about SEO in these blogs:
- Getting Started With SEO
- Don’t Do SEO Alone – Use These Resources
- Keyword Research – An SEO Best Practice
Pay Per Click Advertising
What is Pay Per Click Advertising? It’s exactly what it sounds like – you pay for every click that is accumulated through a search engine advertisement.
Having an available PPC spend in your arsenal is like having a specially-designed sports play that never fails. Let’s say your company’s average organic positioning on Google is 15 (which is the second page of Google) and you have a new product launching in a few weeks. Well, since the organic positioning of the website isn’t instantly visible to the average Google searcher, the product launch may not achieve the big bang you were hoping for. With a PPC campaign, you can pay to be “visible”.
Read more about Pay Per Click campaigns in these blogs:
- Starting Your Own Pay-Per-Click Ad Campaign (Part 1)
- Perfecting Your PPC Campaign (Part 2)
- The Finishing Touches – Pay-Per-Click Advertising (Part 3)
Social Media
What are the top social media channels? According to Vive Marketing and Gartner, the top social media platforms for B2B businesses are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. TikTok may be relevant depending on the business.
Smart Insights shows that over half of the world (4.6 billon people) uses social media. That means these platforms are great tools to create brand awareness and build brand equity. This can be done by consistently posting about topics relevant to your business, such as company news, acquisitions, mergers, new equipment, capabilities, or services. The best part about social media is that it can be utilized as you please.
Read more about social media in these blogs:
- LinkedIn 101 for Manufacturers
- 5 Tips on Social Media Engagement for Manufacturing Companies
- The Importance of Using a Social Media Calendar
Email Marketing
What is Email Marketing? According to MailChimp, email marketing is the use of email within your marketing efforts to promote a business’s products and services, as well as incentivize customer loyalty.
According to EarthWeb, the average person receives over 100 emails per day. You’re probably wondering why we even consider email marketing as an “effective digital marketing strategy” if the space is so overpopulated. Well, there is a reason you receive over 100 emails per day, and that’s because it works!
In the B2C space, email marketing campaigns are typically designed around enticing people to buy. If not now, then later (or as soon as the promotion ends). The same strategies can be applied in the B2B industry. Email marketing campaigns can be crafted in a variety of different facets, but typically highlight activities like:
- Upcoming trade show involvement
- Recent equipment purchases
- New management within an organization
Read more about email marketing campaigns in this blog.
Audio Marketing
What is Audio Marketing? According to PDMI, audio marketing is where the output is audio content rather than, written or visual content.
Audio marketing is the new form of “blogging”. Neil Patel points our that there are only 2 million podcasts in the world, while there are over 100 billion blogs. So, the chances of someone reading your blog are way lower than somebody listening to what you have to say.
Now, you’re probably asking yourself again: “Why is Vive writing this blog if nobody is going to read it?” 1) It positions us as a subject matter expert, 2) It builds SEO and keyword rankings (which in turn, will build our organic reach on search engines), and 3) We also use audio marketing!
Another term for audio marketing is called a podcast! Ah, yes, now we’ve caught your attention! According to Insider Intelligence, podcast listeners are increasing by 6.1% year-over-year – another indication digital is taking the lead.
What’s the benefit of a podcast if it doesn’t improve SEO?
- They are generally more engaging than words on a page
- It’s an output to deliver quicker information
- It’s easier to build a character or persona with consistent recordings
Dip your toe in and listen to Vive’s podcast, right now!
Video Marketing
What is Video Marketing? According to HubSpot, “video marketing is using videos to promote and market your product or service, increase engagement on your digital or social channels, educate your consumers and customers, and reach your audience with a new medium.”
If you’ve been following the innovation of marketing throughout the years, video marketing has consistently held a #1 spot – almost as if it’s looking to rule the Billboard Top 100 list. The average person consumes 19 hours of videos watched per week, according to HubSpot. So, what can be done to optimize this screen time?
The answer is to create a YouTube channel, which you can showcase by embedding videos from your channel to your website. This is a productive way of accumulating views and subscribers. If you’re looking to take your YouTube channel to the next level, similar to PPC strategies, there are various YouTube advertisements to choose from.
If you’ve entertained YouTube and decided it’s not the avenue for you or your customers, uploading videos to LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram will also accrue video views.
Read more about video marketing here!
Interested in learning how Vive can help your company with its digital marketing efforts? Contact us today to start a conversation!
