Marketing influences how your target audience thinks. It raises brand awareness, builds trust and improves customer satisfaction.
Social media marketing is very important for businesses, but there are many other ways to drive your business forward – let me show you how.
1. Start with strategy
A solid marketing strategy is a key part of any business plan. Think of it as your guide for standing out from competitors, knowing who to target and knowing how to talk about your business.
Key parts of a marketing strategy include defining your target audience through buyer personas, reviewing competitors, setting goals, creating clear content and measuring your results.
2. Bold branding
Stand out from the crowd and keep your business front of mind with bold branding.
Think about the entertainment powerhouse Netflix. You’re thinking of the colour red and their tongue-in-cheek humour, aren’t you? This springs to mind thanks to their instantly recognisable logo and branding.
Your brand should favour authenticity over likeability. You won’t please everyone, and that’s okay. By remaining true to your brand values and goals, you will attract a loyal and aligned audience.
3. Content that converts
Content that converts speaks to your target audience and taps into emotions such as belonging, reward and empathy.
Research shows that decision-making is emotional Link opens in a new window rather than logical. That is why psychology matters when marketing your business and creating content. Research your audience with surveys and polls. This will make your marketing more human-centred, so you can use the power of emotion.
Content that grabs attention and converts is typically that thumb-stopping type that interrupts your scroll on social media.
The kind that encourages people to look back over their shoulders at a mesmerising bus shelter advertisement.
It’s that out of home billboard that inspires someone to stop in their tracks, snap a quick photo and praise the brand’s creativity on their own social platforms. (Check out Specsavers billboard campaigns).
4. Build your community
A loyal and engaged online community can make a big difference to your marketing. Building and nurturing your community will help you connect more deeply with your audience, so you understand their dreams, needs and desires.
The more open and authentic you are as a brand, especially on social media, the easier it is to build a passionate online community.
A couple of marketing hacks to form better relationships with your audience include engaging with them in comments and DMs and showing gratitude via giveaways.
5. Listen and learn
Getting to know your customers through research will help you improve their experience at every touchpoint.
Once you know your customers and target audience well, you can create useful content and campaigns that they will connect with and enjoy.
It’s also important to keep up with marketing trends. Only create campaigns that fit your brand and business goals. If you struggle to stay up to date with the latest marketing news, check out ‘Because of Marketing Link opens in a new window’. It is an online community that shares the latest marketing campaigns from around the world.
6. Get your emails opened
It’s crucial that your emails are written with your customer in mind. Inboxes are overflowing nowadays, so you have to stand out.
Ask yourself: ‘what problem am I solving for my subscribers?’, ‘what value am I providing them with?’ and ‘why should they take action?’
The average email length is about 500 words Link opens in a new window (a 3.5 minute read time). But you can A/B split test long and short emails to see which gets the best open and read rate.
7. Write copy that sells
At the heart of all good sales copy, there’s a story. If you want to write strong copy, aim to trigger an emotional response in your reader. Copywriting helps you set the scene around a problem your target audience might face. You can then show how your product or service is the solution.
The launch of Apple’s first-generation iPod is a great example. Instead of using jargon to explain the ‘what,’ the slogan explained the ‘why’: "1,000 songs in your pocket." Here, the audience’s values and desires come before product features.
Copy that converts is easy to understand and easy to picture. Keep that in mind if you want to write copy that grabs attention and persuades the reader to act straight away.
8. Influence with influencers
Working with influencers who fit your brand can be very useful. For example, you can reach a specific market by tapping into an influencer’s existing audience and community.
If you choose influencer marketing, the content may be more likely to convert if the influencer posts it themselves. This is especially true if the influencer is credible and already has a clear link to the products and brands they promote.
9. Build your online presence
Your website is your business’s digital home. It can show your brand personality, build trust and leave a lasting impression.
Think of your website as your 24/7 salesperson. Tell customers what problem you solve, so they know why to act and convert. Here are some of my favourite examples of landing pages Link opens in a new window.
To track website traffic and better understand customer behaviour, tools such as Adobe Customer Journey Analytics and Google Analytics can help.
Don’t feel under pressure to nail all nine of these marketing tips. You might need help creating beautiful brand visuals, managing your community on socials or developing an influencer marketing strategy. There are many great agencies and freelancers who can support you or take control of your business marketing. LinkedIn is always my go-to platform for finding talented agency owners!
Follow Karla on LinkedIn Link opens in a new window for more marketing hacks.
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