Marketing

It’s exactly 38 days to go before the year 2016 ends and everyone scrambles to prepare for celebration for the upcoming new year’s celebration.

Digital marketing on the other hand has a different perspective – strategies for 2017.

It’s undoubtedly crucial to prepare your digital marketing strategies and plans for 2017 as early as now in order for your business to cope with the soaring competition.

And if you don’t have any idea on what strategy to prepare for next year, here are 10 of the best digital marketing strategies you can prepare for next year.

1. Focus on Website Responsiveness

Mobile is the future of internet. The number of mobile users is expected to double in 2017 as technology advances. Business that rely on website should take advantage of it by optimizing their website for mobile users. Make sure to test every element of the website to ensure the highest quality in terms of user experience.

2. Triple Your Social Media Marketing Effort

More people will flock to social media websites next year. So including social media marketing efforts in your planning will be one of the most important aspect of your business. Preparing a content calendar for the whole 2017 will make the work easier. Start producing your social media materials to be shared next year.

3. Update Your Ideal Customer Profile and Personas

Who are your ideal customers? And what makes them best suited for your business? Identify the best engaging type of customers from 2016 and see if you can make something that will target more of those types. If you don’t have an ideal buyer profile and personas, you can start segmenting them now.

4. Videos as the Front Line of Content Marketing

Videos produce more engagement and conversion among any other types of content. This is where you can engage your target audience without having to write a thousand word article. If videos dominated in 2016, it will be more so in 2017. Prepare a list of video submission website as early as now and start segmenting them based on the relevancy of the videos that you are creating.

5. Local Exposure

Local SEO is now becoming more and more dominant especially for small businesses thus making it an integral part of your 2017 digital marketing planning. As early as now, you can start finding local resources to utilize for local business opportunities, craft the best product or services description, and choose the best images to describe your business.

6. Data Mining and Analytics

Digital marketing is all about data. Without it, you will have no clear path as to where you really want to go and how far. Data ruled in 2016, but again it will be more significant in 2017. Google Analytics is more than enough if you are looking for a free analytics tool. But for other special purposes, buying a new tool will be the best option.

7. Create Long Contents

Of course not for the purpose of just creating skyscraper contents. It must provide value to your target audience. These types of contents are starting to rule in 2016 and is expected to change the landscape of content marketing in the coming years. So as early as now, you start preparing for the best, and long content that you will utilize for your digital marketing strategies in 2017.

8. Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management is a process of making strategies, analyzing buyer’s journey or customer interactions, and all other aspects of managing customer relationship and improving sales. There are very few businesses out there that have knowledge in CRM, and if you master this system, you will have a huge advantage over your competitors.

9. Pump up your Search Engine Presence

Be it organic or paid, start working on making your website more visible to search engines especially Google. If you have enough budget for PPC, you can start listing your target keywords and allotting budget to them. Much better to include Search Engine Optimization for better results. Though it usually takes some time before seeing the results, it will surely help you gain some momentum in 2017.

10. Budget

Of all things matter when it comes to preparing your digital marketing strategies for 2017, budget is the most crucial. This is where most businesses fail when planning their marketing strategies. Make sure to have enough budget for all marketing efforts that will be executed next year.

The rise of mobile technology brought in a lot of changes especially on how people search for businesses. Years before the domination of mobile devices occurred, people used to search using computers or business directories.

Now, people are using mobile to search for businesses online. Mobile devices and local searches are now working hand in hand.

In Malaysia alone, there are millions of mobile users are looking for products or services near them leading the birth of ecommerce websites.

That is why optimizing your website for mobile users is very important nowadays.

So if you are living in Malaysia and wondering where to market your business without spending a huge fortune this article is best for you.

Google My Business

One of the biggest updates Google has made to its map is the listing for local businesses. This makes a lot easier for mobile users who look for products and services near them.

Verifying your business in Google Maps only takes a couple of minutes.

If you are running a business with multiple branches, Google Bulk Verification is available for you.

All you have to do is to have a Gmail account and you are good to go. After verifying your business through Google My Business, it is important to optimize the listing by inserting important information such as, business physical address, contact numbers, store hours, well optimize and descriptive images, business description, and a website.

Facebook Page

It’s a no-brainer that having a Facebook page is important for your business.

Having a business page in Facebook has become a huge necessity for all local businesses across the globe. It’s one of the best tools to establish relationships with your audience.

Facebook has an app called Facebook Page Manager. You can download the app here.

What the tool does is that:

– It enables your to post updates, photos, and videos
– Makes it easier to respond to comments on your page
– Easily view and reply to messages
– You Get notifications for page activity, tips, and reminders
– Instantly view your Page Insights
– Helps you manage your settings and page roles

All from the comfort of your mobile device.

Yelp

Yelp is one of the most recognized websites when it comes to online business listing. It allows users to give reviews to services or products, give directions to where a business is located, and provide important local information.

Yelp has also its own app for the users to use. You can check it out here. There’s also an available website for mobile users in Malaysia.

Having a good rating and solid reviews from Yelp will surely ramp up your sales and brand online presence. The first thing to do is to claim your business in Yelp. After that, vital information of your business should be added so that more people can see your business.

Conclusion

Mobile users are getting more access to the internet and having your business listed in some key websites will give you an edge over your competitors. These are just 3 of the most valuable websites for your business. There are still thousands of online directories and other resources to use in marketing your local business online.

We are just at the middle of the year, but do your marketing plan covers all the holidays and important months that are coming your way? To ensure that your audience knows your business name, get inquiries and sales throughout the year, it is important that your marketing plan covers the entire calendar; with emphasis on important months and holidays.

For a small business owner, relying on a one-time big time marketing extravaganza is not enough to sustain your growing business. Instead, capitalize on every season and holiday so that your products or services will get its deserved exposure.

We’ve rounded up the key elements that should be included in your marketing plan. No matter how big or small your plan is, it should be on-trend, straightforward, and attainable. Here are the ingredients for crafting a marketing plan for all season.

Same Message from a Different Angle

We are sure that you want to sell your product or service all year, but the challenge is how. The key is to stay agile in your marketing efforts, keeping your message relatable, fresh, and versatile. Your product or service may not change, but your marketing angle should.

Imagine someone buying your product or service, and then imagine how they would use it. This is one way of having a new angle for your goods every season. This exercise will also help you stay in a customer-centered mind frame.

You can also brainstorm with your staff to find out what the trendiest catch phrases (good example is Cebu Pacific) are, who are the top digital influencers of the season, or where your audience are hanging out. All of these are important factors so that you can come up with a seasonal marketing plan.

Capitalize on Regular Holidays

A calendar is there for a reason: to remind you of regular holidays! Now, you don’t have an excuse to not prepare for these holidays. In your marketing plan, take full advantage of these days/months.

Holidays are Christmas for small business owners. People get excited and are willing and prepared to spend so this is the perfect opportunity to throw in your product/service in the mix.

The challenge now is how your product/service will fit in with the holidays. Weeks before the actual day, post your promos on Facebook, Twitter, and blog. Be sure that the content on your blog will be useful to the consumer. For example, if your product is cheese, you may want to write back-to-school recipes for your kids using your cheese. Every blog post should be relevant and useful for your customers.

Touch Base with your Customers and Send a Well-Crafted Email

Even if it’s not holiday, it’s nice to receive a well-written email occasionally, don’t you think? Sending your audience a compelling email triggers engagement. It doesn’t always have to be about your promos and discounts; as it takes away the personal touch to your brand.

During the holidays or “busy” months, send your customers an email. Use short and direct subject line so that they’ll know exactly what they’re getting. Use buttons in the text body if you want to redirect them to specific landing pages. Also, use the appropriate colors of the season; and lastly, always proofread your emails.

Share Tips and Stories

This is specifically pertaining to your blog. People are always looking for tips and stories to make their holiday (and season) easier. Your blog site is the perfect platform to inform and connect with your audience. Share tips and stories on your blog and connect it to your social media platforms for faster feedback. Encourage your customers to share their stories as well because this is the foundation of building communities on the Web.

Sharing your own tips and stories heightens your credibility to your consumers therefore making you an import resource. This makes your brand stronger.

Key Takeaways

• Think of all the possible uses of your products/services for every season. Looking at different angles will help you come up with new marketing ideas.

• Take advantage of regular holidays and seasons (summer, back-to-school, graduation, etc.). Since these are already marked on the calendar, plan and prepare for it.

• Connect with your audience through a compelling e-mail. It’s always nice to get in touch with your audience occasionally, just checking in on them. Through this, you’ll get first-hand information that can be used on your marketing plan.

• Share holiday and season tips and stories through your blog. This encourages user engagement and eventually, you will become a resource for their needs.

Marketing is every business’s weapon to get noticed and bait prospects to purchase their products and services. It is, in fact, one of the catalysts that help the growth of businesses. Without an effective marketing effort, companies would most likely fall. Even big corporations still utilize marketing strategies despite the fact that they are already known. This is because a successful marketing effort is done continuously in order to be on top on their chosen niche.

However, the big problem with marketing is the budget. This is especially a problem for start-ups who want to be in the competitive scene at the hopes to be on top of their niche. That said, it is important that businessmen budget their investment for their marketing well.

Traditional marketing approaches, especially T.V. advertisements, are effective tools for any business which is why tons of companies utilize strategies involved in this effort. However, these advertisements can be a bit costly and can burn money in a blink of an eye.

According to Adweek.com, T.V. advertisements cost up to $100,000 per air time and will depend on the length of the commercial as well as the time slot.

That said, businesses that want to save more money will be forced to cut down on their advertisements in order to fit their budget.

To reduce the cost but still have an effective marketing effort, here are some tips:

Optimize your Website

Every updated businessman these days know the importance of websites. That’s why it is very important as early as possible to bring your business online upon launching it. Websites give companies an aid with regards to increasing their branding, online presence and market reach. With that said, it is vital that businesses don’t only have websites, but should have one that is seen on the first pages of every search engine (i.e. Google, Bing, Yahoo). This can be done with proper optimization on web content.

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process wherein strategies are utilized in order to gain high ranks in search results by adding search terms and phrases (also known as keywords) on their web content. If this online marketing effort is successfully done, websites will be on top of search engine results and thus will appear more credible in the eyes of prospects.

Additionally, with regards to optimization, strategies in this effort should be monitored accordingly as it changes together with Google algorithm and consumer behavior; which is why it is important for every businessman to be updated with the changes as often as they could.

Utilize Social Media

Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, are widely used by literally billions of people. Every social media website cater differently depending on the target audience of a certain business. This is why there is a possibility that potential consumers may be in this platform. Thus, updated marketers have opted to create their own social media accounts in order to locate potential leads that are on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites; especially now that most people utilize these sites like forums. In fact, according to a study from Forrester Research, Inc., marketers decreased their spending on traditional sites by 67% in 2009. On the other hand, budget for social media was reduced by 7% but was increased by 47%.

Not only do social media sites provide a wider reach for companies, but it also increases their customer service. Thanks to commenting and private messaging in social media sites, customers can easily express their inquiry, thoughts and feedbacks while businessmen can reply quickly.

Furthermore, it increases relationships between businessmen and customers as the former can provide games and quizzes and give the latter the chance to win prices and promos. This way, there would be engaging activities between them that will increase the customer’s trust.

Indicate Online Presence in Traditional Ads

As mentioned, you shouldn’t disregard traditional advertisements if they are still effective. However, you can reduce its usage in order to save more money by combining it with your online marketing efforts. Notice that commercials these days will most likely have posts in the end where the company will indicate their website domain name and their social media accounts. With that, prospects will have a way to connect and keep in touch with the company even if the commercials aren’t as frequent.

It is not necessary to completely go online especially if traditional advertisements still work. All it will take to cut down costs is to combine traditional and modern strategies. With that tactic, you will not only save more money, but you will also increase your reach and potential sales.