While digital Marketing is now an essential factor of growing a business, there are such a variety of options available that is can become very confusing. With the evolving trends and the available technologies, knowing whether your digital marketing is on the cutting-edge is increasingly challenging. Whether you’re new to digital marketing or you’re concerned about your existing digital strategy, there are some key basics that you should be integrating into your marketing. Use these modern technologies and trends and your digital marketing strategy will be up to date and optimised for maximum reach and effectiveness. Hone in on the ones that suit your brand, and you’ll be in a much stronger position.

Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is perhaps the single most important factor to take into account when it comes to digital marketing. The problem is that SEO rules and guidelines change very quickly, and the most up to date SEO strategy can become redundant very quickly when not updated. The more that you understand SEO, the more effectively you will be able to use it in order to have a more significant presence on search engines.

This can be achieved by:

• Keeping your website speed and loading time fast
• Identifying the right keywords and use Latent-Semantic Indexing for more impact
• Using outbound links within your pages
• Never over-stuffing keywords or links – it’s all about balance

It’s not just global SEO that you need to prioritize either. Localized SEO needs to be factored in as well. Learn the basics requirements of SEO, or outsource your digital marketing to someone who does, and your business will be in a much stronger position.

Content is Vital

The last three years have seen the concept of content marketing become the most important tool in marketer’s box of tricks. Content can increase site visitors, promote sales, improve conversion rates, and even reduce the bounce rate. There are some key dividers between a content marketing strategy and other forms of digital marketing.

These are:

• Speed: Content marketing can be a slow process that will only show gains over a long period of time.
• Value: Your content must be able to provide value to those that read or watch it.
• Relevancy: If you’re posting news reports and memes that are not related to your business or relevant to your target demographic, then you’re making a fundamental error. Your content needs to be targeted and relevant to both you and your audience.
• Variety: Using a variety of content options can be more impactful, so make sure that you mix up video content with how-to guides and industry news. Learn some blog writing tips in order to get more from your website, and your content strategy will be much more impactful.

Remember, the way that consumers and audiences now browse online is increasing via their phones. Make sure that your content, no matter the type, is easily viewed on all devices.

Using Influencers

If there’s been a consistent marketing trend of the last two years, it’s certainly the rise of the influencer. While celebrity endorsements are not new, brands are now looking at smaller audiences and figures to connect to. Instagram is the battlefield of choice when it comes to micro-influencers, and there are some key things to be aware of when considering implementing micro-influencers into your digital marketing strategy.

• Find the right influencer: Your first challenge is going to be finding the micro-influencers that will compliment your brand. Ideally, you want someone who is already a fan of your brand, as this allows your influencer marketing to look less like an advert and more like a friend recommending a product.

• Engagement: When looking at potential influencers, don’t pay too much attention to follower numbers. Instead, look at the levels of engagement that the accounts have. Micro-influencers are increasingly bulking up their follower numbers with bots and fake profiles. Engagement is what you’re looking for, so even if someone has lower follower numbers, if they have high levels of engagement then you will get more from them.

• Nano or Micro: Learn the difference between a nano-influencer and a micro-influencer. Increasingly, brands are starting to shift away from micro-influencers due to the bot and ghost account issues. Nano-influencers are being called the marketing trend of the year, and could be the key to a better digital strategy.

Influencer marketing can be a very cost-effective marketing strategy. Often, it will not actually cost you anything more than some sample products. If you have a number of nano-influencers, then your audience reach is able to grow exponentially, and all with a respectable ROI.

Video Marketing

Although mention has already been made of video in the form of content, it’s vital that you understand the problems and potential impact of video. Increasingly, brands are making the pivot to video because it seems that audiences are more likely to watch a short video that they will be to read an article. The problem is that the statistics for video views could be skewed, with Facebook being accused of misleading people over how popular video content is. So the question remains as to whether shifting to a more video-centric marketing strategy is going to be effective. Ideally, you should never be relying on one form of content type, and despite the confusion over the effectiveness of video, follow the key rules for video marketing and you will remain effective.

• Share on every platform you use
• Transcribe your video so that search engines can more easily identify it
• Have a good thumbnail image
• Understand the importance of length

Despite the potentially misleading claims from Facebook that video will be the defining factor of digital marketing, the fact remains that it is a powerful tool that should be integrated into your online strategy.

These four marketing methods should form the pillars of your digital marketing strategy. Combining them and understanding how they should work together to strengthen your marketing impact is the key to a more up to date digital marketing strategy. Failing to adopt these practices is set to be a failing in the digital landscape that could see your business falling behind at an increasingly rapid rate.

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