The 2 most important things every Marketer should have on their “to do” list:
A study recently suggested that of the hottest digital marketing trends in 2017, social media and content marketing were two that would continue to have a great impact in 2018. From the marketer’s surveyed in the study 18% said social media will be the most effective digital marketing tactic and 17% said content marketing. What’s even more interesting is that in 2018 41% of marketing professionals are expecting to increase their digital marketing budgets significantly and 52% increasing marginally.
So, if social media and content marketing are a must “to-do” for this year, let’s make sure you’re doing them right.
#1:
Social Media: Why companies are getting it wrong.
Most companies see social media as a place to mass-market. They see it as a platform of people just waiting to hear about their products or services. They think that they “need to be there” as a way to attract an audience to their business.
This line of thinking is completely misguided — they’re not thinking about how to contribute to a conversation or use it as a content tool to educate rather than sell.
Without getting the foundation right, without understanding how the audience wants companies to interact with them, most are just spinning their wheels. The biggest mistake business owners make is to create a social media account and then fail to think about the customer’s journey and what happens once they click through to the company website.
People think that because there are all these online tools, each social media account is a faceless and nameless entity—just a digital extension of the brand. But what they forget is that there is a personal aspect to this.
Social media can be an incredibly strong marketing tool for your business — when it’s done right.
How you should really be using social media…
#2:
Content Marketing: What is it?
If you were late to the party in 2017, let’s get you up to speed.
Buyer’s have changed the way they buy things. These days it is all about self-education. Buyer’s spend much more time self-educating before they reach out to a sales person. If you can’t have a sales call with someone, what is it about your company that you would like them to know? More importantly what content should you be providing your buyer online to articulate why they should buy from you? This is the foundation of content marketing.
Content marketing is the up front strategy and execution of a modern marketing plan. Content marketing uses social media as a pillar of distribution and built on the creation of a buyer persona and value proposition. This type of marketing not only markets your business but supports the sales dialogue and is a crucial part of a lead generation and lead nurturing process online.
Build a content marketing plan that drives lead generation…
Starting on your “to-do” list.
Every marketer should reassess their marketing plan and marketing strategy annually. If you’re in the majority this year you have already decided to amp up your marketing program by increasing your budget and focusing on hot topics such as social media and content marketing. This is great! But where do you begin?
After you have done your initial research into what your priorities are, it is time you put an action plan together. HubSpot makes this easy with their free Annual Marketing Plan generator. Take advantage of the tools that are out there!
Read more about social media marketing or download the guide to content marketing and then map these back to your Annual Marketing Plan. If you need more help, reach out to us to explore your goals and map the right tactics to your program for better results!