Digital Marketing Blog

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My name is Karis and I am a student at Sauder School of business at the University of British Columbia. I am studying Business with Marketing and therefore have an interest in digital marketing. Most of this blog will focus on looking forward to the future and also marketing tips and tricks. I am very interested in different techniques advertisers will adopt as well as those which are likely to die out as the world moves more online. I will repost articles I found interesting and give a short summary of my interpretation. I have also written about my own experience with digital marketing.

5 Digital Marketing Strategies To Help Your Small Business Generate A Higher ROI This 2017

As an entrepreneur, you know that it takes more than an attractive and website to gain new customers, turn them to repeat customers (and increase your ROI in the process). Since more and more consumers go online to find and buy the products they need, it becomes increasingly important for you to up your digital marketing game if you want consumers to land on your website and eventually buy from your small business. To help you get started, here are five digital marketing strategies you can start executing in your small business to generate a higher ROI this upcoming year.

1. Advertise on social media and search engines.

When advertising in social sites like Facebook and Instagram, be sure to plan your campaigns well. They should target customers within the city or community where your store is located, aside from your website online, since they are the most relevant and important people to your small business. You can make this happen by using relevant keywords including your business physical address. Check and study the results of your ad to see which keywords are bringing you business. Replace those which are not.

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2. Choose relevant landing pages.

When consumers find your ads and clicked on them, you want them to be taken to a page on your website which will provide them with what they’re looking for, making it so crucial for you to give your site’s landing pages the thought it deserves. If you feel that you need to create one just for the ad that you launched, let no one stop you. You’ll want to come up with a landing page that will make your customer stay and even go back to your site; not one which will make them click on the exit button and go online shopping somewhere else.

3. Generate backlinks.

You’ll be amazed at how high-quality backlinks can help your site rank higher in search engines and increase your business’ credibility in the eyes of your target customers. Having said that, it pays to focus on link building even in 2017. Of course, you can’t email bloggers and influencers begging for backlinks to your site but here’s one way to get their attention. Start creating a shareable infographic related to your business by searching related topics in your industry which you think people will find interesting. Use search tools like Google Trends and Google AutoComplete to make your job easier. Write down all the points you want covered in the infographic then hire a professional to get it done for you. Once it’s done, you can email it to news sites, blogs, and influencers. If they decide to talk about it in their blogs, you’ll surely get visitors and customers flocking to your site.

4. Keep your website fresh and up-to-date.

Yes, you’ve done everything needed to make your brand reach your target customers. The question now is when they click on your ad in the search results and they get routed to your website, will they be hooked enough to continue buying what you offer? With that said, you have to ensure that your business website is ready. Be on the lookout for web design trends, implement them on your site, test, and change them according to the results you get. Post relevant and shareable content on your business blog regularly to increase your chances of appearing in search engine result pages. More importantly, make sure your site has a responsive design and is optimized for mobile so customers can easily buy from you regardless of the device they’re on.

5. Track your progress.

Analyze the overall performance of your digital marketing efforts. Find out which strategy helped give your business the return of investment you were targeting. Then tweak your digital marketing strategies based on the results.

Your small business needs a competitive digital marketing presence. Live by these five crucial tips to help you build a loyal customer base who will help catapult your small business to success in ways you never imagined possible

Charmaine Belonio

 

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charmaine-belonio/5-digital-marketing-strat_b_12867622.html

 

My interpretation:

This is a general overview of digital marketing for beginners and gives 4 basic and concise points. I am showing a range of digital marketing blogs to be used by business at different levels of development.

2016: The Year Everything Changed In Social Media Marketing

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Three megatrends culminated in online business development in 2016, requiring attorneys to change their digital marketing tactics and to re-focus on what produces results.

  1. Your next client will most likely visit you using a smartphone, not a desktop computer. New data from comScore shows that digital media time spent on mobile devices is now a whopping 68%. Desktop computers account for only one third of digital time spent. Ask yourself: What does your law firm website look like on a cell phone?
  2. On social media, Facebook is by far the most effective. Facebook is social media to consumers. Sixty-six percent of adults log onto Facebook every day, according to Social Media Explorer. Eighty percent of consumers use the Facebook smartphone app. It is also on almost half of users’ smartphone home screens, according to comScore. How many likes and followers does your Facebook page have?
  3. A majority of Americans are likely to retain a lawyer who is active on social media. Fifty-four percent of consumers say they would likely retain an attorney who is active on Facebook, Twitter or Linked-In, according to research by Thomson Reuters. This is especially true for younger Americans between the ages of 18-44. When was the last time you updated your firm’s Facebook page?

To grasp how much things have changed online in 2016, it is useful to compare the current number of active users on the social media that most lawyers use. (Source: Smartinsights.com)

  • Facebook: 1.59 billion (by far the largest, fastest growing medium);
  • Instagram: 400 million (a Facebook property);
  • Twitter: 320 million (total of users is stagnant);
  • Snapchat: 200 million (growing rapidly); and
  • LinkedIn: 100 million (now just a resumé site with little engagement).

Did you notice that YouTube was not on the list? That’s because Snapchat (the mobile app to send videos that disappear after a few seconds) has more than 10 billion daily views, which exceeds even YouTube — the original site to showcase video content.

Twitter has degraded into a firehose of content, where law firms must post around the clock to break through the noise. Twitter is not a place where consumers spend a lot of time because most tweets include a link that sends them someplace else. Twitter’s best use it to try to send traffic to your website.

LinkedIn has become a silent dumping ground for self-promotional messages and links that lead away from the site. I manage 10 LinkedIn groups and despite my best efforts, there is hardly any interaction. I spend most of my time weeding out spam and removing people who post about topics that are irrelevant to the group.

Maximizing Results on Facebook

This brings us back to Facebook, which is now the social medium where attorneys should market. Absorb the fact that Facebook:

  • Has far more engagement with people than LinkedIn or Twitter.
  • Is the second most used web browser (after Chrome).
  • Has the highest percentage of daily users.
  • Has the highest average number of daily sessions.
  • Is where most Americans get their news.
  • Is where 34% of consumers find help to select a service provider, like a lawyer, plumber or doctor.

How did this happen? Two other megatrends converged in 2016. One began in 2009 when Baby Boomers (66 million) began using Facebook to stay in touch with their children and grandkids. The second culminated in April 2016 when the Millennial generation (75 million) overtook the Boomers as the largest generation in history. Millennials are all over Facebook.

Numbering about one quarter of the U.S. population, Millennials have spending power projected to reach $1.4 trillion in just four years. They are launching businesses, buying cars and starting families.

Millennials are digital natives who grew up with the Internet always in their lives. They work and play on cell phones. They are also all over social media, sharing, liking, snapping, forwarding, and commenting on all their findings. They are socially conscious and expect law firms to demonstrate corporate responsibility. They are visually oriented and tell stories with pictures more than words.

BY LARRY BODINENOVEMBER 28, 2016

Read more: http://www.insidecounsel.com/2016/11/28/2016-the-year-everything-changed-in-social-media-m

My interpretation: It is very important to keep on top of  up and coming social media techniques. I found it very interesting that most websites are viewed from the mobile and not the computer- this is very useful information for businesses when they format their websites, they must ensure they are compatible for all devices. This article was also useful at highlighting different social medias used.

4 Digital Marketing Trends That Aren’t Going Away In 2017

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Twenty-sixteen was the year of radical change, right? Not necessarily, it’s just that technology has improved the way we do business—and most sources indicate it’s going to continue down that path in 2017 and beyond. Here are four digital marketing trends that aren’t going away in the new year.

  1. Mobile Content

You probably already know that mobile marketing is big—but as studies projecting 2017 indicate, it’s even bigger than you thought. According to Smart Insights Mobile Marketing Trends, over 50 percent of searches are made on mobile devices, not laptops or even tablets. In addition, 91 percent of Facebook use and Facebook advertising revenue comes from mobile-exclusive marketing.

Do you think improving the mobile experience is paramount? Hint, it is!

2. Advertising in Messaging

Another source says that social media monetization will be an important trend for the new year—and not just business as usual, but in messaging, as in the links people share to each other privately. Paid media on messaging apps is a big trend to watch, and this suggests more private web use instead of public.

3. Live Video Streaming

Another source suggests that live video streaming, as opposed to just video content, may well a trend that’s not going anywhere. More social networks are offering live streaming content, including Facebook and YouTube, which should be an indication of where this trend is going.

This technology can be used to build brand awareness, and more importantly, boost engagement. Is there a way to tie in your product and other marketing aspects into some form of live video streaming? You might be surprised by how limited the competition is…not a lot of companies have figured a way to do this, so the more creativity you can bring to the idea, the better. Smart companies are beginning to use live streaming for company events, announcements, interviews or video blogs.

4. Multi-Channel Marketing

According to DMA’s Statistical Fact Book, one significant trend that’s impossible to ignore is that people are using multiple devices just to make up their mind on whether they want to try a product or service. Consumers use cell phones, tablets, laptops, maybe even desktop computers at work. The average person uses five devices, and not coincidentally, this is why companies make sure that their product can be seen in a similar or identical way on every format.

Not only that, but engagement may differ from one device to the next. It means companies are now studying the metrics of multiple device customer behavior and tracking behavior across all platforms, using this information for targeting. Even Google has gotten in on the action, which means it’s all but biblical in the story of 2017 marketing now.

 

Blair Nicole Nastasi — November 28, 2016
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/4-digital-marketing-trends-arent-going-away-2017-01715092#8pVMUYFSBAFKzrjK.99
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/4-digital-marketing-trends-arent-going-away-2017-01715092#8pVMUYFSBAFKzrjK.99