It’s not easy to grow your business – and finding the right marketing strategies can be a significant challenge. First, we have to assume that you are selling a high-quality product or service, and that there is a viable market demand. Without those things, your marketing efforts won’t amount to much.
Once that’s been established, it’s a matter of placing your product or service in front of the ideal market. This can be challenging. The good news is there are more options available to reach the right people than at any other point in history. With that, it becomes critical to work smarter and not necessarily harder to achieve results.
Every business needs a well-designed website that makes it easy for users to take a desired action. Beyond that, the marketing strategies that make sense for your business may not be the ones that your competitor is using, or the same that the unrelated business down the street is using. A mixture of finding your audience and your natural abilities comes into play.
Let’s look at some of the emerging channels and marketing strategies so that you can determine what makes sense for your business.
A Website Designed with Your User in Mind
This is the centerpiece for any digital marketing campaign. Your website is where you have the most creative freedom to communicate with your audience. You’re not subject to the rules that Facebook puts on groups or pages. You’re not subject to the content limitations, and your material is far less likely to ever be removed for breaking the rules.
With a website, you have the full freedom to develop the look and feel of your site. You’re not designing within the context of the platform’s look.
This is the digital home base for any business and should be treated with care. Your goal should be to drive people back to your website, where they can get the strongest feel for your brand.
Content, and a focused message is a crucial part of a successful website that entices your users to take action – much of that is in the website copywriting.
Positioning Your Company as the Trusted Expert with Blogs
Some companies mistakenly feel that no one will be interested in what they have to say through their blog. Others view it as too much of a time commitment and lose interest when they fail to see any immediate results.
But for those who can find the topics their customer base is interested in, and maintain a commitment to creating valuable content over the long haul, the results can be staggering. Blogging gives your business the ability to rank for search words and phrases that would otherwise never appear on your website.
It allows the “DIY” customer to find a plumber when they realize they’ll never be able to fix that leaky sink on their own, like they thought they could. It allows the tech buyer more information as they enter into a market they may not know as much about.
You don’t have to be a naturally gifted writer to blog, but things like basic spelling and grammar count. It also requires a time commitment. Blogs allow you to grow your website and rise in the search results. If it’s not something that you can commit to yourself, a blog copywriter can help you at a reasonable price.
Landing Pages that Convert
Landing pages are another way to grow your online footprint. I’m talking about the long-form stand-alone type of landing page. This type of landing page can allow you an alternative path in to ranking for a keyword such as “Best weight loss product,” “best business books,” or whatever may make sense for your industry.
A landing page is similar to the digital form of a sales letter. You’re laying out a persuasive case for your customer to buy your product. You’re trying to appeal to them on an emotional level and position your business as the best viable solution to a specific problem.
The content for a landing page needs to truly resonate with your audience – especially if it’s written in the long form. It needs:
- A curiosity-provoking headline that pulls people in.
- Content that makes people want to read from one sentence to the next.
- Testimonials for social proof.
- A strong offer.
- A persuasive call to action.
When all those pieces come together, you can create an effective landing page that drives traffic and persuades people to buy. You can also use blogging or a Google Adwords campaign to drive traffic to your landing page. A landing page copywriter can help you create a message that resonates.
Strategic Use of Social Media
The conversation about your industry is taking place all around you, on various social media channels. The channels that make sense for one business may not make sense for another. It’s also critical to work smarter and not harder with social – because as much as you’ll be tempted to try, you can’t be everywhere.
The best advice I’ve seen for social media is to pick three channels and master them. You can do this in less than a half-hour each day. With LinkedIn, it could mean popping in and participating in a group from time to time, commenting on others’ statuses, and reposting old blogs and articles from your website. For Twitter, it can mean tweeting and retweeting content as it makes sense.
Social media can be an incredible time suck if you don’t keep your objectives continuously in mind. It’s easy to feel busy without accomplishing much. Look for ways to talk with your customers, participate in relevant conversations, and build relationships. But don’t let it overwhelm your day.
Take Advantage of Email
Sometimes your customer simply needs to be reminded that you are there. Email can be a great way to accomplish that.
I often check in with regular clients and follow up on potential leads. I also send out blog posts to my email list and current clients, to create another touch-point.
Regular email marketing can of course be used to drive direct sales. Once you’re in a user’s inbox, it’s a more personalized way of communicating your brand message, selling to your customer, and doing business. Email also has a tremendously powerful return on investment.
Go The Traditional Route With Sales Letters
Traditional sales letters can still be an effective way to reach your customer. In a day when businesses compete hard for email, social media, and other forms of digital attention, the mail box can be an effective place to land.
Like with landing pages, sales letters rely on a persuasive, emotional message designed to motivate the desired action. This makes headlines, strong copy, testimonials (social proof) and persuasive calls to action extremely important here, too. You don’t have to be an experienced copywriter to pull off a sales letter, but it helps to understand more about the form.
A sales letter copywriter can help you deliver a message that will resonate with your audience, however.
Conclusion
There are countless more marketing strategies available to your business than just these. For instance, video and podcasting could be tremendous assets to the right business. I selectively chose some of the most prominent writing-based strategies.
Whether your business is b2b or b2c, the days of simply having a website and being found online are long gone. You need to be able to effectively communicate your message with your customers or clients. As you evaluate your options, consider your talents, time constraints, and where your audience is currently located. Where these things intersect, you’ll find the right marketing strategies for you.
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