A multitude of businesses and organisations will attempt to use in-house resources, (whoever in the office has a spare half hour) to fulfil the digital marketing responsibilities that are required in successfully operating a business today. Which poses an interesting question. You wouldn’t get whoever has spare time to fulfil the financial or legal needs of a business, so why would you get just anyone to do your digital marketing?
It’s important to understand that there is a difference between grabbing attention and holding attention. Marketing at present defies the mass media marketing model that initially suggested creating awareness everywhere and anywhere is necessary in order to be seen and gain business.
Broken down simply – you wouldn’t ever only have one standard approach in a business meeting or service exchange, so why have one standard approach with your branding online or social media?
SEO, metadata, landing pages, geo tagging and appropriate hashtags are surprisingly not part of the new Pokémon app. These terms are just a few of the key essentials that need to be understood when deciding when and how to apply different approaches to marketing strategies, which can then allow you to see how your traffic flow is getting to you and where they are coming from, in order to get the best return on investment.
A certain amount of branding and curation goes into an online presence which in turn informs potential customers of opinions, ideas and the culture of your business.
You should not be hitting publish on your content unless it is outstanding enough to be amplified (reposted, retweeted, regrammed) or in simple terms, shared more than all of the grumpy cat memes put together. A unique, relevant and innovative piece of content should be thought of like an asset – an upfront investment of time. When done well enough, the return on investment should be huge and should also be relevant enough to be shared later down the track #throwbackthursday #flashbackfriday.
By creating leverage with content and selecting the appropriate online channels, businesses can really revel in the power of branding and their point of difference.
It’s time to shift the mindset of previous constraints and really embrace the possibilities that lie before us now. Anyone can teach an old dog new tricks, but the dog must see the value in learning said new tricks for it to really be effective.
Form your online strategies with a purpose and decide what channels and platforms are suited to your business needs. Not just because you feel like you have to or because your in-house ‘marketing’ person has signed your business up to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, or has organised for your face to be on the back of a shopping docket.
It is integral to assess who it is you are actually trying to target and then reassess the best way to approach and engage them.
