Currently we have too many options to implement in our strategy and plan to make ourselves known (as a company or business) to the public we want to capture. Digital marketing is a sea of tools that, if used correctly, can make a company grow and as a result, increase sales.
In this article we will discuss some of these ways to increase your online presence based on a marketing strategy that will ultimately lead to increasing your sales to grow your business.
Why is digital marketing important to increase sales?
First of all, let’s define what “digital marketing” is, and this term refers to the set of actions in the virtual world that you can use to give a voice to a company or brand, interacting with online users who are looking for the fulfillment of some need and who enter websites in search of information to learn more.
It’s flexible and diverse, you can choose to implement from a number of digital strategies as long as you find the right one for your brand. It won’t always be easy to identify the best one for you, that’s why you should keep close track of the marketing trends that will be working in the year ahead.
An example of this can be when 2020 started. InboundCycle stated that during that time, video marketing would be further strengthened, opening the way to native applications of social media giants specialized in just videos such as Instagram with its IGTV feature or HubSpot Video that expanded its information base with animations and informative videos.
Applying some action with a studied plan will do wonders for your company in the digital world, which today is everything. Mobile platforms and internet content have changed the landscape of marketing and sales of all kinds. Google has become the starting point to find all kinds of products and services that we currently look for every day (from looking for clothes, to a service like a laundromat), that is why betting on digital marketing will only be beneficial for you; the question here is, “how to apply it correctly to increase my sales?”
Remember that digital marketing is persuasive, since it presents content and visual elements for your audience to get to know you and analyze if you are convenient for them. Likewise, it is a double-edged sword, since if you do a good job the results will be seen in what they write about you (all positive); and if you do things badly or of poor quality, users will not hesitate to complain and recommend that they stay away from you, which will affect your reputation and take you to the bottom of the public eye of the internet.
Digital marketing is the eyelid that opens for everyone to see your brain through your eyes (so to speak), it is about interacting directly with the brand in a dynamic way at the same time enabling information so that other users can see it and analyze whether or not you convinced them to take an action such as trying or buying your service, and with that you can increase sales.
DISCOVER YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION, WHAT DOES MY COMPANY OFFER AS AN INNOVATIVE FACTOR?
Now that we know what digital marketing is all about and its benefits in general, it’s time to make your company known, starting with you knowing it yourself and identifying what makes you stand out from the competition; look for what differentiates you from others and give it light. Start from that point to start building a strategy that specifies your authenticity and what value you will add to the price of your service or product if a customer chooses you.
It will be easier for you to know which strategy to choose if you break down your company’s approach and recognize which side you can get the most out of.
WHAT CHANNELS TO USE TO INCREASE SALES?
I emphasize the above mentioned about identifying which channel and strategy works best for you depending on the added value of your brand, by identifying this side, the answer to this question will fall from the sky.
Something that you can certainly apply to any product or service are videos, by presenting relevant information in a visual, attractive and concise way, you will achieve a greater audience reach since visual material currently achieves the highest rate of organic reactions, thanks to the easy reproduction and eye-catching graphics that are easy to consume for internet users.
I decided to start by talking about videos in this question as it is the most obvious answer, social networks are mostly image and video based (Facebook, Instagram) which deepens the topic. The channels to use in a matter of increasing sales are social media and your website in tandem.
Create profiles in the networks where there is more public presence and especially where your target market is more. Depending on your goal you will find that the various online tools accommodate your mission; for example, if you are a company dedicated to the manufacture of artificial eyelashes, Instagram would be the perfect way to approach your target market, since everything is based visually.
If you are a transportation company in an industrial location, perhaps your website and Facebook are your most appropriate channels to present relevant information about what you do and what revolves around the world of transportation.
Keep in mind that it’s not just a matter of guessing what you think works for you or your company (it’s not guessing), it’s recommended that you hire a specialized advertising agency to help you identify and structure what elements will guarantee you an increase in audience and sales.
IMPLEMENT CONTENT MARKETING TO INCREASE SALES
An online brand loaded with clear, relevant and concise information will facilitate the relationship between you and your audience, since it opens the way to a whole window of who you really are and how you are seen from the outside.
Content marketing focuses on this, editing videos, generating images, write blog posts, create e-books, record podcasts, among a myriad of elements that will give life to your brand.
It should be noted that it’s not about creating isolated elements and simply drop them on your website and your social networks, you must link them, structure a connected web of all the content you create so that it’s an educational chain of lessons that attracts, maintains and delights your potential customers or leads.
This content can be sent, shared and targeted to your audience and leads to increase your sales and grow your customer database.
Create professional and educational content that appeals to your target market and you will quickly grow your sales network.
People today are looking for more information to confirm who they will give their money to, so having an educational content network will increase your chances of increasing sales, and not only that, when you have already closed some, the information you continue to generate will feed your previous customers keeping your brand in their minds, so it’s important that you divide the type of content to each stage of the buying process that we explained previously here.
It’s also not about the quantity of blogs, videos and images, nowadays, it’s all about quality. Make sure you keep your standards high to convey a greater sense of value and trust, that will be the key to your success regarding content marketing and thus, have more reach and increase your sales.
Here is a summary of what content marketing can encompass:
· Blogging: generate blog posts presenting information for each stage of the buyer’s journey (discovery, consideration and decision), not forgetting to include information for your previous customers to keep them interested in your brand for a future second, third or fourth purchase (what we call “lead nurturing“).
· Videomarketing: videos are the most effective tool to present relevant information and open the window to what your brand or company really is. Insert graphics, texts, high quality recordings or testimonials to give a quality image to your product or service, always keeping in mind quality over quantity.
· Mailmarketing: although you may not be well received using this format, it’s one of the most effective as long as you keep in mind that personalization will prevent the emails you send from being automatically sent to the trash or spam section.
Send videos, coupons, blog posts and relevant content so that your customer will be happy to consume it. Make sure it’s worth the fact that your customer has agreed to share data with you in exchange for being an ambassador for you or considering closing a sale with you.
· Social media posts: with quality in mind as well, social media posts are the bridge that will link your audience to your website and the checkout section. Create interesting and eye-catching posts (such as images, videos or links to your blog posts with a topic that resonates with your target audience) to strengthen traffic on your social and official pages.
· Paid advertising: social networks have the option to boost your posts by paying a fee to get them in front of a wide audience that you choose by demographics such as age, gender and geographic location, which is highly beneficial for gaining attention and audience reach. It’s highly recommended to apply this feature when you are starting operations with your business as it will put you in front of the eyes of new customers ready to increase sales.
Another approach to paid advertising is to contrast what was done in traditional marketing (which refers to the traditional channels to promote a product or service such as billboards, radio and television commercials, newspapers, among others): pay advertising companies to put your company’s name online, and, although the benefits will be seen immediately, they result in a higher cost. So it is advisable that if you are a small or medium business, consider inbound marketing which results in a much lower cost and allows you to compete with the big leagues at the same time in channels such as social networks.
Content marketing is the backbone of inbound, because by generating accurate and eye-catching information, leads will start making their way to you. Here you can get more ideas to grow your business with digital marketing.
BUILD DIGITAL TRUST
By encompassing all these elements, you give way to the leads to know the essence of your brand, generating digital trust, which is vital for the economic survival of your company.
The more quality content you launch to your channels, the more trust you will get from your target market and thus increase sales naturally.
Remember that everything must be part of a well-structured plan by professionals who will advise you to achieve the objectives of brand image and economy, do not start something just by impulse, everything has its process and must be polished to provide the best results!
If you want to know some ideas to start your business even from a small town, we recommend this article.
