Top 8 Tips for Marketing in 2020

The start of a new year is always a great time to consider your marketing, but it is especially important as we start a new decade. Here are eight tips to make sure you are getting the most benefits from your digital marketing.

Create Your Online Strategy

You may set new goals for the next year and the next decade. Do not forget to set goals for your internet marketing. Setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely will help you know if you are moving in the right direction. Then, put them in order of importance, so you know which steps you need to master first. After you get started, you will see a snowball effect as all your hard work moves your company’s sales in the right direction.

Optimize for Maps

Especially if your business relies on foot traffic, it is essential that you optimize for Google Maps. Start by claiming your Google My Business account if you have not already. Then, write or optimize your company’s description to incorporate words that real people use when searching for your business. This can be a great place to add in brand names you carry. Then, encourage your customer base to leave reviews. Add great quality photos to your account. Write short informative articles and post them directly to your account. Interact with your customers by thanking those who left you a good review and suggesting ways that you will work with those that are not happy with your services. While you are at it, claim other review sites as well and that your data matches across all of them.

Use Natural Link Building Schemes

You also need to check the links on your website to make sure they are all working properly and that they do not point to sites filled with spam. Remove any broken links and find sites to replace them. Always make sure you are linking directly to the content that you want your viewers to see. Create a hierarchy within your own site so you are building up your most important pages by linking to them when appropriate. Once you get your own links in order, use a tool to find opportunities where others may want to link to your content. Shoot the webmaster a line suggesting it. They may use it and also come back to you for more links.

Utilize Paid Search

When the internet was new, there was no such thing as a paid link, but that is not the case today and paid search advertising will become even more important in the future as Google and others continue to cut down on the number of links appearing on the first search engine result page. Even as we enter the new decade, paid links usually hold the top position on many search terms. Look for pay-per-click advertising to become an even more effective way to reach segmented customer bases as Google and others use artificial intelligence to become even more talented at delivering these ads at exactly the moment that customers are ready to make a buying decision.

Focus on Website Design

There are at least three factors that have been buzz words during the last part of the 1990s, and they are not going anywhere soon. You need to have your security certificate in place so that your website displays as a https. You also need to consider your mobile speed. Too many bells and whistles can slow down your website sending your customers to your competitor’s site. You also need to ensure that your website is responsive. After your website is secure, mobile-friendly and responsive, then concentrate on the use of whitespace to help focus users attention. Employ a navigation system on every page so that users can easily get where they want to be on your site. Users should never have to click more than twice to get to the most important elements on your page. Viewers will scan your page even faster in the future, so create ways for them to easily find what they are looking for on your site.

Personalize Emails

You need to be segmenting your email subscribers and only sending them emails that are most pertinent to them. Think about the type of content that they are most likely to want to see and forward to others. Video emails may be a popular option during the next decade. Each email should have a definite purpose and the viewer should know exactly how you want them to follow up. Your headline should be catchy, but be careful of using humor because of sensitivities. You will probably only want to send one email per week.

Content is King

Content is, continues and will always be king. Your content must be the best, connect with your target audience and represent your brand’s voice. It must capture attention through its thoroughness. Think of your customer as being on a journey, and you are their leader each step of the way. Therefore, you need to get them prepared to make the journey by showing them their pain point. Then, educate them about solutions. Follow up with expert help on making the right decision and how to get the product that they need. Finally, provide them with multiple ways to get help when needed and ask for a positive review at the moment they are most likely to be happiest with your company.

Professionalism

Customers will expect you to act like a professional each step of the way. That is difficult when you have so many things on your plate. Google, Bing and others are likely to throw unexpected curves into marketing, such as Hummingbird, Panda and Medic have in the past. Therefore, you need to work with a professional in digital marketing who is watching for these trends and staying ahead of them.

Are you ready to take your marketing to the next step? Contact us today as we are here waiting to assist you now and throughout the coming decade.