2020 has been quite a whirlwind of a year; more so, in a positive way for all those who shifted their business online. Using digital means to undertake marketing has brought about excellent results for those that have pursued this to the best of its potential. Even so, there is much more to be learned and experimented with when it comes to utilising the internet and digital means to get a marketer’s message across.
As a business, big or small, what are some resolutions you are going to swear by in the new year to facilitate a boom in your digital marketing? To make 2021 even better for your business, here are 21 methods you can adopt (starting now!) to ensure that your online presence and business reach newer heights!
21 Resolutions You Can Adopt to Make 2021 a Better Year for Digital Marketing
- Identify your target audience
It’s great to accept whatever work comes your way, but it’s also important to start streamlining your business. While you may want to build a business that looks at different sectors, identify what is the one sector you want to build a stronghold in. Where does your domain expertise lie? Who is your target audience? The minute you identify this aspect strongly, you will be able to capture every prospective client and become a strong, dominant market player.
2. Build a website
Have a game plan in place – what do you want to achieve through your website? Do you need a blog to showcase your knowledge and help people gain valuable information for free? Do you want people to look to you as someone with expertise in your field? Build a strong website to showcase your credentials, portfolio, plans, and knowledge in your domain.
3. Adopt social media
Social media tools like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are built to manage your reputation online. These tools help you reach your demographic by advertisement placement. They help you identify prospects and even build a customer base. Utilise the power of these tools to the fullest to help your business expand even further.
4. Connect on social media
Once you’ve adopted social media and built a presence for your business, ensure that you digitally connect with people. Build a virtual following so that prospects can see how well you hold your ground in your field. Use these connections to float information, products and services, engage with your audience, and promote your business.
5. Blog more
If you really want to showcase knowledge, tap into SEO and use keywords to attract traffic towards your business, master the art of blogging in 2021. Use it to your advantage to give out information that people would love to read. Blogging doesn’t need to consume a consumer, it just needs to capture their attention enough to keep them wanting more. Write about things you know people will want to read about while providing them with useful information.
6. Rank higher
Use good SEO to drive traffic to your website or blog. Invest little amounts in keywords that can help your demographic reach you on search engines and showcase your website and online presence higher.
7. Clean your online presence
Give the technical aspects of your business as much attention as you would, the creative. Ensure your domain and business presence online are up to date, security has been taken care of, and your website is able to conduct e-commerce seamlessly.
8. Mobile optimisation
It is true that most people use their mobiles instead of their laptops to browse or even purchase products or services. Since mobiles are the most convenient way to communicate, most businesses are also finding it easier to be available at the tap of a finger than the click of a keyboard. Ensure your web presence is, thus, optimised to be mobile friendly.
9. Email marketing
Most marketers swear by email marketing; not just for promoting their business but also for lead generation. Up your email marketing game to get better business leads and build a cleaner and more useful database for yourself.
10. Budget well
While a lot of tools online are found at negligible costs, as a digital marketer, it is important to set aside a small budget to invest in tools to promote better online business. Do not underestimate the power of paying for advertisements or better email campaigns.
11. Better customer service
Nowadays, most customer service happens online, so make sure that for your business, the customer service is also online, in the form of a contact page or a chatbot. Whatever the means, make sure your customers are treated well, and their grievances are adhered to. Happy customers leave better reviews.
12. Run tests
Every website owner will tell you that their website requires a lot of tweaks from time to time. It does not run smoothly, and they need to keep running tests to ensure everything is in place. Conduct regular tests on your website to make sure you know why your customers turn away, what their pain points are, etc. Run simple A/B tests to strategise and understand how to refine your CTAs, images, and text.
13. Talk to people in real life
If you get an opportunity, then connect with people in real life to understand how your business is being received, even digitally. Sometimes, in-person insights can also go a long way in understanding your business digitally.
14. Get involved
Do you believe in communities? Take your business to the next level by taking advantage of e-communities where you can virtually be part of groups, discussions, and help people take their business forward. This is a great way to do some pro bono work and be recognised as a leader in your field.
15. Research trends
Even though you may have the perfect website or social media presence, know that these things change as the sun sets. Keep abreast of all the trends and make changes to your style or templates if you need to, to stay on top of your game, and constantly attract clientele.
16. Undertake demos
Demos are a great way to figure out what works best for your business. Building a staging website or using tools to see how posts would look on your social media before you make them public, gives you insight into how well something might work. Try things before going live.
17. Keep innovating your marketing strategy
2020 has seen a huge number of marketing tactics come into play from email campaigns to podcasts, people have tried it all to find new ways to boost their online presence. Make sure you try new and innovative ways of marketing to help your business have a better presence online.
18. Use advertising
Pay per click (PPC) advertising is the newest kid on the block. The number of clicks and impressions your online presence is able to generate is the new way in which marketing is conducted. PPC advertising helps you showcase your brand on sponsored pages of other websites, and you only pay a certain fee when someone clicks, else it’s a great way to just have a billboard online.
19. Experiment with new online tools
What are you looking to expand in 2021? An e-commerce presence? Try tools like Magneto and Shopify. Want to build a better website? Try tools like WP Website Builder or Elementor. Want to try CMS? Try Drupal or Joomla! Experiment with tools to understand how digital space works better online.
20. Subscriptions
To understand your competitors and see what others are doing, try subscribing to other businesses and online websites. This will help you see what kind of emails people are putting out, what their social media is like, and what innovative methods they are adopting to expand their presence online.
21. Don’t stop building your brand
Your e-reputation is what matters the most in today’s day and age. Whatever you do, do not stop building your brand presence online. Use all these tips not just once, but consistently, to figure out better ways of what works best for your business.
Treat 2021 like the year that your business reaches an even higher peak! Use these methods and more to see what works best for your business. Remember, every business is different and requires care and attention to see what works best for it. So, sharpen your online game and get your 2021 resolutions in line to better your digital marketing presence!
Tags: Blogs, Content Marketing, content trends, Digital trends, Instagram trends, marketing trends, online advertising, PPC, SEO, Social Listening Trends, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Target audience