YOU NEED A DIGITAL STRATEGY... WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.

Digital Marketing is NOT a "SET IT & FORGET IT" strategy.

It doesn't have to be complicated. In fact the simpler the better.

I know that if a company has a digital strategy that they understand AND that they can implement and commit to, the strategy will beSUCCESSFUL.

Here are some FIRST STEPS to get your digital strategy cranking.

1. Sort your website out - How's it LOOKING?

• Is your website helpful?

• Is it easy to navigate?

• Does it look and feel fresh and modern?

• Is it optimised for mobile viewing? - you will lose business if it isn't - Sort that out ASAP.

 If you have ANALYTICS use it. If you don’t have it then install it. Google Analytics is free.

✰✰ LOOK INTO how long people are spending on your site, what pages that are visiting? Is there a certain page on your website that people spend longer on than most? Is there a way you could engage that group of people to take some form of action; sign up to a newsletter, share this information on social media,provide an offer? ✰✰

2. Time to get SOCIAL - Get your head out of the sand, Social Media is not going away...

Include social media "share" & "follow us" buttons on your website.This gives your visitors the ability to FOLLOW your LinkedIn Company Page(Must Have!) or share your website with their network. Make sure you add thesocial media "share" buttons to your blog posts, again allowing visitors toshare content which really engages them.

Also, make an effort to interact with your target audience on social media and encourage conversation and sharing of your content. LinkedIn is a perfect platform for this - it is professional, you have a story, you have a network. DEMONSTRATE YOUR EXPERTISE. Read more about how to engage with your community here.

3. Communicate with your VALUABLE DATABASE

You have a database of current clients, prospect clients & LinkedIn connections. There really is NO EXCUSE FOR NOT KEEPING IN TOUCH with these people. Set a content marketing calendar and send out a MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY eNewsletter. Slice & Dice your content - MIX IT UP and make it interesting (images / videos / text) . Learn more about content marketing here. 

These are just the first steps to get you heading in the right direction. Honestly, if you can start with the above, you are on your way :-)  It is all about building brand awareness, connecting with your target audience and cutting through a very noisy marketplace. GOOD LUCK.

VIDEO MARKETING - THE BUZZ OF THE MOMENT.

THE GOAL OF ADVERTISING HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO BUILD BRAND AWARENESS, STAND APART FROM YOUR COMPETITION AND (FINGERS CROSSED) BE THE CHOSEN ONE.

Creating short videos is a great way to promote your business. No matter what you do or sell, or how large or small your business. Short videos (1-2 minutes) are well received by your prospects and existing customers. AND the best bit, you don’t have to be a Hollywood producer or have Coca-Cola’s budget to produce engaging, shareable videos.

When it comes to social and online marketing, companies are realising that video has a dominant role to play in your content marketing mix. Video marketing captures the users attention and gives you the opportunity to deliver your message in an easy format that everyone can understand.

90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text. Viewers also retain 95% of a message when they watch a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.

What’s the big deal about video?

There are multiple social media platforms where you can create and post mini-videos, greatly expanding your sharing reach beyond the usual YouTube;

• LinkedIn Professional Portfolio videos

• Vine (6-seconds)

• Instagram (15-seconds)

• Facebook (videos that can be 2 or 3 minutes long)

• Google+ news feeds

• Pinterest pins

Video can reinforce your authority, humanize your business and builds trust. Adding video to your marketing mix boosts SEO, too. If your video shows up in search results, you’re sure to attract more attention.

What content can I use?

Almost anything can make good content. You can be informative, or be light-hearted and entertaining.

Use short video for “show and tell.”

• Do a voice-over format, where viewers can focus on watching presentation, drawings, photos, text or moving video – while listening to an unseen speaker. Or let your images speak for themselves and set your video to music.

• Do an interview with your in-house business expert

• Do a demonstration - explain step-by-step how to put together or use your product. Or where you explain how you perform a particular service.

A few Stats for you:

1. 52% of consumers say that watching a video makes them more confident in online purchase decisions. 

2. According to Forbes, 59% of executives would rather watch a video than read text.

3. Blogs that incorporate video attract 3-times as many inbound links as blogs without video.

One of the biggest questions I get asked when discussing video marketing is how long a video should be? If your video is over 2-minutes, you can expect a 60% of users to click away from your video. The "sweet spot" for most video marketing pieces should be one minute.

REMEMBER - THE BEST THING ABOUT VIDEO MARKETING IS THE ABILITY TO CONNECT PROSPECTS WITH YOUR BRAND! THEY WILL UNDERSTAND WHO YOU ARE, AND WHAT YOU DO QUICKLY.

There are many companies that that specialise in creating professional custom videos that take your business to the next level. This gives you an opportunity to connect high-tech with a high-touch customer service.

I recommend AT LEAST ONE professionally crafted video to use when marketing your business. 

If your business is on a tight budget, there are still great ways to take advantage of video marketing. Businesses can use their own smartphone cameras and create a "grassroots" video marketing campaign. Set-up product launches, special events or tutorials through video marketing and share on your website, LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

Micro-videos are a great tool for businesses, create a 10-second commercial, promotion or client / customer testimonial.  Prospects can quickly view messages on their social media feeds. 

when Video marketing is done well, it has the ability build brand awareness and drive prospects to your business. Video marketing is a powerful tool. don't ignore it.

SIMPLE TIPS ON HOW TO ENGAGE ON LINKEDIN

To the seasoned LinkedIn user, these tips may be obvious... However, there are many LinkedIn users who are at the start of their professional social journey. 

Here are some quick and simple practices which will grow their network and build brand awareness.

1. Post a quality article/insights/video on your Status Update (Profile Home Page)
   
   It is important that whatever you post is relevant to you or your industry. The article, white paper or video must be credible. Read more about Video Marketing here.
   Remember: what you share on LinkedIn reflects you and your company brand.
   

2. Share your blog posts with your network
   
   Every time you publish a blog post on your website, share it with your LinkedIn network. Always include some teaser’ text.
   

3. Share someone else’s update and give them credit
   
   If you come across an interesting and relevant article in your news feed (profile home page), share it with your network and tag the Author. This not only shares the content with your network it also exposes you to the tagged contact’s network.
   
   (How to tag: enter the first letters of the person’s name and then select them in the drop down menu).
   

4. Comment on someone else’s update
   
   As you scroll through your news feed, make a few comments on your networks' updates. A comment has more value than a ‘like’, because your picture will be feature next to your comment. This may 'spark' interest in your connection’s network and someone may reach out for your services.
   

5. Engage in a LinkedIn Group Discussion
   
   Engagement in LinkedIn Groups is another great way to increase visibility of your profile and build your brand. An easy way to manage your group subscriptions is to receive weekly (not daily) group digest emails. Once a week scroll through the discussions on the email and decide which discussions (if any) are relevant to you and then add intelligent commentary.
   

6. LinkedIn Groups - Start a discussion or share an article
   
   LinkedIn Groups are really valuable (if used well) - they are a great way to stay connected with your industry, follow your competition and prospect for potential clients. To grow your network and build brand awareness you can share insights or start a relevant discussion within the Group. DON’T use the Group environment to spam your members with your sales pitch - You will be blocked by the Group Manager.

EMAIL LIST BUILDING TIPS

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THINK MOBILE....

Be mindful that 40% of LinkedIn users access LinkedIn when they are on the Go...
Profile Tips:

• Short and sharp Bio - forget long wordy paragraphs, people want to be able to skim-read.

• Include your "calls to actions" in your Profile Summary (URL / email address)

• Add media - documents / video / whitepapers

• Share "snackable" news - infographics / article links / commentary