Why Some Brands Are Thriving in Digital Marketing And Others Won’t Survive The Year

 Don’t look at 2020 as a write-off year. Too many have. It’s lazy and short-sighted.

 From the worldwide pandemic, no one expected the economic shutdown, it’s no secret that most businesses have struggled. With every new market, however, there breeds opportunity.

 Some brands have gone on the offensive in the last six months and are in fact thriving – not just surviving! The game hasn’t changed. The objective is the same. Profitability, revenues, more customers, more sales. What has changed, however, is consumer behaviour.

 There is a wealth of opportunity out there left for your brand to grab onto and maximize. Avoid the pitfalls of operating a profit-seeking business in COVID-19 by strengthening your brand representation, re-focusing on reaching and keeping customers, and investing in digital marketing.

Are You A Survivor or a Thriver?

 Before we move forward, ask yourself this exact question. If you just want to survive, good luck.

 Unfortunately, that’s not the type of results digital marketing is in the business of making. Presumably, find help elsewhere.

 If you want to thrive, now’s the time to overhaul your marketing, double down, and commit. Forward-looking projections should prioritize how you’re going to overcome and transform, adapting to new consumer behaviours and a new disruption.

 Don’t just keep up. Step up. Stop sitting back and set the foundation for your brand’s future. Disruptions happen all the time in the marketplace. Successful brands remain successful by evolving. Like Darwinism, only the strong and smart will survive. Even major corporate industry-leaders are faltering because they haven’t made the right moves. Here’s where to start.

How Do I Thrive With My Digital Marketing?

 The biggest asset any brand has is its customers. The customers are more important. Use a customer-centric approach in every decision you make.

 Consider how your target audience has been engaging with your brand. Look at website, email, and social media metrics. Look at the devices they are using. Look at the conversational language they’re using. Identify what’s been important to your customers throughout the pandemic.

 Digital marketing targets customers where they are, uses messaging that reflects what’s important to them, and mirrors the language and tone they’re already using. This customer-centric approach has never changed. If you satisfy your existing customers, you strengthen the relationship that’s going to carry your business through to the other end of this pandemic.

Where Can I Learn About the Most About My Customers?

Your website and social media have key digital marketing data to look at. Metrics tell you everything you need to know about what’s connecting with customers and possibly what isn’t.

 We aren’t talking about likes and comments, either. Though likes and comments on social media are wonderful, they happen for any number of reasons. They’re vanity metrics, to a degree. Surface metrics like this can give a false impression.

 Look deeper. Dig into Google Analytics. Look at bounce rates, which web pages are most-viewed, where your customers are coming from, and overall engagement. You may see investments in certain channels aren’t paying off. That’s an opportunity to optimize.

Where Do I Invest My Digital Marketing Budget?

 Digital marketing isn’t a cure-all. You can double or triple your digital marketing budget and unfortunately have it not amount to much.

 Digital marketing comprises of dozens of channels, each with its own ROI. Where a digital marketing expert is known to help is by identifying where spending on marketing is most reasonably chanced.

• Pay-Per-Click.
• Your website.
• Search engines.
• Content marketing and link building from reputable sources and brand followers.
• Word-of-mouth.
• Video marketing through YouTube, Facebook Video, and other platforms.
• Social media i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc

You likely have would-be and existing customers in each of these channels. This is where consumers research products, interact with brands, and make online purchases. By refining a marketing approach optimized for the channels where your customers are most likely to be, brands can retain the customers they have and focus on growth.

 It is also worth noting that there’s a cross-pollination that happens. Over 82% of consumers will use two or more digital marketing channels before making an online purchase. This is precisely why a single-channel marketing strategy doesn’t work.

 You have to be represented across several channels, each with a similar aesthetic and mirrored messaging.

 Furthermore, why some businesses are thriving in the COVID-19 pandemic is because they haven’t given up trying to reach their customers. A lot of brands have.

 It may seem less costly to stop everything you’re doing marketing-wise and wait. At least, for today. The future, however, won’t be a bright one for those that have taken a sit-and-wait approach.

 Consumers are still out there. By delaying aggressively pursuing them, you’re allowing your competition to potentially come in and wipe you out. We know this because we’ve seen it happen to dozens of businesses throughout the past six months.

 Your digital marketing budget is yours to spend and it should be spent where it counts most. Investing in a wait-and-see strategy is the only sure way to lose.

How Much Money Do I Need to Spend on My Digital Marketing?

 You can’t be on every platform spending and spending and spending. Pick and choose. Marketing always comes down to ROI and marketing that pays for itself is golden.

 From the perspective of how much do you spend on digital marketing, the answer isn’t a number. What’s certain is that marketing isn’t about losing money. One must make informed choices about where to spend whatever budget they do have.

 Once again, this is where data, metrics, and analytics come into play. If you know where customers are and how they’re behaving and what’s important to them, those are three ingredients to the ultimate digital marketing recipe.

 With this information, you can personalize your marketing to existing customers. Unless there’s a significant difference between the customers you’re targeting and the customers you already have, personalization will net you more of the same clientele. You will find leads just like your existing customer base, and with a high likelihood of converting them.

 The brands that are succeeding right now know their customers better than anyone else. By genuinely being interested in knowing and serving their fans, followers, customers, and leads, they’re making a lot of money even in the current climate.

How Will I Know My Digital Marketing is Working?

 You know your digital marketing is working by the numbers. Numbers say everything. At times, changes may need to be made in your marketing. Knowing when and how comes down to knowing the numbers.

 Pivoting to something new or more refined isn’t such a bad thing when it nets you profits. Marketing’s always changing. Pivoting is a part of the game, if you stay in it long enough. Successful brands piggy-back off trends. They’re open to adapting to new channels, such as voice search, video marketing, AI, AR, and others.

 If you want to be successful in the next eighteen months, the investments you make today are what’s going to affirm it. COVID-19 – from a purely business standpoint – was a disruption. Adapting quickly now is vital. Delaying an action plan is weak business. You’ve got to get it done.

COVID-19 digital marketing success is more than possible in today’s climate. Get started today with Unlimited Exposure and find the customers you’ve been missing. Join the list of brands still thriving and building even in the uncertain times we live in. There’s no time left to wait. The opportunity’s here. Make with it what you will. Brands are shaping their next few years with the digital marketing campaigns they’re investing in today. Are you ready to shape yours – contact Unlimited Exposure today