Consumers today do not want to be sold to; they want to buy into a narrative. Social media is a fantastic way for companies to create an experience people want to invest in, bring awareness and make a lasting relationship with customers.
Today, the entire world has gone digital. People all across the globe do their banking online, buy their groceries on their phone, take their classes on a computer, and visit their doctors over Zoom.
According to Pew Research, in the United States alone, 96% of Americans have a cellphone. Of that 96%, approximately 81% are smartphone users. The emergence of smartphones has increased the need for mobile space. Hence the reason why so many companies are thriving by going digital.
If done correctly, businesses can increase sales, attract potential customers, and retain current ones by growing their social media presence. Going digital, especially in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, is essential for the survival of many businesses. Social media provides a way for you to reach audiences you may have never been introduced to locally.
While the idea of advertising your business digitally sounds great, most business owners are intimidated by where to start. If you too are overwhelmed on where to begin, take a look at some of our best digital advertising tips to promote your business. They will make the mobile space and social media advertising a little less scary, and a bit more doable!
Know Your Audience!
Who are your customers? What kind of customers do you attract? Where are a majority of your customers located? Why are they interested in your product or service? When do they look to your business to solve a problem they have? The who, what, when, where, and why of your customer profiles is extremely important to understand.
When you know your audience, and what they like, digital advertising will become much easier. This information will help narrow down the large variety of platforms you can advertise on. According to HubSpot, if your audience is between 25-34 years old, Facebook or Instagram may be your best bet. However, if your audience is 18-24, TikTok might be a better platform to use.
It is important to keep in mind that viewing your audience as people rather than just numbers will establish more trust. Doing so, will inspire you to post content that is relevant to your audience.
Check out our Inbound Marketing Success Plan to better understand your current customers and the best way to attract your desired audience.
Understand the ROI of Each Platform.
If your audience is consistently using multiple platforms, it would be within your best interest to know which platforms have the highest ROI’s. Knowing this will save you both time and money.
Although your audience may use a certain platform the most, understand that it might not have the best advertising tools that turns a follower into a customer. Posting on these platforms to keep your audience engaged is fine, however running an advertisement may not be worth your time.
Knowing the platform’s Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) will show which platforms are the best to help increase your ROI. Need help calculating these numbers? Check out our step-by-step guide.
It’s important to note which digital advertising platforms work best for your industry as a whole. For example, platforms that work best in the fashion industry might not work best in the restaurant industry. To stay on top of this, keep in mind which platforms your competitors are using and how your content will be different from theirs on that platform. After considering all of these things, you can pick which social media platforms are best for you!
Establish a Goal!
When creating a digital ad, it is essential to establish a goal you want that ad to accomplish. Do you want to increase your sales? Gain more followers? Increase engagement? Attract a new audience? Spread awareness about your brand?
Depending on your goal, the approach you take in your digital ad will vary. Your goals may change the platform you choose to advertise on and could be different from the socials you're currently using.
It’s good to have different goals. However, it is not the best to try and accomplish your goals in one digital ad. The good thing about digital is that you have the opportunity to spread multiple different ads across multiple different platforms in just a few clicks!
Create Your Theme!
Think about the theme and vibe your company is already presenting on social media. Then, decide if that’s the same presence you would like others to see when coming across your digital ads. Your overall online presence should correspond with your digital advertisements.
Remember that with most social media platforms; people will only see your content if they follow you. However, with online advertising, it could be seen by thousands in a geographical location. This is important to keep in mind when advertising because everyone who sees your digital ad may not understand it as well as some of your close followers.
This is why it’s essential for your digital ads to be clear and concise all while seeming organic. They need to flow when coming across your target audience’s feed or web page and not annoy or disrupt their online experience.
Click here to see how to reach your target audience organically.
The Buyer's Journey.
Understanding your customers buyer's journey is essential to identify which areas of your digital presence need improvement. The buyer goes through the awareness, consideration, and decision stages when purchasing a product or service. Each interaction with your company should be tailored towards what stage the customer is in their buyer journey.
Every digital user interacts with businesses differently during their buyer's journey. Throughout those different steps, a company should cater their digital content to what is needed in each stage throughout those steps. Understanding where users are in their buyer's journey and how businesses can lead them to purchase through their digital content is so essential.
Conclusion.
Overall, these concepts can help businesses navigate the digital space a bit easier! Knowing your audience, the ROI’s of each social platform, establishing a goal, creating a theme, and catering towards your customer’s buyer journey will help establish the goals a business has set for themselves online.
However, if navigating the Digital Marketing world still seems a bit overwhelming, you can schedule an appointment with one of our Digital Marketing Consultants to figure out what the next steps are for you and your company.