Today's marketing techniques require entrepreneurs to move out of their comfort zone and go after their desired audience rather than waiting for the audience to find them!! So, before the competition chases up our figurative skirts we need to step into the next decade embracing both technology and change.
What is Digital Marketing...
Digital marketing is the advertising process used to promote brands, products and services using extremely influential platforms we literally 'plug in' such as the internet, television, radio and mobile communication devices. Digital marketing uses various distribution channels to market to the masses like today's youth for example; they are plugged into their hi-tech toys as though they were umbilical cords and adults of all ages, even seniors, are following suit making them all potential end users.
Digital marketing is interactive, to-the-minute and social (therefore personal) like Twitter and Facebook. Whether you've chosen to create a blog for your website, add a how to video or created a new social profile the content is long lasting. Once published on the world wide web the content is either left alone to be discovered organically, pushed directly onto a specific audience with demographics or a bit of both.
However, due to freedom of choice, we as consumers ourselves control most forms of digital marketing by way of choosing what we watch, listen to, ignore, read or toss and turn on or off...it's an opt-in or opt-out society. Therefore, one must create useful, functional, informative, enjoyable, entertaining visuals and text that grab and retain viewers before the moment and the user are gone.
In the days of old, advertising was printed and went via word of mouth by a newsboy ...'newspaper, get your newspaper, read all about it, newspaper...'. Nowadays, it's 'visit me on Facebook', 'follow me on Twitter', 'embed my video' , 'check out my live podcast', 'text me', 'subscribe to newsletter', 'opt in for updates' or 'have you seen my YouTube video'! ...a myriad of cost effective mixed media resources at our fingertips!!
Digital marketing tips...
- Self created visual designs ought to begin with basics, using the KISS method (keep it simple stupid) then work up to excellence as you learn. Focus on quality not quantity.
- Become 'sticky' by creating unique content and a pleasant, useful user experience that stands out and above the others in your field. Aim for dynamic functionality, even if you're at the barely tolerable but still slightly interesting stage.
- Create your marketing pitch, page, ad, video, ad, microblog into an easy to understand format that navigates with ease. Pictures are worth a thousand words yet too many become filler fluff. Finding an engaging balance that grabs attention on all levels, is a great goal.
- Know and understand the ideas and concepts you're conjuring up with your chosen text and images. Does it make sense, is it necessary and is it cohesive to all other related material?
Expanding into social media for the first time? Consider it an adventure and take baby steps if necessary ;) What is Network Marketing? & What is Twitter? There was a time when I thought I'd never be on Twitter and yet now I find myself tweeting daily, funny eh, how things change? I'm a follow me, follow you type of girl @ tmcmarketing!
