A digital marketing plan is a map that guides you to achieve the objectives and goals of your brand. It is necessary for every organization that is involved in marketing. It is so important, it's not enough to just have a plan, that plan has to be effective. It has to bring results as early as it is implemented. For a digital marketing plan to be effective, it has to consider all necessary aspects of the brand/business, and it have to be realistic and practical. Something that you can look at on a wall and follow the steps without having to spend another hour or more trying to decipher the meaning of that step. Now, let's discuss how to create an effective digital marketing plan 1. Research : This is probably the most recurring word in any form of marketing. Whatever it is you're selling, you will sell better with proper research. Your research must answer the following questions: What am I selling? What is that one thing I'm promising my customers (USP)? Do I nee

Planning is the key to success in life. Forget any other saying that contradicts this. Having plans keep you organized, saves time, gives you a sense of control, makes you feel confident, gives you a sense of direction, reminds you of your goals and objectives, prepares you for problems, etc. I could go on and on about the advantages of planning because that's how numerous they are.  Marketing strategy is a plan, a long-term plan of a business whose goal is to make sales and profit by understanding the needs of customers and delivering those needs to them. This is not a dictionary definition but I'm sure you get the gist. You have a strategy already? Good. Is it effective though? Read till the end to find out what you aren't but should be doing. 1. Offer value, solve a problem : Why did you start that company? What do you hope to achieve? What do your customers need? Once you have answers to these questions, your marketing strategy will do its job with little adjustments fr

Many businesses have begun to understand the importance of having an online presence, and are trying to keep up with the ever-changing technologies and platforms in an attempt to grow sales and increase revenue. Marketing automation involves managing marketing processes and campaigns in autopilot mode, and its effectiveness cannot be overemphasized. It provides services ranging from scheduling emails to managing complex campaigns and analyzing data from previous tasks. So, how do you know when it's time to implement marketing automation? 1. Not scoring or generating leads as expected Leads are potential buyers of your products and/or services. Visitors become leads and leads become paying customers. If your current marketing strategy is only bringing visitors and stopping there, it might be time to change it. Marketing automation allows you to identify and design strategies that give visitors, leads, and customers personalized journeys as they move through the sales funnel. This wi

How do you know what platforms will work best for your business? There are a few aspects you can determine upfront to help you make some guesses as to which platforms will work best. However, it’s best to test your ads on a variety of platforms to see which one delivers the best results. Here’s a basic guide to help you decide the best social media advertising platforms for your business: Advertise on Facebook if: You want to appeal to one of the biggest social media audiences You want to advertise a specific product or service You want to boost brand awareness You want to chat directly with customers via messaging You want to increase clicks to your website You want to target based on interests and online behavior Advertise on Instagram if: You want to advertise a variety of products in one ad You already advertise on Facebook You want to chat directly with customers via messaging You want to appeal to new target audiences You want to retarget Advertise on Snapchat if: You want to mak

Social Media is a tool that helps in so many ways - one of the ways is advertising to drive customers.  The question is how can you advertise your products on social media. In this article, we have broken down the steps it takes to create the best social media advertising strategy. Step one: Choose your platforms We’ve outlined above a few reasons why you should choose each platform. Keep in mind that you’ll be most successful with social media marketing if you use more than one platform for your advertising strategy. The more audiences you can get your ad in front of, the better. Start your social media advertising strategy by nailing down what platforms you want to advertise. Step two: Create an audience persona It’s time to get creative. The second step is to create an audience persona for your ideal customer. This persona will help you determine exactly what qualities you want to target and will help you decide which social media advertising platforms work for you. For example, if

Lead generation is an important aspect of content marketing. Without lead generation, you’re basically just publishing and promoting content, hoping that people are going to buy or sign up for your products! While this sometimes happens in real life, that is, some people will buy things on the spot, the truth is the majority won’t. You need to have a lead capture system in place, so you can continue reminding your target audience that your brand exists. You can get in touch with them later on to share your news and updates, and to persuade them to move down your content marketing funnel. So, here are the top techniques you can apply to help you generate leads quickly: 1. Offer lead magnets Lead magnets are one of the best ways to get people to sign up for your mailing list. You’ll often hear this mentioned in the online marketing community, “The money is in the list.” Many successful marketers stand by this saying. So, if you want people to subscribe to your list, you’re going to learn

As you know, the only way to make money in business is to have customers buy from you. Of course, not everyone who encounters your business is going to buy from you.  If you know what you're doing, maybe 1 out of every 5 people who see your ad on social media decides to move forward and buy. If you don't know what you're doing, maybe it's only 1 out of 20 – and that can cost you a lot of time and money. In this article, a few tips are shared on how to get more customers saying YES and fewer saying NO. Read carefully. 1. Stay in touch Customers want to feel like they're being looked after and always have a point of contact. If they perceive you as aloof and difficult to reach, they're not going to buy. But if you're in touch with them every day, via social media, phone and email, they will know you better and like you better and trust you enough to buy. 2. Sell to existing customers When a customer has already bought something from you before, you already hav

Emailing, online direct mail or electronic mailing is a method of direct marketing that uses email as a means of mass business communication to send messages to an audience. Emailing and above all, succeeding is not an exercise to be taken lightly. If the operation may seem simple (send an email), it actually requires mastering some marketing techniques and thinking beforehand about the relevance of its emailing strategy. In this article, strategies for creating successful emailing has been laid down. Read through the article carefully. 1. Define a goal This is the step that will define the rest of your emailing strategy. Start by precisely defining the objective that you have to fulfill. Why do you want to email? The objectives can be varied: Inform via a newsletter Introduce a new product Make an important announcement Launch a promotional offer Qualify a database Prospect Etc… The creation and configuration of your campaign will depend on the objective you set yourself initially. It

What Is Digital Marketing? Digital marketing is the branch of marketing that employs internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to advertise products and services in a bid to increase potential consumers.  Basically, digital marketing will include any attempt to promote a brand, product, or service through the internet. This means could include, but not limited to, Social Media Marketing, Email marketing which includes newsletter subscription, Pay-Per-Click advertising, and so on. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callback, and on-hold mobile ring tones. The extension to non -Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing. Wikipedia suggests that the "development of digital marketing during the 1990s and 2000s, changed the way brands and businesses use technology for marketing&qu

As a salesperson, these keys to be mentioned are the essentials in marketing. They are the keys to making sales successfully in any condition. And they are: 1. 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 - You must be dependable in approach. The one thing that customers have always rated highest in the sales world is 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, which also, is called 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 because it is a direct reflection on the integrity of the individual. The primary reason people will choose 𝐧𝐨𝐭 to buy from you is 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭. You should always have a strong connection or relationship with your customer during and after-sales process. Follow-up with the customer should not be blown out of proportion. 2. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 - Dependability (Trust) brings about credibility. You must be 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠. Your speech or say about the products or services you offer must be factual. Credibility is a judgment that the audience makes about how believable the communicator is, says Dan O'Keefe.