By Swatil Binte Mahmud, Blogger, Lava Protocols
“I’M NEW TO DIGITAL MARKETING & I’M SO CONFUSED!”
Brian Solis, a digital analyst, speaker and author says, “Each business is a victim of Digital Darwinism, the evolution of consumer behaviour when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to exploit it. Digital Darwinism does not discriminate. Every business is threatened.” My apologies and I did not mean to scare you off. However, the chaos and uncertainty of 2020 are now behind us, it is time to look ahead. As unpredictable as 2020 was, it has opened new doors for businesses in the digital world. eCommerce sales reached an all-time high; people spent more time on social media and video calls became the norm. We have witnessed one of the biggest shifts in the way businesses run their business and how they connect with their customers.
Digital marketing involves a never-ending list of platforms, channels, and technologies. The COVID-19 pandemic and the year 2020 highlighted the importance of digital approaches to communication. However, many businesses are still struggling to connect with their customers in meaningful and engaging ways. To be a good digital marketer in 2021, one should be data-driven, tech-savvy, and open to collaborations to capture, organize, and activate insights that foster the connected journeys customers expect. Today, customers seek more and new types of information from businesses through more and new types of channels. Customers want a meaningful and sustainable relationship with the brands they use, and it is your responsibility as a digital marketer to give it to them!
If you are still unsure about how to adapt and embrace this new digital era, keep reading:
HOW DO YOU MARKET DIGITALLY SUCCESSFULLY?
Set goals for your digital marketing plan:
Your plan should include three levels of detail: goals, strategy, and tactics. The goals should be meaningful and aligned with larger business objectives. To set the right goals for your team, use a methodology like the S.M.A.R.T method (Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant and Time-based). Then focus on strategies and approaches to how you will try to achieve those goals. Break down your annual objectives into achievable and stretch quarterly milestones. Lastly, come up with tactics which are the specifics about how you will execute your strategy. Identify how you could leverage your CRM to manage these goals for your own and team review of their KPIs to achieve it. Further to that, manage the specifics to achieve these goals such as their task or activity updates such as calls made and emails sent. This will provide you further depth in insights what may be working or missing in achieving your goals.
Know your audience:
Once you have established your goals, strategies, and tactics for the year, it is time to shift your focus to your audience and customers. Ask a question like who are you speaking to? What do they want to hear? What problems can you solve for them? Your well-planned digital marketing strategy should incorporate what you know about your audiences’ wants, needs, and behaviours. Your digital content needs to establish a connection in a meaningful way and drive action with specific cohorts within your audience.
You do not need to be on every social media platform:
Businesses should focus on their business goals and where their audience is most likely to engage instead of trying to be on too many social media platforms. Different goals will require distinctive approaches that focus on quality, relevant content, and resonance with customers. The aim of businesses should be increased engagement, increased sales, and more profit. Interesting product visuals, partnerships, collaborations, hiring influencers, and targeted ads can also help to increase sales through social media.
Embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI):
2020 was the year that a lot of people realized the usage and significance of artificial intelligence. Digital marketing experts believe that AI will be the heart and soul of the global business and marketing industry in the coming years. Gartner, global research, and advisory firm providing information, advice, and tools for leaders in IT projects a 100 per cent increase in AI adoption rate by businesses in the next two to five years. AI can assist you with handling customer service enquiries, providing recommendations, or helping with automated emails. AI can also analyse your customer behaviour and search patterns for you. Data from social media platforms and blog posts accumulated by AI can help businesses understand how customers find their products and services. Also, one of the greatest features of AI is Chatbot and will play an important role in digital marketing in 2021 and the way forward. This AI-based technology uses instant messaging to chat in real-time with your customers and site visitors.
Evaluate your digital marketing plan, and learn from it:
To evaluate your plan and its efficacy, make sure you are looking at the right metrics. Analyse your data and look for trends that work for your business and those that do not. The more specific you can get with your evaluation, the more insight you will have. The right data visualization tools will help you to see if you are reaching your objectives. Doing business under COVID-19 has taught us that adjusting with agility and grace is essential. Your digital marketing plan is a roadmap for success that requires flexibility; a plan that is too rigid will become irrelevant fast.
YOU’RE IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
The unpredictable nature of 2020 has forced businesses to think about how they can connect with their customers in a pandemic. Social distancing and government-mandated lockdowns meant people were stuck inside their homes. However, this also meant that they were spending a lot more time online. Businesses had to come up with new plans and tactics to branch out and create more ways of reaching their customers online. In 2021, the effect of the pandemic will continue to exist, and businesses will have to adapt to “new normal”. The only way you can survive and thrive in this unfamiliar and dynamic environment is by adopting a brand-new digital marketing plan which embraces the changes and opportunities of this post-COVID-19 world.
Lava Protocols is an authorized Salesforce Partner. Need help with digital marketing? Drop us an email to schedule your demo: hello@lavaprotocols.com.