Digital Marketing Campaign
The digital age has made significant strides in leveling the playing field when it comes to small business owners, solopreneurs and freelancers being able to compete with giant companies and corporations. Whether you are an artist, author, musician, tax attorney or independent broker, the virtual world makes it easier than ever to market your product or service.
One caveat to being a “one man (or woman) band” however, is that you have to master a number of different tools or instruments to be successful. One thing most small or independent businesses will have to engage in at some point in time is a digital marketing campaign. Here are 5 tips to help you run a successful digital marketing campaign.
1. Use video
Again and again, numerous studies have shown the power of video to inform, persuade and explain. There is probably no greater marketing tool in existence than a good, strong video.
Remember that the purpose of your marketing campaign is two-fold: to introduce the product or service you are offering to a new market that doesn’t already know about it and compel people to buy the product of service you are offering.
While it may be true that anyone who sees your product or service will want it, they have to actually see it in action to make that happen. Video can do that. If you don’t have an actual physical product that you are selling or marketing, testimonials about your product or service from former clients or consumers can take you just as far.
2. Engage, Engage, Engage
Any time you put anything on the internet, you are competing with millions and millions and millions of similar sites, products and techniques from around the globe. A marketing campaign is not a “set it and forget it” enterprise. As long as your marketing campaign is live, you need to be “working the phones” (or internet) and even out pressing the flesh in person.
A successful marketing campaign works along many of the very same lines as a successful political campaign.
You need to be available to react, respond and engage with your potential clients and consumers, you need to be following up via e-mail, responding immediately to those who sign up for e-mail lists and responding quickly on social media.
Holding community events like a pancake breakfast or passing out flyers in your community is also not off the table. Your digital marketing campaign needs to be your full-time job as long as it is live.
3. Use ALL the platforms
While it is not always recommended that any business maintain an active presence on all social media platforms (that can actually be counterproductive) the exception to this would be a marketing campaign.
For a marketing campaign, you want to cast as wide a net as possible and this means utilizing all the platforms. Keep in mind, you may want to do some tailoring of your marketing materials for each, but for the most part, you can use consistent material across the board.
You won’t necessarily get an onslaught of new clients or consumers from platforms you don’t engage with regularly, but you might get a few and you might be surprised by the response you get from one that you hadn’t expected.
4. Make sure any payment data is safe and secure
If you are selling any products or raising any money as a part of your marketing campaign, it is your responsibility to ensure payment data is protected. Make sure you use a reputable, established company for payment processing, even if their fees may be slightly higher.
It is incumbent upon you, the person requesting people’s financial information to be sure you understand where your payment data resides and to ensure that it is in utterly safe hands. You don’t want to run a successful and profitable marketing campaign only to be tainted by scandal after the fact because sensitive financial data ended up being hacked and or disseminated on the internet.
5. Follow up
Your marketing campaign is not over once you reach your target goal or deadline. In fact, your marketing campaign should only be seen as the first step in building good client interactions and a solid future relationship. There is probably no more crucial element to consider a campaign successful all the way from start to finish than making sure you have a plan in place to execute good follow up.
Any contact information you received that was not digitally entered should be done immediately. An e-mail blast should be sent out detailing the outcomes of the campaign and thanking everyone for their support.
If you have major donors or contributors, they should all be contacted individually and thanked for their support. It also never hurts to send something in the way of a thank-you gift to everyone that made your campaign a success.
Whether it’s a percentage off on a future order or a perk like free shipping, its important to treat your clients, consumers and everyone that helped make your campaign a success as if you couldn’t have done it without them. Because realistically, you couldn’t.
You don’t have to have a marketing degree to run a successful marketing campaign if you just keep one simple truth in mind: marketing is about connecting. Sales and marketing are two different things.
While you may be marketing a product, your goal is not actually to sell your product, it’s to connect consumers with your brand and with your product. This is partly why most businesses and companies have separate sales and marketing departments.
Marketing gets your consumers in the door, sales moves product or service. While your marketing campaign may set out to do both, never forget that they are two separate things and the first thing needs to come first. Don’t try to skip right to the sales, without first making sure you have done adequate marketing – or connecting with your clients or consumers.