Gain clarity on your audience, your strategy, and find out what works!

What exactly is digital marketing? I hear this question quite often when people ask me what we do here at Ellen Grace Marketing. In the simplest of terms, digital marketing it’s how you leverage digital channels such as social media, email marketing, SEO and content marketing to connect with your ideal customers. 

There are all kinds of platforms you can use in your marketing, which can make it difficult to know where to begin. This, combined with the ever-changing behavior of consumers, can leave business owners overwhelmed and confused about which steps to take first.

Whether you are just launching your company or are a seasoned business owner, you will want to ensure you are choosing platforms that drive sales growth. To help you decide which marketing avenues to pursue, focus on these three things.

1. Have CLARITY on who you are targeting.

Do you know who your audience really is? Depending on who you are targeting, you can choose the appropriate platform. For example, B2B businesses might decide to focus on LinkedIn or  Facebook, whereas retail or service related businesses, might choose to put more energy into Instagram or Pinterest. No matter which platform you put your energy into, it is essential to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Social media will allow you to get a real sense of their problems and concerns so you can develop ways to help them. Always remember, it is about them, not you. Think about who you are trying to attract and what they would like to see. This will help you in delivering your messages so they will get noticed by the right people.

2. Have CLARITY with your actions.

Your posts, your messages, and your timing should all be carefully thought out. Create a well-researched strategy, don’t just wing it and hope for the best. Find out when your customers are online, research popular hashtags, and create a strategy for your blog posts. By doing the research ahead of time and planning out your actions, you will see much higher returns than you would by merely posting as you feel like it. Targeted marketing can be one of the most significant assets in driving sales to your business.

3. Have CLARITY on what’s working.

Just like your research on when and where to post, it is important to determine the strategies that aren’t working for you. Take a look at the data, tracking your results over time. The major social media sites offer tools to help business owners see who is engaging with their posts, when, and how often. Reports can be exported and manipulated in ways to help you understand the data. For email campaigns, choose a platform such as MailChimp or Active Campaign (what we use) to track opens, conversions, and more. By using tools such as Google Analytics, you can view the traffic to get a better understanding of where your leads are coming from. Always keep your eye on the data so your marketing efforts have the greatest impact possible.

What NOT to do… 

I’ve worked with several businesses who had tried to participate on every social platform with limited resources. This can result in neglected profiles or major ebbs and flows of posts which leads to confused customers and wasted time and energy. You don’t have to be active on every platform to be successful. It is best to pick a one or two and do them right.

As entrepreneurs, we are often juggling many different responsibilities both personally and professionally. It can be challenging not to know where to focus your efforts when it comes to your digital marketing strategy. If you’re like me, you want to do it all! But by exercising some restraint and having clarity in regards to your audience, message, and strategy, you will see greater results overall. When we stay focused and do LESS, we can actually accomplish MORE.

To get clarity on your audience, your actions, and the digital marketing strategies that will work best for you, reach out to us any time! We are always happy to help!