Marketing is critical for businesses to make a breakthrough and increase their market share. As a business owner, marketing and advertising are two areas where you need to invest a lot of the budget.
But, before you splash the cash, it’s imperative to bring the strategy into the 21st century. Sorry to be blunt, but lots of companies use out of date techniques which have no traction. If your strategy isn’t up to 2017 standards, you might as well pack up and go home.
With that in mind, these are the techniques that are sweeping the board this year.
Localise content
Companies are so obsessed with the idea of going global that they forget about their surroundings. As a result, they tend to alienate the local people who are the lifeblood of the organization. If you make this move, you will end up as another statistic.
It’s always a good idea to remember that the local market might not be as lucrative, but it’s still important. Posting content which relates to the market and hyper-optimizing keywords is just a start. To be uber-effective, try getting more local citations as they validate the firm.
Use A/B testing
In simple terms, A/B testing is where you change one feature of the site on one page, and leave it the same on another. Whichever one gets the most hits is the feature which has the most potential. It sounds easy – because it is – yet businesses seem to hold testing in low regard.
Well, gone are the days where you can take a gamble and hope that it pays off big. The competition is too varied and intense to allow mistakes. One error can be fatal, so testing new concepts and ideas make complete sense. Your gut feel isn’t irrelevant, but it isn’t the word of the Gospel, either.
Write short content
Posts with long reams of text don’t work anymore. People simply don’t have the time or the inclination to sit and read an essay. Instead, they want their content to be short and snappy and to the point. You have to remember that the average person only has a short attention span, too.
Short content is an excellent tactic, then, because it appeals to a broad audience. It is very tempting to write long, flowery prose, but it’s also alienating. Readers tend to bounce to rival sites as soon as they feel bored.
Leverage video marketing
In the past, people loved to say that content was king. Okay, content is general is essential. But, content as people used to know it doesn’t pack the same punch any longer. Outside Communications shoots product videos, and it’s no coincidence they’re popular.
Firms and bloggers alike flock to them because of the importance of video content. With a video, you can instill trust and loyalty, and reach a larger audience. Plus, there’s the chance that you might go viral. Web users want to watch videos, so it’s a mistake to omit them for your marketing plan.