Digital marketing continues to grow in leaps and bounds, so having a plan is essential for every business today. But the digital world changes so quickly. How can your business keep up?
That’s why we’re covering the top 6 must-have tactics for your 2022 marketing strategy. These tactics are all simple to implement and result-driven.
1: Make the Most of Your Organic Social Media Presence
At this point, we all know that advertising on social media is valuable. But in 2022, establishing an organic social media platform is a must. An organic presence builds trust and intimacy with potential and existing customers in a way that paid advertising cannot.
Here is how to establish an organic social media presence:
2: Use Automated Messages to Save Time
Time. We could all use more of it! If you aren’t leveraging canned responses and automated messaging, you’re burning hours of your day away. Responding to messages on social media accounts or email inquiries is a repetitive necessity for every business. Make the most of your time by preparing awesome canned or automated responses that apply to specific inquiries.
Here is how to implement automated communication:
- Make a list of the repetitive inquiries you get daily.
- Craft an awesome response to each of these inquiries.
- Check out Meta’s automated response feature to implement these responses for your Facebook and Instagram. Also, add these responses to your email’s canned responses.
3: Use Your Online Following for Market Research
Digital marketers won’t be able to target customers the way they have for years, using third-party data. Instead, you will need to find ways to build lasting relationships with customers who interact with you online and leverage them for market research. Your email campaigns and social media content can be the perfect source for this research.
Here is how to use your subscribers and followers for market research:
- Track the links in your content to follow what customers are most interested in
- Communicate with your subscribers and followers as insiders for your company. Ask for feedback, using questions like these:
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- What seasonal drink are you most excited about this winter? Vote here!
- Which topic should we cover next: current marketing trends or tips and tricks to staying organized as a small business?
- Help us choose our next featured scent! Choose from the following: Calming Lavender or Sweet Tangerine.
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4: Create a Referral Program
Did you know that people are 90% more likely to buy from a company if their friend recommends it? Word of mouth marketing is essential for a small business. Over 80% of Americans say they will look for a referral from friends when making a purchase. As a small business, one of the best ways to encourage this is to build a referral program.
Here is how to build your small business referral program:
- Keep it simple, with an attractive and clear call to action (CTA).
- Give customers an incentive to share with a friend.
- Make referral links easy to share on social media.
- Check out these examples of successful referral programs.
5: Concentrate on the Customer’s Experiences
Our digital world is crowded with advertisements. What customers are craving more than a shiny ad is an exceptional user experience. And small businesses are in the perfect place to stand out as unique. Improve your user experience by walking through a customer’s journey with your brand from introduction to making a purchase. A stellar user experience will increase your word-of-mouth referrals, as customers become fans of your business.
Here is how to stand out as a business by creating unique user experiences:
- Outline every step in the relationship with a customer from no knowledge to recommending your business to others, including:
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- Becoming aware of your brand.
- Considering your services and products, comparing you to other businesses.
- Making a purchase.
- Post-purchase relationship and customer loyalty.
- Becoming a brand fan and advocate.
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- Ask “How can we improve a user’s experience through each one of these steps?”
- Keep all communications and interactions unique, personal, and clear.
6: Post to Fewer Channels and Keep Your Content Exceptional
Here is one more tactic to help you save time and energy. As a small business, it can be challenging to identify what online platform to use. The number of platforms online today (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, to name just a few!) can make digital marketing feel like a wild goose chase. Choose 1-3 channels at the most to focus on this year.
Here is how to choose the right platform(s) for your business:
- Start with your business today. Ask:
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- What channels are we currently on?
- Which channels have we found success with?
- What type of content (video, picture, text) works the best for our brand?
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- Then review a list of social media and online platforms. Ask:
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- What type of content (video, picture, text) does this platform focus on?
- How much time does it take to make content for this channel?
- What channels are our competitors successful on?
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Why Not Use the Same Old Marketing Strategies as 2021?
Running a business requires a lot of moving parts. It can be extremely tempting to create a strategy one time and stick with that strategy for years. If this is you, beware: you are quickly becoming out of date in an ever-evolving digital world. What worked yesterday will not work today or tomorrow.
Make your life easier: establish a routine check-up on your marketing strategies. It is easy and simple to make small improvements as the world evolves. It is challenging and confusing to backtrack through months or years of online developments to completely revamp your marketing strategy. Introduce these simple tactics at your marketing strategy meeting. Take your marketing strategies one step at a time and come out on top!