Following the success of my last Huffington Post article on SEO, I wanted to disseminate some more digital media knowledge to you all and talk about another often confusing area of online PR-digital marketing. A lot of the clients I work for as a consultant hire me because of my digital marketing knowledge and services, since online marketing is how I cut my teeth in the world of strategic social media strategy.
Here's the thing that no one wants you to know; digital marketing is common sense. While it of course involves technicalities and confusing jargon, as does any field, the methodologies and techniques involved come from using logic and reason to approach any given strategy. Just like with SEO, digital marketing doesn't have hard and fast principles, but rather a framework in which to view through. As Boost Digital Marketing puts it, "SEO is a series of guidelines rather than an exact science." The same is true for digital marketing
So how can you develop the killer instinct that will help drive your company's digital marketing strategy? Here are 7 ways you can better market your brand.
1. Use Consistent Branding
Creating brand recognition is key in getting an audience to recognize and learn who you are and what you represent. That means you should use the same name, social media handles, and logo across all of your online channels.
2. Create A Distinction
You're always going to want to differentiate yourself from competitors, and a great way to do this from a digital marketing perspective is to develop a hashtag, blog, social media campaign, or something else that makes you stand out from the others. If you don't know where to start, take a look at what your most successful competitors are doing that online audiences are responding to and follow suit (but don't copy).
3. Generate A Buzz
In order to capture and keep people's interest, you need to create a buzz around your company or product. Emphasize positive reviews, constantly update your content and offerings, and try to be in the news as much as possible in order to remain on the tip of everyone's tongue.
4. Do Your Homework
Don't be afraid to do a little research! Sign up for a free class that will teach you a technical aspect of digital marketing you want to learn about and make it a part of your professional development. Trust me, the work will pay off!
5. Join And Create Online Events
Having unique offerings and opportunities for people to connect to you is an easy way to generate new traffic. Try participating or hosting a Twitter chat, hosting an Instagram contest, holding a webinar, or simply writing blog posts to draw in new people to your company who otherwise wouldn't have even known who you were.
6. Hire A Consultant
I'm a bit biased, but I know from my work experience that many companies would immensely benefit from hiring a consultant instead of overloading their employees with extra work or just ignoring digital marketing altogether. You can often hire a consultant for less money than you probably think, so don't be afraid to reach out and ask for a quote!
7. Self-Promote
We often think of self-promotion as being cheesy, but the only way to get anywhere in digital marketing is to promote yourself like you're going out of style! No one else will advocate for yourself like you will, so put that passion to good use.