Written by Jim Sweezy | jimsweezy@inneractionmedia.com
It’s the elephant inside the room. You have become abundantly aware that there is an ever-evolving way of marketing out there – it’s all around you. But you’re far too busy with the day-to-day responsibilities of running your business to stop and address it. Still, the elephant isn’t budging.
First of all, what do we mean by digital marketing? Digital marketing is an inclusive term for all of your company’s online marketing – from your website itself to your online branding assets, social media channels, digital advertising, email marketing, online brochures and beyond. The act of identifying and utilizing which specific tactics and assets will yield the best results for your situation is the strategy.
1) You Just Haven’t Done It
It’s 2017 and people are finding solutions to their problems online — of course, you know that. You have intended to address your marketing but, you have so many other pressing issues and fires to put out. Months pass — sometimes years — and your intentionality is lost.
It’s not just you. Business owners and managers must give priority to what pays the bills. Because marketing takes time and it can be difficult to know where to start, it’s often lost in the mix.
2) You Need More Customers
If the market for your product or service is strong, and your company’s customer service, sales team and pricing are where they need to be, the problem with lagging sales could be ineffective marketing.
Effective marketing means identifying specific goals that are measurable and developing strategies aimed at accomplishing them. More often than not, tactics are utilized without an overarching strategy. This lack of foundation leads to marginal results.
Measurable goals include increasing sales by a set percentage, average a certain number of customers a month, etc.
3) You Don’t Have Marketing Skills
The idea that marketing is a do-it-yourself project often leads talented and intelligent business owners down a rabbit hole of wasted time and money. Many sheepishly admit that they don’t know anything about marketing, but feel as though they should.
Marketing professionals that spend their time honing their skills and maintaining best practices can lend insight and direction.
4) You Used a Plumber to Fix an Electric Problem
Newspaper, Television and Radio Companies are NOT Digital Marketers. Your cousin Lenny isnt’ either.
With the migration of dollars to digital, it’s of little surprise that media companies are trying to capitalize and diversify their offerings to include digital. The problem with that is that in an attempt to gain revenue, these media entities do not possess the level of commitment to compete in a constantly evolving space.
Rather, these companies lag behind digital natives yet often have a sizable sales force that is better suited to introduce businesses to their first digital strategies. This can lead to less sophisticated or outdated strategies and results that do not deliver.
5) Hiring A Complete Marketing Team Isn’t Exactly in the Budget
Hiring a digital marketing specialist, a content producer, social media manager and graphic designer is outside the financial means of most businesses. But hiring just one marketing person – the usual strategy for a growing business – leads to singular thinking and strategies based solely on that person’s experience.
For example, a person with a television background might unwittingly favor that medium despite it not being the best choice for their new employer. Other limiting aspects of single-minded strategic development are not necessarily the fault of the individual marketing person. Rather, it is the result of lacking collaborative benefit – the whole idea behind “two heads are better than one”.
When you hire an agency, your business benefits from the skills and talents of a full marketing team. You have a graphic designer, social media experts, professional writers and strategists — working together to exceed your goals — with a cost comparable to taking on a full-time employee.
InnerAction Media | Morgantown Marketing Agency
Digital Marketing is overwhelming — we understand that. That’s why we’ve simplified the process for our clients. We know exactly what works — and what’s a waste of time and money. Starting with a high-performing website, we integrate social media, high-definition video and quality content to attract new customers (or patients) to your business.
If you don’t know where to start with your digital marketing plan, start by calling us — we offer a FREE 30-minute marketing consultation call, where you’ll get an objective and educated perspective on your business. We’ll help you assess your weak points and determine if you’re reaching your target audience with an effective message. During the audit, you can expect:
- Algorithm-Based Website Performance Analysis
- SEO Breakdown
- Website Security Test
- Google Keyword Ranking Analysis
- Social Media Assessment
- Website Page Speed Test
- Overall Marketing Strategy Inquiry
- and Much More
We look forward to talking to you and developing a digital marketing strategy to take your business to the next level.
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Until next time,
Jim