We cannot emphasise enough how crucial it is for Adelaide businesses to properly devise an online marketing strategy. The main reason being that competing online with several other businesses is not something you can just charge right into.
Of course, you would want to compete in a way that doesn’t only give you a fighting chance, but also in a way that is cost-effective and gives you the best results. The only way to do this is to have a solid strategy for your online marketing approach.
You can get started on it by following these five basic steps to preparing your own online marketing strategy.
Step 1 – Clearly Define Your Brand
This goes beyond just knowing what your products and services are because your business’ identity involves a lot more than that. Think about the message you want to convey to your market.
Your brand message should be something that makes customers think of you the moment they hear it. Another important reminder when defining or building your brand is to build one that you’ll stick with for the long run.
Step 2 – Identify Your Target Market
After wholly embracing your brand or business identity, the next thing to identify is your target market. What type of people would most likely be attracted to your offer? What are their demographics (age, gender, location, etc.)?
Well-planned online marketing strategies aim to target a specific audience as opposed to random or mass targeting. This is because targeting makes it all the easier to see great results in your marketing efforts.
Step 3 – Select ONE Marketing Channel to Focus On (For Now)
There are numerous marketing channels you can possibly tackle and if you’re just starting, it can get confusing. Thus, choosing one to start with will help you stay more focused and can be a good testing ground for making consistent brand messages until you find one that works best.
Once you get the hang of your first channel it’ll be easier to transition into other marketing channels. An easy one you can try is social media, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Step 4 – Observe What Your Competitors Are Doing In Your Selected Marketing Channel
Most businesses are bound to have another entity offering a similar product or service, simply because there are a million businesses all around the world. Your competitors are the people you’d want to beat one of these days, but you can also learn a thing or two from what they’re already doing.
Take the time to study what they’re doing and how they’re faring in terms of popularity and customer engagement. Find out what strategies have been successful for them and try implementing your own twist to it on yours to see if it works just as effectively for you.
Step 5 – Find Out How You’re Going to Build Your List
Now that you’ve got a brand, a target market, a marketing channel and a marketing approach based on what your competitors are doing, the last thing you need to sort out is how you’re going to build your list. This list is, quite simply, a list of contact information (usually emails) of people who’ve shown interest in your business.
Using this list will come in handy when you delve into more targeted marketing channels like email marketing or Facebook Advertising. One of the best ways to build your list is offering a freebie (like a PDF or free trial of your software, depending on your offer) that would first encourage people to leave their emails or contact information before they can access such freebie.
Customised Online Marketing Strategies for Adelaide Businesses
Whether you’re too time-constrained or you’re not sure you want to venture into something you don’t know much about, you can consult professional marketers to organise your online marketing strategy instead.
If you would like to setup a consultation with us, you can call us at 1300 733 255 or email us at info@marketingcatalyst.com.au.
