How do I create online success for my business?

How do I create online success for my business?

In today’s digital landscape, achieving online success is paramount for businesses. After all, that’s where the majority of your customers can be found. However, we understand that diving into the online realm without a solid plan can lead to wasted resources and precious time.

How can you make sure that your online presence is a fruitful venture rather than a futile one? In this blog post we’ll give you an overview of all the information you need to create online success for your business. We’ll do this through three sections: digital strategy, digital marketing and email marketing.

So, buckle up and get ready to unlock the secrets of online success.

Online success thanks to a digital strategy

Two key concepts that form the foundation of your digital strategy are customer personas and the customer journey. Don’t worry if these terms sound like Greek to you right now because we’re here to demystify them.

Customer personas

Customer personas are fictional characters that describe your different types of customers. Using personas, you can develop campaigns and content more easily and purposefully.

They are the beginning of everything. If you know who your customers are, you also know what they want to know, what their questions are, their frustrations and how you can help them. So, it’s very important that you create your customer personas thoughtfully.

If you are not sure how to go about creating customer personas, read this to-the-point and informative blog help you get started.

Customer journey

Next step: drawing up a customer journey. A customer journey describes the steps your prospects or customers take to get to you. The most popular model of a customer journey is the AIDA model (awareness, interest, decision, action).

Once you have uncovered the customer journey of your customers, you need to make sure you’re present and taking action at every step of this journey to respond to the questions or issues of the moment. “The right message, through the right channel, at the right time, to the right person” is a slogan you should definitely remember!

One golden tip: the further along in the customer journey a prospect is, the warmer the lead becomes and the more open he/she will be to sales pitches. However, avoid this at the beginning of the journey and prioritize informing and helping. Be sure to check out what assets and content you have lying around to support you in this!

Have you done all of the above and want to take a next step? Also create a journey per customer persona or per business unit. You’ll see that your approach for different target groups or products/services can sometimes be completely different.

Digital marketing as the key to your online success

Now that you’ve gained insights into your target audience and their interactions with your business, it’s time to unleash the power of digital marketing and connect with them in impactful ways. Allow us to walk you through the main components of digital marketing.

Content marketing

Content is key in any market. Without content you have little to offer your leads or prospects, or you would have to follow up everything immediately 1 on 1. Unfortunately, this wastes a lot of time: hours and hours of calls and meetings without results because the lead is not yet ready to buy. Nowadays, customers like to look everything up themselves first, compare different options with each other and start making decisions on their own.

Therefore, focus on content and let your marketing take over part of your workload! Always think carefully about which content is interesting for which target group and in what format you can best display it.

You can use the same content on different channels, so this is never a lost effort. The more content you have, the more you can respond to the needs and questions of your potential customer.

Social media marketing

Social media is now an integral part of our lives and it would be a shame not to use it to its full potential. It is therefore important that you offer a good customer experience on all channels where your customers are present.

To deliver an exceptional customer experience, it’s crucial to keep your target audience and goals at the forefront of your mind when posting on social media. By doing so, you’ll have a clear understanding of which channels to leverage for specific content. It’s also wise to assess whether you’re present on the right social media platforms.

In simpler terms, are you where your customers are? Is there room for expansion, or can you eliminate an irrelevant medium? For instance, if your customers aren’t active on TikTok, there’s no need to invest valuable time and effort into that channel. Remember, quality triumphs over quantity!

Tip: take pen and a piece of paper and describe the customer journey of your ideal customer. This will help you find which social media channels are relevant for your business.

Also, try to post regularly. By doing this you will always stay top of mind with your followers. This way they’ll remember your brand faster, build a relationship with you emotionally and engage with you more easily. Posting regularly is not only useful for the customers, it will also be more convenient for you and create more structure.

There are several handy tools, such as Latergram and Hootsuite, that you can use to schedule your posts in advance when you want.

In the world of social media, posting just for the sake of it won’t cut it. At BeBold, we encourage you to always consider the purpose behind your content and what you aim to achieve with each post. Don’t fret if you’re unsure about the type of content that resonates best with your audience. Take a moment to examine your top-performing posts as well as the ones that didn’t quite hit the mark. By analyzing their similarities, you’ll gain valuable insights into what your followers truly want to see from you.

But remember, social media is more than just a platform for broadcasting your message. It’s an opportunity to build a vibrant community with your followers. Engaging with them is key to nurturing a stronger relationship and fostering meaningful one-on-one communication. Don’t hesitate to interact, respond to comments, and actively participate in conversations. By doing so, you’ll create a sense of belonging and establish yourself as a trusted presence.

In need of inspiration? Take a closer look at your best-performing posts and draw inspiration from them. Repurpose and give a fresh look to older posts that garnered positive engagement. This not only saves you time but also capitalizes on the proven success of past content.

Would you like to learn more about the basics of social media marketing? Then be sure to read this blog!

Content calendar

As you delve into the realms of content marketing and social media marketing, you’ll find yourself generating a wealth of content. From engaging social media posts to insightful blogs, compelling white papers, and captivating e-books—the list goes on. However, with this content abundance comes the challenge of keeping everything organized. Luckily, there is a perfect solution for this problem: a content calendar.

With a content calendar you plan in advance which topics you want to discuss, on which channels and which target groups and goals you have in mind. If you have a team working together on your content initiatives, it’s important to clearly indicate who is responsible for what and establish deadlines. This may seem like a lot of extra work, but these efforts will be fruitful in the end!

Online advertising

Would you like to advertise online as a business? There are several ways to do this. Two popular and effective ways are advertising through social media and advertising through Google.

• Social media ads

Advertising on social media has the advantage that you can very well target your ads to your audience. This is less possible with ads on radio or television, for example. You can target on age, interests and life events, among other things. Is your market B2B? Then LinkedIn is a very interesting channel, because there you can advertise on job title, company name, seniority, etc.

In the realm of social media advertising, remarketing is a powerful strategy you shouldn’t overlook. By utilizing remarketing ads, you have the opportunity to reconnect with individuals who have previously engaged with your brand, delivering them a highly targeted message. Imagine the possibilities! You can reach those who have visited specific pages on your website or even those who left items in their shopping cart. This personalized approach gives you the chance to provide that final push, winning them over to the desired behavior and driving conversions.

Have you run social media ad campaigns in the past that didn’t quite achieve the success you hoped for? Fear not! It’s time to turn those experiences into valuable insights. Dive into the data from those campaigns, analyze the metrics, and draw conclusions. By extracting key learnings, you can make informed adjustments and improvements to your future campaigns.

• Search engine advertising with Google Ads

Google Ads is Google’s online advertising program. It allows you to advertise through search ads, display ads, video ads, shopping ads and app ads. By not using search engine advertising you are missing out on many opportunities. Customers who already know your brand but see the same service or product in competitor’s ads during their Google search, are quickly lost to that competitor.

In addition, it’s also interesting to reach customers who know what products or services they’re looking for online but do not yet have a brand in mind. They will often choose the top search results in Google. So that is definitely the place to be.

When setting up ads with Google Ads, it’s important to keep regularity and continually optimize your campaigns. You’ll need to test new keywords and copy, add relevant extensions, and properly align campaigns and landing pages. People who click on an ad about terracotta flowerpots don’t want to end up on a landing page with plastic flowerpots. Getting this right will make your ad quality scores go up and your ad spend go down.

Don’t stop campaigns when there is less budget available. This will only bring disadvantages, such as having to re-optimize your bids. Our advice? Take into account fewer active periods and reserve part of your ad budget for a bare minimum campaign that is always running. Often this will be your branded campaign.

Data collection & optimization

If you’re aiming for a digital marketing strategy that’s destined for success, one word is key: data. This is where event and conversion tracking come into play—it’s an absolute game-changer!

To collect all the relevant data that fuels your decision-making process, setting up tags, events, and conversions is essential. Let’s break it down. An event could be as simple as a visitor downloading a PDF file from your website, while a conversion could be the act of someone filling out and submitting a contact form. These valuable data points not only provide a deeper understanding of your customers’ behavior but also equip you with the necessary insights to enhance your online communication.

When it comes to online advertising campaigns, they are a goldmine of data waiting to be explored. So, why not make the most of it? By analyzing this wealth of data, you’ll uncover powerful insights such as which advertisements—be it the copy or visuals—resonate best with your audience and what type of people are clicking and converting. We know that analyzing data can sometimes feel like a daunting task, but trust us, the rewards are well worth the effort. Promise!

By optimizing your campaigns based on conclusions drawn from previous ones, you’re bound to achieve greater and greater online success. It’s a journey of continuous improvement and refinement. At BeBold, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Our expertise lies in harnessing the power of data analysis to drive your digital marketing strategy forward. Together, we’ll unlock valuable insights, make informed decisions, and propel your campaigns to new heights.

So, embrace the potential of data-driven marketing and get ready to reap the rewards of your efforts.

Last but not least: email marketing

Now that we’ve covered digital strategy and digital marketing, we’ve reached the last important topic: email marketing.

CRM-systems

If you want to do email marketing, using a CRM system (Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics,…) to keep track of customer data is very important. The more data you have of your customers and prospects, the more targeted and relevant you can communicate. Keeping this in one structured database instead of fragmented silos ensures that you always keep one truth about your customers and prospects. Today, these systems are easily integrated and you can use your customer data anywhere to personalize your communications.

Email marketing tools

When you’ve collected all the important data of your customers thanks to a CRM system, you can start with email marketing.

There are several tools for doing email marketing, such as Oracle Eloqua and ActiveCampaign.

When it comes to email marketing, the potential for targeted and personalized communication is immense. Email marketing tools have the ability to leverage both profile data, such as age, gender, and function, as well as behavioral data, including website visits, email opens, clicks, and form submits. This wealth of information allows you to determine what content is most relevant for your target audience and what information they absolutely need to see. It’s a missed opportunity not to leverage this powerful capability in your marketing mix.

The good news is that most email marketing tools are already highly automatable, making the initial configuration and setup process a breeze. With a little effort and attention to detail, you can ensure everything is correctly implemented. The result? Increased efficiency and more time to focus on the important and creative aspects of your marketing endeavors.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to explore the full range of functionalities offered by your email marketing tools. Each tool brings a unique set of features and capabilities to the table. By diving into the possibilities, you can maximize their potential and take your email campaigns to new heights.

Analyzing the performance of your previous campaigns is a valuable practice. It allows you to uncover insights, identify successful strategies, and pinpoint areas for improvement. Additionally, setting up A/B tests enables you to experiment and refine your approach, finding the winning formula that resonates with your audience.

Automation is a game-changer in email marketing. By automating repetitive tasks and workflows, you free up time and resources to focus on strategic initiatives and creative endeavors. Let the tools handle the mundane, while you nurture and cultivate meaningful connections with your audience.

Congratulations! By considering all the factors mentioned above, you’re well on your way to achieving remarkable online success for your business. However, we understand that navigating the realms of digital strategy, digital marketing, and email marketing can be quite a task.