7 Digital marketing tips you can't afford to miss

It's hard to stress how much technology has changed how businesses and consumers interact. In the old days, a marketing team would have to go out of its way to call prospects or send cold letters in the mail if they hoped to spark engagement.

Now, digital marketing is the best way to effortlessly stay in touch with your customers and build rapport with your target audience. You can interact with your audience on social media, email, and your website, to name a few places. Each platform unlocks new opportunities to turn visitors into customers.

If we want to reach our maximum potential, we need to understand the basics of digital marketing. Time moves fast, and trends change, so I thought sharing some of the recent marketing strategies I've found effective over the last several years would be a good idea.

If you're looking to expand your reach, improve sales, or boost engagement, keep reading. Here are 7 digital marketing tips you can't afford to miss.

Set Actionable Goals

Believe it or not, one of the biggest mistakes I see new digital marketers make is they don't set actionable campaign goals.

Every campaign, regardless of location, should have specific goals. If you don't know why you're creating content for your audience or can't point to how your posts will help readers, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

Here's another way to think about it; if you don't know what you're achieving or hope to achieve through your marketing, how can you use what you learn to shape your strategy?

The simple answer is you can't.

Establishing clear goals before you start your campaign will save you time and energy in the long run. If you have a greater understanding of your readers' goals, pain points, and needs, you can use this data to make your content more engaging and relevant.

I recommend coming up with 2-5 key performance indicators for your next marketing project during the brainstorming/planning stage of development.

Make Sure Your Site is Fast and Responsive

Slow or unresponsive websites tend to see far less traffic and engagement when compared to fast, mobile-friendly counterparts. You've likely heard this advice before, but do you truly understand the implications for your business?

Here's an eye-opening statistic -- a single-second delay (from the default 2 seconds) results in a 7% loss in conversions. The crazy part is that this number grows substantially for every additional second a page takes to load.

If you want to speed up your site and improve mobile responsiveness, consider using a flexible page builder and speed-enhancing plugins, like caching tools. The page builder will let you create a desktop and mobile version of your site so visitors will be comfortable regardless of how they decide to interact with your brand.

Caching and backup plugins can save valuable resources and keep sensitive data secure, which results in a faster, smoother user experience.

Add Value and Improve Discoverability with FAQs

You may be shocked to learn that FAQs can help create a stellar UX and improve your discoverability. The key is to include popular questions on relevant parts of your website.

For example, if you're the owner of a business called Power Cleaning Pros, you may want to include FAQs on your homepage like:

• What is power cleaning?

• How much does power cleaning cost?

• What detail work is included in power cleaning?

• How can I get a power cleaning estimate?

These questions are all things the audience for this company might ask. An FAQ section makes it easy for readers to find answers to their inquiries, even if they're in a hurry.

This brings us to my next point; FAQs improve voice search. FAQs are great for voice search because their structure is similar to organic conversions. One person asks a question, and another person (or, in this case, an AI assistant) provides an answer.

We found that over 40% of all voice search results come directly from featured snippets. Snippets are chunks of a page (like an FAQ) shown to users when they ask specific questions. So, if you're not seeing a lot of organic traffic from search engines, FAQs can help you tap into this audience.

Add Value and Improve Discoverability with FAQs

You may be shocked to learn that FAQs can help create a stellar UX and improve your discoverability. The key is to include popular questions on relevant parts of your website.

For example, if you're the owner of a business called Power Cleaning Pros, you may want to include FAQs on your homepage like:

• What is power cleaning?

• How much does power cleaning cost?

• What detail work is included in power cleaning?

• How can I get a power cleaning estimate?

These questions are all things the audience for this company might ask. An FAQ section makes it easy for readers to find answers to their inquiries, even if they're in a hurry.

This brings us to my next point; FAQs improve voice search. FAQs are great for voice search because their structure is similar to organic conversions. One person asks a question, and another person (or, in this case, an AI assistant) provides an answer.

We found that over 40% of all voice search results come directly from featured snippets. Snippets are chunks of a page (like an FAQ) shown to users when they ask specific questions. So, if you're not seeing a lot of organic traffic from search engines, FAQs can help you tap into this audience.

Repurpose Popular Blog Posts

Did you know that 60% of marketers reuse their blog posts 2-3 times? This interesting statistic shows that you don't need to build marketing material from scratch whenever you want to start a new campaign or create a new piece of content.

There are plenty of great ways to repurpose your content and make them engaging for a brand-new audience. One of my best tips for you is to turn your popular blog posts into engaging videos. People like watching video content now more than ever before.

If a user makes it to your site for the first time but decides they don't feel like reading an article, they may leave and never return. On the other hand, if they see a video version of your article at the top of the page, they may decide to listen to your post while eating lunch or driving home.

You can also turn popular posts into infographics for social media or lead magnets to grow your email list. Consumers are more than happy to engage with a business if they offer relevant, actionable content. Repurposing your best blog posts allows you to breathe new life into your marketing strategy.

Host Live Events on Social Media

While we are on the topic of video content, let's talk about social media. Another marketing opportunity I see countless brand owners miss is they don't host enough live events on social media.

In the old days, video marketing was considered a novelty and would likely result in more engagement. Now, video is essential to your success as an eCommerce business owner. You may not get the chance to see your customers when they walk into your store. However, you can still build rapport and engage with them by going live on social media.

I recommend hosting monthly webinars where you discuss hot industry topics and give your followers advice they can use to better themselves or their situation. For example, a lead generation plugin may host a monthly webinar to teach users how to generate leads from different platforms.

You should also consider other events, like ask me anything (AMA) live streams, giveaway announcements, online courses, and expert interviews.

A whopping 94% of marketers say live video helped enhance their customer education efforts and boosted engagement. Conversions will follow if you continuously create high-quality live video content.

Partner with Influencers and Affiliates

Brand partnerships are now more common than ever before. The two main types include affiliates and influencers. Affiliates are people who create content featuring your product in exchange for a revenue cut for every sale they secure.

Meanwhile, influencers usually have larger followings and are paid up-front for their content marketing and promotion efforts.

Setting up an affiliate program is an excellent option if you don't have the funds to pay influencers with over one million followers to promote your brand. Surveys show that brand leaders who decided to invest in an affiliate program saw 30% of their revenue come from affiliate sales alone.

Affiliate marketers can help build a bridge funnel between their audience and your website. If the people browsing their site need your product or service, they will eventually migrate to your eCommerce site so they can determine if your brand is worth their time.

On the influencer side of things, the results are equally shocking. Research reveals that over 130 million Instagram users tap on sponsored influencer posts each month. That doesn't account for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networks. In other words, partnering with someone with a similar target audience can help you move closer to your marketing goals.

I recommend establishing clear guidelines and boundaries when working with affiliates or influencers. Ideally, the relationship should be mutually beneficial. In my experience, situations where both parties benefit lead to fruitful, long-lasting partnerships.

Review Your Results

Finally, if you want to ensure your marketing strategy is a success, keep your eyes on the results. Since you know your goals and key performance indicators, data showing how each campaign is doing will make much more sense.

You can use information from Google Analytics or other metric trackers to make informed decisions about your audience and their needs. Look for popular topics, trending posts, and customer feedback forms so you can truly understand how users perceive your business.

It may seem overwhelming initially, but it gets easier as you practice and gain experience. The same can be said for marketing in general. There's a lot to take in when starting your marketing journey, but once you have an actionable plan, you'll be well on your way to building a successful online store.