How do you keep up with digital marketing?

Do you struggle to keep up with the constantly changing world of marketing? Do the new “buzzwords” spin your head around? Are you confused with what apps to use? How to measure if it’s making any difference at all?

Online technology is shifting the world every day – and making scary headlines along the way. Recent headlines range from “it’s time to break up Facebook” to Cambridge Analytica and data scandals. And yet 70% of Americans engage in social media every single day. It’s an online world that cannot be ignored. Even if your product or service isn’t bought or sold online, you have to “be” online for most people to find you.

Does this feel daunting to you? It does to many U.S. business owners. As recently as last week, there was an article in USA Today on how small business owners should approach their social media channels and practices. Why are these articles so popular and ongoing? Because the landscape is shifting all the time. What’s a business owner – or marketer – to do?    

It’s a far cry from 13 years ago, when I was hired to do marketing at Pitney Bowes for their small business and medium-sized business customers. In 2006, it was BEFORE social media existed on the internet, and we were still figuring out how to maximize a website, how to do ecommerce well, and how to do email marketing effectively. And smartphones didn’t even exist yet!

Once social media became a force, I realized I had to learn it AND to incorporate it into what I was doing. Because it was all new, I hired an outside agency to teach us all about it, starting with creating business personas and crafting content that spoke to our markets. Moving forward, we had to shift our website approach, so that we used “pull marketing” – getting people to come to the site – rather than “push marketing” – sending out message after message (via mail, email, etc.).

It was really intimidating to face learning these new communications tactics and channels. I felt confused and frustrated. And then, little by little, I learned all about it – and focused my attention on it – because I could see that the paradigm was shifting and I had to stay ahead of the game because this was what I did for a living!

Since that time, I’ve never looked back and I am in constant learning mode, as channels shift and new channels emerge. Marketing is just as different today as it was five or ten years ago.   

I continue to read and turn to experts in various areas of marketing. Each of the channels have become deep and specialized, and are constantly evolving. If it’s difficult for me to keep up with the trends for SEO, Google keywords, pay-per-click, website design, and various social media, imagine how hard is it for someone who isn’t steeped in marketing day-to-day!

As a marketing strategist, I take that burden away from you. I look at your best audience and target market, and create a plan to reach them through various channels and tactics, so that you can focus on your core business. It’s critical to create a strategy, using all these shifting media, to get more people to your website and in your door.

Imagine getting more traffic to your website or more people walking into your business, so that you can close more leads, make more sales, and move the needle up on your revenues. This is what online marketing does for you when it’s efficient and effective: moving your business forward.

Let me know if you’d like help keeping up with what’s new in digital marketing, to drive your business results and revenues.

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