As a business owner, you are the expert at what you do. And, for the majority of you reading this post, I bet your ‘expertise’ isn’t being a professional marketer. So, creating effective marketing campaigns using the myriad of tools at your disposal will present you with a bewildering (and time-consuming) array of activities and options. But what about professional marketers? What are their best kept digital marketing secrets?
In this blog I am going to share some of those best kept secrets. But before we dive into exploring the digital marketing side of things, here’s a three-point HEALTH WARNING
One: Digital marketing should not be seen as ‘the answer’ to all of your marketing needs. It should be integrated into a wider set of marketing and promotional activities.
Two: Digital marketing should not be seen as the free option. Many digital resources are free at the point of use, but nothing is ever free, even if you only take your time into account.
The saying is ‘You get what you pay for’ and sometimes choosing the paid-for option will save you time and (strangely) money.
Three: Digital marketing should not be seen as a nuisance or something that gets done only ‘when there is time’. Consistency is key in all your marketing activities both offline and online. Going hell for leather online for a short while then ignoring things for months on end is worse than doing nothing at all.
So, now that’s out of the way, ask yourself this question …
Why Digital Marketing?
Talk to any business owner and they will still rate word of mouth recommendations as one of the most effective and important methods for reaching new customers.
However, that’s an oversimplification.
What they don’t always take into account is the biggest, best kept secret of all.
Digital marketing allows you to amplify word of mouth.
Digital marketing generates online word of mouth.
You can open up your business to new customers while continuing to nurture and engage your current customers; those people who are, more often than not, the source of those ‘word of mouth’ recommendations in the first place.
Digital marketing turns WORD OF MOUTH into WORD OF MOUSE!
Best Kept Secret #1: Email Marketing
Digital marketing pros ALWAYS prioritise list bustling.
In the early days of my business I didn’t use social media. It hadn’t been invented!
The first digital marketing tool I used was email. It was a revelation. It gave the the opportunity to send messages to people (most of whom I didn’t know) who were interested in me and what I had for sale.
These days, email gets overlooked (or even ignored) in the non-marketers digital marketing toolkit. It’s been around so long people often forget it’s part of the social media landscape. They prefer to concentrate on newer, brighter, shiny things like Instagram or Tik-Tok.
Using all the new tools is absolutely fine. But they don’t have the reach, or the conversion capacity, of email.
They don’t have the absolute capacity for keeping you and your business FRONT OF MIND with your customers, supporters and prospects.
Email marketing remains the most cost-effective, customer engagement solution. It gives you the power to reach your customers and contacts in a place they visit every day – THEIR EMAIL INBOX.
And, with an average business cost to customer spend ratio of for every £1 a business spends on an email marketing platform a £38 customer spend on products or services, email has the potential to really boost your sales.
But it’s not all about sales.
Using email as a marketing tool allows you to build relationships, loyalty, and trust by staying FRONT OF MIND with your customers.
That’s why a regular mail out (or ‘newsletter’) to your mailing list is so important.
If you consider that it can take more than 15 ‘touch-points’ (that’s a point of contact between a business and its customers or prospective customers) to attract a new customer, or to encourage a previous customer to spend again, a regular point of connection (your ‘newsletter’) can:
- Showcase your expertise in your field of business
- Offer special perks for loyal customers
- Enable you to stay top-of-mind with all the people on your email marketing list
Added Bonus: You can also share your newsletter on your social media networks to showcase your business and bring new people to your email list.
What Do I Say?
One of the issues I have come across when talking to small business owners about sending a regular newsletter is what to write about on a regular basis that keeps your mailing list interested and coming back for more.
If you need some ideas on what to write about you can book a CLARITY CALL with me.
Building Your List
Picture this scenario: You send out a regular newsletter to all the people on your contact list. Those names on your contact list got there in a whole variety of ways and, over time, they have come to know you more.
However, you know you need to build your contact list even more because the larger the number of people on your email list (statistically) you will attract more customers.
So, now you want to start growing your list even more. How do you do that?
Well, there are loads of things you can do, including:
- Have a sign-up form on your website
- Offer a freebie download
- Provide exclusive or VIP offers
- Invite people to an event or webinar
- Have a sign-up form at your events
- Ask people on evaluation sheets
- Ask people on the invoices you send out
- Have an A-board outside your shop
- Have a sign-up button in your email signature
- Have a sign-up opportunity at your till
But getting sign-ups is not the end of it as good manners, good practice and greater ongoing engagement dictates that you say ‘Hello’ and ‘Thanks for your interest’.
That’s where best kept digital marketing secret #2 comes in …
Best Kept Secret #2. The Welcome Series
Yes, I’m still on the theme of email marketing. That’s mainly because it’s such a broad topic. But also, if it’s done right, it can save you hours of time spent on social posting that doesn’t have the impact you want.
So now it’s all about saying ‘Hello’ to new subscribers and the power of email automations.
As a business owner, you know how important first impressions are.
Whether it’s the first time you meet someone at a networking event, someone phones your office, walks into your shop or looks up your business online.
You work hard to make sure customers and potential customers walk away thinking positively about your brand.
In email marketing terms, an effective, automated Welcome Series can make or break the budding, new relationship with your new contact list member or customer.
Your Welcome Series goes out immediately after someone new joins your list, requests that freebie download you offered or asked for information about who you are and what you do.
At that point their interest is at a peak: they’ve just taken action on it!
If you don’t act immediately that’s a huge missed opportunity to start building a relationship while they are so ‘into you’!
Your Welcome Series should reaffirm that they’ve made the right decision to opt into your contact list.
Want to know how to craft a customer engaging Welcome Series for your business? Book a CLARITY CALL and let’s work on it together.
I have a saying “IF IT AIN’T AUTOMATED IT AIN’T MARKETING”
So, if you’re imagining that I am recommending you sit there, waiting for a name and an email address to pop into your email marketing list so you can fire-off a Welcome email, you’d be wrong.
Email marketing platforms offer the ability to create Autoresponders.
These are emails that you create once, but are sent every time someone fulfils a specific action. For example, signs-up for your newsletter using a sign-up box on your website, requests a copy of your freebie download or books an appointment into your calendar – to name but a few.
The options are endless.
The easiest automated email series to create is the Welcome Series. You should write emails that:
- Tell them what type of information you will be sharing
- Encourage them to like your social media pages or join your Facebook group
- Include ‘evergreen’ content, that is content that won’t go out of date, such as the day of the week and time of day you regularly send your weekly emails.
A Note About Email Marketing Platforms
There are so many for you to choose from, it can sometimes be confusing.
Most have the opportunity for a free trial before you decide which one to subscribe to, so that’s always a good first step.
There are a couple of ‘free’ options on the market, however, they limit the number of people you can have on your list and MORE IMPORTANTLY can limit (or not provide) automation possibilities.
[Check out Mailerlite as a freebie option that allows plenty of automation – if you want something just to get you started]
It really is a case of ‘you get what you pay for’.
An email marketing system without the ability to run multiple automations is, in digital marketing terms, useless.
So, whether you want to run your own email marketing, or need a hand along the way, remember I am here as a resource to boost your success.
Best Kept Secret #3. The Call to Action
So, here we are at best kept secret #3 and social media is on the agenda.
But I’m not going to cover the ins and outs of the specific platforms or talk about target groups and the best times of day to post.
I want to look a bit more closely at using your social platforms to encourage your fans and followers (and those you want to be fans and followers) to take action.
Let’s think CALL TO ACTION!
Here are three things you can do on social media to encourage people to take action.
Offer Excusive Content and Resources
Think about your business. What content and resources do your current customers like?
Your potential customers are people just like your current customers, they just have not had your ‘WOW’ experience yet. So it’s more than likely that these potential customers will like what your current customers do.
So offer them the opportunity to get hold of that exclusive information, offer or product ahead of everyone else.
(PS: Don’t let your current customers feel left out. Let them know they are your VIPs and tell them how they can get hold of your exclusive content and resources)
One example I know about is of a small, independent film company I worked with who used a “You’ll Hear It Here First” campaign. The Studio told their social media followers exactly what action they needed to take to hear the latest news about interviews, film screenings, and more before anything was posted on their social media platforms.
The campaign added more than 2,000 people to their prospect list.
You may not be a film company – or mix and mingle with the stars – but I am sure you have something to offer:
- Exclusive recipes
- How-to guides
- Yoga exercises
Just think about it. Every business has something ‘special’ they can offer.
Include a Link to Encourage Your Social Media Followers to Sign-Up to Your Mailing List
This is one of the easiest things you can do.
All the social media platforms provide a ‘Profile’ space, often with the potential to include a link or multiple links.
- On LinkedIn you can include up to three URLs in your contact information. Why can’t one be for joining your list?
- On Instagram you only have one link in your profile, but if you use something like Linktree you can include multiple links behind it
- You can pin a post on Facebook or Twitter
Simple, But effective.
Run a Promotion
This is different from offering exclusive content.
With a Promotion you are promoting something specific for a specified amount of time.
Here’s an example.
I ran a special offer price on my one-day Unblock Your Brainbox action planning day.
The promotion was totally structured over a six-week period (if you want to know how to do that, you can book a CLARITY CALL).
During the six weeks I had 50+ new sign-ups on my email marketing list and four client bookings.
(Oh, and a few of the 50+ mailing list sign-ups turned into paying clients down the road).
Best Kept Secret #4. Build a Funnel
You know me. I’m not one to over-promise. There’s too much “Do this thing and you’ll have a mega business” out there already.
For me, it’s not ‘Get Rich Quick’, it’s ‘Get Rich Slow’ because quick doesn’t work.
Slow and steady wins the race.
It’s the same with LOYALTY and TRUST.
Before we can sell anything to anyone they have to KNOW, LIKE and TRUST us. And this can take time.
But time is a scarce commodity for many business owners.
So, how can you build trust and loyalty without taking up huge chunks of that precious commodity?
You need a SECRET WEAPON!
Your Secret Weapon is a Sales Funnel
Put simply, a Sales Funnel is the steps you take someone through before they become your customer. This is where you create the KNOW – LIKE – TRUST – BUY cycle.
The term ‘Funnel’ is used as an analogy because the process involves adding a large number of potential customers in at the top with the realisation that only a fraction of these people will end up making a purchase. (More of a colander than a funnel 🤔)
So, how does a Funnel work?
It’s a four-stage process that builds leads that convert to customers. The four stages are:
- Awareness
- Interest
- Decision, and
- Action
Here’s an example:
Awareness (Top of the Funnel) – People know they have a problem, for example: You sell coffee-making equipment. As a potential lead, I’m a coffee lover and I want the best cup of coffee in the morning.
How do I get it?
Interest (Middle of the funnel) – My interest in finding the perfect cup of coffee leads me to look for the best solution so I start to research coffee making options: cafetiere, filter, percolator etc.
As a business selling coffee-making equipment, you create marketing content and lead-attracting give-aways that showcase the features and benefits of different types of coffee makers.
You are demonstrating your knowledge and expertise; at the same time you are piquing my interest.
Decision (bottom of the funnel) – Now I know all about the different types of coffee makers. It’s time to start comparing them in terms of my specific needs – easy to clean, good for the environment, cost – so I can make a decision about what is best for me.
You ensure your social media posts, website (blog, SEO etc.), email marketing, lead magnets, advertising gives me all the information (and uses all the keywords) necessary for me to compare, contrast and make my decision about the best coffee maker for me.
It’s here I make the purchase decision.
Action (purchase / buy in) – My research done I am now in a position to buy.
So , purchase decision made, do I choose you?
Many of the people you attracted at the top of your funnel will have disappeared by now. They will have chosen a different supplier, decided to only buy coffee from a coffee shop and not bother with anything at home, or even stick to instant.
Who knows, consumers are all different.
But, if you have done your funnel-building job right …
- A great customer profile
- Know the questions they need answered
- Proved the benefits of buying from you
… the ones that remain will be your customers.
Best Kept Secret #5. The Survey
When was the last time you took part in a survey?
What was your reaction when you were asked to answer the questions? Was it “Fantastic, It’s been ages since I last took part in a survey; I can’t wait.”
Maybe it was more “Blast, I don’t have time for this sort of thing. I hope it’s quick!”
If I was going to make a guess, I bet your reaction was closer to the second response than the first.
Most of us don’t get excited about the idea of answering a whole load of questions, so when an email with a survey appears in our Inbox we have to have a good reason for wanting to take part.
Now think of your business.
It’s part of your ‘job’ to gather customer feedback to help you continuously develop and improve your products or services.
How are you going to do this if you don’t ask?
But your customers may not have time, they may be distracted by their own to-do list, or they simply don’t see your survey in their Inbox.
So, how do you get as many responses as possible to your survey:
1. Keep It Short
Keep the number of questions you ask to an absolute minimum. 3 to 5 questions is a good number.
You could try the ‘little and often’ approach, such as one, very specific question every two months.
2. Keep It Simple
Don’t go for one, general, annual survey. That will require too many questions and take up too much time. It will seriously affect the number of responses you get.
Focus your questionnaire on one, specific topic, such as feedback from a particular event or promotion.
I would also recommend not mixing questions about the quality of your products or services alongside questions about developing your products or services.
Two, shorter surveys a few months apart will work far better.
3. Tell Them How Many and How Long
Tell the people you send the survey to how many questions there are.
Every question you add to your survey will add to the drop-off rate of people willing to take part.
Also let them know how long it will take them to complete the survey, for example, Please answer this 30 second, 2 question survey.
4. Clarity as Well as Brevity
Keep it clear, keep it simple.
The minute someone reads a question on your survey that causes them to pause, or forces them to re-read it, the less likely they’ll be to finish.
5. Tell Them What they Told You
Make sure you refer to the survey in your social posts and emails by giving feedback on the results.
Those people who took part will know that you take their opinions seriously, while those that did not take part may be spurred on to contribute next time.
6. Be Recognisable
Include your logo, brand colours business name and contact details.
That will help people see that it’s not a random, spam survey.
7. Say ‘Thank You’
The people who took the time and trouble to answer your survey just did you a favour. So make sure you say Thank You.
A heartfelt thank-you page is only right and polite; plus, customers who feel appreciated are more likely to take your next survey!
Next Steps?
Well, there are five of the best kept secrets of digital marketing Pros. I would love to know which ones you are using and what results you are getting.
If you’re unsure about anything I have included here or want me to help you plan effective digital marketing campaigns, book a CLARITY CALL