You already know that the best way to reach your target customer is to find them online. But did you know there are over five billion internet users globally? You need a thoughtful digital marketing strategy to reach your ideal customers online. With so many new digital marketing trends, it’s hard to know what to focus on without getting overwhelmed.

FSC Interactive has developed a roadmap of 11 strategies to help you build awareness, generate leads, and make sales for your business. Kickstart your marketing plan with these useful tips to help your company scale.

Promote Your Organic Social Content

Did you know that Internet users spend an average of 2 hours a day on social media sending and receiving content and chatter. Your brand should be a part of the conversation. The easiest way to do that is to create regular content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Due to an ever-changing algorithm, to reach the highest number of potential customers, you also need to promote that content. Boosted posts on Facebook and Instagram help your social posts reach new audiences and keeps you top of mind with your current customers.

Pro Tip: Long gone are the days where you need to post every day on Facebook and Instagram. Instead you can post a few times a week and set your promotion budget and boost duration to fill the gaps between your posts.

Create Facebook ads to boost brand awareness for your products and services

One of the keys to increasing sales is exposing your brand to new people. Building brand awareness supports your brand over the long term pulling potential customers into your sales funnel. Facebook advertising is a useful tool for reaching targeted audiences that want to buy your products. Build trust and brand equity and set your business up for repeat sales by investing in brand awareness ads.

Pro Tip: Create a high quality social media video that shares your message for the brand awareness ad. You can then retarget these potential customers with future ads to drive them further down the marketing funnel.

Use Google Display ads to create touchpoints for your customers at every stage of the funnel

The Google Display Network reaches hundreds of thousands of websites across the web. Use visual ads to drive more customers to your site. The most important asset of digital marketing is that you get measurable performance on the number of people that clicks to your website. Even better, Google uses a Contextual Engine to place your ads near the most relevant content. That means you are more likely to connect with the most interested customers.

Pro Tip: The Google Display Network allows you to dynamically remarket to people that have been to your website or used your mobile app. For example, a clothing company might dynamically show products you browsed on the site to get you back to make the purchase.

Run lead generation ads

Attract the right customers to your business. After you’ve create awareness for your brand, the next step is to build a list of people that have indicated interest in your company’s product or service. This list can feed into your email marketing system or connect with your Customer Relationship management system like Salesforce or Hubspot. You can build leads organically by adding email signup forms to your website or developing landing pages for your services. You can drive traffic to these pages using Google ads. You can also build leads directly on the Facebook platform using lead generation ads.

Pro Tip: The best way to build leads for your business is to have a compelling reason for people to join your mailing list. Develop a lead magnet, a PDF download with one meaningful piece of information that your customers need to solve a specific problem. For example, if your company sells real estate create a checklist of the 7 most important steps to prepare for when buying your first home.

Start an email newsletter

For every $1 spent on email marketing $44 is made in return, according to a study by Campaign Monitor. The greatest benefit of an email list is the opportunity to continually gain revenue from your customer base. Your list is your most valuable asset. Using a service like MailChimp, Constant Contact, or Campaign Monitor, you have an inexpensive way to convert prospects into purchasers. Even better, you can convince customers to become repeat buyers.

Here are a few thought starters for your email newsletter:

• Share new products and upcoming events
• Promote a sale with your most engaged subscribers
• Send a weekly digest that points customers back to content on your site

Pro Tip: Most email marketing services allow you to send automated email sequences. You can use email automation to welcome new subscribers to your list, provide birthday discounts, or onboard new customers. You set up the email once, and the email system sends it out based on the triggers you’ve defined.

Create website content to connect with customers

Developing content for your website helps you to attract and engage your audience. When customers visit your website frequently, your chance for conversion increases six times. The objective here is to make your site the go-to resource for questions related to your product or service. Using blog posts, web pages, videos, and infographics you can inform and entertain your customers. According to Content Marketing Institute, 61% of online purchases are the direct result of a customer reading a blog.

Pro Tip: Before you dive into making your first new piece of website content, you need to develop a content strategy. Think about your customer and their steps along the buying journey. Develop content that speaks to them at every stage of the funnel.

Shoot custom photos for your brand

One meaningful way to tell your brand’s story is through high-quality custom photography. 67% of consumers ranked images as the most important reason for making purchasing decisions. The photos that you use on your website and in social media communicate your brand values. What are your current images saying about your brand?

Pro Tip: Start with your goals of the photo shoot. Develop a mood board, purchase props, and hire talent. With proper planning, you can craft the visual content that you need for 3 months in half a day.

Develop custom videos to promote your brand

Bring your brand’s story to life with a memorable video. Whether its live action or animated, video is a quick way to build big impact with your target customer. For online users, video is the preferred format to receive information. It helps you grow brand awareness, build trust, and increase conversions. The best part is that video can be used on your website, social media, and in paid advertising.

Here are a few of the types of videos that you could create:

• Use an explainer video to tell the story of how to use your mobile app
• Create short-form social media video
• Develop an animated video to show off the new products you’re offering
• Shoot a high quality live-action video with talent to tell a story
• Film recipe videos to show how to use your product

Pro Tip: Start with longer format 1-2 minute videos for use on your website, but also plan for 15 second cut downs for use in your social advertising and YouTube pre-roll.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is a powerful tool to build awareness, generate leads, and make sales for your business. Using a combination of these 11 strategies will transform your company into a lasting brand.

FSC Interactive creates innovative digital marketing strategies that prioritize your sales goals while cultivating an ideal, engaged audience for your brand. And we continually optimize to ensure that your business sees return on investment.

Want to learn more about how FSC Interactive can help your business reach its digital marketing goals? Contact us today.