About 65% of marketers struggle to generate website traffic and leads. In fact, these businesses say both are now their top marketing challenges. Meanwhile, about 80% of new leads never translate into sales.
Without a strong marketing strategy, you could fail to appear in front of your ideal customers. You might struggle to draw them to your business.
Without high-quality leads, you’ll never generate the sales you need to grow!
Instead, you need to start using the right marketing channels to ensure you appear in front of your ideal customers.
Not sure which channels suit your business or target audience? Keep reading to discover how to choose the right marketing channels. Then, you can start developing a fresh marketing strategy for your business.
Set your business up for lasting growth and success. Discover the marketing strategies you need to succeed with these tips today.
How to Choose Your Marketing Channels
Before rushing to use the latest marketing strategies, it’s important to develop your overall marketing plan. Start by determining your objectives for the year.
Establishing goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely) will help you track your success. For example, you might want:
- Establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry
- Demonstrate your experience and expertise to build credibility
- Generate more website traffic
- Generate more leads and sales
- Improve your ROI
- Build a social media following
- Build brand awareness and recognition
- Generate brand trust and loyalty
Determine your priorities for the year. Establishing your goals will help you determine which marketing channels you need to use.
For example, let’s say you want to become a thought leader in your industry. Becoming a thought leader can boost your credibility. You could have an easier time retaining repeat customers as a result.
You can demonstrate your experience and expertise through content creation.
Search engine optimization (SEO) will help more people find your content online. You can improve your search engine rankings to appear before competitors, too.
Your credibility will rise. Ranking ahead of competitors while proving your experience will position you as a thought leader in the industry.
Research Your Audience
Once you establish your goals for the year, take a moment to research your customers.
It’s not enough to create blog posts, ads, or send emails. Developing strong marketing strategies won’t work if your content doesn’t appeal to consumers. You need to gather information about your customers first.
Then, you can use personalization to connect with your target audience.
Determine who your customers are based on:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Household income
- Marital status
- Language
- Education
- Pain points
- Interests
- Hobbies
- Buying behaviors
Look at their online behaviors, too. For example, where do they spend the majority of their time online?
Consider the topics and pieces of content they’re interested in. You can gather keyword research to determine what they search for online.
Look at the accounts and influencers they’re following, too.
Once you understand your customers, you can start personalizing your marketing strategies.
Personalization can deliver eight times the ROI on your marketing budget while lifting sales by 10%. In fact, 80% of consumers are more likely to shop if you personalize experiences.
About 50% of consumers will spend even more if you personalize your content.
Marketing Channels to Consider
Once you establish your goals and research your customers, you can determine which marketing channels you want to use. Here are five you might want to consider.
Know you’re not limited to one marketing channel. Instead, consider developing an omnichannel marketing strategy this year. Appearing at multiple touchpoints can help you remain top-of-mind.
1. Your Company Website
First, consider updating your website to appeal to your target audience.
Your company website can help you educate consumers about your product or service. You can create an eCommerce store to generate sales online, too.
Otherwise, your company website will support your other marketing strategies.
For example, consumers can click on your emails or paid search ads to reach your website. Search engine optimization and social media posts will direct people to your site, too.
Add multiple conversion opportunities across your site to generate more leads and sales. For example, you can add forms or use a chatbot to encourage conversions.
2. Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) can boost where your website content appears on search engines like Google. Higher rankings can help you generate:
- Brand awareness and recognition
- Website traffic
- Leads and sales
- Credibility
- Brand trust and loyalty
Remember, ranking ahead of competitors will help you become a thought leader, too.
Consider creating different forms of content, including blog posts, videos, infographics, polls, and quizzes. Then, optimize your content based on the keywords consumers use to find your business online.
3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising allows you to create paid search ads. Your ads will appear on search engines, other websites, or social media platforms. People can click on your ads before exploring your website.
You can use PPC ads to generate brand awareness, website traffic, leads, and sales.
Consider using remarketing ads to remain top-of-mind, too.
4. Social Media Marketing
You can use social media marketing to engage your customers in real-time.
Social media marketing can help you generate website traffic and brand awareness. You can also create shoppable posts to boost sales.
Consider using influencer marketing this year, too. Influencers can promote your product and service online. You can leverage their existing brand loyalty to generate more leads.
5. Email Marketing
Email marketing is another great way to remain top-of-mind with customers.
Use your content marketing strategy to create lead magnets like eBooks. Encourage consumers to provide their emails in exchange for your content.
Once you have subscribers, segment your email list to personalize your emails.
You can also automate emails to send based on behaviors like abandoned carts. Email marketing will help you nurture your existing leads.
Reach Your Customers: 5 Marketing Channels to Consider Using This Year
Don’t miss a chance to reach your customers this year. Instead, consider using these five marketing channels to expand your reach. With these marketing strategies, you can develop an omnichannel marketing strategy.
Then, you can continue engaging customers, leading to more leads and sales.
Need help developing your marketing strategies? We’re here for you. Contact our team today to get started.