There is a lot of talk about social media marketing and content marketing and all kinds of modern marketing techniques.
Let’s break this down and figure out what really matters and what has the best chance of working for your business.
Modern Marketing Techniques
Generational Understanding
The biggest step that often gets overlooked with online marketing is the age of your target customer.
The fact is that not everyone is using the Internet. You can make the cutoff where you want, but the general population over 35 years old doesn’t use the Internet like someone that is 20 years old.
If your customers are over 35 then there are probably other channels you can use to get their attention.
However, professionals that work in office settings likely have more access to computers. They’re more comfortable using computers. Those in business fields seem to have more understanding of things like search and even a little bit of social media.
Most Internet users of all ages use search. Google is one of the most trafficked sites. It’s easy and intuitive to use. People find things using search.
Social is a little different.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is a big push by quote a few vendors out there. They come to your business promising things like social media tracking and measurement.
The thing about social media, though, is that most people aren’t looking to interact with brands on social unless there are exclusive offers and promotions.
Where social media can have a real advantage is if you have something like a blog. A blog gives you a place to create content that people will share on social media. It could be text, photos and videos. If it’s interesting people will want to share it with their friends.
Additionally, social media is now part of the search world. Google+ especially has already had an impact on search results. The more followers you have and the higher your authority is on certain sites the more likely you are to have high search rankings.
Content Marketing
At Ghost Blog Writers we’re big believers in content marketing. We want our businesses to own the content they create.
When you put content on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ you are giving up ownership of that content. You can create a following on those sites, but you don’t control what happens on the platform. You can’t control design changes or the way you can interact with your followers.
On your blog or website you have control. You own the content.
Content covers all stages of the sales cycle.
Content is discovered through search and social media. New people that would never know about your brand find your content and are introduced to you. From there the content teaches them things and you earn that person’s trust. When people trust you they are likely to purchase something from you.
That’s what we focus on at GBW and it works for our own business and for our clients.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is ancient in terms of modern marketing techniques, but it still works for most generations.
Nearly all Internet users have an email address. They check their email at different intervals, but they do check their inbox.
Creating a list of email subscribers is another marketing channel you own. You own the names on the list in the sense that those people have given you permission to enter their inbox.
Send them helpful content like useful blog posts and tips.
From there you can also send marketing messages to turn them into customers
Conclusion
Modern marketing techniques can be confusing, but once you understand your customer you can target the right direction to go. We always recommend the route of content because you own it and it’s also the backbone of a good social media and search strategy. In fact, it’s what you need for a good business email program too.
Start with your customer and then start with content.
That’s our recommendation.