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Digital Marketing Masterclass: Tips for 2019

The world of digital marketing is a big one. With new channels and platforms becoming apparently almost daily, it can feel like you’re on a constant search for the one that will finally provide the golden bullet for search rankings and online traffic.

The challenge most marketers face is that there is, unfortunately, no golden bullet. True success in digital marketing will be achieved not by finding that one technique or by creating that one ‘viral campaign’. Savvy marketers recognise that excellence across channels is what’s needed to excel.

In a recent collaboration between Nottingham based, multi award winning digital marketing agency Impression and the D2N2 Growth Hub, we held a Digital Marketing Masterclass where attendees learned about best practice across digital channels. Echoing the lessons shared at that event, here are the top digital marketing tips you need to supercharge your strategy for 2019:

Understanding your digital opportunity

Before jumping headlong into your next digital marketing campaign, give some thought to your audience.

Google’s efforts thus far to organise the web have focused on quality in terms of identifying the websites that work well and that answer the query of the searcher. But in recent years - and certainly moving into 2019 and beyond - the world’s most used search engine will be placing increasing focus on user experience. And for savvy marketers, that means investing in strategies that deliver the best experience possible for their target audiences.

Techniques such as market research, persona development and competitor analysis are all mainstays of traditional marketing, yet they’re not always used to the greatest extent in digital campaigns. Take the time to review who you’re trying to speak to, what you want to say to them and finding the channels where they’re already active.

Digital being arguably the most measurable form of marketing, it’s also worth spending time reviewing your KPIs (key performance indicators) and how well you’re tracking them. Platforms like Google Analytics, for example, are free to use and give you access to invaluable data and how your campaigns are performing and how your audience is responding. Be sure to set clear goals and track all of them.

 

Strive for technical excellence

It should come as no surprise that technical excellence continues to form the foundation of digital marketing success.

With mobile and now voice such prominent additions to what was once a ‘desktop-only’ world, savvy marketers recognise the importance of having an online presence that works exceptionally well across all devices.

So each of those ‘quirks’ you’ve come to accept on your website need to be fixed. Now is the time to get everything up to scratch. No more broken images. No more out of date content. Get everything in order if you want to attract new traffic to your website in 2019.

Speed and accessibility will continue to be essential in achieving technical excellence. Try using Google’s Page Speed tool and Mobile Friendly Test to see where you can improve the load speeds of your site or make it work better on a mobile phone.

Think ‘brand’

These days, digital marketing isn’t just about being visible in the search results - it’s about being the search result of choice.

This means investing in activity which builds your brand. That could be reviewing your web page text to make sure the tone and information matches your brand, as well as answering the searcher’s needs. It could be investing in PR activities which generate new links to your website (essential for SEO success) while also communicating valuable messages to your audience and creating credibility for your brand. It could even be offline activity, such as running an event, which builds awareness of your brand and makes people more likely to click on it when it comes up as a search result.

Savvy marketers will be investing in best practice search marketing alongside more traditional brand building techniques in 2019.

Advertising is your friend

So often, businesses review advertising opportunities and cast them aside as drains on their budget. But the reality is that, thanks to the range of advertising channels available today, along with the granularity of targeting we can achieve, advertising can reap high rewards, even with relatively small investments.

Google’s own advertising networks, for example, can give you access to your audience in the search results themselves, and across the Google Display Network, meaning you can reach those audiences around the web. Give Bing a try too - it can feel like the lesser of the search engines in terms of volume of users but there are still plenty of people on it and the opportunities to advertise to those people can be even better, given that it can be cheaper to bid.

Social media advertising is also a key area for growing businesses. We’ve all experienced the decrease in organic (unpaid) visibility on platforms like Facebook in recent years, but advertising can still give you access to targeted audiences that can help your business to grow.

Where to focus in 2019

Whatever channels or strategies you decide to use in 2019, the key to success will be to be audience-focused and to measure the impact of everything you do.

About the author

The above blog has by Laura Hampton, Head of Marketing & PR at digital marketing agency Impression

T: 0115 895 2985

E: hello@impression.co.uk

www.impression.co.uk

If you’d like to follow up to date advice for digital marketing, take a look at the Impression blog: https://www.impression.co.uk/blog/

Disclaimer

The above blog has been kindly supplied by the above mentioned author. The inclusion of this content and any links to another web site, or any reference to any product or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by D2N2 Growth Hub.

 

 

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