As we begin to live more of our lives online, digital marketing has become an integral part of companies’ marketing strategies all over the globe. According to Statista, ad spending for digital advertising is expected to hit USD$ 355 billion by 2020 worldwide. Search advertising alone is forecast to hit USD$ 158 billion in the same year. Marketers are fully aware of the power behind digital marketing. But with most companies transitioning into the online sphere comes more competition— maybe too much of it.
A survey conducted by the CMO Club and Thunder found that 78% of respondents thought it was “inexcusable” to be shown an ad for an item that they already bought. Ad fatigue is real, and along with ads from competing brands may be one of a host of reasons why customers may choose not to respond to your marketing techniques. To combat that, here are five simple methods you can use to boost your online engagement.
Branch Out
One of the best things you can do is to diversify strategy. We talk about this in depth in our article ‘Successful Marketing: 3 Alternatives to Social Media’, but at the end of the day it simply boils down to one thing: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While social media definitely has its strengths, you can’t expect it to be the cure-all to all your marketing woes. Look at creating more content, investing in digital advertising, and creating your own landing page and website in order to further strengthen your approach.
Study the Data
Another thing you should do is to study your data. One major benefit of digital marketing is that it makes responses and engagements so easily traceable. If you have the data, you can learn from it. Stacey Rudolph writes that data-driven marketing has evolved to become the future of marketing, with 88% of marketers using data to enhance their understanding of their customers. Data can help you pinpoint exactly what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to refine and improve your strategies.
Invest in Retargeting
When it comes to capturing a customer, persistence is key. While email marketing and digital ads may help you reach a wider number of users than a traditional offline campaign, reach isn’t always enough. You need to follow up on that lead, and there’s no better method for that than direct mail retargeting.
Triadex Services reports that direct mail retargeting can actually yield eight times more response rates than digital retargeting. Customers are more likely to respond to physical materials, and direct mail also has a longer shelf life, allowing for better brand name retention and recognition.
Interact With Your Market
One thing that many companies might forget is in order to boost engagement, you need to create an environment that motivates interaction. One way to do that is by simply responding to your customers, whether through email or on your social media pages.
Business News Daily found that social media and customer service have become linked, with customers turning to brands’ social media pages to give response or feedback. Businesses need to use these pages to build authentic relationships with customers— in fact, 42% of consumers expect a response to a complaint posted on a company’s social media within 60 minutes. The more responsive a brand is, the more likely it is that a customer will have a positive impression of that brand.
Live Broadcasting
Finally, another way to boost engagement is by making use of all of the tools available to you. The digital landscape has opened a ton of opportunities for creative marketing, at much lower costs than you would ordinarily find in traditional marketing. One of these opportunities is through live video broadcasting.
CMO Network’s Steve Olenski says that streaming can help lead to better brand exposure, help brands create richer content, instill a sense of urgency in viewers and customers, and improve interaction with customers. Businesses can use live streaming for special events such as raffles, giveaways, or guest speakers, creating enriching content that will motivate more and better responses from their customers.
This post has been written by Eduard Cruz.
