Direct Mail – Not What it Used to Be
If you're wondering what direct mail is, what it can and cannot do for your business, and how to leverage it effectively, this blog is for you.
In the past, direct mail was the most effective marketing tool used by businesses because of its ability to be personalized. This personalization could involve name and address or a custom made card with a photo attached that showed your brand's quality. Nowadays, however, personalization has been replaced by digital data mining from social media sites in order to better target audiences.
For many years, direct mail was a tried and trusted marketing tactic that worked wonders for small businesses. But today, it seems like every other business is using Facebook to advertise its services and reach out to people that are interested. It's almost as if direct mail is no longer used by companies because it's not "new and innovative." Rather, a more personal approach is what really counts if you want to succeed in the modern era.
Besides being outdated, direct mail isn't all that great in the first place. It can be expensive and it takes up valuable storage space at your company's office, especially when you want to reach consumers throughout the nation or even around the world.
Go Digital… Or Go Home
So what is the solution for these problems? As mentioned before, digital marketing. It's cheaper, more efficient and easier to reach a wider audience at once. How so? In the past, digital marketing involved designing a website, making sure it was functional and adding in relevant content to keep people coming back for more. Nowadays, web designers have moved into the world of social media where they can create pages with all sorts of marketing material that people can interact with on their own time. This is called social media marketing. These marketers build up a fan base on Facebook and Twitter and post advertisements that directly target people who are interested in what your company has to offer.
Of course, social media marketing isn't the only thing that businesses can use to reach out to a wider audience. Another important method is content marketing. Content marketing is essentially creating a blog or website with news and information relevant to your company's niche market. This site then engages people into learning more about what you do and how you can benefit them. The key here is that content marketing involves long-term efforts in order for it to be successful and work for your business.
Social Media Pros and Cons
Not everyone on the planet uses Facebook, so you must take advantage of this popular social media site if you're going digital. However, this site also has its disadvantages. For one thing, it's easy to fake and impersonate your way onto the network. If you're not careful, it's easy for people to find out that you're faking your identity and then they won't trust what you have to say about your product. There are also problems with privacy and security on this particular social networking site, so you want to be sure that everything is up-to-date with the latest changes and updates.
While Facebook is certainly convenient, as well as fun and entertaining, it can't be underestimated when it comes to marketing. This site allows you to post advertisements, videos and images that will get the attention of your target audience. There are many ways that you can customize your Facebook page or profile in order to make it appear more professional, such as adding in a "like" box or a page tab.
Twitter is another social media site that you should take advantage of when it comes to digital marketing. Owned by Twitter, Inc., this is a prominent messaging network known for its 140 character limit and trending topics. Each tweet is limited to only 280 characters, but this isn't an issue because users can retweet messages from others as well (as long as they are over 140 characters). If you're using Twitter for digital marketing, you can post a "Tweet" where you can link to your website and call out special offers or say whatever you want.
How to Use Twitter for Digital Marketing
There are many tips and tricks that can be used when it comes to using Twitter for your digital marketing needs. Some of these include:
Creating a Twitter profile and setting up a profile picture will allow people to follow your activities on the social network. In order to make these actions more convincing, set up an "About" page where you can write all about yourself and what makes your business unique. To keep people engaged, you should Tweet on a regular basis and create Hashtags to organize discussions. You can also sort Tweets by topics instead of just individuals. An interesting, fun Twitter account will encourage many people to follow your brand and want to hear more about what you have to say.
Another advantage of Twitter is that it allows users to include pictures and videos in their tweets in order to show how your products work, as well as give more details about your company's niche market. The best way for this picture or video is something short and sweet that explains how your product helps someone solve a problem and why they should care.
Google+ can be used for digital marketing as well, but it tends to depreciate in popularity when compared to Twitter or Facebook. In order to keep your Google+ profile fresh, you want to make sure that you participate in Hangouts and use Google+ Communities in order to interact with others who are interested in the same topics. You can also create interesting posts on Google+ that link back to your website where people can learn more about your products.
Unfortunately, it's tough for small businesses and other companies who don't have a lot of money to spend when it comes to having a huge presence on social media sites. But by using digital marketing wisely, they can easily get their name out there without breaking the bank. After all, in business you have to spend money in order to make it, so why not spend wisely?
Online Marketing Is the Future of Business
It's time that businesses start realizing that digital marketing is the future of business. The good news is that companies don't need a huge ad budget to get started with Facebook or Twitter accounts. All they need to do is set up a free profile and start Tweeting about their company. They can also choose from a variety of sites where they can get useful analytics for their pages and see who is following them on these sites. Through social media marketing and content marketing, you can easily reach consumers with valuable information that can be used by them throughout their day.
Conclusion
It's time that businesses start realizing that digital marketing is the future of business. The good news is that companies don't need a huge ad budget to get started with Facebook or Twitter accounts. All they need to do is set up a free profile and start Tweeting about their company. They can also choose from a variety of sites where they can get useful analytics for their pages and see who is following them on these sites. Through social media marketing and content marketing, you can easily reach consumers with valuable information that can be used by them throughout their day.
Digital Marketing: This article offers important information on how to use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and many others for your digital marketing campaigns .