6 LESSONS OF HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Hello, world! This is our first blog post. And, as our first post, we’d like to share a few things we’ve learned about the digital world!

1. Defeat the Fear

We’ve met many clients who have an irrational fear of Internet marketing. You need to get over this - and fast! A lot of the complaints swirl around social media and include statements like:

“Social media is a fad.”
“Social media doesn’t work.”
“We don’t need social media. We sell enough.”

In the worst case, companies worry that a digital presence will open them up to criticism and attack. But here’s the thing: Whether or not you’re on social media or the Internet, people can still rate, review, and “attack” you. Don’t you want to head that off with a message of your own? Of course you do! And, even if you’re not online, your potential customers are still looking for you there.

Let go of fear and embrace the best thing of all - a plan! With a well-constructed social media plan, you can build new sales channels and bring in more clients than ever before!




2. Do the homework: research and benchmark

Open up social media channels and online presences that make sense for your business. The worst thing you can do is open up a bunch of non-related social channels that you have no intention of maintaining.

Again, it might be a good idea to check out what your competitors are doing and copy them. If you notice a close competitor has a Twitter account, you probably should, too. Again, using the wisdom of the crowds in this area is not always a bad idea. Just make sure what you do is relevant to your company.




3. Define measurable goals

You need to set clear, definable goals that are measurable and achievable.

Here are some examples of goal setting we have done with previous clients:


WEAK

We want a Facebook page because we want to show our products.


STRONG

Create a well-optimized Facebook page, complete with company branding, to show off our products with a clear call to action on the page that prompts users to shop at our online store. This page will have an advertising budget of $50 for clicks to site advertising.


WEAK

We want to sell tickets to our event through our website.


STRONG

Generate a minimum of 20 leads per day to our event with a goal of converting them into 10 sales during a thirty day period using both Facebook ads with a $30 budget and an email campaign.




4. Develop a Social Media Mix and Content Strategy

Develop a mixed strategy that combines original content and social media activity. Remember, you want to choose social media channels that you can support and maintain. Don’t open up pages for the sake of doing so.




5. Open your Key Channels

Now you can launch your brand across all of your different channels. This means Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, a website - you name it. Just make sure your branding is consistent and your message is on target.




6. Track your results, Learn and optimize your strategy

Congratulations! You just launched your digital strategy. You have all of your digital channels open and you’re starting to build out your community with increased interactions, leads, and even conversions. But this is only the beginning of your journey.

Now you have to track your results, measure your strategy, and analyze your methods to see if you are doing what is best for your niche. But don’t forget the most important lesson of all - have fun!