It may be a new financial year for you. Or perhaps you’re wanting to be more proactive to put Omicron fear behind you, and leap forward with gusto – or at least be progressive! How has marketing changed in 2024? What marketing strategies should you focus on?
To give you a few pointers, I’ve clustered some potential Digital Marketing Priorities for 2024 into six areas. Take a look and pick a strategy that you don’t have fully nailed. Then choose two or three actions from the list to action.
Be Found
Has your business automated the way new prospects find you?
- Claimed your Google My Business listing and added your category, posted product updates,
- Obtained more ratings than your competitors, so you appear on the Google Map pack?
- Ensured you can be found on Apple Maps as well as Google Maps?
- Re-optimised your website pages for important keyword searches using the new question funnels (SEO has changed totally in 2023 compared to 2021)
- Researched, created answers to questions so you come up for long tail “how does it work” and “how much does it cost” questions in the discovery phase
- Created videos and short answers to questions so you come up in voice Searches
- Installed Schema and Rich Snippets, marked up Videos, so your results can be shown in “People also asked” questions and product searches?
- Listed in major portals who dominate your category e.g. Booking.com, Trademe, Eboss, ArchiPro, Houzz, Grownups, NewZealand.com
- Set up a Google Discovery Ad campaign (new) to use machine learning to expand your brand awareness and promote discovery?
- Updated your Google Search Ads campaigns with image extensions so your ads are getting an improved click through rate?
- Set up Bing Search ads?
- Organised your merchant centre connection and enabled Google Shopping if you have ecommerce?
- Using AI tools to enhance your SEO?
Be more relevant – connect
- Do you review your product development every year and tweak your offering or create new products and services relevant to specific customer groups?
- Have you defined and planned customer journeys to create content for different stages of customer readiness, to keep prospects moving through your funnel rather than escaping?
- Have you updated your website, post designs and email newsletter templates, with contemporary design that shows you are with it (logo, videos, downloads)
Be more visible – build brand awareness
- Content marketing strategy: Have you developed a calendar for compelling content and pushed this with a small ad budget in front of prospects?
- Do your social campaigns lead prospects down a compelling path, with an incentive provided to capture contact details and get more info?
- Have you explored Google Discovery ads – ideal for driving brand awareness?
- Would Native Ads on news sites work for you, to escape ad blockers?
- Do you understand how programmatic advertising uses machine learning to zone in on engaged prospects?
- Could you utilise cost-effective digital billboards to build visibility for seasonal promotions, without the expense of printing & installing skins?
- Why not use Google Display campaigns and video ads driving to landing pages with video and a sign up funnel for generating specific programmes?
- Have you created an audience in Facebook of people who have visited your web site, so you can remarket to them in Facebook?
- Reconfigure your email marketing to leverage your contact network and reactivate dormant customers
Be more convincing – demonstrate expertise
- Do you need to plan some videos help keep people on page and capture attention in social media?
- Less is more. Does your content need to be reduced into succinct, compelling messages?
- Does your imagery connect with all your target markets including younger generations or will it scare them off with wrinkles?
- Have you prepared “you may also be interested in” content that leads people through their journey and answers their “next question” to be ready to buy (based on customer persona and customer journey work)?
- When it comes to face-to-face or online meetings and proposals, do you have a great presentation & up to date visuals or is it old hat?
- What promotions, offers, and incentives can you provide to give people a reason to act now?
- What gated content & whitepapers could you provide to incentivize sharing contact details to download and automate further steps
Be more efficient
- Have you implemented CRM tools & automated email replies, to stand out, follow up or provide more detail?
- Do you have a good CRM to keep in touch with clients (retain, reactivate, re-engage)?
- Gated downloads to capture contact details
- Have you set Analytics goals to track your drop off and attrition points so you can try alternatives and determine which work best?
- Do you need help to implement Chat bot/Live Chat to ensure speedy customer service or answers at any time of day or night?
- What actions do you have to retain and reactivate? Don’t lose your clients due to inaction. What does your email marketing plan look like?
- Could you retain potential leads with Google remarketing to keep in front of people who have visited your website but been distracted
- Could you expand your shop to Amazon/Facebook/Instagram/Trademe?
Be focused
- How is your marketing plan looking? Prioritise your quarterly actions.
- Be proactive, not reactive by preparing a Social Media Strategy so your posts and content are part of a bigger plan, not ad hoc
- Guide your staff with a Social Media Calendar helping to clarify the focus for content each month
- What are your Quarterly marketing goals for yourself + team?
- Do you have enough inhouse resources to make this happen or do you need some part-time or professional help? Set aside enough time, team & approved budget to make traction
- Not sure where to start? Work with mentors (like us!) to be accountable and keep momentum
Next steps
You might have a team you can delegate some actions to. On the other hand, they might be full, or you might like a little guidance as to which area you should focus on.
If you are not sure where to start, then a Marketing Plan could be a good starting point.
If you want help with the whole shebang, then talk to us about our monthly Digital Retainer programmes, starting at $1000/month.
If you have a good website but it’s not generating the leads you expected, Rachel specialises in “conversion optimisation”, turning it into a silent salesperson. Get her to do a review of opportunities. Discover user experience obstacles. Google Ads (and Discovery campaigns) and Search Marketing could be good starting points.
If you have a website you are not proud of or would like to move into ecommerce, talk to us about web design.
If your Social activity is a bit ad hoc, then a Social Media Strategy or Content Marketing Strategy could be a good starting point.
No budget? Consider if you might qualify for some small business grants.
Want to use an inhouse person to keep costs down? Talk to us about mentoring and coaching or getting a Social Media Calendar for them to implement.
Got most things sorted? Explore with us the idea of a one-off project for chat bots, setting goals or dashboards in Analytics or customer journey mapping.
Did I miss something really important? Let me know and I’ll add it! There’s always something more we can do, to be proactive inside our business. Let me know if you’d like a coffee to chew the fat on potential directions (text Rachel on 021 556 560).
