Based on what we’re seeing out there, here are a few things that you need to include in your digital marketing plans for 2012.
Develop a Mobile Strategy
The iPad 3 will be dropping next year, Amazon’s Kindle Fire has a web browser, and more tablets are entering the marketplace. In addition, more and more people are walking around with computers in their pants, also known as smart phones.
“Mobile” covers a lot of ground: location-based apps, QR codes, SMS marketing, text messaging and more. But the best place to start is with a mobile-friendly website. People on mobile devices have different needs and expectations than they do when they’re on a desktop machine.
What do your customers want from your website when they’re on the move? Directions? A phone number? Store hours? Lengthy bios on all your staff? (Not.)
Be sure to view your website on an iPhone, Droid and Blackberry. How does it look? Will it help turn visitors into customers?
Improve your Facebook Presence
If your prospects are on Facebook, make sure you have a strategy that works.
Start with a landing page that is optimized to accomplish one goal: get people to like you.
Further Reading: What is a Facebook Landing Page and Why Do I Need One?
Follow up by creating engaging content on your Facebook business page that encourages people to like, comment and share your content. This will land you on your customers’ news feeds, and help you stay front of mind.
Further reading: Facebook Marketing: Understanding EdgeRank
You may also want to experiment with some targeted Facebook ads to attract new prospects.
Turn Your Blog Into a Lead Generation Machine
Search will continue to be a critical tool for attracting new business. If you want to rank well at Google, then you’re going to need to blog for your business.
Create keyword-rich blog posts that answer your ideal customers’ most important questions. When they ask these questions at Google or Bing, your blog posts can appear near the top of the results. This will help drive qualified traffic to your blog where you can establish your credibility and drive interested prospects to your contact form.
Further reading: Ultimate Blogger’s Guide to SEO
Leverage Online Video
These days, video is inexpensive, easy to create, and incredibly engaging. So why aren’t you doing more of it?
In 2012, set yourself a goal that you’re going to create one video every week that addresses your prospects’ big questions, shows how to use your product, gives a tour of your facility, spotlights one of your customers using your products, or whatever it is that will convince your ideal customer that they should be talking to you.
Post your videos to YouTube, and give them keyword-rich titles, descriptions and tags. Embed them in your blog, post them to Facebook, and promote them through Twitter and LinkedIn.
Further reading: YouTube Marketing Handouts
Build Your List
The most important asset most businesses and non-profits have is their list. The easiest way to build your list, and to get permission to email the people on it, is to get people to sign up for an email newsletter.
To increase your subscriber base, you’ll need to create a piece of email bait: something of value that will encourage your prospects to give their email addresses to you. This might be a white paper, or entry to a giveaway, or discounts in your online store that are only available to subscribers. Whatever will motivate your prospects and customers to subscribe, that’s your offer.
Every page of your website should promote your email bait for maximum results.
Further reading: List Building: How to Build a List of Contacts from Your Website
Seek Professional Help
If you feel like these are great ideas but you need help implementing them, you may want to check out flyte training: your personal trainer for web marketing.
This is our new six-month program, open to 10 businesses, non-profits and individuals at a time, who are looking for some real help in growing their business in 2012.
In Conclusion
Next year is going to be an amazing year of growth and profits for your company once you put some of the right pieces in place.
It’s going to take hard work, commitment and consistency to succeed, but we know you’ve got it in you.
