By Dan Ogdon
There
are so many outlets in new media to reach your customers. Likewise
your customers are gathering information from more sources than ever
before. It’s great for you because you can reach new and existing
contacts in so many ways, but how do you make sure your message is heard
and ultimately taken action upon?
Target
Your story
can be told a lot of different ways. The most important first step in
any marketing plan is defining who will be the target of your message.
You know who the contacts are in your database, so tailor your message
to each group independently – one size does not fit all. Direct Message
those that need to hear your story through social media outlets.
Punchy
A
tweet is pretty darn close to a subject line in an email. Make me open
the email; make me click your link. Set the hook with strong copy that
reads like a headline from the front page of the newspaper.
Relevant
Give
your contacts what they want. If they ask to receive information about
your paint services, don’t send them information about lawn services.
Cross targeting is an effective practice, but let the customer trigger
when they receive this type of information through their behavior and
habits.
Action
Once you’ve piqued their interest, your
contact should know exactly what you want them to do once they’ve
reached your webpage. If your visitor scratches their head when you
send them to a web destination then why did you send them there?
Analyze
The
most exciting facet of digital marketing lies in the details. You know
which contact opened what email and what links were clicked. You know
what the most popular page was on your website. You know how much
traffic came from your last twitter post. You know the top referring
site to your blog, etc… Don’t discount how much your own analytics data
gives you.
Now do it! Define your target markets and your
target segments in your database. Develop that punchy line that demands
attention. Direct traffic to relevant sources that have an
unmistakable call to action. Analyze your results and plan your next
campaign based on what you have learned.