Digital marketing is all the craze now. Between social media, mobile devices, geo-location marketing, tablet computers, custom content, streaming videos of cats…the list goes on and on. While this is exciting for some of us, it is pure chaos to others. But, hopefully, we can all start, as I did, with baby steps to embrace it and have it become a little more approachable.
Let’s get something straight first…I am a certified geek. I have an iPad, smartphone, laptop, PSP, Wii, Blu-Ray, Tivo, etc. I Twitter, I Facebook, I Google+ and I am LinkedIn. I rate hotels by the level of their Wi-fi. Plus, my official membership to the Star Wars fan club seals the deal. I AM A GEEK! (t-shirts coming soon).
Now, Star Wars aside, I was not always that way. I was actually a late adopter to all this new technology. I had friends tell me about Facebook, show me their pages and I thought, “No thanks.” I mean, all I heard were the stories about identity theft and seriously thought my buddies were crazy for putting their lives out there on the Internet for all to see. So…I gave it a few years. And finally, late in 2008, I took the Facebook plunge. Even my skeptical wife did so as well. I mean, once I found out I could like “Star Wars,” there was no holding me back!
Now, if you are married, you understand having to run high end geek electronic purchases through your wife. Her company controlled the cell phone contract we were on and it was dirt cheap. But, on a clear summer day in June 2009, we received a notice that we could upgrade our phones to smartphones. It was truly a magical day full of downloads and apps. Plus, they have an app that turns your phone into light saber!
The smartphone opened my life to Twitter – the holy grail of social media. Now, a little different than Facebook in that you “follow” people who you do not directly have a personal relationship with. You can, and I am sure you will follow some of your friends on Twitter. But for me I followed thought leaders that I respect in marketing, advertising, digital…and yes Lucas Films. Twitter, essentially, became (and still is) my professional news feed of new ideas.
With Twitter, you are limited to 140 characters. So, that is when I thought about blogging. That conjured up images of living in a Starbucks with cup of java while huddled over a laptop. While that has its appeal, I found that between Facebook, Twitter, and blogging, I had an outlet for my ideas, ramblings and occasional insights especially for work related efforts. Afterall, I cannot offer advice to clients on marketing in the digital space, if I do not practice it myself. But, suffice it to say, since January of 2011 you can add blogger to my resume.
There is a lot of stuff out there for those considering digital marketing. And, we constantly are asked, “Where do we start?”
The answer is simple.
Start with your customer. What technologies are they engaging in (if any), what sort of relationship do they want have with you, how do they want to be engaged?
For example, if you customers are younger and considered affluent, digital is the best way of engaging them based on recent study published on eMarketer. With this group, traditional television viewing is down, but they are increasingly engaging with online video content and using smartphones. So, to reach this group, mobile and online video is increasingly important.
After looking at your customer and you find that a more robust digital strategy is warranted, take a moment to consider your online brand. We see many companies take the digital plunge with no regard for their brand. Online, mobile or otherwise your promise, personality, tone and what makes you distinct needs to integrate across your traditional offline marketing efforts. So, online and offline have to work in balance with one another.
Now, if you decide to still take the plunge, bite off only what you can chew. You do not have to do everything at once. Get familiar with things one or two at a time. Select the methods that fit your audience best and that you can handle. Maybe you start with a blog and creating your own custom content. Then, perhaps, you move to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to help distribute your content and build your reputation socially.
But, while doing this, take time to learn and study. Things change quickly. But taking a coffee break every now and then learn thoughts from other marketers and peers in social media is helpful and you likely will find it encouraging as you set out on this journey.
Will you make mistakes? Probably. That is OK as no hard and fast rules are truly established. And, if they are, at the speed of digital they are already ancient and could use some breaking.
Will a dramatic uptick in sales and leads pour in overnight? Probably not. It takes time. It takes effort. It is ongoing once you start.
But, over time, you will gain followers and confidence. But, more than anything, you will start building relationships and conversations with customers and potential customers. This directly leads to keeping customers, converting new customers and the biggest prize of all…advocacy and referrals.
Happy trails!
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