8 Unexpected Ways To Update Your Digital Marketing Efforts This Year
If you want to expand your business in 2023, a strong digital marketing strategy is essential. This can sound intimidating at first, especially if your business’s efforts haven’t focused on digital marketing in the past. The good news for businesses like yours is that many of the tactics you can use to step up your digital marketing are quite simple, and many of them involve steps you might not have thought of. Check out this digital marketing checklist for 2023 and make sure your business doesn’t get left behind. You might be surprised by some of the points:
Hire skilled digital marketers
In 2023, it is time to think outside the box when it comes to how we hire digital marketing talent. The digital gig economy is setting sail, and it’s about time businesses hop on board. If you’re unfamiliar with the gig economy, it refers to the trend that utilizes digital platforms to connect freelance digital marketers with businesses. You can utilize these freelancers for a variety of needs, from social media management to SEO, content marketing, email marketing, public relations, and more.
Alternatively, you might choose to employ a team of digital marketers to work full-time for your business. Neither method is right or wrong, and your choice should depend on how intimately you want your marketers involved with your business and the longevity of your needs. It is worth noting that we are seeing a rise in the gig economy in recent years, with the number of independent workers increasing by 11 million since 2017. The number of freelancers in the US is projected to grow to 86.5 million by 2027. With that being said, it might be wise to look at businesses that are hiring this way and decide what the best route is for you.
See how Scorpion can help with your marketing - contact us.
Stay up-to-date on the latest social media outlets and digital channels
As of 2018, nearly 97% of all Fortune 500 enterprises use at least one social media platform to promote their business, and that number is only expected to grow in the following years. Perhaps unsurprisingly, of all these social media platforms, TikTok is the fastest-growing channel in 2022. Between 2019 and 2020, TikTok usage in the US grew by 123%. With such rapid growth, you would think most businesses would be taking advantage of the power of TikTok, but that has not been the case. Research shows that businesses have been slow to expand their social media marketing to TikTok and are sticking to more traditional advertising methods instead.
As many as 50% of top brands have no TikTok presence, including many billion-dollar brands. No matter what size your business might be, you can stay ahead of the curve by curating a presence on these newer social media platforms. This will keep your brand relevant, expose your brand to a much larger audience than you would see otherwise, and keep your marketing efforts fresh.
To learn more about how you can utilize TikTok for your business, click here.
Utilize video marketing
Although this point goes hand-in-hand with TikTok marketing, video marketing as a tactic is far more expansive. If you have been following trends about the future of digital marketing, then you know that video marketing is at the forefront of a business’s mind. In fact, by 2024, spending on video ads is predicted to reach $9.26 billion. If you want to keep up with the way your audiences are consuming content, you will want to ensure you have a solid video marketing strategy.
Some of the best platforms for video marketing and the types of videos that work best for them are:
- Live Streaming
- Facebook video stories
- Landscape and portrait feed video
- Live Streaming
- Instagram video stories
- Landscape and portrait feed video
- Instagram TV for long-form content
- Instagram reels for short-form content
- Live Streaming
- Twitter video stories
- Landscape and portrait feed video
- Live Streaming
- Webinars
- Landscape and portrait feed video
If you are ready to develop a video marketing strategy, but aren’t sure where to start, begin with the following steps:
- Be clear about your goals, objectives, and target audience
- Decide on your ideal platforms
- Create a content calendar with the kinds of videos you want to make
- Edit and finalize your content
- Schedule and promote the videos
- Gauge your metrics against your goals and assess the content that is doing well
Utilize the power of SEO in your domain name to improve your brand awareness
When most users are searching for a business to match their needs, they will click on one of the first few choices that appear. That is why SEO is such a hugely important part of your overall marketing strategy. Getting started with SEO might seem intimidating, but it is quite simple. The truth is that the majority of businesses do not have a good hold of their SEO strategy, so if you get the basics down, you will already be ahead of the curve.
When it comes to stepping up your SEO game, don’t overlook your domain name. Too many businesses overlook the name of their domain, but your domain name is a great opportunity to improve your rankings on Google. Although your domain name does not necessarily need to include keywords, it should include the name of your business and be succinct and comprehensive. It is also important to use a good web host that has security, a server location, and responsive support.
At Scorpion, we provide our clients with cutting-edge technology to run their website, including security, live chat, lead management, and more. The web host you utilize must do the same.
Create a positive user experience to improve your online visibility
Another commonly overlooked aspect of SEO is the user experience. Have you ever noticed that outdated, unattractive websites are rarely one of the first few websites that appear first on a Google search? That is because SEO considers factors like page speed, mobile responsiveness, layout, and structure. When creating the different pages on your website, like your homepage, “about” page, services pages, and blogs, don’t forget to consider what your users see in addition to keywords.
Many other factors come into play when you are optimizing your SEO strategy. One more digital platform that you should consider is Google Analytics. This is a program that can help you identify trends and patterns in the way that visitors engage with your website.
Utilize promoted ads
Digital ad spending is one of the most powerful tools for businesses in 2023. Digital ad spending is expected to increase 12.4% to over $135 billion, which makes up 53% of total ad spending. If your business has not allocated any of your marketing budget toward promoted ads, 2023 is the perfect time to do that. The best part about promoted ads is that there are so many ways you can tailor them to fit the needs of your business. Some of the best ways to utilize promoted ads include:
- Pay-per-click ads
- Social media ads (YouTube ads)
- Display banners
- Native ads
- Influencer marketing
- Podcast ads
Optimize your digital strategy for mobile devices
As of 2020, 68.1% of all website visits came from mobile devices. When planning out the visual aspect of your digital marketing efforts, it is important to optimize for these devices if you want to appear attractive to your potential customers. Not only will optimizing allow your website to display on smaller screens, but it will make your website much easier to navigate. When considering mobile optimization, think about these three main aspects:
- Mobile-optimized website - A website that is optimized for mobile devices will be able to reformat itself on various devices. This will automatically give you better web performance than if your website is not optimized.
- Mobile-friendly website design - For a website to be mobile-friendly, it must be able to shrink to a smaller screen, even if it does not have the same level of functionality, user experience, or design. Even though mobile-friendly websites will display on mobile screens, they will not rank as highly as mobile-optimized websites.
- Responsive Web design - Responsive Web design is an approach that suggests that design and development should respond to a user’s behavior. This approach needs to be based on screen size, platform, and orientation. It detects the device that the user is browsing from and adjusts the layout accordingly.
Rely on first-party data instead of third-party cookies
First-party data is data surrounding marketing activity that you collect from your audience directly via your channels. Third-party data, on the other hand, is data that is collected by another entity separate from your audience. The advantage of collecting data from a first-party is that you will get direct insight from your audience. To collect first-party data, you have to set up the data collection mechanisms correctly on all of your platforms. You can collect first-party data from your website, apps, social media platforms, advertising analytics, and the information that your CRM gathers. Utilizing this data can give you the following insights about your consumers:
- Demographic data
- Unique visitors and interactions
- Purchase history
- Interests
- Time spent on the website
Your digital marketing checklist for 2023 begins with your marketing team. With the right data about your target audience, your efforts can continue to grow and thrive for many years to come. Make sure your business hits these key tactics this year and that you stay ahead of the curve as the world of digital marketing continues to evolve.
For more information on the best ways to keep your digital marketing efforts up-to-date in 2023, reach out to the team at Scorpion.
