Welcome to week six in our series, “The New Digital Marketing.” Over seven weeks I’m going to lead you through the steps of developing your own online marketing strategy from start to finish. Whether you’re a traditional brick and mortar business getting online for the first time – or have had your digital ducks in a row for years… the world has changed and we are adapting. Let’s do it together. It’s time to “Organize Your Digital Presence.”

If you’re just joining us, don’t miss the first five pieces in this series:

Week 1: Realign and Get Online

Week 2: Virtual Meetings and Conferences

Week 3: Engage to be Engaging

Week 4: Digital Strategic Planning

Week 5: Empathetic Marketing

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The Internet levels the playing field for businesses. It enables small and medium-sized businesses to compete successfully with large businesses that have more resources and money at their disposal. When you create a solid digital presence that provides great and relevant content for your prospects and customers, backed by great customer service, you will win and prosper. Plus, your customers will love you!

The following are seven steps that will help you get your digital presence organized (and effective) from stem to stern…

1. Create (or update) your website. Your website is your 24 hours a day hub with all your “digital roads” leading back to it. Every business needs a website. Besides generating leads and closing sales, your website establishes your expertise and credibility. Plus, it’s an opportunity to tell potential customers what makes you unique and why they should do business with you versus your competition.
   
   If you already have a business website, it’s a good time to consider ways in which you can improve the effectiveness of your site. Are you using outdated themes and technology? Is it mobile friendly? Does a prospect immediately know that you are the solution to their problem? Is it easy to navigate? Is it visually pleasing? Does it appeal to the clients you are trying to attract? And so on.
   
   An easy way to increase sales and customer convenience is to add e-commerce functionality to your website. A big benefit of selling a product through your website (other than a greater profit margin) versus selling through an online marketplace is you acquire the customer’s contact information. This gives you the ability to market to them in the future which allows you to build a relationship of trust with them. This is important because repeat customers are nine times more likely to convert than a first-time shopper, according to a report by Adobe.
   
2. Create (or update) social media sites. Social media is the least expensive form of marketing and allows you to repurpose your content over multiple channels. A smart social media strategy can quickly increase your brand awareness, boost engagement, generate leads and sales, provide customer service, and drive traffic to your website. It can lead to mentions in the press, plus it is a way for you to “listen” to conversations about your brand. At the very least, your business should be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Beyond that, great things can happen with YouTube, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. Decide what your goal is with social media, which platforms best attract your target audience, and create a plan to reach them. 
   
3. Create Common Branding. Consistent branding across all aspects of your business will mold a positive perception and it will instill trust and loyalty in your customers. Your branding (and messaging) should be uniform across both your digital platforms and your offline marketing efforts.
   
4. Embrace an online meeting platform. While video conferencing has never been more popular, even in normal times it’s a way for businesses to save time and cut down on travel costs. Besides talking with your customers face to face, many video conferencing services allow users to share screens, exchange files, communicate using digital whiteboards, and so on. For more information, check out my post, Virtual Meeting 101.
   
5. Create an email newsletter. Email is still one of the most popular forms of communication. An email newsletter will keep you top of mind with your prospects and customers. This will increase traffic to your website and help grow your social media community (which, in turn, will increase conversions). An email newsletter is not intrusive. You are providing your customers with useful information, not inundating them with advertising.
   
6. Create (or update) your blog. Writing a regular blog post strengthens your relationship with your customers. A blog will also improve your search engine ranking and increase your online traffic as Google loves fresh content. Plus, you can repurpose your blog posts by also featuring them in your email newsletter.
   
7. Organize it all in a task-management platform. When you think of the various components of your digital presence, you might feel overwhelmed when thinking about making it all run smoothly. Fortunately, there are programs designed with just this in mind.  We use Asana and it has been a complete game-changer.  More on that to come.  As Asana certified professionals, we can also get you a link to save 10% off of your first year – plus we can help you onboard and train your team.

To get (and keep) a leg up on your competition, a comprehensive well thought out digital strategy is vital. And while a strong digital presence is all about technology, it’s important to remember that marketing is all about engaging your prospects and customers and providing them with the solutions they are looking for in an empathetic way.

Take your brand boldly into the new normal. Keep pushing for real, authentic interaction with your tribe and keep your brand top-of-mind. If you need more ideas or a plan to get started, let’s talk. Remember, we are on this journey together.

Wishing you light and love. ~Hema

Empathetic marketing generates credibility and trust… and more sales.

Welcome to the fifth article in our series, “The New Digital Marketing.” Over seven weeks I’m going to lead you through the steps of developing your own online marketing strategy from start to finish. Whether you’re a traditional brick and mortar business getting online for the first time – or have had your digital ducks in a row for years… the world has changed and we are adapting. Let’s do it together. This week we are going to practice our “Empathetic Marketing” skills.

If you’re just joining us, don’t miss the first four pieces in this series:

Week 1: Realign and Get Online

Week 2: Virtual Meetings and Conferences

Week 3: Engage to be Engaging

Week 4: Digital Strategic Planning

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There is an old marketing adage: “people love to buy, but they don’t want to be sold.” How true! So, how do you make it so people “love to buy” from you? Use empathetic marketing.

Empathetic marketing is when you see your products and services, not through a marketer’s eyes, but your customer’s eyes. As humans, we love to laugh, feel joy, and love. We are proud and crave recognition—and we sometimes cry, fear, and doubt. As a marketer, you must interact with your clients in a way that connects with your customer’s emotions and motivation.

This is especially true in this new normal. In all corners of the globe, people are dealing with the same struggle, uncertainty, and fear of the unknown. It has enhanced our need and desire to care for and help each other.   

Marketing with empathy means that you understand your customer’s wants and needs, which generates trust, loyalty, and greater mutual business success. With an empathetic approach, you are always looking for ways to make your customer’s life better.

Here are five ways you can take a more empathetic approach to your marketing…

1. Ask “How does my product make my customer feel?” — People buy on emotion and then justify their decision with facts and logic. Mark Ingwer, in his book Empathetic Marketing, lists the six core emotional needs as 1) control; 2) self-expression; 3) growth; 4) recognition; 5) belonging; and 6) caring. Think about how your product or service makes your prospect feel concerning each point. Think of each step they take, both pre-purchase and post-purchase. Pay attention to their emotional, mental, social, and physical needs and note any obstacles they may come up against along the way. Imagining how someone will feel while using your product will spark creativity and originality within you, which will provide you with new and innovative ideas. 
2. Do your research — Your goal is to understand what motivates your customers and to clarify what they need from you to make their experience with you more positive. Here are three ways to do customer research: 1) Meet your prospects “virtually face to face” and ask them open-ended questions (“What are the main reasons you chose our product/service?” “How would you describe your experience with us?” “If you could change anything about our product or service what would you change?” etc.); 2) Listen to sales or customer service calls; and 3) Survey customers online. Explain to your customer in advance that you are open to receiving negative feedback from them as it is an opportunity for you to improve.   
3. Create a customer profile — Start a file on your customer that lists things such as their age, family background, likes, dislikes, household composition, habits, behaviors, emotions, goals, issues, buying history, and so on. This will help you (and your team) have more personal and impactful engagements with your customers.   
4. Give your customers useful customer-centric content — Help your clients identify and solve problems. Prove your expertise to your customers with content that helps them get clarity as to what they want to accomplish and show them how your concepts can provide a solution. 
5. Make empathy your lifestyle — Operating with empathy is not just a marketing strategy, it’s a lifestyle. Because to be effective, every communication with your customers must be authentic, honest, and genuine. You must always put your customer’s best interests at heart and seek solutions that will bring benefits to their lives. You must always seek to understand your customers so you can lift them up and make their lives better. You must practice empathy throughout your organization from upper management to your employees and suppliers.

Empathy is your superpower. It gives you credibility, strengthens relationships, and trust—and will turn your prospects into customers and your customers into raving fans. 

Take your brand boldly into the new normal. Keep pushing for real, authentic interaction with your tribe and keep your brand top-of-mind. If you need more ideas or a plan to get started, let’s talk. Remember, we are on this journey together.

Wishing you light and love. ~Hema

Welcome to the fourth article in our series, “The New Digital Marketing.” Over seven weeks I’m going to lead you through the steps of developing your own online marketing strategy from start to finish. Whether you’re a traditional brick and mortar business getting online for the first time – or have had your digital ducks in a row for years… the world has changed and we are adapting. Let’s do it together. It’s time to get into the meat of your, “Digital Strategic Planning.”

If you’re just joining us, don’t miss the first three pieces in this series:

Week 1: Realign and Get Online
Week 2: Virtual Meetings and Conferences
Week 3: Engage to be Engaging

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Human connection makes the world better. The ability to be real, vulnerable and authentic with each other can make the pain of separation sting a little less. Learning that our pain is, in fact, shared lightens the load on our shoulders. So when we think about our marketing today – the digital shines brightest.

If all marketing is identifying pain points and then relieving them, then digital marketing is paramount when we are apart. So, let’s think about how your humanity and your brand can merge into a new digital plan.

Like any strategy, your digital marketing needs clarity of purpose, measurable KPIs and an executable list of deliverables. What sets it apart from your other marketing initiatives is creative content and engagement. Here’s how to set it up:

1. What’s the point? Clearly, and with that aforementioned humanity, define the answer to the question, “Why are we going to market?” What pain-points are you going to address with your audience? From there, establish the goals of this marketing strategy. Are we increasing brand awareness? Launching a new product or service? Increasing leads and conversions? Be sure everyone on your team has the same objectives in mind.
2. Tell a story. People are driven by a narrative, and that’s really hard right now – because so much of the future is uncertain. Create your digital campaigns with this in mind. Communicate a narrative, an experience for your audience. No piece of your digital presence stands alone. Map out a clear beginning, middle and end… and then what story will come after. If you are running multiple campaigns at the same time, like a new product along with brand awareness, consider how they can tie together to provide continuity for your audience.
3. Engage to be Engaging. Now is the time to highlight the humanity in your brand. Be real. Your content needs to get your audience talking with you and about you. Read this piece from last week to learn more.
4. Pick your platforms. Where will you tell this story? Will you build out an informative series of blog articles that tie in to posts on social media? Which social platforms? Keep in mind the demographic differences of both your client base and the social media you plan to use. Also remember that some platforms are driven with visuals, like Pinterest and Instagram, while others allow you more copy interaction.
5. Create a calendar. I strongly recommend using task-management software to integrate your team and work product. Within this platform you should have a marketing calendar that clearly outlines your strategy, the specific executable tasks for each piece as well as the corresponding timeframe to keep work on track. Since things are changing more rapidly than ever before, let’s look at 90 days out at a time.
6. Monitor and pivot. As you and your team get into this new strategy, plan ahead to monitor analytics, social listening, website traffic, lead generation and conversion rates so that you can accurately measure your success as you go. When things change, be ready to adapt and change along with them so that you and your client remain in sync.

You’re ready to strategize your way to new revenue streams online. Jump in with both feet. I will see you next week to discuss how empathetic marketing gives you a leg up on your competition and a connection with your customers.

Take your brand boldly into the new normal. Keep pushing for real, authentic interaction with your tribe and keep your brand top-of-mind. If you need more ideas or a plan to get started, let’s talk. Remember, we are on this journey together.

Wishing you light and love. ~Hema

Welcome to the third article in our series, “The New Digital Marketing.” Over seven weeks, I’m going to lead you through the steps of developing your own online marketing strategy from start to finish. Whether you’re a traditional brick and mortar business getting online for the first time – or have had your digital ducks in a row for years… the world has changed and we are adapting. Let’s do it together. This week I want to look at ways we can “Engage to be Engaging.”

If you’re just joining us, don’t miss the first two pieces in this series:

Week 1: Realign and Get Online

Week 2: Virtual Meetings and Conferences

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If content is king, engagement is queen–and we all know the future is female. The best part of digital marketing is the opportunity to build a virtual community around your brand, and what a gift that is when we can’t be together in person.

By now, in preparation for our new normal, hopefully you’ve done a thorough realignment and pivoted your messaging. You’ve also spent time developing an online avenue for meetings and events. So now we get to go after the heart of it. Successfully marketing to an audience that we can’t physically be in front of takes more than great copy and media. We have to get our tribe talking about us and with us. Here’s how:

1. Plan and measure. Before you start developing content, decide what engagement means to you. The term is used loosely in marketing to describe a variety of things – from clicks and likes to comments and shares. And beyond that, leads and conversions of those leads to sales. More on that later. For now though, be sure that you know what kind of interaction you want and how you’ll measure its effectiveness.
2. Blog. Become your brand’s voice and establish yourself as the expert in your field with an engaging blog. Use social listening to understand the pain points of your audience and offer them relief with professional advice that they can act on. Once your blog post is live on your site – share it far and wide. Engage with your audience by asking open-ended questions about the article topic and then respond in the comments when they answer.
3. Leverage the power of the group. Build your own and join the ones that are already popular with your audience on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. Join as both yourself and your company so that you can volley comments from both sides. Now that we are physically separated, online groups are exploding in popularity and, more importantly, immersive engagement. Be a conversation starter. Show your expertise by commenting on the posts of others. This is not a place for a sales pitch, so be human. When people start to see you shine they’ll want to work with you.
4. Grab attention with digital media. Like any online content, the image that you pair with your copy is paramount. Have a video? Even better. Can you shoot a live video? Do it. The images we use to tell our stories are the initial draw. They’re the carrot at the end of your stick. Make them count.
5. Invite engagement. While this may sound obvious–the best way to get people to participate in a discussion or conversation is to invite them. Ask questions. Take polls. Make them laugh or stir emotions. Tell stories and ask your audience to comment with similar experiences, struggles or successes. This is where your humanity is your greatest asset–be real and authentic and your audience will respond.

You’re ready to jump in and get people talking. Build your audience into a powerhouse of interaction and engagement. Take your brand boldly into the new normal. Keep pushing for real, authentic interaction with your tribe and keep your brand top-of-mind. If you need more ideas or a plan to get started, let’s talk. 

Remember, we are on this journey together.

The next step in our journey is digital strategic planning and its place in your new marketing plan. See you next week with an article on how to “Strategize for the New Normal.” Comment below with your thoughts on these ideas and share your successes.

Wishing you light and love. ~Hema