What to Do Before Paid Advertising: Establish a strong marketing foundation (before throwing money away on ads and sponsorships).
Businesses new to digital marketing are often eager to pursue the range of options available. But before investing in any paid digital advertising campaign, make sure your current digital platforms have been optimized so your paid campaigns can be successful. Avoid starting a paid advertising campaign before you’re fully prepared to handle the traffic it generates and absorb the associated costs.
Is your company website user friendly?
Your website should be the hub of your digital marketing. A rookie mistake is to point a digital ad to a homepage, rather than a landing page with content that specifically addresses the subject of the ad. Included in the landing page should be a form field to capture the users' information as the goal, otherwise known as a conversion. Keep in mind the interest your ad is appealing to, and then nurture that interest every step of the way. Another mistake is to disregard mobile users. In reference to pg. 28 of the onRAMP Handbook, “Over 60% of internet users won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.” A recent study by Google also finds that 53% of mobile users abandon sites taking three seconds or longer to download.
If your website needs some improvement, hold off on paid advertising campaigns and put money toward website updates and maintenance as a first priority.
Do you have a strong social presence?
You should have a presence on the primary social platforms: Facebook and LinkedIn. Keeping current followers engaged, while attracting new followers, should always be the main goal. Social media is a free marketing tool, so it’s best to take advantage of this first and use some creativity to build a strong social presence before dabbling in paid advertising.
The biggest misconception for any paid advertising campaign is that it will return a substantial number of new followers. If your goal is to gain followers, but your social posts show inactivity or information irrelevant to your company or the products you sell, you’re unlikely to gain traction. The best advice to gain new followers is to stay consistent with social media posts, and post daily.
Are you taking advantage of YouTube?
In today’s digital world, people spend less time reading and more time watching videos. Try to think like your municipal customers, who spend a good portion of their days in the field and are reachable only by mobile. Creating a video how-to guide or a highlight reel of a recent demonstration can make a huge impact, and it's content that’s particularly mobile-friendly. It’s free to create a YouTube channel, and there are many free apps available that can help piece video clips together like Magisto, iMovie, and InShot Video Editor. Keep videos to-the-point, and deliver product information with a clear message in the first ten seconds.
Developing a solid foundation with website, social presence and video is key to mastering the next phase of digital marketing. Only then can you be fully prepared for paid digital advertising. And always do your research before initiating a digital ad campaign. Come up with goals, a budget, and determine what will validate the campaign’s success.
