If you’re setting up a website, or running an online business, understanding how to make a success of your marketing can be a head scratcher. To say the least.
There is a lot of complicated information out there about how to plan and execute a marketing campaign. And if you’re a busy business owner it isn’t always easy to follow this strategy,
But, if you’re wondering how to get your marketing right, without needing to go back to the drawing board multiple times, check out these tips to nail your marketing.
1. Draw a map
For many people, they want ALL the success and they want it immediately. Chopping and changing their strategy or simply ignoring their well laid out plans can quickly trip up even the best planned products and services.
So, to ensure you get that marketing right first time, draw up your business goal and build a roadmap.
This will help you focus on the important aspects of your business plan, and maintain that focus that can be crucial to your long term success.
This is even more true if you’re operating on a limited budget or with a small team. Draw up your business plan, understand how you’re going to get to point B or point C, and follow that plan.
Don’t be afraid to change it if things aren’t working – the best laid plans and all that… But having a roadmap will be crucial to long term success.
2. Keep it simple
Perhaps more importantly, on your business journey, stick to simple milestones to start with.
This means that if you’re setting up an e-commerce site, and you’re aiming to get a strong social media following, focus on that goal first.
It’s easy to get distracted thinking that you need to have multiple revenue streams, different content strategies and loads of money.
But focusing on one element for a specific period of time can bring results quicker than spreading yourself too thin.
Avoid taking on too much, or thinking that you have to immediately compete with the biggest competitor in your industry. That’s a recipe for failure.
Keep your goals simple and this will help focus your marketing too.
3. Understand (and build) customer personas
If you’ve never encountered customer personas before, these can be a really good way to understand your target audience.
The theory is that you create a profile of your ideal customer or customers, in varying levels of detail.
This then informs how you manage your marketing, what platforms you target, where and when you run ads or create content and even how you develop your product in the future.
Building customer personas isn’t actually that complex, but can be a massive help if you’re trying to succeed at marketing first time.
4. Pay for research tools
OK there is no way around it. When it comes to marketing research, there are some amazing tools available. Ahrefs, SEM Rush and Ubersuggest are all excellent marketing research tools that are made for more than just keyword research.
And, the truth is, you’re more likely succeed at your marketing first time if you invest in the right tools.
It doesn’t matter which software package you buy, as they are all great in their own way. Whatever works for you and your budget. But being able to analyse and research the market is like opening the curtains… Suddenly you can see clearly!
5. Invest in your own skills
Digital marketing is increasingly complex. So take the time to study and build your own skills.
There are so many free courses out there, that you don’t even need to spend money on this step. But whatever your goal is, take the time to understand how to do whatever it is you’re planning to do properly.
Whether that’s search engine optimization (SEO), blogging, social media posting, videos for YouTube or whatever. Study and spend time to understand how you can absolutely nail it to increase your chances of first time success.
6. Outsource
Our last tip is probably the best way to nail your marketing first time, but also the trickiest.
By hiring expert professionals to do the hard work for you, you can save yourself a lot of time and stress. But it will cost you money.
And this is especially the case if you want to get the best results.
Yes, you could hire someone on Fiverr to manage your social media campaigns. Or, you could dig into Linkedin or hire a professional with certifications. It’ll cost you more but you do get what you pay for.
Outsourcing your marketing gives you the freedom to work on your business while safe in the knowledge that someone else is doing the hard work.
So, that’s our hot tips to get your marketing right first time and build your business. Got any tips of your own? Share them in the comments below.
