In 2014, 25% of all marketing dollars were spent on digital marketing, and that figure is expected to grow to 33% this year, according to Kim Garst for Huffington Post. As such a large piece of the marketing pie, digital marketing should be part of every subscription company’s overall marketing plan, but where do we begin? Here are six ways you can optimize your digital marketing now.
- Gather quality data. Measuring our marketing efforts helps us determine what’s working and what’s not, but metrics tools and analytics have become much more sophisticated. To keep up, businesses will need to invest in systems and software that integrate with existing systems (e.g., CRM, POS, etc.) to deliver data we can use to better target potential subscribers, says Christy Belden of The Courier-Journal.
- Personalize your marketing. Today’s consumer is savvy and selective, and our digital marketing efforts need to reflect that. We need to find ways to personalize our marketing campaigns. Facebook does a good job of this. By gathering data about what its users view, Facebook serves up ads based on those preferences. For example, if I share an article I found on Slate, Facebook may recommend that I like Slate’s Facebook page, or it may include an ad for Slate in my news feed.
- Improve email marketing. Prospective subscribers may be hesitant to share their email addresses unless they are getting something of value in return. Share a free eBook, white paper or tip sheet to encourage your prospects to share their email addresses with you. Once you’ve got them hooked, deliver useful content in your email marketing newsletter.
- Go social. In 2014, Twitter earned nearly $1.2 million in ad revenue, five times the amount it made in 2012, according to eMarketer.com. Part of a company’s digital strategy should include marketing via social networks. Companies don’t need to be on all of the social networks, but it should focus on the ones where they are most likely to reach their target audience. Our favorites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram.
- Engage your audience. With the rise of blogging and social media, companies have a golden opportunity to personally interact with their audiences through comments, messages, tweets, etc. When done right, genuinely engaging with customers in this way helps companies develop relationships that extend beyond one-off sales into long-term subscriptions. As an added bonus, when you can get prospects or current subscribers to like and trust you, they are more likely to share your content – and marketing messages – with their friends.
- Go mobile or go home. More and more consumers are accessing websites and social media on their mobile devices. To get in front of prospective subscribers, it is critical that companies make going mobile a priority. It isn’t enough for sites to be mobile-friendly any more. Companies must design their website, apps and content for subscribers who are viewing them on tablets and smartphones.
