As much as we’d love to refute it, there are no magical solutions for gaining new customers and growing your business. As executives and managers know, it’s much more complicated than that, with dozens of business strategies and factors in play.
Our specialty is knowing the digital aspects of sales and marketing, which can dramatically influence your online sales and get potential clients or customers to your virtual doorstep. It’s our job to positively influence the direction of your organization, stay on top of digital marketing trends, and make sure your online content and capabilities meet the demands of users.
As part of those efforts, we want to share with you some of our top digital marketing tips to attract new customers. By being aware of and staying current with consumer habits, you can join other business leaders in reaching your target market and watching your business grow.
1. Think Even More Social
No, social messaging apps are nothing new, but it’s important to realize how quickly they evolve. In other words, they’re not just about emojis and banter.
Here’s a reality check. With over 1.3 billion monthly Facebook Messenger users, messages are sent between people and businesses to the tune of over 2 billion per month. WhatsApp has 1.3 billion monthly active users, with 55 billion messages going back and forth every day. And that’s not even including YouTube, which has 1.5 billion monthly users.
The popularity of social messaging apps will only continue to rise, which means your business can embrace endless opportunities to expand its market. Sending messages directly to customers allows for customization, adding value to their experience. It also gives you direct access to the 46% of users who now prefer to communicate with a business via messaging apps rather than email, and the 49.4% of those who prefer messaging rather than contacting a business over the phone.
2. Say Hello to Visual Search
User experience can be taken to a whole new level with visual search, a newer type of search engine. It allows users to upload an image to conduct a search, and obtain more specific results.
For example, by utilizing visual search, current and potential customers can:
- snap a photo of an item and find out where to buy it online, search for similar products, or view pinboards of related items
- take a photo of business cards and save contact information
- use an image of a book to get reviews and other details
- capture a building, landmark or work of art to find out its history
There are plenty more visual search engines, apps and tools in the works by companies such as Microsoft, Pinterest and Google that will enable users to find your product or service. You can get ahead of competitors by jumping on the visual search trend and meeting the demand of your target market.
3. Be a Part of Micro-Moments
First of all, what in the world are micro-moments? Hint: no, they’re not selfies. Google describes them as a new consumer behavior that delivers marketing messages clearly, concisely and in an interesting way to users, all within a span of seconds in order to gain their attention.
This is important if you want to connect with consumers in the U.S., who spend an average of 4.7 hours each day on their smartphones, and check social media at least 17 times a day. These habits are changing the way brands capture buyers’ attention.
If done well, micro-moments deliver just the right information to customers at just the right time. For instance, most diners commonly make instant restaurant decisions and often at the last minute, like where to eat and what to order. Restaurateurs can capitalize on that behavior through well-timed micro-moments containing information like specials, menu descriptions, events and other features. Anticipating the needs of your target marketing, and utilizing micro-moments to advertise those needs at the right time is crucial for attracting new customers.
4. Don’t Miss Out on Voice Search
Consumers increasingly seek relevant information through audio content, including voice searches. Much of this has to do with the presence and rising popularity of voice assistants, like Alexa, Siri and Google. Voice searches are not only convenient and fast, they’re also a sensible alternative for pedestrians, drivers and people on-the-go.
Companies are well-served to rethink their digital marketing strategies and recognize the increase in voice searches, particularly because research suggests that:
- 50% of all searches will be voice searches by the year 2020
- 20% of mobile queries on Google are voice searches
- 25% of all Bing searches are voice searches
- 10% of Baidu’s search queries are made using voice
5. Share Social Media Stories
You and your competitors are most likely using similar marketing techniques to attract customers. Telling stories via social media is a powerful way to set yourself apart and create a connection with your current and potential customers. Live video is one of the most profitable social tools of all, and promotes engagement and brand awareness, allowing for customized messages directly tailored to your target market.
Stories are perfect for short attention spans, and can deliver fresh content and exciting visuals to entice new customers and foster brand loyalty. Examples of social media stories include:
- Employee and executive profiles
- Behind-the-scenes product creation
- Product or service demonstrations
- Q&A sessions from a leader or influencer
- A glimpse into the day-in-the-life of teams, customers or vendors
- Requests for reviews
- Tips for product use or repair
Which digital marketing tip sounds good to you?
Customer experience continues to be a crucial element of digital marketing, and will require companies to personalize their engagement. These digital marketing tips can help your company attract new customers and increase sales.
So we’re curious, out of all these tips, which one interests you the most? Would you like to implement any or all of them into your digital marketing plan? We’d love to know more about your current digital marketing efforts, and hear how we can help get your business to the next level. Contact us at 317-537-0488. We can’t wait to hear from you.
What tools should you be using for your marketing? Schedule a free consultation.
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