Get your digital marketing into shape with these 4 practical New Year’s resolutions
The start of a new year is the ideal time to make resolutions to live a happier, healthier life. But why let your resolutions stop there? Digital is a great channel to engage with your customers and win new business, but does it also need to get into shape? The Stratitude digital team has picked four easy and practical resolutions that will have you seeing the results in no time.
Lose some (website) weight
With more than 75% of South Africans accessing websites from mobile devices, you should ask how long it takes for your site to load on mobile. Is your site heavy and sluggish with animations and large images? Does it take more than three clicks for visitors to find the information they are looking for?
“People are impatient and if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, 40% of your visitors will abandon your website,” says Nicolas Baker, digital account director at Stratitude.
How do you do it? Optimise your site to allow above-the fold content to load in just one second. Reduce the file size of large images and cut back on animations. Use responsive design that is simple, uncluttered and easy to navigate.
Get into the dating game
Want more people to love your brand? There are over 1 billion websites on the Internet today, so if you want to get noticed and drive traffic to your site, you need to implement an SEO optimisation strategy.
“An SEO strategy is like getting your website into the dating scene”, says Baker. “You want to get noticed and an SEO plan will have visitors flocking to your site”.
How do you do it? Conduct an SEO audit of your website to see if there are pages you need to update, remove or add. Check that your current keywords are still applicable to your brand or products, and ensure that your content is SEO-friendly.
Cut the junk
Do you consciously think about the content you post onto your website and social media platforms? Don’t fill it up with long product descriptions, company visions and goals that are outdated or videos that are just plain boring. Your visitors will love you for posting regular, unique content that is interesting and sharable.
“First think about topics that your visitors will find insightful or useful and then think about how you’re going to create it for them,” says Baker. “Blogs, videos, case studies or infographics, whatever content you create must be of the highest quality and must add real value to your customers. This helps you build better relationships and generate more qualified leads.”
How do you do it? Brainstorm topics and then ask if the content will surprise, delight or reward your audiences. If not, scrap it. Always create content that goes beyond simply selling your product or service, it must interesting and genuinely useful to your target audience.
Take some time out
Everyone wants a little more time to unwind, which is why you need marketing automation. Use technology to streamline your marketing efforts and sit back and relax as you watch your leads come in.
“By integrating your marketing such as emails, social media and website actions, you will not only market more effectively across multiple channels but you’ll also automate repetitive tasks that make your marketing a lot more streamlined,” says Baker.
How do you do it? Implement an automated marketing process into your digital channels, so you simplify your most time-consuming responsibilities. This improves your operational efficiency, increases your revenue and just makes life easier.
“Embrace these digital resolutions with the same determination and enthusiasm that you have when you join a gym in January,” says Baker. “Make sure your digital strategy aligns with your overall marketing strategy and commit to these four resolutions. This will get your digital strategy fit and into shape, so you have a more productive and successful year.”
