The era of a business managing without a website is over. If a business wants to thrive in today’s market, it must have an excellent online presence. More and more of our lives are happening online. Everything from shopping, to entertainment, to meeting with friends and family can take place in the virtual world. It’s vital that business owners take advantage of this space and use the digital resources available to them.
A Level Up Design & Media is an excellent ally when it comes to developing your company’s digital marketing. We’re going to take you through some of the basics of web design and digital marketing, including building a budget, auditing your site, and taking a look at some of the cutting-edge forms of digital advertising:
Your first step when it comes to developing a digital marketing plan should be determining your budget. Marketing is an investment, especially early on. Businesses that have only been around a few years should expect to allocate 12 to 20 percent of their gross revenue on marketing. If you’re more established, six to 12 percent should do the trick.
Although this is a good rule of thumb, it doesn’t always feel possible. For example, a three-year company that suffered major losses due to COVID-19 might not be able to spare 20 percent and still keep the wheels moving. If you’re in this boat, look into relief funding. Although it might be tempting to simply skimp on the marketing budget, this will bite you in the long run. You need customers to think of you first when they need your product or services, and quality marketing makes that possible.
Building a New Website (or Auditing an Existing One)
A great website can do wonders for your business. Unfortunately, many companies don’t have great websites – in fact, many don’t even have good ones. It’s really common for business owners to put together a slapdash site at their company’s conception with a “We’ll fix it later” attitude. If this is you, “later” has arrived. That slapdash website isn’t doing you any favors.
If you’re building a new site from scratch, we can’t recommend turning to a professional web designer enough. There are major, obvious differences between a professionally designed website and a DIY job. Even sites made with user-friendly site builders are better looking and more functional with professional input. Choose a designer with proven expertise in conversion-driven funneling techniques, a strong eye for design, and a good sense for the user experience.
If you’re tweaking an existing website, start with an audit. This is an evaluation of every page, link, and button on your site. Comb through your site to identify any dead links, missing pages, outdated information, or unprofessional typos. This also gives you a chance to identify any bugs that disturb the user experience, such as un-clickable buttons or frustrating dropdown menus. Make your site as user-friendly as possible, and always focus on creating pathways that turn visitors into customers.
Expanding Your Digital Reach
Finally, expand your reach by taking advantage of multiple marketing channels. For example, you can use geofencing to capture potential customers. This is technology that allows you to target advertising to a specific physical location, based on cellular GPS information. So you could use this to have an ad for your coffee shop pop up when someone down the road scrolls through their Instagram feed.
You can also look into OTT and CTV advertising. These are methods of advertising that reach people who aren’t watching traditional TV. Since fewer and fewer people are relying on cable or satellite for their entertainment, reaching them over streaming services and smart devices is an absolute must.
These are just a few ideas to get you started on forming your digital marketing plan. Remember, marketing is an investment, and you should make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Turn to your team’s marketing expert – or reach out to A Level Up Design & Media – to ensure you reach the customers you need.
