5 Ways To Kickstart and Grow Your Marketing Efforts

How often do you click “Skip Ad”? What annoys you about digital marketing?

If using only paid advertising is not getting you the results you are hoping for, here are 5 ways to how you could kickstart and grow your marketing efforts:

1. How to build trust with your customers?

A recent report suggests that Trust is the new brand equity. Consumers are spoilt for choice or lost in the “messy middle” may lean towards a brand that they trust, even if it costs more. To think of how you might want to build trust with your audience, have these questions in mind:

• How findable are you? Conduct an SEO audit once every 2 weeks to see where you are within your consumers' search journey
• Are people talking about you? Build real connections with your audience. Be on the lookout for any earned media
• Who are your loyal customers/fans?Engage and collaborate with them to find out what they need, not what you want them to do

2. How to influence others?
When was the last time someone influenced you to make a purchase, and who was that person or people? The topic of influence has been highly debated recently. While paid influencers may help to give your brand a share of voice, the real power of influence lies within the following:

• Communities > Who are your everyday advocates?
• Trendsetters > Are there people you know who like to get the latest gadgets? 
• Social butterflies > Who has the broadest reach of people within your network?

Each of these categories has different needs, there is never a one-size-fits-all, but when done right, influence can spread organically, which helps build trust.

3. How can I nudge customers along?
Justin E.H. Smith suggests that humans are hardly rational, and in fact, irrationality has defined much of human life and history. And the point is not merely academic. “The desire to impose rationality, to make people or society more rational,” he writes, “mutates ... into spectacular outbursts of irrationality.” (Source)

Have you ever received a notification on your phone regarding a sale that made you think, “Hmmm maybe I should take a quick look at what’s on sale.”? You’ve just been nudged!

Some things to consider when exploring nudging:

• What triggers are you providing your customers to visit you?
• How are they made aware that they should come back again?
• What methods or tactics have you put in place for them to share their joy?

Nudging takes place in many shapes and forms. It taps deeper into our intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, as suggested by Nir Eyal in his book, Hooked. However, nudging can also backfire when done wrong as it can come across as condescending.

4. How to measure the right metrics?
It can be difficult to decide what to measure with so much data out there. Likes, Shares, Clicks may seem good on paper, but they may never give you an accurate picture of your business. Some ways to begin measuring what matters:

• Align your data points to your business goal
• Collaborate more with your data team
• Set clear conversion goals when mapping out your customer journey

5. How to be a Detective?

Have you ever wondered what people were really doing on your website or how they even got there? Or perhaps you’re interested in finding out what your competitors are doing. Put your detective hat on and begin asking tougher questions. Dig deeper into ways to get your customer through the messy middle.

Here are some tools (paid and free) you can begin using to do market research:

• Google Trends
• Hotjar
• Majestic
• Buzzsumo

 

 Check our courses!

If you’re curious to learn more about it, discover Data Storytelling for Business and Digital Marketing & Growth Hacking intensive 2-day courses at Hyper Island Asia.