Do you want to drown in the competition or highlight your business and be different from others? We bring you 10 ways to start in a new, different direction.
Digital marketing, traditional marketing, and, in fact, every form of marketing is of great importance to any business.
You've probably already reached the point where it became clear to you.
You have realised that many tools and knowledge are needed to stand out in the crowd, in the sea of the same or similar companies on the market.
Whether you're a beginner or have been in the market for a while, you can do several things for your business.
Some basic things can elevate you above the competition and completely change the state of affairs. Or at least in some form.
Digital marketing usually doesn't require a lot of effort on your part; just bit of investment. Especially if you hire a digital marketing agency.
If you are going to do digital marketing on your own, as far as you know, it will require your effort and total dedication to the development of your company.
Investing in your company's marketing should never be seen as an expense but as what it really is—an investment in the future.
As the title says, we will break down the 10 ways you can use digital marketing to make your company stand out.
You may be sitting at your kitchen table, on the couch in your living room, or in your office right now.
At least you're warm because some work from their garage or basement (if that's any consolation).
Some of the biggest ones started right from their garages. They definitely all started from the beginning.
Jeff Bezos started Amazon as an online book store out of his garage. Similarly, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in a garage. And Google began from the garage, and so did Apple. They also say that Walt Disney started drawing in a garage also.
So, they all definitely had very humble beginnings.
If your management, distribution, and creative departments are just you - that's perfectly fine.
What would be wrong is to start your business in the wrong way.
Before you even start, it is essential to define precisely who you are, what you are, what your company should represent, and what audience you want to target.
For example, suppose you produce and sell your own natural cosmetics. You should also know that women aged 30 to 50 are the biggest cosmetics consumers.
And women aged 18 to 25 are the biggest consumers of facial care products.
With data like this, you should know roughly who to advertise your products to and how to adjust your marketing strategy.
We believe you started your story with success in mind. And even though you want to make your dream come true, you may not have the exact guidelines for what to do.
Before starting anything - research the market and define who your audience is.
Prepare a detailed digital marketing and advertising strategy to target your desired audience.
You probably don't even leave the house without a plan of where you're going and what you'll do, so running your business in the "let it be what will be" way doesn't make sense. Without a plan, there is nothing, of course.
You realise your idea, plan to be different from others and bring something new to the market. And that's great!
But... Your visual identity should be very high on your list of priorities.
If you don't have your own brand and logo, how will people know who you are?
You must have a clearly defined visual identity and your own brand that will be recognisable.
The goal is that when people see your logo, they know exactly who you are, what you do and what you offer them.
It's obvious that you didn't lack courage when you started your own business. Good ideas must never stop, and that's why you need to be creative.
Create (or better yet, hire someone to do it for you) a striking visual brand identity.
Do not make it "too much" or too complicated because the less intricate you make it, the more impressive it will be.
A modern, clean design is definitely better than an outdated one. Or if everything is really too much and you can't see the tree from the forest.
If possible, let the logo, design and colours symbolise your business.
For example, a web shop selling organic hair products could use a soft pink colour for their brand, as it may be more appealing to a female audience. The logo can be stylised, reminiscent of hair or waves in hair.
That is the purity and simplicity that you should strive for.
We will repeat this only once (and probably several more times) - advertise clearly and loudly who you are and what you are, i.e., transparently advertise your services or products.
There is no point in being vague because your business's bottom line sholud be clearly showing your audience your strengths and why they need you.
You are already half done if you have a miracle cream of natural ingredients according to your grandmother's recipe. And "all" left for you is to package the whole story nicely - i.e., to promote your top product smartly.
There are many ways to do this, and you won't go wrong whether you start with traditional or digital advertising (or a combination of both).
If you start small and start locally, advertise on the radio or hire billboards.
If you target a wider audience, advertise through digital channels and social networks.
It is important to advertise.
A good marketing move would be to come up with something new and original. When you already have the original product.
Your audience will remember it. But also know how to appreciate it, especially if your product is as miraculous as advertised.
Content marketing actually includes all the content you create for your audience and links to it on your website. Why is that important?
If you have created an ad for your product or service and someone clicks on it, they should "land" on precisely what they saw in the ad. Exact and specific product or service.
They shouldn't open your home page or something, because that's the first step to contacting your potential customers and clients—and they want to get precisely what they asked for.
Follow trends, especially those in advertising, so that your audience creates a clearer picture of you with each post.
It is essential to have a quality, modern, and fast website that will attract your audience to stay on it and explore further.
It should be easy to use, and we should again emphasise how important "tree and wood" is. Creating a website may cost money, but it is your business's alpha and omega; never lose sight of that.
Create quality content on your website, write informative articles or blog posts and use keywords. In short, create good stories.
Search Engine Optimisation, also known as SEO, can raise your site to a higher level in an organic way, and it would be good to dedicate yourself to website optimisation in this form.
Make a case study, describe in detail what and how you worked for the client and what results you got in what way. For example, consider a satisfied customer and how you helped him. Actual examples will help others see the benefits you offer.
Remember to post references from people or companies you've worked with on your website, as well as Google, Facebook, and other reviews from satisfied users.
Present to your audience who you are, what you do, and what advantages they have from cooperating with you or using your products. Nothing should be written randomly—be casual but make everything clear.
When you write and create content, remember that you are addressing real people reading the text who need to understand what you want to say.
So, without over-philosophising what you want to achieve, try to achieve it in an original but straightforward way.
You don't exist today if you don't have social media. Your audience will look at your website, social media, and reviews before buying. Everything you have really, to make sure of your quality.
So - increase or improve your presence on social media, especially those mentioned by trends as the new must-be places, such as LinkedIn or TikTok.
If you have the will and time, participate in groups on social media or start your own.
Communicate with your followers, respond to their queries and comments. Consider bad comments as constructive criticism and an opportunity for growth.
Social media are an ideal way to create lasting relationships with your users.
Running a social media account can be a lot of work; consistency is important as with anything.
And if all this seems too much, you can employ a digital marketing agency to manage your social media expertly and professionally.
Chances are, they'll have tons of ideas that you haven't even thought of. You can apply yourself fully to further developing your business.
It's wise to "keep an eye" on the competition; it's even necessary, but for only one reason: so that you don't end up being the same as them. And that's it!
Research their weaknesses or wrong moves so they don't happen to you and learn how to avoid them, especially digital marketing mistakes.
And then let them do their own thing; they have their own thing, and you have your own direction, that is, "your own thing".
Competition has its importance and the "why", but don't be obsessive about it because there is a place for everyone in the market.
Let your leitmotif be - mine to me, theirs to them.
From the beginning, you must tell yourself that you are unique, know why you are unique, and learn how to present it to your desired audience.
This will make it easier for you to find a way to stand out in advertising and be different.
It's not so bad to be provocative. But in moderation.
Find your niche and discover a new side of yourself, even the funny one. You may have identical products to others, but your funny and provocative digital campaign will bring you customers who are eager for something new, something fresh in the market.
Don't be afraid to be different in digital marketing - be afraid of losing yourself in a sea of the same.
But... Don't just write and talk about your differences, but really be it.
Avoid using standard clichés, but keep in mind that in marketing and business, there are always specific guidelines that you should follow.
Yes, you should use keywords, but no one said your ad can't rhyme, right?
Now, we don't have the exact information on how successful those funeral companies who put "See you soon" on the lighters with their logo, but sometimes it's just important to be different from others.
The answer to this question is - why not?
Wouldn't you like to promote your product through an influencer with tens or even hundreds of thousands of followers?
Why not let so many people know who you are and what you offer them?
Influencer marketing is also excellent for increasing your followers on social media and positioning yourself as a brand.
An influencer who matches your values can increase your reach countless times.
It's acceptable to connect with businesses similar to yours or even completely different, just for some interesting stories and to get the word out about you.
There are many options; you just need to know how to use them.
After all, influencer marketing is still in full swing, and it would be a big mistake not to take advantage of it.
No one wants to feel like just another customer or client in the crowd. Everyone wants and expects a different kind of service.
Yes, they still use Google the most and like to shop from the comfort of their homes, but still, they want to be recognised as a person - not a number.
Personalised service has stood out the most in the past couple of years, that is, customers' need to be recognised and appreciated. Realistically, this is not difficult to achieve.
You can extend the relationship you create with your followers on social media to your business.
Today, the customer expects to receive some small gifts or samples in their package that they ordered from you. You can also include a personalised message in this, something like "Thank you for buying (insert name), be sure to let me know how you like the products".
When you send emails or newsletters, use a personal name... Statistics say that personalised emails have about a 30% higher opening rate.
In fact, you can do a lot with very little.
You must always be "hands-on" in your business. But you definitely have to give up micromanagement (it should have died out a long time ago).
Get involved in your business as much as possible, but don't do it for the sake of order, but put in some effort.
You need to know how you're doing on social media, how many of your emails people open, what your reviews are like, and finally, your income.
Being involved doesn't mean being obsessive, to try to do everything by yourself and get nothing...
You must know how to delegate tasks.
And if you are alone in your business and all jobs and titles are yours alone, we can advise you to always look at digital marketing as an investment in your business and for the long term.
Also, only a few still have "Thank you for your purchase" messages in the packages. They are mostly small businesses or those that have just started. Never forget how valuable each of your end customers or clients is.
The customer will know how to appreciate your effort and commitment, but he should know the measure and not be too aggressive.
Or worse, overwhelm your users with information or fail to respond to inquiries later...
After all, you have to keep in mind how you work with people, and people like to be recognised and appreciated.
All of what we have listed is one big connected circle. Some things in digital marketing don't work without others, etc.
On the other hand, the Internet is a vast place, and there is always room to stand out.
We have written all this so that you can understand - how not to be just everyone.
If you have no ideas, don't know where to start, or simply need help, contact us today.