Not all marketing tools are created equal. Various digital platforms reach individual audiences and are structured ways to best meet the needs of their users. Marketers know that there’s a strong difference between designing a print ad, posting a graphic on social media, and writing copy for a website’s landing page. And the best marketers know how to combine these techniques for the biggest impact. Getting a website in Blue Ridge is not enough; marketing in Blue Ridge is the difference between a successful business and one without traffic.
All of these marketing tools are valuable independently for their own reasons, but in order to truly make a mark on future consumers or clients, you need to market in a variety of ways. In Blue Ridge places where you may see the most advertising and engage the most with content will not always be the same go-to places as your potential future clients as many of them are tourists, so start where your potential future customers spend their time finding information.
Search engine SEO for landing pages
Where do most people go when they want to find information or learn about a topic? Google. Smart-phones give us the ability to be expert researchers on-the-go and we are constantly seeking information that can be found instantly. If a potential consumer or client is looking for a service or product that you provide, you want to appear in search engines and present your site as click-friendly!
Your page should have a strong headline and very brief, simplified description of your service or what is being offered to anyone who comes across your page. With at least image or video, your page should also be supported by customer testimonials, or additional information about your proven success. And the best marketers know that there should also be a way for you to easily collect names and email addresses by creating a simple form that doesn’t look time-consuming or like spam. Having a strong homepage or landing page can give an excellent first impression to your brand.
Another key piece worth mentioning as it relates to Search Engine Optimization on your website is the performance speed – did you know Google penalizes for slow websites or those without forced SSL certificates (what makes it HTTPS)? Blue Ridge Media Company maintains all client websites on low-density high performance website hosting in Blue Ridge GA. By not using conventional hosting like GoDaddy or BlueHost our clients have a 99.995% up-time and higher page rankings due to faster website loading times, especially when running WordPress or Magento. While they may be cheaper business owners must realize the importance of reliable fast content delivery in today’s digital world.
Blogging on your website
Writing blog posts is a recommended way to keep your rank in search engines high, while engaging with your audience and defining the brand or voice of the company. Blog topics can range from news in your industry, to updates about the company, advice from experts in your field, the latest technology or tech updates related to your brand, or even the occasional personal blog to make your voice as a company more relatable and friendly to your audience.
If you’re able to post editorial, or “advertorial” content that is of high value to your audience, blog readers may engage with or share your blog on their own social media channels, or send links to friends. Not only are people interacting with your marketing strategy, but now your own readers are helping you find a larger audience! Shareable marketing content could be well liked because it offers helpful hints, provides some humor, or teaches the consumer about something they feel will benefit them. Whatever the reason may be, blogging is a highly valued marketing tool because it keeps your current audience interested, but also brings in new customers from search engines and social media sharing.
Facebook pages, posts and comments
Facebook is an incredible platform for strategic marketing because demographic information, groups/pages, and statistics are readily available to you. Posting to a company page regularly and including appropriate hashtags and keywords will help you grow followers, but great marketers know that it’s best to also include links to blogs and other shareable content.
Similar to blogging, Facebook provides a user-centric space where posts can be easily shared and reposted to someone’s friends or followers. What can be even more targeted is when you post information to a specific group. If you’re writing about the coolest new sports jackets that are functional for skiing, and you post the link in a group that’s joined by 50,000 people who love to ski, you’re able to get people who are most likely to purchase your items reading your post and clicking on your links.
Additional social media
You might find it hard to believe, but for a large portion of Millennials and Generation-Z don’t think of Facebook as being “cool” anymore, and they seek their social media scrolling time elsewhere. The best marketers are able to keep up with trends and redesign graphics and visual content to coordinate with each new platform.
For example, on Instagram, square content, Boomerangs, and minute-long videos work best, especially when they’re accompanied by hashtags in the description or in a comment. One of the downsides though is that you can’t post a link back to a website or other post. Or can you? Marketing is about staying current, and if you’ve updated your Instagram app recently, you’d notice that Instagram stories now allow accounts to post links, making it simple for the user to swipe up and be brought to the external site.
Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn can also be amazing marketing tools if you understand how to reach potential consumers on each platform. At the end of the day, you need to understand your audience. Post where it makes the most sense to find the demographic you’re aiming to reach. And if you think other demographics could be interested in your services or product, but just don’t know it yet, find creative ways to meet them where they are and educate them about how they could benefit from your brand.
Print ads and other graphics
It might seem more traditional, but print ads are still a valuable marketing tool to reach tailored audiences. Print ads are still a primary resource for target marketing and data still shows that they convert the most people who see them into future consumers. Known for building trust, using print advertisements and other visual graphics will significantly support your online and digital presence on social media sites.
Don’t leave print ads out of your next marketing plan, they help support your brand more than you may have realized, and the best marketers know it! The BRMC team has connections with all local media outlets in Blue Ridge GA to include newspapers and e-zines. We also work directly with local print shops in Blue Ridge GA for postcards, business cards, rack cards, and other printed materials. Design requests are quick and easy to submit – on average designs are turned around within 2-5 business days!
Native content and trends
One of the most popular trends in marketing right now is to produce a commercial that the audience doesn’t realize is an ad! Featuring your content in another platform’s content is often called “native branding” or “sponsored content” and it integrates your product or service into a digital space that is already trusted by a large audience.
Working with other brands and partnering on content exposure is an amazing strategy to influence buyers, but like with anything, too much of it can have the opposite effect. You don’t want the audience to feel as though they’ve been tricked into a commercial, instead they should feel as though a brand they already trust also believes in using your product.
Just remember that understanding where your audience exists in the digital landscape is just as important as understanding where they’d see your print ads. The best marketers know how to craft campaigns that interact with consumers and teach new customers how the product can help improve their life. Be consistent and relatable, while using trusted techniques to build your company.
As a small business owner in Blue Ridge GA or the Tri-State area it is important to understand the unique marketing needs of our area. Blue Ridge Media Company is a full service creative agency specializing in marketing, advertising, and web development in Blue Ridge GA. Curious about our other works? Be sure to check out our Portfolio!
