Digital Marketing Tips To Boost Your Sales

Digital marketing tips are to be ignored at your own peril. Digital marketing utilizes multiple channels to help get your message out there and grow your business. However it can be tough. There is a rather large learning curve associated with it. Because of this, we have complied the complete cheat sheet that will help you. Whether its email or social media, we have some tips and tricks of the trade that will put you ahead of your competition.

All the info contained in this article is as a result of our years of experience. Everything we advocate is tried and true.

Disclaimer: This is a mammoth of an article, to give you some cool ideas that could, with a bit of effort, positively affect your business bank balance.

As stated above; the goal of this article is to give you insider industry knowledge that would have taken you too much time to figure out on your own. This article encompasses the entire industry. Yes, we give you tips on the different aspects of digital marketing. Everything you need to succeed is right here.

We will break down the ideas into various categories, they include;

1. Social Media hacks
2. Content marketing steps you should not ignore
3. Email marketing tips
4. YouTube cheat codes.

In addition to that, as a special bonus, we will add one key tip that will transform how you market online. Ready? Lets get started;

Digital Marketing Tips for Social – 20 Social Media Hacks

Here are a few Digital marketing tips for Social media can transform your business. People are spending countless hours Tweeting, hash tagging, doing TikTok dances and guess what, there is a large possibility your future customers are doing the same

Here are some quick social media hacks that you can leverage to drive business growth;

1: Always push your handles

Whether you are at a webinar or any other event, always remember to plug your social media handles. If you have a YouTube channel for example, make sure that your social media handles are prominent. In addition to that your website should also prominently feature your social media handles. Letterheads and business cards? Make sure your social media handles are front and center.

2: Join in the bandwagon

You need to be an active participant in your community. This means posting regularly and joining the daily hashtag trends. Yes, you are not as young as the kids who are doing it, but boy does it work.

3: Instagram stories are key

This is a popular Instagram media type. On Instagram stories you can be spontaneous and creative without worrying too much about being perfect. As a matter of fact, be as authentic and as honest as you can be. Your audience will respond well to that.

4: Pinterest works really well

I have never been a big Pinterest user until recently, and boy did I miss out. Post your best visual media, i.e images, infographics and and link to your website, and watch the traffic come crashing in.

4: Keep and eye on your competitors

Knowledge is power. Its easy to keep an eye on what your competitors are posting. For example, with the Pages to watch feature on Facebook, you can see which of your competitor’s posts get the most shares and likes. Get to know what is working and copy, copy, copy (what they are doing, not their content)

5: Share user generated content from your audience

This is a great way to provide a fresh perspective to your audience. Also it will help you build stronger bonds with your customers and prospects. Most often, people trust content from the average person than from a company or brand.

6: Hold a giveaway contest

We all love free stuff. You love free stuff, your customers love free stuff. A good old fashion contest is a great way to engage your audience. This will help you grow 70% faster than accounts that don’t hold giveaways.

7: A tag a friend contest will work wonders

If you are an avid social media user, you will notice that people often tag their friends in post that they think their friends will find interesting and enjoy. The trick is to do this without being too overly promotional

8: Let your audience have a behind the scenes look

This will show your audience is made up of real people who get up every morning to work hard and provide products and services that make a difference. This will strengthen the bond between you and your customers.

9: Steal a gen z tactic- use more emojis

Maybe you think you are too old and sophisticated to use emojis. But let me tell you, emojis increase engagement. Be warned however, take the time to know what the different emojis mean and use them appropriately. An eggplant emoji looks all innocent but you can’t just use it anywhere

10: Create a how to video

Videos are just really good at breaking down concepts and explaining them. In addition, you have the benefits of using animation or footage of what you are trying to explain. In addition to that its very sharable.

10: Run online polls

This can be a great way to engage your audience and find out their preferences. You can then use their feedback to tweak your products and services to serve them better. This is a really important part of our digital marketing tips too.

11: Go live on Facebook or Instagram

Maybe you are shy. Maybe you are afraid your live session will end up like a facetime because only one person, will attend. You shouldn’t be afraid. People spend up to three times longer watching live than they do prerecorded videos. Leverage this.

12: Strength in numbers

Amplify your capabilities by partnering with other brands. Ideally it shouldn’t be a competitor but rather a company whose products or services complement yours really well.

13: Jump on trendy topics

Yes, people want your take on current affairs. But be warned, opinions can be taken positively or negatively.

14: Always share tips and tricks

Let your audience know of the best ways of doing certain things. Give them ideas, inspiration and perspectives on how to do certain things. They will be ever grateful for this.

15: Video testimonials

This goes without saying. Average people singing your praises is more effective than you singing your own praises.

16: Host an Ask Me Anything series

This is quite popular and it shows your audience that you actually care. Taking the time to answer questions is a sign of caring.

17: Let someone else take over your social media

If you work with influencers, this is a must do. Not only does this give you a fresh perspective but it also allows your brand to get infront of new people.

18: Repurpose your content

Creating content takes a lot of hard work, make sure you squeeze every last bit of value from your posts.

19: Conduct an interview

This sometimes serves as an alternative to a Q&A session. You are able to dive into a vast array of topics, discuss them and create value for your viewers.

20: Create a meme

Life is short, don’t be boring. There is a time and place for memes, but when it works, boy does it work

Digital Marketing Tips for Content – 20 Content marketing strategies

We all have that one friend who only contacts us when then need something. There are also business versions of that friend. They only get in touch to sell us something. Don’t be one of those. Take time to create value for your customers. Content is one, if not the best way to create value for your customers.

Here are 20 tips that you could implement right now and transform your content marketing.

1: Understand who will be reading your content

This goes without saying, you need to really understand your customer. This will inform your content marketing strategies. Make sure to use a variety of content types and channels that will help you deliver content tailored to each customer persona.

2: Understand what problems you are solving for your customers

Before you send out one email or post an article, you need to understand what problem exactly you are solving for your customers. It is very futile to spend time writing a blog post that your customers don’t really need.

You should consider the two types of consumers; those who are already using your products and services and those who are still trying to figure you out

3: Understand and capitalize on the things that make you unique

Its a crowded world. Millions of new products are launched on daily basis. An army of newly skilled people are entering the marketplace, all eager to sell their services. So how do you compete? By being unique. By understanding your unique selling points and capitalizing on them.

4: Understand what content types resonate with your audience

For example, we all know that gen Z have really short attention spans. That is why they love short form video formats like TikTok. The older generation, don’t get me wrong, still respond to shorter videos, but they don’t mind longer form content. The older generation won’t bat an eyelid watching a 90 minute sports game just for a few highlights, while the younger ones prefer the highlights only, 90 minutes is too much.

Some people respond better to written formats. Others audio books and podcasts work for them, especially the really busy, because they can do other activities while listening.

You need to meet you audience where it is and understand what formats work will for them. Remember rule number one?

Once you decide on a content format, start creating a budget and figure out what sort of resources you have at your disposal that you can allocate for this purpose.

5: What are the various channels that your content will live on?

Again this is purely dependent on what your audience will respond to. And there are numerous channels.

For written formats, i.e blogs you have the options of

• Your website
• Third party platforms like Medium
• Other people’s websites
• Online newspapers
• Online magazines

The list is endless.

For video formats, i.e videos, depending on your goals you have an assortment of channels at your disposal, e.g

• YouTube
• Vimeo
• Your own website
• Plus the other options listed above

6: How will you organize the various activities of content creation and publication

Believe me, it is very easy to get in over your head in content marketing. Lets say you pick a multi channel, multi format strategy for your content strategy. Keeping track of your content calendar, quality control and research will become very time consuming.

Don’t underestimate the power of staying organized. Also, if you have the funds, delegation of work is mandatory. As your team grows, learn how to collaborate and learn from your competitors and peers on the best ways to be efficient.

7: Always run a content audit at the start and regularly after

Its imperative to know your top performing and low performing content. This information will guide you on what steps to take next.

Figure out your goals and what you can do to keep on improving the quantity and quality of your content. Understand your weak points and improve on them. This is a very simple trick but few actually do it. Most stumble in the dark and are shocked when their peers significantly outperform them.

8: You need a content management system (CMS)

As mentioned above, keeping track of a multi channel and multi format strategy is hard work. Keeping tabs on everything is not as simple as it appears. You need a CMS that can help you create, manage and track your content across different platforms.

With most CMS you can plan, produce, publish your content then measure the impact its having on your audience.

9: Now its time to brainstorm content ideas.

Creativity is tough. Coming up with content ideas is tough. Everything is tough, hehe. But you are tough too, that we know. This will arguably be the hardest part of content marketing. You need to come up with content ideas that not only demonstrate your expertise, but resonate well with the consumer.

Not sure about where to start, you can use this tool BlogAbout to come up with blog titles.

10: Proof read/ Quality control

Before you hit publish, as excited as you may be, remember to proof read your work or go though it to correct errors. A simple spelling mistake will dash your credibility. A factual error on your video will make it seam that you did not put any effort in at all.

11: Research, Research, and More research

Content marketing is all about displaying your expertise to the world. Suffice to say, for you to be able to display expertise, you need expertise. Fake it till you make it won’t work in the long term. You need to be a bonafide expert in whatever it is your are creating content on. You need to understand your industry inside and out. That is the only way you are going to develop content leadership.

The library (physical or virtual) will be your new home as from today. Books and research material your new family.

12: Seek to keep learning

A common stumbling block among the so called experts is complacency. You have and individual who has been in the industry for quite a while, they have developed unparalleled domain expertise. Then they stop learning. They stop improving. Soon enough, their knowledge gets stale because they have not kept up with the advancements in their industry. Don’t be that kind of chap.

You should be at the bleeding edge of your industry

13: Stick to your brand guidelines

If you are going to be publishing content, make sure to stick to your already battle tested brand guidelines. Now is not the time to experiment on exotic layouts and colors. Stick to your base look and feel. This will create a sense of consistency across your content. This sense of consistency will boost your efforts. This is because your audience know what to expect.

14: Be Consistent

Speaking of consistency, always strive to show your audience that you are consistent. Consistency however has many angles;

• Always be time consistent in that your content is posted regularly
• Strive to be consistent in terms of quality, don’t drop your standards
• Also be consistent in terms of values. The values that you exude in your content should be the hallmark of who you are.

15: Understand your customer journey map

Understanding your customer journey map will enable to be familiar with your customer’s pain points. You will be able to know why is it that they need your product, how they discover your product. You will also be familiar with the keywords they use on Google to try and find solutions for their problems. This is a goldmine. If you are then able to address their issues, they will be your customers for life. Also it will become easier and easier to find customers.

16: Understand your resource and capability limits

Understanding our limits helps us understand what we must overcome

David mbwana

Your time isn’t infinite, you money isn’t infinite. You need to understand how far your capabilities stretch in order to develop an appreciation for your current resources.

Your would not spend countless hours watching useless YouTube videos if you appreciated the fact that you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to writing for example.

17: Always seek to streamline your process

I had earlier touched on this issue, but its important we expound on it. Efficiency will make or break your business. If you are able to accomplish a lot on a smaller time frame, this will have a very large impact on the quantity of work you are able to do.

This is crucial in content marketing.

18: Segment your audience for effective delivery

Always segment your audience. Don’t target everyone. Focus your efforts on where you will derive the most ROI

19: Understand the hedge hog model

The hedge hog model is based on the old tale about the fox and the hedge hog. Now, the fox is clever, it know a lot of tactics when it comes to staying safe. However the hedge hog is good at one thing, rolling into a prickly ball. It does this one thing really well.

Its better to be a master of one thing than be mediocre at a bunch of things.

20: Hire someone

I Intentionally saved this for last. This is a derivative of step 19 above. You are much more effective when you focus on what you do best, as opposed to trying to do everything. Don’t be afraid to hire, whether in house or an agency.

Digital Marketing tips for Email – 20 Email marketing tips

Email still works. Don’t believe me, learn how to do it well, then give it a try.

Here are some 20 must know tips on how to get the best results

1: Obviously you need to know your audience.

We have harped on this point over and over again. Indeed, it forms the basis of all marketing.

2: Use the double opens strategy

The double opens strategy or rather the double send is an excellent way of increasing your email opens and thus ROI.

So what does it entail exactly?

The first time you send an email, there is going to be a percentage who won’t open. This isn’t because there is anything wrong with the email, but rather, maybe they were not feeling the title. You could resend the same email to those who did not open, but with a different title. Use this trick sparingly though. Lets look at the benefits however;

• One gets to really know what sorts of headlines your audience responds to
• Time is saved as you are not creating lots of emails
• You are able to give your customers value.

Now, I am not advocating you ram a bad email down their throats, but rather in the event you had a weak headline. Don’t resend it straight away though, wait a while.

3: Use Cliffhanger suspense headlines

The entire purpose of a headline is to make a reader click on it. You need to hook your recipients by triggering their curiosity. This is an old school technique that holds something back. This will indeed drive them to know more. A word of warning, this can get pretty annoying, so use sparingly and make sure the payoff is actually worth it

4: The pre-header text is important

Aside from the title, this makes an impact and determines whether the reader will continue. A most common mistake is neglecting this section. Learn to optimize your pre-header text

5: Your Call To Actions (CTAs) should fall in line with the context of your email

Instead of using generic CTAs like “shop now” etc, make sure your CTAs are

• Descriptive
• Easy to act on
• Hard to miss

In addition to that, they have to blend seamlessly with the word choices that you use in the email.

6: Engagement should always be a priority

Most people approach marketing with too short term a goal, making sales. This is the complete opposite of what you should be doing. Your focus should be on making a connection with your audience. This is almost a cliche.

People join emails lists because they want to know more, rarely is it to buy from you. Engagement is the secret of good returns on emails

7: Keep the subject line brief to stand out on mobile

Did you know that more than half of all emails are opened on mobile? Unfortunately with mobile you do not have that much space. Keep your subject lines short and concise to draw in your reader. A quick tip to utilize, use numbers, “30” takes up less space than “thirty”.

8: Manage your email frequency

Over 40% of people will mark your email as spam. This is because you are sending too many darn emails. So watch the frequency of sending the emails.

9: Split test your emails

This is one of the best ways to improve the quality of the emails that you send. It is often tempting to go with your gut instinct, but this is a wrong approach. Your assumptions will be too far off the mark, instead focus on split testing your emails. Base your decisions on data rather than assumptions.

10: Prune your email list regularly

Everyone loves a large list, but remember over time, your email addresses get stale. Some people change their email addresses, some no longer want to receive your emails, some email addresses simply get shut down.

Pruning your email address will help you maintain good deliverability numbers. What use is a large email list if a significant number of emails bounces?

10: Brevity is the secret to engagement

Keep your emails short. No one has the time to read a novel in their inbox. Hell, no one has the time to read emails already. They are making a sacrifice because they know your email is good and provides value. What often dissuades readers is emails that simply don’t end.

Don’t believe me? Do an A/B test to find out

11: Stay updated

Le Bron James still attends practice. Irrespective of your industry you need to keep your skills sharp. Read books, attend seminars, attend workshops, consult with experts.

We all could add to our skillset, especially in the online field where innovation is rife. Better ways of doing stuff are being invented all the time.

12: Repurpose your content

Coming up with content takes a lot of work. You need to squeeze every last bit of value from your content. This you can do by repurposing your content. For example, you could repost your newsletter as a blog article.

13: Create good content

This should not be a tip. As obvious as this is, it gets ignored. Don’t create for the sake of creating or filling a quota. Create with the intent of proving value. Set yourself apart from the mediocre bunch

14: Personalize your content

Everyone feels unique. We don’t want to be lumped into a group. Our problems, seem unique. As such emails that are personalized, are better received than cookie cutter templates.

15: Ask for reviews via email

Asking for reviews is awkward, but emails offers you a painless way to get all the reviews that you want. An added benefit of these reviews is that they are customer written and address the solutions that you came up with for their specific problems. This creates a vast database of use case scenarios for your products/services

16: Encourage social shares

Email marketing isn’t a stand alone channel. Always encourage your users to share what they find valuable. This will spread the word and as they share, you will inadvertently get referrals. Word of mouth is powerful

17: Proper grammer

User proper grammar, people will take you more seriously. This is especially important in serious industries such as finance.

18: Collect emails ethically

Don’t be one of those wierdos that buy emails from dodgy sources. Collect your emails ethically, first to ensure that your content is relevant for the email list and two, to avoid annoying people. Annoyed people will mark you as spam , report you, block you. This ruins your credibility especially to Google.

19: Enjoy what you do

This is not necessarily an email marketing tip but if you enjoy what you do, chance are you will be more productive.

20: Its ok to hire someone

All this can seem very daunting. You may be even wondering where you will get the time and mental bandwidth to do all this. Remember, its ok to let someone else handle it

More email marketing tips can be read here

22 YouTube Cheat Codes

Digital marketing tips for video are as follows. You know Video is in right now. Video is the future. You need to get off your couch and jump on this bandwagon. The brands that are currently leveraging YouTube are absolutely, KILLING IT.

Here are 20 tips to get you started

1: Have a good and memorable name

People have short attention spans and even shorter memories. Don’t set unnecessary hurdles for yourself. Make sure your name is easily committed to memory.

2: Research

Don’t turn your camera on, unless you actually know what your audience wants to know. You have to find topics that your audience is searching for. There are several ways of doing this;

• Google keyword search
• Social media
• YouTube search bar itself

3: Invest

This is more so with regards to audio equipment. Make sure that you get good gear. Remember though, buying expensive equipment isn’t necessarily the only way to get good equipment. Used equipment can offer really great value. But you need good equipment, sell a kidney if you want. But always remember, the most successful youtubers out there don’t have audio issues, video quality issues etc

4: Consistency

Print out this word in bold letters and stick it on your wall or bedside. Read this word everyday when you wake up and read it when you go to bed. YouTube only cares about consistent content creators.

5: Thumbnails

The right sort of thumbnail will get you lots of views. People are curious by nature. Leverage this, create thumbnails that scream click me.

6: Fix your lighting

A badly lit channel is a pain to watch. In fact, my petition is that we send them to North Korea so that they could use them for torture.

7: Again, you need to write engaging must see titles

Writing titles is an art in itself. This is a skill that you need to perfect if you ever want to achieve YouTube success. Always present your content as a must see. A word of warning however, you need to avoid clickbait headers. People crave entertainment and as such they need to know what your content is about.

If you can, sneak in relevant keywords in your titles.

“how to’s” are always a safe bet

8: Optimize for visibility

Some YouTube videos rank higher than blog articles. So think of your videos as any other piece of content. Some tips

• Always include keywords in your titles
• Mention the keywords in your videos
• Engagement is important, this is how Google/YouTube knows your content is good
• Categories help in understanding what your video is about

9: Cross promote your videos online

This is a really effective trick not many know about. Drop links in the description of your other videos. Squeeze more out of your older content

10: Target Google Search with YouTube

The age of video is upon us. Video is absolutely crushing it when it comes to SEO. As I mentioned in a previous point, often times YouTube videos get better search rankings than blog articles.

To be specific, these are “how to”, product reviews and other long form (10minute+) videos. These videos should cover keyword specific topics. Don’t be afraid of capitalizing on a trending buzzword.

11: Run a give way or contest

This is a tried and true winner. Host a contest and encourage people to subscribe. Remember to keep your contest simple, often a like or comment to enter.

Be careful though, you need to make sure you are not wasting your resources with the give a ways. Use this tip selectively.

12: Create a specific series

This is a smart way of keeping your visitors always coming back. Create a YouTube series that is about a recurring theme or topic. This will also hold you accountable in creating new and fresh content. You viewers will love the consistency and YouTube will reward you for delighting its users.

13: Embed your video

If you a have a website, always embed your video. Go further, ask website owners if they could feature your video. If your content is relevant, they won’t say no.

14: Use a playlist to organize your content

Unfortunately the more videos you create the harder it gets to move around your channel. Playlists are important because they allow you to group your videos into categories and keep your channel organized. It also appeals to your viewer’s desire to binge.

15: Call to Actions are a great way of increasing engagement

Sometimes, simply asking for engagement works. Not everyone who watches your video is going to like or subscribe, so it is important to remind your viewers.

This is more so if you are an up and coming channel. Don’t be embarrassed about asking for some love, especially if you deserve it.

16: Live streaming, give it a go

This is a really big trend. It got big because it must be working. There is a reason why everyone is doing it. You can use live streams for;

• Your Webinars
• Live tutorials
• Q&A sessions
• Demonstrations of your products

The list is endless

17: Collaborate with other brands

This is will help expose your brand to other audiences and also introduce complementary brands to your viewers. Everyone wins. The best part is that the new audience is also likely to subscribe to your channel.

The key to success is finding the right partner.

18: Pay for ads

Sometimes its time to pull out the big guns. If you are a new channel especially, its not going to hurt if you give your viewership numbers a bit of a boost with ads.

19: Remember to publish on social media

This goes without saying. Socia media will give you access to more people who may love your content. That is how you build a fanbase.

20: Find your niche

Don’t try to create content for everyone on YouTube. Find your tribe and create content for them. Whether it is the beauty industry or the sports world, take the time to find your audience.

Pro tip, you should really love the topics that you are creating content for.

21: Be patient

Its going to take a while. Just focus on creating good content and the rest will follow. Don’t get bothered by seemingly overnight success stories.

22: Enjoy the journey

YouTube offers you a platform to exercise your creative muscles and delve into what you love. Don’t look at it as a job, but rather as an outlet for your passions. Enjoy every minute of your decided vocation.