Jan 04 2016
When it comes to digital marketing, many business professionals are intimidated and don’t know where to start. That is understandable – it is a large and confusing world.
If you aren’t sure where to start or what you really need to know about digital marketing, consider starting with the Digital Marketing Foundations that every business professional should know.
Social Media: More people check Facebook every day than read a newspaper or listen to the radio 
(actually more people check Facebook every day than shower). Social media is the #1 activity online. This means that you can’t afford to ignore it. Regardless of your business you need to understand this powerful tool and how it impacts you. Take the next step to get social media certified.
Search Engine Optimization: Most people start with search when buying anything. You can’t afford to not understand how search engines actually work and understand how your business is represented on search engines. It blows my mind how many businesses are DEFINITELY losing out because they don’t look at how their business shows up in search engines. Take our NEW course on SEO with over 6 hours of training on everything you need to know to get your website ranking in search!
Website Optimization: It is amazing how many websites still don’t work well. Most businesses hire a website company and end up dissatisfied because they feel like their site doesn’t work well…. They are usually right. Your website is the core of your digital marketing and the center of your online presence. Learn about usability and user design so that you have a website that doesn’t just look pretty, but actually serves a purpose. Take our Websites Course and learn how to build a strategically planned website that gets results.
Conversion Optimization & Planning: All marketing and all digital marketing is about getting people to do something. Conversion optimization is about getting more people to do what you want them to do. Conversion planning is about building a roadmap to drive people to take action. If you want results from digital marketing, you’ll need to convert people.
Content Marketing: Content marketing really sits at the intersection of a number of digital marketing areas – social media, conversion planning, search engine optimization and more. The big idea is that creating great content improves your online presence and helps with your marketing. Understanding content marketing will help connect the dots between your marketing strategies.
Online Advertising: Online advertising is an incredibly valuable tool – any business of any size can easily run ads with a budget of any size. The targeting opportunities mean that your advertising can reach exactly the audience that you want to get in front of. Businesses ignoring online advertising are missing out on a huge and simple way to get new customers. Take our Digital Advertising Course and learn how to master digital ads across all channels.
Email Marketing: Email marketing has been around for a long time, so many people forget about it… it remains one of the most effective digital marketing tools and one of the best ways to drive action from people who are interested in your business. Yet most people send out the same boring emails without ever thinking about how to optimize them to get better results. Take our Email Marketing class to get big results from your email campaigns.
Mobile Marketing: These days mobile marketing shouldn’t be a silo – the reality is that we are marketing in a mobile world. This means that mobile should be a consideration in everything you do….. from your website to email to your in-store experience.
If you are a business professional you can’t afford to ignore these powerful tools and at least understand how they work. Take some time to educate yourself on Digital Marketing Foundations so that you can have success in the coming year!
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I constantly spent my half an hour to read this blog’s articles or reviews daily along with a cup of coffee.
I enjoy your post. Could you give me some advice how to best do our link building?
Hi Krista! I know that all of, these things are so important but for small companies like mine, it’s very difficult to find and trust someone outside to do these for me. I’d love it if you started something like an Angie’s List for social media and digital marketing. Everyone trusts you so they would trust your recommendations. Just a thought. Enjoy the Netherlands????
Great post Krista! I love Judy’s comment above too! Would love to see a directory of marketing agencies and service providers, along with reviews from REAL businesses!
I hear this all the time – “it’s hard to find someone to trust”, especially in this industry. My advice, Judy, is to talk to other small business owners who have had success and get a referral. There are some great companies out there and trust is a huge factor in choosing the right one. Thanks to social media, people are quick to share their thoughts and experiences – both good and bad! If you find someone you might want to hire, check out their LinkedIn profile and do a search for “company name + reviews” to see what people are saying about them.
Google recently posted a great video on how to hire an SEO. You can find a link to the video on my blog: http://www.bareknuckledigital.com/google-shares-how-to-hire-an-seo/
Hi Krista! I know that all of, these things are so important but for small companies like mine, it’s very difficult to find and trust someone outside to do these for me. I’d love it if you started something like an Angie’s List for social media and digital marketing. Everyone trusts you so they would trust your recommendations. Just a thought. Enjoy the Netherlands????
Thanks for the comment and I completely agree!!! Finding people you trust to help with execution is extremely challenging. If you are looking for recommendations we do have some agencies that we work with and can recommend. Thanks for reading and commenting.