GET YOUR FREE DIGITAL PRESENCE EVALUATION

Signs That You Need Help with Your Digital Presence

Digital Presence

Years ago, digital marketing was seen as a novelty. It was a luxury to have a business website, let alone a digital marketing strategy that included components like emailed newsletters and search engine ads. These days, businesses can’t effectively compete without a digital presence, website analytics, and comprehensive marketing tactics. As digital marketing has grown and evolved over the years, so too has the way in which businesses deal with it. Large corporations often have their own digital marketing teams, complete with social media managers and search engine optimization specialists. But for those that don’t, outsourcing the company’s digital marketing needs is often the solution of choice. If any of the following issues seem familiar to you, then it could be time for you to get professional help with your digital presence solutions.

Your bounce rate is high and your conversion rate is low.

Your website acts like the digital gateway to your business. To entice more customers to complete shopping transactions, sign up for newsletters, or make appointments with service professionals, your website needs to be well-designed and feature compelling content. Otherwise, potential customers will navigate away from your website quickly, and there’s a good chance they will never return.

You aren’t sure what bounce rates are.

Everyone is an expert at something. No one is an expert at everything. There are plenty of entrepreneurs who launched their companies without having a degree in marketing. Let’s take the hypothetical example of Harry. Harry is a certified public accountant (CPA) who is very good at helping his clients manage their financial matters. Harry starts his own firm and creates a bare bones website for it.

Since Harry was a popular CPA at the firm where he used to work, he expects that his own firm will be equally popular. But most people who visit Harry’s website navigate away from it after visiting just one page. (That’s a bounce, and the percentage of visitors who do it is a bounce rate.) Harry does a little reading and realizes that it’s important to have a digital marketing strategy. But he has to keep up with tax law and meet his clients, and he has no time to deal with bounce rates. Harry realizes it’s time to hire a digital marketing team to handle analytics and marketing solutions.

Your short-term goals have become long-term goals.

Goal-setting is a key characteristic of effective business owners and managers. SMART goals are those that are specific, measurable, actionable (or attainable), relevant (or realistic), and timely. Countless successful business owners use the SMART model of goal-setting to propel their businesses forward. Of course, after you’ve set your SMART goals, you need to periodically check up on them to ensure you’re still on track. And if you aren’t on track, you’re probably overextended. It’s time to think about outsourcing some of your goals to a digital marketing team.

You aren’t sure what your target audience is.

Your entire digital marketing strategy should stem from your buyer profiles, and those buyer profiles are based on your target audience. If you aren’t sure whom you’re selling your products or services to, it’s time to get help for your digital marketing strategy. An experienced marketer can identify your target audience and develop clear buyer profiles, enabling your ads to speak directly to the individuals who are most likely to buy your products.

Your current marketing campaign isn’t scalable.

Few companies stick with the same marketing strategies year after year. Certain marketing channels and strategies may work for a while, but aren’t necessarily scalable. When it’s time to take your business to the next level, reach more potential customers, and generate greater sales, you need a team of digital marketing experts who can help you revamp your marketing strategy.

Your website doesn’t clearly present your brand voice, mission, or message.

Every brand should have its own voice and values. Executives and employees may understand what those are, but does your target audience? If your target audience doesn’t know what the company’s values are, then something is missing from your digital marketing strategy. Let’s say that Harry the CPA has built his business on the values of integrity, honesty, and transparency. But right now, his website only lists his services, specialties, location, and hours. Perhaps Harry also has a brief bio of himself and his credentials, but this isn’t enough to truly engage with his target audience. When Harry hires a team of digital marketing specialists to revamp his website, his brand voice becomes clear and consistent, and his target audience can identify with his values.

Your website isn’t getting many visitors.

Website traffic is essential in the digital era. If your site statistics have fallen flat, or your site has never experienced any traffic spikes at all, it’s time to outsource your digital marketing strategy. Digital marketing experts can use the effective techniques of inbound marketing and search engine optimization to put your brand before more eyes, and convert those visitors to customers.

Your website isn’t getting much mobile traffic.

These days, effective websites must be navigable on any device, including laptops, iPads, and smartphones. Plenty of online shoppers use mobile devices to search the Web. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile traffic, these visitors will bounce away pretty quickly without making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

You aren’t sure how to measure your results or deal with digital analytics.

Google Analytics is a potent marketing tool that business owners can use to determine who is visiting their website, what they’re doing, which pages they’re visiting, and what they’re buying. For example, Google Analytics allows website administrators to see data on the following categories:

  • Page views
  • Visits/sessions
  • Unique page views
  • Unique visitors
  • Hits
  • Entrances
  • Bounce rate
  • Time on page
  • Direct traffic/referral traffic
  • Organic search traffic
  • Paid search traffic
  • Events
  • Goals

If you aren’t familiar with some or all of that terminology, then you have a long journey ahead of you. You could spend hours poring over resources on understanding, interpreting, and applying Google Analytics—or you could just outsource your digital marketing needs to an agency that specializes in it.

You find social media platforms to be frustrating and confusing.

Social media marketing is an integral component of an overall digital marketing strategy. Most business owners recognize this, even if many of them don’t feel comfortable utilizing it. This is particularly true of business owners who belong to the generations that came before the millennials. If you didn’t grow up with Facebook or even its precursor, MySpace, then you might not feel comfortable tweeting about your upcoming sales or posting your restaurant’s new menu on Instagram. There’s definitely a learning curve associated with social media marketing, so save yourself the frustration and hire a team of specialists to deal with it instead.

Your business can benefit from partnering with Salem Local Digital to gain access to a full menu of digital presence solutions, including e-blasts, e-newsletters, social media marketing, search engine marketing, and reputation management services. Our digital marketing specialists can put your brand before millions of eyes. Salem Local Digital works with both local and national businesses, so contact us today to begin working toward your growth objectives.

We welcome the opportunity to review your free digital evaluation with you in person and show you how we can improve your listings accuracy and online reputation. Use our request form today!