Digital marketing has created new and powerful channels of communication that can generate measurable improvements in all stages of the sales funnel.
Technology has been evolving for thousands of years, but the dynamics of the “Sales Funnel” are timeless.
Stage 1. Fill the top of your sales funnel with leads.
Stage 2. Convert raw leads into Motivated, Qualified Leads
Stage 3. Close the sale
Effective digital marketing should do the following:
- Draw prospects into your website
- Engage their interests and respond to their concerns
- Convert them into motivated, qualified leads who contact your sales team to complete their purchase or simply buy online
First: Raise Awareness and Drive Traffic
Let’s break this down: digital marketing has three major ways of attracting leads
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization, or “SEO”, refers to the set of strategies you can use to help boost your site’s ranking in search results for specific keywords or phrases. In short, it’s all about helping your target audience find your site when they are looking for your goods or services.
It takes time to improve your ranking, but the effort can produce long-term dividends. Learn more about SEO here.
Digital “Networking”: Social Media, Blogs, Third-Party Websites, Earned Media, and More
The online world is not so different from the offline world. One of the best ways to raise awareness is to go where your target audience is and start a conversation. This could mean posting interesting and useful content on social media channels, guest-blogging, or getting reviews or media coverage on influential websites.
In addition to generating awareness, and when done properly, this will also boost your search engine ranking!
Digital Ads
Digital advertising is a quick way to put a message in front of your target audience. Whether you’re advertising on search engines (Search Engine Marketing, or “SEM”), on display ads on other websites, or in people’s social media feeds, you will have a remarkable amount of control over:
- Who you target (by geography, interests, demographics, etc.)
- How much you want to spend
- Learning about what is–and isn’t–providing ROI
Learn more about digital advertising here.
Second: Engage Website Visitors and Encourage Them to Take the Next Step
OK, you’ve raised awareness through one or more of the channels listed above, and you’ve convinced your target audience your website is worth their time. Now what? Make sure your website capitalizes on this opportunity.
- Make sure your website is easy to access and navigate on all devices
- Engage your visitors with useful, interesting and relevant information
- Present “doorways” on your home page that correspond with your visitors’ hot buttons
- Present them with clear next steps, or “Calls-to-Action”, so that they know what they should do next (e.g. get in touch, fill out a form, subscribe to your newsletter)
In short:
- Qualify your Leads
- Raise their Motivation
- Channel Motivated, Qualified Leads into your shopping chart checkout or over to your sales team via phone, email, or Lead Management System.
Interested in executing a holistic and effective digital marketing strategy? Let’s talk.
