Hands up if you have a marketing strategy?
If yes, that's brilliant (although posting on social media shouldn't be the only activity you invest in).
If you're not really sure where to begin, don't worry, hopefully these few tips will help you shape the direction you want your business to go.
But first before you do the doing you've got to identify your audience. Families? Older couples? Once you know who your audience is it can help inform your strategy. For example my guests are on average over 50 and visit Exmoor with their dogs for a walking holiday.
Then you need to identify what you want to get out of your marketing activities. Brand awareness? Sales? So now you know what your objective is and who you're selling to. Now you you have to get on with the marketing! We've all heard of 'hook, line and sinker'. It works for Marketing. Hook your audience - eye popping imagery, headlines and intriguing opening text will grab your customers attention.
Line - give the customer you're story. Why are you different? Why should they buy from you?! How will you make their life better or solve their problem?
Sinker - here's where you offer that all important solution to their problem. Why engaging in your services or why buying your product will be the answer they're looking for!
Every transaction we make is driven by emotions. How will buying that pair of trainers make you feel? What emotions will that second hand watch purchase envoke? How would a stay at a holiday let make them feel?
Firstly digital marketing is of course, a prime opportunity to catch the eye of those potentially willing to spend their money with you. Google is where it's at. A strong website with relevant keywords in the written copy, fresh unique copy (such as blogs) and back links linking with other more authoritative websites can really help boost you up those all important rankings, there's lots more to Search Engine Optimisation (let me know if you'd like to know more on this!), but these are the basic principles to look at. 75% of people will never scroll past the first page of Google, so it's really important to invest in this strategy. 53% of organic web traffic comes from Google. That's 53% more potential customers you could get.
Once you've nailed your web strategy. Think which social media channels will my audience be using? Then focus on that. Look at the average audience for every platform to help you choose. Video content is definitely a more successful content form, its 1200% more likely to be shared than a photo. Use language that will want someone to read the whole caption. 'Pssttt... here's a secret, do you want you know where you can see the best views on Exmoor?' .
You've then got content marketing, written articles in magazines or publications are great if you've particularly got something unique. Don't ever underestimate the power of the written word, particularly if the publication is read by your target audience.
Then you've got marketing opportunities when it comes to your customers. Think about what you can do to get them to return. A 10% off voucher, business cards? From the first interaction with customers get them engaged in your social media channels.
There's so much more to marketing strategies, pay per click, advanced search engine optimisation, promotional opportunities. We can help with all of that if you're a little stuck!
But in the meantime, hopefully these few little tips will help you come up with a focused strategy that will help your business grow!
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