We’ve been looking forward to the year ahead and put together our top 5 to-dos for the New Year. These are areas we think have the potential to make a significant impact on your marketing and communications in 2018, allowing you to pull away from the pack and deliver real impact.
Break out of your cocoon and explore the wonderful world of social media. You might be set up on LinkedIn or Twitter, but that’s just the beginning. Instagram and Facebook may not seem like the right environment, but we’ve seen some companies really thrive on these platforms when it’s done right. Spread your wings and fly onto the screens of the people that will make a difference to your business.
Great UX means users get drawn through your site like following the irresistible white rabbit. Figure out what users really want from your site. Make it easily available so they don’t even need to think about where they need to go, and they’ll tumble through the purchase funnel, increasing conversion by up to 400%. And always drink the potion to start small – mobile screens help you prioritise your content; it’s much easier to adapt and add content for larger screens, than cut down for smaller.
Channels don’t exist in silos anymore. Your PR strategy is fundamental in driving SEO and online coverage works hard in building your website’s quality backlink profile. Any PR or article you write should include the right keywords and have optimised links so it shows up in relevant searches. And don’t forget to set up your eagle-eyed analytics to track how one piece of content may be triggering a conversion down the line. If your content is really making a difference, make sure you capture the stats to prove it.
If you’re winning in Google’s world, and making the most of their oddly named algorithms, you’ll already have great content, plenty of backlinks to credible sources and accurate results dependent on geography. When people search for your company, they’ll find a long list of links to Wikipedia, Glassdoor, social media platforms and a company website with references in publications and award announcements. Get your content right and make sure you’re owning page 1 of the results.
The spaces where you find your audience and the ways they engage are constantly evolving. What worked two years ago may not be as effective as some of the methods available today. Testing allows you to find out what really works and delivers to your objectives. Always be open to testing new or different targeting options. Look at what content performs best – is it sales focused or educational? If it works, stick with it. If it doesn’t work, learn and move forwards.
These useful tips are just a starting point – there’s plenty more we could talk about, especially when we start looking at the specifics of your business and with the learnings from our Communications and Marketing Survey 2017/18.
Get in touch with the Cognito team today and see where we could take you and your business in 2018.