In the next 60 seconds an estimated 3.8 million Google searches will be conducted, 3.3 million Facebook posts will be uploaded, 149,513 emails will be sent, and 1440 posts will be scheduled on WordPress alone.
In the same time 448,800 tweets will be sent out, 69, 972 Instagram images will be uploaded, and 500 YouTube videos will roll out. And these figures are just based on statistics from 2016.
In the next few years the content hitting social media and websites is set to increase exponentially, making it even more difficult to be heard in a crowded online space.
By 2020, it’s set to equal 1.7 megabytes of data created every single second, meaning the dull roar of competitive content will compound to an unadulterated din.
The answer? You need to stand out in the digital space, and the time to start is now.
An identifiable brand
Carving out your niche in the digital realm starts out with an identifiable brand. You need to create an entity that resonates with current and potential consumers. Branding is not just about pretty pictures and impressive fonts, but involves encapsulating your business ethos, mission and vision, and ability in one single neat message.
It’s about the difference you offer your customer. Why are you better? How do you service them more effectively than anyone else?
Importantly that brand extends to how you operate, with attention to the services you provide, the reputation you already have, and the story you tell.
Your website as a marketing vehicle
Your website is the first point of reference for any potential customer seeking to understand what your business does and the quality of the service or product you offer.
Part of an effective branding and then marketing strategy involves ensuring this website adequately represents your entity, but also acts as a tool to attract the attention of prospective clientele.
And this is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO allows your business website to act as a marketing tool, ensuring any person searching for the services or products that you offer, comes across you first.
The reason this is so important is that statistics indicate most people won’t go past the first five listings on a search engine results page (SERP).
According to statistics by Chitika Insights, 32.5% of the audience share goes to the number 1 search result, 17.6% goes to position 2, 11.4% goes to number 3, 8.1% to position 4, and 6.1% to position 5. That figure continues to decrease as the results rank lower, resulting in a statistic that indicates 95% of all web traffic results from Page 1 of Google.
Creating a marketing strategy
If branding is about creating a recognisable and appealing entity, marketing it is all about placing that entity in front of as many potential customers as possible. It involves knowing your ideal customer and ascertaining where they hang out. Then it’s all about creating messages that are likely to attract their attention.
But first you need to understand where your audience is at. Some of this might be an educated guess, but it’s always better to back that with research to ensure a good result.
This research generally involves finding your audience through paid advertising on various mediums. This helps understand exactly where your audience is and what they respond to. The aim of the game is to test and trial the relevant media and message and then use analytics to specifically understand what works and what does not.
Once you know what attracts your audience’s attention and which media appeals to the them, it’s time to create a content marketing strategy that includes stories, images and video likely to attract their attention in the places they’re looking.
The right content in the right place
Statistics indicate content marketing is an effective strategy that was employed by 90% of companies in 2016, with even more utilising it in 2017 and 2018.
The art of using it effectively comes down to creating a consistent and integrated strategy.
A solid content strategy includes social media and website posts that work to:
- Establish you as an authority in your field
- Provide relevant and interesting information to your audience
- Attract people to your products and services on your website
In turn, the traffic to your website also continues to build your site’s profile and move it up the search engine rankings. In other words, content marketing is a tool that increases exponentially over time.
Rinse and repeat
This type of marketing builds results that multiply over time. It’s a bit like sewing seeds that continue to reap an ever-increasing harvest. Only when a strategy is committed to and progressively built upon will it create effective results now and further into the future.
Content marketing is a long-term practice that has the potential to seriously boost your brand profile and audience reach over time. It is a practice built on the measurable numbers offered by analytics and honed by the expert creation of compelling content crafted to intrigue and attract an audience.
About Openseed
At Openseed we specialise in planting the seeds of customer reach through compelling brands and SEO optimised websites. We then nurture kernel of great content, devising strategies and storytelling to support business in their ongoing conversation with their customer. Ultimately it reaps an ongoing harvest that delivers business real and proven results.
You can learn more about our services here or contact us directly to start that customer conversation.
