Our Top 3 Digital Marketing Articles | Week of September 4

One thing that is constant in the field of marketing is CHANGE! Staying up to date can be overwhelming for sure. I feel like I spend a lot of time staying current – nevermind getting ahead of the what’s coming next. Today I’m sharing a round-up of 3 articles that I’ve recently read thought you might also find informational and interesting. Some are more recently written than others, but all the information is still relevant today. Let me know your thoughts about them and if you’ve stumbled upon any good articles recently.

Want to deliver great customer experiences? Here’s what not to do by David Baekholm

Great customer service is key to any business. There are a lot of businesses in every market competing for the same customers and it can be a challenge to get their attention. Baekholm and his business decided to approach this issue from the angle of what didn’t work to determine what did work. They started by figuring out what didn’t work – things like irrelevant landing pages, annoying ads, and cumbersome checkout processes to start focusing on what did work. They also examined media metrics to discuss what they needed to focus on.

My reflections: Learning what not to do when it comes to customer service can be just as beneficial as figuring out what to do. By understanding what your customers value and what is important to them you can tailor content directly to them. You don’t want to be annoying visitors to your website with web pages that don’t load properly, ads that aren’t relevant, and difficult checkout processes.

Must-Have Website Elements for Professional Services by John Jantsch

Your website should be one of the most valuable assets of your marketing strategy. But your website cannot just be pretty to look at, it must be functional for it to actually give you the results that you’re looking for. Four key jobs that your website should be providing are helping you to get found, building trust, educating and informing, and nurturing and converting. As you’re thinking about the content on your website, you should remember to speak to your specific audience, find your point of differentiation from other businesses, be intentional about the visuals and designs on your site, and ensure your webpage is mobile optimized.

My reflections: Websites can be such a valuable part of your business and marketing strategy, however, there are so many websites out there that aren’t optimized to provide customers with the information that they are looking for in the way that is easiest for them to access. Especially in today’s world, so many people access websites on their phones so it’s key to make your website mobile-friendly.

Facebook Group Admin Tools and Updates by Grace Duffy

Facebook has made a lot of changes to the platform recently that are aimed at helping business owners build their communities and platforms. Facebook expanded group insights and now allow brands to link their existing Facebook ad pixel to their Facebook groups. This allows marketers to track growth, activity, and engagement. Additionally, they are experimenting with the ability to pin comments in conversation groups in threads. This allows for group managers to have more control over conversations.

My reflections: Facebook is always making changes to their platform. Many of these recent changes are to help business owners be able to better use the platform to connect with their customers. Staying up to date with the changes can be overwhelming, but by deciding which portions of the platform are important to you (pages, groups, interactions, providing information to customers) you can decide which pieces to focus your energy on. If you use Facebook Groups as part of your marketing strategy – some of the aforementioned changes could be highly beneficial for you.

Meredith Oliver is a digital marketing expert, sales and marketing professional speaker, and author. If you’d like more information on speaking engagements or books, visit MeredithSpeaks.com For sales and marketing tips, you’re at the right spot! Take a look around Meredith Communications. Follow her on Twitter: @MeredithCSP and follow her killer shoe collection on Instagram: @MeredithsShoes22.

Categorised in: Small Business Marketing