Marketing in 2019: What You Need to Do Differently

You can’t succeed in 2019 doing the same things you did in 2018 if you expect change and improvement – especially this year because of disruptions in the marketing industry.
2019 is the year for your pivot.

Marketing is an ever-changing industry. In no time at all, tactics become old, algorithms change – customers get more savvy. You can’t succeed in 2019 by doing the same things you did in 2018.

If you want change and improve your business, you’ll need to pivot your marketing efforts to some degree. In other words, adapt to change.

You can’t succeed in 2019 by doing the same things you did in 2018

Search Engine Optimization – Organic Rankings

A good place to start is your organic search strategy. Google’s ranking algorithms are ever-changing, so what worked one or two years ago simply no longer works to rank highly on Google.

Google is now looking for richer, longer content. Technical errors and broken links will hurt. The balance between page load speed, time-on-page and character count are just some examples of how your search efforts will need to improve. Moreover, a tight, connected backlinking strategy that connects the content of your website will drastically help ranking. It’s not just about the quantity of content anymore.

Since more and more users search Google with full questions rather than short keywords, showing the internet your domain authority around a specific topic is an important aspect of bringing your search efforts into the new year.

Social Media – Where Your Customers Are

Social Media is another example of the dynamic marketing landscape we’re living in. Social media networks are always tweaking their feeds and optimization settings behind the scenes.

Just posting occasionally as your regular effort may not be enough. This year, consider reaching more prospects by setting up a highly-targeted paid social strategy. This will maximize the posting you’re already doing and put your brand in front of more eyes.

If you’re a smaller business you may not have that many followers to begin with, so increasing the amount of views on your social posts can help raise awareness.

Google Ads – Get Found by Prospects Seeking Your Business

Beyond paid social, traditional paid search can be a valuable way to gain new customers. Paid search has become more complex because of the nearly-unlimited options available now in Google Ads accounts.

Oftentimes we takeover Google Ads accounts from clients and see a very high CPC (cost-per-click) – in other words, wasted ad spend. Lowering that cost and increasing the number of qualified leads is one way to achieve a “quick win” in the new year.

Website Mobile Friendliness – If It’s Not Friendly, You Won’t Rank

How about mobile browsing? The use of mobile phones for browsing is always increasing and 2019 will not be different, and therefore your prospects are finding your business on phones or tablets.

This means you’ll need to have your website optimized for mobile and provide a host of content that is mobile-friendly. Easy-to-read blog posts are a good example of content to easily consume on mobile. The combination of these blog posts and a highly responsive mobile site will greatly improve your organic search ranking and the user experience.

Turn Your Website Into a Lead Acquisition Tool

There may be prospects that come to your website but aren’t quite ready to buy – but they want quick answers.

A bot with live chat can help facilitate that process by directing the viewer to a certain page of your website, or showing them relevant content based on what their interest is. Use of live chat is experiencing high growth rates.
Another option to start a conversation with a prospect is through an intelligent pop-up that collects the email address of a visitor in return for a coupon or information.

Prospects want resolutions to their pain points fast; and a bot or pop-up can help make that happen.

Email Marketing – Stay Top-of-Mind

Lastly, consider email more as a fantastic nurture tool.

In 2019 email marketing is still the powerful tool it’s always been – when done correctly.

Because customers are more sophisticated, emails must look sharp, be to the point and contain value. If those points are not met, the email campaign is ineffective.

Yes, you’ll want to tell your customers and prospects about upcoming events and new products, yet periodically emailing helpful blog posts or popular social posts may be a more effective way to show your prospects the knowledge and expertise of your business.

All of these methods increase your marketing efforts to generate effective leads, but only when the tools are correctly planned and implemented.

Start 2019 by looking at your website, brand and marketing efforts through a critical lens. At Solutions for Growth, we went through this very same process.

We rebranded and turned our experience into a system of successful, integrated marketing tools for small businesses: Local Advantage.

We raise clients’ profiles in the market and increase their business.

Call now or schedule a call – it may be the best first step to make that pivot happen.