The Case for Investing in Digital Marketing in 2021

Investing in marketing in uncertain times can be a difficult strategy to reconcile with – it’s not always clear how and when you will see your return on investment. However, if there is one thing the global pandemic has underlined more than ever, it’s the importance of having a strong online presence for your brand. In such a competitive environment, the need to increase your online visibility and optimize your site’s conversion rate often demands an investment in digital marketing tactics. In this article we’ll review our favorite online software solutions that have helped our clients and business tackle digital marketing. Each of these provide powerful tools for anyone looking to streamline their marketing efforts and make the most of their budget

For Research

Understanding who your customers are is key when choosing the right marketing tactics for your business.  Often, you may find your site is not converting as well as it should but can’t point to exactly what the issues are. Using data analytics tools will help you identify the demographics, interests, devices, and search preferences of your customers, which can greatly improve the outcome of targeted ad campaigns and social media messaging. 

Google Analytics is the leading source of website data for businesses. It helps you gather insights about your site, such as what attracted customers to your site, what pages are generating the most revenue for your company, and how your ads are really converting. Analytics is free to use, but you can always upgrade your version to include monthly reporting and additional premium features with Analytics 360.

Crazy Egg and HotJarare also great tools to gather performance knowledge about your site without the need to look at numbers. With their heat mapping interface, these tools provide you insights into the overall experience customers have when they land on your website – and the areas of your site that could be improved. They use color-coding to point out the content sections that are most and least attractive to customers, the time it takes for users to browse through your content, and how users respond to different versions of your content with landing page A/B testing. Crazy Egg offers a 30 day free trial and Hot Jar has a “forever free” plan available. Both tools offer premium features for a monthly fee depending on your traffic volume. 

For Design 

Messaging’s efficiency is tied to what that messaging looks like. Ensuring your design is consistent across social media posts, newsletters, downloadables, videos etc. will not only increase your brand awareness, but also build customer confidence in your brand. 

Canva is a great tool that you can use to create downloadable content, newsletters, social media posts and landing page mockups. The tool provides a library of template suggestions which provides you with both the right sizing for your material as well as creative ideas to get you started. Canva’s pro version gives you access to a license-free library of images, stock video, and more. 

Spark is also a great tool to create content for social media graphics and videos. As part of the larger Creative Cloud Adobe Suite, the tool provides access to templates for posts, stories, and videos, so you can create animated posts and more. You can upgrade to an individual account or team account depending on your needs, but there is a free version that works just as well. 

For Campaign Automation

When tackling digital marketing, one of the most important needs to consider is automation. Automated tools allow you to eliminate manual and repetitive tasks such as response emails, social media posting, and monthly ad campaigns. The ability to seamlessly integrate these elements with triggers (for example, from customers visiting and purchasing on your site) goes a long way to improving your customer experience and increasing sales.

HubSpot is focused on improving your site conversions by centralizing your online marketing channels in one dashboard. Through a series of tasks, including email, social media, ads, live chat, and more, it allows you to build specific customer journeys and launch triggered campaigns based on customer performance. It also helps you build your CRM by storing contacts from your lead generation efforts, which also simplifies launching ongoing campaigns. HubSpot offers a freemium version that offers these basic tools and allows you to upgrade your account as you grow. 

Autopilot is much more focused on email automation. By integrating your eCommerce, the tool allows you to run trigger emails based on the journey customers take on your site. Tasks like sending a purchase confirmation, responding to a contact message, pursuing an abandoned shopping cart, etc., are easy to set up. Autopilot offers customizable templates and can also build and manage contact lists and design email campaigns to further your email marketing efforts. 

One last tool you should consider using (if you aren’t already) is Google Tag Manager. This platform allows you to manage tracking codes, pixels and third party tags without having to edit any code on your site! The platform will not only help make sure all of your tracking codes are properly working on your site, it will also help you keep your site’s code clean, which has become important for Google’s ranking criteria. 

In uncertain times, what works is not a sure bet, so keeping an open mind to experimenting and adjusting your digital marketing efforts is key for a long-term strategy. This can be daunting for many, but with the help of the right tools we’re confident you can navigate to success.