The Secret to Effective Digital Marketing and How to Put it to Work for You

Tamara Smith | Studio Three 49 | KNOW Raleigh

You want to know the secret to effective digital marketing? Here it is: content and consistency. It might not be sexy, but it works. Don’t worry that doesn’t mean you have to start a blog, if writing isn’t your thing. Here’s how to put content strategy to work for you and your business.

I’ve read more than one article and listened to more than just a few podcasts with notable entrepreneurs, business owners and other high performers celebrating the fact that they start their days at 4:30am. One just this last week, in fact. His 4:30am routine included an infrared sauna, trampoline and a BioCharger, all before 6:00am. Nope, that’s just simply never going to happen at my house. And while I can’t get on board with a 4:30am wakeup call, I can get on board with the merits of that kind of routine and consistency. Especially when it comes to your business marketing efforts.

Doing digital marketing well for your business.

Doing digital marketing and social media well for your business is very different than doing it well personally. Promotion, value, community building, there’s so much that goes into it. And the thing we see most often is businesses jumping into it solo without any plan of action or way to measure success. The second most common mistake? Never sticking with a strategy long enough to generate a return before they’re off trying something else. You know shiny object syndrome. The result is a lot of wasted time, money and effort on tactics that fail to provide the best (if any!) results. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there is no silver bullet.

The secret to effective digital marketing.

You want to know the secret to effective digital marketing? Here it is: content and consistency. It might not be sexy, but it works. And you don’t have to overcomplicate it—share what you know, make offers and do it consistently. That’s it. It’s so simple and obvious, and yet it’s often the hardest thing to do. Don’t worry that doesn’t mean you have to start a blog, if writing isn’t your thing. There are many forms of content and many mediums with which to share it. For you, that might be video. Think about the questions your clients and prospects are repeatedly asking and answer them with a series of introduction, “how to” or behind the scenes videos. Don’t be afraid to give your expertise away for free. Remember, there’s a huge gap in the market between knowledge and taking action. The goal of all content is to attract, engage and eventually sell to your ideal client. Video is a powerful way to accomplish that goal, and like writing, you can then repurpose it. Whatever your “it” is, pick one and do it with consistency.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

And don’t think you have to constantly reinvent the wheel. Decide on your 3-5 content topics, 1-2 offers and repeat them in rotation. Like diet and exercise where everyone wants a magic pill to lose 10 pounds before the weekend, everyone wants to find the quick trick or social media hack that will see them get 10,000 followers, loads of new website traffic and add-to-cart clicks overnight. True, lasting results don’t happen like that. And conversions regardless of how you define them—a booked consultation, product purchase or something else—take time. Like any relationship, the one with your ideal client starts by making a connection. With a consistent content strategy, you have the opportunity to not only make real, genuine connections, but also build trust with your audience and start conversations. And conversations create opportunities for conversions!

Lynne Kimmich

More About Tamara

Tamara Smith is a digital marketer obsessed with helping entrepreneurs and small businesses stand out, be seen and accelerate their success. She is the founder of Studio Three 49, a boutique digital marketing agency specializing in email marketing and social media management. She’s helped clients across a broad range of industries develop smart digital marketing solutions to successfully grow and scale their businesses. Tamara has been featured in VoyageRaleigh and Career Girl Daily. She lives in North Carolina with her French bulldog and races mountain bikes competitively.