Digital marketing has exploded the opportunities available for business owners to expand their market share, advertise their product or service, and connect with potential customers around the world. Previously, businesses were limited by physical location and the bandwidth of their individual staff members in presenting their messages to consumers. Today, you can reach millions of consumers with just a few clicks of a button. The fact of the matter is, if your business is not using digital marketing to its full potential right now, you're already behind.
While digital marketing presents a huge opportunity for savvy business people, getting your message across the multiple digital platforms is not a simple task. You have to compete with an endless barrage of online content, social media activity—and yes, even cat videos—every minute of every day. This is not an exaggeration. According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, if you take the total amount of information created from the beginning of time until 2003, that's the amount of data we now generate every 48 hours. This leads consumers to be overwhelmed, as the infinite supply of content constantly competes for their attention.
Whether you are trying to connect with a prospective client or ramp up your engagement on social platforms, or are ready to take the leap into Facebook advertising, having a strong understanding of the digital marketplace will undoubtedly help you achieve your objectives. NAHREP Consulting Services has teamed up with our partners at AC&M Group, a full-service multicultural marketing agency, on a few best practices to help you cut through all of the clutter, or 'content shock.'
1. Get friendly with Facebook advertising.
Facebook represents a giant potential market for your social media efforts, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to get content in front of consumers in an organic way. Facebook is by far the most advanced and powerful social media advertising option out there, and when used properly, it can be very cost-effective. Facebook allows you to precisely target your content to specific audiences, e.g., by geography, demographics, consumer profile, income levels, etc. For example, Facebook has developed a solution to reach the U.S. Hispanic Affinity Audience—the most mobile and socially active group in the U.S. Learning how to boost and target your content and advertise on Facebook can make a big difference. New advertising tools like lead ads and canvas ads have infinite possibilities for the industry.
2. Live video is a BIG opportunity.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram give preference to live video content by giving them more prominence on news feeds and automatically sending notifications when a profile or page starts a live stream. You have the opportunity to interact with viewers and create engaging content in a creative way. Every day, more than 100 million people view Instagram Stories. People spend three times longer watching live video compared to previously shot footage. Take advantage of this opportunity by using Facebook Live video and Instagram Stories as a part of your everyday social media presence. Touring a house? Go live! Discussing a success story with a client? Ask if they'd mind capturing that moment.
3. Interact as much as possible.
Being on social media requires you to be active in responding and interacting quickly and regularly. Users expect quick responses to their comments, concerns or questions. A study by Lithium Technologies found that 53 percent of customers who ask a brand a question on Twitter expect a response within one hour, regardless of when they tweeted, with that percentage rising to 72 percent if it's a complaint. If you decide to have a social media presence, whether it's on Instagram, Facebook profile/page, Twitter, or other platform, make sure to monitor and react quickly to comments. It is also important to interact with what other people post to engage on a deeper level with your client base. By engaging with others on social media, it creates a feeling of community that is impossible to achieve through advertising alone.
4. Be ready for mobile visitors.
One million new active mobile social users are added every day—that's 12 each second. Make sure your personal/business website is ready for the mobile consumer. According to the Pew Research Center, mobile internet use is on the rise in the U.S. overall and may even be superseding home broadband subscriptions. Most Americans say they use a mobile device to access the internet, especially Hispanic (94 percent) and black (94 percent) internet users than among white internet users (85 percent). Make sure that your site offers a good mobile experience for your visitors. If they are viewing a listing on their mobile device and can't properly load property details, see photos, or obtain more information, you may miss a chance to connect and ultimately lose with the lead—in fact, nine out of 10 people will leave a mobile website if they can't find what they're looking for right away.
5. Don't forget about online search traffic.
Did you know that Google processes 2.4 million searches every minute? Despite social media's importance, don't forget that search is still a key part of the consumer's house research process. Make sure you keep an active website/blog with relevant keywords to help users find them. Make sure that your keywords match the terms your potential customers would use to find your products or services. Offer up content on your site to also help with online searches, and then leverage that content on your social media platforms, as well.
For more information, please visit www.nahrep.org.
By L. Maria Zywiciel, President, NAHREP Consulting Services
Nancy M. Alexander - Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate NancyAlexander.com
