It’s easy to be overwhelmed by how fast digital marketing has grown – trust us, we know. About 10 years ago all you needed was a website (it barely had to be designed well…such dark days those were). Then along came a thing called SEO and you needed that too. And then, bam! PPC and a zillion social spaces – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope, Ello, Vine, Tumblr…and let’s not forget digital’s highest ROI producer today, e-mail marketing.
When you pause to look at what each brand must maintain to have a strong digital voice, you realize digital is no longer a full-time job, it’s a full-time tribe.
It’s also a big fat endless cycle of creativity and measurement (we’re quite addicted) and a mix of always trying something new (Snapchat anyone?), while making sure you consistently and simultaneously tick the basics.
We get it. It’s a lot, and in a world of “a lot” it’s easy to forget the simple things.
I’m personally a big fan of K.I.S.S. (Keep it Stupid Simple) and so for everyone who’s giving it their best in the digital space, here’s a friendly reminder of some basic digital cross-promotion hacks that are too easy to forget, but too powerful to ignore.
1) Your social audiences can play with each other every now and then (just not too much).
Anyone out there thinking, “Oh hey, I need an Instagram?”
It feels like every week a new social space is born and when you finally make the strategic decision to let your brand hop on the latest the first question becomes, “how do I get people to like / follow this thing?”
There’s not a single answer to that question, but there’s an easy hack that should certainly be executed (strategically, of course).
You’ve got Facebook fans, right? Tell them you’re new to Instagram! If you’ve got some youngin’ fans (Gen Z and Y), they’re probably already living it up on Instagram and would be happy to follow you there (provided, your content doesn’t stink).
NOTE: As with most things in digital, don’t forget to strike a natural balance. A post or two announcing your new social space is fine, but keep it at that. It should be no different than you naturally telling a couple of friends that you purchased a new tie or purse – You might mention it once, and maybe even twice if you’re super stoked, but you wouldn’t post it everyday, would you?
2) If you’re a local business (and especially if you’re retail or food) make sure that everywhere you place your address and phone number is accurate and presented in the exact same way, every time.
I can’t tell you how many times we hear “Yeah, we have a Yelp account somewhere but no one checks it and I have no idea how to log in.”
Ummm…what?! Our reaction is a subtle version of this:
You know that people use Yelp to find local businesses right? And that you are a local business? And that they (your customers) say stuff about you on there? And that other people read that stuff? And that Search Engines read that stuff too? DID YOU KNOW?! (shaking with disbelief…)
So we finally get their Yelp page claimed and the address hasn’t been updated since three locations ago. We like data, but we can’t possibly measure how many customers they’ve missed out on when this happens.
Come on guys, this one is easy.
P.S. This also happens with Google Places (which most people use to GPS you), Facebook Pages, Foursquare Pages and all sorts of other digital shenanigans…
3) If you’re a social brand (and you should be), your e-mail marketing campaigns, and your website, should have social media links on them.
Another simple one – how easy would it be to input these links (and style them up!) into your e-mail blast signatures or on your website near the header?
This is a kindergarten hack that’s too often forgotten so here’s your friendly reminder!
Actively practice becoming a social brand. In fact, place small social calls-to-actions on every piece of marketing material you can.
4) On-site SEO. Do it.
I can’t tell you how many people I talk to that want ongoing SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but can’t provide access to their current website. In our humble opinions, the most important place SEO starts is on your actual website.
If you aren’t sure what on-site SEO is, research it and get to it (or call us, and we’ll get to it). Make sure you are using only “white-hat” tricks, or tactics that comply with Google terms of service.
If you are actively trying to market your website, but haven’t yet optimized it for search engine indexing, then you’ve taken what should be a rewarding and simple mission and turned it into a difficult effort in which you can’t gain the results you deserve.
5) Embrace a cross-promotional state of mind. Get excited when things can crisscross in a healthy and easy way, then take action.
So many easy digital cross promotion hacks can be discovered if you simply adopt the mindset of keeping your eyes open for them.
Can you use social media to gain more e-mail subscribers? Yes.
Can you send out an e-blast making sure your most loyal customers know that they can get the inside scoop on your Twitter? Yes.
Can you share your most interesting blog posts on your social media pages to gain additional website traffic? You bet.
Have some fun and start cross-promotion hacking away.
Of course, if it gets a little tricky, you can always call the tribe.
