By pcaputa@hubspot.com (Pete Caputa)

We are currently living in the age of the internet, and that means your business must cater to it. Promoting your business, your brand, and your product or service can all benefit from digital marketing.

There is an audience to be reached online and a reputation to build from your presence. There is, however, a right and a wrong way to do digital marketing. Check out these common mistakes to make sure you are doing it effectively.

1. Not Having a Blog

Remember that you are not only trying to market your site as a business, you are also trying to market yourself as a trusted industry leader. Publishing blog content that is valuable, informed, and accessible will establish you as a voice to be trusted. Additionally, each blog post is another indexed page for your site, and more indexed pages lead to your site showing up more in Google search results.

Don’t just create the blog, it’s also important for it to be interactive. Ask questions in the comment section to get responses. Also, add guest posts or interviews from researchers or successful professionals in your field. Utilize this blog post writing guide for creating the most impactful post each time.

2. Avoiding Social Media

You might think you can get away with not using social media. I’m sorry to tell you that you’re wrong! It’s an essential way to turn leads into customers. Spreading your content, reaching your audience, and engaging with users will help you promote your business online. But don’t try to do it all yourself; learn why you need a social media manager.

3. Forgetting About Mobile Users

Mobile browsing accounts for about half of web traffic worldwide. So, as you are optimizing your site, don’t forget to also optimize it for mobile users so that the load time is equally as fast as on desktop. Ensure the design of your site is also adjusted to be viewed on mobile.

4. Not Offering Discounts and Promotions

A survey from Retail Me Not revealed that two-thirds of customers made an unplanned purchase solely because of a discount. Online coupon codes or limited time offers are great pop-ups for your site, especially on the landing page or when they may abandon their cart. Your site should also have a call-to-action that can be incentivized with a promotion.

5. Underutilizing Keyword Research

Potential customers need to be able to find you online, so it’s essential to focus on SEO. Identify what keywords are the most relevant, have high search volume, and are relatively easy to rank for. Then, monitor where you rank for each keyword, how much traffic you’re getting from each keyword, and whether the visitors coming from that keyword are turning into leads.

6. Targeting a Broad Audience

Spending your marketing budget to reach as many people as possible isn’t an efficient use of your money. Pinpoint a clearly defined target market that will yield …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog