Owning a small business is already one of the toughest jobs out there. You’re not only the CEO, you’re usually the accounting department, the sales department and the marketing department. Oh, and if there’s a moment you also need to spend some time doing whatever it is you’re in business to do.
The good news is a slew of new trends show that at least one of your jobs could be a lot easier. When it comes to your marketing, you’re no doubt trying out a few different things online. You’re managing customer interactions through your website, maintaining a social media presence, and publishing content, whether on a blog or on a newsletter.
It can be a complicated process, one further complicated by the ever-shifting playing field of the online world. Today’s hottest online platform can be tomorrow’s memory. The newest, hottest way to get your message out there can be dated by the time you finally execute. We get so obsessed with chasing what’s hot and what’s new, we end up devoting endless time to the pursuit.
So why not keep it simple?
Get In
The fact is, your message is one of hundreds if not thousands of messages that your customers will see throughout the day while idly thumbing their way through the web on their phone. And among those messages, every one of them is hash tagged six ways from Sunday and urging your customer to sign up for this newsletter, follow them on five different social media platforms, follow this web series and click this link.
There is value in all of that, don’t get us wrong. A comprehensive approach to marketing, optimizing both the number of eyeballs you get in front of and the sales that result from that attention can be a great way to drive sales. We’re just saying it’s not the only way.
Let’s look at two numbers that indicate why it might not be a bad idea to leave the endless cross-posting and analytics behind and just keep your message simple.
The first is 71, as in the percentage of online time spent on a mobile device. Your customers are still living their online lives at a desk, for a small part, but by and large when they’re online they’re holding your message in the palm of your hand.
Get Noticed
Online users aren’t generally looking for that rich, immersive experience. They’re not looking for the attachment of joining a loyalty club or the time investment of reading your blog. Most of the time they’re just doing it out of habit, out of boredom, or just as a way to kill a few minutes. If you’re going to reach them, you need to get in and out of their way with that tiny tidbit of information.
Whatever your message is, you need to get your point across very quickly for it to be picked up in that split-second pause between swipes. It needs to be easy to read, quick to digest and simple to understand.
At this point you may ask yourself, “Well what good does that do me?” It’s a fair question. If you’re not putting the message out there as a hook that you can then use to lead your lead down the sales funnel to a sale, what’s the point of simply letting them know you exist?
The answer to that is our second number: 48. Also our third number, 33.
Get Results
Let’s explain this point.
According to Google Insights, 48 percent of mobile research begins on search engines (you’d imagine the majority of that is on Google, but Google was modest enough to issue the blanket term search engine). A further 33 percent of searches begin on branded websites.
That’s 81 percent of mobile path to purchase that starts with the customer typing in what they’re looking for or going directly to your site. And do you know how they know your name?
Because your name, your message was that one simple, clear, easy-to-digest piece of information in their daily five hours of idly scrolling through the web on their phone.
In the sometimes overly-complicated world of online marketing, with its millions upon million of buzzwords, maybe “simplicity” is the only buzzword you need. You keep your message simple, you make it easy for your customer to remember your message. And when they’re ready to make a purchase decision, your message will be the one that stuck with them through all the chatter.
Of course, the best way to keep it simple is to let our experts handle your online marketing by calling 904.359.4318, or filling out our contact form.
Like what you read? Looking for additional tips and tricks to help your small or medium-sized business succeed? Check out more of our blog posts here.
