Technology Redefines Marketing

By Daniel Gordon, Samuel Gordon Jewelers

Marketing has been completely redefined online. In a new era where communication channels have been re-invented and aligned, we now text, share, like, post and can link everywhere we want whenever we choose. Therefore, digital marketing has become more of a puzzle with strategic pieces that if fitted together correctly can show and grow the bigger picture. And hopefully, successful results will be produced at the end of the task. 

Here are several puzzle pieces I have found to be of great value in my marketing puzzle. Please keep in mind it’s different for every business. We all must try and solve the puzzle that is best suited for our own business’ needs at the time.



Social Sites
Social is big, social is web. But, social is also many other things than Twitter and Facebook on the web. Sure, these are great tools to use to communicate with your potential and existing customers, and I highly recommend looking into how these pieces can fit in your media plan. But we shouldn’t forget that word of mouth and real life networking is crucial to forming valuable relationships. I have found they both grow one another. Once you have found your happy medium you will find that online relationships can create offline relationships which, in turn, can lead to more online connectivity which then turns into a healthy cycle of building a bigger network. All social sites have different primary purposes. LinkedIn is business, Twitter can create new friendships, Facebook is, well, just about where every one's at. So have an idea of what you want to achieve. I try just about everything that interests me, but the smart way to go about choosing is to think of what you want to accomplish. There is value in all of them.

Mobile
Mobile is the future. It’s an extension and huge part of most of our daily lives. Whether we are checking weather, stocks, catching up on what friends are doing this weekend or looking up movie times, we reside in and on our mobile platform. I recently created an app for my business. I had no idea how essential a piece of the puzzle mobile has become, and so quickly. My app is a social network built around a jewelry theme. People interact and share their favorite pictures, videos and news about us and can stay in touch with the Samuel Gordon Brand 24/7. It has helped us build our email list (which I will get to next) and we can also broadcast valuable messages by way of push notification if there is a sale or new product line. The most valuable potential customer is one that needs what you have to offer. The tricky part is finding them, right? The person who downloads your app or views your mobile site and bookmarks it is choosing you, and therefore the potential value of being your customer is amplified more than a business could have ever imagined before technology was around.

Email
The most underrated, yet most successful and valuable tool in this “Social Media Crazed” era? You get an email, you’ve got gold. But, please keep in mind it is crucial that people opt-in to your email campaign. You can do this by placing forms on your site and other properties on the web. I would recommend having it everywhere you have a brand presence. Please note: there is nothing that will turn off a potential client or customer by spamming them. Using lists you have built or obtained through other networks that are not exclusively formed by someone signing up and wanting to see the information you will be sending them can ruin your chances of ever seeing them in. Mailchimp is a free service I use and a great place to start a campaign and grow your list. As your list grows larger and needs more advanced features, blueskyfactory is a great place to contact and can definitely handle larger accounts. Analytics within the email campaigns I have run have showed me the power of this method by which to reach your customers. I haven’t seen any statistics better than what Email Marketing can do for my business as of yet.

Blog
Your blog is your corporate journal. A diary where you can list an ongoing communication that lets your customers know what’s new with your company. Some great examples of usage are consumer tips and information. Make sure to think about what you really want to accomplish with your blog before you decide what format to use. Video is very engaging, but does not index as well as text in the search engine world. So, take your time and explore the services. I highly recommend Wordpress, which is self-hosted so you can have your own domain and your content remains your own­— unlike social sites like Facebook and Twitter where what you post is stored and always owned by them. This, just like a website (which a blog can easily be integrated into) is your own property. A place where you can have complete control versus a social media site or a blog hosted on the servers themselves. Definitely a must if you are trying to piece the puzzle together

The S's
SEO, SEM and SEO are the "S's" of the digital marketing world. Each one compliments the others and are the links between social sites, mobile sites, email and blogs.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a way for your business to gain the highest amount of visibility. People today visit at least seven or more websites before they decide to walk into a physical store. People find those sites through many means, but one of the most powerful methods is search engines. Being listed number one sure can't hurt, and people usually don't skim too far down the page. Your site therefore has one of the best chances of being viewed and considered.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a term used to describe link placement by purchasing through services like Google Adwords. While this method has proven successful for many websites, especially e-commerce sites, it definitely needs to be initiated and executed wisely to be effective. People are savvy enough these days to know that the links getting top "billing" are also paid ads that just look identical to the search results beneath or beside them. The more relevant the product or service is to the search result itself, the greater the chance that the searcher will find what they want in what you offer.

Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a relatively newer term that is defined by what you do on the web socially and how easy you make it for people to share your message and participate in your community. If you have a blog, website, or any other property on the web where you want others to share your message, make sure you have the tools in place for viewers to be able to do so. The more you are part of the conversation, the more you are in the search results. This is a cycle that organically takes on a life of it's own and is powered by the people–you just initiate the call-to-action. The better the quality of what you have to offer, the higher chances that people will want to show and share it with the people they care about. This is a powerful way to reach even more people and be given introductions that otherwise would not have ever existed through traditional SEO and SEM marketing practices and campaigns.

Website
Last, but not least is your website. Seems so 1998, but it is where you wrap everything together. Think of it as the box the puzzle comes in. If you have a blog, it can be here, a YouTube channel, or embedded under your videos section. Anything and everything you do anywhere else should point to this, and it should point right back from here. It’s basically the old portal style of the first era web days. We have come full circle in that sense, and now your website is both your jumping off point and landing pad. So think out your strategy wisely so that it will fit nicely when deciding what your website will end up looking like. 

Well, that’s about it. Just a few pieces that have fit well into a jewelry marketing retail plan. I appreciate you taking time to read, and really hope to hear your feedback in the comments section down below on what your experiences have been. What fits and what doesn’t?

Daniel Gordon is an Oklahoma City jeweler who creates the complete digital marketing plan for Samuel Gordon Jewelers. You can read more of his thoughts on his blog and stay connected with him on Facebook and Twitter.

Technology Redefines Marketing

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