Digital Marketing: Content & Keywords & Links Oh My!

Is feeling overwhelmed the norm in digital marketing? As a new student of Social Media Marketing that is exactly how I am feeling! My homework assignment is to write a blog post about digital marketing. I must say I don’t feel qualified to write expertly about digital marketing. I have learned lots already, but mostly I have learned how much I don’t know! So please take this for what it is, a newbie, a wanna-be social media marketing expert, just doing her homework! We all have to start somewhere – RIGHT? Oh, and if you want to share or comment on my Beginner’s Guide to Digital Marketing, please feel free. I could use some encouragement and I have a lot more to learn. Here are some of the questions circling around in my brain: How can I organize and implement Suse Barnes brilliant tips shared in Social Media Marketing: Maximizing Your Visibility Social and SEO class? How can I simplify the process of building my brand with Digital Marketing and Social Media? How can I avoid being sucked into the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ of Social Media and Digital Marketing? Here are my answers (so far): Make a list, follow the rules, measure, tweak & repeat! Follow the rules (these are my rules only): Think critically Be creative Be customer–centric Listen Have Fun! Follow the list  1. Build content strategy Plan ahead Set measurable goals to achieve Determine who my audience is and what they want Provide valuable content that ‘speaks’ to my audience Prepare content in advance so social, email and website are all in sync 2. Build a system Keep track of campaign progress and activities performed Record successes and failures that can be used to fine-tune future campaigns Centralize content and other collateral Use automation to help reduce workload Create editorial calendar Have a social media plan 3. Optimize for Search – SEO & SMO Ensure content is reader and search engine friendly Make sure website content is the best it can be Do keyword research Build links Use social networking Communicate with the search engines to improve ranking Ready for a short break? Watch this fun video on Digital Marketing from Mediative. The video is a few years old but is still relevant. ok let’s get back to work… 4. Use inbound marketing Earn people’s interest by creating and sharing content they value Earn People’s trust by being present Be first or at least on the first page in Organic Search 5. Focus on website architecture and landing pages Optimize website Pages must be user-friendly and straight to the point Website must be intuitive and easy to use Optimize site for mobile visitors 6. Develop a social media plan Know who the audience or customer is Develop my story and tell it in a compelling way Have a “theme” for the coming months Focus on key channels where my audience is Engage with audience – prioritize human-to-human connection over sales 7. Use analytics Measure results to find out which digital marketing strategies are or are not working So there you have it, A Beginner’s Digital Marketing Survival Guide. Thank you for reading my homework! Digital Marketing – Be Creative, Listen, Have Fun!