For decades, the established best practices for marketers remained the same. Mediums like television, radio and print all saw fluctuations in their value, but for the most part the rules and marketing templates used remained consistent as advertisers sought to reach the masses and relate to them.

The Internet is a different landscape altogether. Marketers who have applied traditional approaches to this new medium have learned the hard way about the inefficiencies that such methods create. In some cases, it almost seems as if what works through digital media is the opposite of the tried-and-true approaches of traditional strategy.

But that doesn’t mean traditional marketers have to hang up their cleats and walk away from the game. In some ways, digital strategy can be developed as an evolution of traditional templates. It’s all a matter of understanding marketing’s digital economy and how consumers are influenced online.

Once you understand the unique breed of the digital consumer, the strategies used to excel online will seem simple, logical, even advantageous over traditional methods. Here are four key points to consider as you adopt a digital approach.

Aim for quality, not quantity, in reach

Traditional marketing is all about reach: Getting ads out in front of as many consumers as possible. The cost of ads is priced accordingly. But reach online has become an outdated notion as targeting tools allow businesses to refine their approach. Instead of blasting an ad out to X number of consumers, and hoping some of them respond and make a purchase, you can filter your ad exposures based on indicators and other information, including demographics and location, so that ads only target quality individuals — those considered more likely to make a purchase.

Thus, total reach has no value online. Instead, businesses want to be selective when choosing who to advertise to online. By using discretion and valuing quality over quantity, conversion rates can increase and your return-on-investment will be greater.

Embrace the ability to adjust and refine

Traditional marketing campaigns are developed and then released into the wild: Marketing departments wait in anticipation to see whether their latest campaign is a hit or a miss. It can feel a bit like gambling because even the best marketers can miss the mark and fail to connect with consumers, resulting in a poor performance from that campaign.

Digital marketers can be subject to the same inconsistencies when it comes to developing a campaign, but they have tools to bail them out in the form of analytics engines. Because no campaign is ever perfect right from the start, digital marketing allows analytics to evaluate the results of campaigns as they occur. If performance is falling below expectations, analytics tools can offer insight into why that might be happening — what techniques or marketing materials aren’t working, which consumers aren’t engaging the materials, etc. This way, marketers can make instant adjustments that change the strategy and lead to better campaign results in real-time.

Let computers do some of the dirty work

Analytics tools are just one way computers are improving digital marketing. Digital targeting tools are effective in identifying the best types of consumers to target based on a variety of information, including past online behavior. Similarly, keyword research tools and ad pricing tools, including mobile bid adjustments, can be integral in fine-tuning strategy while increasing efficiency and your per-ad cost. This will produce greater returns on your investment, stretching your digital marketing dollars and increasing ad relevance.

Of course, there’s still a place for traditional marketing, and you don’t have to scrap those practices just to take on digital opportunities. Whether you are solely focused on digital commerce or want to integrate digital and traditional strategies with one another, seek out a Denver inbound marketing firm with experience on both sides. Contact DBC Digital today to learn about how you can bring your marketing practices up to speed with your competitors.

Influence.  It’s a word being thrown around a lot these days, especially in the world of content marketing and Inbound (Internet) marketing.

For example, we talk about “return on influence” being the new ROI. But does anybody really know what it means?

Well, we do know that influence is important to effective marketing in the digital age.  In 2012, over 88% of adult Internet users in the U.S. used the web specifically to research products. These consumers were looking for information that would help them make purchasing decisions.

Influential content that persuades prospects to purchase from you starts with a campaign built around establishing your authority.  If your web marketing efforts have stalled, or you just want to get to the next level, you need to create the kind of content that makes people want to take the desired action.  Here are some tips:

Shhh, listen.
Here that?  That’s the sound of your target market.  They’re trying to tell you something and you’d better be listening.  That means that while content creation, web analytics and sales goals are a necessary part of your daily survival, you need to schedule in some time to just listen to what your customers need, what their problems are, and what kinds of questions they have.

Get on social media. Follow your best clients on Twitter and check out their personal and company pages on Facebook.  Also, check out their Google+ pages and their LinkedIn profiles.  Follow the threads they are following.  Comment and ask questions. Offer surveys and start discussions.  Provide links to resources that your best prospects will find helpful.

Then, create the content they’re looking for based on the data you have collected.  You will be able to influence their behavior only after you’ve pinpointed their interests, pain-points and problems.

Write well and often.
Once you’ve established a habit of listening, get into the habit of creating content, and lots of it.  Prolific content creators have the best success in influencing people because they demonstrate an understanding of the public’s need for fresh, updated and timely information.  Publishing on a regular basis makes you the go-to source for useful information about your topic.

And of course, publishing new content scores big with the search engines, too.

What kind of content influences?  While information resonates differently with each individual, authority content is always a winner.  Authority content is based on specific knowledge, willingness to research and a passion for the subject that shows readers you know and care about it.  What specific knowledge do you and your team have?  You can lift your content above the rest by focusing on this knowledge and sharing it with others.

Create an editorial calendar that includes regular blogs, monthly white papers and quarterly eBooks (for example).  Be active on social media.  Establish your authority!

Learn from the masters.
Want to win friends and influence people?  Follow other thought leaders in your industry, check out your competition (follow them on Twitter, link to them, and check out their other social media channels), see what the other experts in your field are talking about and what they’re doing to grow their business.   Invite the experts to participate in discussions, interview them, and pick their brains.  Put the information you learn from them in your blog posts and articles.  By compiling the ideas, solutions and thoughts of others who are already influential, you position yourself to be the resource that people come to for answers.

Influential content doesn’t create itself.  If you’re a Denver business looking for content solutions, consider an Internet marketing service that gives you the tools to make it happen.  It’s one of the best ways to harness the awesome power of content and to earn your company a larger share of its market.

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