Principles we should not forget

This article will focus on principles of digital marketing which seem to be misunderstood or forgotten.

The proliferation of digital platforms has caused chaos in some areas of marketing communications. Many people joined groups such as 'Social media ruined marketing' and 'Marketing is death'. Everyone is crazy about social media, apps, mobile and video marketing. And it is great.

But I do believe that all marketing principles apply to these new communication platforms.

So here is what you should remember about the trends in digital promotion.

1. Do only things which are relevant to your business.

If you do not know why and how social media, mobile or video marketing can contribute to achieving your business objectives, then you should not do them. Do not do something because everyone is doing it.

The truth is that it is difficult to be good at digital marketing. Let's take social media. It could be waste of time and effort for quite many businesses. For example, if:

• your audience is not there
• your audience does not know you are there
• your audience does not care that you are there

More importantly, often consumers have holistic perception about a brand or a product. They do not distinguish between adverts, PR, video marketing or through social media promotion, although they may understand the terms.

Now, think what you do. Probably, you have focused on a mix of digital and direct marketing. Great, these are really powerful tools and they can make or break a brand.

But what will happen if your social media messages are inconsistent, irrelevant or they are all about 'I liked you page, come and like mine'? You know the answer.

So if you do social media, do it for the right reasons and do it right.

2. Be consistent.
Some experienced marketing practitioners compare social networking with publishing a magazine. If the content is not regular, exciting and consistent, then anyone is doomed to fail.

The reason is simple.

First you fight for attention and once have it, you must maintain interest. In the course of time, your audience makes a habit of visiting your website, your Facebook fan age or tweet about you. But if you are not there, if you do not engage them on regular bases, then either the habit will never happen or it will be replaced by something else.

3. It's all about timing, knowledge and insight.

Marketing principles and knowledge are really useful. Good salesmanship skills are invaluable if you try to generate leads and sales through digital channels.

Sales people know how to build relationship over a sensible period of time, make hard-to-resist offer and close the deal. It is the same in social media, for instance.

Think about posts or messages such as 'Make £500 a day with our new programme. Register Now', 'Bring your social media to life with our revolutionary software' or 'Buy our new miracle weight loss supplement. You will lose 15pounds in just a week. Special 15% discount with this link'.

Despite the tempting offers, how often do you click through? Hardly ever.

This is because there is no relationship between the seller and the audience. The idea is not to merely send a message. The message must be received, assimilated and acted upon. This is when you have been successful.

If the marketer joins the conversation and makes an offer too early, then it will not reach its potential and will fail. The marketer should follow the conversation for long enough or/and uses data analysis to build understanding of the needs and expectations of the participants. Then he/she must try to address these in a suitable offer and start a meaningful and profitable relationship.

4. Every piece matters.

Every piece of communication must be designed to give customers/prospects more sophisticated knowledge of what your company does and how it does it.

If you imagine a funnel, your target audience will be on the top of it. Your messages and offers must move them down through the funnel until they come from the other end as customers. Then your objectives should change.

Once acquisition is achieved, you should start striving to prolong your relationship with customers and increase how much they spend. Bear in mind that some customers are worth ore to your business than others. For this reasons, your proposition and service must be varied.

5. There is more than Facebook.

If you are interested in professional networking, then you should focus on LinkedIn and probably StumbleUpon.

Facebook is good for your branding and other marketing communications. It's a place where you can be cool and funny, post your new advert or just engage with your fans and customers to show them that they matter.

But if you want professional insight and connections then Facebook is waste of time. In this case, compare your LinkedIn connections and Facebook fans. This will give you an idea how much more important the business side is and how big a distraction Facebook can be.

6. Make your employees ambassadors of the brand online and offline.

And here is where Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, YouTube, apps, videos and all other digital platforms come together. This is free genuine wholehearted promotion.

Loyal and satisfied employees committed to customer delight are what could make massive difference for your business. This could be valuable drive of broader consumer attitude change and brand preference, source of new business and customer loyalty drive.