Like every other in the world, the manufacturing industry has witnessed a change in customer’s habits since the rise of Digital Marketing. In fact, as of 2014, a whopping 89% of B2B audiences, used the Internet during their research process.
One can only imagine that the number has increased since all those years, especially in the current times of social distancing due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
If you and your business have little to no online presence, you could be losing a significant number of potential customers. Additionally, there are so many digital marketing and SEO tools that must be used to optimize one’s online presence and increase both leads and sales, that it’s easy to feel lost.
But luckily for you, we have gathered a list of 6 basic digital marketing tools all businesses, and especially manufacturers must have to make their business successful in the online world.
SEO Optimized Website
In our virtual world, the website is the foundation of any business’s online presence. Customers of all industries always spend time researching a business before contacting them. The only difference between now and then is that it only takes one click to find everything there is to know about a business.
With a website, potential customers can learn more about a business, the products and services it offers, its expertise, and even reputation. It is, therefore, crucial to have a functional website for your business.
However, having a website is not the end of it.To increase your chances of finding and keeping new customers, your website must be fully optimized to be seen by both visitors and search engines. Why is this important?
Simply because there are already thousands of websites that offer similar products. What will make the difference between you and your competitor is how valuable and user-friendly your website and content are. If your website is properly optimized, it should convert to sales.
A Search Engine Optimized website is one that has, among other things, user friendly-URLs, good page speed, and device compatibility.
When it comes to websites, many platforms offer fully built templates without the need to code. You can simply choose a template and customize your website pages as you see fit.
Some of the most used platforms are:
- WordPress
- GoDaddy
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Shopify
When a DIY website is not converting clients, you may need to seek a professional digital marketing company. While templates can be pretty, they do not often factor conversions. For this reason, it is often recommended to hire a local SEO agency like the many digital marketing companies in Denver or any other city of your choice.
Social Media Platforms
As of 2019, in the United States only, adults spend an average of 12 hours on social media. This means that people spend the vast majority of their time on either one of the numerous social media platforms. This reason alone shows the necessity and importance of having your business on social media platforms.
But the use of such platforms does not end there. In fact, having a social media account for your business can drastically increase your overall visibility and customer engagement. The goal here is to get closer to your audience, by showing your products and services and building a thriving community through post engagement. Social media platforms allow you to build your brand’s image through social media marketing and good SEO practices.
In fact, most social media platforms offer business features that can be used to improve your marketing strategy through post scheduling, response automation, marketing ads, and site tracking. Some of the best social media platforms for businesses include:
- Youtube
- Google My Business
Coupled with social media management tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite, your business will soon be thriving in the social media world.
Email Marketing
Any proven digital marketer knows the importance of email marketing. It is not only an opportunity to inform your audience on new deals and features through your business’s newsletter but also one to build engagement and product knowledge through event sign up and product launches.
Signing up a website visitor to your email list is still today, one of the biggest wins of a business. With it, you are getting closer to turning every lead into a sale.
Some well-known email marketing platforms are:
- MailChimp
- Constant Contact
- Drip
- ConvertKit
- Active Campaign
- Sendinblue
Marketing Automation
Marketing requires constant and timely communication with potential customers. Because it is particularly hard for people to serve many customers all at once, especially during rush or late hours, it is necessary to invest in marketing automation tools that make communicating with customers more smooth and time-efficient.
Finding a good marketing automation tool will decrease the time needed to define, plan, and organize certain strategies. Routine sales will no longer be as time-consuming as they once were, customers will be served and assisted 24/7 and you will simply have to focus your energy on priority tasks.
Some quality marketing automation tools include:
- HubSpot
- Marketo
- Oracle Eloqua
- Pardot
- Customer.io
- Constant Contact
Call Tracking
One type of tool that many small business marketers unfortunately neglect is call tracking tools. This could be a matter of knowledge, or simply that of the business’s industry; but no matter the reason, it is important to invest in good call tracking tools in order to improve not only your customer service but also your overall business.
Call tracking tools allow you to learn more about the source of your calls. With them, you’ll be able to distinguish between calls that originated from your website, your social media platforms, or an advertisement. Having this information will then help you make better strategic decisions and know where to put more of your marketing budget.
On top of that, these tools often record the calls meaning you’ll be able to come back and listen to each call; thus making sure everything went smoothly and all information was accurately gathered. This can increase user experience and customer satisfaction.
Among the numerous call tracking tools that exist, there is:
- CallRail
- Invoca
- Call Cap
- PhoneWagon
- Ringba
- CallTrackingMetrics
Analytics
Marketing campaigns and strategies mean little to a business when there’s no way to track their effectiveness. Without knowing what makes a certain campaign successful as opposed to another one, it will be hard to make efficient marketing decisions.
For this reason, having analytics tools to track the results of one’s website and social media campaigns is crucial. By collecting data about past actions, such as bounce rates and click-through rates, you’ll learn more about conversions, sales, and user demographics; all of which will help you in the long-term run of your business.
Some helpful analytic and tracking tools are:
- Google Analytics
- SEMrush
- Kissmetrics
- Parse.ly
- Ahrefs
- Facebook Insight
- Twitter Analytics
Summary
Good marketing can set you apart from your competitor. Having a well-designed website, social media accounts, and investing in email marketing & automation, as well as analytic tools are all several ways through which you can positively impact your business.
While this might seem overwhelming for many, there are many agencies out there that offer digital marketing in Denver. And for your SEO needs, many other ones are well-known and highly recommended SEO companies in Denver. For manufacturers, as for companies from other industries, having an online presence is crucial to the creation of any thriving and successful business.