For many new and small business entrepreneurs just starting to build an online presence, digital marketing can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s your first experience, lack of technical skills, or over abundance of service providers covering every aspect of online marketing, it’s truly a global marketplace and easy to get lost.

That being said, at its most basic level, digital marketing is simply marketing. People perceive your business as you present it, making it an essential investment in establishing a professional presence online. In helping you navigate the landscape, here are a few tips to help you get moving the right direction. While much of this may seem like common sense, it’s always good to have a checklist to follow.

Understand your goals and make strategies

1. Understand Digital Marketing

The digital marketing industry is vast and encompasses various strategies you can adopt but it is not a cure all for ineffective business processes. In today’s marketplace digital marketing moves businesses beyond one-sided communication to enable direct engagement with your audience. While push messaging like advertising is still an important part of marketing online, email and social media marketing have the potential to offer direct customer service and add personality to your corporate brand. It is also important to analyze your target audience. If they’re not online or accessible through social media then a different then your digital marketing strategy would reflect less investment in social media assets. Many B2B supply chain companies fall into this category.

2. Set SMART Goals

Regardless of the digital marketing plan, one goal usually remains constant, providing content so compelling that target audiences convert to customers or current customers become loyal fans. This may serve as a perfect baseline to get you started or you may have more specific goals.  Either way, content, the message you’re conveying and how it is communicated, will be an essential focus in achieving any goal.

Have you heard of SMART Goal setting? First published by George Doran in the November 1981 issue of Management Review, these guidelines will help insure  intelligent digital marketing goals.

According to the guidelines goals should be:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time Oriented or Sensitive

3. Employ Different Marketing Strategies

You’ve heard it before, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The world of digital marketing is vast. Intelligent strategies employ several complimentary  types of digital marketing techniques. Each platform has its own procedures and presents different benefits depending on how you integrate it with your business.

Use different tools to enhance conversion

In the world of digital marketing there are many ways to ask the customer to take action. When it comes to conversion campaign is meant to increase not only traffic but conversion rates thus the need to apply them in the most efficient and effective manner possible. As some tools are more popular or effective than others, companies have the potential to attract clients from all corners of the internet.

Understand Your Customers’ Relationship with Your Brand

Digital marketing platforms bring you virtually closer to your customers which makes it easier to interact with them on a personal level. Social media platforms offer you an incentive to check on how well customers are relating to your products, services, and campaigns, giving you unparalleled insight on how your brand is perceived. Needless say, the customers are your key to success so it makes sense to pay attention to them! From reading their comments and reviews to actually looking at data analytics on your social media platforms there is more than one way to get to know your community.

Understand Digital Marketing Takes Time

Digital marketing strategies deliver results at a varied pace. Depending on your plan and goals you wish to achieve, you can weigh your options with regards to the time period you would like to expect results during your goal setting stage. Beyond the one sided push communications such as banner ads, digital marketing in the form of email and social media campaigns is a relationship and trust building process. Effective campaigns are grounded in consistent value, accountability, and an authentic desire to connect with current and future customers.

Stay Current on Digital Marketing Trends

Regardless of whether you contract your digital marketing needs to a firm or take the DIY route, no one will be a more effective advocate for your business than you. Digital marketing trends consistently evolve as new technology platforms and concepts emerge making it essential to stay current avoid overspending on obsolete practices and platforms.

Under Digital Means Mobile Too

Mobile is king, let there be no doubt. Your digital assets needs to be designed with mobile use in mind regardless of what you’re business model suggests. Having mobile friendly sites is no longer an option if you plant to succeed.

Enhance Visibility Online

If you have a physical location for your business, consider adding your business location to Google maps and every online directory possible. Make sure that your customers can locate you both virtually and physically from anywhere. Should your business be listed on Yelp? If your target audience reads reviews, perhaps it should! Be creative, step inside your ideal customer’s mind and think of all the ways your business can be found.