Successful online marketers do more than gain a strong understanding of the tools of their trade. They also develop particular habits that enable them to wield the right tool at the right time to reach their targeted audiences and motivate desired responses. Those who wish to enjoy success in this arena will find other people who are successful in their jobs and emulate what they do.
While tactics may change as technology advances, the traits and habits that lead marketers to success tend to hold true even as the industry continues to evolve. Here are seven habits displayed by highly successful online marketers.
Plan, Think Strategically and Define the Customer
Campaign success often hinges on these three critical aspects. Smart marketers create strategic plans for their clients and their campaigns that encompass such things as a content calendar, budget and promotional strategy. They organize breakout sessions to map out a digital strategy for clients and campaigns to ensure that people in the target market are reached. Tactics may include content marketing, pay per click (PPC) advertising, search engine marketing and other tools deemed necessary to boost brand awareness. The best marketers also define their customers. This goes well beyond understanding the paying client to also have a strong grasp of the target audience, its preferences and the best ways to reach it with a message.
Analyze
Solid marketers don’t just put a plan in place and assume it will work. They constantly test that plan using key metrics and make adjustments deemed necessary to drive success. Since the desired outcome is generally a specific conversion, the focus of the analysis will center on pinpointing what works in a particular campaign to gain the desired or a better conversion rate.
Use Good Copywriting
Successful online marketers know words are the key to reaching people in marketing campaigns. Whether they are writing a video script, a caption for an image or a blog post, successful marketers know what words to use to reach their audiences and inspire the desired reaction.
Master Social Media
Social media platforms provide a proven way to reach the mainstream. Social media changes constantly with the addition of new tools, techniques and platforms. The best marketers stay on top of social media changes and understand which platforms are best to use under particular circumstances. While Facebook, for example, is crucial for targeting consumers, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn also offer valuable leverage points, depending on campaign specifics.
Never Stop Learning
Online technology and the tools used to drive digital marketing constantly change. With that in mind, smart marketers constantly brush up their skills, stay on top of the latest trends, understand impending changes in platforms and algorithms and learn strategies to make advancements work for them and their clients.
Use the Right Tools to Gain Leverage
Digital marketers have a lot of tools they can choose from. They key is to learn which ones are most likely to produce the desired results or track the right key performance indicators (KPI). Since tools are constantly changing, it’s wise to keep up with advancements to see which ones might offer benefits for campaigns, tracking, or even automating certain functions of the job.
Heed the 40/30/20/10 Rule
This rule breaks down how campaign time should be allocated. About 40% of the time should be spent analyzing target customers and their digital and social behaviors. Roughly 20% should be spent planning how to reach that target audience effectively. Execution of the plan should take up about 30% of the time while 10% should be dedicated to reporting. Keep in mind that reporting and further analysis may require tweaks to gain desired KPI outcomes.
Successful marketers understand how to reach people and the tools of the trade necessary to accomplish the job. They also understand they work in an ever-changing atmosphere that demands continuous learning to stay ahead of the curve. Those who develop smart habits are likely to enjoy success and continue doing so.
