5 Reasons Why You Must Do Google Ads And Social Media Marketing
In a world dominated by mobile devices, social media and Google’s search engine, marketing your product or service in the digital space is imperative. Yet surprisingly, many businesses still prioritise traditional marketing methods. Think like a customer for a second. When you need something, want to undertake research with a purchase in mind, compare prices or turn to reviews for reassurance, where’s your first port of call? Google, or a magazine or paper? Where do you connect with brands, products, services, friends, family…social media right?
Fish where the fish are
Follow the fish
“Social media and Google is where your marketing efforts need to be focussed, because that’s where everyone is.”
As a business looking to connect and engage with existing and potential customers, social media and Google is where your marketing efforts need to be focussed, because that’s where everyone is. Plus, unlike magazines and papers that might be a weekly or monthly read, or a visit to an exhibition that may be an annual event, the Internet and social media are live and active around the clock. It’s where people spend their business and leisure time, and money.
So, if you have a website, but no strategy to attract relevant people and generate sales leads, you’re not only missing out on vital sales opportunities, you’re handing the initiative to your competitors. And if you do social media as part of your brand comms but have no social marketing strategy to amplify your content to a targeted audience, the time and resource dedicated to it is likely a wasted effort.
Here’s top 5 reasons why social marketing and Google Ads are a must-have in today’s marketing landscape
Why would anyone follow you?
“People don’t follow you because they need to, or because they want to be sold to every day, so focus on being a good social player.”
1. Be social on social media, focus on ‘social PR’ and being liked…not ‘likes’!
By definition, social media is supposed to be ‘social’. If you only use it as an extension of your marketing i.e. to push, promote and sell, then you’re likely to be disappointed with the return on investment. People engage with brands on social media because they want to be inspired, entertained, and even amused…not sold to. The most effective way for social media to work for you, is to focus on being liked and respected.
Why would anyone follow you? What does your social media bring to their lives?
People don’t follow you because they need to, or because they want to be sold to every day, so focus on being a good social player. Earning respect by nurturing online relationships bonds your audience to you, so when they see the occasional offer, promotion or marketing campaign - or indeed other forms of marketing - they’re more likely to be receptive. Think about how your content can add value to their lives, earn their respect and cultivate positive relationships.
Remember, people are more likely to buy something they don’t need from someone they like than they are to buy something they do need from someone they don’t like. Focus on being liked then you’ll be front of mind, plus they’re more likely to recommend you to others.
2. Want to market your business on social media? Then do social marketing…
Ultimately you want to generate leads and sales from social media. So, now you’re using content to build awareness and nurture positive relationships with your fans and followers, you should have a social marketing strategy to generate leads and sales.
By separating social and marketing functions in the social space, you’re de-blurring the lines between emotional and transactional relationships with your audience. Social marketing not only enables you to reach your fans and followers with fan exclusives (which makes them feel extra special), it also enables you to amplify campaigns beyond your fanbase. Sure, you can do giveaways and competitions, and reward fans for their loyalty if they follow you, but every business always has something to sell.
Having a separate social marketing plan that utilises the many campaign types available can help you drive website traffic, generate sales leads and enquiries, and make sales. If you want a real financial return on investment from your social media activity, social marketing facilitates this by laser targeting campaigns to relevant audiences, ensuring you’re reaching the right people, at the right time.
Why Google Ads?
“Google Ads and social media work differently, so they’re not an ‘either-or’ for any business.”
3. Then why Google Ads?
Google Ads and social media work differently, so they’re not an ‘either-or’ for any business. Your business needs both. Why? Social media is where people go to ‘socialise’ and your content and marketing hits their radar when they’re not going there specifically to look for it. It gets them thinking about you when they didn’t hop on Instagram or Facebook with you in mind.
Google is the opposite of that. When people are consciously searching for something, looking to solve a problem, make or research a purchase, compare prices and reviews, or shop online, Google is their first port of call. If your business has a website and sells online, is looking to generate enquiries or sales leads and wants to be front of mind when people are looking for what you do, you must be seen o Google to compete. The bottom line is that if you’re not marketing on Google, you won’t be seen or found, but your competitors will.
The great news is that both social marketing and Google Ads are so much more affordable for any size of business compared to traditional forms of marketing too. And the returns you get are aligned to your investment, so you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Google Ads ‘fire’ i.e. show up in searches related to your offering, so they’re highly targeted and relevant. This makes every marketing £ work harder to generate results. Even better, analytics and insights make sure you know what their effects are, so you can adapt and change to continually enhance campaign performance, and investment, in line with results.
4. Make your website work harder to achieve success
Businesses invest a lot in their website but if you’re not marketing it, it becomes wallpaper that fails to drive growth and commercial success. With the ever-increasing trend for online shopping, service selection and brand choice in both B2b and B2c settings, your website is a crucial constituent in your sales and marketing cannon.
The reality is that more people will get to know what you do and understand what your brand or business brings to their professional or personal life online than you’re ever likely to encounter face-to-face. So, your website must work for you, and not against you.
If your website is right and it positions your business in a positive light, with great resources and content, that’s half the job done. The other 50% means getting the right customers to it. Not marketing to get relevant people to your website is a bit like having a high street shop that looks amazing, sells great things and offers something original and special…without attracting any customers over the threshold!
The combination of social marketing and Google Ads means maximising your website’s potential, by driving relevant traffic to generate leads, enquiries and sales. And, as much as it hurts to say it…if you’re not doing it your competitors will easily out-compete you in the online space. See the social and online landscape like a boxing ring. You wouldn’t step in without your gloves on, so it’s time to glove-up and start competing for the hearts, minds, and cash of your customers!
Make your website Do More!
“If your website positions your business in a positive light, with great resources and content, that’s half the job done. The other 50% means getting the right customers to it.”
5. Relieve yourself of marketing pain
Like all forms of marketing, social marketing and Google Ads require specific expertise, time, and dedicated resources to get the return on investment you need. It’s no longer an option in terms of whether you do them or not…it’s about how you do them. In short, if you have a website and no online marketing, and if you ‘do’ social media but have no social marketing plan, you’re probably wasting your time and energy. Simply having a presence and hoping each day yields a different result is not enough…you must act to make it pay.
We’ve seen it ourselves. Businesses that invest a huge amount of time and creative energy coming up with a social post or campaign, a ‘not-to-be-missed’ promo or an incentive to capitalise on an event like Black Friday, Cyber Monday or Christmas…only to get a handful of ‘likes’ and no sales result.
This is where an agency like Rockit can change your social, digital and Google Ads experience. DIY rarely works and even when it does, it means recruiting or developing expertise over the long-term when you need results now. Why put your business through the pain and cost of developing the expertise you need when it’s right here, right now?
Pain relief for marketers
“Why put your business through the pain and cost of developing the expertise you need when it’s right here, right now?”
Let’s go fishing…
You’re a call away from changing the rules of the game.
Click here call 01932 320 066 or email launch@rockit-ppc.co.uk