Digital Marketing: Your Guide to Online Success

Millennials, the New Star of Online Marketing Are you a millennial, or don't you know yet what type of people make up this group? The truth is, if you're planning an online marketing campaign, you need to understand these internet users, who can have a significant impact on your business's bottom line. Millennials are a large group of people, reaching 24% of the population in the United States, whose main characteristic is that they are heavy internet users and mobile users . In fact, they are estimated to use their mobile phone 43 times a day. If we add to this their significant financial potential, don't you think they're the perfect audience for any online business? As expert internet users, millennials prioritize the content offered to them on the internet, but not just any type of text . Therefore, it's necessary to offer them valuable content that connects with their needs and values. In fact, millennials are the most demanding internet users, so if you want to successfully target them, you'll need to give them the recognition they deserve. This means treating them individually, facilitating access to the information they need, even before they realize they need it. In other words, they gravitate toward brands that offer values similar to their own and that make a positive difference in their lives. Furthermore, all of these requirements must be met very efficiently. Keep in mind that this generation of users is very accustomed to using the internet, so you must provide them with what they need quickly and efficiently. How can you build loyalty with millennials? Establishing an effective and successful relationship with millennials means breaking your usual patterns when setting up online marketing campaigns. To begin with, it's important to surprise them. A millennial will remain "hooked" on your brand if they don't know where your campaign is going. Being unpredictable will be one of your tools for success. Offer them simple ideas, even if they represent very complex issues. Appeal to the minds of your millennial followers and inspire their imagination to seduce them. These users seek emotional reward in what you offer, and stimulating their imagination is a challenge for them. Likewise, if you want to retain millennials, you need to tell them an organic, true story. Present them with a campaign based on real-life aspects and you will connect with them. Finally, keep in mind that millennials look for brands that allow them to do something different in this world. Therefore, encouraging them to share their stories through innovative means will be one of the keys to your success. Ready to harness the potential of millennials in your campaign?

Since Google introduced Panda as an algorithm, content has become the centerpiece of sites that want to rank well and attract users. If you're preparing an online marketing campaign, you've surely realized that you need to offer your users valuable content that can differentiate you from the competition and improve your brand image . This will also help you rank as highly as possible. But what content is truly valid for achieving all this? Simply writing an interesting article is no longer enough, because both Google's and users' interests have evolved and become increasingly specific. Offering people what they really want to read now requires creating in-depth, increasingly well-crafted and consistent articles. We are increasingly entering the era of "in-depth content." That is, online content written in-depth by experts on specific topics. Obviously, creating it is no longer as easy as the articles used to be. It's time to forget about generic content if you want to succeed with your content marketing strategy! How can you achieve this? One of the best options is to enlist the help of authors who are experts in a specific topic, capable of having the creative freedom to create detailed, high-quality content . Likewise, the creators of the products you sell can offer you detailed information that's interesting enough to keep your readers' attention. What consequences will publishing this in-depth content have for your site? In addition to improving your SEO in Google's eyes, you'll also improve awareness of your campaign and the brand image that users perceive . In other words, offering your site users what they really want to read will allow you to differentiate yourself from the competition and put you on a higher level. Of course, this doesn't mean that your site only has to be based on in-depth content. All the texts you've been creating up to now to feed your content play an essential role in your marketing strategy: generating traffic. Therefore, you can't afford to discard them. The best option? Combine basic texts with those that truly interest your readers and followers , and which, therefore, are also of interest to Google and the Panda updates it periodically releases. Making your site profitable by offering quality and interesting articles is the foundation of a good modern content strategy.

Many large companies turn to content distribution networks as one of the most effective promotional channels for monetizing their most valuable content . If you have an online marketing campaign running, even if you're not a multinational, you obviously have a similar goal. So, why not do the same? One of the keys to optimizing the ROI of your online marketing campaigns through content is to consider the impact of content distribution networks on building loyalty and expanding new audiences. Their effects are especially positive when you aim to make users feel like they're part of an information discovery process, not just passive objects of intrusive advertising. Keep in mind that when customers feel they've naturally discovered the product you're promoting, you hold the success of your campaign in your hands. In any case, simply implementing this content marketing technique doesn't necessarily guarantee success . If you want this to work, it's important to consider the data generated by multiple distribution networks, comparing the results of each to determine how much they can help you maximize the ROI of your campaign. This analysis must always take into account the use of different distribution platforms for specific customer niches. This way, you'll realize that visitors who come to your site from a particular platform may be completely new or, on the contrary, familiar with the brand, to give two examples. Additionally, you should also keep in mind that your ROI improves when accessing your site from mobile devices, where statistics show a higher level of loyalty at a relatively lower cost . If your site has a responsive design, the results will always be much better. Likewise, conversion tracking in campaigns with specific objectives is also a factor to analyze when evaluating the results of your campaign . Keep in mind that some distribution networks may generate more traffic than others, and this will impact the higher or lower percentage of final conversions. Truly, getting the most out of your marketing campaign content comes down to finding the distribution platform that offers you the most awareness and exposure. Therefore, all the data generated by each distribution platform must be analyzed in detail to monitor whether the initially set objectives are being met.

A few days ago, we published a post in which we defined social media as a recommendation channel, not a direct conversion channel . This means they can play an important role in any online marketing strategy if you learn to use them appropriately and at the right time. We'll give you some tips on how to optimize your company's social media presence to increase your profits. To begin, you need to connect the objectives of your online marketing campaign with those of social media , always keeping in mind that successful brands are those that are always connected to their users, offering them the right content. To achieve this connection, it's essential that you first know your potential users well. Therefore, you need to understand their context when communicating with them and know how to integrate into their conversation, creating the right momentum. Achieving this is not as difficult as it seems because you can use social listening and monitoring tools, which will give you the necessary information to define your engagement strategy. The third step to ensuring that your brand's social media presence helps increase sales is to define the most appropriate topic of conversation between the company and users, in order to try to attract their attention. Remember that engagement is essential for making a marketing strategy work! At this point, it's time to choose the social media platforms to work with that are most appropriate for your audience and allow you to offer them quality content or an additional service that can become the added value that makes you stand out from the competition. In any case, keep in mind that the process of "driving" your potential customers to your brand must be gradual. Converting them from simple internet users to customers and brand fans involves going through various engagement leads. Furthermore, the purchase decision phase, which we all go through at one point or another , can take days or weeks . Therefore, we need to offer potential buyers personalized communication that allows them to make the right purchasing decision. Of course, the use of social media cannot be restricted to just the moment of purchase. You can, and should, also use your social media presence to retain your customers, implementing a loyalty strategy that turns their shopping experience and relationship with your brand into something positive they'll want to repeat.

Although it's not common to have to go through this process, the truth is that some brands are forced to rebrand in order to better position themselves in certain markets , which don't necessarily have to be new. The concept of rebranding involves searching for a new identity for a brand. If you're thinking about using this technique, you're probably afraid of losing everything you've built up until now. In fact, some brands even leave some customers behind in this process. Despite all this, keep in mind that rebranding can have many positive effects on your business . Are you deciding to rebrand? If you want to give your brand a new lease on life, don't hesitate to follow the following basic tips . To begin, consider whether it's the best option available to you, and whether the risks you're taking can be offset by the benefits you'll gain. If your goal is to adapt to a completely new market, and you need a forward-looking strategy to adapt to it, rebranding is surely the price you need to pay. Likewise, you can't launch a rebranding project without conducting a thorough prior study , which includes understanding how customers perceive your brand and the feelings it generates among its potential audience. This study must take into account specific details such as the color and font that are part of its image. Likewise, when starting a rebranding project, you must be aware that you'll need to change more than just your brand name. Customers need to see different actions from your brand that will change their perceptions. Achieving this radical change requires taking your employees' opinions into account, making them feel part of the company, and understanding how a rebranding will benefit them. In this sense, taking the opportunity to unite all company departments and coordinate their activities is essential, as it helps everyone function as a more reliable and productive team. Do you think it's worth starting a rebranding project for your brand? If so, don't hesitate to apply these tips to get the most out of your brand . Understanding your company's full potential through a prior analysis and learning to work as a team, encouraging your employees to collaborate throughout the entire process, will help you achieve success. Many major brands have rebranded and achieved excellent market results. Why can't you achieve the same?

Are social media good conversion channels? Social media has become one of the best ways for companies to connect with their potential customers. However, many brands aren't satisfied with this and are seeking to generate sales through them. Is this possible? Social media strategies have gone through several phases recently, always with the ultimate goal of achieving conversion to sales in mind . Undoubtedly, the most important of these is the pursuit of engagement, but accumulating followers doesn't automatically equate to generating sales, as has already been proven. Have you considered using your brand's presence on social media to increase sales? If you want to achieve this, it's time to become aware of some of the misconceptions most companies make when trying to do so. To begin with, you must be clear that social media is a recommendation channel, not a sales channel . This implies the need to change the approach of the traditional social media strategy and focus almost exclusively on seeking engagement. It's important to keep in mind that being on social media can "push" your potential customers toward a purchase decision, but it will never be their primary focus. For this purpose, there are other sales channels specifically designed for this purpose. The second aspect to keep in mind is that you must maintain a proactive communication strategy with your potential customers to engage with them before they make a concrete purchase decision. Your role should always be to facilitate the purchase, not make the sale. Therefore, it's essential that you don't base your strategy on past events. Consequently, if you want to improve your sales rate through social media, you must base your strategy on three fundamental pillars: measurement, proactive listening, and predictive analytics. Correctly measuring each of the actions carried out on social media will give you enough data to avoid making decisions based on intuition. This is essential so you know how to orient the listening and monitoring tools at your disposal toward direct sales and proactive customer service. Of course, it's essential that you maintain this attitude throughout the entire purchase funnel. This way, you'll be able to define your sales strategy at all times. Finally, to ensure your sales strategy is successful both on and off social media, you should consider using predictive analytics. Studying your customers' behavior and trying to anticipate it will help you offer them the product they need before they've already decided to purchase on another channel. Ultimately, only by changing the traditional sales strategy framework will we be able to transform social media into a true purchasing channel.

Why choose programmatic buying? The constant search for tools that allow us to achieve the greatest positive impact on users has led online marketing experts to turn their attention to programmatic buying as one of the most efficient resources for connecting with their potential audience. But why has this trend, until recently considered merely a future option, managed to consolidate itself? Users of any brand should not be seen solely as those responsible for final conversions . They are also a very important and constant source of information about the brand itself. Therefore, making the most of the data generated by the interaction between consumers and companies must become one of our main objectives. And programmatic buying platforms are the best example of this. In fact, large companies are already working on their own programmatic buying platforms and technological systems that allow for the profitable management of all the data about themselves generated by their own users. What is the result of this entire process? Basically, companies that opt for programmatic buying are able to impact specific users , in a specific place and time. This is the essence of what is known as Real-Time Bidding, the key to which is a dynamic attribution model, integrated into a global digital strategy. The need to achieve the maximum possible efficiency in our online marketing strategy should lead us to look toward programmatic buying and its ability to impact users, achieving the greatest possible affinity . In this sense, the role of agencies is fundamental, as they allow us to pool resources from their perspective as experts in the global strategic management of any campaign. However, programmatic buying is not yet fully operational . In fact, it faces significant challenges such as ensuring security and transparency, improving visibility, and collaborating with other entities on brand safety. Likewise, we cannot forget some of the most common obstacles that programmatic buying must face, such as the lack of trading and data analyst profiles and the need for almost continuous pricing adjustments. In any case, we cannot deny the success of many programmatic buying cases carried out by many companies that have known how to plan by audience and thus achieve the widest possible coverage.

When we create an online marketing strategy, we consider numerous factors that can lead us to success . Curiously, one of the most overlooked factors on our list of actions is developing a content plan, also known as an editorial plan. You've surely heard many times about the importance of content marketing in a global digital strategy . The truth is, if you want to effectively connect with your potential customers both on social media and on your website, it's essential that you curate the content you offer. In fact, content should become the backbone of your social media plan , as it is the basic tool for bringing your brand closer to your potential consumers. Publishing content as part of a well-executed digital marketing strategy involves providing an extra layer of interest, allowing users to find within your business what they haven't found elsewhere. This way, you'll stand out from the competition. To properly articulate this relationship between company and users through social media, you'll need to create a content plan. And to start creating it, it's essential that you know how to identify the most interesting content for your audience and that can provide them with added value. This information will be the essential basis for designing the content plan you'll include in your online marketing strategy. When developing this plan, it's essential that you prioritize the relationship between the content you're interested in communicating and the phase of the online campaign you're working on, which defines your objectives at each specific moment. In other words, it's time to put together your own puzzle with the channel, content, time, and teams that are part of your strategy. Once all this organization is done, you can generate the content you need. Of course, you must take into account its objective, the distribution channel, and that it complies with basic SEO standards . But that's not all. Of course, for your content to be effective, it must be distributed in the appropriate format and approach, constantly measuring the results of this action with web analytics. This is the only truly viable way to validate your content plan and make any necessary adjustments to achieve the best possible optimization. Don't forget that you can expand this reach by using specific strategies, such as using influencers!

Are you already thinking about your content plan?

Although the hoax circulates from time to time that email is finished on the internet and, therefore, email marketing is a technique in danger, nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that statistics indicate that most companies today use it as one of the most effective strategies when it comes to promoting their products and/or services. If you've opted to implement an email marketing strategy as part of your latest campaign, you've surely realized that it requires a significant effort on your part to acquire subscribers. But you shouldn't just keep this in mind, as all the work you've done to attract them will be of little use if you fail to retain them . Therefore, you must consider the need to establish a series of actions that allow you to ensure their permanence on your mailing lists in the long term. How do you prevent subscribers from unsubscribing from your email lists? Essentially, by offering them added value elements that distinguish you from the competition, and for this, nothing better than taking care of the details. To begin with, a good first impression is essential. Therefore, take care of your welcome email. It's proven that the first message your subscribers receive will increase open rates up to four times and click rates up to five times compared to regular emails. How about an initial offer? Once the email relationship is established, it's important to ensure you offer consistent content to your users as the basis of your strategy. To achieve this, the most common resource is sending a weekly newsletter, which you can easily adjust based on their interests. From this point on, the key to getting your subscribers to stay with you lies in the sporadic incentives you offer them. Exclusive offers and promotions from time to time will make them feel that you have special regard for them and that it's worthwhile to continue providing feedback to your company. You can also take advantage of key dates to offer your subscribers a special gift and thus reward their loyalty, for example, after six months of being on your lists. In addition to certain practical privileges in the form of discounts or promotions, your subscribers also like to feel valued. In other words, listen to them. Asking for their feedback, for example, with a short survey, will help you build loyalty and provide reliable data on what you can improve in your campaigns and your business . Of course, never forget something very basic when building a relationship: thank your customers and subscribers for being there during key moments of the season, and you'll make them feel much closer to you.

Bernat Tirado has already started with Google Academies. This Tuesday and Wednesday, February 3rd and 4th, he was a speaker at Barcelona Activa, offering the latest and greatest in AdWords. From the very beginning, there was a very positive atmosphere, eager to learn how the entire program works and, above all, to learn how Bernat uses it in his daily work. As an expert co-founder of the ClickOnline360 agency, which has grown steadily since its inception, he offered his best so that all interested parties could achieve their goals. These were days of training and sharing experiences. Bernat explained how to optimally manage all the tools and how he uses them to achieve his clients' goals. As a manager of large accounts, he has extensive experience with the entire program and is at the forefront of each of the new features. Therefore, he tried to convey all his know-how in the best possible way, so that all attendees could consolidate the training received. All listeners received all the necessary information and guidance to pass the official Google AdWords certification exam. We hope everyone enjoyed the sessions to the fullest!