What are your marketing plans for the new year? If you haven’t already, now is the time to hone in on a smart digital marketing strategy for 2022. 

This past year has brought about several changes to the digital marketing landscape. From fluctuating algorithms to the continued rise of video content to the need for a digital shift for businesses that normally operate in person. 

Overall, we have seen tactic after tactic be introduced to help businesses stay ahead of the curve. 

This doesn’t mean that you should ignore those tactics, though. And, we aren’t telling you to abandon your current strategies to chase shiny objects, either. 

The most important thing to remember as you begin to craft your 2022 digital marketing strategy is this: the goal of digital marketing is always to grow your business (its presence and its clientele) online. 

So as you audit your marketing plans from this past year and look at the new tactics on the horizon, the focus should be cutting what no longer serves you and amplifying what will move the needle in your business this upcoming year.

For some fresh ideas on how to supercharge your 2022 digital marketing strategy, keep reading!   

Below you’ll discover:

1. How to invest in automation — the smart way
2. How creative content spinning can help refresh your online presence
3. The connection between SEO and social media
4. How to freshen up your sales funnel
5. Why boosting brand reviews should be on your radar
6. And finally, how aligning with a SMART digital partner can help supercharge your 2022 digital marketing strategy

Invest in Automation

It’s no secret that we love marketing automation here at Smart Girl. Not only is it quite literally our bread and butter, we use it in all aspects of our business because we know exactly how powerful it can be. 

Marketing Automation is all about creating messages for the moments that matter in your customer’s journey. By taking the time to set up a smart, strategic automation campaign, you can streamline your marketing efforts and align them with your sales process to increase conversions. 

So, to supercharge your 2022 marketing strategy, here are some tips to incorporate marketing automation.

Start Small

We know you’re not ready to jump off the deep end with chatbots and multi-step zaps, however, if you’re ready to dip your toe in the waters of marketing automation, feel free to start with something simple like autoresponders. Autoresponders are pre-written messages sent to anyone who triggers a specific event automatically. A few common ones are:

• Out-of-Office Messages: No need to be on vacation, simply craft automated messages to send based on specific rules you set up in your business email system. You set the rules and the autoresponder will send on your behalf.  With this, you can direct prospects and clients to an FAQ page, client service email, team members in a different department, and more! (Bonus: no new software is needed, you can do this in your current company email platform)
• Web Form  Autoresponders: Another great way to use automation is through your existing web forms. You probably already have a Contact Form on your website, right? Well, what happens after someone tries to contact you? With a web form autoresponder, you can craft a quick Thank You message for anyone who completes the form. This lets them know you got their inquiry and will be in touch.

Optimize Email Marketing

Email marketing is where you can really go wild with automation. And while email workflows vary from business to business, there are a couple that every business should have. 

1. A Welcome Campaign: To share more about your business, how you work, and relevant contact info to stay in touch.
2. Regular Newsletter: Weekly… Bi-weekly… Monthly… Any amount of time is fine as long as you’re staying consistent and at the top of your prospect’s and clients’ minds.
3. Event/Promo Sequence: These can be personalized (like a birthday or client anniversary) or general for one-off promos. Either way, outlining emails in advance can save you time and energy when you need it most. 

Supercharge Your Systems

Above we spoke about crafting a welcome campaign for new clients. But did you know that this entire sequence can be automated from the moment a client signs a contract on down? 

That’s right… 

From a signed contract or paid Invoice directly into your CRM. 

Then, from your CRM to a client welcome sequence. 

Finally, from the welcome email right to onboarding tasks in your favorite project management software. 

Although it’s more advanced, automating your marketing systems can vastly improve not just the flow of your business, but also your client’s overall marketing journey.

Get More Mileage by Spinning Your Content

Content takes time to create. By the time you create your content plan, draft the first copy, edit it, revise it, send it off to design, and then publish any piece of content…it is time to move on to the next piece. 

But…what if you took time to get more mileage out of that content?

Content Spinning is a term we use to take one piece of content and get 5+ pieces of content out of it. There are several ways to get creative with spinning your content in 2022. 

Video, of course, will continue to dominate. Consistent blogging is always a good idea. Spinning your next blog post into a short video knocks out two birds with one piece of content. 

By repurposing existing content you can save lots of time & energy by using what prospects and clients already respond to. 

But, in order to use spin content effectively in your digital marketing strategy, it’s important to look beyond the type of content to create towards what purpose your content serves in your digital strategy as a whole.

In general, the content you put out should educate, entertain, engage, and enrich the lives of potential clients and generate traffic to your business website.

Start with original content that:

• Tell a Story – And not just a brand story, as outlined above. Testimonials, case studies, and personal anecdotes are also good examples of creative content.
• Inspires Action – Regardless of the type of content you use, the end goal should always be action. It doesn’t have to have a direct CTA but it should inspire anyone engaging with it to want to know more about the brand that created it.
• Highlights Your Authority – In today’s world there is often an urge to be everywhere and speak on everything but you do not have to follow the crowd here. Choose 2-3 different topics you can confidently chat about and engage accordingly online.

Next, determine how you plan to share your content to reach your ideal audience. Going back to the blogging example, consider the following ways you can use one blog post to reach your audience online:

• Make it into a video to post on YouTube.
• Break down tips to share on an IG Story.
• Share the new post with your email list.
• Post the article on Linkedin as an article.

All great tips to use existing content to refresh your online presence in a brand new way.

Use Social Media for Search

With the new year comes a new(ish) way to use SEO to your advantage… Social Media. SEO is much more than just backlinks and blogs. And social channels have now made it easier than ever for businesses to utilize SEO tactics for content on their platforms.

• Instagram offers the option to place alt text on uploads. 
• On YouTube, there are a number of ways to optimize for keywords using SEO tactics, just like on any other business webpage. 
• And then there’s Pinterest… Set up like a search engine by design, Pinterest has over 450 million active users per month ready to interact with optimized content. And, according to Pinterest itself, 97% of the searches those users look for are unbranded. 

What that means is, users are open to finding answers to their questions and solutions to their problems in content posted there, regardless of where it has come from. This is a HUGE opportunity for businesses wanting to get valuable content in front of searchers ready to engage.

Freshen Up Your Funnel

A sales funnel is the foundation of a smart digital marketing strategy. If you already have a sales funnel in your business, now is a great time to freshen it up. Ask yourself these questions to find ways to freshen up your funnel as we go into 2022:

• When was the last time you reviewed your funnel metrics?
• How much traffic are you driving to your offer? (Clicks and Impressions)
• How many people are opting in for your offer? (Goal Completions, Form Conversions, Phone Calls)
• Are prospects opening your emails and taking the next step? (Email Open Rate and Click-Through-Rate)
• How many prospects are becoming paying clients?

By measuring these key performance metrics in your funnel, you can identify:

• Are my ads driving enough traffic?
• Are my ads driving the right traffic?
• Is my offer still relevant?
• Are my emails continuing the conversation and moving prospects to become paying clients?
• Does my offer lead people to want to do business with us?

But…Wait…I Don’t Have a Sales Funnel!

If your business does not already have one, 2022 is the perfect time to lay your funnel foundation. Here are the 3 steps for getting started with a digital funnel:

1. Map out your offer: Everything starts with an offer. Think first about your services. Next, choose an offer that compliments one of them. For financial service providers, this might look like a webinar on stocks aimed at millennials looking for investment planners. For senior living providers, this might look like an ebook on retirement aimed at boomers seeking comfort. Whatever your industry, you can find an offer to help sell your services.
2. Create a lead magnet: Once you outline your offer, create a lead magnet that will entice prospects to learn more about your business. Ebooks are great as are checklists, webinars, quizzes, and white papers. The possibilities are endless here!
3. Set up shop: After your offer, the most important pre-launch step in creating a sales funnel is to decide which platform to host your funnel on. We’re fans of all-in-one automation platforms where you can create both your sales page and your follow-up emails but the choice is yours. Research email platforms and make the best choice for your business.  

If you’re interested in crafting a funnel of your own, use our FREE resource, The Ultimate Sales Funnel Checklist to help you stay on track!

Boost Brand Reviews

Prioritizing local search is a great way to supercharge your 2022 marketing strategy. In fact, according to HubSpot, 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. 

So for client-based businesses serving their local communities, investing in reviews is a smart way to get some digital word-of-mouth going to boost clientele. 

Start by claiming and optimizing your Google My Business page if you haven’t already. Feel free to download our complete Google 3-Pack Checklist to help you here. 

To focus on brand reviews, start with Google. Here are a few things to think about:

• Note the moments that matter: Identify where in your sales funnel it’s appropriate to ask for a review from new clients. It could be at the end of a client onboarding process or it could be right after a key meeting in your sales journey.
  
  Whatever the case, it’s important to keep track of any opportunities to generate reviews.
  
• Be proactive: Ask often. Include a link for raving fans to leave their review in your email signature, monthly newsletter, and/or on relevant social media channels.
  
  Ensure you’re keeping any links updated as often as possible to make it easy for clients to give feedback.
  
• Implement a Quick 1-Question Survey: While it’s essential to be proactive with new clients it’s also important to get reviews from current and former ones. One of our favorite ways to do this is to create a survey email. Ask clients to rank your business from 1-10. For those who rank high (8-1), follow-up with a thank you & ask them to share their experience on Google.

If you happen to get any low rankings, reach out to them personally to rectify any issues. Then, once resolved, follow-up and make the ask.

Supercharge Your Digital Marketing Strategy with Smart Girl Digital

There are several components of a solid digital marketing strategy. Depending on your business needs, your 2022 plans might include marketing automation, sales & marketing alignment, email marketing, social media, SEO, paid ads, and much more. 

If you need guidance to craft a strong digital marketing strategy to take you into the next year, contact us today to book a FREE Digital Discovery call. In it, we can review what tools, tactics, and strategies can supercharge your growth for 2022.