The Online Marketer’s Handbook: 9 Effortless Strategies for Maintaining Relevance and Currentness
Struggling to stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing? You’re in good company!
Our study, ‘The Marketing Evolution- Leadership, Transformation, Skills, Challenges & the Future,’ reveals that 46% of top marketers observed a shift in digital transformation visions by leadership in the last two years. Meanwhile, 58% have reallocated budgets from traditional marketing avenues to digital ones.
The complexity increases with the introduction of new technologies. Consider the rapid development of AI in marketing, or how innovations like Google’s Search Generative Experience might redefine search marketing strategies.
Nonetheless, adept marketers grasp that although the presentation and functionality of digital tools may alter, the core principles of leveraging these resources for organizational objectives adapt more gradually.
Maintaining relevance in this field involves cultivating the ability to adapt swiftly to new changes and advancements, seizing opportunities whenever possible.
“Marketers must stay informed and critically assess what changes imply, but not every change negates your ability to perform admirably in your role.” Tadhg O’Connell, Head of Product at the Digital Marketing Institute
Crafting a marketing strategy
Before delving into keeping your skills up-to-date, it’s vital to devise a digital marketing strategy. This strategy should guide your marketing undertakings, helping you comprehend your audience, identify lead and revenue-generating digital channels, and enable informed, data-driven decisions.
A well-conceived digital marketing strategy offers numerous benefits, such as heightened efficiency, insights, productivity, audience understanding, and ROI.
Developing this strategy necessitates thorough research. Understand your business goals, pinpoint your target audience, and include critical inquiries you seek answers to. Following this, deploy a tactical action plan outlining timelines, budgets, objectives, tactics, KPIs, etc., permitting adjustments as circumstances evolve.
The dynamism of digital marketing demands readiness to pivot. Use your strategy as a foundational guide, adaptable as needed.
Armed with strategy basics, let’s explore resources to stay abreast of digital marketing trends and advancements.
1) Newsletters
In an era dominated by social media, newsletters retain their relevance, more so with the decline of cookies and the rise of platforms like Substack. These enable direct engagement with your audience through email.
Highly informative newsletters for marketers include:
- The Daily Carnage
- Digiday
- Convince and Convert ON
- The Morning Brew
- Neil Patel
- Google Think
- Marketing Dive
- Search Engine Land
- Really Good Emails
- The Mention Memo
- hi, tech by Clark Boyd
- TLDR tech newsletter
- The Rundown AI
Don’t underestimate the power of a well-curated newsletter; it could be precisely what you need, delivered directly to your inbox.
2) Online Publications & Blogs
The internet is abundant with publications and blogs offering a wealth of content, from insightful articles to podcasts and handy guides.
Bookmark these resources for frequent check-ins on upcoming trends or advice. Some top picks for social media or search marketing professionals include:
- Econsultancy – for digital marketing and ecommerce
- Adweek – focuses on brand marketing
- Marketing Land – offers a plethora of marketing insights
- eMarketer – excellent for marketing news and reports
- TechCrunch – covers startups and tech news
- Digital Marketing Institute – a hub of digital marketing knowledge
- Fast Company – for business, innovation, and tech
- HubSpot – on digital marketing, sales, and AI
- Moz – delves into SEO and online marketing
- SEMRush – offers deep SEO insights
- Search Engine Watch – all about SEO
- Orbit Media – focuses on UX and customer-centric marketing
- Copyblogger – on content marketing
- CoSchedule – covers various digital marketing topics
These platforms often host free webinars and podcasts, enhancing your learning opportunities. And don’t forget about Medium for expert-written articles on numerous subjects.
3) Social media
Social media platforms are effective channels for marketers to communicate, engage, and influence their audiences, monitor trends, and keep an eye on the competition.
Remember, social media is ever-changing, whether it’s platform aesthetics or feature sets. Yet, these changes usually have minimal impact on a marketer’s daily tasks.
Using hashtags strategically on social media can help your content be discovered and categorize it within broader topics or conversations, such as the ever-popular #digitalmarketing.
Dive into the strategies for maximizing the use of prominent social platforms.
LinkedIn is perfect for networking with industry influencers and joining marketing communities. Here, you can find or contribute articles and newsletters in niche areas or even host live events via LinkedIn Live.
X (formerly Twitter)
Utilize X to follow industry news and hashtags relevant to your campaigns. Tools like Ritetag, Hashtagify, and Keyhole can assist in identifying and leveraging effective hashtags for your content.
Explore Instagram’s vast landscape of content through its ‘Discover’ feature, tapping into trending hashtags and following influential creators for inspiration and trendspotting.
Facebook groups and communities can be invaluable in gauging customer sentiment, enhancing brand visibility, and fostering engagement.
TikTok
The fast-rising platform of TikTok is a goldmine for innovative content and trendsetters. Stay updated by exploring the ‘Discover’ page, following relevant hashtags, and engaging with influencers.
4) Google Alerts & Trends
Google Alerts and Google Trends are essential tools for marketers to monitor web content and analyze query popularity, respectively. These resources are perfect for keeping tabs on news, industry shifts, and tracking brand mentions.
5) News Aggregator
Explore versatile news aggregator apps to streamline and personalize your news intake. These platforms consolidate content from diverse sources into a single, easily accessible location.
- Associated Press (AP) – for straightforward reporting on global events
- Google News – offers personalized news stories
- Feedly – highlights important insights from a variety of sources
- Pocket – for saving and managing must-read articles
- Flipboard – provides a magazine-style curation of topics
- Reddit – a community-driven aggregator tailored to your interests
6) Conferences
Conferences and trade shows are crucial for staying informed about the latest in marketing and tech. These events offer a platform for networking, learning from experts, and discovering new tools or strategies.
Some notable marketing conferences include:
- SXSW – a hub for digital creatives
- Content Marketing World – features illustrious speakers and a wide range of topics
- Search Marketing Expo – centered around search marketing insights
- Social Media Marketing World – focuses on the latest in social media
- Web Summit – investigates the future of tech and marketing
7) Podcasts and Webinars
The burgeoning world of podcasts offers detailed dives into every facet of digital marketing, hosted by industry experts eager to share their insights and strategies.
Popular marketing podcasts include:
- Ahead of the Game, from the Digital Marketing Institute
- Gary Vee
- Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner
- This Old Marketing with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose
- Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
- Everyone Hates Marketers with Louis Grenier
- Supermetrics
- Marketing School with Neil Patel & Eric Siu
- Hard Fork, the tech and AI podcast from the New York Times
Webinars also serve as an engaging platform for learning and interaction on specific marketing areas.
8) Monitor the Competition
Observing your competitors marketing and tech practices can unveil valuable insights. Employ digital competitive analysis to understand their strategies and leverage this knowledge for growth.
Tools like SEMRush, Brandwatch, Ahrefs, and BuzzSumo can facilitate comprehensive competitor analyses.
By understanding the competition, you can benchmark your performance and uncover new strategic opportunities.
9) Share & Network
In the swiftly-moving digital marketing space, fostering a network and sharing valuable content can be immensely beneficial.
When you find something insightful, share it with your peers and encourage them to do the same. Engage with professional networks on platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter to disseminate valuable research or insights.
At the DMI, engage in forum discussions or contribute articles to our knowledge library, fostering a culture of content sharing and ideation.
Related
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