Founder and CEO of The Level Agency, Thomas Donohoe, recently wrote a fantastic book titled, The CEO’s Digital Marketing Playbook.
In that, he stresses that many businesses are overcomplicating and overspending on their marketing while ignoring some very simple and effective basics.
This article quickly goes over what he calls the “Core Four” that every business should be doing.
Here we go.
1. Trade Name Search Engine Advertising
Donohoe starts with the most basic: he suggests that every company should be advertising its name on search engines.
“If your marketing team is not doing this,” he says, “consider firing your marketing team. Unless you are actively in chapter 7 Bankruptcy, there is no excuse to not do this.”
For a start, he recommends beginning on Google and Bing. You can easily use both the Google Ads and Bing Ads platform to set this up. For more information, see this article.
2. Retargeting Display Advertising
Also commonly known as banner advertising, the aim of the game with retargeting is simple: have people visit your site and then show an ad to them again later.
According to ReTargeter, most sites will only convert 2% of web traffic on the first visit. Thus, retargeting is intended to bridge the gap between the other 98%. In Donohoe’s words,
“Use this tactic to make sure that people who have already visited your company online get reminded, ideally only once or twice a day, to return and pick up where they left off.”
In fact, this tactic is so effective that you’ve probably clicked one before. Here’s an example:
So, how do you get started?
Donohoe suggests, “Use Google’s simple banner ad network and interface, called Google Display Network, or GDN. If your firm is more advanced, use Programmatic DSP, or Demand Side Platform.”
3. Landing Pages
Donohoe said, “If you’re just sending users to your homepage, you are setting money on fire.”
Rather than just sending them to a homepage, he thus suggests that you have them go to a landing page. A landing page, of course, is different to a homepage in that it’s sole purpose is to convert visitors into leads (More info).
Donohoe said that the page doesn’t have to be fancy. However, “It must be specific to the product or service that the ad they came from talked about, and it must follow standard best practices for direct response.”
He also suggests, “You need video assets and client testimonials. And you need unique 800 numbers, or you can’t track what you’re doing. They’re cheap and easy to set up, and there is no excuse for not using them.”
4. Social Media CAT Targeting
CAT Targeting, which stands for Custom Audience Targeting, is what Donohoe describes as, “the easiest way to target real people that are already in your database or client list. And much like the tactics above, it’s incredibly profitable, easy to build, and typically low cost.”
How do you do it?
Donohoe said: “Use the real email addresses for every new or aged lead in your database or your current customers in an eCommerce company, and target people on a one-to-one basis. This means that you are only talking to those actual human beings on Facebook.”
Donohoe went on, “The match rate, meaning how many people out of every 100 you upload will be able to be targeted, is around 40% for B2B, and often more than 60% in B2C industries.”
So, why not give it a try? Donohoe suggests companies begin on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Conclusion
How many of those strategies are you already using?
How many are going to begin using?
They’re so cheap and simple, that what have you got to lose?