How do you know if your digital marketing strategy is working?
How should you measure success? Is it by the number of social media likes or video views?
When is your online audience most likely to view your posts?

If you do not know the answer to these questions, then chances are you are not getting the most out of your digital marketing efforts.

Online engagement matters

What makes a good digital marketing strategy goes so much further than boosting Facebook posts. Online engagement matters. The best way to get the most out of your online content is first to develop a detailed digital plan, and second, analyze the metrics of every blog, social media post, and email campaign so that you know how to best use those results to your advantage.

Digital marketing is an umbrella term for all of a company’s online marketing efforts. It is also referred as content marketing. When digital marketing is done right, it will generate interest and increase engagement that ultimately leads a person to make a contribution to an organization or purchase products or services. Advantages for implementing a digital marketing strategy in mission-based businesses and nonprofit organizations--big and small--include:

• Low cost 
• Targeted reach 
• Measurable results 

WHY METRICS MATTER

Every social media and content management platform makes available the metrics or analytics of everything that you post or send out. Many companies or nonprofits may not be aware of the value in looking into those metrics. If they are, it is also possible that they do not know how to measure results or what results they should pay attention to.

You should measure the reach, engagement, and unique visitors of every social media post, blog, and email newsletter to identify areas of success and concern. Measure, monitor, and analyze your marketing efforts. You will be able to tell each month how many leads each platform is driving by monitoring these analytics.

You don’t have to be a techie to make digital marketing work for you.

Believe it or not, digital marketing does not have to be overwhelming. For example, you don’t need to memorize all digital marketing terms. Instead, just focus on perfecting a few key forms.

• Blogging. Content is key to a successful digital strategy. It drives traffic to your website. A business blog is the most effective way to generate a wealth of relevant content that can be pushed out through other digital mediums. A business blog usually includes industry tips, industry news and business updates. It helps to establish your business as an industry expert. 
• SEO. Maybe you’ve heard of search engine optimization (SEO), but don’t quite understand its place or importance in your digital marketing plan. Although you don’t have to be an expert, brushing up on SEO and how it works will benefit your digital marketing efforts greatly. The more you understand about how your audience searches online, the better.
• Social Media. Once you discover what social media networks work best for your business, you can post content on them to increase visibility. Find out where your customers are hanging out, for that is where you will want to focus your energy. Take a look at some of the most used social media platforms and how each platform is specifically beneficial.
• Facebook – the most used social media network. Facebook has grown significantly over the years with more than 1,590 million active users. Utilizing Facebook’s promoted post and advertising options allows businesses to better target audiences. If you don’t have one, create a Facebook business page ASAP.
• Google+ – great for SEO. It might surprise you to learn that Google+ is one of the most effective ways to increase your company’s search engine optimization or SEO. SEO improves your online search engine rankings.
• YouTube – the most popular video sharing platform. According to YouTube press page, more than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month and more than 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube.
• Twitter – great for acquiring new business. If Facebook is for people you know, Twitter is for people you want to know. Twitter’s platform enables your company to reach a larger audience. It also makes it easier to connect with customers.
• LinkedIn – great for business to business (B2B) networking.  LinkedIn is basically a resume for your business. Keep your profile up-to-date, post often, and join interest groups. Doing so will go a long way with your digital marketing efforts.
• Business Website. Think of your website as your storefront. All of your content should live on your business website. Whether it is a press release, company mission, blogs, etc.; your website should be the resource for it all.
• Email Marketing. A monthly email newsletter is another way to keep current clients or customers abreast of things that are going on in your business. It is also a great resource for shining a spotlight on clients, sales offers and requests for contributions. 
• Content Offers. All of the content that you share is intended to drive traffic back to your website. That is its purpose. To learn more about your users and what is important to them, continuously create content that include offers that will enrich their experience with your business. (The Beginners Digital Marketing Guide to Generate Measurable Results included in this post is an example of how that works).
• Lead Nurturing. After users respond to your content offer, your work has just begun. Lead nurturing is necessary to move users from leads to buyers or contributors. Engage your target audience through responding when they like, comment or share your content. This is how you will build relationships with your users. When you are able to segment your leads you will have the ability to tailor messages to specific audiences.

Really, it is not as hard as it sounds.

Start slow; ease into it step by step. Build and strengthen as you go.

There is no denying the power of digital marketing in today’s environment. According to smartinsights.com, in January 2016, there were 3.419 billion Internet users (up 10% from January 2015) and 2.307 active social media users (up 14% from January 2015). Facebook dominates with 76% of daily login users, with Instagram and Twitter following with 51% and 42% daily login user rates respectively.

What is most important no matter what marketing strategy you use is to connect with your audience.

Engage your audience with creative, interactive, and helpful content. Then keep them coming back by interacting consistently. Build the relationship. Digital marketing provides a great way to do this if used to its full potential. Remember, step-by-step that’s all it takes. Once you start tracking the results of your digital marketing efforts and begin to get your arms around what’s really working for you and your business, you’ll be empowered and motivated to take the next step with confidence!