How to make your business go digital — (p1.0)
Three key early steps of taking your business digital
Digital Marketing is the the single biggest revolution in marketing in the new millennium.
The ability to promote businesses and brands to highly precise markets has been an the secret ingredient for the huge success in digital marketing.
Before giving it a start, there are three main aspects needed to be taken into consideration.
- Scope
- Technology and Content
- Cost and Time
Scope
My grandmother’s brother was a fine lad. He was quirky, charming and bold as my grandmama once described him. He was just around 8 but to my grandmama; her brother was the morning star that shone the brightest.
I visited his grave after 4 years. He has been dead for almost a century. I remember the place, where he was buried. It was a small cemetery. Now there is a pathway built on it more than 100 years later, there is no one to remember him by, but their sibling who remembered them as a child. Now that someone has died too.
Imagine, that for a brief second.
He was perhaps born in the 1910s and died by cholera a few years later. No one remembers him but me. I who is a descendant and prayed for him as I was sorry that I wasn’t there to stop them when they built a road on his resting place.
It’s a tragedy.
This is what life is, at times we’ll feel powerless — don’t fear it.
Feel it, let it sink in. Embrace it all.
Accept it, as it is sad and really depressing to know that his grave is no more and so is his existence from this world, just like the many people who were buried alongside him.
I will die too, just like this.
We all will someday.
But by writing his memory, and life — we pay tribute to him and others like him.
As we can remember them in our prayers, and in our hearts will they live on.
And so will we, in someone else’s if choose to tell our story.
Let’s be more present in each other’s lives so we can reminisce them someday.
I know I will.
Will you do it as well?
In terms of technology, you should figure an idea on the approach you take. If it is web application you need to develop, figure out the tools and requirements you need, or if it is to give a start on social media, plan on the tech you should utilize to suffice.
Just as much as technology, the content you promote when you take the business digital is crucial. Content could be a text, image, video or a simple GIFs. Be sure of what content you should use for each platform or aspect you are willing to cover.
Cost and Time
When you get hold of the first two aspects of going digital, always should be in mind is the cost and time a business should incur when going digital.
The biggest highlight — Cost other businesses and organizations bear to take their business launch digital should not intimidate you. Due to several reasons, such as differences in target audiences, differences in objectives aimed to achieve and so on, they tend to differ majorly.
You should focus whether the company you want to launch digital has a plan accustomed to it. Focus on questions,
When should I launch my mobile application on iOS and Android stores?
When should I make the official Facebook launch?
What is my budget for the social media campaign I am planning to carry out?
Once you get your hands on the the three main aspects of how you should take take your first step on going digital, focus on how to setup your online goals.
As I see it, and explained by moguls in the digital marketing ball-game, a key goal when a business is launched online is identifying customer profiles.
Added to what was discussed earlier, you can follow one of the following ways to create a sound online presence:
- Online local listings — e.g. Google My Business
- Social Media platforms
- Websites
- Apps
But,
How can you actually make the most out of the ways mentioned above when you start the digital campaign for the business?
You might need to hold on for it, yet.
Till then, you should have an understanding on how to make a “Good Plan”.
Good Plan
The golden rule of a good plan — never expect anything too soon. It could be the brightest plan out there, that is still going to take time.
A good plan is a combination of 3 crucial factors,
- Knowing your online goals
- Setting up realistic expectation
- Using analytics to monitor and understand how the business is doing in the digital landscape if it is already launched, or using stats to find out how well the business will do when the business is put up on a digital environment.
But on top lies a sliver-lining — A Good Plan is a coordinated effort of,
- Basic concepts in the business that do not change often
- Forward thinking to keep up with the latest and greatest advancements
A Good Plan comprised yet kept lying around the corner does not help the business. You should market your online presence.
Making a sound online presence is tricky!
Stay tuned and follow me at Muad Arshad to keep you posted.
About Author:
I am an Associate Business Analyst keeping baby-steps to bring the writer in me, while learning basics and advanced techniques in writing.
Based on the knowledge I have acquired during my undergraduate studies and online courses I have followed, I am willing to share my knowledge at no cost.
My medium handle is Muad Arshad where you can find out articles I have written on random topics, life experiences and tech-based roles! — whoops
Reach me on twitter through @muad_0911 and on LinkedIn through Muad Arshad!
Cheers!
