Swindon & Wiltshire News
Websites are not yesterday’s news – they are tomorrow’s opportunity
The internet is a wonderful space to do business, yet it’s very, very crowded so it’s imperative to understand how a business owner sees their business in the future so that steps can be taken digitally to get there, says Rob Curtis of The Pursuit Agency
Digital marketing. Do you hear that phrase and feel overwhelmed? Do you hear that phrase and think ‘I don’t know really what that means’ or do you simply continue to ‘muddle along’ when it comes to intelligent marketing online?
The sad truth is many digital marketing agencies sell the ‘in-vogue’ tactic of the moment, seducing a business owner with statistics and reports so that they believe it will be the next ‘big thing’. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and it will never work well if neither party knows the direction of travel.
One size does not fit all. Throwing tactics at the wall of the internet can be a waste of time – and for me, a big red flag is being waved when a digital marketing expert is not talking about business goals or strategies.
Having a digital strategy is no different to having a business strategy – it’s all related. The internet is a wonderful space to do business, yet it’s very, very crowded so it’s imperative to understand how a business owner sees their business in the future – so steps can be taken digitally to get there. This then sits well alongside other marketing activities which may be taking place within a business. It’s all a journey.
Here are a few tips which I hope you’ll find useful:
- Recognise who you are talking to – the tactic of trying to sell to everyone rarely works as no one recognises themselves when they interact with your content or ads.
- Explain simply and clearly what you offer, paying particular attention to anything which makes you different. This is important when many people offer a similar product or service to you, especially in the same geographical location.
- Concentrated concentration – I often use this phrase. There are so many routes in the digital world to choose to boost your brand and sell your products or services. Therefore do one or two things very well, rather than trying to be all things to everyone.
- Do more of what’s working – when something is working, don’t go down a rabbit hole of something else if you can improve the ‘thing’ that’s going well. Ask yourself can it go better? It may be a smaller spend for a bigger yield.
- Your website is your most valuable digital asset – this is my biggest tip. Different tactics, including using social media platforms, come and go. Who remembers MySpace? We’re not in control of these platforms’ overall performance, look how users are currently migrating from Facebook to Tiktok and that’s just one example. Very soon there will be another ‘newcomer’. Your website has huge value and if you don’t have one, invest in creating one.
- One of the most powerful ways to attract people to your website is to ensure it offers three main things – knowledge, a clear service offering and information relevant to your sector. You can amplify this by doing regular blogs to help establish your website as a ‘go to’ place for your service or product.
Rob Curtis is founder of The Pursuit Agency based at the Workshed in Swindon. Rob set up his own agency less than a year ago after eight years in the profession and has already been shortlisted as Start Up Of The Year in the South West Community & Business Awards.
