How to future-proof your digital marketing for success

In this Ask Aaron video I discuss some of the ways we’re future-proofing our clients digital marketing campaigns.

Some of the key points covered include questions such as:

What does the brand look like when it’s finished?

Future-proof digital marketing success comes from:

👉 Thinking long term
👉 Understanding your channel revenue split
👉 Creating evergreen content / be an information resource
👉 Creating leveraged assets (that you own)
👉 Building an email list (own the data)
👉 Securing relevant links
👉 Focusing on core channels
👉 Working in 2-year cycles
👉 Clarifying who is doing what
👉 Understanding what is done in-house vs external (to agencies).

How to future-proof your digital marketing

Visualise the finished brand

Successful ecommerce brands begin with a clear vision of what the brand will look like when it’s fully developed. This involves defining success, and documenting the brand’s attributes and achievements. Whether you plan to sell the brand eventually or have long-term goals, this exercise is crucial for aligning your actions with your desired outcomes.

Think long term

Avoid getting lost in the immediate demands of the present. Instead, focus on the long-term implications of your digital marketing decisions. Consider how your strategies today will impact your brand one, two, or even five years down the line. This perspective allows you to make choices that support your overarching goals.

Understand channel split

Analyse your reliance on different digital marketing channels such as organic search, paid advertising, referral, social media, and more. Strive for a balanced channel split, aiming for – roughly – a third of your traffic from repeat customers, organic channels, and paid efforts. An equitable distribution reduces dependence on any single channel.

Read more about this digital marketing approach in this guide: Why ⅓ ⅓ ⅓ is a great marketing mix. 

Create evergreen content

Invest in producing evergreen content—content that retains its value over time. Unlike fleeting trends, evergreen content remains relevant and helpful, serving your audience for years. Research your topics thoroughly, and ensure your content stands out as a comprehensive resource in its field.

Build an email list

While social media and other platforms are valuable, you don’t own the data they generate. To mitigate this, aim to build an email list of regular customers, by offering content of relevance and value in exchange for subscriptions. This way, you can collect and control valuable ecommerce customer data, allowing you to communicate with your customer base regularly and directly, while maintaining that all-important personal connection.

Strategise link building for relevance

When acquiring backlinks, always aim to prioritise relevance over trends. Instead of chasing short-term link-building tactics, focus on securing links from sources that your target customers engage with. This approach will strengthen your ecommerce brand’s authority and impact, and will improve your brand’s online standing over time.

Narrow your focus on key channels

Avoid spreading your brand- and resources – too thin across numerous channels. First, concentrate your efforts on the ecommerce marketing channels that are historically proven to yield the most value for your brand. Once you have honed your approach, you can then gradually expand your focus and take incremental steps to slowly solidify success in each area.

Embrace two-year cycles

Plan your digital marketing efforts in two-year cycles. This timeline aligns well with the gradual growth and results of organic strategies like SEO and content marketing. By thinking in increments, you can set realistic goals and evaluate your progress effectively.

Establish clear responsibilities

Clearly define who is responsible for which key aspects of your digital marketing efforts. Whether you’re working with in-house teams, or digital marketing external partners, a well-structured responsibility framework is vital – it ensures accountability as well as efficient execution, and keeps everybody on the same page.

Develop personal branding for key individuals

In the age of AI and increased automation, building the online presence of key individuals within your ecommerce brand is absolutely vital. Invest in personal branding for experts within your organisation and add instant credibility, authority, and  – most importantly, in my opinion – a human touch to your digital marketing efforts.

Watch the video to get my perspective on all of the above and more.

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