3 Non-Negotiables for Digital Advertising Success

The advent of the digital age has inadvertently produced some collateral damage in the form of traditional businesses being left behind where marketing and promotional practices are concerned. If you’re looking for ways to give your business more exposure, there are certain digital marketing assets you simply cannot afford to ignore.

If you plan to maintain an edge in the digital environment, there are certain indispensable elements of your business that must be in place in order for you to stay ahead of the curve. Below are three non-negotiable digital assets every business needs to have in order to maximize their digital advertising success.

1. You Must Have a Website

Bill Gates once famously said “If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business.” Your website is your virtual storefront and headquarters, and if you’re going to foray into the digital advertising arena, you must have some type of location for potential prospects to go to once they click on your ad. Your website should act as a digital sales representative, offering content that will inform as well as educate your visitors about your products and services. Many websites feature a “Frequently Asked Questions” section in order to minimize repetitive inquiries via phone or email. You can also set up a page to capture your visitors’ contact information, turning your website into a lead generation tool. Establishing an online presence is not only a smart move for your business, but it has now become absolutely critical in terms of capturing your share of the vast number of people who shop for products and services online.

2. You Must Have a Mobile Site

Not only does your business need a website that is suitable for viewing on traditional desktop machines, but you also need a mobile-optimized site as well. A mobile site is specifically designed to perform well on mobile devices. With over half of all Internet usage in the United States now coming from mobile devices, it only makes sense for you to accommodate the ever-expanding mobile audience by offering a website that will display correctly on smartphones and tablets.

Mobile sites are built for speed, as they offer faster download times than their traditional desktop counterparts. Mobile visitors can become easily frustrated when they’re being forced to wait for a clunky, non-mobile-friendly website to load; in today’s world of super-fast connection speeds, even six seconds can seem like an eternity. Mobile-optimized websites are workhorses that prioritize speed and usability, which is perfectly compatible with the on-the-go lifestyle of the average mobile Internet user. Mobile sites also offer unique features that are unavailable to desktop users, such as click-to-call functionality and GPS-based interactive mapping applications.

Responsive sites are also quickly emerging as the premier way to build sites for viewing on practically all devices, mobile or otherwise. A responsive site essentially works with the viewing device, performing automatic configurations to adapt to whatever screen size and display properties are needed in order to view the website correctly. Whether you choose a mobile-optimized site or a responsive site, the important thing is for you to have a mobile-friendly site up-and-running to accommodate your mobile visitors.

3. You Must Be on Social Media

Social media has completely revolutionized the way businesses interact with their customers and potential prospects. The most successful and profitable businesses in the world are leveraging their social media presence to increase engagement and improve brand awareness. When used creatively, social media can also do wonders towards differentiating yourself from the competition. Social media is also one of the most effective reputation management tools in existence; you can keep a close eye on what other people or competitors are saying about your business, and if any problems arise, you can proactively take steps to remedy the situation.

Let’s not forget one of the most basic but highly beneficial uses of social media: To increase the amount of traffic coming to your website. The smartest companies are using social media as a way to get their fan base involved in not only providing useful feedback and suggestions, but in some cases even assisting with product development. One famous example of this is Mountain Dew’s “Dewmocracy” campaign, in which social media fans could vote on which new Mountain Dew flavor they wanted to add to the official Mountain Dew product line. Few platforms allow room for this type of inventiveness, creativity and collaboration between businesses and their audience the way social media does. When incorporated into a comprehensive marketing strategy, social media can send the popularity of your business into the stratosphere.

As the old saying goes, “There’s nothing constant in this world except change,” and this holds especially true where digital advertising is concerned. Savvy online marketers understand that having a website (for both desktop and mobile devices) as well as establishing a social media presence are absolutely necessary if you’re going to reap the full benefits of your online endeavors. Adding the above elements into your marketing strategy is the perfect way to position your business for maximum growth and profitability in the years to come.

Make sure you have these non-negotiables working for your business – not against it.