When marketing your business online, you have to stay ahead of the curve. Rather than simply creating a social media account, you need to make sure that you can engage your audience in ways that your competition is not taking advantage of.

For that reason, marketers and business owners constantly inquire about the newest and most effective marketing opportunities available online. If you have a similar question, here are 5 advanced marketing strategies your business can take advantage of.

1) Add Value to Your Product or Service

Value adds are a perfect way to both increase awareness of and loyalty towards your brand. If you can give away more than the actual value of your product or service, the persuasive power of your marketing efforts will increase immensely.

Value additions can come in a variety of forms. For example, you can give loyalty discounts to repeat customers, or add a free promotional gift for new customers. Increasingly, companies focusing on digital lead generation are adding value through high-quality gated content, such as whitepapers, webinars, and free trials.

The goal of this marketing strategy is simple. If a member of your target audience has to choose between you and your closest competition, what will make them more likely to choose your product or service? The answer to that question translates into your specific value ad.

2) Take Advantage of Enhanced Personalization

At this point, it’s no longer news to say that your digital marketing efforts should be personalized. In fact, the clear majority of your audience expects exactly that. In turn, distinguishing yourself from your competition has to include an effort to go the next step.

In your digital marketing, that next step could consist of smart content. True website personalization goes beyond simply including a recipient’s first name in an email, instead adjusting website content dynamically based on previous information gathered about a visitor.

An existing lead, for example, can now see an entirely different homepage than a visitor that has never before made it to your website. As a result, you can deliver more personalized content, which in turn helps to increase the relevance of your messaging for your audience.

The same personalization is also possible through other marketing channels. Emails, for example, can be customized entirely using advanced audience segmentation and custom content blocks. The goal, as in the above, is to create a more relevant marketing experience for potential customers.

3) Build an Influencer Network

Many experts in digital marketing believe that leveraging influencers is the next big thing. Audiences across demographics are growing increasingly weary of traditional advertisements. Ad blockers are causing billions of revenue losses. The solution: work with key members of your audience to make sure the message comes from them, not you.

Building an influencer network takes significant time and effort. It includes not just finding powerful online users who your audience trusts, but also developing a relationship with them. Only finding the right users, and successfully encouraging them to share the right content, can help you succeed.

But if you get there, the positive effects are powerful. In fact, one case study found that influencer marketing delivers an 11 times higher ROI than other digital marketing methods.

4) Utilize the Power of Local SEO

In the last few years, search engine optimization has evolved to far more than a universal ranking on search results. For example, Google now takes into the account the location of searchers, allowing local brands to stand out even against national competitors.

As a result, Google is now encouraging businesses of all sizes to focus on local SEO. The keys to success can vary. But a successful strategy can ensure that your key demographics will find you when looking for a brand like you.

Especially mobile audiences can make a big impact on your SEO efforts. In fact, 50% of users who conducted a local search on their smartphone visit a store they found in that search the same day. Meanwhile, 89% of participants in a recent survey said they search for local businesses at least once per week.

5) Create Enriched Visual Content

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of visual content. Unless you are new to digital marketing, you probably already know the impact that videos and images can have on your visits, engagements, and conversions. But the possibilities don’t end there.

360 degree video, for example, is becoming increasingly popular. It allows you to showcase your brand and its product in more creative ways. Google and Facebook both support this virtual reality opportunity, while the cost of 360 cameras has dropped to prices affordable even for small businesses.

The key is no longer to use visuals, but to use visuals that are different from your competition. Enriched content, such as 360 degree video and even infographics, can help you get there.

Building a Digital Strategy for 2017 and Beyond

These strategies are not always simple. It’s easier to simply send out an email blast or post on social media than it is to create a 360 degree video or rank #1 in local searches. But executed correctly, they can become the cornerstone of a successful digital marketing strategy that puts your brand ahead of your competition.

Of course, you need a sound backend for any of these strategies to work. Increasingly, websites are becoming the foundation of successful digital marketing, offering the conversion opportunities as well as in-depth content your audience looks for after first being exposed to your marketing messages.

For help in creating a website that can support advanced marketing strategies like the above, contact us. We’d love to work with you in making sure that your marketing efforts stand out, both in 2017 and in years to come.