Reviewing your digital marketing strategy

Things move very fast in the digital world, what might have been cutting edge last year may now be yesterday’s news, therefore it’s important to regularly review what you are doing with your digital marketing. Ryan Fox, salon management consultant offers some advice on where to start. Essentially your digital marketing plan forms part of your overall marketing strategy and should support your overall aims and business goals. Wikipedia describes digital marketing as “an umbrella term for the targeted, measurable, and interactive marketing of products or services using digital technologies to reach and convert leads into customers and retain them…using the Internet as a core promotional medium”, which I think sums it up well. Remember it’s still marketing Converting leads into customers and retaining them or, to put it in industry terms, getting new clients and making sure they come back, is fundamentally what salon marketing is all about. Just because it’s online, digital or on a mobile phone, the fundamental marketing principles still apply, you are just using a different method to reach people. Therefore, make sure each campaign passes the simple tests that you would normally set out in your marketing plan about how you are going to put it into practice. After all, the marketing plan should ensure that everyone in the business knows what you are trying to do and what they need to do to make it happen. A sign of the times Increasingly people are using the internet as their preferred method of reaching their audience, for whatever it may be. It’s just how it is now, therefore your digital strategy needs to be a core part of your marketing that will increasingly drive more clients to your door and keeps them loyal to your brand. Getting it right With so many different ways to communicate with the client now it’s important to choose the right platforms to be seen on but it’s also important to be seen regularly and to give the right message. Therefore, you need to produce the right content and plenty of it. It’s also a good idea to link some of your platforms so that it’s more consistent and efficient, especially with social media. Ryan Fox is a hair and beauty salon consultant who improves salon performance through training and innovation. For further details visit www.umbrellaconsulting.co.uk