Marketing has gone through so many changes since the start of the century that it is virtually unrecognizable from what it used to be. Companies are forced to constantly adapt their marketing strategies to appease the customers they are trying to bring in. There is a steep learning curve that comes along with digital marketing, and if you are not a tech-savvy person, it can feel like you are drowning in a pool of uncertainty. Here are eight ways that you can update your marketing strategy to keep up with the cutthroat world of business that is constantly evolving.

1. Social Media

The most important and direct tool that you have in your digital marketing platform repertoire is social media. There are a few social media giants that have been constantly popular over the past decade or more which are sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These are the platforms you want to invest most of your energy into. Then, there are the platforms that are more likely to be trends rather than industry staples. It can be helpful to invest some time in these platforms in case it erupts into popularity, but make sure to devote most of your time to established platforms.

2. Make Posts

Simply creating social media accounts is not enough to get your name out there. You have to make effective posts as well. Generally, a good rule for a small business is to post a few times per week and not more than once per day. There can be exceptions to this, and you should not be afraid to experiment, but it is a good guideline to follow. Your posts should promote sales, services, and anything else that you want to make known. Once a few people follow your page, you will start growing naturally as they share your posts.

3. Search Engine Optimization

If there is anything that rivals social media in terms of digital marketing, it is search engine optimization, or SEO. When you search something on Google, how does the search engine know what to show you? Much of the time, the answer is that businesses pay other businesses to bump their names up when potential customers search for certain things. For example, if you run a hardware store from Miami, Florida, you might want your website to pop up when someone searches for something like, “power tools in Florida”.

4. Buy Advertising Space

Advertising space is cheaper than ever now because of how many advertisements people consume every day on the internet. Advertisements are how many of your favorite online services remain free, so they are always looking for more people to purchase ads. Facebook, YouTube, and several other websites make it incredibly easy and cheap to buy hundreds or even thousands of advertisements. They will also make sure that your ads are only shown to people who are likely to be interested in what you offer. They do this by collecting demographic information and search habits to cater everyone’s advertising experience.

5. Mobile-Friendly Website

More people than ever are using mobile devices to access websites rather than a desktop or laptop, so it is your responsibility to modify your site to draw those users in. Some site-hosting services have mobile optimization options available in the customization menu, so use them if they are available, but otherwise, you will have to work with a programmer. Think about what you would like to see when visiting a website on your phone. Menus should be easy to navigate, and you should keep in mind that mobile users are on a much smaller screen.

6. Email Lists

People who are especially interested in your business will want to be informed about deals and events that are going on. Because there will always be people who want to hear about these things, you should use that to your advantage and create an easy to find button to sign up for your business’s email list. Consider giving the customers who sign up for special perks that are not available to anyone else. For example, give them printable coupons or codes that can be used for discounts on your website should they choose to use them

7. Influencer Marketing

Social media influencer is the number one career that kids today want to be. Whatever your feelings about that fact are, you cannot deny that social media influencers are now an integral part of internet culture and society in general. You can use this to your advantage by using small influencers as brand ambassadors. Many small and mid-size influencers are still trying to find their footing, so they are more likely to take on sponsorships in exchange for little payment or free products. Make sure you are following all advertising laws so neither party gets in legal trouble.

8. Online Store

If you do not already have an online store where customers can order everything you sell, that should be your priority moving forward. Convenience is a virtue that your customers will universally appreciate, and being able to buy anything at any time is the pinnacle of convenience. You can also display exactly how many of each item you have in stock without having to bring more merchandise out onto the floor. An online store will also improve your sales by theoretically allowing people from all over the world to buy from you, although you can set parameters for where you are willing to ship to.

As a business owner, you cannot allow yourself to fall behind the times and refuse to change. Some businesses that were perfectly successful before the age of the internet, but they refused to embrace it and have now become defunct. It is not easy to keep up with the constantly evolving internet landscape, but you have to make a valiant attempt, even if that requires hiring a young person who knows what he or she is doing. Embrace change as it comes, and never fail to take advantage of all the tools you have at your disposal.