If you’re a business owner, marketing manager who has already invested time and money into online digital marketing, you’re either doing well, which sadly is a small portion of most business owners or you’re looking for ways to get better at your digital marketing.

I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this article, you are one of the many who are still looking for the better way to market online. You’ve invested in different programs and tried different online advertising methods only to still find yourself struggling with online marketing.

As someone who has struggled with the same, I’m here to share with you that there is no cookie cutter recipe that can give you long term results. The best result is building a solid foundation and growing it alongside your business.

How did your current business grow?

Your business grew one step at a time, one client or contract at a time. Your online marketing needs to grow the same way. We all want to race to the end and see instant results, as if there were some magical cure, or method to building your online platform.

Large companies spend MILLIONS of dollars per year in digital marketing, yet we’re looking for the monthly $199 program that launches our business into the fortune 500 status.

Why are we being so unrealistic with ourselves? Why are we believing in these online programs that are selling us on the dream that we can turn our businesses instantly into a profitable and sustainable million-dollar company overnight? You didn’t establish your current business overnight why believe that your online business will happen overnight?

Now, I’m not saying that there aren’t programs out there that will help successfully improve your marketing and gain you new customers. What I am trying to share with you is that building a strong digital foundation will get you long term success.

A Strong Foundation for Your Digital Marketing

Let me explain. Any startup will struggle a bit in the beginning, for some they struggle a lot, but as you gain customers/clients and the word spreads that you have a good product or provide a good service your business grows. As the years go by and you have successfully stayed in business for 5 to 10 years, your reputation really begins to help you continue to grow.

You’ve now built a successful foundation. You build on that and continue to expand your business. Your online business works the same way. You start off with an online presence and grow your presence over time.

Your Foundation: Online Presence

Your online presence consists of your website, social media, and your email campaigns. All of these are the most common digital tools that you use to connect to your customers. You can probably add mobile apps and text messaging but those are less common.

So ask yourself,

• when was the last time you tied your marketing and advertising to your website, social media and email campaigns?
• Do you update your websites on the regular and keep them in line with your promotional and advertising strategy?
• Who handles each one of these digital elements? Are they handled by more than one person? Do they communicate on the regular? Is the information they disseminate cohesive?

Are you beginning to see the problem?

Depending on how you answered these questions will determine if you have absolutely no foundation or you happen to have a massive crack in it.

The good news it can be repaired and/or built!