Last week I wrote a piece on why you should go digital that reflected the importance of having an online presence to support off-line communications. Digital is at the heart of communication strategy in Bangladesh. Proactive marketers are adopting fast. However, some of us still are skeptical about results-driven digital marketing. To make digital work, marketers need solid approaches to winning customers online. Following are the Five ways marketers can leverage digital platforms to drive results:

1. Develop a content strategy

Content marketing is all about the creation of good content that attracts, engages, and benefits your customers. To get started, to get creative juices flowing, brainstorming is your first step. Pondering over ideas without knowing who you are creating content for is a rookie mistake. You need to answer these questions:

Who are you talking to?

What are your customers looking for?

What type of content do they like?

How can you add value?

Should the contents be informative or persuasive?

A brainstorming session will help you break down your strategy to a core level, based on which you can build great content.

2. Be coherent and consistent

Once the content marketing strategy has been determined, the next step is to remain coherent with the strategy. Consistency is key to content marketing. Why? Say you have a great social media page, but it will never attract customers if your audience is confused about your values, positioning, and offers. You cannot make posts once in a blue moon and expect results. To make digital work you need to be where your customers are: In terms of time, place, and context. I recommend brands invest in content marketing and social media professionals to make digital work for them.

3. Be local

Create a content strategy that appeals to Bangladeshis. It’s much more than just selling a product. Staying relevant to trending news and local events is important. When you refer to the things that only locals know, you are establishing a connection between the customers and your brand at the same time you are also educating and informing them which will help you to earn their trust.

4. Expand your horizon and experiment

Social media marketing is not only about being present on Facebook. You can find opinion leaders on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest organically. You can also establish credibility on LinkedIn. Another important trick is to be present on Google+. Your content needs to in every touchpoint where your audience is.

You won’t get the content strategy right the first time, it’s a process and you will learn by experimenting. You need to have an open mindset and try new things. A great way to learn is by speaking to your audience.

Find out more about what Bangladeshis are talking about here.

With falling organic reach on Facebook, you might also consider experimenting with ads tailored to various niches to test out certain hypotheses. While it’s hard to get advertising right the first time, you might get professional help from Ad Optimization teams such as the one at WebAble. Working closely with your agency will help you pick up content marketing fast. You’ll learn what works for your brand very quickly.

5. Measure your ROI

How to tell if your content marketing is working? It's important to start with SMART objectives and then track results. While there are some key benchmarks to measure, but their relevance varies from brand to brand. Keeping a tab on analytics is key to making content work for you. This tells you what works and what doesn’t. Tools like Facebook Insights and Google Analytics cover basic metrics. However, you might want help from your agency to dig deeper into digital insights for your brands.

See also, State of Global Digital Platforms [Infographics]