FEATURE
Passionate about helping businesses transition into the next level and training leaders embrace digital and technology , digital evangelist and transformator Homer Nievera juggles various roles in his hands and is always exploring new ways to utilize and offer digital services to businesses .
He has a long history in the digital business , venturing into it way back 1995 . In 2010 , he established Mediablast as a digital strategy firm for political groups and personalities who needed to understand how digital will affect their campaigns . With the success of the venture , they started to pivot towards more tech solutions in 2015 .
He likewise brought in his network of online publications into the fold that enabled him to help more companies embrace digital transformation by including technology solutions and beefing up their digital media offerings as they grew publications outside the Philippines to reach 188 countries and assemble a team of 100 + writers globally .
As more companies pivot into digital marketing , the Philippine Retailing Magazine talked with Homer to learn some insights on digital marketing .
Content and Context
“ Content is King and Context is Queen ! This is still true today and , in many decades , to come ,” Homer replied when we asked him if creating articles on your blog or website is still necessary as compared to mainly relying on video contents of social media posts .
Homer Nievera
He cleared that content comes in various forms and is simply amplified across different media .
“ Whatever new form of media comes out ; content will be there , right ? But the most basic of all forms of media is written content .”
He explained that , that ' s how search engines “ see ” -- through written content . Google cannot see or view pictures or video unless there ' s written content in them , from the title , description to the tags . So , text is basically needed in everything we put out there . Besides , all those graphic and video contents are fleeting . Once they ' re archived , you can only search them using text . It ' s how you find all those books archived in a library -- as you go through indexed written text .
Thus , when you look into the power of content , you can also use the power of context -- where in certain keywords and phrases don ' t mean just one thing . You will need to research on their usage to push your brand in any content format .
“ Content appeals to your two main senses of sight and sound , while context appeals to your inner feelings and thoughts . Yup , a combination of art , social science and psychology ,” he added .
Digital Marketing Best Practices
“ In digital marketing , your website is who you are on the web ,” Homer emphasized .
It ' s also now your main storefront and all operations that go with it are now part of your digital transformation . Content is part of your push and pull marketing strategy wherein SEO does both things , while social media just does the push .
Everything you do should lead to your website . “ That ' s why the first thing we do is a website forensics report ,” Homer continued . “ We actually give the surface audit for free . This allows us to evaluate your website , its strengths and weaknesses , and find opportunities to create leads going into it . Everything begins with your website , really .”
Moving to the Digital Space
Finding Context in Digital Transformation and Marketing
With the pandemic , forcing businesses to transform into becoming more digital , rather than staying traditional , Homer said that the first step is acceptance of the new situation and that e-commerce is the way to go .
“ No amount of resistance will do anyone good anyway . With multiple mobile wallets and e-commerce platforms being launched , you either join in or be left behind . My simple advice is to let go and move forward . That means that retailers should know that letting go of the old ways is the first step , after accepting that this is an entirely new world . One ' s mindset should be as if you were transferred to a new planet and to survive , you simply need to adapt -- or die .” He added that e-commerce will hinge on mobile commerce .
“ This is the way to go if you want to slingshot your way towards the immediate future . One of my companies is partnering with a messenger-based ecommerce and delivery booking solution . I call it , mobile social commerce . It ' s one step forward than everyone else . You don ' t need to download an app because 60 million Filipinos have Facebook and Facebook messenger already . No further adoption or learning curve . This is an example of what I mean by digital transformation using slingshot strategies in the context of e-commerce ,” he shared .
He echoed that digital marketing will be a necessary branch of brick and mortar stores .
“ With post-ECQ protocols in place , there ' s still a limitation on foot traffic to stores . Thus , augmenting or pivoting your strategies towards an 80 % online scenario is a must .”
To conclude , he points that three things to master in digital marketing -- website and mobile presence , SEO , and content management . These three will be key in pushing you ahead while digitally transforming products , operations and fulfillment .
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