If your digital advertising ROAS just isn’t cutting it anymore, then it’s time to step back and re-think your approach.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to manage ad campaigns for businesses in virtually every industry—from mobile dog groomers to high-end women’s fashion.  And, believe it or not, there was one commonality their campaigns all shared (other than me).

The single factor that limited ROAS most in every situation was the lack of emphasis on driving micro-actions.

(If you’ve never heard the term, “micro-action” before, it’s exactly as the name suggests: a small, simple task that’s easy to complete.)

Nearly every client I’ve run paid ads for, from the healthcare professionals to the fashion and jewelry brands, used their ads for one purpose: to get paying customers—right this minute.  Whether that meant booking appointments or selling products online, the ultimate goal of every campaign was always to get our audience spending money immediately after clicking our ad.

In theory, it seems like that plan should work… but as years of experience have taught me, even when “instant gratification” can be achieved with the click of a button, new customers just aren’t ready to spend money before they truly feel connected to a brand—and micro-actions are exactly how we can build that connection.

4 Powerful Micro-Actions To Help Your Brand Win Over New Customers:

1. Email sign-ups

With an average return of $38 for every $1 invested, it’s shocking to see there are still so many brands who put minimal effort into gaining new subscribers.  The beauty of email marketing lies in the opportunity to directly communicate with your audience—every. single. day.  And that’s without having to navigate social media algorithms.

Yet, one of the most common mistakes I see brands make is neglecting to call out the benefits of signing up to receive emails—instead, somehow it’s become common practice to include a small box in the website footer with a vague, unenticing call-to-action, like, “Subscribe to our newsletter,” or worse, “Sign up for emails.”

There’s no information about the type of content subscribers can look forward to receiving.

Even worse, there’s no effort being made to ensure site visitors actually notice the opt-in.

And most of the time, the reason why there’s no emphasis on growing the email list is because the brand in question is relying entirely on its online checkout system to automatically opt-in customers after they’ve already completed a purchase.

As a copywriter obsessed with helping businesses increase market share, it kills me to see this.  Email is such a powerful tool for winning new customers, when used correctly.

Not to mention, the more valuable you can make your email content, the easier it will be to keep your brand top-of-mind and prevent readers from unsubscribing.

2. App downloads

It seems there are plenty of companies who still aren’t quite sure whether apps provide value.  But with the number of mobile app downloads rising each year, it’s clear significant demand exists.  That said, simply being present in the App and/ or Google Play stores isn’t enough to get customers downloading (and using) your app.

Instead, I recommend taking a more proactive approach and promoting your app via your brand’s website, emails, social media, and even using paid search ads on Google, Bing, and Pinterest.

And I can’t stress enough the importance of using copy that explains what makes your app useful—a generic call-to-action like, “Download our mobile app” won’t do anything to spark interest, yet I see brands use this exact phrase all the time on their websites.  Give customers more information about how your app solves a problem or can make their day better.

Why are mobile apps helpful for winning over new customers?

Aside from serving as a convenient, easily-accessible tool customers use to discover and buy your latest products, your app is also a marketing platform in and of itself, thanks to push notifications.

There are two major reasons why push notifications should be considered in every copy strategy (especially when targeting new prospective customers):

1. Push notifications provide another medium you can leverage to get your brand name in front of customers— in a place where there’s no doubt they’ll see your message.

2. 46% of all app users who’ve opted into push notifications spent at least 11 sessions in said app each month.

Remember that old saying about the key to a man’s heart being through his stomach?  Well, the key to your customers’ wallets is through their phones!

3. Blog subscriptions

If you enjoyed that analogy, here’s another one for you: publishing blog content without giving readers the option to subscribe is sort of like trying to catch a fish without baiting your line first.  Sure, you may be able to increase organic website traffic, but keep in mind, this incremental site traffic will include new users who aren’t ready yet to make a purchase.

Like the Marketing Rule of 7 reminds us, brands have the most success at winning over customers only after multiple interactions.  So, with that in mind, it’s only logical to give your blog readers the option to subscribe.

Now that doesn’t mean every blog post needs to end with a call-to-action asking your audience to subscribe—in fact, I would advise against this tactic, as each unique post will naturally warrant a different CTA.  Plus, those who’ve already subscribed will be left with no new action to take.

So instead, I recommend embedding a simple opt-in form on your brand’s blog, allowing readers to sign up if they’d like to be notified when your newest posts are published.

Not only are loyal blog readers likely to become repeat, paying customers, but there’s also a good chance they’ll share your blog content on social media and via email, helping you reach a wider audience—all without spending any more money on ads.

4. Social media follows

Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning social media follows.  Being able to reach customers where they hang out online is not only helpful, but crucial for success in today’s world.

Offering followers exclusive deals, discounts, content, or early-bird access to new product launches will help you quickly attract new audience members who want to engage with your brand on social.

You can never have too many loyal followers.

And as an added bonus, growing your social media following even plays into your SEO strategy; sharing your blog content on social media not only drives website traffic at scale (which signals to search engines that your site is of high quality), but also creates additional backlinks, thereby improving each webpage’s organic ranking on Google and Bing.

So as you can see, each of your customers’ micro-actions creates a domino effect to propel your brand forward.  Now, let me ask you again: are you happy with your digital marketing ROAS?

Let’s Fine-Tune Your New Customer Acquisition Strategy!

Whether you run a B2B or B2C business, new customer acquisition is the key to your success—and also happens to be one of my favorite goals to work towards.

So shoot me a note if you’d like to discuss your company’s strategy and start converting more customers online.

I look forward to hearing from you!