You may have heard of the term digital marketing, but do you know what it is and how you can use it to your best advantage?
Originating in the 1990s, digital marketing has changed the way businesses promote their products and services. Potential customers now turn to Google and other search engines when researching a product or service. A high percentage of consumers will look at a company’s online presence before visiting a store or getting in touch. This trend is expected to continue for both retail and B2B transactions.
Digital marketing is a term used to describe marketing using the internet. For example, a business can have a presence on some or all of the digital platforms, including their website, social media, email, and blog. Online marketing activities such as search engine optimisation (SEO and local SEO), Facebook ads, and keyword research all improve a business’s online presence.
Why Is Digital Marketing Important for Your Business?
If you surf the internet, you will know that not only is it packed full of information, videos and advertising but it also provides the opportunity to reach millions of people and create business relationships – and you don’t even have to be in the same country. Digital marketing helps you find people who are interested in your services and enables you to interact with them.
Different Types of Digital Marketing
There are many forms of digital marketing, but the major types include:
Website Marketing – A website allows your business to establish an online presence which is available 24/7. Furthermore, it makes it easier for prospects to find you and learn more about your products and services.
For best results continuously optimise so your prospects enjoy a positive experience.
You must think about website promotion and SEO if you want more people to visit it.
Social media marketing is a popular digital marketing tool. Depending on your area of expertise, there is a relevant social media platform where your ideal customer spends time. With 56.8% (2021) (https://backlinko.com/social-media-users) of the world’s population connected via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and more, social media can’t be ignored.
Email marketing – is a cost-effective form of digital marketing. You can attract and retain customers by sending customised emails that promote your content, product and brand. There are a myriad of tools available that provide indepth feedback on how these emails have performed. e.g. open rates, clicks, throughput rates to landing pages and websites. Check out https://mailchimp.com/ to find out more.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) When you search for your website on Google, does it appear on Page 1?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is important. If your ideal customer is local, then local SEO should also be a consideration.
You ultimately want your website to rank well in search results so that your visitors find your product offering ahead of your competition.
While SEO is an ongoing process, it is more cost-effective than advertising. Organic results don’t disappear when you stop paying, which is what happens with paid ads.
Why blog? B@B marketers who include a blog in their marketing mix receive 67% more leads, according to Hubspot.
A company that consistently creates helpful, engaging content establishes authority in its niche. A blog also leads to increased website traffic, brand awareness, SEO, and relationship building.
Paid Advertising: Google Ads and Facebook Ads are popular online advertising platforms for businesses that want to reach their target market quickly.
Both have advantages and disadvantages and require a certain degree of knowledge in relation to setting up campaigns to achieve the best results.
Also, as mentioned previously, once you turn off the ads, your leads stop, unlike organic results, which have a longer lifespan.
How Can Digital Marketing Benefit Your Business?
Digital marketing is a powerful marketing tool, and here’s why…
Measurable: Measurable results are key to honing your marketing campaigns. Online marketing has an advantage in that there are so many tools (including free tools) available to monitor results. Check out Neil Patel’s guide to using Google Analytics.
You can focus more on what is producing the best results by using Google Analytics, which provides you with information about what is and is not working on your website as well as where traffic is coming from.
Useful guides to understanding how your digital assets are performing include “A beginners guide to Google Analytics” from Moz and Facebook Audience Insights
You can choose your audience; with digital marketing, you can be as specific or broad as you want, and no matter who your target demographic is, you can usually find them online.
You can reach your customers wherever they are; digital marketing offers lots of ways for you to reach your customers at the right time and in any location. When you’ve identified your audience, you can send them personalised content that they will want to read. Focusing on local search engine optimisation can assist you in ranking higher in local searches.
Customers start their buying journey on the Internet. People depend on the internet for almost everything. They start with research and then examining the choices on offer – they may even find your business!
You can easily update your messaging – when you create a printed leaflet, flyer, poster or billboard the message stays the same. When you create an online promotion, you can change your message as and when you need to. Put the audience, gender, age, and/or interests of the recipient of your message first.
Global reach: digital marketing is not restricted to location; you can sell your products to customers all over the world if you choose.
Building lasting relationships: digital marketing gives us plenty of opportunities to connect with customers and build lasting relationships, meaning they will come back to you time and time again and may even spend more in the future.
Where to Start
Before you begin with digital marketing, you need to create a marketing strategy.
Start implementing techniques gradually based on your specific goals.
Establish your objectives: Write down your desired outcomes. This could include achieving
- Higher ranking on Google search
- Increased website traffic
- Converting a higher number of enquiries into leads.
- Acquiring more leads for higher-value items or services
Clear goals will help identify the right digital marketing channels for you.
Identify Your Target audience.
Make sure you identify who you want to target because not everyone will be your ideal client. Who is likely to be interested in your business?
Consider your budget. How much are you willing to spend on digital marketing? Set a budget before implementing any digital marketing strategy.
Choose your keywords carefully. With what terms would people look for your offerings? Identifying the right keywords will help improve your online visibility. There are lots of free tools available to help you, e.g.
Create content—have a practice at writing content, show it to family and friends, and see how they react. Keep testing until you’ve got it right.
Once you have implemented your digital marketing strategy, you need to measure performance. This means testing and tracking.
Finally, digital marketing requires consistency and perseverance, so it is important that you keep your audience engaged with regular content.
If you would like to harness the power of digital marketing for your business, we can help.
Visit Marketing4U today to book a FREE 30-minute consultation. We can tailor our service to meet your needs and budget.
