In today’s digital world, online marketing and content are getting more and more important. Because of this, many businesses are focusing on growing their online presences and attracting potential customers to their websites. For those who have a website and are wanting to attract more traffic and grow their business digital marketing becomes extremely important.
What is digital marketing?
Simply put, digital marketing is the use of digital technology to market a product or service to consumers. It involves creating and distributing content (such as websites, blogs, and social media posts) to attract potential customers to a business and convince them to buy the product or service. If someone were to ask you what is digital marketing and how does it differ from traditional marketing, your answer would be:
- Digital marketing is often done online (i.e., through websites, social media, and emails)
- It often uses digital technology to reach and engage with customers
- The end goal of digital marketing is to attract, acquire, and retain customers
There are three major components that make up digital marketing.
Digital Marketing Strategy
Before you begin your digital marketing efforts you need to develop a clear strategy that will set you apart from others in your industry. This strategy should include both short- and long-term goals as well as a basic framework to achieve those goals. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the strategy, it is important to note that developing a digital marketing strategy is not a one-time event. Rather, it is a continuous process that you should revisit and modify as needed.
Paid vs. Organic Marketing
Paid marketing is advertising your product or service for financial gain. This could include paying to have ads displayed on social media sites such as Google or Facebook, paying for online banner ads, or paying for magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Organic marketing, on the other hand, refers to the process of engaging with customers without paying to have your ads displayed. This could include developing a blog with relevant and useful information for your target audience, social media shares of interesting posts, or publishing an e-book with useful information for your target audience.
It is a common misconception among businesses that want to do well that digital marketing is limited to ads displayed on social media sites or paid search results. While those are certainly the most common forms of digital marketing, it is not limited to those platforms. Let’s explore a few more ways you can use digital technology to market your product or service.
Email Marketing
Speaking of which, email marketing is one of the most effective and affordable forms of digital marketing. When someone decides to buy a product or service from your company, they usually do so after receiving a promo email from you. Why? Because they want to receive more emails from you. So, it is in your company’s best interest to keep them engaged with quality and relevant content via email marketing.
This form of marketing can be extremely effective because you are using a digital platform (i.e., email) to target an audience who has already shown an interest in your product or service. It also helps that you are able to segment and target specific lists of people based on previous activity. For example, if you sold a certain product to someone who later on buys another product from your company, you can send them a targeted email about the second purchase. They might not even be in the same industry as your product, but they will definitely be interested in what you have to say.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is, simply put, marketing via the creation and distribution of content. This content can be anything from a website to an e-book, a white paper, or a YouTube video. The beauty of content marketing is that it requires little to no marketing budget.
You can use content to attract, engage, and retain customers. The key is to create high-quality and informative content that is relevant and useful to your target audience. If you are struggling with creating worthwhile content, consider using an authoritative voice to conduct and curate interviews with subject matter experts, or asking customers to tell you about their experiences with your product or service.
In the end, developing a digital marketing strategy is not as difficult as you might think. Simply follow these steps:
- Set clear goals for your short-term and long-term strategy
- Determine what metrics you will use to assess your success
- Identify your target audience
- Create a framework for how you will achieve your goals
With these five steps in mind, you will be able to create a successful and efficient digital marketing strategy that can help you reach and retain more customers.