When you think of the term "marketing", what comes to mind? It could be the images of people in suits, standing in front of bright lights and shouting out marketing slogans like "buy now!" and "save money!". That image of marketing comes straight out of traditional marketing, where businesses focus on pushing their message to as many people as possible. It could also be the traditional marketing and advertising techniques, such as billboards and TV commercials that come to mind. Those traditional methods are effective for reaching a wide audience and can help to grow a business, but they don't have nearly the same impact as digital marketing.
But what exactly is digital marketing? And what benefits does it offer for businesses?
Digital marketing is the use of online channels to promote products or services and connect with customers. There are many ways of doing digital marketing - social media, content marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, paid advertising, etc. - and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. However, they all share a common purpose: reaching potential customers and converting them into customers.
"Digital marketing, also called online marketing, refers to all the marketing efforts that occur on digital platforms."
Because it's such a dynamic field, it can be difficult to understand all the different aspects of digital marketing. That's why I've created this guide to explain all the important concepts and give you the information you need to get started using digital marketing in your small business.
Content marketing - This is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing because it focuses on building trust with your audience by providing them with valuable content. It can be in the form of blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, etc. The goal is to build trust and create customer relationships that are long-lasting and profitable for your business.
Social media - This form of digital marketing has become very popular in recent years because it's cost-effective and provides an excellent way to reach a large number of people quickly. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and other social media platforms are effective ways to connect with customers and build relationships.
SEO - Search engine optimization is the process of getting free traffic from search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. It's the most effective way to get free traffic to your website because about 90% of people never scroll past the first page of search results. Therefore, it's important to optimize your website and get as many links as possible from high-quality websites so that your website will rank higher in search results.
Pay-per-click advertising - This is a type of paid advertising in which you pay a certain amount each time someone clicks on your ad. It's very effective for growing your business because it generates immediate results. For example, if a visitor to your website clicks on your ad and then visits your site and leaves without making a purchase, you still pay the same amount of money you would have spent had they purchased something.
Email marketing - When done properly, email marketing is an effective form of digital marketing because almost every person has an email address these days. It gives you direct access to your customers and allows you to promote your products or services directly to your target audience. It also allows you to build long-term relationships with your customers over time.
Influence marketing - This involves collaborating with influencers in your space to promote your product or service to their large audiences in exchange for a commission. For example, you might collaborate with a blogger who has a large following on Instagram to promote your product to their followers and receive a commission for every sale made through that link.
While these are the most popular digital marketing strategies, it is not an extensive list.
As digital technologies have become more sophisticated and effective, small businesses have had to adapt their approach to advertising in order to compete on today's digital landscape.
Does your small business need help conquering digital marketing? 3Eighty Marketing can help! Contact us today to schedule a free discovery call.