Digital marketing has been a very talked about discipline in recent years, and will continue to be as time goes by.
One of its definitions could be “marketing that uses digital channels and platforms to reach a company’s or a person’s business goals”.
There are seven main strategies involved in digital marketing. We’ll take a brief look at each one of them.
Search Engine Marketing
Whenever someone has a question or is looking for a specific product, the first place they turn to is either Google or one of the other search engines. Search engine marketing is all about connecting with people through them.
The main way this is done is through Pay Per Click (PPC). PPC (of which Google Ads is the biggest player) is a method through which companies bid for keywords that they expect users will employ in their searches. When someone searches for, say, “digital cameras”, they will see some ads for companies that bid on that phrase in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The relevance of the keywords is obviously fundamental, so they must be chosen carefully.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO is the process by which we try to get our website ranked well by the different search engines. This is not the same as paid advertising. The results are organic. This means they are achieved through various free (apart from commitment and time) techniques. It is all about showing up for specific search terms related to you or your business.
Social Media Marketing
People use social media more and more, and this habit is not going away anytime soon. There are dozens of platforms, the main ones today being Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. There’s no telling which ones will be around and relevant in a couple of years. The important thing is to be present on the appropriate ones.
Content Marketing
Good content is crucial. You can’t afford not to create engaging content that will be of interest to your users and prospective customers. Don’t limit yourself to sales messages, as that would be a big mistake. Have a blog (and be present on social media) and share knowledge, tips and relevant information, and people will keep coming back for more.
Email marketing
Paraphrasing a well-known writer, the news of email’s death are somewhat exaggerated, but they surface from time to time. Having a dynamic mailing list is still very important. It is good to engage prospects, to acquire new customers, and to keep them informed of news related to your activities.
Mobile marketing
A fast growing percentage of people are using mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets are now common among us, so attention must be paid to these platforms.
The app market is huge, and is an opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves from the competition. The now old text marketing (SMS) is still an effective way to connect as well, with an open rate of over 90%. Mobile advertising is growing more and more. There is ample opportunity to leave a mark in this area.
Analytics
It is fundamental to have clear objectives when you start your journey into digital marketing. It’s the only way you’ll be able to measure the results. And measuring has become more and more accessible. Today, tools like the free Google Analytics provide huge amounts of data you can look into and organise, so that you know if you’re on track with the initial goals.
It is my plan to delve deeper into each of these digital marketing strategies in future posts. In the meantime, let me know in the comments which you currently use, and what results you’re getting.
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