It is hard to imagine how businesses used to promote their businesses before the internet. Sure, you had more traditional approaches like TV ads, billboards, and yellow pages, but those couldn’t really have been very efficient. For starters, they cost too much, and their reach is quite limited.
The internet came and changed all that, and businesses now had the ability to reach millions of people faster than ever. Digital marketing was a game-changer, and it allowed startups to compete with billion-dollar companies, if they knew how to promote their services online.
Which Digital Marketing Type is Right for you?
So, of all the different types of digital marketing, which is best for your business?
Content marketing
Content marketing is one of the most popular and straightforward forms of digital marketing, and while it is easy to apply, it is far from simple. This type focuses on creating quality and relevant content for your target audience, enough to keep them going back for more and engaging with your brand.
The premise might seem easy enough to you; you just need to post regularly, right? Well, yes and no. You do need to regularly update your material, but it’s also about what you post, not just how often you do it.
You can’t just create promotional material and then post it on your platforms, because people won’t engage with that and they will just turn to another website. You need to offer them something valuable and interesting, because that’s how you ensure they will come back to consume the material you’re giving them.
So, if you know you have talented copywriters and content creators in your team, people who’ll be able to truly create engaging topics for audiences to read, then this is definitely a form of digital marketing you need to consider.
Pay per click (PPC)
While it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, pay per click (PPC) is actually a very effective form of marketing, and it is one that could do your business a world of good. The thing about PPC is the fact that it’s fast and efficient, and it manages to drive traffic to your website easily.
You’re basically buying the traffic by posting paid ads, and you pay money to the publisher per each ad click. They definitely want to get you as many clicks as possible, since it means money for them and also more traffic to your website –– and ultimately new leads, which translates into money. It is a win-win situation where the publisher gets paid for promoting your services, and you get bigger reach in no time.
If you can spare the money for PPC, you should give it a go and see the results that come.
Search engine optimization
This is arguably the most important form of digital marketing, and it is one that no business can afford to ignore.
SEO is basically how you improve your ranking on search engines like Google, and as you do that, people find your website with ease and in turn, become leads. If you click here, you’ll understand why it is important to create an SEO plan tailored for your business. That way, you can target the people that are online, looking for services or products like the ones you provide, and those are ready to buy, so you definitely want to reach them.
The thing about SEO is the fact that it’s organic, so it doesn’t entail costs like PPC marketing. You just need to do some things to improve your search engine ranking, and as you do that, your website and services will rank higher, and people will be able to find them in the top results.
Strategies to optimize your site and content include adding keywords that people look for, backlinking, improving the loading speed of the pages, and several others. This kind of marketing is important for any business, really; you just need to learn how to go about it the right way.
Social media marketing
You can’t talk digital marketing without bringing up social media. It’s where most people with smartphones –– billions –– spend hours every day, and that means it’s an opportunity you can’t really miss to generate more leads. You have to create a social media strategy to target certain demographics that would be interested in what your business has to offer.
This starts with posting interesting content, regularly, because as you do that, the more people will start following you and sharing your content.
The great thing about social media marketing is the fact that it allows for a unique interaction between brands and their customers. You can engage with them through your content, and these discussions would help you take your business to the next level because you’ll be better able to determine what people really want.
There’s also great diversity in platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn –– each with its niche audience –– which means you can promote your business through different outlets that have different users, ensuring maximum exposure.
Email marketing
If there’s one digital marketing approach that is truly underrated and ignored by many people, it has got to be email marketing. It is by far one of the most powerful approaches out there, and a lot of businesses are yet to tap into that gold mine.
Why is it this powerful?
Email marketing creates a personalized marketing message that is built on customers’ previous shopping and browsing patterns, which allows you to directly reach them with targeted content that you know would interest them. When a person finds an email with the products they like, they are inclined to check what it’s about. And this approach also allows for some meaningful interaction with your audience, which is the ultimate goal of digital marketing.
Conclusion
There are plenty of approaches for digital marketing out there, and figuring out which you need for your business can be confusing. You could definitely benefit from all of them, but you might not have the necessary resources to do so. So, carefully consider which strategy will get you the biggest reach in the shortest amount of time –– and least expenses –– and go with that one, at least at the beginning.
