Yet another throwaway catchphrase for business conferences? Digital marketing may seem to be one of those fancy buzzwords, gimmicks, or jargons. But, it is much more than that. It is the concept that defines the times that we currently live in, that is, the advent of that are working strides to offer stellar and stark online experiences.
In the simplest of words, digital marketing refers to advertisements and promotional content that is delivered using digital mediums such as social media, mobile telephony, email, web applications, and search engines, among others.
Digital marketing essentially comes down to marketing. It is just that the world today has a plethora of mediums at its disposal. The numero uno rule of attaining marketing remains the same as before. The right product or service needs to reach the right time and the right place.
The basic premise of digital marketing
First and foremost, one needs to recognize their target audience and then locate them. The unanimous answer to the predicament is that everyone is online. That is, each one of us has digital accounts and footprints through presence on , news sites and blogs, video and image-sharing applications, and search engines. Now that your customers are online, you must have a presence.
Things you need to do to make your digital marketing strategy a success
Widespread internet-based mobile telephony has rendered global inclusivity by luring everyone to go online. Today, there are multiple platforms and sites to surf, shop, and consume content. To reach out to your target audience, you need to do the following:
Interact with your audience
Interaction here means business. Having an account for your brand and company makes a great start. Also, your account should be convenient and accessible to the target audience.
One way of doing this is with chat applications such as Messenger or WhatsApp. Such forums help forge better interactions and connections and even helps resolve queries and doubts.
However, to amp up your customer services rating, you can supplement these text-based chat forums with voice-based ones. A brand that does this proficiently is Lyft, the ride-sharing platform.
Having a dynamic presence
Today, having a presence on just a handful of social media sites is not enough. Your target audience is likely to be scattered across platforms, and every member would be on a different platform at any given time.
A dynamic digital marketing strategy entails that the right customer receives the right message at the right time and on the right platform. Every site has its peculiar characteristics and intended purpose.
So to elevate brand and product engagement meter, your presence on various digital mediums such as YouTube videos (ideal for fashion accessories, gadgets and gizmos, and technical products), Instagram reels and posts, and Pinterest (best for other visually appealing items such as food and beverages) needs to be effective and impactful.
Host online events
Viewers are online for information or entertainment, or both. So get creative and make it fun for your online customers and audience.
For informal events, come up with interactive and out-of-the-box quizzes or theme-based contests and challenges. Hyundai, the South Korean automobile brand, had devised the dark selfie challenge to spread awareness about climate change and environmental protection.
For formal online events, you can schedule webinars, conferences, and product demonstrations through live streams.
Familiarise yourself with these digital marketing terminologies
The more options and platforms at our disposal, the more concepts and phenomena we have to learn. Among the crucial ones are Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Pay-Per-Click (PPC).
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is the process that helps increase your visibility for relevant searches by augmenting your site, blog, or content. Getting it right is crucial for obtaining widespread brand engagement among the target audience.
In simple terms, the marketing jargon translates into the premise that your online content should show up in the digital searches. The ultimate motive should be that your content shows up within the first couple of ranks. To attain this, you should have a basic understanding of keyword search, digital traffic analysis, and ranking.
Keyword – People today search for the desired information by putting in a few relevant words. You can avail applications such as Ahrefs and Moz to ace them.
Digital traffic – It refers to the number of online users that visit a website. Applications such as Google Analytics help track the time and duration of the visits.
Ranking – This is determined by factors such as site architecture and SEO-friendliness of your content, among others.
Search Engine Marketing
SEM is a paid advertising strategy for improving the visibility and search rankings of your brand and business. It works with the company creating a digital ad and paying the search engine for its display in search results. To leverage SEM, you need to identify keywords, understand paid traffic strategies and have a robust campaign.
Understanding paid traffic strategies can be overwhelming at first. A platform that comes to the rescue is Google Ads, previously known as Google Adwords. To turn the needle out of the haystack, familiarising yourself with Google Ads is paramount. The platform operates on metrics such as landing page and keyword.
Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
PPC is a paid advertising strategy wherein a company or brand pays a platform to appear on its site. Notice the difference yet? It is a platform and not a search engine. PPC is regarded as synonymous with SEM and used interchangeably.
Both SEM and PPC are the same, yet different. In the pay-per-click (PPC) marketing strategy, the ad campaigns are used on digital channels other than search engines. Among the go-to platforms are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The brand gets charged each time a visitor clicks on the banner ad displayed on the site.
Digital marketing is much more than just another buzzword. It refers to promotional content delivered via online mediums such as social media, web applications, and search engines.
It goes without saying that digital marketing will do wonders if you get it right. To do this, your company and brand need to have an accessible presence across the platforms, be interactive and responsive towards your target audience.
To keep up the momentum, hosting online events for your fans and followers will reward you with considerable goodwill. However, before getting onto the digital marketing bandwagon, you should be well-versed with SEO, SEM, and PPC as well.
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