What is Digital Marketing? | South Africa Today

The term ‘digital marketing’ includes all marketing efforts that use an electronic device – in other words, a smart device – or the Internet. Businesses leverage digital channels – such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites – in order to connect with current customers as well as prospective ones.

‘Digital marketing’ is demarcated using several digital tactics and channels. These methods are used to connect with customers where they are spending much of their time – online.

There’s a vast spectrum of tactics that fall under the umbrella of “digital marketing”. These are from the website itself to a business’s online branding assets such as digital advertising, e-mail marketing and online brochures.

The best digital marketers have a well-defined picture of how each of their digital marketing campaigns supports their overarching marketing goals. And, dependent on the goals of their digital marketing strategy, online marketers can support a bigger campaign through the free and paid channels that they have at their disposal.

The spectrum of digital marketing tactics

Here are a few of the marketing tactics that are available to a digital marketer.

There isn’t anything more vital to digital marketing than search engine optimisation. This is something that might still baffle you with its ongoing layers. While it’s correct Google’s algorithms can become complicated, you can better grasp how SEO works when you work more with the concept.

Search Engine Marketing

If you’re a newbie to search engine marketing, just an FYI that you’ll usually see it abbreviated as SEM. This is a form of Internet marketing where you increase your SERPs through paid advertising techniques.

Google makes their Google Ads easy to use with their care that they display for customisation:

All of these types of advertisement are going to depend on your business style as well as the targeted audience that you need to reach.

Google makes it even simpler with localised ad capability. They also have superior metrics so that you can track how well your ads work.

Don’t forget about other paid ad opportunities. This especially refers to Facebook Ads. This is because the ads on this platform give you ample opportunity to customise multiple ad formats.

Content Marketing

As a logical add-on to inbound marketing, content marketing is a big part of drawing in a targeted audience. What’s vital about this type of marketing is that you need to make your content helpful, appropriate, and constant in order to make it worth the time of those reading it.

In today’s world, focus on creating content that can provide solutions to pain points and remain evergreen. Using shortcuts or black hat SEO tactics only to move to the top of search engines will not work. In fact, these techniques will get you pushed down the SERPs.

So constantly keep the phrase “content as king” at the forefront of your mind. To make content marketing work properly, focus on mobile content, native advertising, influencer marketing as well as marketing automation.

Think seriously about mobile content. This is because smartphones are already making up 50% of all devices, which are used to access the Internet, worldwide. This is going to affect digital advertising as well as the manner in which social media influencers promote your brand.

Local Search Marketing

There is a lot more attention being placed on local search marketing . It’ll continue to be important far into the coming years. This is because a local businesses realise the power of being found by local consumers.

To begin with local search marketing, through Google My Business you’ll be able to get your listing to be displayed the second someone does a Google search that is founded on the keywords inputted by the user. This includes if your business appears on Google Maps.

Follow these five steps which are listed above and you’ll be off to a great start in digital marketing!