Unlike millennials, Generation Z has been born and raised in the digital age. Instead of having technology brought to them later in life, a Smartphone was their first toy. What this means is that the digital lives they have online are as native to them as their real ones. This has a profound effect on how they interact with brands- the relationship is two-way.
Earlier, digital marketing was just an augmented part of ‘actual’ advertising; just a side project that plays a minor part in constructing the brand image. Today, it is the foremost priority of most businesses. Let us give you an insight into the online world with this guide to digital marketing.
What is Digital Marketing?
Let’s start with the basics. Digital marketing is a way to market your product or service online through various channels. In most cases, digital marketing lets you access a particular target audience through the internet and other online avenues. This target audience can be tailored according to geography, psychosocial aspects, age, gender, consumer choices, and much more.
What exactly constitutes as digital marketing? Instead of being just a monolithic medium of advertisement, digital marketing has entirely different rules altogether, and depends largely on what kind of platform you are using. On Twitter, for example, posts have to conform to a specified number of characters, while a PPC ad has a more aggressive method of approaching the audience. This needs to be internalized before launching an online campaign.
Types of Digital Marketing
Let’s suppose you are just getting into the goldmine that is digital marketing and let us begin from the top. There are many techniques that can be employed for marketing a business digitally. They range from optimizing content according to most searched keywords on Google to writing an interesting blog that presents the brand as a subject matter. Here is a general overview of your options.
SEO
Search engines are the audience’s first line of contact with your brand. If you want your website to turn up every time a user types in a certain keyword, you have to look into the algorithms that search engines use to sift through the billion websites on the web today.
To make sure your article is search engine optimized, it is important to consider things like keyword volume, the optimal length of an article, hyperlinks, and meta tags. Make sure you target the right audience. This is why it is considered to be a specialized job best left to professionals.
Website Marketing
Especially if you have an online business, bringing traffic to your website is the cornerstone of your marketing strategy. Your website is what gives customers a lasting first impression of your brand; it is also the ground where there is a possibility of gaining paying customers.
In order to successfully convert views, likes, and attention to potential leads, you will be using multiple tactics to bring your target customers to your website where they will get more information or make a purchase.
Content Marketing
Another essential aspect of digital marketing is creating relevant content to attract and engage with the target audience. These can range from a gratitude email requesting feedback, or an eBook on a topic your customers will most likely be interested in. Besides these, blog posts, web pages, social media posts, testimonials, images, videos, podcasts, and infographics are also under the same umbrella. The more creative you are, the more novel ideas you can bring to the table.
Social Media
Another brilliant avenue is social media marketing that we will discuss comprehensively in a separate blog. In short, social media platforms are plenty and they have different ways of approaching audiences.
For example, the younger generation is more active on Snapchat and Instagram while older, working adults might prefer Facebook or LinkedIn. These are not the only demographics to consider; you can customize your strategy depending on what target group you think will be most interested in your business.
PPC Ads
It would not be smart to ignore the value of pay-per-click (PPC) ads for your business’s marketing approach. It involves paying the publisher a certain minimal amount every time a new lead clicks on your ad. One of the most effective types is Google Ads, but there are many other options available depending on your budget.
It may be a good place to start since it takes a while to bring up your website on search results organically. Until you gain success in that arena, it would be beneficial to place your ad on top for a while.
Although one of the oldest forms of online communication, emails are still essential in building a professional relationship with your customers. This includes sending welcome emails to new customers, promotional content, newsletters that deliver news about the brand, or any sort of interaction that keeps the brand in the client’s mind.
An Inclusive Technique
A successful digital marketing campaign does not come about by minimally and randomly using a few of these platforms and posting content arbitrarily; it involves coming up with a strategy that will encompass all aspects of digital advertising and use them to the best of your advantage.
Immense research goes into successful marketing that most emerging businesses invest in hiring someone (sometimes an entire team) to take care of their digital marketing needs. If you feel like your brand could benefit from a professional’s help, you can reach us at Business Marketing Solutions Group for a consultation and a complete digital marketing strategy.