Digital marketing is the use of digital channels like search engines, email, websites and social media to connect with customers where they spend most of the time: online. Do it well, and you’ll grow your visibility, bring more customers through the door, and rake in the revenue year after year.
There are plenty of tactics and channels that fall under the umbrella of digital marketing. One of the most common is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This is the process of optimising your web pages using keyword research, in order to rank higher in search engine results and increase the amount of organic traffic to your web page. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s paid digital advertising, or Pay Per Click. With PPC, you bid to display your website on advertising channels, such as Google or YouTube. If a customer clicks on your ad and goes to your website, you pay for that click.
Content marketing is another popular digital marketing tactic. This is the creation and promotion of content, such as blog posts, ebooks and infographics, to generate brand awareness, traffic and lead generation. Content is more than blogging – if you harness its power, it should move your prospect along the customer journey from awareness to consideration and conversion.
We also can’t talk about digital marketing without mentioning social media advertising. More and more people are hanging out on social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn — and in fact, as of late 2021, Facebook alone had 1.93 BILLION daily active users. So if you want to get your offer seen by your target audience, these social media channels are a pretty good place to start.
And this is just the beginning. Digital marketing also includes a range of other tactics, from conversion rate optimisation (CRO) to email marketing, web design, web development, influencer marketing, and more. What’s more, regardless of which platform you choose, it’s far more customisable than traditional marketing methods. You can continuously track and adjust your digital marketing strategy based on what you can see is bringing in the big conversions, and what’s falling short. This constant fine-tuning means you can really turbocharge your ROI.
One final thing you need to know about digital marketing? It’s NOT an option. Any business with an online presence, and even some without, must have a digital marketing strategy in place. You simply cannot be expected to survive without it.