It promotes products and services through digital channels (electronic devices) and is used by specialists to send promotional messages.
This includes various options such as paid social media advertising like Facebook ads, social media posts, online videos on platforms like YouTube, paid advertising like Google AdWords, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), email, and mobile apps.
You could, of course, add television and radio to the above mix, but these are usually lumped into traditional marketing. That is because they have been around for a long time and are not considered part of the “modern” marketing media, which is growing exponentially.
1. Content Marketing is about using information people search for online and weaving that into a story/article that solves people’s queries. The idea is to create trust and authority. It is to share your knowledge in the hope that people will use your product or service. The approach is to inform rather than to sell.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focuses on optimising your website and content to rank higher on search engines and obtain organic (free) website traffic that will hopefully convert into sales. The 3 significant parts of SEO digital are:
A) On-Page SEO, which means optimising your web pages to target search queries, Keyword Research, Content Creation and Keyword Optimization.
B) Off-page SEO is a process that strengthens the reputation of a web page by connecting it to quality websites, making search engines trust the content and increasing its reliability. This approach is known as link building.
C) Technical SEO concentrates on creating a fantastic user experience and on factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawl ability, site structure and indexation.
3. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a paid method used to attract potential customers and raise the awareness of your brand by appearing higher in search engine results. It’s often called paid search or pay-per-click (PPC) marketing which includes creating ads, optimising them, allocating a budget and determining where to place them. SEM can be done on various search engines, with Google AdWords being the most common. A technique often overlooked is using other search engines that might suit your target audience better at a lower cost.
4. Social Media Marketing (SMM) involves raising awareness from social media sites by posting content relevant to your target audiences, such as on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and many others. Just as in traditional media, each platform has its unique type of customer that may or may not suit your business.
First of all, there needs to be plenty of research and a real understanding of what your business is about. Other types include:
Working with an affiliate or influencer can be a great way to promote your business. It is essential to make sure you have a successful relationship with them. Make sure you pick someone well-known and respected in your industry. They can promote your business or product by providing a link to your website. Whenever someone completes the purchase or clicks on the link, the affiliate/influencer will receive a commission.
The positive side of affiliate/influencer marketing is that you don’t have to build your audience from scratch – you can take advantage of their existing network. Partnering with a famous figure will help you gain legitimacy and new followers you may have yet to reach otherwise.
The downside is that choosing the right person who does not resonate with your target audience and does not come across as authentic can help your business.
There is also a growing distrust of this marketing as people become more cynical about why a well-known person is doing this. It is essential to be open and honest, or this type of promotion can come back to bite you in the bum!
Building an email list of people who visit your website can be a powerful tool for some businesses. However, getting their permission before inundating them with emails is essential. And that is one important lesson… refrain from attacking them with emails, or they will quickly unsubscribe. And then, you have done more damage than good for your brand.
The value of email marketing should be considered. Returns on money invested can be exponential for some businesses. When sending emails about deals, special events, or product releases, please be careful how often you do it.
You must provide value to your audience with this channel. Offer them exclusive deals they can’t get anywhere else, and you’ll be able to foster the trust that will benefit you both.
The excellent part of email marketing is that it isn’t affected by algorithms that keep changing like on other digital media. It is a perfect way to stay in touch with your customers or potential customers so that they remember you rather than your competition when making a purchase.
The downside is getting people on your email list to open your email. This is becoming harder. Emails are easily blocked, so it is essential to offer value for money, so people want to open your emails.
Research from Google shows that almost 30% of the population uses mobile voice search, with the most popular age group for voice search being 18-34-year-olds.
If this is your market, please ensure your brands take advantage of this trend. Making sure your website functions perfectly on a mobile device and can benefit from voice search could pay off big time for you.
Mobile options include in-app advertising, texting, and social messaging apps. The exciting part of mobile marketing is that you can target great locations if your business is local. There is no point in spending your money trying to attract people in the wrong area who will never come into your business.
The downside is that click-through rates for ads can be relatively low, and people prefer to avoid being annoyed by marketing when they’re communicating!
To succeed on mobile, you need to optimise your website/content for this format – it must work well and look good across all devices. Creating an app or using instant messenger marketing can have some real benefits.
Generally speaking, Internet marketing is simply another name for marketing. The two terms are often interchangeable. If we were being precise, then internet marketing does not include avenues such as TV ads, Digital billboards, Radio, and SMS texts, whereas digital does.
In days gone by, Captain Kirk would sit in the control chair aboard the USS Enterprise and ask the ship’s computer any number of unknown questions. This was simply unbelievable, and way before computers were mainstream. These days we hold the world’s power in our hands and search for a gazillion things we want to know daily.
With people spending so much time on mobile devices, it is more important than ever to use Internet marketing. A “fingertip society” has emerged, where almost any product or service is simply a click away.
Today, Google makes over $200 billion a year in advertising and has over 4 billion users. Facebook makes over $84 billion and has nearly 3 billion active users. Between them, they make more money than any other traditional media company. That is a lot of eyeballs, which is why DM is essential!
Around 5 billion people browse the internet for shopping, learning, entertainment and work purposes. Even if you have a local store, DM should be in your plan because nearly 90% of people who search on their smartphone visit a related store within the next seven days.
DM allows you to specifically target the type of people who might buy your goods and services because of the vast amount of data companies like Google and Facebook hold about you and me. You can target them while they are in the process of looking for what you sell. That is a vast difference from traditional media that often wraps your Friday night fish and chips.
The advantages of it are that it is highly cost-effective and can be measured. That is rarely possible with traditional media.
A solid strategy is essential for success in today’s technological business age. Companies that succeed in the digital space usually allocate a large part of their budget to resource their digital strategies. This will enable them to target customers across varied digital channels and raise conversion rates and gross profits.
At its core, a digital marketing strategy and a strategic digital marketing manager aim to make the most of the tools available to promote a business online. It is an overall plan to implement your activities to achieve the best possible outcome. Examples include website content, blogs, digital advertisements, testimonials etc.
Ultimately, the structure of a campaign can vary from company to company, depending on their business type and industry. What is ideal for one company may be bad for another. A considerable amount of research must be implemented for a comprehensive strategy.
Lead generation is the act of creating interest in your products or services. This will bring potential customers into your marketing system so you can start converting them into buyers. With leads, your business will be successful.
A lead is someone interested in what you’re offering. Generating leads involves placing people into your sales funnel. This is generally done when they fill out a form to give their contact details. You then systematically contact them to convert them into sales.
Businesses often use multiple channels to create leads. Typical tracks include SEO, paid ads, social media and email. Lead generation is paramount. Without leads, there are no sales and, therefore, no revenue.
SEO is a vital part of your marketing plan, as it helps more potential customers find your business online and boost your sales. It concentrates on increasing your website’s visibility in search results on search engines like Google, using various methods to ensure users and search algorithms can better understand the content on the page.
Digital marketing agencies can be incredibly valuable in helping to drive organic traffic to your website. By utilising their knowledge, they can help increase organic traffic – which is free business leads via Google and other search engines. This means more leads with fewer costs and higher quality leads that are more likely to convert into customers.
Today’s digital landscape means it is essential for businesses to have an online presence that engages and nurtures customers throughout their journey, something a digital marketing agency can help with. They use various channels such as websites, blogs, email, and social media to interact with customers through either single-channel or multichannel marketing – or even omnichannel marketing, which provides a seamless customer experience across devices throughout their life cycle.
While some agencies offer all the services below, others will offer just one or maybe several. A few examples are:
Digital marketing agencies specialising in SEO (search engine optimisation) help their clients get their websites and website content to rank higher on search engine results pages. They do this by employing specialists who can perform keyword research, website audits, and backlink audits, create website and blog content, assess metadata (the quality of URLs, title tags, meta descriptions, etc.), optimise video descriptions, build links and more.
They also use various data analytic and website development tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Semrush and Moz. SEO agencies always stay up-to-date with the latest search engine optimisation best practices to ensure they align with Google’s constantly changing algorithms.
Paid search or paid advertising is another way to drive web traffic. Unlike organic traffic, which is free of charge, this involves bidding on keywords and placing advertisements on search engine result pages (SERPs) or social media channels. Digital ad agencies are experts in creating attention-grabbing ads that contain keywords that follow the best practices of digital platforms that run ads. Services like Facebook Ads Manager account creation and maintenance can be provided as well as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube ad creation and deployment services.
Social media agencies help establish a presence on social media platforms and manage the content they produce. In addition to creating social content, setting up ads on social networks like Facebook or Instagram is part of the service offering.
A web design agency is a team of talented website designers who create tailored websites and web pages for businesses. Web designers are responsible for the pages’ aesthetics, functionality, and navigation, whether it’s a brand-new site, a website redesign, or a smaller-scale digital marketing strategy.
Standard offerings from website agencies include user experience and user interface design and research, image creation/storage, web development and hosting. But don’t think for a moment that just because someone can create a website for you, they have SEO or Content-making skills. Some might, but many do not have these specific skills. At the same time, some people with SEO skills may not know about creating a great website.
Learning it is relatively easy, but it does take time, effort, and dedication. You might find it daunting if you’re new to search engines, data analytics or content management, particularly if you’re trying to learn independently. It can take months to get the hang of the tools and techniques involved and at least six months of practice to become experienced.
1. A good understanding of data analysis and the advanced software to collect and study it.
2. Content creation is at its core, so being able to generate content that is attractive enough is essential. Creating high-quality material that appeals to search engines (SEO friendly) and resonates with users should be a priority when developing content strategies.
3. Understanding search engine optimisation and a general understanding of Google’s algorithms as they evolve is paramount. Using specific, relevant keywords has grown significantly in importance.
4. Experience in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is also valuable. To understand target audiences, companies need to monitor customer experience. Digital Marketers need to develop Customer Relationship Management skills and strategies.
5. Social Media is becoming a hub for public discourse, allowing professionals and business owners to take advantage of this platform to reach their target audience with relevant messages. It takes more than just the regular posting of content to be successful. Quality, relevancy, and engagement are crucial components that must be considered when creating a social media plan.
6. Basic design skills are required to create more impact than text-based content nowadays; videos pop up everywhere as they convert better, actively engage viewers, and boost SEO rankings. It is recommended that digital marketers be familiar with programs such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, InDesign), Canva and Inkscape to create compelling visual content.
Steve Baron is the Founder & CEO of Webprecision. He founded Baron Marketing Ltd, an advertising company he ran for over 20 years, as well as several online startups.
He is a past mentor for Business Mentors NZ and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Waikato, Majoring in Economics & Political Science. He also holds an Honours Degree in Political Science from the Victoria University of Wellington.
He is a published author of three books and a prominent guest editorialist for newspapers throughout New Zealand. In his spare time, Steve is the Clerk of the Scales for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, is a Bridge Grandmaster and enjoys walking, running and cafes.
