Digital marketing might sound intimidating, but all it means is that you’re using the internet to tell people about your business. The term simply means that your business is utilizing online tools and platforms like apps or social media accounts to reach your audience.
What is it?
- Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn
- Websites and webpages
- Blogs and “Vlogs” (video blogs)
- How-to videos or guides
- Podcasts
- Email marketing and newsletters
- ….so much more!
Reach Your Customers
Having great content on a well-designed, optimized website helps people find your business!
Internet marketing posts taking the form of vlogs on YouTube, posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, and Tweets on Twitter will all reach different audiences. For instance, Instagram generally attracts a younger crowd than Facebook.
Cost Savings
Using digital marketing is cheaper than traditional advertising, plus you get a better ROI because your content can more easily reach your target audience. Recent internet searches for your type of business can bring your ads to people looking for your type of product or service.
This lower cost is also due to the dynamic nature of online marketing campaigns, which can be adjusted based on engagement data (upvotes, comments, and shares).
Increases Brand Awareness and Trust
Increasing familiarity with your company through repeated exposure drives up name recognition, and that naturally increases the likelihood that people will choose your brand. Take that further by putting out trustworthy, useful information.
Posting on these sites and linking back to your own or to relevant authoritative sites allows you to build a reputation for your brand and develop your brand identity. Moreover, creating an online network that links together with your local, in-person community helps you capitalize on the brand identity and reputation you’ve already forged for your business.
You can also build your reputation with video. YouTube, the video posting and viewing site, has an incredibly broad amount of content types, from news clips to full stop-action Lego reenactments of movies. Really, it’s as diverse as its users, so many people use it. Reach out to potential customers with how-to videos that showcase your expertise or show off a new product.
Track Progress and Engagement
What’s especially useful is that these social media campaigns can be tracked easily. Internet-based marketing campaigns can be tracked quickly. Imagine if you could tell how many people had read your billboard and then gone to your store and purchased something from you as a result?
Track that by measuring engagement with your posts. How did users find them? Did they read the entire blog post? Did they click on the links you left? Ultimately, did they visit your online store and buy something? This engagement data will direct your future campaigns and boost business.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, means that you have made your content easier for search engines to find. You do this with keywords or phrases, by formatting your web pages so that they are easy Google’s crawlers and spiders to read and thus rank in searches.
A few examples of Search Engine Optimization:
- Site is accessible (e.g., descriptions of images for the sight-impaired)
- Optimized for mobile viewing (about 50% of internet searches are from mobile devices)
- Page loads quickly (80% of visitors will wait only 2-3 seconds for it to load)
- Use proper header formatting (H1, H2)
It’s Important Because It’s Expected
Lastly, for the vast majority of businesses, digital marketing is no longer optional. Traditional marketing still has a place, but the younger generations may not ever see you if you don’t have a strong digital presence
Everyone uses the internet: Gen Xers and a decent amount of Baby Boomers, even users 75+ may use the internet before anything else – if only just to look up a local business or phone number. It’s the first part of their journey to purchasing a product or selecting a service provider. Be there to greet them on their journey from your digital storefront.
