You might be surprised to learn that digital marketing is always changing. It may seem like it has been around for a long time, but there is a lot of new technology being released, and new ways being discovered to market your business online.
So, whether you are looking for a crash course in digital marketing or are trying to get up to date with the latest developments in the field, we hope this blog post answers all your questions about what is going on right now in the world of digital marketing.
The Who
Who is your target audience? Who are your customers? These two questions are at the heart of digital marketing and they’re the first thing you should answer before doing anything else.
Who are your competitors? What kind of resources do they have and how can you leverage them to grow your company?
Who are your prospects? Which people want what you offer, why do they want it, and how will it help them in their lives (or work)?
Who are influencers that matter most in this industry/sector/community—and how can we get them to talk about us or our product/service on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, etc.?
What are all these different channels for reaching out digitally: email newsletters; PPC advertising; SEO strategies; old-fashioned content marketing such as blog posts & infographics; videos on YouTube etc., so that I know where my time would be well spent when doing outreach activities such as guest speaking engagements (for example).
The What
Digital marketing is the use of digital technologies to reach and engage with a target audience. We have talked about the four main components of digital marketing:
- The Who – Your target audience, who you are trying to reach with your content
- The What – The type of content you will produce, how it will be distributed and shared (e.g., via email), and the goals that you hope to achieve through its distribution
- The Why – Why your brand is engaging in this activity in particular, and what benefit do you hope to gain from doing so (e.g., increase sales)
- The How – How exactly are we going to do this? What resources will we need (financial/time)?
The Why
digital marketing agency is the main cornerstone of your business. It is the engine that drives your brand and product forward, so it Is important to understand why you should invest in digital marketing.
- Because it works. According to a study by Adobe, 92% of customers say they trust content created by people they know and do business with more than any other form of advertising. Digital is how you build those relationships with customers and potential customers.
- Because it’s efficient and cost-effective. Digital channels allow you to reach prospects directly without spending thousands on traditional forms of advertising (like TV commercials or magazine ads). Plus, most digital platforms have built-in analytics that tells you exactly where your money is being spent—so there is no guesswork involved in measuring ROI (return on investment).
The How
Digital marketing is a huge field, and to truly understand it, you need to understand the basics. You also need to have an idea of what you’re trying to achieve with your digital marketing plan and how those objectives fit into your marketing strategy. That is why we have created this handy guide for understanding the how of digital marketing.
Here are some questions that might be going through your head right now:
- What is digital marketing? And how does it differ from traditional advertising?
- Why do I need a digital marketing agency if I can do my social media management?
- How can I make sure my company has a well-defined plan for success in this competitive space?
Know Your Audience.
Knowing your audience is key to a successful marketing campaign. If you know who you want to reach, it will help you create content that’s relevant and meaningful for them, which in turn will help drive engagement and make the most of your marketing spend.
Knowing your audience means knowing what they want from your brand and what makes them tick. For example:
- Who are they? Are they women between 25-35 years old? Are they married with kids or single? Do they have a dog?
- Where do they live? Do they live in Boston or Chicago or San Francisco? Do they live on the East Coast or West Coast? Do they move around a lot for work, or do their jobs keep them in one place (like corporate America)?
- What do their interests look like outside of work-life & family time – sports teams/teams like any particular teams; movies/TV shows, etc., music genres (hip hop vs pop), podcasts; books etc.
Start Small.
Start small and think big.
Do not be afraid to start with a small budget and audience, because the best way to learn is by doing, and you will only succeed if you are willing to put in the time and effort. Do not expect immediate results—you may not have an audience or a budget at first, but that does not mean they are not out there waiting for you!
If all else fails, just get started on something small: write a post on social media or do some research into what’s trending right now. No matter how small your project might seem at first glance, it will help provide valuable insight into how things work online. This can be especially useful when trying new strategies like search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing or direct response advertising (DR).
Make Use of Data Analytics.
To build a well-rounded digital marketing strategy, you need to know your audience. You need to understand what they respond best to, what they are looking for and how you can cater your digital marketing efforts accordingly.
Understanding your business is equally important. This may include everything from knowing which products are selling well and which ones are not, as well as understanding where a majority of customers find out about your brand. All information like this will help shape future strategies because it allows you to make informed decisions based on past performance.
Next up: Competition analysis! The goal here is simple—know what everyone else in the industry is doing so that you can be sure not only that it is working for them but also that there is nothing better out there than waiting for someone else to come along and do it first (and better).
Finally comes competitive benchmarking—a process by which companies analyze their competitors’ data to identify weaknesses in their product lines or areas where improvement could be made across product sets or categories within those lines themselves.”
With a solid digital marketing plan in place, your brand can reach the right people at the right time and earn their business.
With a solid digital marketing plan in place, your brand can reach the right people at the right time and earn their business. By leveraging technology to build customer relationships, you can learn more about your customers than ever before—and this knowledge is crucial for growing your business. Digital marketing helps you better understand what makes customers tick; how they feel about your offerings; whether or not they are being satisfied by your service; and what competitors are doing.
Digital marketing provides valuable insights into customer behavior that can be used to improve everything from product development to sales strategy:
- Identify who is searching for certain keywords that relate to your industry verticals (e.g., “plumbing technician”)
- Find out which content resonates with them most (e.g., articles on DIY home repairs versus instructional videos)
Final words
We hope you found these tips helpful! If you are just starting with digital marketing, the best piece of advice we can provide is to keep it simple. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and features, but it is more important to focus on developing your strategy before diving into new tools or platforms. Once you figure out what works for you and your audience, then feel free to begin exploring different ways of improving your campaigns. But for now—keep it simple!