2020 was the year that the world was rocked to its foundations by the coronavirus pandemic. In the wake of this, our business and personal lives have been subjected to seismic changes from what we used to consider normal. Now, with vaccines being rolled out across the world, there is hope that things will return to normal someday soon. However, not all changes brought about by the pandemic look to be reversed. In some cases, the crisis simply accelerated changes that were already taking place before the pandemic hit.
One such area is the mass digitization of every aspect of our lives. Today, more of us use social media to stay in touch with our friends and family and use online shopping for everything from groceries to technology purchases. In this new world where online is king, digital marketing is more vital to a business’s success than ever before. If you’re not committing yourself to solid digital marketing strategies, you risk being overtaken by a more successful entrepreneur and losing out on tremendous opportunities to find new audiences and create more customer conversions. Read on for 7 ideas to give your digital marketing campaign a running start, and help your business prosper even when times are tough.
1. SEO
When it comes to digital marketing tools, search engine optimization (SEO) is still the king for driving more web traffic to your business. SEO revolves around fine-tuning your online content so that phrases and keywords related to your product resonate with the right search engine inquiries. The better your SEO, the more people will see your site. Different keyword strategies will apply to your particular digital marketing goal. One set may be transactional, to encourage prospective customers to view your site. Another may be informational, to let audiences know about your brand and the kind of work you do, which is vital since the vast majority of consumers conduct all their product research online. Here are some stats for you to consider when appreciating the value of SEO:
- More than 50% of consumers find new brands and products through online searches.
- Under 10% of users go past the first page of search results.
- Over 30% of users click on the first search result they come across.
These figures should leave you in no doubt about how critical SEO is to a successful digital marketing strategy. Performance-driven SEO broadens your appeal and can instantly connect you with customers who are already prepared to pay for your products or services. With the right digital marketing services and web analytics tools, you can analyze your SEO performance and start tweaking your website to generate optimum SEO appeal.
2. Pay-per-click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is another powerful digital marketing tool that could be key to your brand’s success. PPC refers to the process of bidding with a search engine on keywords so that your page gets pumped higher up in results when a user searches for that keyword. It sounds like traditional media advertising, except there’s one crucial difference: you’re only charged for the service if a user actually clicks on your page. This makes it an equitable and cost-effective approach for a digital marketing analyst. You might feel hesitant about spending handing over some of your marketing budgets to a third party, but since you only pay for actual visitors, the benefits more than outweigh the cost. As well as search engines, PPC Marketing is available across many social media platforms, so it’s a great way to boost all your different digital media marketing channels. PPC is especially useful if your business is just starting out and you haven’t yet been able to generate any earned or organic marketing, but still want to reach the widest possible audience. Of course, like SEO, the value you derive from PPC often comes down to how effectively you’re leveraging keywords across your online content. That’s why a coherent digital marketing strategy that aligns SEO with PPC can be incredibly effective.
3. Content Marketing
Content marketing isn’t directly transactional so much as it’s designed to help you strengthen your relationship with your customers and boost audience engagement. Content marketing refers to digital media marketing like blog posts, video content, infographics, and more. It can help inform audiences whilst allowing you to position yourself in the market and boost the value of your brand. Furthermore, it presents an excellent opportunity for you to host content optimized for PPC and SEO to boost your audience coverage. However, if you want your content to work, you’ll find quality wins out over quantity every time. Audiences are constantly being bombarded with content every time they go online, and slapdash or poorly thought out content will fail to engage their interest. Instead, produce high-quality, original content that inspires audiences and will lead them to share your digital marketing material across their different media channels. It also helps communicate your company’s personality and values to audiences. Here are some digital marketing statistics to consider:
- Content marketing is 62% cheaper than traditional marketing.
- Content marketing produces 54% more customer leads than traditional marketing.
- Over 60% of audiences prefer businesses that provide content with their services and products.
Content marketing helps entertain users and can make all the difference between whether a sale gets made or not. They’re comparatively cost-effective and can be cross-distributed across your different digital marketing services for no extra marketing spent. Make sure your digital marketing strategy is not missing out on the benefits of content marketing, especially in 2021 when online audiences are hungrier for diverting online entertainment than ever before.
4. Email Marketing
Email marketing may not be cutting-edge, but the results still speak for themselves. Email marketing helps effectively target different customer personas, and helps maintain your customer relationships to give you the best chance of winning lifetime customers. It’s excellent for generating leads and promoting your brand, all whilst being one of the cheapest digital marketing tools. Use email marketing to offer customers a limited edition discount or VIP membership, and watch your conversion numbers soar.
5. Social Media Marketing
In 2021, there’s no excuse for a digital marketing campaign that doesn’t target social media, no matter what your business is. Different social media platforms offer their own demographics and opportunities for customer engagement for businesses willing to put in the necessary time and effort. Social proof can have a huge impact on consumer behavior, as evidenced by the rise of the influence as a gatekeeper on social media. Plus, it’s a great way to reach audiences while they’re engaging with friends and family, which can make them more amenable to your sales pitch if they’re having a good time. Word-of-mouth support is extremely convincing, but you need to make sure you’re providing a steady stream of fresh content and updates lest you look untrustworthy to users.
6. Voice Search Optimization
More and more people are using voice commands to control their smartphones, home electronics, and smart home assistants. They’re also using these for searching the internet, and figuring out how to apply SEO technology is becoming the new frontier for digital marketing news. It’s an ever-growing industry, and will only become more valuable as voice commands become the primary way people search for products and businesses. It’s up to you to earn the top-ranked keywords and be the first port of call for audiences looking for a product.
7. Video Marketing
Video (especially short-form) content is becoming one of the dominant mediums for effective types of digital marketing. It leverages the medium to provide immersive, entertaining, and punchy content to inform and engage with audiences more effectively than a simple copy. It helps you to sell your brand directly to audiences while capturing their attention, and, providing your videos are memorable, can enjoy rapid word-of-mouth distribution. The majority of adults watch videos or television for more than an hour every day, so your audience is already conditioned to respond well to the medium. One only needs to look at the phenomenal success of the TikTok platform to see that audiences have a huge appetite for short-form video content. Create high-quality videos that inform and delight audiences to boost your brand and enhance conversions.
Final Thoughts
These are the essential elements of any successful online marketing campaign in 2022. Digital media marketing is only going to continue to become more influential to the success of your business as time goes on, so learn digital marketing today to reap tomorrow’s benefits. Are there any key digital marketing trends that we missed? Let us know in the comments section below.
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