It’s amazing that entrepreneurs continue to underestimate digital marketing. Almost three quarters of Americans are online every day. One research showed that three in ten adults are always online. With that number, shouldn’t you be trying to establish a presence online?
The problem might be that people still find digital marketing hard to understand. It could be due to its extensive nature. This article aims to change that.
To do that, let’s try to picture this scenario. As you walk home from a long day at work, you came up with an idea for a new product. You’re confident it’s foolproof and a sure ticket to financial freedom. But to make sure, you built a prototype and have your friends tested it.
The outcome – they loved it.
This positive feedback gave you the courage to quit your job and start your business. You made sure the product is valuable, useful, and high-quality. With those attributes, you’re confident your business is going to be a success.
You rented a small space in your lively city and displayed your product. You even posted a few advertising prints outside. With passersby here and there, you had high hopes for an instant sellout.
Unfortunately, only a couple of products sold the entire day.
Sure, people did check it out. The price was reasonable and they had the chance to play with it. But for some reason they didn’t buy it.
So where did you go wrong? You didn’t include digital marketing.
What is Digital Marketing?
Shopping today is a far cry from how it was decades ago. Back then people went out and wandered around to find what they needed or wanted. Entrepreneurs then only had to put their establishment in a high foot-traffic location. Some will rent a billboard showing their product. That’s it. They can make a sale.
It’s so far from what’s done today. Everyone is stuck on their screens and dependent on their mobile devices.
Technology is so advanced that you can ask anything on search engines. It could be about a product or service. You might be looking for a store’s location. Or you need general information to help you with your buying decisions.
That’s the essence of digital marketing. It’s also known as online marketing. It refers to the promotion of brands using digital means. This includes marketing based on the internet, emails, and social media.
Using digital marketing to meet your potential customers’ needs gives you an advantage. It’s also your tool to persuade and educate your customers. You can also prove to them that your product does have the qualities you boast. In a nutshell, you deliver whatever you’re selling to people looking for it online.
Where Can I Do This?
You can do this anywhere on the internet. You can do digital marketing on social media platforms, websites, and mobile apps. You can use search engines and other digital channel. It’s there as long as people can access it using their computers, smart phones, and even gaming consoles.
Five Major Types of Digital Marketing
There are so many sophisticated ways for you to advertise a product or service online. So we’ll break it down to the fundamentals. Here are the strategies a good digital marketing agency will use:
· Social Media Marketing
There are two ways to advertise a product or service using social media: organic and paid. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social sites allow you to run paid ads. They display your product or service to people who are likely interested in them. It’s like renting a billboard. But what makes it better is that you can target only those who you think are likely to be customers. It’s an efficient way to get exposure and put your brand on the map.
You can still market your product or service in an organic way. You can get exposure by being active on these social channels. It’s a lot of work, but it is free and delivers real results.
· Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing is about putting your brand on Search Engine Results Pages. It’s best if you’re on the first page and at the pinnacle. There are two ways to do that: paid ads and SEO (search engine optimization).
Paid search engine advertising is as straightforward as it is. You pay for a keyword that represents your brand. It will show up whenever people search for that keyword. Thus, it has a high conversion rate as users are already looking for it in the first place.
SEO is trickier as it takes time, but it is rewarding. It’s the process of ranking your website or content higher. This is to get more traffic. Yes, it can be free and is as effective as the paid version. But it will take several months or even years of hard work to see an outcome. You should consider hiring the best digital marketing agency to handle your SEO.
· Email Marketing
Collecting contact information from your customers is a century-old tactic. And it is still used today. Instead of asking for telephone numbers, we now ask for email addresses on our websites.
As your website gathers email addresses, you will have a list of people you can reach via email. You can use this opportunity to promote a new product, service, or an upcoming sale. These people already have a relationship with you. This means they’re more likely to take action when you send them a promotion.
· Content Marketing
What you’re reading now – this entire copy – is content marketing. It’s the process of publishing articles and videos. It’s about sharing posts and images. It’s about info graphics and webinars. It’s about anything to attract and convert your targeted audience.
The more value you provide to your audience, the more you’ll convince them to buy your product or service. See, the majority of people buy things that they find useful for themselves. If you manage to show how your product works through a video or infographics, the more likely it is to succeed.
· Affiliate Marketing
Last but not least is all about paying other people to do the hard work above for you. They do the marketing, and in return, they get a small percentage whenever they make a sale.
These days, most affiliates are influencers. These social media personalities have thousands of followers. They can convince their fans to buy your product without too much effort.
Why Choose Digital Marketing?
Marketing, without question, is essential for any business. It doesn’t matter how exceptional your product or service is. Without anyone knowing about it, you’ll not get anywhere. But why go digital instead of the traditional approach?
The answer is simple – people are only looking at their screens.
Tech companies control more eyes than anyone else. Think about it, when you commute, do you still look for billboards to see the hottest deals. You’re more likely swiping to see the next big trend on Facebook.
Advertising in the online world is, without question, more efficient. You don’t need to print anything. You have total control over your audience. And you have the option to make your ads visible only to those who you think will benefit the most. In other words, you will have more sales, more growth, and more success with digital marketing.
To Conclude
Digital marketing is the final frontier in the world of advertising. It connects both business-to-consumer and business-to-business with ease. It doesn’t need intensive training to do well. If you plan on starting a business, you should never disregard digital marketing.
Make Your Digital Mark
You need the help of digital specialists if you want to succeed. And that’s where Tulumi Digital Marketing comes in. We are a full service digital marketing company. We can help make your small business a success. Our team of experts can design and manage your website. We can also meet your SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing needs. Call us at (800) 481-1720 to get started. You can also send us a message at hello@tulumi.com.
