What Is Digital Marketing?

One of the major factors for running a successful business involves “awareness”. When more people are aware of a business, the odds of the business developing and becoming profitable will significantly increase. A lack of exposure, on the other hand, can mean the difference between success and failure. You can have the best product or provide the best service, but it will not matter if nobody is aware of your existence. And this is where digital marketing can make a valuable contribution. But what is digital marketing exactly?

An Overview: What Is Digital Marketing?

To get straight to the point, digital marketing is an umbrella term that brings together a whole lot of tactics and strategies. Basically, anything you do to gain exposure through a digital medium is considered digital marketing. Good examples of digital mediums include email, social media, and websites/blogs where content can be posted. The foundation for this type of marketing is, of course, the internet. Thanks to the world wide web, entrepreneurs with the lowest budgets can make a substantial dent in their respective markets. 

Before you start creating campaigns, it is important to note that you are dealing with different devices as well. Some users surf the web via their smartphones, others prefer tablets and laptops, and then you have desktop users. All these different devices come with different screen sizes and rendering software. In other words, you want your digital marketing campaigns to accommodate all these different users. No matter what device is used, the campaign should present well. 

So, when you ask what is digital marketing, you could feel somewhat overwhelmed when you get the answer. But when you take it one step at a time, things quickly start to make sense.

Common Problems Digital Marketing Can Help Solve

Reduce the cost of marketing:

When you look at the most effective marketing channels over the past several years, there are three dominant ones that jump to mind immediately apart from digital. These are television, radio, and print media. Unfortunately, these channels are very expensive. And when you think about it, using these channels essentially means you are putting your budget up against those of multi-million dollar companies. But not when you choose the digital marketing route. In fact, digital marketing can change your whole perspective about investing in online exposure, simply because it is so affordable and effective at the same time. 

Roll out campaigns faster and make instant changes:

Not only do marketing through traditional channels take time, but when changes are necessary, it adds to the cost and waiting period. Thus, it is no surprise that traditional channels can cause a high degree of frustration, especially when just a tiny mistake has been made. This is not the case with digital marketing. Once the campaign is ready, it can go online in seconds. And if a mistake has been made, quickly fix it and see immediate changes without losing more money. 

Increase your reach:

Another common problem with traditional marketing channels is their ability to reach beyond borders. They only cover so much ground, and this is going to limit any business with the hope of operating internationally. However, with a good digital marketing strategy in place, there is no reason why you cannot target potential clients all the way on the other side of the world.

Make targeted marketing much easier:

It is only in your best interest to prioritize targeted marketing strategies. Because the more you know about your clients or customers, the easier it will be to create appealing marketing campaigns. And what about the added perk of saving money because you are cutting down on marketing expenses? Thanks to the tools and software, created specifically for digital marketing practices, it is much easier to study customer behavior, likes, and dislikes. It is also much easier to gather valuable information regarding client preferences.  

Level the playing field:

Before the internet exploded and gave life to digital marketing, it was incredibly hard to get into – and create – a market. When there were big corporations involved, there wasn’t much hope of competing with them. But then digital marketing came along and leveled the playing field with a profound impact. More specifically, the common problem of effectively competing with bigger brands can be considered solved if you use the right digital marketing strategy. And it would not be outrageous to think that digital marketing is all you really need. 

Get ahead of trends:

Trends are very important to marketing strategies. And when you are able to predict what the next trend is going to be, you put yourself in an optimal position ahead of the competition. But predicting trends is not easy when you are out of touch with what is currently going on. Digital marketing solves the problem of being out of touch. Instead, digital marketing strategies will open up vast sources of information you never thought were available, and this information is based on what is trending now. With this information, you have better odds of predicting what consumers are going to want next.

Top 10 Digital Marketing Strategies In 2021

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

There is no question that SEO remains the most effective form of digital marketing you can invest in. Optimizing your website to rank as high as possible will bring in organic traffic. And organic traffic is popular for boosting clicks and conversion rates. At the same time, it offers the advantage of passive exposure. Even when you are sleeping, your website or blog will be taking visitors and developing.

Paid Search Advertising

Even though SEO is the best strategy you can follow, it does take some time to implement. So, if you are in a hurry to reach the front page of search results, you can achieve this goal through paid search advertising. Google Adwords is the biggest platform in this regard, and it is very effective if you approach it right.

Paid Social Media Advertising

Paid social media advertising is very much the same as paid search advertising, but the platforms differ. Instead of using search engines to create awareness, you pay for key advertising space on social media pages. Also, remember that different platforms translate into different strategies. Social media users do not feel inclined to spend money like users going through search engines, which is something to consider when you create your ads.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is when you utilize things like blog posts, articles, and reviews to motivate clicks from users. And one of the main reasons why content marketing has been a go-to strategy for professionals is based on building consumer trust. With informative and helpful content, it becomes easier to win the trust of your audience while pitching a soft sale.

Email Marketing

One of the first things you will learn about digital marketing is to build an email list. In fact, it is a fundamental part, because an email list allows you to retain customers at a very low cost. You can also reach clients directly when you have special information they could be interested in. However, it is said that you should be very specific about how you use your email list. While it can be a very powerful marketing tool, it can also lead to negative results when you spam those on your email list.

Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion rate optimization is all about learning to please your audience and getting them to click where you want them to. Generating loads of traffic for a website is great, but if the people that reach your site are not really interested in what you are selling, it will eventually increase your bounce rate (how quickly users leave), which is not a good thing in terms of search rankings.  

Social Media Marketing

Social media can be a great traffic source for any business and marketing through these platforms does not always have to cost money. But that does not mean you do not face challenges. If you want your social media campaign to be successful, certain things have to happen first. Build a profile, be consistent, gain some followers, engage in conversations while giving helpful advice, this is how you lay the foundation for effective social media marketing. Once you have a strong profile, users are more likely to follow the marketing links you post.  

Native Advertising

Native advertising is popular because it takes a more subtle approach. Instead of popping up and standing out like something that shouldn’t be there, the ad blends with the page/media and discreetly informs the user of something they might find interesting.

Conversational Marketing

This type of digital marketing strategy aims to replicate the same feeling as walking into a store and getting assistance from an employee. Of course, you can choose to handle and greet every visitor to the site personally. But at some point, if all goes well, you are going to need help in the form of chatbots or another type of AI software to handle automated responses to visitors. 

Affiliate Marketing

When you utilize affiliate marketing, it can be compared to digital word of mouth. More importantly, you tap into the professional marketing skills of other individuals. By simply offering an incentive to people who refer others to your business or website, there is no telling how much exposure you can generate.

Does Digital Marketing Work?

If you are about to spend time and money on any marketing strategy, it is natural to question whether it will get the results you need. In short, digital marketing definitely works. As for the long answer to this question, everything depends on how strategies are used. In order for digital marketing campaigns to be successful, they have to make an impact. 

A lot of business owners and entrepreneurs invest in digital marketing with the wrong expectations. For instance, they assume that any ad on any website or platform should at least garner a few clicks and conversions. This could not be further from the truth. The reality is that online users are introduced to hundreds of online ads per day. This also means there is a lot of competition. So, digital marketing campaigns can only get good results if they are created and executed properly. 

Nobody is saying you shouldn’t have high expectations when it comes to digital marketing. In fact, the potential for growth is endless through this medium. But you have to be willing to either put in the work yourself or hire the help of a professional. Then you can experience how effective digital marketing can really be. But if you think digital marketing is just about pressing a button here and there while waiting for the clicks to roll in, you are bound to be disappointed. There is also the matter of whether you have chosen a business model that appeals to a certain market. Because as hard as it may be to swallow, not all startup ideas are brilliant enough to turn into big business ventures.   

How To Analyze Return On Investment (ROI) For Your Digital Marketing Campaigns

The task of analyzing the exact ROI for your digital marketing campaigns can be tricky because strategies are so different. Although, there is a basic formula you can start with and work from there. Firstly, take note of your revenue before you launch a campaign. If your revenue increases after launching the campaign, take the amount your revenue increased with and divide it by what you spent on the campaign. For instance, if your revenue increased by $1000 after spending $100 on the campaign, you make $10 for every $1 you spend. 

Essentially, you want to track where the clicks come from and whether they convert into a sale. If users seem to abandon the funnel at a certain point, you want to know why. UTM codes are very useful in this regard because links with UTM codes trigger Google analytics to trace the origin of the click. Another good way to measure the profitability of your campaigns is to set up digital tracking pixels. Digital tracking pixels give your website the ability to track where traffic comes from as well as user habits. And if you want to get even more accurate, you can use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. 

At the end of the day, there is no single approach for analyzing ROI, seeing as there are too many variables. Every business owner and entrepreneur has their own priorities. So you have to establish your goals, look at the type of digital marketing strategies you are using, then utilize the relevant tools for tracking these campaigns.

Conclusion

When you ask what is digital marketing, you are primarily asking about the most powerful marketing channel available to anyone who wants to use it. And if you take your business or project seriously, you will agree that digital marketing should be a mandatory part of the plan. You can work according to a budget that is comfortable for you. You can reach people across the globe. You can also rest assured that online shopping will only get more popular as life, in general, becomes more digital. 

Just remember to have realistic expectations because many factors play into the success of digital marketing campaigns, starting with your business model. Also, it can take some time before campaigns begin to show a profit. But in the long run, digital marketing is the perfect option to generate exposure and take your business to another level.