The Beginner's Guide to Marketing in the Digital Age
When someone mentions digital marketing, does that mean sleek and responsive website images, a continuous stream of Facebook likes, and an assistant-like mastery of everything SEO?Or does it sound more like a foreign language written in binary, obscured in secrecy, and requires a level of understanding that can at times seem unattainable?
While we haven't yet come across a true tech guru who can talk physically using only ones and zeros, digital marketing is less of a mystery than many think.
To understand this, it helps to step back in time for a brief history lesson and see how methods evolved and what is available to us now.
Marketing: a story
At the start of the 20th century, there was no Internet, there was no television, and there was no radio.
While some may find this to be a utopia, for business it has been a very difficult time. Billboards, newspapers, and in many cities, the brick facade of a building were your primary means of connecting with a buyer.
In the 1930s and 1940s radio was king, and then by mid-century television added a delightful glow to American homes. Much of this sophisticated blue lighting was devoted to advertisements and offered businesses a much more direct way to influence a person's buying habits.
Then, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, computers started to take over our lives. Slowly at first, but just like previous advertising channels, marketing started to reach consumers through all facets of their digital presence.
Websites.
Then the emails.
And today, it's search engines, social media, apps, and blogs (to name a few).
As you can see, in the beginning it was printing and billboards. Then came radio and television. Today, technology has made it possible for businesses of all shapes and sizes to reach consumers more directly.
Fortunately, while the channels have changed, the basics of marketing haven't changed. You should always find the potential customer who is most likely to buy your product or service and reward your marketing efforts with a sale.
While there are plenty of other ways to find that customer, digital marketing has made contacting a lot easier.
What is digital marketing?
In fact, digital marketing is not at all difficult to execute.Why?
The reality is that digital marketing is really just marketing and there are many tools involved that we are exposed to on a daily basis.
Specifically, its modern marketing or using today's tools to reach people who are interested in what you are promoting. Although there is some specialization in industries, many digital outlets available are universal.
More than that, it doesn't matter whether the relationship is business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C), modern communication allows us to reach potential customers in a much more direct way.
This direct interaction provides better opportunities to build relationships and build a truly loyal customer base that is more likely to become repeat customers.
Just compare two of the marketing channels we mentioned in our history section: TV and email.
With television, there is no way to know how well your marketing through this medium is being received. Was anyone watching? Was it just background noise? Did you pay too much for the coverage you received?
Now consider email. Most often, this is direct access to someone's desk, their desk or, when checking on their smartphone, their hand. It’s a great place to live.
This is the real benefit of digital marketing. More than at any point in history, you can make real and lasting bonds wherever you are and with whomever you want to connect.
Outbound or inbound marketing
However, to make that connection, you need to understand the many facets of marketing in the digital age.
The real challenge with digital marketing, especially for newcomers, comes from the sheer number of options available and determining which leadership will work best for your business.
To do this, it is easier to first understand the difference between outbound marketing and inbound marketing.
Outbound marketing is pretty much what it sounds like: you or your business create a message or campaign and get it out to the widest possible audience in the hopes of attracting viable prospects and being interested in everything. What you are offering.
Examples of outbound marketing include radio and television, trade shows, cold calls, flyers, spam, and print advertising. Basically the beginnings of marketing.
As you can see, the outgoing mindset deals in volume. Contact a sufficient number of people and you are bound to get a decent number of interested consumers.
Inbound marketing, however, reverses traditional outreach efforts and this is where you can find a real advantage with digital outlets.
Many times you will hear what is called funnel marketing.
Instead of spreading your promotional network outward, your inbound efforts attract consumers who are already interested in the product or service you want to sell.
For example, using your website or landing page as a central sales hub, you can create campaigns through social media, search engines, or any other digital point of sale that will help you direct your ideal customer to that. destination site. From there, you will work to sell a captive and interested audience on whatever you offer.
The approach is much more immediate and personal.
Outbound methods still exist in the digital age. In fact, one of the biggest platforms, YouTube, is outbound marketing in the most traditional sense.
However, when you realize that a lot of your digital marketing will be inbound, it makes creating a plan and executing that strategy a lot easier when you know the difference.
Marketing Channels
To truly appreciate how dynamic digital marketing can be, all you have to do is examine the multiple channels available to your business.Simply put, a marketing channel is a tool in which a business addresses a potential customer to sell them the benefits of a product and service. The obvious end goal is for your message to be heard and understood and for your efforts to result in a sale.
As we have seen, before the world went online, the top three marketing channels were print, radio and television. Although still widely used, these traditional methods do not have the same return on investment as digital media.
The other big difference is in the options.
Digital marketing channels come in many forms. Some, like email marketing, are obvious and will be familiar to anyone with a business background.
Others, like paid search or affiliate marketing, are a bit more involved and require some substantive work on your part to gain traction. Let's take a look at the most popular digital channels so you can start to build a strategy that will work for your business.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate is one of the fastest-growing segments of digital marketing. Simply put, this is a partnership where, in exchange for a commission or cut in profits, you market another company's product.There are several ways to accomplish this, but the most common is by using links on your website or social media or by generating promotional content (for example, a YouTube video).
The good news is that affiliate marketing works both ways, so if yours is a business that needs an additional avenue of promotion, you can partner with an affiliate to share some of the heavy liftings.
Content Marketing
Blog
More than other pieces of content, blogs are designed to connect directly with your audience and provide them with an ongoing dialogue that relates directly to your product (if your business produces baby toys, for example, you need to focus your blog on child health and wellness). -being). Blogs also provide a platform to promote particular products and help you generate traffic and create leads.Case study
Pieces designed to establish you as an expert on a specific topic. These are usually presented as interesting articles that define a problem, explain why it is important, and then provide a solution or answer to the problem.Ebook
If you want to create a treasured gift to serve as your primary magnet, there is nothing better than an ebook. These are marketing articles that provide a reader with useful insight into a particular topic while also trusting you as a viable solution to any problem you propose to solve.Infographics
If done correctly, a visually appealing and easy-to-understand infographic can help give your topic a viral marketing element. Typically, these display a handful of stats and data that are quick and easy to read. The advantage here is that a lot of actions can equal a lot of clicks or referrals for your business or product.Long content
Dive deep into a structured topic such as a guide or "how-to" article that gives the reader basic knowledge about a topic. These can generally range from guides of 5,000 words to versions ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 words.Video
An alternative to text, videos offer a more dynamic presentation if your marketing demands it. These are very useful if you are trying to highlight a product or provide a demonstration for a particular service. Also great if a tutorial is required.white paper
Similar to a case study, white papers cover a specific topic and aim to establish you or your business as an authority on that topic. The significant difference between the two is that a white paper is more formal and informative than the study. A great way to discern the two is that a case study involves data, while a white paper is data, data, and more data.How to use your content
These different contents are used as magnets to attract a customer or to promote your brand. Either way, your ultimate goal is to generate a lead for your efforts.The key to content is to create something meaningful that appeals to your target audience. Beyond that, your content should be actionable or users can share across platforms and have the potential to go viral.
An example of an exploitable element includes offering an eBook in exchange for someone's contact information.
A great viral marketing post would be a vibrant, eye-catching infographic that generates interest in a particular topic or industry.
Email Marketing
Arguably the most widely used method of digital marketing, the use of email enables a business to communicate with potential and current customers. Although email has been used for much longer than other marketing tools, the way in which it is used has evolved.
While you can still buy lead lists and send emails to a large group of unqualified prospects, email strategies have moved away from what many see as cold calling.
Now, email marketing is mostly used in conjunction with other efforts and primarily as a way to build relationships, inform or create actionable efforts through targeted messages that are personalized and directly attract a customer. consumer.
For example, suppose you are passing an infographic to a contact list of potential customers. Your email includes a link for them to learn more via a downloadable case study or white paper.
Those who download the case study receive a follow-up email that offers additional information or the option of getting another freebie, like an ebook. Anyone who downloads the ebook is a good candidate for a direct phone follow-up.
Although this is a small scenario, you can see how email is not only a primary method of ongoing communication but a vital sales instrument that can be automated to ensure that the process is also more efficient.
Pay Per Click (PPC) or paid search
If you know Google AdWords, you know PPC. These are also the paid search results that you often see at the top or side of the search engine results page.Most often, this marketing task should always start with a Google AdWord account. While there are many other services available, with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn each having options, Google is by far the most popular.
If it seems like PPC is closely adhering to traditional outbound marketing, you are not too far off. You pay for the location, except in the digital version, you buy keywords, no ad space or airtime.
What sets PPC apart is that keyword advertising gives a business more control over their ad spend and, therefore, a better ROI because you are targeting people who are closer to making a purchase. rather than a large demographic.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Even if you're new to marketing, digital or otherwise, there's a good chance you've heard of SEO or search engine optimization.
SEO refers to the visibility of an individual website in a list of search engine results. This is often referred to as organic search because it relies on unpaid site traffic.
While SEO has a deeply technical aspect, a business can successfully market through this channel by producing the following:
- Well designed, accessible to index website
- Quality content (see our content marketing above)
- Relevant keywords that connect your content to your target audience
- Links to your site or content on social networks, partner sites or other media
Your goal with any SEO effort is to make sure that you have an optimized website and corresponding content that will rank high with each of the major search engines.
Social media
Perhaps the best channel to connect directly and build a customer base, social media is a necessity if you want a complete marketing strategy, digital or otherwise.The biggest hurdle many businesses face when it comes to social media is knowing where to start and which services will have an immediate impact. This is a valid concern given the number of outlets currently available.
Whatever methods your business uses for marketing and advertising, Facebook needs to be part of that strategy.
Youtube
Maybe not social media in the traditional sense (this can also fall under traditional content marketing and marketing channels), YouTube remains a vital outlet for many businesses, especially if you need visual support. . to reach your target customers.It certainly helps that YouTube is second behind Facebook among users around the world, with 1.9 billion.
A magnet for all kinds of brands - from small and local to large and national - direct communication between companies and potential and current customers is one of the main aspects of the service.
From text and photos to gifs and videos, there are many ways to communicate with customers. In fact, Twitter has also been used by some organizations as a means of providing customer service.
In addition, it also serves as an influential outlet for finding talent and connecting with people looking for employment opportunities.
Contrary to popular belief, Pinterest isn't just about images. The service also allows for gifs or short videos that help add the dynamic interactions of the service.
Roles in digital marketing
Digital marketing is not just about knowing its form, function and the tools available to be successful. Understanding the roles involved can help even the smallest businesses find the right talent to implement their digital vision.
Obviously, specific roles and job titles vary by company and industry. In fact, in a fully trained digital marketing department, it is possible to have anywhere from ten to 15 roles, including people who only oversee specific channels like search or PPC.
That's why we want to focus on the top three generally accepted digital marketing positions. Your special efforts might not require all of these, but it's the best place to start. As you age, your need to market to larger potential demographic groups or reach larger areas of influence will also increase.
Many of these posts can be interconnected as well, so depending on an individual's bandwidth, a person can handle several aspects of your digital marketing push.
Digital Marketing Manager
This position is responsible for the complete oversight and implementation of a company's digital marketing efforts. Depending on the size of the company, this position could be the only specific digital position, managing not only the overall message and awareness, but also the content and the spaces occupied.In a more established business, the digital marketer will oversee the efforts of a larger team.
Content manager
This role is to create the content used in your various online efforts and marketing campaigns. More than most other digital positions, the content manager will work with different areas of a business to ensure a cohesive design.In addition, this person is usually responsible for the current blog of the company, helping to bring together the different priorities that exist within an organization and presenting a unifying message online.
Social media manager
Potentially the most dynamic of digital marketing jobs, the person overseeing a company's social media presence will need a diverse knowledge of online marketing strategies.As social media becomes more diverse and vibrant, it behooves social media managers to keep up with social trends, maintain a fresh and up-to-date presence across multiple platforms, and ensure the right programs are rolled out to capture growing traffic on social networks.
Additional aspects of digital marketing
Even with a superficial knowledge of digital marketing, you can come up with a simple and effective strategy that can help you build a large customer list. It will also provide a basis on which to develop your program.
Additional considerations exist to help you build a winning digital marketing plan and below we focus on the top three that offer to connect your efforts, give your marketing wide reach and help you streamline your efforts. . of sale.
Marketing automation
When discussing digital strategy, a good place to start is automation. One of the main benefits of a digital environment is the way you streamline many steps and various responsibilities.Using automation software will tie your efforts together, not only make them cohesive, but also give you feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your digital marketing chain.
Here are some of the things that automation software can help you with:
- Email - One of the most important automation attributes is email marketing, including standard follow-ups, newsletters, actions, or reminders.
- Posting - You can dictate when to schedule posts for blogging or social media.
- Reports - Produce a wide variety of metrics covering all aspects of your marketing, including leads and conversion.
- Tracking - Track traffic, when and where leads are occurring, and through which channels the most conversions are occurring.
- Workflow - Understand what works, what doesn't, and how to get the most out of your marketing activities.
The crucial factor is finding a program that works within your company's current efforts while providing a system that can evolve as you grow.
Mobile marketing
Given the global societal impact of smartphones, there's little mystery as to why you need to reach people on devices that are in a hurry, virtually non-stop, in the palm of their hand.
When it comes to mobile marketing, the most critical factor is making sure that all of your content, from big-ticket items like your website to small-scale items like the picture in an email, is optimized for the display. correct on mobile devices. This will make every piece of marketing literature polished and show that you know what you are doing when it comes to mobile marketing.
Then your actionable elements should be fairly easy to perform with one hand. Never assume that a user will fill out a form using only a desktop or laptop computer. Our business is constantly on the move, and if you want to maximize your marketing budget, you need to create convenience for your prospects.
Finally, never lose sight of the mobile aspect of your marketing campaigns. This means having an app (or apps) to boost your brand or message that works alongside your social media and offers mobile-only engineering giveaways or promotions.
While this is just a rundown of mobile marketing considerations to take into account, one can never overestimate its importance. In the United States alone, there are expected to be over 270 million smartphone users by 2022, and you don't want to be out of reach.
Digital marketing funnel
Although the marketing funnel has been around for a while, in a digital environment it can amplify even small customer creation efforts.A generic Internet search will yield several variations of the funnel method, with three to seven steps. None are necessarily wrong, but we like to keep the approach simple so that you can focus on what's important at each level.
Attract
This includes creating content, communicating with prospects through different channels (Facebook ads and email marketing, for example), and attracting them to your website or landing page so that they can take others. measures.
To hire
This is where you build your relationship with a prospect and let them know what you or your business has to offer. Show yourself as the expert and the solution to their problem and provide them with additional content to build confidence and further engage or to start the closing process.Convert
The logical conclusion once you have completed training your prospect and created a favorable sales environment. This is where they go from prospect to customer.As we said, this can vary widely. You can condense the funnel (some conversions happen directly in the engagement phase) or lengthen it as needed.
The benefit is that many of the tasks involved in the conversion funnel can be automated to give you and your sales team more time to focus on relationship building and the steps. conversion.
Final thoughts
Regardless of the business, you run and the industry to which it belongs, digital marketing is a dynamic way to reach your ideal audience. One of the best things is that there is no right or wrong way to expand the reach of your brands.
Quarterly email campaigns? No problem.
Maybe a social media push with the carrot of an ebook for those who want to learn more? You can do it too.
Do you want to run through the entire funnel and feed it with as many channels as possible? This option is very available.
The point is, whatever your goals or needs, whether you are offering a product or a service, digital marketing allows you to build a program from any number of tools and platforms to meet your needs, then develop and expand your plan at the same time your business does.
The only real concern with digital marketing is not doing it at all.
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