The Definitive Guide to Digital Marketing

Introduction

The digital marketing industry has grown dramatically over the past few years, and it’s not stopping anytime soon. In fact, recent studies predict that by 2020, digital media spending will be upwards of $200 billion dollars! But where do you start when you want to join the ranks of this lucrative industry? The Definitive Guide to Digital Marketing has all the answers, including information on how to get your foot in the door, what skills you’ll need, and which methods are most effective—including some that may surprise you!

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing refers to marketing activities using digital technologies, mainly on the Internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium. It is a means of communication designed exclusively for electronic devices. In other words: internet advertising and marketing.

The Benefits of Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is a very flexible and friendly approach to online marketing. It is one of the most popular and effective ways to reach out to potential customers. This marketing can help businesses create a consistent presence online, leading to increased sales and brand awareness. Here are a few of the benefits of digital marketing:

● It helps you connect with potential buyers and strengthen relationships with current clients.

● You can utilize it even if you own a tiny business or don't have much money or resources to spend on marketing tools.

● Digital marketing campaigns allow firms to take advantage of advancements in technology and use them to their advantage.

Here are some biggest challenges in digital marketing

1. Understanding your target audience

Digital advertising has grown immensely over the years. There are many different platforms that can be used, including social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and email lists. With this increase in options comes a lot of confusion in terms of what is best for each type of business. If you aren’t sure where to start, then you need to first find out who your ideal customer is and what they want from your company. Knowing this information will help you tailor your campaigns to meet their needs.

2. Creating content that converts

The same way that you don’t watch television without commercials, you shouldn’t use any form of internet marketing without content. You have to make sure that whatever you post online is relevant to your product or service. Content isn’t just text; it can include images, videos, and links, too. When creating content for your website or blog, remember to only publish useful information.

3. Using analytics correctly

If you don’t know how to track your results using Google Analytics, then you could potentially miss out on some great insights into your brands performance. In order to get the most out of your data, you should take time to analyze it and look at trends. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend hours upon hours doing all the work yourself, but some basic tools can take away quite a bit of the workload.

4. Inaccuracies

With any online content, we are faced with inaccuracies. Whether they are from human error or errors in technology, things can go wrong. This leads to lost opportunities for brands who miss out on the chance to connect with their audience.

5. Lack of Timely Data

The second major issue that arises from inaccurate data is that many times, it is difficult to measure results and determine what works best. This makes it hard to improve your approach over time.

6. Complexity

This is probably my favorite reason. There are just too many variables today in how people interact with media. Consumers can access information at the touch of a button. This creates a lot of noise, making it very challenging to stand out.

7. Brand Awareness

Digital marketing requires awareness of your brand and products across various platforms. In order to build this awareness, digital marketers have to promote their brands and products across different social media channels, blogs, websites and other online portals and applications.

8. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

The conversion rate optimization refers to the process of improving website content based upon user data and analytics. This is helpful to improve the site’s organic traffic and sales. By using CRO techniques, your web pages can deliver the right information at the right time and enhance customer experience while increasing conversions.

9. Customer Service & Support

Customer service is an integral part of any business. Without an effective customer support system, it becomes difficult for businesses to manage and retain customers. If you want to build a successful business, it is important to offer quality service to your customers.

Digital Marketing includes

• Social media advertising (Facebook ads, Twitter Ads),

• Google AdWords

• SEO (search engine optimization)

• PPC (pay-per-click) to

• Email marketing/automation

• Content Marketing

Online Advertising

You’ve probably heard of online advertising. What you may not know is that many people use digital marketing, in general, to describe paid ads on Facebook, Twitter, and Google — but that’s just a tiny part of digital marketing. In fact, there are different types of digital marketing tactics that you can use online.

It all starts with building a website or app that people want to visit and sharing information about your products or services so that your audience knows what it is they’re missing out on if they don’t buy from you. Think about it as fishing for customers rather than throwing them a net; then just reel them in. We started adding page views one at a time until we were seeing thousands per day.

Email Marketing

If you're thinking, Email marketing is one of those '90s trends that went out with Beanie Babies, we'll have you know it's still one of today's top digital marketing strategies. In fact, according to MarketingSherpa, 74% of online marketers said email was their most successful channel in 2015. That's why we thought it would be helpful to create a definitive guide for anyone looking for a little help creating and deploying an email marketing strategy that helps you close deals faster. Whether your business is B2B or B2C, email can act as a customer service tool and revenue driver in more ways than most companies realize.

Social Media Marketing

In 2016, 87% of consumers discovered businesses online. Within that number, 64% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase, and 49% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Because social media marketing involves cultivating real-time customer relationships that align with content creation and advertising initiatives, marketers are able to connect brands with customers in ways they never have before.

Social media marketing allows you to get in touch with your target audience by providing easy-to-use tools that boost brand awareness while also helping you build a solid relationship in real time.

The more connections a brand has through social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more—the higher chance there is for consumer engagement on social platforms where users can voice their own experiences about your brand.

Content Marketing

Creating content that resonates with an audience is a great way to earn attention. And it doesn’t cost you a thing (other than your time). Creating your own original content takes some effort, but it’s really not rocket science.

For example, you could create infographics or how-to guides for topics related to your industry. In many cases, simply doing a little research about what people in your industry want will help you come up with some great content ideas. One of my favorite ways to come up with ideas is simply looking at my Google search history—the topics I’ve been reading about (and thus might like more information on) are good places to start.

Affiliate and Referral Programs

One of our favorite ways to engage readers and generate revenue is by promoting products we think you’ll love. If you see a product or service that interests you, feel free to share it using an affiliate link or a referral code.

For example, when someone clicks on your recommendation and makes a purchase, you might receive compensation based on your relationship with that business. If they make an additional purchase within 30 days, then they may become eligible for further discounts.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve enjoyed our guide to digital marketing. Digital marketing is a massive topic that has a lot of moving parts, and we wanted to present it in as cohesive a format as possible. We realize we’ve left some important things out, so if you have any additional questions or if there are areas where you think we could do better, please let us know! Comment below or email us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to answer your questions. Now get out there and start reading other guides! With thousands of posts in dozens of categories covering hundreds of businesses—there’s something for everyone!

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