As the digital marketing world continues to grow in leaps and bounds, some people still don’t know what this practice really means or what it takes to succeed at it. Simply defined, digital marketing means promoting your commodities using the internet and digital media as the medium. It encompasses marketing techniques that involve reaching out to your target customers largely through the internet.
The field of digital marketing is wide-ranging and can be quite overwhelming if you are new to it. In that light, we share with you four of the major components of digital marketing to get you started in creating a successful marketing strategy.
1. Responsive Website
Your website reflects your brand. The way your website looks impacts the way your prospective customers perceive your brand. In fact, nearly 50% of online shoppers determine the credibility of a business based on its website design.
For successful online marketing, you need a website that looks attractive and well-organized. The site should have a responsive design with an efficient content management system (CMS), such as WordPress. It should only take a few seconds to load.
A website that takes over 10 seconds to load or looks cheap and amateurishly designed will hurt your credibility and drive potential customers away. Be sure to invest in the right mix of design and functionality when creating your business website.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In digital marketing, a great website won’t be of much help to your business if it is not optimized for search engines as well as mobile phone users. You want to make it easy for your target audience to find you.
About 80% of shoppers conduct online research before making a purchasing decision, and Google is their favorite research tool. To put your business in front of these shoppers, you need to optimize your website for search engines, which include Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
For the uninitiated, SEO is the process of enhancing the visibility of a site on organic search engine results pages (SERPs).
3. Social Media Marketing
If you want to learn your way around digital marketing, social media is a great place to start. Here, you use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to promote and sell your products or services.
One notable advantage of this digital marketing technique is that social media channels allow you to choose your target audience. Research shows that over 50% of business owners and marketers who’ve been using social media marketing for at least two years reported it helped them increase sales.
4. Content Marketing
Content marketing is another integral component of digital marketing. It’s a digital marketing tactic that focuses on creating solid relationships with your audience by giving them valuable and relevant content on a regular basis.
Its main purpose is to inform your prospective customers as well as help your business establish authority and build loyalty. This content should be geared towards inspiring your customers into taking a profitable action. It can include but isn’t limited to:
- Blog posts
- Email newsletters
- Case studies
- Infographics
- E-books
- Whitepapers
- Articles
Conclusion
With an understanding of the digital marketing basics, you can be able to create an effective marketing strategy for your business. An effective marketing strategy should encompass various components of digital marketing, including web design, SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing. Also, be sure to work with experienced digital marketing professionals.
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