Businesses need to have a presence online to win new clients over and take down the competition. To do this, companies invest in digital marketing to send messages to their audiences across several platforms.
Businesses need to have a presence online to win new clients over and take down the competition. To do this, companies invest in digital marketing to send messages to their audiences across several platforms.
Global digital ad spending is estimated to reach $485 billion in 2023, which is an increase of around $50 billion. These numbers demonstrate how competitive digital marketing is, and how vital it is to businesses.
Throughout this article, we will discuss components of digital marketing and different marketing tactics that are guaranteed to attract new customers.
Read more: 13 Best Digital Marketing Blogs to Follow in 2022
What is Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the kind of marketing campaign that appears on a computer, phone, tablet, or other electronic device. It is the act of selling goods and services via various channels such as social media, SEO, email, and mobile apps.
Online video, display ads, search engine marketing, paid social ads, PPC advertising like Bing Ads, and social media posts are all examples of different kinds of digital marketing. It can be done both online and offline, and both are necessary for a well-rounded digital marketing strategy.
Components of Digital Marketing
SEO Marketing
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a tool used by digital marketers in a bid to keep their business at the top of the Google SERPs. According to the Australian agency SEO Advantage, small businesses need SEO to improve their website's online visibility to attract more customers.
To do this, content creators spend time researching keywords and analyzing competitors’ websites, and then placing keywords strategically within their content. The key to effective SEO is understanding target audiences, which lets you get inside their head and figure out search intent.
As an estimate, Google receives around 5.6 billion searches every day, which all lead to billions of results. Typically, searchers don’t venture past the first page to get answers. Therefore, you need SEO if you want to stand a chance of making it to the top.
Social Media Marketing
There are over 4 billion active users on social media platforms, which equates to around half of the global population. This means there’s a huge potential audience waiting to be tapped into, and it can be achieved free of charge. Social media marketers understand how users interact with different platforms, which lets them create targeted content and release it at the correct time.
Email Marketing
Surprisingly, despite the volume of emails hitting spam boxes, email marketing has the highest return of investment (ROI) of any marketing technique. If you spend a single dollar on email marketing, your potential ROI is $36, which is a huge gain. Through your website, you can create a mailing list, which can be used to send targeted ads. Understanding how to target your emails is easy, because they will leave you their preferences when they visit your site.
Targeted Content Marketing
Targeted marketing is one of the most useful tools in a digital marketer’s playbook because it allows businesses to show browsers exactly what they want to see, which provides a personalized experience.
For example, if you operate a blog full of useful content, a student can visit your site, and they will only see relevant material. If you throw in affiliate links to your website, you stand to make a strong income.
The world is becoming more digital every year, which means businesses need to be innovative with their digital marketing. To get started generating new customers online, you can use the methods discussed above and create a plan for your business. Then, as time moves on, keep updated on the latest trends and switch up your digital marketing strategy accordingly.
Reasons Why You Need Digital Marketing
Online Presence
The primary goal of digital marketing is to increase the visibility of your company online. Companies require someone to ensure that they have an appropriate and compelling presence on all the online platforms available globally.
When millions of people see your brand, your chances of growing your business improve. Otherwise, your company will remain static and will not expand in size or scope. Digital marketing is unavoidable in order to ensure continuous and massive growth.
Brand Awareness
The first step in any kind of marketing is to make your brand visible to the public. The next critical step is to tell those people about your company and familiarize them with what you offer and what you don't.
Through digital marketing, you can easily reach your general audience and internet surfers, as well as entice potential customers to enter your company's sales funnel. The more people who are aware of your company, the better your chances of converting them into paying customers.
Spread News about Your Product/Service
Businesses that release frequent updates and sales offers must spread the word to their target customers. In today's world, customers are often scattered all across the globe.
Suppose you don’t have an active social media and internet presence. In that case, there is barely any other way to inform the majority of your followers about the change to your website or social media profile. You may miss out on capturing the attention of many potential customers. As a result, sales offers won’t contribute much to your business revenue.
Dynamic Marketing Strategy
With time, every brand needs to change their marketing strategy in order to adapt to the ever-evolving market. There are numerous factors that may cause you to change the way you promote your company. Some factors may be internal, such as changing leadership roles or the culture of your organization.
Other factors are external. Suppose, there is a new trend in the world that your competitors are following and succeeding in. You need to rapidly change your strategies in order to sustain the competition. Only the digital world allows you to make abrupt and efficient changes to accommodate these changes.
Global Reach
Thanks to the development of information and technology, there are no geographical or country restrictions on where you can market your brand.
No matter where you or your business is located, digital platforms bring the entire world into the palms of your hand. Your total number of potential buyers and customers increase since the entire world becomes your market. You can reach the global market easily without spending a lot of money on marketing and making millions of people aware of your brand.
How to Attract New Customers using Digital Marketing
Remember Your Customers Are Online
When someone is interested in your business, whether it is in your niche or they are curious about your brand, the first thing they will do is research you online.
Customers expect to find a website and a social media presence in today's digital age. They might be looking for reviews to learn what others are saying about your company and whether it is a good place to do business. Consumers read online reviews for local businesses at a rate of 87 percent, a 6 percent increase from 2019 to 2020.
If a potential customer can't find you online, they may conclude that your company isn't legitimate.
Know Your Target Audience
One of the beauties of digital marketing is that you can easily learn about your target audience and their problems. In order to position your product/service as a perfect solution for their problem, this information is very handy.
To gain insights, you can start a conversation or run a survey on social media or through a blog. Take note of any comments or survey responses that you receive during the process.
Using digital marketing removes the guesswork from determining who your customers are, allowing you to personalize communications and refine targeting.
Be Available for Your Customers
Your business needs to be present where your customers, and that’s online. Whatever product or service a person looks for, they will most likely start their search with Google. If you have an online presence, but your competitors are easier to find as they rank higher in search, you still might not be found. That is why it’s immensely important to outrank competitors by being the first name that a prospect finds on a Google search.
Keywords are crucial in making this happen, so make sure you understand the best keywords (long-tail and short-tail) for your business. You should also include simple questions prospects may want quick answers to, such as where you are located, your opening hours, and details of your product or service.
Drive Customers Towards You
Your customers are online, so you should too. Whenever someone wants to buy a certain product or service, they almost certainly begin their search with Google. Sometimes, your competitors may be easier for them to find because they rank higher in search results. Therefore, it is imperative that you outrank competitors by being the first name a prospective customer finds while doing a basic Google search.
Keywords and SEO performance play a major role in ranking higher for search engines. You should also include simple questions that prospects may want quick answers to, such as your location, business hours, and product or service details.
In today's digital age, mobile apps have become essential for businesses of all types, thanks to the widespread use of smartphones. Finding a product or service through a mobile app is often more convenient than searching online. Take, for instance, an e-commerce business; you can streamline the shopping experience for your customers by providing a user-friendly e-commerce app.
If you're looking for tailored solutions, many companies offer custom e-commerce app development services. Alternatively, you can hire mobile app developers to create the perfect app for your business.
Analyze Your Competitors Thoroughly
As a business owner, you must know everything about what your competitors are doing n the digital space in order to make your distinctive digital marketing strategy. Consider your competitors to be people to learn from rather than people to beat.
There is no alternative to conducting research to find out about every move of your competitors. You must find out what platforms they use, whether they focus on keywords, and whether they use influencers to drive traffic.
Good news is, there are some effective tools available online to help you in this regard:
- Semrush - great for keyword ranking and keyword traffic
- Ahrefs - useful for discovering competitors’ most linked content
- Moz - another platform for keyword ranking
- BuzzSumo - track popular content types and influencers
- Google Alerts - a tool for tracking mentions of any competitor you choose to track
- Ontolo - a great tool for backlinks and content marketing
Do more marketing for less money!
Digital marketing is one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising. Small businesses and start-ups are constantly striving to achieve as much as possible with their marketing on a limited budget.
Online advertising can help you stretch your budget further and refine your target audience. Social media is especially useful for this because it allows you to set a daily budget for a specific audience interested in your brand or ethos. Most importantly, it allows your company to exclude customers who will never buy from you, saving you time and money!
Wrapping Up
As the world of commerce has drastically shifted towards a digital marketplace, businesses now have the opportunity to broaden their reach and connect with their target market via digital marketing tactics.
Any modern brand that wants to stay competitive in today's business environment must incorporate digital marketing tactics into their overall strategy.
Be available to your audience and provide genuine value to them. Concentrate on creating the best product or service possible, and invest strategically in digital marketing. Remember that measuring everything you do is critical to ensuring that your efforts are not in vain and that you are profitable.
