The demand for digital marketing is increasing exponentially and many of the people already know how to do digital marketing such as setting up social media, running ads all over the internet. However, this is not all, there are many elements that you need to know in digital marketing.

So, what do you think Digital Marketing is? Digital marketing is basically all of the marketing done on internet. Digital Marketing is increasing exponentially every year as more and more people are coming on the internet. Developing countries such as India has also seen an exponential rise in internet users in the past 5-7 years and so in Digital Marketing.

If we talk about numbers, almost 5 billion people are using the internet which accounts for more than 63% of the world’s population, According to Digital 2022: Global Overview Report. So, demand for Digital Marketing isn’t going away any sooner.

We know that it can be a little tough for you to go through the article, so we’ve divided it into different sections below:

• What are the digital marketing channels?
• What are the benefits of digital marketing?
• What is a digital marketing strategy?
• What are good examples of digital marketing?
• How do you do digital marketing?
• How do you get into digital marketing?

What Are The Digital Marketing Channels?

If you want visitors to your site, you will have to first learn about different channels that are available. There are mainly 7 digital marketing channels that you need to use to drive traffic to your site, after that you will need your visitors to engage with your website and eventually convert (i.e desired goal achieved).

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
4. Social Media Marketing
5. Content Marketing
6. Email Marketing
7. Mobile Marketing
8. Affiliate Marketing

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the most important channel in digital marketing. According to Wikipedia, search engine optimization is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic rather than direct traffic or paid traffic. SEO takes months to rank your site depending on the level of competition.

Search Engine Optimization consists of many elements that you need to understand before you start doing SEO. Some of the elements are listed below:

• Keywords – Keywords are the terms or sentence that we search on Google. There are branded and non branded keywords with different competition, search volume, etc.
• Local SEO – Local SEO is focused locally as the name suggests. With local directories and keywords.
• On-page SEO – This is done internally on the website. For eg., optimizing content with keywords.
• Off-page SEO – This is done outside of the website. This technique includes link building (third-party backlinks).
• Content – Content is everywhere on the internet, marketing is impossible without content. It includes articles, photos, videos, GIFs, etc.

It’s crucial to include these SEO elements in your digital marketing strategy to increase visibility for your site and drive traffic.
If you want to know about SEO in detail than we recommend that you checkout our this article where we’ve explained about SEO in detail.

2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is basically paid search advertising. Unlike SEO, which focuses purely on organic search traffic. SEM focusses on paid search advertising only.

With SEM, you learn how to run search ads on Google and other search engines to drive traffic to your site. Although, SEO and SEM might sound similar but they are a little different in nature.

While SEO take months to rank your website, SEM ensure that you get on Google’s first page overnight by running ads. Usually when you search something on Google, the first 4 results that you see are ads.

SEM & SEO complement each other as they ensure that your brand has a good presence on search engines and properly spreading your budget across organic and paid channels.

Check out this article to know about Search Engine Marketing in detail?

3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

You might already know or heard about PPC many times, but do you really know what it actually is? PPC or Pay-Per-Click is way of paid advertising online in which you pay only when someone clicks on your ad.

In PPC advertising you are directing users to click on your ad to reach your website or landing page. PPC becomes costly, so you will be needing a proper bidding strategy, keyword research, optimized landing page and a set budget.

4. Content Marketing

Although this aspect of digital marketing is self-explanatory thanks to the word “content marketing,” it can be challenging to master. It’s simple to produce a tonne of content for online distribution, but producing effective digital content is essential.

Content marketing includes a variety of formats that can be used at every point of the sales funnel, including video, blogs, emails, webinars, social media posts, and eBooks. When content marketing is done correctly, it may result in an uptick in web traffic, a surge in subscriptions, greater revenue, and devoted consumers.

Check out this video from Hubspot Academy below if you want to learn some crucial things about content marketing and get an in depth idea of what content marketing is.

5. Influencer Marketing or Sponsored Content

Influencer marketing first gained attention a few years ago, and today it plays a significant role in the world of digital marketing. In a nutshell, it occurs when a brand partners on social media with an influencer, celebrity, or business titan to promote or sponsor a good or service.

Nearly half of consumers rely on influencers for suggestions, which speaks volumes about its potential power. When the audience can understand the collaboration, an influencer is really useful.

Everyone knows how big Ryan Reynolds is and how big his audience is. To get an idea how influencer marketing works in reak world, check out below in the video how Ryan Reynolds is promoting his own gin company ‘Aviation Gin’.

6. Email Marketing

Delivering marketing communications to selected subscribers via email requires a planned, methodical process. Email is still one of the most efficient ways to convert customers and move them through the sales funnel because it is the earliest form of internet communication.

Email will be more significant once third-party cookies on Google are eliminated. Companies will rely more on email as a first-party data channel (i.e., information directly from customers) for communication and conversion.

Take some time to organise your databases, make adjustments to your email marketing plan, and increase subscriber numbers because it’s a vital avenue for connecting with your prospects and consumers.

7. Social Media Marketing

Any modern marketer’s arsenal must include social media marketing. It provides engaging and successful methods for connecting with customers through different kinds of information.

There used to be fewer social channels available, but today’s networks are expanding and bringing in more users every day. Consider the viral potential of TikTok or the live broadcast capabilities of WeChat as examples of the fantastic marketing opportunities this presents.

When it comes to social media marketing, it may be a bit of a playground, so do your research and pick your platforms properly. Being on the correct channels for your business and audience—rather than every channel—is what matters. Check through the 2022 social media schedule to see if there are any events of interest. It’s also about staying current and capitalising on hot topics.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Despite the fact that affiliate marketing has been around for years, many marketers are still uncertain of how to benefit from it. Affiliate marketing: What is it? In essence, it occurs when a business promotes the goods of another business in exchange for payment for a click, lead, or sale (depending on the deal arranged).

By tracking the affiliate link, it is possible to connect it to a sale that is later credited to the affiliate, creating a cycle.

With tremendous success, Amazon frequently employs this strategy to direct customers to its products through external websites.

Influencers, bloggers, major publications, or businesses that incorporate advertisements in their emails frequently employ this tactic. For firms aiming to capitalise on the growing trend of consumers seeking recommendations from friends, family, or other influential people before making a purchase, it can be quite helpful.

9. Video Marketing

Wyzowl 2022 Research claims that 81% of marketers believe that video marketing directly and favourably affects sales. Since 2016, the contribution of video to sales has increased steadily, and in 2022, video will still be a major trend.

One of the most widely used content formats is video, and the new emphasis on video content on Instagram and TikTok has solidified its place in audience engagement and lead generation.

Video is significant because it gives users a fun method to learn and stay informed. It’s an essential component of social media marketing, but it can also be used to boost traffic to your landing pages and website, or it may be used to host live webinars to gather email addresses.

 

10. SMS Marketing

Sending transactional messages to clients who have provided previous consent via SMS (short messaging service) marketing is a successful strategy.

According to Juniper Research, a surge in online retail in 2020 caused the amount of worldwide mobile business message traffic to reach 2.7 trillion, a 10% increase from the previous year. Marketers can utilise this channel to interact with customers, offer customer service, advertise products, and send transactional communications.

Instant Messaging Marketing

Sending promotional campaigns or transactional texts to clients who have given their consent in advance is a successful use of SMS (short messaging service) marketing.

According to Juniper Research, a growth in online retail helped drive 2.7 trillion worldwide mobile business messages in 2020, a 10% increase from the previous year. Marketers can utilise this channel to talk to clients, offer assistance, advertise goods, and send transactional communications.

Omnichannel Marketing

Sending transactional messages to clients who have provided previous consent via SMS (short messaging service) marketing is an efficient method of promoting campaigns.

According to Juniper Research, the growth in online retail was the primary factor in 2020’s 2.7 trillion global mobile business messaging transactions, a 10% rise from the previous year. Marketers can interact with customers using this channel while also promoting their goods, offering customer service, and sending transactional communications.

Operating in separate silos for traditional and digital marketing is absurd. For both B2B and B2C businesses, streamline your marketing procedures by implementing an omnichannel strategy.

What are the benefits of digital marketing?

What advantages can digital marketing offer?

The great thing about digital marketing, as we’ve already mentioned, is that it enables you to interact with customers through several touchpoints.

This implies that you and your company can engage with potential clients and customers in a way that fosters relationships that, ideally, will last a long time. Let’s examine the main advantages of digital marketing in further detail.

enlarge your audience

You are already aware of the countless numbers of people you can interact with and sway online. But did you know that with regard to digital, there are no restrictions?

Because everyone worldwide can read your blog post or social media post at any moment, unlike traditional marketing, the opportunities to engage are endless. Online, time zones don’t matter, and you can contact individuals at the correct times and on the right days through scheduling and automation.

In order to attract new audiences, you can also provide engaging content. Create a tailored campaign that only targets that audience through the appropriate digital channels if you’re having trouble engaging a certain audience.

Hyper-Targeting should be enabled based on geography, demographics, and psychographics.

Through segmentation, digital marketing enables you to target particular audiences. This means that you can use location, demographics (such as gender, age, and work function) and psychographics (such as objectives, desires, and hobbies) to target people in your online marketing efforts.

However, you must first identify your target audience in order to target them. To achieve this, create a buyer persona. Simply said, a buyer persona is a profile of your ideal client. That doesn’t always imply it’s just one person; you can create several personas to represent your varied audience.

Knowing your audience allows you to provide material that is tailored to them and use channels that are appropriate for their personas. Download our buyer persona template if you need help creating personas.

Become economical

Forget about placing an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine and wondering who sees it, or forget about handing out fliers in a crowded mall and worrying whether anyone takes advantage of the offer. Digital marketing initiatives’ cost-effectiveness and trackability are two major advantages.

You may set a spending limit for all of your campaigns, including paid search, display advertising, and social media, to keep tabs on expenses. This implies that you can create a daily, weekly, or even monthly budget to ensure that you always stay within the limits that were established.

The simplest method to achieve this is to prepare your budgeting in advance and determine your spending cap for a specific time frame.

For a helpful tool for organising and calculating your budgets, download our digital marketing budget toolbox.

Obtain quantifiable results

Digital marketing is not only economical, but it is also quantifiable. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are simple to select and follow across digital media.

The key to KPIs is to concentrate on the important measures. On social media platforms, stay away from vanity metrics like likes and comments. Set clear, action-oriented KPIs in its place that demonstrate quantifiable outcomes like conversion rates, sales, and money – items that are important to the bottom line.

If you need assistance tracking your analytics, download our toolbox for objectives and KPIs.

Customize and personalise campaigns

It should come as no surprise that campaigns that are pertinent and customised succeed.

According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing 2021 study, message personalisation is the most effective strategy employed by email marketers, increasing engagement rates by 20%.

The same applies to all digital outlets. Consider your Twitter feed as an example. Would you click on an advertisement if it had nothing to do with your interests? Or, as you navigate a website, do you come across content that is relevant to your journey? See how crucial personalisation is to user experience and communication in the video below (UX).

Marketers must produce timely and relevant content if they want to stand out from the online noise.

Incorporate customization into your marketing plan to guarantee that you connect with your personas and engage them with relevant information.

Simple to adjust or swiftly adapt a plan

Online is quick. This implies that you can easily modify content or campaigns. When you notice that one of your social media initiatives isn’t working, this might be a tremendous help. To determine if it makes a difference, you can modify the messaging, change the area, or narrow the audience.

The ability to test campaigns or copy is another feature.

Many marketing teams find that A/B testing is invaluable since it allows them to compare the effectiveness of two initiatives at once.

This prevents wasting time and resources on a campaign that will never succeed because you know from the start what the best course of action is. Simply watch our instructional video or get our toolkit if you’re unfamiliar with A/B testing to learn more.

Engage audiences at various funnel phases

The marketing and sales funnel will be familiar to you if you’ve been reading marketing-related articles. There are a few areas of the funnel that give marketers a way to produce content that is specifically designed to take prospects on a journey toward conversion.

The funnel comprises four steps, which are shown in the photo below:

The funnel is crucial since each stage needs to be nurtured according to the level of intent of the buyer. For instance, someone who is only browsing at the awareness stage might be interested in learning more about your company or industry. While a person who is making a selection requires comfort and credibility in the form of customer testimonials or evaluations.

Make it more competitive for both large and small brands

Digital marketing helps big firms, but it also helps smaller brands. The beautiful thing about digital is that it gives businesses of all sizes the same opportunity and levels the playing field.

You can utilise customer relationship management tools to streamline your email marketing and have access to social media networks that can send targeted messages. For display ads and search marketing, your company can set budget caps to ensure that you stay within your means.

Yes, a major brand might have a bigger marketing team and a bigger budget. Your small business will succeed online if you understand your personalities, have determined the most important digital channels to use, and are aware of the kinds of material that are effective.

To educate clients about societal concerns like racism and the environment, you might also think about corporate social responsibility (CSR). For inspiration, have a look at 16 brands who successfully implement CSR.

What Digital Marketing Strategy really is?

Any successful business starts with a solid digital marketing plan. Make sure you set out time to plan and conduct research from the outset because it seeks to influence all of your marketing initiatives.

What attributes does a solid digital marketing plan have?

You can use the following measures to develop a strong digital marketing strategy:

Establish realistic KPIs and set your SMART goals. Knowing your objectives and making a plan to achieve them are essential.
Clarify who your target audience is, then create personas to identify their problems. Try not to pick on everyone!
Analyze your prior marketing efforts to see what strategies worked and what didn’t.
Select your channels – Deciding which channels are best for your brand might be challenging. Find the channels that are best for your audience and business by doing some research.
Keep an eye on the upcoming key marketing trends. Often, early adopters profit from new trends and technologies. For a first-mover advantage, make sure you are aware of what is occurring.
Establish a budget – Decide on your marketing budget right away and base your plans for action on it.

You’ll be well on your way to creating a thorough strategy for your organisation if you adhere to those six phases.

What does digital marketing’s lead generation entail?

Generating leads, which involves recruiting and nurturing prospects with the intention of turning them into customers, is the ultimate goal of digital marketing. You have more chances to turn leads into sales the more leads you have.

Knowing your audience is essential for generating leads. You have a better chance of convincing the correct folks at the right time to give you their contact information. Therefore, mapping out your client journey is crucial.

Do you understand the source of your prospects? Are they active on LinkedIn or Facebook? What compels people to give their information—an eBook, a risk-free trial, or a deal?

Making a customer journey map that includes all touchpoints is frequently the most effective approach to determine this. You may customise content and marketing to promote lead generation once you have a better understanding of your customer.

Digital marketing: inbound vs. outbound

Your marketing plan should include both inbound and outbound marketing. Doing both to promote brand awareness and engage prospects might be advantageous.

Through marketing initiatives like events, TV advertisements, and cold phoning, outbound marketing involves pushing information out to a prospect. In contrast, inbound marketing focuses on luring customers to your website through initiatives like social media posts, display advertisements, and blogs.

But what are each’s benefits and drawbacks? Let’s see.

 

B2B vs. B2C digital marketing

Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) buyers are two separate categories of customers, and each requires a different marketing approach.

The behaviour of B2B and B2C differs significantly. B2B clients are motivated by logic and a desire to collaborate with other companies when making purchases. B2C customers, on the other hand, are more motivated by emotion and want to buy things for themselves.

The image below shows how the types act differently within the marketing funnel. Because there are more parties involved and more nurturing is needed, B2B deals typically take longer to conclude, but the benefits are typically larger because the business is worth more. Volume is essential for any B2C organisation because B2B leads close more quickly but often are worth less.

What are good examples of digital marketing?

There are lots of excellent digital marketing initiatives to get ideas from. Brands of all sizes are connecting with consumers through new and creative uses of digital media.

Consider the Super Bowl in 2022 as an example. With a viewership of around 113 million, corporations compete fiercely for advertising spaces, so it’s imperative to stand out if you do secure one. Consider Lays, which features actors Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen, or Uber Eats, which features Jennifer Coolidge.

On a lesser scale, many businesses, like lifestyle brand Patagonia, are creating buzz by speaking out on social media about pressing social concerns. Or, some companies are counting on their consumers to publish User-Generated Content, which is extremely inexpensive and has a huge impact on brand exposure.

You don’t need to run expensive digital marketing efforts. Consider your audience’s interests before interacting with them on social media or by email. In the end, it’s about promoting your brand in the proper places.

How do you approach online marketing?

There are various positions available if you’re interested in a career in digital marketing. Typically, the initial stage is to train as a digital marketer. Using a range of digital marketing channels, you will be in charge of generating leads and increasing brand recognition in this position.

The most important thing while trying to advance your career is to consider your areas of interest. Do you prefer to be a generalist who handles a variety of marketing activities, or do you prefer to focus on one particular field?

We will examine the various roles in digital marketing to assist you in determining that.

Implement content marketing.

Digital marketing includes content marketing, which is crucial. It determines how customers interact with and perceive your brand. There are so many content requirements in a firm that there is no such thing as a typical day. Let’s look at what a content marketer performs.

Blogs, emails, and website copy are all examples of written content.
Videos are crucial for both organic and paid channels because they are an engaging medium.
Social media: Posting material to social media networks is a successful way to increase traffic and leads.
Gated content – Users must enter their details to access this kind of content, which generates leads. Whitepapers and eBooks are two examples.

Making an editorial or content plan and timetable is a crucial component of this job to ensure that you’re consistently producing original content. To determine what content is effective and what is not, you will also need to examine data.

2. Controlling social media

As billions of users log on to one or more social platforms every day, social media is essential for any business. This is where social media management comes in because updating and sharing information on platforms, such Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, takes a lot of labour.

The management of social media networks requires a wide range of abilities because it is a key strategy for increasing engagement. These include the creation or distribution of content, analytics, research, the formulation of strategies, SEO, and customer support.

Check out our eBook if you’re interested in learning how to manage social media.

3. Control SEO efforts

You must use SEO if you want people to find your brand and content. By using the appropriate keywords, you may increase the visibility of your material online and move up the search engine results pages.

But what does a manager of SEO do? When managing SEO, there are numerous crucial duties to complete:

Optimization of websites, social media, and content
content management for websites
keyword analysis
negotiating links back
Strategy
organising and planning a campaign
Website observation and user research

If SEO is your area of interest, familiarise yourself with the terms with our SEO A to Z.

Do PPC advertisements?

B2B and B2B firms employ pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns to create leads. Let’s take a closer look at what a PPC specialist works on a daily basis since they are an essential component of any marketing team.

Create landing pages. It is pointless to invest time and money on PPC advertising that direct users to an unrelated or poorly designed landing page. A PPC expert is aware of the elements of effective landing pages.
Research keywords – In PPC, keywords are just as important as an SEO expert. A PPC specialist’s responsibility is to conduct appropriate keyword research and incorporate it into campaigns.
algorithm observer To guarantee that your PPC advertising are viewed, search engines like Google frequently modify and update their algorithms, therefore it’s important to take this into consideration.

5. Use search engine optimization

Optimizing your paid advertising is a key component of search engine marketing (SEM), as we previously said. But how does a SEM expert accomplish this?

To manage SEM, you’ll need a few different abilities, including data analysis, writing, SEO, A/B testing, and planning. The understanding of search engines and rankings is influenced by all of them.

The main goal of this position is to place all paid campaigns in front of the appropriate audiences on the appropriate channels.

How do you enter the world of online marketing?

There are many chances for motivated and dedicated individuals in the fascinating and quickly developing field of digital marketing. If you decide that this is the path you want to take, there are a few things you can do to break into the field and get your first job in digital marketing:

Recognize the sector.

. Obtain an accredited certification in digital marketing
. Connect with colleagues and business leaders
. Join blogs or podcasts that offer advise and track trends.
. Boost your online presence on social media and create a portfolio.
. Consider applying for internships or taking on freelance digital marketing jobs.
. Apply to work as a digital marketer at a company

With any luck, following these suggestions will enable you to develop your unique brand and network your way to a fantastic position in digital marketing.