The way companies used to market their products, communicate with their customers and build their brand, all has changed. People have more access to information, there is less one-way communication and more two-way communication, consumer behavior and the relationship between a consumer and a marketer, has changed significantly as well.
Digital marketing is different from traditional marketing, but it has the same objectives; it is used for the purpose of promoting products and services, making consumer realize that a brand exists and keeping them interested.
Search Engine Optimization
Digital marketing Discover More is about promoting a business, and what better way to do it than making a website visible to the target audience? SEO is about including keywords in content, back links and websites, to see to it that it appears on SERPs, when users search for it. SEO is all about keyword research, using the right phrases, and increasing organic traffic to a website. SEO is a slow process, and takes a lot of time, but once an expert has identified the keywords that click with the target audience, a brand would get its return on investment.
Social Media Marketing
This type of marketing is about using social media websites, to engage customers and followers, and promote products. In this concept of digital marketing, content is the king. Marketers have to share a lot of information with followers, regarding their products, product reviews, and other important relevant information. It is all about keeping customers up to date, and making sure that when they think about a specific product, then they think about the brand right away. Social media marketing helps in brand positioning, and this is something every brand can make use of.
Content Marketing
The main benefit of marketing through content is that, it tells customers that a brand is expert in a topic. Brands should be aware about the queries that customers have regarding certain products, and they should produce content that is helpful and answer those queries. This way, whenever someone searches for a solution, the brands website link would rank on the top, and customers might even bookmark the website to visit it again and again.
Pay Per Click
This is a digital marketing method that focuses on attracting customers towards a website, or making sure that they click on the ad that the brand has published. If a brand wants people to focus on their new product, then this is an effective advertising method. A marketer will create an appealing and creative ad, which grabs the attention of the customer right away. Whenever someone clicks on the ad, the marketer has to pay the respective search engine. The benefit of PPC is that, if an ad doesnt work, then there will be fewer clicks on it, and the marketer would realize that his marketing method isnt working.
Search Engine Marketing
The main difference between SEM and SEO is that, SEO is unpaid traffic directed towards a website, with the help of content. SEM is about paid advertising, that drives traffic from search engines to a website. Google Adwords is the most commonly used methods of SEM; marketers prefer to use Google for SEM because it is a search engine used all over the world. The payment made to the search engine by the marketer is predefined, and in return, the search engine shows a marketing message in different places.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is used for converting visitors into customers, and it is a very effective digital marketing method. When customers are mailed special offers and product descriptions, and the offer is appealing, then customers would feel the need to visit the main website and explore it further. An email has to be appealing, and it should direct the customer to the website, after telling them the initial offer. The customer has to be given an incentive to visit the website. If the email doesnt open on mobile devices properly, and only opens on desktop, then this wont be an effective marketing strategy.
When emailing customers, the key to remember here is to not bombard them with messages, or send them one line emails, which dont have any meaning. If emails are sent less, have meaningful and helpful content that requires the customer to take some kind of action, then they will have more impact.
Affiliate Marketing
In affiliate marketing, people outside the company get involved in promoting products, and if they are able to make a sale, then they are paid a percentage of the sale amount by the advertiser. The benefit of this type of digital marketing is that, the advertiser is not paying for website traffic, but for conversion. The affiliate who takes part in this advertising activity are usually bloggers or website owners, who have a good following of people and have the ability to convince them to buy certain products.
Television Advertising
Though television is not often considered digital marketing, but the way people watched television has changed over the years. They now access Netflix or Hulu, and dont like to watch television shows that keep them waiting for more content, and have ads in between. However, there are certain events during which companies should advertise, like the Super Bowl, because during these events, most people are glued to their television screen and the ads that they see, they do retain them.
Podcast
A podcast is like radio advertising, but better; through podcasts, companies can convey product descriptions and benefits to customers. They can tell customers about why they should buy a product, how they can use it, and experiences of other customers. When people dont have the time to look at the videos, they prefer to listen to audio, and this is when a podcast can be the most effective way of digital marketing.
Mobile Phone Advertising
Mobile phone advertising covers, ads that a brands sends through mediums like tablets and smart phones. This is an effective method of digital advertising, and includes SMS advertising as well. Marketers can market their product through WhatsApp, and grab instant attention of customers.