New terms pop into general use constantly, often before we even notice. “Digital marketing” is one of them. We hear about it a lot but often, we might not be quite sure what it means. It has something to do with technology and advertising, of course. But what more can we know about it? And how can it benefit you?
This article is aimed at true novices in the field – we know you’re still out there, and that’s ok! You’ve been busy developing your own business. You may be a tradesperson, an artist, or a network engineer. You could run a daycare or a local store. You’re busy offering other much-needed services to the community or even to the world. But you could still be stuck on how to create awareness of what you have to offer.
But digital marketing can still benefit you. Of course, you need to have a good handle on exactly what it is.
What Is “Digital” And What Is “Marketing”?
“Digital” is the easier term to define, in our opinion. In this context, it means you’ll be using new channels for your marketing. The old channels are still around – TV, radio, newspapers, billboards, and many more channels. They’re still important. But there are many new opportunities, too, that have sprung up in the last 20 years as the internet has become increasingly accessible. You now can reach people through web sites, search engines, cell phones, smart TVs and other channels. All of these are part of “digital”.
“Marketing” also needs a definition, because it’s often misunderstood. The most important thing to realize is that marketing is not the same as advertising. Advertising is one small part of marketing.
Advertising is the step when you make your service or product known. It should be a final step, not a first step. Marketing is more overreaching. It begins with research and understanding your target audience. Research can be a scary idea. However, sometimes it’s also common sense.
Who do you want to reach? How old are they? Where do they live? Does your product or service appeal to men, women, or both? You may already have a reasonable idea of the answers. Further research could help; sometimes it might even show that your assumptions were even a bit off. Research about income levels and other factors can also help you determine how much you can sell your product for or how many you can expect to sell.
Marketing also helps you stay true to your message. What is it you want to communicate about your offerings? What’s the best way to say it? Are you choosing the right colors and the right words? Could your logo or text be misunderstood? Could your colors create a subconscious feeling that contradicts your message?
And yes, advertising is part of marketing. This is the stage where you put your message in front of people. It includes not only what the ad looks like, but choosing where you do it – whether that’s a billboard location, a radio station, or a social network. It also includes how your ad looks (or sounds), when it will run, and what it will say.
And yes – money is involved. Whether you can afford $500 or $500 million for your marketing budget, it’s important to know what you’re getting out of it. Marketing includes the analysis of what you get back on your investment. Is it worth spending $10 to get someone to buy an $8 sandwich at your diner? Maybe – because they could keep coming back over and over. Marketing has to look at costs at all stages and the lifetime value that a customer brings to your business.
So taking all those parts of marketing and applying them to online channels is what digital marketing is all about. Sound complicated? That can depend. There are all kinds of levels you can look at, and your own goals are a big part of how much depth you need to get into. You don’t need a huge marketing department or a bunch of degrees for your small business, but some companies do need that.
Pros And Cons Of Digital Marketing
There are a lot of positives when you take advantage of digital marketing. And of course, there are some negatives, too. Here are some highlights:
Reach people where they are
As of 2019, 236 million Americans had internet access. And that’s not even the best percentage in the world – the US ranks 56th in the world! Whether they connect from a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, you’ll be able to reach most people digitally.
Facebook reports 2.5 billion worldwide users. Search engines like Bing, Yahoo!, and Google had over 236 million users as of 2019.
Reach the people you want to reach
Those numbers above are huge – but you don’t need to reach them all. Your Scranton, PA paper company probably doesn’t deliver to Budapest. Your Edmonton snowshoe company won’t have a lot of customers in Miami.
Those geographic factors were easy to deal with in traditional media, too. You put a billboard where it would be relevant. You advertised on the local radio station. You bought local, not national, TV spots. So what’s the difference?
Digital marketing lets you go far beyond that. You can target specific ages, genders, and interests. You can focus more on who you want to reach. That means you’re not paying to reach people who aren’t likely to be interested.
A Lot of Data
With digital marketing, you can do a deep dive into information about your marketing efforts. You can see how often your ad was seen and what the results were. It’s possible to trace what a user did after interacting with your ad. You can even see how long they stayed on your website and what page they left from.
That data can help you make decisions and find out if you have any obstacles that prevent people from continuing. For instance, you might find they leave your website at a certain point. That’s likely because there’s something difficult or confusing on that page.
It’s Relatively Inexpensive
Yes, you can spend a lot of money on digital marketing. But compared to other forms of marketing, it’s relatively inexpensive. That’s mainly because you can target it so well. There’s also a relatively large number of opportunities to promote your message.
Of course, there are tough parts too. Here are some:
There’s a LOT Of Data
Yes, this heading is a repeat. Data can be a good thing. Sometimes, though, it can seem overwhelming. You have to get used to it and learn to pick through it to find what’s relevant. It’s important not to get intimidated by the sheer volume. Yes, there’s a learning curve. But it does take a while to get used to and pick out what’s important for your needs.
It Takes Time And Attention
Marketing of any type takes more than just setting it up and leaving it alone. You do have to look at the data and make adjustments accordingly. You do have to respond to messages and comments.
That’s particularly true of social media. The “Social” part of the name isn’t an exaggeration. It’s all about human interactions. It’s not enough just to set up a business account. You have to regularly publish and interact with your followers. That means answering their questions, addressing their concerns, and responding to their comments.
You Can’t Hide From Mistakes Or Criticism
Before digital marketing, it might have been easier to hide from complaints. If someone called you on the phone or sent a letter, you might have been able to ignore them. But now, everything is more open. Whether it’s on your website or social media or another platform such as Yelp, you have to be aware of what people are saying and address it. Don’t ignore it, don’t eliminate it, and don’t react negatively. All of those reflect poorly on you and your business. It’s never easy to accept criticism, whether it’s deserved or not. Still, it’s a necessary challenge. In the long run, it can attract more clients as they recognize that you are understanding and willing to improve.
Some Top Digital Marketing Channels
In this final section, we just want to mention a few avenues that are covered under the broad “digital marketing” heading. You probably don’t need to use them all. It’s important to evaluate which ones will be most beneficial for your needs.
Social Media
As we mentioned, Facebook now has billions of users worldwide. But it’s far from the only social media platform. Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and others are all major players. There are also other, smaller platforms that could be appropriate for your needs.
You don’t need to be on all of them. Instead, you should choose which works best for you. For example, if you want to reach professionals, especially as a B2B resource, LinkedIn is a great choice. Young adults currently prefer Instagram and Snapchat.
SMM stands for “social media marketing” and is a subsection of digital marketing.
Websites
Your website offers the opportunity to present a more in-depth look at your business. Since it can be as large or as small as you’d like, you can describe your services or products in more detail.
A website needs to load fast, contain relevant info, and be easy to navigate. But it can do everything from providing information to serving as an actual sales platform.
The simplest sites can be developed with some “drag and drop” services. WordPress-based sites can be a bit more complex. But the most sophisticated still require actual programming.
SEO
SEO is “search engine optimization.” Search engines are anyone you type in a keyword, phrase, or question and get a list of responses – usually websites – from the system. The biggest and best known is Google, but Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo! are among the other options. To be technical, YouTube is the second-most-used search engine in the world!
So what is the optimization for? That’s to make your website rank higher in the results. You want to be seen, and most people aren’t going to look further than the first few results. A look goes into it, starting with the quality of your content. User experience factors, including how fast your pages load, also matter.
Paid Ad Placements
To keep things simple, we’re lumping a few types of online ads together here. These all are ways you can pay to have your ad featured somewhere online, though.
For instance, you can run a campaign on a search engine. When a user searches for a related product or service, your ad can appear at the top of the page. This is called Search Engine Marketing, or SEM.
You could also have video ads that show on a platform like YouTube before a video starts or during an intermission. There are also pop-up ads that can show over these videos.
Banner ads on websites are another type of paid ad placements. There is also guerilla marketing, where you feature a paid story on another website. These are common on news sites since they can be designed to look similar to an actual piece of news. But they can direct to your website and a story or press release about what you can offer.
Paid ads are usually pay-per-click (PPC) or pay-per-impression (PPM, where the M stands for mil – that is, 1000 impressions). The model depends on what service you use, and each has its particular advantages.
Email Marketing
Reaching prospects through email is another important part of digital marketing. Knowing how to create an email that will get opened and read is another skill for your digital toolbox.
It’s hard to get people to read emails, but if done right, they can be effective. There are also laws to help protect against abuse, so it’s important to investigate them. But email can still be a worthwhile route to pursue to help promote your business.
Conclusion
Developing your digital marketing strategy is an important key to your success. It may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s something you can start yourself. If you’d rather have professionals handle it or don’t have the time to do it yourself, get in touch!