With the evolution of the digital age, companies are taking advantage of new ways to reach consumers. Digital marketing is what companies use to advertise to consumers on the Internet. This form of marketing includes a variety of advertising mediums that allow you to reach a wider range of people.
Digital marketing encompases advertising anywhere on the web. This appears overwhelming at first because of the vastness of the Internet. These 5 key aspects of digital marketing will help you narrow your focus to receive the best results possible.
- Social Media
Social media is one of the most unique portions of marketing. Social platform popularity is always changing. Ten years ago, MySpace was today’s Facebook. The execution is different between these sites, but the concept — to connect people to one another — is the same.
It is vital to know which social platforms are trending and who is using those platforms. You wouldn’t want to use Pinterest to advertise products to males because the predominant user demographic is female. A good first step is to research and find out the most popular social media sites for your target market.
Social media is a great tool for any business. These platforms allow you to reach people you may not be able to reach through traditional marketing.
The best part about social media is that it is free. It does not cost anything to create a page for your business. Even though it is free, there is still the option to pay money to boost posts and gain more traffic on your social media sites. The flexibility of social media makes it a great tool for all kinds of businesses.
- Company Website
It may seem like common sense, but creating a company website is an important aspect of digital marketing. It doesn’t seem like it is advertising, but it is one of the most crucial pieces of advertisement. With the digital age, it is commonplace to look up a business and check out their website.
A consumer’s first impression stems from your website. It isn’t enough to put up a simple website without any design. Visitors correlate their opinion of your website with your business. If the website is sloppy, difficult to navigate, or outdated, consumers will be turned away from your business.
If web design isn’t your strong suit or you don’t have the time to create the professional website you want, you don’t have to settle for an inadequate site. Services like RainmakerFX are available to help you get the website you want.
It is important to invest in creating a professional website. A professional website creates a positive first impression of your business. The impact of your website can lead visitors to become customers.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Once you have your professional website, you’ll want people to be able to find it. There may be numerous other businesses like yours in the area, so competition is inevitable. With SEO, you can generate traffic to your website.
SEO is at the heart of digital marketing. People are constantly searching for information through Google. People tend to click on the first results that show up when searching because they want to find the information quickly and efficiently. SEO allows you to work towards making your website one of the top organic results.
SEO creates the potential for a great return on investment (ROI). It may not seem like it, but there is a big difference in profit between the second spot and the tenth spot. The difference is evident even between the top three spots.
In the case of an auto manufacturer, the clickthrough rate is 60% for the first result and drops all the way down to 19% for the second result. The percentage of clickthrough rates decrease from that point on as you get to lower results.
The position of your website is a key factor in conversion rates and clickthrough rates. By utilizing SEO with the right company, you can see your website traffic, clickthrough rate, and conversion rate grow.
- Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)
PPC is the digital world’s version of flyers. You may notice advertisements when you’re scrolling through social media sites or using Google. Companies pay to have these advertisements in those places.
This method of marketing allows you to pay only if your advertisement is clicked. You can monitor the effectiveness of your advertisements this way. The results of this method are immediately measured.
There are two different types of PPC advertising. The first kind is on social media. You may notice these advertisements when you are scrolling through your feed. These advertisements are often tailored to you and what you like. They often feature pictures of something that would peak your interest.
PPC on search engines like Google are a little different. They are text advertisements that show up at the top of your search results with other paid advertisements (before the organic listings). They are advertisements that are related to what a person searches.
PPC is a great form of marketing to use with SEO. PPC gives immediate exposure and results that help boost your company’s visibility. SEO takes more time and the results are less immediate, but PPC can help in the meantime. Once your website is ranking organically, you will create double exposure by having an advertisement and an organic listing on Google.
- Patience
This may be the most important part of digital marketing. It may not be a method of marketing, but it is an aspect that is important to the success of digital marketing. The growth of the Internet creates this need for immediate results and answers. With digital marketing, the immediacy is not there.
With the exception of PPC, seeing the results of using these methods of marketing take time. Patience is the biggest key to utilizing digital marketing successfully. SEO can’t get your website to a high ranking spot overnight. It takes time and effort to see results, but it is time well spent.
Businesses don’t become popular the first day they open. It takes time and patience to build a customer base and create relationships. These relationships are created over months and years of interactions. Like these relationships, SEO takes patience and time to see the results it can bring.
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What aspects of digital marketing are you already using? Let us know in the comments below!