If you’re reading this, then you’re probably interested in starting a business online or even just doing some digital marketing. Congrats! I think you’ll enjoy what follows, as it’ll give you an idea of what you’ll need to know in order to get started successfully.

Digital Marketing

Before we begin, let me give some definitions:

• Digital marketing is marketing activity conducted online and/or via mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.
• In general, it’s a broad term used for marketing activities such as SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), SMM (social media marketing), e-mail marketing, and so on.
• Sometimes it’s also referred to as E-commerce or simply online marketing.

As you might imagine, this is a lot to take in. That’s why I’ve put together this entire blog post explaining everything you need to know about getting started in digital marketing. I hope it helps. Let’s get started.

The Basics

The first and most important thing you need to know is that if you’re going to grow your business successfully, you need to build a brand. A brand is a promise to the consumer that what they’re buying from you is going to be of good quality, delivered on time, and at a reasonable price. If you don’t have a brand, then you have nothing to offer the consumer. The good news is, building a brand is relatively easy. You just need to focus on delivering value and building trust with your customers. There are a few simple steps you can take to build a brand:

• Establishing your authority — When someone searches for your services or products, you want them to find you. That’s why you need to provide quality content regularly and consistently. Make sure you’re keeping up with the latest trends and technologies. Do your research and find out what your customers need. If you’re confident that you can meet their needs, then you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry and become the go-to-person for those customers. When someone decides to buy your product or service, they’ll already have formed an opinion about your brand. So, make sure you’re consistently delivering quality content that’s on brand. Just remember, nothing sells a product or service like someone’s opinion about that product or service. Establishing your authority will also help consumers trust you. If you want to learn more, here are a few articles that might help:
• Why should you establish yourself as an expert in your industry? (source): If you’re just getting started, it’s easy for you to find yourself in the situation of marketing to customers while not having enough knowledge to justify your advice. Additionally, gaining experience in your industry is almost always preferable to relying on others’ opinions. (source): It’s never easy to admit you don’t know something, but you can’t afford to be shy about it. Customers will quickly figure out that you’re a newbie if you’re not willing to admit it. Being able to establish yourself as an expert in your industry will give you the credibility necessary to guide customers and establish trust. (source): This is especially important if you’re using online marketing to attract potential customers to your website. If they find you to be an expert, they’re more likely to believe your claims about the quality of your products or services.
• How do I establish my expertise? (source): One way you can establish your expertise is by publishing online or through social media. Doing this consistently will help you prove to your customers that you’re someone they can trust. Additionally, you can use your blog to build authority. Doing so will likely take some time, but establishing yourself as an expert in your industry will likely prove to be beneficial. (source): Just remember: your customers will be relying on you to provide them with good quality products or services so it’s imperative that you’re ready to deliver when you say you will. Establishing your expertise will also help you understand your customers’ needs better than anyone else, allowing you to craft a strategy that meets those needs.

Selling Your Products Online

If you’re going to sell your products online, then you need to decide what you’ll sell and how you’ll sell it. There are a few different approaches you can take, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume you want to sell makeup products online. You might consider selling your products at retail price or raising the consumer’s perception of what your product is worth by giving them a discount. It depends on your targeted audience and the type of merchandise you want to sell.

If you decide to sell your products at a retail price, then you need to determine how much you’ll sell for. You also need to decide how much you’ll charge for shipping and handling or if you’ll include it in the price of your product. Many entrepreneurs choose to include shipping and handling in their prices, as opposed to charging customers separately for shipping. That way, when they decide to order something, it’ll seem more like a bargain to them since the shipping cost is already included in the price of the product. The most commonly used rates for shipping and handling depend on where you plan on shipping the product to. Some companies charge more for shipping to certain locations than others, so check the USPS website to find the most accurate rate for shipping your item somewhere near you.

SEO

If you want to do some SEO, then you need to determine what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s one of the most effective digital marketing strategies available. Essentially, SEO is the process of improving the ranking of your website or blog in search engine results. To do this, you need to focus on a few essential areas:

• On-site SEO: This is the process of optimizing the content on your site (i.e., creating more content) for SEO purposes. This includes things like:
  • Getting keyword-rich content
  • Improving the content’s discoverability via on-site metadata
  • Creating a positive user experience for both existing and potential customers
• Off-site SEO: This is the process of getting backlinks (informational links from other websites to your site) to boost your site’s SEO. In other words, off-site SEO is the process of getting other websites to recognize your work and link to it. There are a few essential things you need to know about off-site SEO:
  • Get links to yourself from authoritative websites in your industry
  • Make sure your target keywords are used in the anchor text of your links
  • Create a cohesive user experience across platforms (i.e., smartphones, tablets, and computers)
  • Use social media to get the word out about your business
• Monitoring & Reviewing ((source): It’s important to constantly monitor your site’s SEO to make sure you’re maintaining the proper level of performance. This is especially important if you’re using an automated SEO tool like Google’s free Starter plan. Monitoring your site’s SEO allows you to review how you’re doing and gives you a good idea of whether or not you’re achieving the results you’re looking for.

The most basic step you need to take in order to get started with SEO is to enter your keywords into the appropriate boxes found in your control panel. Doing so will make a significant difference in your site’s search engine rankings. Keep in mind that the better your keywords, the more likely your site will appear in the results of a consumer’s search.

PPC

If you decide to go down the PPC (Pay Per Click) route, then you need to determine what you’ll do and how you’ll do it. PPC is an acronym for Pay Per Click and it’s one of the more popular and cost-effective ways of getting your site or blog in front of potential customers. Essentially, you’ll pay a small fee each time someone clicks on your ad. There are a few things you need to know about PPC: