In today’s digital world, marketing online doesn’t seem like a strange concept. However, not every company knows how to effectively market themselves online. Being able to market online can be very beneficial, especially considering the fact that more and more people are relying on the internet to find information, products and services they’re looking for. In this article, we will provide you with an overview of how you can effectively market online using Facebook, LinkedIn and Google.
The Basics Of Marketing Online
In 2016, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google each recorded more than 2 billion daily active users. That makes for a combined total of more than 4 billion daily active users using the 3 biggest social media platforms today. With such a large user base, it’s a great opportunity to market online. If your target audience is on one of these platforms, you can reach them.
If you’re looking to effectively market online, you first need to understand the basics, such as the difference between organic and paid search, the advantages of each, and when to use which. Here’s a quick overview.
Pay-per-click (PPC) Vs Free-sponsored Ads
Paying-per-click (PPC) ads are basically ads that you pay for on a per-click basis. When a potential customer clicks on your ad, you’ll be charged accordingly. Think of PPC ads as your typical yellow page ad. However, on a digital marketing platform like Google Adwords, you’ll see ads that are more relevant to what you’re looking for. For example, if you’re in the hotel industry and are looking to rent a luxury villa in Dubai, you’ll see hotel ads on the search results page. You don’t need to be a hotel chain to benefit from PPC ads – anybody can get started with the right digital marketing team.
The advantage of PPC ads is that you can target specific keywords, display ads on specific websites, and track the success of your ads with analytics. The disadvantage is that PPC ads are usually more expensive than the other two types of ads we’ll discuss here. Additionally, you’ll have to spend a lot of money to even see a return on investment with PPC ads.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Vs Content Marketing
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s a form of marketing that helps your website show up on the first page of search results for relevant keywords. Essentially, SEO makes your website more accessible to potential customers, which in turn, will generate more leads and sales. In other words, SEO helps you “create visibility for your website or web property in search engines such as Google.”
Content marketing is all about creating useful content that is valuable to your audience and shares with others. For example, if you’re an exporter of fresh fruit and you create a blog post sharing valuable information about the different varieties of fruit, your audience (potential customers) will benefit. Not only will they gain knowledge, but they’ll also realize that you are an expert in your field and might be able to help them with their own fruit importing business. You’ll be providing them with a lot of value, while also marketing your business.
The advantage of SEO is that you can often start small and inexpensively (depending on your budget), and you can often see substantial results quickly. The disadvantage is that it’s a lot of work and requires a lot of learning, in addition to the fact that results can be difficult to measure. This is often why marketing executives choose to go with content marketing, as they know that they can measure the results of their efforts more easily.
Organic Vs. Paid Search
So far, we’ve discussed PPC and SEO, but there’s another type of ad that you should know about: organic search results. When a user types in a search query into the Google search bar, Google will show them results that are most relevant to their search query, regardless of whether or not they have a sponsored ad attached to the search result. Essentially, organic search results are free, while paid search results require you to pay per click or per impression.
In the previous example, the hotel might have spent a decent amount of money paying for that ad to appear on the first page of search results, only to discover that the user didn’t even click on the ad. In this case, the hotel would have lost money, even though it was displayed for the user. In general, you should try to avoid ads that you pay for in order to keep your users, but it’s a common practice among digital marketers.
Facebook Ads Vs. LinkedIn Ads
Facebook ads and LinkedIn ads are both forms of online advertising that can be used to market your business. While they serve different purposes, both allow you to target potential customers based on certain criteria. Let’s take a look at how to use each.
Facebook ads are pretty self-explanatory; you’ll want to create ads for Facebook users based on their interests. If you’re lucky, you might already have a business page on Facebook, which would make it easier to target your ad to specific groups of people. You can also choose to target people based on their age, location or interests. Essentially, you want to target someone who is most likely to be interested in your product or service, and you can use the targeting options to determine who those people are.
LinkedIn ads are similar to Facebook ads in that you’ll want to target potential customers based on certain criteria. However, LinkedIn ads also allow you to choose what type of product or service you’re promoting. For example, you can choose to target real estate agents, accountants, or attorneys in your area. You can choose to focus on high school seniors in your area, or college students in your country. LinkedIn also allows you to target users by their role, such as a business owner, senior executive or manager.
As a consumer of digital marketing services, you might already be familiar with the different types of ads and platforms offered by digital marketers. Now, it’s time to learn about how to market online using these three platforms. In the next section, we’ll discuss the basics of each.
Which Platform Should You Use?
Now that you know the difference between the different types of paid and organic ads and SEO, you can begin to decide which one you should use.
If you’re just getting started, it’s a good idea to test out different platforms to see which one works best for your business. Although the three biggest social media platforms are pretty similar, they each serve a different purpose and are usually accessed through different devices. This means that you might not see the same results when using one as you would when using the other two.
Additionally, while all three allow you to target potential customers and reach them with your ads, each one of them requires a bit of a different approach.
Facebook is the largest of the three, with over 2 billion daily active users.
As a business owner or marketer, you’ll want to create ads for Facebook users based on their interests. If you have a business page on Facebook, you can target your ads towards existing customers, potential customers, and even people who have no previous connection with your company.
Include your website or landing page in your Facebook ad to get more web traffic to your content. When a customer lands on your page, they’ll see the ads you’ve promoted on Facebook.
You can target specific groups of people based on their interests, so if you’re lucky enough to know what interests your audience has, you’ll be able to choose the right audience for your ad. For example, if pet-loving customers are one of your target groups, you’ll want to create ads for pets. While this might not seem obvious to you, having a clear picture of your target audience’s interests will help you choose the right ads to promote.
LinkedIn is also one of the biggest social media platforms, with over 500 million active users monthly.
As a business owner or marketer, you’ll want to target potential customers using LinkedIn, which allows you to choose from a variety of industries. If you have a business page on LinkedIn, you can choose to target existing customers, potential customers, or people who have never connected with your company before.
The best thing about targeting customers on LinkedIn is that you don’t have to guess which groups of people might be interested in your product or service. LinkedIn gives you the option to choose by role, so if you’re not sure which group of people to target, you can simply choose account managers, senior executives or managers. This way, you’ll be sure to choose the right audience for your ad.