Online marketing, also known as digital marketing, basically covers all forms of marketing done through the internet and other digital platforms. This includes things like blogging, podcasting, and using social media to reach your audience.

While regular old-school marketing focuses on radio ads, billboards, and magazine spreads, online marketing allows you to target the right audience and engage with them on a digital level. And with the right strategy, you can even teach them to buy your product or service.

Why Should You Market Online?

You might be wondering why you should market online rather than in the real world. After all, you’ve got a product to sell and you’re already in the marketplace. Why bother going digital?

The fact is that in today’s world, the distinction between the offline and the digital isn’t as sharp as it used to be. People are connecting online and even if they’re not buying your product yet, they might well be impressed enough by your digital presence to click on a product or service link and eventually make a purchase.

On the other hand, if they’re not yet connected to your brand, they probably don’t know much about you or your company, and they certainly haven’t had the chance to learn about your product or service from your digital marketing material. So, in effect, you’re reaching out to potential customers who are already predisposed to buying your product or service. This is an essential part of any marketing plan and it’ll become even more important as the line between online and offline continues to blur.

What Is Digital Marketing?

For those of you who may be new to the world of marketing, trying to understand exactly what digital marketing is can be a little tricky. After all, the term is essentially a catch-all for all online marketing activities. However, once you’ve got a good grasp on the basics, it’s easier to dive into the specifics and begin forming a digital marketing strategy.

In general, digital marketing involves using all available digital platforms to reach your audience, whether that’s social media, websites, or mobile apps. When implemented effectively, digital marketing can help drive business growth and achieve marketing objectives.

Some of the more traditional forms of digital marketing include things like SEO (search engine optimization), which we’ll get into more in a bit. But essentially, SEO is all about optimizing your website and other online content to appear at the top of search engine results for keywords related to your product or service. For example, if you’re an online store that sells men’s shoes, you might want to look into SEO for the term “mens shoes” to ensure that your website shows up at the top of search engine results when someone types in that keyword.

How Does SEO Work?

Luckily, SEO is a lot easier to understand than it sounds. Essentially, all you need to do is identify the keywords and key phrases that people are using to find your product or service and optimize your website content to include these keywords and phrases. In the preceding example, if someone types in “mens shoes,” your website will appear at the top of their screen because it contains the phrase “mens shoes” in all of its content. Keyword optimization is one of the most important parts of an SEO strategy and it can have a profound effect on your website’s search engine rankings.

There are free tools like Google Keyword Planner that can help you find the keywords and phrases that your target audience is using to find products like yours. Simply enter your product or service name and the platform will present you with a list of suggested keywords and phrases that you can choose from. If you want to see how your website ranks for specific keywords, you can simply enter those keywords in the search bar and hit enter.

What About Link Building And Backlinks?

Backlinks are all the links from other websites that appear on your own website. Essentially, if you have a link to another website on your blog post, that’s considered a backlink. The more backlinks you have, the higher your search engine ranking will be. So, you want to make sure that you’re getting backlinks for your site as often as possible.

While you can simply use your website to build backlinks, you can also find ways to get backlinks from other websites with no links connected to your own. This is known as “free linking” and it’s usually accomplished through some type of “link building” strategy. You can get a backlink simply by participating in relevant communities – like forums, groups, or blogs – on the internet. If you’re active in these online communities, you’ll have the opportunity to share and comment on content related to your product or service. In addition to getting backlinks, you can use these forums to build credibility and establish yourself as an expert in your marketplace.

Why Should You Use Blogging To Market Your Product Or Service?

Blogging is a fantastic way to market your product or service and there’s a wealth of knowledge on the platform about any subject you can think of. If you’re looking for a free, easy-to-use blogging platform, try out WordPress.com. Not only will you be able to create and update your blog quite easily, but you’ll also have the option of choosing from a range of free templates to design your blog around.

Blogging is quite a personal matter for many people and it can often be a place where people go to process their feelings and share their thoughts. If you’re able to connect with your audience on a personal level through your blog, you’re able to better understand what they want and need. In other words, if you can establish trust and credibility, you can fairly easily persuade someone to buy your product or service.

What About Podcasting For Marketing?

Podcasts are digital audio files that you can download and listen to on your computer or mobile device. Like blogs, podcasts are becoming increasingly popular as a means of educating and entertaining audiences. If you’d like to learn more about podcasting, check out this informational site about podcasting and this glossary of podcast terms.

Podcasting is quite similar to blogging in that you can use it to educate and entertain your audience. However, podcasts are often much shorter than blogs and often contain only one or two stories. In addition, you don’t need a huge following to get started with a podcast. Simply find a relevant niche and start sharing your knowledge and expertise with others.

Use The Right Social Media Platforms To Market Your Product Or Service.

As we mentioned above, the line between online and offline is becoming less distinct. However, even if you do most of your shopping online, that doesn’t mean that you should only use the internet to market your product or service. There are plenty of social media platforms designed for retail, including Pinterest, WhatsApp, and even Facebook. If you’re using one of these platforms to market your product or service, make sure you’re doing everything possible to promote your brand and attract potential customers.

For example, did you know that you can take advantage of Pinterest’s “Buyable Products” feature to promote your product or service? Essentially, this feature allows businesses to integrate their product into an image on Pinterest and then have visitors click through to learn more. While this may not sound like traditional marketing, it’s quite possibly one of the most effective marketing techniques on Pinterest because it provides a quick and easy way to get consumers to think about your product or service.

In closing, let’s revisit that foundational question: Why should you market online? In today’s world, the answer is simple. While face-to-face marketing and traditional phone calls may still have their place, social media and digital marketing allow you to target the right audience and engage with them on a digital level.