In today’s digital world, digital marketing is a must. However, many businesses do not yet fully understand what it means to market online. They think they can just fill a void with content and take the reins in the digital marketing game. But, in order to win, they need to approach marketing online completely differently than they have in the past, and that means relying heavily on the expertise of experts and outsiders to help guide the way.

An outsider, or independent contractor, is someone who is not affiliated with your company in any way but is providing you with a service. Typically, they are an expert in their field who can help you solve problems, offer suggestions on how to improve your business, or provide additional training. Additionally, they can help you identify new areas that you could explore, products that you should adopt, or strategies that you could use to attain your business goals.

The value that these experts bring is that they can provide a fresh set of eyes to examine your business, identify the problems, and then provide suggestions on how to fix those problems. Additionally, they can give you a completely objective view of your business that you might not be able to attain yourself.

The Importance of Marketing Online

Due to the nature of the internet, people can research your company, learn about your services, and find complaints easily if you aren’t careful. In short, with a few clicks of a button, your competitors can be 1 click away.

As an entrepreneur or business owner, you might be used to focusing on your company, developing new products, and trying to grow your business. However, it’s not enough to just focus on the business side of things. If you want to succeed, you need to approach marketing online, completely differently than how you have in the past.

When you establish yourself as an expert in your field, you can become a go-to person for those seeking that expertise. Additionally, when you establish yourself as an expert in your field, you can gain the trust of consumers, and eventually, turn those same consumers into paying customers.

The Evolution of Marketing

In the past, marketing was tied to traditional methods of communication like billboards, magazine spreads, radio ads, and television commercials. However, with the rise of digital marketing, content is being created and consumed across all digital platforms, and those platforms are constantly evolving to better serve both consumers and marketers alike.

While traditional billboards and print magazines may still exist, the way that we find and consume content has changed. With more and more people seeking information and engaging with content via online platforms, marketers must evolve with these platforms and develop new methods of communicating with consumers.

Billboards, magazine spreads, and radio ads worked for decades, but they now need to be updated to keep up with the digital world.

4 Examples of Marketing Done Right

Now, more than ever, businesses are realizing the importance of marketing online, and experts like you are gaining in value, too. To prove my point, here are four examples of marketing done right.

1. American Express

American Express has established itself as an expert in the field of customer experience and has leveraged that expertise to create marketing materials, like blog posts, that attract, engage, and educate potential customers about their products. Additionally, they use experts, like Lonely Planet, to help them with content like travel guides and city guides that establish them as an authority in their field.

From the blog post itself to the supporting information, everything about this online marketing effort is designed to bring value to the consumer. From the homepage, where they introduce themselves, to the about page, where they establish themselves as an expert, the entire American Express website is designed to create a positive experience for the user.

The result of all this hard work? Updating an entire website, creating multiple positive experiences for the user, and establishing themselves as an expert in their field.

2. The New York Times

When you have one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world behind you, you know you’re doing something right. The New York Times is undoubtedly an expert in the field of news, and they’ve taken that expertise to create an entire marketing department, which they call the Performing Arts Marketing Company.

This team of marketers is responsible for creating content, like blogs that establish the authority of the New York Times as an expert in the field of news. Additionally, they use experts in their field to curate and write articles for their publications. For example, the New York Times used Joe Esposito, head of the Department of Travel and Tourism at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, to write about the growth of travel and tourism in Central Florida.

From established media brands embracing marketing blogs to startups using content to gain credibility and trust with potential customers, we’re seeing traditional magazines, newspaper, and television stations play an important role in establishing new media brands.

Whether you’re a blogger looking for inspiration, an entrepreneur who wants to establish yourself as an expert, or a brand looking for help convincing people to buy your product, you can find a piece of advice in here somewhere.

Blogs to Build Trust

While traditional marketing like billboards, radio ads, and magazine spreads are still effective methods of communicating with consumers, the internet has made it possible for businesses to establish themselves as experts in their field and to grow their audience, like you, through content. Blogs are a great place to do that, and, as you’ve probably guessed, the topic of a marketing blog is just about everything you need to create and maintain a successful blog.

The great thing about blogs is that they are extremely flexible. Because they aren’t tied to one platform like social media, websites, or even email, you can use them to reach an audience of any size, anywhere in the world, and on any device. Additionally, the content that you create for your blog doesn’t have to be solely about your products or services. In fact, it’s a great way to establish yourself as an authority in your field while not selling anything.

If you want to create an authoritative blog that will attract and retain consumers, build your blog around the following:

• High-quality content regularly published online
• Content that is easily shareable
• Regular social media posting
• Blog articles that are well-written and offer value to the reader
• At least one or two original interviews a week with industry leaders
• Regular guest posting by other authoritative figures in the field
• Incorporation of digital marketing best practices (e.g., SEO, SEM, and affiliate marketing)

The Growth of Marketing Channels

While we’ve always had the option of going to the movies to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the internet has made it possible for us to binge-watch shows and movies online. The same goes for music.

The important thing to remember here is that while we’ve always had the option of going to the movies or to buy music at retail stores, online marketing has changed all that. With the rise of digital marketing, we’ve seen traditional methods of marketing evolve to fit the new digital landscape.

If you want to succeed in today’s world of online marketing, you need to understand, first and foremost, that it is a form of marketing, but not a single channel. Just like traditional marketing, online marketing is a combination of many channels, like SEO, SEM, and social media. Additionally, just like with traditional marketing, the lines between advertising and marketing are blurring, which means you, the marketer, have to keep up with these new technologies and become an expert in using them.