You’ve launched your product, now what? How can you ensure your customers will know about your brand and, more importantly, buy your product?

The answer is digital marketing and e-commerce, which together provide the backbone of any business today. Whether you sell online courses, fitness equipment, or software, without some kind of online marketing, you’re struggling to grow your business. Plus, consumers are more digitally savvy than ever before which means they’re more likely to discover and research products online before buying in a store.

It would be unwise to underestimate the power of digital marketing and e-commerce. According to HubSpot Blogs’ recent poll, 49% of respondents said they’d spent more on digital marketing in the last year compared to 42% who said they’d spent more on traditional marketing. What’s more, 44% of respondents said they’d spent more on e-commerce. While these numbers vary by industry, size, and location, it’s evident that marketing and e-commerce budgets are moving towards digital campaigns.

Content is Still King

Despite the shift to digital marketing, content is still the king, according to HubSpot Blogs’ research. When respondents were asked to choose their favorite channel for content, 58% said they liked seeing videos of products or explaining features in action (e.g., how-to or explainer videos).

On the flip side, respondents preferred reading articles or blogs (36%), watching commercials or ads (29%), and listening to podcasts or audio content (17%).

This information makes it clear that businesses must continue creating high-quality content, no matter what type of marketing channel they use. Additionally, creating engaging content that relates to your target audience can help you gain their trust and show them that you’re a brand they can rely on. Also, ensure that your content is easy to understand and useful, preferably with videos to increase your odds of gaining new leads.

Personal Branding Is the Key

When respondents were asked what would help them decide whether or not to buy a product, 41% said they’d look at the reviews, and 38% said they’d read personal websites or blogs about the product. This trend shows that consumers prefer to learn about products and services through existing relationships, rather than through ads or marketing material.

To be able to have a successful business venture, you need to understand how to personalize your brand. To do this, you must establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. This means creating high-quality content about current trends and issues, networking with influential people in your industry, and positioning yourself as someone who is an expert in your field. Additionally, you can build your personal brand through videos, blogs, and social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Offer VIP Treatment In Your Marketing

If you want to see your product or service in the best possible light, provide individuals with special treatment. This could be anything from offering discounted rates for certain individuals to creating special VIP-only events for influential people in your industry. Doing this can put your product or service in the best possible light and help establish it as an item that people want to purchase, or at least try out.

To gain traction and make your product stand out, you must put the customer first. Demonstrate to potential customers that you understand their pain points, and offer a solution with your product or service. Create a sense of urgency by including a short countdown timer or some other trigger for people to take action.

Product Blogging Is the New Virtual Showroom

If you’re unable to physically walk someone through your product, use virtual showrooms instead. Give potential customers the opportunity to see how your product or service works in practice, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry with detailed descriptions and realistic feedback. Additionally, you can use virtual showrooms for customers who are unable to travel to see you in person.

Product blogging is similar to product reviews in that it can also help establish you as a thought leader in your industry. The difference is that with product reviews, the goal is to encourage people to purchase a product, while with product blogging, the goal is to encourage people to try out a product or service. In other words, with product reviews, you’re trying to convert customers; with product blogging, you’re trying to build an audience. Additionally, you can use product reviews to shine light on specific products or features, while you use product blogging to highlight trends and issues in your industry.

Video Content Is the Future of Marketing

According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, marketers should consider investing in video content. When respondents were asked about their ideal video content strategy, 36% said they’d use recorded product demos, and 28% said they’d make short product overviews. This indicates that marketers should prepare to create more video content for their potential customers.

Additionally, when asked what factors would influence their purchase decision, 35% said they’d consider watching product demos, and 26% said they’d look at reviews. This suggests that marketers should focus on producing short product demos that highlight key features, and reviews from customers who have used those features.

Video content isn’t just limited to product demos and reviews, either. You can use video content to explain concepts, provide tips and tricks on using your product or service, showcase events or promotions, and illustrate the benefits of your product or service, among other things. If you want to learn more, the HubSpot Blogs’ guide to creating video content for your marketing campaign is an excellent starting point.

Build A Community

Marketing is all about attracting as many potential customers as possible, while converting them into paying customers. To do this, you must focus on engaging with your audience and creating a community around your brand. This could mean providing valuable content for free, listening to and responding to feedback, holding webinars and live chats, and so on.

To establish himself as a thought leader in his industry, Jay Baer, co-author of the book Conversational Marketing, said he’d advise companies to take the following steps:

• Create educational content around your industry
• Join groups of industry peers (e.g., the Content Marketing Association)
• Establish yourself as a subject matter expert
• Use your position to educate customers about their issues
• Pro-actively address industry issues
• Offer a place for industry insiders to discuss the issues and opportunities.

With so much information on the internet, your audience will always have the ability to learn more about your industry, your product, and you, personally. Additionally, with all the different social platforms, your voice, and the voices of your colleagues, can be heard by a wider audience. This is important because it means you can find the people who are most relevant to your industry and target audience, and engage with them. It also means you can gain credibility as an expert voice in your industry, gaining you more opportunities to speak at events, publish articles, and grow your business.