In our digital world, marketing has become a truly digital endeavor. As a result, many of the tools that were previously available only in-house have become accessible to anyone with a laptop and an internet connection. This article will examine seven online marketing instruments that can help you grow your business in the digital age.
Paid Search
Paid search, or search engine marketing (SEM), is usually considered to be a form of online marketing that pays you to appear at the top of the search engine results for specific keywords. Although it is a form of internet marketing, paid search usually takes place on the search engines’ own platforms, and the results are shown as paid advertisements rather than organic search engine results.
Paid search can be a useful tool for marketers because it is relatively simple to execute, and it usually offers quick results. However, it can also be quite the contrary, as getting your ads to appear at the top of the search engine results can be quite difficult. While there are easy tools to get started with paid search, more experienced marketers generally prefer to get involved with paid search on a very strategic level. This way, they can ensure that their ads show up at the top of the search engine results for keywords that are highly relevant to their business.
Display Advertising
Display advertising, or online adverting, is similar to paid search in that it also pays you to appear at the top of the search engine results. However, it is quite a bit more sophisticated than paid search because with display advertising, you are not just paying to have your ads show up, you are actually targeting the audience that you want to reach. This level of targeting makes it a lot easier for advertisers to ensure that their ads show up only to people who are most likely to be interested in their product or service.
Display advertising is one of the most popular online marketing tools because it is relatively easy to set up and maintain, and it offers huge potential for marketers who want to target the audience that they want to reach. However, it can also be very expensive, which is why many smaller businesses avoid it altogether. If you want to grow your business in the digital age, display advertising might be a good place to start.
Social Media
If you want to grow your business in the digital age, you should be actively involved with social media. There are many different platforms to choose from, so ensuring that you are actively communicating with your customers on at least one of these platforms is a must for anyone who wants to do business in the digital age.
You can use social media to spread the word about your business, gain some online credibility, and establish thought leadership. While you should not underestimate the power of traditional marketing, especially radio and TV ads, social media has proven to be much more effective in the long run.
You can use a tool like HubSpot to create engaging content and schedule tweets about your business to reach your target audience. You can also use social media to follow and connect with people who have similar interests to yours, which can lead to prospective customers and valuable business partnerships.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is another vital part of any marketing plan, and it often gets overlooked in favor of social media, even though it was recently found that around 40% of consumers have abandoned traditional email marketing in favor of social media. In order to grow your business in the digital age, you should not underestimate the power of traditional email marketing.
There are plenty of easy ways to get started with email marketing, and it is usually a good idea to pick one or two platforms and focus on cultivating a community of like-minded individuals there. You can use tools like Mailchimp to get started easily and then find more experienced help if you want to take your email marketing to the next level.
Video Marketing
Video marketing is another form of digital marketing that is rapidly growing in popularity, and it makes sense as video consumption is increasing while time spent watching video content is decreasing. If you want to grow your business in the digital age, you should be actively engaging with your audience through video content.
You can use platforms like YouTube to build credibility and trust through interesting, informative videos about your industry. You can also use video content to demonstrate the value of your products or services, provide tips and tricks, or explain industry terms and concepts in a simple and engaging manner.
One of the most popular use cases for video marketing is product demos. If your product is complex or has many features, it can be hard to explain everything in words alone. However, video content allows you to demonstrate your product in action, which often speaks louder than words.
If you want to grow your business in the digital age, you should not overlook the importance of video marketing.
Product Review Blogging
Product review blogging, or review blogging, is a type of content marketing that involves reviewing products and giving your opinion on them. Although it can be a bit of fun, product review blogging is a useful tool for businesses that want to establish their authority in a particular industry and gain credibility with potential customers.
You can use platforms like Blogger to create a product review blog, and many of the larger platforms, like Shopify, provide robust community features that allow you to build large audiences who are interested in your product reviews.
If you want to grow your business in the digital age, you should not overlook the importance of product review blogging.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about creating highly relevant and engaging content that extends beyond just your target audience into the broader internet community. This content is usually sold as part of a content marketing program, and it requires a bit of expertise to create content that is both useful and engaging.
While there are many platforms and tools to help you get started with content marketing, you should strive to create brand voice and consistency throughout your content, whether it’s a blog post, an e-book, or a white paper. When you have content that is both useful and engaging, you are giving your audience the best possible reason to engage with you.
Ultimately, the choice of where to advertise your business is a personal one. But if you are looking to grow your business in the digital age, all of these marketing forms, including social media, can and should play a part in your strategy. If your existing media options are insufficient to help you reach your target audience, consider looking into creating unique content for the different platforms or using the various tools available on a single platform to reach a broader audience.