In 2018, more than 62.3 million American consumers went online. That’s 80% of the population. In 2019, that percentage went up to 69%. If you’re reading this, I assume you’re in the marketing or advertising business. Congratulations! You’ve just become incredibly influential.

The shift to online marketing is clear. People are getting their news, shopping, and dating online. If you want to stay in business, you need to get online and begin marketing your products and services online. It’s the only way to truly reach your audience and make an impact. But, if you’re new to this, it can feel overwhelming. Where do I start? How do I succeed in this space? What are the best tactics? What are the most effective tools? How much do I need to spend? How do I measure the success of my efforts?

Let’s dive in. 

The Basics

Before you begin your online marketing journey, it’s important to understand the basics. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who are you doing it for? Where are you doing it? The first step in any endeavor is setting yourself up for success. You’ll need to answer those questions before you even begin. Then, you can move on to figuring out how to operate in this online space. 

When you’re starting out, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve. Do you want to increase traffic to your site? Increase your social media presence? Attracting, engaging, and converting consumers? Attracting, engaging, and converting potential customers to buyers? What is your end goal? Start by defining the metrics you’ll use to determine your success. 

Why Online Marketing?

The shift to online marketing provides numerous benefits. First, you can reach a globally-distributed audience. Second, you can engage directly with prospective customers without the middleman of a shop or a restaurant. Third, you can collect and analyze data regarding customer behavior, improving your customer base and increasing your conversion rate. Online marketing also gives you the opportunity to scale your efforts quickly and inexpensively. You can put up a simple website and start gaining insights quickly. Plus, with the right tools, you can automate your efforts and scale up quickly.

The Growth Of Online Marketing

The growth of online marketing is undeniable. In fact, according to HubSpot Blogs research, 79% of American consumers have gone online to learn about products or services. Additionally, 68% have used the Internet to shop. That’s a lot of potential customers.

Since the beginning of 2019, both searches and retail site visits have increased by 9%. If you’re interested in this space, you might want to consider getting in on the action. Whether you’re a B2B or a B2C company, online marketing will play a crucial role in your success.

Setting Up Your Shop For Success

Once you have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve, you can begin to set up your shop for success. There are four crucial factors to consider:

• A website
• A domain name
• An online shop
• Web hosting

A website is an extremely important part of any online shop. It provides your customers with a single location to learn about your company, research your products, and make purchases. If you sell shoes, for example, you might want to set up a blog discussing the most popular styles and their styles of shoes. You can also use your blog to promote various events and sales throughout the year. If you want to set up a shop, you’ll need to consider purchasing a quality, niche-focused domain name. For example, if your company name is Jones Apparel and your aim is to reach a US-based audience, you might want to look into buying jonsoapparel.com or jonso.com. If you’re looking for a simpler option, you can use.com through a reputable domain registrar like Google Domains.

An online shop is, quite simply, an online version of a retail shop. Your customers may research your products before buying them, as they would in a physical store. The difference is, they’re able to do this research remotely. That means you can expand your product sales without the need to physically be in a shop. Selling your products online doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to digital sales only. You can also put up signs in your local mall, so people can come in and see your products.

If you’re looking to expand your reach beyond New Zealand, consider partnering with a reputable domain name registrar, like Google Domains. Not only will this help your website rank higher in search results, but it’ll also provide you with the tools to manage multiple domains and websites. Not only that, but it also comes with a free dedicated IP. You won’t need to worry about locking yourself out of your own domain name if you run into any issues. Just contact the support team and they’ll sort you out.

Catering To The Digital Consumer

If you want to attract and retain customers, you need to cater to the digital consumer. You can learn a lot from Netflix’s “Netflix unboxed” session at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. During the session, the company unveiled a new brand identity, along with new shows and movies to entice customers. As a marketer, you might want to consider doing the same. What does the digital consumer want? What are they searching for? What are they watching? The answers to these questions will help you find your sweet spot and make your marketing more effective.

The Tools

There are numerous tools you can use to get started with online marketing. The better you become at utilizing these tools, the more effective your efforts will be. When it comes to marketing, many companies fall into the trap of trying to implement a one-size-fits-all approach to strategy, measurement, and execution. You’ll see a lot of marketers trying to get social media to work for them, when in reality, it’s the complete opposite. You need to consider what’s working for you and what’s not. It is a mistake to believe that a single platform will solve all your marketing problems. It won’t. There are just too many platforms, too many integrations, and too many solutions.

To really find your sweet spot, you’ll need to consider what works, for you, and what doesn’t. Do you want to use HubSpot to run your online marketing strategy and operations? Do you want to use MailChimp to collect and deliver marketing emails? Do you want to use Google Ads to attract potential customers? The answer to these questions will help you find the right platform for the job. It might not be what you’re expecting, but it’ll be the best decision for your business.

Where Do I Begin?

Now that you have a clear understanding of the basics, the potential, and the benefits, it’s time to move forward. Where do I begin? How do I succeed in this space? Well, the answer is simpler than you think. You need to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. That means creating content regularly, sharing helpful tips and tricks, and educating your audience regarding best practices. Once you’ve done that, you can start creating marketing campaigns, to attract more leads to your business. And, finally, you can measure the success of your efforts and optimize based on what’s working and what’s not.