When you think about online marketing, what immediately comes to mind?
Maybe you think about purchasing ads, creating social media accounts, and trying to grow your email list as much as possible. But, did you ever really think about what exactly is an online marketing site?
What Is an Online Marketing Site?
To be completely transparent, if you’re reading this, then you probably already know the answer to the question. But, for those readers who are just finding their way here, let’s dive into this question a bit.
To start, let’s first define some of the key terms that we’ll be using in this article. Then, we’ll dive into the explanation as to why these terms are important. Finally, we’ll provide a few examples of online marketing sites that you may know.
Traditional vs. Digital Marketing
Traditionally, offline marketing was the only game in town. You may have heard of cold calling, which is when a salesperson calls on prospective customers without the use of digital tools or social media.
Now, however, you can gain marketing traction and attract potential buyers with just a few clicks of a button. This is thanks to the innovation of online marketing.
What Is Digital Marketing?
If you’re reading this, then you may be wondering what digital marketing is. In short, digital marketing is the use of digital tools (e.g., websites, emails, and social media accounts) to grow and retain customers.
To put it simply, traditional marketing (i.e., billboards, radio ads, and magazine spreads) merely used to print and mail physical copies of your pamphlet or brochure to potential customers. With digital marketing, you can take advantage of the many mediums and platforms that the internet enables you to reach your audience.
But, simply having a website does not mean that you can magically become a successful digital marketer. You need to consider how you’ll reach your audience and what you’ll do once you reach them.
The Funnel Analysis
Before you begin your digital marketing journey, you need to consider the question of where your target audiences are located and what devices they’re using to access your content.
This is known as the funnel analysis. Here’s an example of a funnel analysis for a hypothetical car company named “Smart Car Company.”
Firstly, let’s look at the top of the funnel, or the initial stages of exposure to your product or service. In the case of Smart Car Company, this is mostly made up of people who have never even heard of their brand, much less are thinking about buying a car. To capture this demographic, your car company may use well-known marketing techniques such as advertising on television or in prominent newspapers. In addition to this, you could also try launching a brand-new type of car for 2021 that becomes a hot commodity once its featured on social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram.
Organic Marketing Vs. Paid Marketing
Depending on your marketing budget and the results you’d like to see, you may want to consider taking the organic route or the paid route.
Organic marketing is, generally speaking, the method of choosing search engine results based on the relevance of the content rather than on paid ads. It’s a more affordable option and has the advantage of being completely free of charge.
Paid marketing, on the other hand, is when you pay money to have your product or service appear in a certain place or at a certain time. This could be anything from paying to have a certain article placed on a prominent website to purchasing ads on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).
For instance, if you’re running a clothing store and you want to promote a new line of women’s t-shirts, you might want to consider using paid marketing to have a particular design printed on a white T-shirt.
This is only a small fraction of the information you need to know before you begin your marketing journey. As you may have guessed, this is just the tip of the iceberg. To fully grasp the basics of marketing, you may want to consider reaching out to a marketing professional for help.