Are you tired of struggling for success in your chosen field? Are you looking to build a solid foundation for future growth? Are you seeking to establish yourself as an expert within your industry? If so, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we will teach you the ropes of online marketing; including tips on how to market your business online, the dos and don’ts of digital marketing, and how to make the most of your digital marketing efforts.
The Basics Of Digital Marketing
For those of you new to the field, let’s take a quick overview of digital marketing. If you’ve ever shopped online, you’ve probably noticed small circles at the top of web pages that contain important information such as an offer, a discount, or news about the company.
These circles, known as ‘digital breadcrumbs’, or ‘breadcrumbs’ for short, are pieces of information or advertisements that appear at the top of a web page as a potential shopper (or user) clicks on a link, button, or icon to navigate to that web page. When a user clicks on a breadcrumb, they’re usually directed to a web page containing either information they were looking for or an advertisement they might be interested in.
In the case of ads, they may be presented with an offer they couldn’t refuse, a discount code they can use, or information about a product they’ve previously shown an interest in.
The key takeaway from this is that digital marketing is all about getting people to click on your ads or find value in your content.
Why Are We Seeing More Interest In Online Marketing?
The simple answer is that digital marketing combines the precision of online shopping with the instant feedback of social media. With physical stores, you’d typically have to wait until a salesperson came by to provide you with the information you needed. While you might get some information online, you’d still have to spend time going from website to website to find what you want. The upside is that you can do all of this from the comfort of your home.
The downside is that not everyone has the time to visit numerous websites to find what they want. In this case, digital marketing can seem like a lot of effort for minimal results. In fact, according to HubSpot Blogs research, 13% of consumers in the U.S. have done all of their shopping online, while another 13% have mostly done their shopping offline.
How To Market Your Business Online
Now that you have the basics down, let’s discuss how to market your business online. There are three basic approaches to market your business online:
Traditional Methods
If you’ve been doing traditional marketing, such as TV ads, magazine spreads, or outdoor billboards, on the web, you’ll need to adapt your strategy to fit the new environment. The good news is that all of these techniques can be applied to online marketing with some adjustments.
For example, outdoor billboards can be used on websites, and magazine spreads can be used in online newspapers. So, while you might not want to change everything about your approach, you certainly don’t have to.
Social Media
The second approach is to use social media to gain credibility and drive traffic to your website.
The advantage of social media is that people can get to know your business and provide instant feedback about your products or services. It’s a great way to create a small community that can help support each other. Your customers can also become unofficial brand ambassadors and help drive sales by sharing your content or offering suggestions on how to improve your business.
Blogs And Other Brand-Specific Content
The third approach is to use blogs and other content to build an audience of interested customers and prospects who can then be retargeted with ads or contacted via email for more information.
Doing this will not only help improve your digital marketing strategy, but it can also be used to create highly relevant content that draws in and retains customers. Using content such as case studies, e-books, or webinars to extend your reach and grab the attention of more people.
The Dos And Don’ts Of Digital Marketing
With any new industry or approach, there are always going to be questions about whether or not to adhere to traditional methods of marketing and whether or not these methods will still work in today’s digital world. In order to ensure you’re utilizing digital marketing effectively, and that your efforts are driving customers to your website, you need to familiarize yourself with a few Dos and Don’ts.
Dos
The first and most important rule of digital marketing is to establish trust.
If someone comes to your website seeking information about your industry, you can bet they’re not going to be leaving with a good feeling. The way you establish trust is by ensuring the content on your site is reliable and informative, and that your site’s design is simple and easy to use. Establishing trust is also about being transparent about the way you handle customer service, whether it’s through email, live chat, or phone calls. Being open and honest builds trust in your business and is a good starting point for developing a long-term relationship with your customers. If you can keep these six things in mind as you develop your online marketing strategy, you’ll be able to effectively market your business to the world!
Don’ts
The second rule of digital marketing is to avoid over-use of social media.
The great thing about social media is that it’s a place for everyone to connect, share, and grow. The problem is that since it’s such a popular place, people can get easily distracted and spread themselves too thin. Trying to keep up with all of the social media platforms can be challenging, especially since many of them don’t always serve the same purpose. If you want to be successful in your online marketing efforts, it’s important to know what platforms your target audience uses and how you can best utilize them.
Attracting An Audience Through Video Content
As video content becomes more popular and accessible, it’s a good idea to consider using this medium to market your business. Video content is a fantastic way to connect with an audience and establish credibility faster than you could through text alone. Additionally, video content allows you to demonstrate your expertise in an area that is increasingly becoming a selling point rather than an offer. Video content is also a great way to explain the workings of your business and how your customers can benefit from using your products or services.
As with any new marketing channel, you might need to get creative with the way you use video content and find the niche that suits you best. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you along the way.
Keep It Short
People are generally more engaged with shorter videos. According to HubSpot Blogs research, videos under three minutes fall into a sweet spot, drawing in and retaining users while not seeming too short to drive higher conversions.
As a general rule, you want to keep your videos short and snappy. More importantly, you don’t want to overdo it and make your videos too long, as you’ll lose people along the way. People have limited attention spans and will quickly click away if your video is too long. Even worse, you might confuse or frustrate people who are trying to learn about your industry rather than simply being entertained!
Use Action Words
People need to know what to expect when they click on a video. Using action words, such as “see”, “hear”, “understand”, or “click here”, in the description of your video can help clarify what the user should expect when they hit play.
The better the description, the more the user can expect from your video. However, keep in mind that your video’s purpose is not to explain everything about your business, but to entice people to click on your video and learn more.
Make It Visual
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this certainly applies to video content. The brain processes visual information about 70% faster than text, so if you want people to understand and remember what you’re saying, make sure you give it to them visually.
People love visuals and can easily retain images of things they’ve been told to expect or look out for. If you want to attract and retain customers, consider using images that are relevant to what you’re talking about. This will make your content much more memorable and increase your chances of getting the desired results.