Is digital marketing an effective tool for your business?
Here's why every business can make digital marketing work for them
As a social media strategist, I was asked if I think digital marketing is worth the effort for all business types. And I guess it's a no-brainer, but of course I'm going to say YES!
When I was asked the question, I did stop and contemplate it for a minute. But honestly, I struggled to find an example of a business type that wouldn't see any benefit from digital marketing.
I think service-based businesses struggle with their marketing as they don't have a physical product to show as such.
But for service-based businesses, digital marketing is an excellent way for you to showcase your expertise and promote your work and your clients. You can create some winning content that's not as much about your services but about the clients you work with and the benefits you bring to their business.
All it takes is a bit of creativity and looking at ways to engage with your audience with relevant content.
What exactly is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is any form of marketing that is done online. This includes your social media accounts, email marketing and your business website. It's whatever you use to connect with your current and prospective clients.
The beauty of digital marketing is that it's so much more cost-effective than traditional marketing like TV, radio or print advertising. And with so many people online, you're guaranteed to speak directly to your audience.
Digital marketing is vital to any business for customer engagement and brand awareness. And in today's marketplace, every brand needs an online presence – it's expected!
Even if you don't have a website, to be seen on social channels is a must.
How does digital marketing work for all businesses?
I've already said that all business can benefit from digital marketing, but it's how you use it that will differ.
B2B (Business to Business): You will focus more on online lead generation, using channels such as your website and email marketing to draw people through to speak to you. When it comes to social media, B2B marketing is often best suited to LinkedIn.
B2C (Business to Consumer): If you're selling products, you'll most likely direct people to your website and have them purchase without speaking to them. This is where you'll be using platforms such as Instagram to draw people in and having strong calls to action on your website to encourage sales.
My top 4 types of digital marketing
SEO: This is a major component of any digital marketing strategy, and you need to include on-page, off-page and technical SEO principles to make it work. Every business wants to rank higher in search engines, and that's why you need to focus your SEO efforts on your website, blogs and infographics. And use the right keywords as hashtags on your socials.
Content marketing: This is perfect for engaging with your audience, increasing your brand awareness and driving traffic to your website. Content marketing includes blogs, eBooks and infographics.
Social media marketing: This is my favourite form of marketing and what I encourage for brand awareness and generating leads. You need to find where your audience hangs out and focus your attention on that platform: Facebook, LinkedIn, Insta, Pinterest etc.
Email marketing: This is an easy(ish) way to stay in front of your customers or prospective clients. They have opted to receive information from you, so you already know what they want. Email marketing includes eNewsletters, customer welcome emails, follow-up emails after purchase, promo emails and customer nurturing sequences.
Digital marketing is vital for any business
If you want to remain competitive in today's business world, then yes, you do need to embrace digital marketing.
You definitely don't have to do it all, but with so many options available to you, you need to assess your business and work out marketing tactics that work for you and your budget.
If you need a hand with your social media marketing and metric tracking, please get in touch, as I'd love to help you out. If you have any questions, either drop them below or send me an email at sam@samsays.com.au.