Everybody’s talking about it. Digital marketing. But, what is it and should you spend resources on it?
In this three-part series, I’ll answer those questions and more. Let’s start off with the basics.
What is digital marketing?
Also known as Internet advertising or online marketing—digital marketing is using the Internet as a means to:
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- Increase your brand awareness
- Establish credibility
- Warm up a cold list
- Acquire new clients or customers
- Recruit potential candidates
What do you mean you “use the internet” to accomplish the goals outlined above?
There are various web-based platforms you can use to execute your digital marketing campaigns. A few examples include:
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- Social media
- Email marketing
- Pay-per-click advertising
- Paid search advertising
- Content marketing
- CRO (conversion rate optimization)
- Blogging
- Vlogging
- Podcasts
- Google Adwords
- SEO
- Affiliate marketing
- And the list goes on and on…
What do I need to get started with digital marketing?
In addition to getting really clear on what you want to accomplish and who your target audience is, you also need to ensure that all of your digital marketing assets are up to snuff:
Website: Is your message clear? Is the website optimized? Do you have access to make changes?
Social Media Accounts: Are you posting content on a regular basis? Are the descriptions up to date? Have you established your own hashtag?
Blog: Are you posting content that is relevant to your audience?
Images/Video: Do you have an internal resource to design custom images and/or shoot video or would this need to be outsourced?
Reviews: Do you have any positive online reviews? This could be on google or even an endorsement on LinkedIn?
I’m so confused! Digital marketing seems too much of a daunting task to tackle.
Hang in there! It’s a new(er) concept and of course, can seem a bit intimidating. If you’re ready to get started and to get your questions answered, contact me. I’ll be glad to spend 30 minutes with you going over the basics.
In the next part of this series, I’ll outline the best strategies to use for B2B companies versus B2C companies.
Good luck!!!
